Tough laws needed to protect investors

Tasked with implementing the latest directives of the State Council, the head of China's securities watchdog, Xiao Gang, had a busy year ahead of him. At a recent conference on the protection of personal investors' interests, Xiao spoke in detail about his daunting mission.

In his speech, Xiao touched on a wide range of topics and listed numerous challenges his agency faces. Indeed, abuse of small shareholders' rights and contempt for personal investors' interests are widely seen to have become part of the stock market's ingrained culture.

The Everbright Securities debacle last year prompted many pessimists to conclude that the stock market and its institutions had been corrupted beyond redemption. There were calls for the government to introduce laws that were tough enough to weed out the transgressors and deter potential offenders.