What is StarTimes' development strategy in Africa in the next five years?

Our development strategy is in line with the development of African society, especially the information industry. The International Telecommunication Union, a United Nations agency, had earlier required its members to upgrade from analog to digital TV before June 17, 2015. But due to the unequal economic development of the members, the deadline was extended to 2020 in Africa. Therefore, promoting the digitalization of radio and TV in Africa is StarTimes' main task in the next five years. We will continue our efforts to provide affordable digital TV services across the continent, increasing the number of our subscribers to 30 million and network coverage to 40 nations. In five years, we will be the digital TV operator with the most subscribers in Africa.

We will also strengthen content production by translating and dubbing more Chinese TV programs and opening channels exclusively for Chinese programs in multiple local languages. We will support and invest in local businesses to produce African TV programs. We will open StarTimes-owned and operated radio and TV stations and introduce world-renowned TV programs and films on our channels to enrich our content.

Last but not least, we are planning to launch a "smart family" campaign, combining Internet and digital TV technology to provide better service.

StarTimes is said to attach great importance to localization and training local employees. How is this followed in Africa?

StarTimes has over 4,000 employees, 3,000 of whom are based in Africa. Of the staff in Africa, 94 percent are recruited locally. We now have two African vice presidents. The local employees in the African branches hold different positions, from senior technicians and managerial staff to ordinary workers. The number of local employees has been increasing year by year.

We train African employees at the Beijing headquarters on a regular basis. No matter what the color of your skin is, as soon as you step inside the StarTimes gate, you are a member of the family. Everyone is equal. We respect each other and are a happy and harmonious family.

What has been StarTimes' corporate social responsibility?

Since June 2011, StarTimes has been holding an annual event, the African Digital TV Development Seminar, to discuss the path to digitalization across the continent. More and more countries and senior officials are attending the event. There were 130 delegates from 35 countries at this year's seminar in June.

Digital TV should be accessible to everyone, rich or poor. Besides urban areas, our digital TV services are available in remote areas too through direct satellite broadcasts. We do this not just for profit.

We have also been donating TV sets and set boxes to local schools and orphanages. When Ebola broke out, we produced noncommercial advertisements to make people aware how to prevent infections and help calm them down. Our efforts were well received, especially in Guinea. We do all this not for show but to do what a company should do. The existence of a company is meaningful only when it does something useful for society.

You have been to many African countries and done business with Africans for years. What have you learned?

We have a lot to learn from Africans. For example, they have better environmental awareness. The first country I went to in Africa was South Africa. I took a bus to a national park. The driver of the bus saw a trash bag fall off the bus ahead and stopped immediately to pick it up and stow it on our bus. When a friend and I went to visit a scenic spot in Cape Town, my friend lit a cigarette in a non-smoking area. An old gentleman saw that and pointed my friend to a small can, indicating the cigarette should be snuffed out.

Africans respect nature. You can see animals running around free, which is unlikely to happen in China. Moreover, they respect law and order. You can hardly find roadhogs or someone jumping a line.