Political whirlwind in the ROK shows its ties with Japan are shaky

The Republic of Korea is set to have a presidential election, likely in early May, thanks to the country's Constitutional Court stripping Park Geun-hye of her presidential powers on Friday.

Scientific solutions sought to eliminate smog

WHILE ATTENDING A PANEL DISCUSSION of the Shaanxi delegation during the fifth plenary session of the 12th National People's Congress on Thursday, Premier Li Keqiang vowed to reward research teams that are capable of unveiling the root causes of smog and offering viable solutions to curb airborne pollution. Beijing News commented on Saturday:

Zombie enterprises parasites that need to be eradicated

NING JIZHE, vice-minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic planner, pledged on Friday to make extra efforts to deal with consistently loss-making, debt-laden State-owned enterprises, so-called zombie enterprises. Beijing News commented on Friday:

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UN will help consign poverty to history

An ambitious goal of China's 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20), which entered its second year, is to eliminate extreme poverty by 2020. The progress is well on track, as 10 million people had been lifted out of poverty by the end of 2016. This success is very encouraging as it is an indication of China's continued contribution to global development goals.

Tackling the heavy air pollution problem

Editor's note: With the environment being one of most important issues on the agenda at the ongoing annual sessions of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference National Committee, the country's top political advisory body, Hu Jingnan and Cai Fahe from the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, and Gong Zhengyu from the China National Environmental Monitoring Center, present their views on how to control air pollution.

Popularity of virtual payments means cashless society will soon be a reality

AT THE ONGOING FIFTH PLENARY SESSION of the 12th National People's Congress, Yu Chun, a deputy from Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, called for more efforts to establish a cash-free society. Thepaper.cn commented on Saturday:

Rights reports expose US' own faults

United States citizens own the largest number of private guns in the world. Last year, 31 percent of the US population owned more than 357 million guns, according to US media reports. Every year, more than 30,000 people are shot, accidentally killed or commit suicides with guns, and over 200,000 people are wounded in shootings.

Bike-sharing business needs govt support

Bicycle-sharing companies have put more than 200,000 yellow and orange bicycles into service in Beijing in the past month. To use a bike for 1 yuan ($0.15) per hour, you have to download the app of any of the companies, pay a few hundred yuan as refundable deposit, and scan the code on a bike to unlock or lock it.

Sex education textbooks not a matter of jest

"O boy, you are growing taller", a middle-aged woman tells a boy, adding: "Now pull down your pants, and lemme see if your member is growing too?"

Time for a change to one-size-fits-all retirement policy

There were many takeaways for Chinese observing the 2016 US presidential election. One was the apparent energy exhibited by the three candidates Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail, all above or approaching the age of 70.

Govt determined to make skies blue again

After the severe smog that repeatedly blighted Beijing over the winter, blue sky and clean air have accompanied the ongoing sessions of China's top legislature and political advisory body, where one of the hot issues is how to ensure people can enjoy more blue-sky days throughout the country.