Second-child policy will restore social balance

The change in the family planning policy, which allows couples across China to have two children, is one of the biggest policy developments in the past five years. The comprehensive reforms, which includes the easing of the one-child policy, were unveiled at the Third Plenum of the 18th Communist Party of China Central Committee in 2013.

Pension reform to benefit senior citizens

Pensions not only help senior citizens lead a decent life, but also can promote re-employment. Since pensions are important public goods, especially in an aging society, it is important to reduce the risks associated with them by, among other things, maintaining a substantial basic pension fund and further strengthening the pension system.

Mainland cities could learn from HK plan for low-income housing

Hong Kong is well-known for its exorbitant housing prices and rents as well as cramped living spaces. With a severe shortage in the housing supply, high and ever-rising rents, low-income families in the city that do not own their own properties or enjoy public housing have no choice but to live in tiny subdivided apartments.

Withdrawal of its troops is India's best recourse

The trespassing in Chinese territory by Indian troops has now dragged into a second month. The longer they remain on the Chinese side of the long-demarcated and mutually recognized Sikkim section of the border, the less room there will be for peacefully ending the crisis.

No tolerance to insults

Despite his ensuing apology for the derogatory remarks he made about China in videos posted on his Instagram account, Chelsea defender Kenedy was heckled and jeered by Chinese soccer fans during the Blues' pre-season friendly against Arsenal in Beijing.

Reduced prices of 36 pharmaceutical drugs benefit makers and patients

ON TUESDAY, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security announced that after its negotiations with the manufacturers of 44 pharmaceutical drugs, the prices of 36 of them had been cut and put into the list covered by the medical insurance fund. Xkb.com.cn comments:

Sleeping capsules are laid to rest

EARLIER THIS MONTH, some companies installed "shared sleeping capsules" in office buildings in Beijing and Shanghai, which office workers could rent for a nap during their lunchtime breaks. Yet the local authorities in both municipalities have shut them down, citing fire hazards and other reasons. China Youth Daily comments:

Friendly tone of micro blogs takes mayor to people

ZHAO HUI is the mayor of Deyang, a city in Southwest China's Sichuan province. On Wednesday, he opened a micro blog account under his real name to interact with the public. China.com.cn comments:

Cartoon

Xi's diplomacy promotes inclusiveness

President Xi Jinping made some important remarks at the recent G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, emphasizing the need to stay committed to building an open global economy, fostering new sources of growth for the world economy, and working together to promote inclusive and interconnected growth for shared prosperity and building a global community of shared destiny.

PLA must improve its combat ability

Ninety years ago, on August 1, just after bloody battles during the Northern Expedition (1926-28), the Communist Party of China initiated the Nanchang Uprising in 1927 to counter the anti-communist purges by the Kuomintang. That was the beginning of the CPC's efforts to build an army aimed at serving the people, and establish a government of the people and for the people.

Japan's aging society prompts redefinition of the term 'elderly'

An early advocate of healthy living to stave off aging-related illnesses, Shigeaki Hinohara, a Japanese doctor, saw patients until just months before bidding farewell to this world at the age of 105 on Tuesday. In 1954, Hinohara introduced comprehensive annual physical tests, part of the preventive medical system said to contribute to Japanese people's longevity.