Rules to curb campus lending all bark, no bite

THAT A COLLEGE student in Xiamen, East China's Fujian province, committed suicide recently because of the threats she received from lenders when she was unable to pay 570,000 yuan ($83,000) she owed, exposes the lack of supervision over the campus loan industry. Beijing News comments:

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US, DPRK must hold talks before it's too late

Among the possible, but the least desirable, responses to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's nuclear and missile tests (although its last one on Sunday was a failure) could be a preemptive strike by the United States. There is no guarantee, though, that the presumed US strike would be precise enough to wipe out all nuclear facilities in the DPRK before Pyongyang launches a nuclear attack in retaliation.

Reducing poverty, raising growth in Africa

About three decades ago China's fight against poverty was as daunting as that faced by Malawi. Thirty years on China has not only lifted about 700 million people out of poverty but also has become the world's second-largest economy while a large number of Malawians still live in poverty and the overall economic growth of most African countries still lags behind that of other regions.

Much ado about a fragrant flower

Editor's note: Many Chinese people believe admiring cherry blossom is unpatriotic because it is closely associated with Japanese militarism. Two experts share their views on the subject with China Daily's Wu Zheyu:

EU should cash in on opportunities, not look at problems

China-EU relations are expected to get a boost when Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, holds the annual political and strategic dialogue with Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi on Wednesday. Brussels has said the meeting will pave the way for the bilateral summit, the date for which will be announced soon.

War can be avoided, but further restraint needed

If ordering the missile strike on Syrian targets, dropping the "mother of all bombs" in Afghanistan, and assembling a war-ready armada off the Korean Peninsula were all meant to convey Donald Trump's message that things are different with him in the White House, what happened Saturday might well be Kim Jong-un's way of saying "message received".

Central environmental inspections matter

The central environmental inspection teams that were dispatched recently have uncovered a range of problems nationwide, such as the fabrication of air quality monitoring data in Shaanxi province, the weak air pollution control in Beijing and disguised transformation of fines for polluters into fees to pollute, and lax control of pollution from ships in Chongqing municipality and some pollutants being directly discharged into the Yangtze River.

Preemptive measures required so that Xiongan does not become a megacity

AFTER THE ANNOUNCEMENT on April 1 of the planned development of Xiongan New Area, a special zone about 100 kilometers south of Beijing which will span Xiongxian, Rongcheng and Anxin counties in North China's Hebei province, concerns were raised that the new area might eventually grow to be a megacity like Shanghai and Shenzhen. Beijing News commented on Saturday:

Lack of supervision behind police misdeeds

A FORMER SENIOR OFFICER of the local police bureau in Luyi county, Central China's Henan province, is to be held criminally accountable along with two of his colleagues on charges of abusing their power and accepting bribes. Some 29 others also face disciplinary penalties. Legal Daily commented on Saturday:

Live streaming of law enforcement has pros and cons

THE TRAFFIC POLICE in Qingdao, East China's Shandong province, recently set a precedent by live streaming the detention of five drivers on suspicion of drunken driving, which attracted more than 70,000 online viewers across the country. Beijing News commented on Saturday:

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