Ambulance blocker should be punished

AFTER THE VIDEO of an off-road vehicle deliberately and repeatedly blocking an ambulance in Harbin, capital city of Heilongjiang province, Northeast China, was posted on the Internet, the driver was detained by local police. He later apologized to the patient and relatives. The Peninsula Metropolis Daily offered this comment on Nov 22:

Hot words

Medium to high speed growth

Cartoon

Keep climate change from impoverishing millions

The eyes of the world are now on Paris, where later this month heads of state and government will gather to open negotiations on a new global agreement on climate change. At this critical moment, one essential point must not be lost: climate change represents a clear, near-term threat to the world's efforts to end poverty.

A huge burden for men seeking marriage

Caili, or the betrothal gift a man usually gives to the bride's family, has become a heavy financial burden for men who want to get married. A court in Liu'an, East China's Anhui province, recently heard a case for returning the gift money of 120,000 yuan ($18,784) to a man's parents after he committed suicide. The young man in Houqiu, an impoverished county in Anhui province, ended his life by jumping off a building in February after paying the caili to his betrothed's family.

New Silk Road will bolster Asia-Europe ties

The European Union faced serious economic challenges over the past few years, but the majority of the Central and Eastern European countries have now returned to their high growth patterns after the financial crisis, compared with the more developed western EU member states.

Tourism boom can't hide Japan's need for reforms

A friend is planning to tour Kyoto, Osaka and other places in the following two weeks. To her surprise, there are no rooms available in Kyoto.

Premier's proposal clarifies stand on South China Sea

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's five-point proposal on the South China Sea is the country's latest effort and commitment to maintain peace and stability in the waters.

Funds for equal education

Although slowing growth in fiscal revenues as a result of the country's economic slowdown has made it difficult to significantly increase public expenditure on education, the importance of equal opportunities in basic education justifies such a move.

Double standard on terrorism is symptomatic of West's view

ON NOV 18, the French magazine Le Nouvel Observateur (The New Observer) published an article on its website authored by staff writer Ursula Gauthier, which blamed the Chinese government's policies in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region for terrorist attacks in China. That's a typical example of the West's double standard, which is hindering global efforts to fight terrorism, says an editorial in the Chinese edition of Global Times:

Vacant affordable housing shames local leaders

THE NATIONAL AUDIT Office recently disclosed that over 30,000 affordable houses in Guiyang, Southwest China's Guizhou province, have been uninhabited for two years because there is no water or electricity supply or road link. The local officials responsible for this waste of resources should be held accountable, says Beijing News:

Primary school teachers should get higher pay

DUE TO A GENDER imbalance among local primary school teachers, the educational authorities in Southeast China's Fujian province offered 500 male high school graduates free college education to become teachers. This is not a good solution to the gender imbalance among primary school teachers, says Southern Metropolis Daily: