Where is the balanced perspective in HK?

Hong Kong is one of the world's great metropolises, most travelers concur, and China sports the world's largest overall economy, most estimates agree. And so, if anything, when the two were reunified, it should have been a marriage made in political heaven.

Can we have no-gift Teachers' Day, please

Parents or teachers troubled by the increasing popularity of gift-giving should find welcome relief in the intensified measures taken by educational authorities against the malpractice. A few days before this year's Teachers' Day, which falls on Sept 10, the Ministry of Education issued a notice banning activities funded by public money and gift-giving, as well as extravagance in educational institutions, including schools.

Yuan for the China-UK expressway

The ongoing sixth China-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue has seen the two sides in similar spirit but with different expectations. Both sides believe the dialogue will promote bilateral trade and investment ties, strengthen macroeconomic policy coordination, boost the financial sector's development and cooperation, and support global economic recovery.

Letters

'Five steps' to better education

From the Chinese press

Ban display of fascist symbols

US can untie the nuclear knot

In the early spring of 1995, I was appointed by former Chinese president Jiang Zemin as the ambassador for disarmament affairs in Geneva, and I became the chief Chinese negotiator for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

China needs more input in education

Like many parents, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde took their kids to schools on the first day of the new semester in Belgium. The photos of them doing so I posted on my social media accounts in China attracted a lot of comments. Many of them said unselfish parental love and care for children is deeply rooted in their hearts of every parent; while some focused on the long history of the school St. John Berchmans College in Brussels, which several members of Belgium's royal family have attended and which can trace its history back to 1604.

Exam questions remain

THE LATEST REFORM TO THE GAOKAO, OR NATIONAL college entrance examinations, will be the biggest-ever change to the way students are enrolled by universities since 1978. Under the reform, the final scores of three courses students take during their high school years will be used in the appraisals of candidates for college enrollment.

Resistance to reform inevitable

Resistance to the gaokao reform plan is almost inevitable, because it will challenge the interests of metropolises and economically developed regions that currently occupy a greater part of quality education resources. Fortunately, those who drafted the plan have given a clear schedule for its implementation, which symbolizes their determination to push the reform forward.

Cartoon

Alibaba a new link in China-US ties

Alibaba's upcoming initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange has raised doubts both in China and the United States, generating negative vibes for China-US trade relations, which is a strange reaction.

Here's why we need a rethink on tech giant

When Alibaba, China's giant online sales platform, announced it had selected the New York Stock Exchange for its initial public offering (IPO) this summer, the stock exchange cheered. It heralded its selection as a major win not only over rival exchanges in the United States, but also over rival markets abroad. And why not? Alibaba's IPO is estimated to value the company around $160 billion, making it one of the most highly valued tech companies in the world.