Independent Scotland will be a blow to UK

Will Scotland become an independent country? We will know the answer to the question by this weekend. Although opinion polls show a high percent of Scottish people favoring a "yes" vote, the ultimate result of the referendum remains uncertain, especially because influential British political figures, including Prime Minister David Cameron and Labour Party chief Ed Miliband, have rushed to Scotland to rally support for a "no" vote.

The elderly should not tell others to vacate seats

It is saddening to read reports on how senior citizens' request for seats in public transport vehicles have led to quarrels and even scuffles with younger people. If people had even the least "respect for the elderly and love for the young", or showed some mutual understanding, such sorry incidents could have been avoided.

Letters

US violates military aviation law

From the Chinese press

Supervision needed for food safety

Building strong bilateral foundations

Notwithstanding the unresolved border issue, India and China appear to be making good progress in improving their mutual understanding. People-to-people communications as well as diplomacy have been steadily increasing for some time now.

Can Japanese women save Abenomics?

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe included five women in his second Cabinet nine days before the World Assembly for Women convened in Tokyo on Friday.

Business of degree certificates

THE SALE OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT DEGREES BY universities and the purchase of them by officials have long been an open secret. Such programs have been a source of revenue for universities and a way for officials to obtain unearned academic credentials.

Course of treatment takes effect

EMBA courses have long been blamed as a platform for businesspersons and officials to form alliances and trade with power. As officials are no longer signing up for the courses, business people would do better to concentrate on taking courses themselves to improve the performance of their companies. Those institutions that provide EMBA courses also need to raise the quality of their courses as they will now need to compete for students. Let's hope the EMBA courses can be purified.

Cartoon

Stronger chain of collaboration

"An apple a day keeps the doctor away", is an English idiom that encourages people to eat fresh fruit and vegetables to stay healthy. But how do you know if that apple is really healthy or whether it might send you to hospital with a dose of poison from the chemicals it contains?

China and EU can share experiences

The European Union's new leadership structure has largely taken shape after prolonged months of bargaining, consultations and elections, and, in November, Jean-Claude Juncker is due to take office as the head of the European Commission, the EU's executive arm.

Fight for food safety

THE SHOCKWAVES CAUSED BY THE PROBLEMATIC cooking oil recycled from kitchen waste in Taiwan have yet to create ripples on the mainland although it has been revealed that some food made with such oil may have crossed the Straits. Yet, there is no reason for consumers on the mainland to be optimistic about the food safety situation and neither is there any reason for watchdogs to relax their vigilance against substandard or unsafe food products.