Their deaths are as light as a feather

Repeated reports about officials committing suicide remind me of late chairman Mao Zedong's division of death into two kinds: those that weigh even heavier than a mountain and those that are as light as a feather. The suicides of most officials should belong to the latter if they did it simply because they were scared of being investigated about their alleged corruption or because they wanted to prevent others from being revealed.

Democratic shoes that fit

SHOES SHOULD NOT NECESSARILY BE THE same as those of others, but they must fit one's feet. Likewise the way to govern should not necessarily be the same, but it must bring real benefits to the people. President Xi Jinping made such remarks on Sunday in his speech delivered at the 65th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Democracy is not decoration

Before exercising their legal rights to vote and decide matters of common concern, the Chinese people will discuss them through the platform of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference so as to reach some basic consensus first and avoid social disintegration; that's a special form of deliberative democracy in China. That form is especially important today, because we need the common efforts of the whole society to propel the reform forward for the common good.

Cartoon

HK democracy project on right track

Some college students in Hong Kong started a week-long class boycott from Sept 22 in "protest" against the reform plan for the 2017 chief executive (CE) election. It seems the "protesters", in their misplaced pursuit of "democracy and true freedom", have failed to realize that the reform plan is best suited to democracy in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

'Silk road' diplomacy for inclusive growth

President Xi Jinping floated the idea of a new Silk Road economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road last year, and his just concluded four-nation visit to Central and South Asia is expected to make the concept a policy priority.

Fairness of anti-trust can't be doubted

In a recent letter to Vice-Premier Wang Yang, US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew has expressed concern over China's anti-monopoly investigations, warning that such practices could undermine foreign intellectual property rights and have a serious impact on Sino-US relations. Some Western observers, too, have labeled China's anti-trust probes as being anti-foreign in nature.

Letters

Ballpoints harm environment

From the Chinese press

TV dramas must not distort history

New vitality in peripheral diplomacy

In China's diplomacy, neighboring regions play a key role due to their geographical nearness and frequent interactions.

Japan's Nobel defenders of world peace

Many in Japan are waiting anxiously for Oct 10, the day the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize winner will be unveiled.

Beijing's steadfast support

A HIGH-POWERED DELEGATION OF BUSINESS leaders from Hong Kong began a three-day visit to Beijing on Monday. They were accorded a warm reception on their arrival. In his meeting with the delegation, President Xi Jinping reaffirmed continuity of the central government's Hong Kong policy and its support for advancing democracy in the special administrative region (SAR).