'Occupy Central' poll a folly

News of the number of people who voted in the poll organized by the "Occupy Central" group in Hong Kong quickly reaching over half a million may surprise some observers.

Product safety makes good business sense

This is my first visit to China as the European Union's commissioner for consumer policy representing more than half a billion consumers from what is still the largest integrated market in the world. It is a market with no internal barriers and one set of rules and standards, a market which China greatly benefits from, as does the EU from the Chinese market. Every single day we trade goods valued at 1 billion ($1.36 billion).

A timely shot in the arm for Sino-Indian ties

Indians keenly followed the wide coverage given by the Chinese media to the general elections and the subsequent leadership change in India. The importance that the new Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attaches to China can be gauged from the fact that Premier Li Keqiang was the first head of government with whom he talked over the phone after assuming office. During the conversation the two leaders shared their thoughts and ideas, which have a bearing on bilateral relations, and Li invited Modi to visit China later this year.

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Let rule of law guide the market

Government departments and social organizations should enhance supervision with legal means to ensure healthy operations

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PLA participation in RIMPAC a milestone

The 2014 Rim of the Pacific, or RIMPAC, naval exercises began in and around the Hawaii Islands on Thursday. They are a milestone in US-China relations, especially their military-to-military ties, as it is the first time the Chinese navy was invited to participate in the drills, which involve 22 nations, 47 ships, six submarines, more than 200 aircraft and 25,000 personnel.

Breaking shameful cycle

EACH TIME THE NATIONAL AUDIT OFFICE releases its annual auditing report on major central and local government institutions, we see similar patterns of abuses, as well as similar, if not the same, rule-violating agencies and persons.

Charity is not just publicity

Chinese tycoon and philanthropist Chen Guangbiao has proclaimed, with a typical maverick gesture, that Chinese millionaires are also big spenders when it comes to helping those in need. In full-page advertisements in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, Chen invited 1,000 "underprivileged" New York citizens to have a free lunch with him at the Loeb Boathouse in Central Park on Wednesday and promised to give each of them $300 cash.

Welcome move across the Straits

The June 25-28 visit of Zhang Zhijun, head of the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, to Taiwan is the first of its kind since 1949. In more ways than one, it is a landmark effort by mainland authorities to resolve cross-Straits issues in a peaceful way. Zhang's visit to Taiwan is also notable for its timing, schedule and significance.

The World Cup made in China

Chinese soccer fans have to simply accept that the chances of the national men's team playing in the World Cup finals again (after 2002) is at best slim. Perhaps a joke doing the rounds best illustrates this fact: A fairy promises Chinese people to make their one wish come true. Some people ask her to make the world a peaceful place, free of wars. The fairy seems embarrassed and doesn't respond. Then some soccer fans request her to send "our men's soccer team to the World Cup finals". The fairy says: "Well, let's talk about world peace!"

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Craze for gaokao champions 状元热 (zhuang yuan re)