Reduce money supply

The recent controversy over whether China has issued excessive money reflects public worries about rising prices. Policymakers need to take heed of such concerns and find solutions to inflation.

Specific law on domestic abuse needed

The divorce case of the "Crazy English couple" was settled on Sunday with Kim Lee, the abused wife, getting 12 million yuan ($1.93 million) worth of property and 50,000 yuan as compensation for the trauma she suffered. The Beijing court that settled the divorce case also gave Lee the custody of the couple's three daughters and asked Crazy English franchise founder Li Yang to pay 100,000 yuan for each of the girls as annual child support until each reaches 18 years of age.

Invasion of privacy a tricky affair

It is not uncommon in China to be besieged by members of an extended family and grilled about why you are not yet married. Spring Festival, which is round the corner, is a traditional time for family reunions and visits by relatives. But for some young people, it is also a time to "face the music" as their personal life comes up for discussions at get-togethers.

Letters

Building a really green city

From the Chinese press

Call for objective reporting

Aiming at fairer realty market

A well-targeted property tax can become the government's best weapon in the battle to curb rising housing prices

Cartoon

Human Rights Watch reveals its bias

The US-based Human Rights Watch organization has issued its annual World Report, commenting on human rights conditions worldwide over the past year.

Safety on the roads

The fatal traffic accidents in the past few days should sound an alarm about the country's lax traffic safety system and call for more actions to guarantee nationwide road safety for the upcoming travel peak in the country's countdown to the Lunar New Year.

Hukou and properties

Nothing is more eye-catching and sensational than the online disclosure, one after another, of officials who have more than one hukou, or household registration, and identity card, which they have used to acquire dozens of properties, in one case more than 100 properties under different identities.

Printing self-illusions a risky game

In the past four years, central banks in the advanced economies have been opting for new rounds of quantitative easing (QE) because the global financial crisis has exhausted the traditional instruments of monetary policy. And with investors seeking higher returns, more QE has been driving "hot money" (short-term portfolio flows) into high-yield emerging-market economies.

No resolution to Syrian crisis in sight

A resolution to the Syrian crisis remains a distant dream. The bloody conflict between the Syrian government and opposition forces continues and the United Nations' efforts to restore peace in the country have been failures.