Promising signs that peninsula stakeholders might work together

The Republic of Korea has reportedly suspended the rollout of a controversial US missile defense system on its soil after its President Moon Jae-in ordered an environment impact assessment.

Shadow cast on sunshine rule

Since it came into force on May 1, 2008, the regulation on government information disclosure has laid an institutional foundation for promoting government transparency, but various problems have also been exposed during its implementation, fueling calls for it to be revised.

Tougher punishments necessary to curb affordable housing profiteering

THE BEIJING COMMISSION OF HOUSING and Urban-Rural Development recently announced it will strengthen its efforts to curb the illegal activities that plague the capital's affordable housing programs. Beijing News comments:

Attempt to avert public supervision backfires

OFFICIALS IN HUXIAN COUNTY OF XI'AN, Shaanxi province, reportedly hired locals to stalk visiting journalists, whose real-time whereabouts, possible destinations and even their license plates were instantly reported to the local "work groups" using the instant-messaging app WeChat. Beijing News commented on Thursday:

Limits to free speech must be respected

HARVARD UNIVERSITY has rescinded admission offers to at least 10 students because they posted extremely offensive memes in a private message group on Facebook. Beijing Youth Daily comments:

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Anti-corruption drive gathers more steam

A number of corrupt officials have been punished in recent times either according to the law or the Party's discipline or both, which shows the Party's anti-corruption campaign since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China has gained in strength.

Delay in THAAD rollout may open door to reconciliation

A little over a week ago, four more anti-missile launchers for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system were secretly shipped by the United States to the Republic of Korea making its rollout imminent. However, the rollout could face months of delay due to a legitimate environmental evaluation ordered by newly elected ROK President Moon Jae-in.

Abide by cyber law to profit from market

The much-anticipated cybersecurity law that came into force on June 1 reflects China's determination to secure its cyberspace and protect Chinese citizens against data theft. Some Western observers, however, are worried that the new law targets foreign enterprises by "restricting the cross-border flow of information", which could "give Chinese companies an unfair advantage".

It's the planet, stupid, not China's global leadership

It was sad to hear US President Donald Trump's announcement last week to withdraw the United States from the Paris climate change agreement. And it's puzzling to see so many people interpreting it as the US ceding the global leadership to China.

US has no cause to be adversarial with China

As always, the US Department of Defense's 2017 report on military and security developments involving China carries some of the all-too-familiar biased interpretations of China's actions and intentions.

Partiality must not be allowed

Past experiences indicate that the more indifferent a society is to employment discrimination, the more rampant such kind of discrimination is.