Deng's official biography

China has published the official biography and collected works of late leader Deng Xiaoping ahead of the 110th anniversary of his birth on Friday. The Collected Works of Deng Xiaoping (1949-1974) presents Deng's thoughts on the development of the country and the Communist Party of China. The book was edited by the Party Literature Research Office of the CPC Central Committee and published by the People's Publishing House. The Biography of Deng Xiaoping (1904-1974) records his experience until 1974, when he served as vice-premier after being purged for several years during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76). It was written by the Party Literature Research Office of the CPC Central Committee and published by the Party literature publishing house. Deng was born on Aug 22, 1904, in southwestern China's Sichuan province. He is known as the "chief architect of China's reform and opening-up" for his painstaking efforts in leading the country's transformation starting in the 1970s.

Plight of animals

Journey in Africa, written by former NBA star Yao Ming, was recently published by CITIC Press Group. Yao, celebrity ambassador of WildAid, a non-profit that seeks to end illegal wildlife trade, writes about his 12-day trip in 2012 through Kenya and South Africa to gain knowledge of the poaching crisis and witness its toll on Africa's endangered animals and human communities. In the book, Yao laments the suffering inflicted on animals by greedy people. A companion documentary film, The End of the Wild, and the e-book have also been released.

Rowling character update

J.K. Rowling has posted new details about a minor character from her Harry Potter books on the fan website pottermore.com. The author has written a short biography of Celestina Warbeck, a glamorous singing sorceress resembling Shirley Bassey and a favorite of Mrs Weasley's. The new back story for the character, who was only mentioned briefly in the series about a boy wizard, was posted online on Monday along with one of her songs, recorded by a singer at the Harry Potter theme park at Universal Orlando Resort in Florida. Rowling calls her one of her favorite "offstage" characters in the whole series.

Luo's new books

Taiwanese novelist Luo Yi-jun has released his new short-story collection titled Faces by the Guangxi Normal University Press in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. Born in the late 1960s, Luo started to use computers only a few years ago. In the two volumes, Luo writes about modern life influenced by technology, where lust, loss, loneliness and insignificance feature.

China Daily - Agencies

(China Daily 08/20/2014 page19)