A British story that raises hope amid the gloom

Nowadays, there are hazards to looking for signs of hope in the British economy. As the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development forecast for 2018 and beyond shows, a cloud of gloom has descended on the United Kingdom.

Thaw of border talks offers glimmer of hope

It is good that the talks between the two Koreas on Tuesday at the border truce village of Panmunjom appeared amicable and constructive, with both delegations seemingly intent on making the meeting a success, even making quips about the winter weather and their frosty relations.

'Taiwan identity' Chinese

According to a recent poll conducted by Taiwan's CommonWealth magazine, young people's sense of a "Taiwan identity" has hit a new low over the past five years, with more identifying as Chinese.

National awards now encourage dedication to the scientific spirit

TWO CHINESE SCIENTISTS, explosives expert Wang Zeshan and virologist Hou Yunde, won China's top science award on Monday for their outstanding contributions to scientific and technological innovation. In all, 271 projects and nine scientists were honored with national prizes at the ceremony, the first of its kind after China initiated reform of its science and technology awards system in May. Beijing News commented on Tuesday:

Growing cities are hollowing out provinces

THE GOVERNMENTS of Wuxi in Jiangsu province, and Changsha, capital of Hunan province, announced that their GDP last year exceeded 1 trillion yuan ($154 billion). Beijing News commented on Tuesday:

Students who play mobile games are wasting their time

A RECENT SURVEY of 513 students from 84 colleges nationwide found that 34.89 percent of them spend a lot of time playing games on their smartphones, and 42.69 percent play occasionally. Only 18.13 percent responded they never play mobile games. China Youth Daily comments:

Hot words

Accountability for poverty alleviation

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China, France to jointly boost multilateralism

The many "firsts" of French President Emmanuel Macron's three-day state visit to China, which began on Monday, already speak of the importance that both countries attach to bilateral relations.

Be ready to address risks

In his remarks at the opening of a workshop attended by newly elected members and alternate members of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, as well as provincial-and ministerial-level officials on Friday, General Secretary Xi Jinping gave an in-depth analysis of the internal and external situations, and urged the attendees to increase their vigilance to prevent risks and challenges.

Lake chief system clarifies who has duty of protection

THE CENTRAL AUTHORITIES have vowed to establish a lake chief system before the end of this year to further strengthen the protection of the country's water resources. Guangming Daily commented on Monday:

Companies must respect workers' rights

AN ENTERPRISE IN ZHUHAI, South China's Guangdong province, was fined 190,500 yuan ($29,365) by the local labor department because it required 1,905 workers to work too many extra hours. Legal Daily comments: