The Gaokao is to undergo a major revision with oral communication skills now being seen
important according to China Daily. How this is to be implemented was not mentioned in
the article.

I think it's impractical. Oral assesssment requires 1-1 pupil-examiner contacts.

They seem more interested in having a "beautiful" shop than spending time on attracting customers - preferring to
sit around on those little wooden chairs gossiping all day or playing street badminton. Once the grace period of no rent ends in December they will be in trouble.

Correct. And I agree with what you say re farming, water problems, food security, etc. Not surprised to read about the clumsy injection. Sorry to hear about your bad luck with that dog. Unfortunately for you, you got more than just a Chinese burn from it. Once the skin breaks, you need injections