Equal competition needed for newspapers in subway

Equal competition needed for newspapers in subway

The recent decision by the Beijing municipal government to prohibit the sale of newspapers in subway stations is so significant that even we here in Shanghai are talking about it. The Beijing municipal government alleges that the ban is aimed at maintaining public security and order with only one free newspaper allowed in subway stations.

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In my opinion, this is really ridiculous. In my experiences here in Shanghai, there are newsstands in every subway station with all kinds of newspapers and journals for passengers. Of course, free newspapers are also provided here. In fact, in all these years, newspapers in Shanghai have been always distributed in an orderly fashion and have never stirred any trouble. Therefore, I'm really confused by the government's words that it aims "to maintain public security and order".