Xi Jinping, chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), on Tuesday conferred a flag of honor on an army company of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, which was awarded the honorary title of "Model Rocket Artillery Company."

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese president, presented the honorary flag at a ceremony held by the CMC in Beijing.

Concerns about the safety of autonomous driving and the potential gradual replacement of traditional taxis by driverless ones have been raised following an accident involving a driverless ride-hailing car in central China's Hubei Province. Industry observers said the industry is still in a nascent phase and that more support needs to be rolled out to address challenges brought by the development of driverless ride-hailing vehicles.

According to media reports, a netizen posted a video on July 7 claiming that one of Baidu's autonomous ride-hailing platform Robotaxi's driverless ride-hailing cars had collided with a pedestrian on a street in Wuhan.

A representative from Baidu responded on Monday stating that there was only minor contact between the vehicle and a pedestrian evading a red light as the vehicle began to move forward. The company was the first to cooperate with the police to address the situation and accompanied the individual to the hospital for a full examination.

Autonomous driving technology can theoretically improve road safety by avoiding traffic violations through high-precision sensors and advanced algorithms. However, in practice, complex road conditions and traffic have placed high demands on the reaction speed and decision-making ability of intelligent driving systems, Zhang Xu, an Analyst from EnfoDesk, told the Global Time on Thursday.

Many challenges are actually caused by traffic violations by ordinary pedestrians and other human-driven vehicles, Zhang said calling on traffic management department to enhance the supervision and meanwhile, the development and testing of intelligent driving systems should also be strengthened to better adapt to real traffic environment.

At the same time, many local drivers in Wuhan have voiced their dissatisfaction over the potential gradual replacement of traditional taxis by driverless vehicles, according to media reports, as one of the drivers said Robotaxi offers a relatively lower price which would reduce the customer's budget for the taxi fare.

Industry observers said driverless ride-hailing cars will indeed have an impact on the traditional human operated ride-hailing and taxi industries because of relatively low operating cost and stable service performance, but this is a necessary step in upgrading of the industry.

With the development of technology and the maturity of the market, driverless ride-hailing cars will gradually replace traditional manned services, driving the entire transportation industry toward a more intelligent and automated direction, they said.

Beijing also plans to support the use of autonomous vehicles in urban transportation services, including urban public electric bus transportation, online ride-hailing, and car rental, according to Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology on June 30.

Although driverless ride-hailing vehicles may reduce demand for traditional drivers, they will also create new employment opportunities, Zhang said. Maintenance and management of intelligent driving technology, data analysis and processing, development and operation of intelligent transportation systems, remote drivers, maintenance of autonomous vehicles and stations all require a large number of skilled workers, the analyst said.

Although the development of driverless ride-hailing vehicles faces challenges, with the support of policies and technological advancements, its future prospects are promising, industry observers noted.

The basic principle is that the government should formulate and strictly enforce necessary regulations to ensure the safety and compliance of driverless ride-hailing vehicles, and at the same time, efforts should be made to strengthen research and development support for the technology, and encourage enterprises to innovate and promote the application of technology.

Zhang put forward that the government should provide relevant employment training and transition support during the industry transition to help traditional drivers adapt to the new employment environment.

In response to the question of whether driverless ride-hailing cars have taken the jobs of drivers, a staff from transportation bureau in Wuhan responded that the taxi industry is relatively stable, and there are some online rumors, according to media reports on Wednesday.

Researchers from a Chinese top university highlighted the urgency of promoting life and death education, improving hospice care and reforming the funeral industry across China as they predicted that in the context of rapidly advancing population aging, the country will face a surge in population mortality.

Professor Zhang Zhen from the Institute of Population Research at Fudan University and Professor Li Qiang from Fudan Institute on Aging, Fudan University, published a paper on the topic in the latest issue of Population Research, a journal of China Population Association.

In the paper, the two scholars advocate for the promotion of education on life and death, guiding the public to develop a correct view of life and death, and creating a social atmosphere that respects life. Also, they urge the accelerated development of palliative care systems to improve the end-of-life quality for the elderly, ensuring that they can spend their final stage of life in comfort and dignity. Additionally, they emphasize the importance of strengthening medium to long-term planning for funeral services to ensure supply and demand balance, and to prevent issues such as unaffordable funerals and exorbitant burial plots from exacerbating social conflicts. Lastly, they recommend providing legal services for the protection of the rights of the elderly and for resolving inheritance disputes, in anticipation of potential legal cases that may arise in the coming decades.

In an exclusive reply to the Global Times, Professor Zhang especially addressed the significance of reforming the funeral industry and gave advices on the issue.

For example, the funeral industry should plan ahead and cope with the limited land resources in a timely manner. Government departments at all levels need to take a scientific approach and pay close attention to accurately predicting future death trends, according to another article provided by Zhang to the Global Times.

Also, the article, co-written by professors Zhang and Li, said the country should increase the proportion of public welfare cemeteries in cities. Citing the urban public welfare cemetery construction standards 2017 jointly issued by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and the National Development and Reform Commission, the article said the proportion of public welfare graves for burial is only 40 percent, which does not adhere to the basic principles of public services.

The article said authorities should ensure public welfare funeral services and strictly regulate commercial services. Basic funeral services only include services such as body transport, storage, cremation, and ash placement, while cemetery service fees usually account for over 50 percent. In addition to other optional commercial projects, funeral costs burden the families of the deceased.

Therefore, the authorities should first improve the level of basic funeral services and consider incorporating projects such as expensive ash boxes into basic services to prevent commercial institutions from seeking excessive profits and causing negative social impacts.

The article suggested the authorities to increase financial subsidies and funding for rural funeral reform, include funeral reform funds for poverty alleviation in the budget, and strictly monitor and regulate the allocation of funds. Under the premise of government financial investment, various methods can be used to raise funds, such as using incentives to subsidize investments, the article noted.

In addition, the article said the country should utilize the advantages of new media to vigorously promote and advocate for green burials. For example, green burial methods such as sea burials, tree burials, flower burials, and ice burials should be exempted of basic service fees and provided with economic rewards. Particularly for those who choose to scatter ashes at sea or elsewhere without retaining them, greater incentives should be provided.