BEIJING - As well as looking after grandchildren and square-dancing, surfing the internet is now a favorite activity for China's elderly.A new report shows 75.8 percent of people aged 50 and over read news online. More than 80 percent can send emojis, a thumbs up and digital red envelopes. Almost 70 percent can use a smartphone to shoot and repost photos or videos. About 20 percent can create personalized emojis.The report by tech giant Tencent and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences is based on a year-long study. Respondents were elderly and middle-aged users of WeChat, Tencent's popular instant messaging tool. Researchers used methods including big data analysis, questionnaires, and face-to-face interviews.China's online population hit 772 million last year. About 10.4 percent were over 50, and 5.2 percent were over 60, up 1.2 percent from 2016, according to the China Internet Network Information Center.China has an aging population, with 230 million people aged 60 or over at the end of 2016, or 16.7 percent of the total. This group is expected to be a quarter of the population by 2030.More than 70 percent of elderly web users read online articles, including political, military and health news.WeChat has overtaken the phone to become the most used contact method of middle-aged and elderly people on the move.The report also found e-payments, maps and ride-hailing applications were popular in the older generation.However, they are also targets of online scams.The report proposes an elderly-friendly online society that includes a sound Internet infrastructure and well-designed software and network security.It requires effort from the Internet companies, as well as understanding and encouragement from families, said the report. wristbands canadacustom silicone bracelets canadarubber bracelets canadasilicone bracelets canadasilicone wristbands canadacustom wristbands canadacanadian wristbandswristbands canada
The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. [Photo/VCG] In the Government Work Report Premier Li Keqiang delivered at the NPC session on Tuesday, the central government expressed firm support of the Hong Kong and Macao SARs in seizing the major opportunities by the Belt and Road Initiative and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area development strategy. The central government has every confidence that Hong Kong and Macao will develop and thrive together with the mainland and maintain long-term prosperity and stability, and encourages Hong Kong and Macao to give better play to their strengths, and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation with the Chinese mainland in all fields, according to the report. The National Development and Reform Commission, setting out the major tasks for economic and social development in 2019, said it will give more support to Hong Kong and Macao in integrating themselves into the overall development of the country, and accelerate the planning and development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Concrete policies and measures will be rolled out to make it easier for Hong Kong and Macao residents to apply for mainland residence permits and to pursue development on the mainland, the NDRC said. The NDRC said it will draw up plans on industrial development, infrastructure and ecological conservation and environmental protection for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Grater Bay Area, and support the development of Shenzhen's Qianhai, Guangzhou's Nansha, and Zhuhai's Hengqin as platforms for cooperation between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao. Hong Kong will enjoy further support in its efforts to raise its standing as an international financial, shipping, and trade center, and develop itself as an international center for innovation in science and technology. Macao will also receive the central government's support in building the city into a world tourism and leisure center, in serving as a platform for business and trade cooperation between China and Lusophone countries, and in building itself as a hub for scientific and industrial development of traditional Chinese medicine, the NDRC added.
