Mental health needs are an emergency

China has a complex history in the treatment of the mentally ill. In 1849, the first institution to treat the mentally ill in China was established by Western missionaries, and some principles instituted by one of them, Dr John G. Kerr, are still valid today. His principles are: mentally ill patients should not be blamed for their actions, they are not to be thrown into prisons but put in hospitals, and they should be treated as human beings, not animals. Western models of treatment, however, were gradually introduced in China only after the launching of reform and opening-up in the late 1970s.

Ferguson reveals US police's true colors

I was 9 when I began inheriting the wariness toward law enforcement that is ubiquitous within the black community. My mother gifted it to me in a ritual that's likely been repeated between mother and son since the first black foot pressed into American soil.

Letters

Need to reshape world order

From the Chinese press

Call to help vulnerable women

Cooperation in sight in Africa

The first-ever summit meeting between the United States and 50 African leaders held earlier this month in Washington has brought Africa to the forefront of US foreign policy.

Japan's elderly refuse to fade away

When does old age begin?

Crackdown on illegal hukou

A CRIMINAL RING SELLING THE QUOTAS OF Beijing hukou, or household registrations, was cracked in recent days with 16 offenders arrested or detained. It is not the first time that such an illegal business has been uncovered. The fact that managers of human resources in some State-owned enterprises are involved points to the abuse of such quotas.

Tangible interests fuel abuses

Hukou in metropolises are linked with core interests such as better education, medical care and social security, all of which are appealing to ordinary people; however, there are too high requirements for obtaining these hukou, especially as the populations in the metropolises are too big and need to be controlled. The demand is the root cause of illegal hukou trade and won't diminish unless reform unlinks hukou with these interests.

Cartoon

Don't panic at more bad realty news

Investors have been treated to a litany of bad news about the property market recently. China's National Bureau of Statistics reports that on average property prices in the country's 70 largest cities have fallen for three consecutive months and that in July price declines were recorded in 64 of the cities. In terms of gross floor area, residential property sales are down 9.4 percent year-on-year while housing starts are down 16.4 percent, the weakest data in at least five years.

How can US go on leading the world?

Eighteenth-century German military strategist Carl von Clausewitz defined war as the continuation of politics by different means, and, like ancient Chinese strategist Sun Tzu, believed that securing peace meant preparing for violent conflict. As the world becomes increasingly tumultuous - apparent in the revival of the military struggle in Ukraine, continued chaos in the Middle East and rising tensions in East Asia - such thinking could not be more relevant.

Letters

Rhetoric versus political reality