Poetry is the surprising star of a TV show

To many people's surprise, one of the most popular recent TV reality shows in China has been Chinese Poetry Conference, a classical Chinese poetry competition devoid of any TV stars. What makes the show's popularity head-scratching is that Chinese classical poetry gives many people a headache during their school days.

ROK conglomerate will damage its business if it agrees to missile deal

The Republic of Korea's retail giant Lotte Group is now at the center of the political storm raging between the ROK and China over the former's decision to deploy a US missile defense system.

Local officials' chokehold must end for cleaner air

Despite the central government's stringent rules on pollution control and emissions, improvement in air quality nationwide continues to fall short of public expectations, especially in the north of the country which is often smothered by heavy smog.

Policy push for innovation

The Ministry of Education recently issued a document stipulating that students admitted to universities can apply for a suspension if they start a business.

Rules required to regulate rising car-sharing business

CAR-SHARING SERVICES provided by companies such as Gofun Chuxing launched by Beijing Shouqi Group and Car2go under the automotive giant Daimler AG, are gaining popularity among young people in mega cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. Beijing News commented on Monday:

Enforce data protection responsibilities

PERSONAL INFORMATION - such as an ID number, phone and travel records - is made available to anybody who can provide a smartphone number and who is willing to pay a few hundred yuan in the underground information market. Beijing News comments:

Homework is for children, not parents

THE SECOND semester of the school year started on Monday, which means that parents will once again be burdened with homework as doing some of their children's homework has become an obligation of the parents. Guangzhou Daily commented on Monday:

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Threat of trade war only undermines US

The United States registered 20 anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation cases against China involving $3.7 billion in 2016, according to statistics from the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.

Carrier group patrols pose new regional test

US warships have begun a fresh round of "freedom of navigation" patrols in the South China Sea. Despite China's strong opposition, the USS Carl Vinson carrier strike group began what are described by the US navy as "routine operations" in the waters on Saturday.

Think tanks as supplement to policymaking

Chinese think tanks, be they State-sponsored or private, are inching forward in the global intellectual race. Nine of these made it to the world's top 175 think-tank list prepared recently by the Lauder Institute of University of Pennsylvania. The university report says the United States has the largest number of think tanks (1,835) and China the second largest (435).

China can help boost European Union's economic growth

Many European leaders have run out of words to describe the situation in the European Union. But there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel.