We need to take a sober look at the prevailing stock mania, says an article in the Global Times. The following is an excerpt:

The fast growth of the stock market has changed the lifestyle of Chinese people. When neighbors meet each other, the first greeting is: "Have you bought stocks (or funds)?" The thought of becoming wealthy overnight by speculating on the stock market is quickly spreading. More and more people believe it is an easy way to earn sufficient money to buy a house, and pay the tuition fees for their children's overseas education.

The continuous bull run of the stock market has offered many Chinese a chance to seek wealth. Therefore, some experts suggest we should encourage more people to participate in the enlightening process of seeking wealth.

However, there are several major differences between China, Europe and the United States.

Firstly, most stock buyers in Europe and the US have a better understanding of stock markets and hedge against risks. Secondly, a majority of them do not buy or sell stocks via the Internet, instead they entrust this to professional brokers. Thirdly, these countries usually have relatively well-established social welfare and pension fund systems. Stock crashes do not cause major social unrest.

A survey conducted in May showed that stock speculation by workers had seriously affected the production of some companies. It found that some senior citizens used their pension funds to speculate, while whole families were also caught up in the process.

It has changed the attitude of the young toward study and work. Some young people used to study at night school to improve their skills, but now they meet to share their stock-buying experiences.

Since they have never experienced a stock crash, they plough all their savings into the stock market. It is said that at some universities, many students are using their tuition fees and living expenses to speculate on the stock market.

It is good for Chinese to have the opportunity to seek wealth, but stock markets all over the world are not a source for guaranteed wealth.

We seem to forget we cannot equate the stock market's rise with China's development. The country's development is a long process which requires the hard work of several generations. We need a large number of young people to concentrate on their studies and research. If everyone focuses on stock market speculation in the hopes of becoming rich at the expense of education, then the country could slip into a situation of having no professionals to guide its development.

There is no stock market in the world that never falls and there is no country that can develop its economy simply by speculating on stocks. We should ponder over the question: What kind of mindset should we adopt during this present stock mania.

(China Daily 10/18/2007 page9)