1.3 billion will always be greater than 13

That 1.3 billion is greater than 13 is a matter of common sense for ordinary people, but not for some "human rights fighters". Since the beginning of 2012, some Western politicians, diplomats and "observers" have made an issue out of the suffering of individual Chinese and pointed figures at China's human rights situation. They have assumed that the majority of Chinese people are living a miserable life and public outcries can be heard everywhere. According to their theory, the stories of a few far outweigh the livelihoods of the 1.3 billion people.

But they forget that it is up to the Chinese people themselves, or rather the majority of the 1.3 billion Chinese, to decide whether they are happy or not. In a recent Pew Research Center poll, 87 percent of the Chinese respondents said they were satisfied with their country's direction, nearly two-thirds said their lives were better now than five years ago and 74 percent said they were optimistic about the future. Like many other polling results, the figures cannot represent the opinions of every Chinese, but at least the majority of Chinese seem more upbeat than their American and European counterparts in the same survey.

It is natural to find some among the 1.3 billion people who are not happy or who complain about their life. The Chinese government hopes every Chinese lives a happy life and is making efforts to make that a reality. But the government still has a long way to go before it attains that goal.