Real stability

The importance of stability can never be overestimated. China would not have accomplished what it has without long-term political and social stability in recent decades.

Yet stability should never be at the expense of the citizens' will and freedom to express their grievances and seek channels of redress.

The efforts by Beijing's neighboring Hebei province to maintain social and political stability are praiseworthy. Its one-vote warning or veto scheme seeks to ensure that local leaders unfailingly attend to people's urgent concerns.