Even though the Republic of Korea's presidential election is just one day away, the candidates are still debating security matters rather than economic recovery and employment, because the winner will have the tough job of dealing with the security jigsaw on the Korean Peninsula.
The cost of living in Asian cities generally increased last year, with Singapore remaining at the top for the fourth consecutive year. But exchange rate volatility and resurgent commodity prices, rather than productivity gains, were responsible for the increase.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has waited for the right time to show his hand. And the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, by test-firing missiles and threatening to conduct another nuclear test, has given Abe the ruse.
Statistics can be a blur, but recently one piece of data stood out like a beacon. According to World Bank statistics, China now has fewer people living below the poverty line than the United States.
Why do Western commentators look at China's Belt and Road Initiative with Cold War prejudice, calling it a modern-day version of the US-initiated Marshall Plan for rebuilding European economies after World War II, or the 19th century Great Game, in which Britain and Russia battled for control in Central Asia?
Many regard the defeat of tai chi master Wei Lei at the hands of mixed martial arts fighter Xu Xiaodong in 20 seconds in a contest in Chengdu, Sichuan province, last week as a humiliation for tai chi despite the outspoken Xu saying his intention was to challenge "fake masters", not Chinese martial arts or kung fu.
News that space experts from Europe and China are to discuss collaboration on a manned "Moon Village" as a launch pad for potential missions to Mars offers a colorful symbol of a wider growing relationship between the two sides.
During this week's meeting of the chief negotiators for the 11 countries remaining in the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, which was held in Toronto, Canada, on Tuesday and Wednesday, it became clear that Japan is keen to take over the helm relinquished by the United States, and it is pushing hard for the deal to be executed on time.
According to a recent report published by the National Bureau of Statistics, China had 281.71 million migrant workers by the end of 2016, an increase of 1.5 percent from the previous year's figure.
BEIJING HAS INTRODUCED NEW MEASURES to cool its real estate market. At least eight banks have raised their mortgage interest rates, and five no longer accept personal applications for loans if their pledges are commercial real estate. The Mirror, a Beijing-based newspaper, comments:
WITH THE PRICE OF GARLIC SPROUTS plummeting due to oversupply, some farmers in Henan province have reportedly discarded their harvest of garlic sprouts, a popular ingredient in many Chinese dishes. Beijing Youth Daily commented on Thursday:
SOME AIR TICKET agents and airlines charge high fees, up to 80 percent of the ticket price, if a consumer seeks a refund for a ticket they want to cancel. Some will even not accept claims for discounted tickets. Beijing Youth Daily comments:
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Raymond Zhou
Op Rana
Berlin Fang
Zhu Yuan
Huang Xiangyang
Chen Weihua
