Stocks surge on strong H1 results

Chinese stocks surged to the highest level in nearly 20 months on Friday, led by gains in shares of financial and resources companies as strong corporate earnings boosted investor confidence.

Outlook bright for China's oil giants

Analysts believe the outstanding performance of China's three major oil companies is expected to continue in the next six months, as oil prices surge and oil companies worldwide gradually recover from the sector's two-year crash.

IN BRIEF (Page 7)

Hopes of peninsula thaw need kindling with actions

For two centuries, that famous line by the English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley has offered numerous people in despair the hope that the dark hours will pass.

Documentary grabs attention

The six episodes of the Rule of law in China, a prime time documentary TV series broadcast by China's Central Television, covering the legislature, governance, jurisdiction and law-abiding citizens, showcased the achievements that have been made since 2012 in establishing the rule of law in the country.

Authorities must balance privacy and public health protection

FIFTEEN STUDENTS FROM A CHARITY SCHOOL in Linfen, North China's Shanxi province, will enter college this fall. The students all have HIV but that will not be revealed to the other students at the college. Beijing Youth Daily comments:

Lights of fireflies being extinguished

A LOCAL ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION GROUP has called on people to boycott a firefly theme park in Beijing's Fangshan district, as it says most of the supposedly "free-range" fireflies in the park were caught in the wild. Beijing News commented on Thursday:

Drummer's drink choice exposes generation gaps

ZHAO MINGYI, the drummer in the rock 'n' roll band Black Panther, was photographed drinking tea, and many marveled that "our rock star since childhood is entering his middle age". The WeChat media World Insight comments:

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High-speed train to prosperity for SE Asia

One after another, Southeast Asian countries are joining hands with China to build high-speed railways. The latest such project is a 688-kilometer high-speed railway along the eastern coast of Malaysia, for which the groundbreaking ceremony was held on Aug 10. Last week, media reports said China and Thailand will sign a contract on a railway project linking Kunming, capital of Southwestern China's Yunnan province, and Bangkok during Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha's official visit to China next month. And work on the project is expected to start in October.

A tale of 22 women preyed on by Japan army

Twenty Two has already set many records for a documentary film. When the film's financer withdrew because its failure was almost "predictable", the director took the baton. When the filmmakers couldn't pay the distribution and publicity expenses, 32,099 people crowdfunded it through the internet. When it was not faring well on the cinema circuit, netizens "crowdfunded" it again, making it the fourth-most popular summer release, and raising its box office revenue to about 150 million yuan ($22.51 million) in 10 days.

Opportunity for easing peninsula tension

The annual joint military exercises between the United States and the Republic of Korea have always been seen with suspicion and criticized by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The 10-day Ulchi Freedom Guardian drills, which ROK President Moon Jae-in described as "defensive in nature", have been dismissed by Pyongyang as a "reckless" rehearsal for invasion amid rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula.