Properties abroad a two-edged sword

With risks rising in the domestic real estate market, investors are switching attention to overseas markets. Among the difficulties investors face in the domestic market are tighter credit policies, stricter scrutiny and over supply of housing units. In contrast, they find the global realty market brighter because loans are more forthcoming and the yuan has been appreciating at a consistent pace.

Letters

Why is sex still a taboo in China?

From the Chinese press

Heroic deeds demand better reward

Overcoming HK's social divide

As we all know the process of political reform in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region is well underway. The government has completed its public consultation and subsequently presented its report to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

Vocational schools need reforming

China is striving for a transition to a service-oriented economy. But is it ready? Does it have the workers trained in the right skills?

Full rice investigation

IT IS NOT A QUESTION OF WHETHER GENETICALLY modified food is safe or not. Instead it is a question of whether the country's top agricultural authorities will be able to maintain their policies, and a question of whether the provincial agricultural bureau of Central China's Hubei province has turned a blind eye to the illegal commercial farming of genetically modified rice.

Strict GM testing and labeling

Transgenic food is concerned with public health. In the United States and some European countries, some genetically modified products have already proved detrimental to health; however, compared with the European Union's strict transgenic tests on imported foods, China lags far behind in the testing and supervising of transgenic food.

Cartoon

MH17 incident not a cold-war tool

The Malaysia Airlines MH17 crash in restive eastern Ukraine, a tragedy of great proportions, has escalated tensions in Ukraine, and between Russia and the West. An earlier air tragedy, the disappearance of flight MH370 on March 8, proved that only total transparency in international investigation procedures and cooperation built on trust can prevent speculations, conspiracy theories and mutual accusations from spreading panic and increasing tensions.

Society should address suicide among youths

The rising rate of suicides among youths has become a big cause for concern for many countries, but the number and the reasons for suicides in China are even a bigger cause for concern. In the last few years, several studies have shown that adolescents and young people in China, Japan and other Asian countries have been battling with a large number of psychological problems that could force them to commit suicide.

Letters

Must Chinese care about 'face'?

From the Chinese press

Meaning of wedding invitation