Test-tube baby Thirty-one years after her birth via external fertilization* and embryo* transplantation*, Zheng Mengzhu, China’s first test-tube baby, gave birth on Monday in a Beijing hospital. At 8:34 a.m., Zheng gave birth to a boy through caesarean section*, said Zhao Yangyu, head of obstetrics* at Peking University Third Hospital who performed the surgery. The boy weighs 3.85 kg, which is similar to his mother’s birth-weight. The baby was in a horizontal position when he was in the womb, a situation that demanded a C-section, Zhao explained. More youth opt for pets An increasing number of Chinese young people have opted for pets to relieve their stress and the strains of everyday life, fueling the fast-growing pet market in the country. Pet spending in China surged to about 170.8 billion yuan (US$25.5 billion) in 2018 and the figure is estimated to reach 200 billion yuan in 2020. The majority of consumers in the pet market were found to be people born in the 1980s or 1990s, with some having spent nearly half of their income on their beloved household animals. Abuse of child model A video clip of a girl being abused by her mother during a photo shoot went viral last week, raising concerns about child labor in the child modeling industry. The 10-second clip that appeared on Sina Weibo shows the 5-year-old girl, identified as Niuniu, being kicked by a woman at a photo studio in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, after she put down a flower basket prop. The woman was heard warning the girl to be attentive and not piss her off*. The girl staggered, though she didn’t fall. The unnamed woman was said to be Niuniu’s mother, and the pair were shooting pictures for a children’s clothing business on Taobao. Vocational colleges Professional colleges in Guangdong will not be allowed to be changed into four-year universities or colleges offering bachelor’s degrees, and professional colleges will be banned from transforming into general education colleges or universities, according to principles released by Guangdong Education Department. According to the principles, the pilot program for degree education at vocational colleges will be halted. (SD-Agencies) | 