Xi on potential landmark ROK visit

The two-day state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to the Republic of Korea is significant not least because he is visiting the ROK before the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, as has been the established practice. Accordingly, many expect his visit to yield greater results.

Tax deal heralds better Sino-US ties

The recent agreement between the United States and China to implement a new US law aimed at penalizing overseas Americans for evading tax should be welcomed, because it will generate many economic benefits. For example, the inter-governmental agreement (IGA) will also enable Beijing to get information on Chinese taxpayers in the US and help it bring tax evaders to justice.

Letters

Driving a nightmare in China

Adultery is more of a moral than legal crime

On Wednesday, Ji Wenlin, former vice-governor of Hainan province, was expelled from the Party and removed from the official post for taking bribes and adultery. A few days ago, Xu Jie, deputy chief of the State Bureau for Letters and Calls was removed from his post for the same reason. Such cases have sparked an online debate on whether adultery constitutes a crime under China's laws.

Maintaining world peace

To prevent them sparking a catastrophic conflict between powers, strategic misjudgments must be avoided and the folly of allies curbed

Cartoon

Pilot program supplements pension system

The China Insurance Regulatory Commission recently announced that four cities, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Wuhan, would be the pilot cities for a houses-for-pensions program for senior citizens beginning July 1.

Japan opens Pandora's box

BY LIFTING THE "BAN ON COLLECTIVE SELF-DEFENSE" and nullifying the long-standing "exclusively defense-oriented policy", Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet has effectively gutted the war-renouncing Article 9 of Japan's postwar Constitution.

Great experiment, great success

MUCH TO THE DISAPPOINTMENT OF THE DOOMSAYERS, Hong Kong has survived the gloomy predictions of post-handover failure. To the satisfaction of those who love the city, the achievements of the HKSAR over the past 17 years provide firm evidence of the success of the "one country, two system" experiment.

Xi's ROK trip to boost regional ties

President Xi Jinping's two-day visit to the Republic of Korea from July 3 will be a landmark in the history of China's diplomacy and the development of China-ROK relations. This is the first foreign visit by Xi as president that targets only one country and breaks the cycle established by China's top leadership of visiting the Democratic People's Republic of Korea ahead of the ROK. It also shows that Beijing attaches great importance to the development of China-ROK relations and hopes to use this opportunity to elevate bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership.

Restoring peace in Northeast Asia

Just three days before President Xi jinping's visit to the Republic of Korea, Kim Jong-un, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea leader, attended a tactical rocket firing drill prompting many to speculate that Pyongyang is not happy with the visit.

Hope beyond expectations in East Asia

The meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Republic of Korea President Park Geun-hye scheduled for later this week will be the fifth between the two leaders in the past year.