Report fuels worries Washington playing risky game with Taiwan

A Pentagon report on Tuesday plays into the hands of China hawks in the United States by whipping up the concerns about a possible attack on Taiwan by the Chinese mainland.

Development of vocational education should meet current industry needs

THE NUMBER OF APPLICANTS to vocational schools has dropped each year since 2009, while the estimated shortfall of technicians is 22 million nationwide this year. China Youth Daily comments:

Law must put age before beauty

WANG JIAJUAN, a deputy of the National People's Congress, the nation's top legislature, recently proposed to amend the Law on the Protection of Minors so as to prohibit cosmetic surgery on minors. Beijing Youth Daily comments:

Continued reform and opening-up of great significance

Editor's note: The connotations and conditions of the period of strategic opportunities to China has changed, and China needs to manage and control the uncertainties caused by a complex international environment, said Long Guoqiang, deputy head of the Development Research Center of the State Council, in a speech at a seminar in Beijing late last month. Excerpts:

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Asia fast turning into a sports hot spot

Editor's Note: Thanks to the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics, Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics and the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, Asia has become the new host of major sports events after Europe and North America. What has driven this shift? And what will be the impact of the sports events on the host countries' economic development? Two experts share their views on the issue with China Daily's Liu Jianna. Excerpts follow:

Border wall widens political divide in US

Editor's Note: The US House of Representatives controlled by the Democratic Party refuses to fund US President Donald Trump's $5.7 billion project to build a wall on the US-Mexico border in order to prevent illegal immigrants from crossing into the United States, leading to the longest shutdown of the government. What will be the consequences of the government shutdown on the US economy? And how will it affect US relations with its southern neighbors? Two experts share their views on the issue with China Daily's Pan Yixuan. Excerpts follow:

Digital society's biggest social good would be welfare for all

The internet has brought about radical changes to Chinese society in the past two decades. Content-wise, internet devices have been continually updated and upgraded, and internet apps have become socialized. In terms of form, the internet has changed from being institution-oriented to society-oriented, even individual-oriented. And social relations represented by the internet have changed from platform domination to shared governance, and joint construction.

Nothing arbitrary about death penalty for drug trafficking

Drug trafficking is a felony subject to the death penalty in the Chinese criminal code.

Opening-up remains right path for progress

In their latest round of talks early this month, China and the United States agreed to further negotiations to work out a deal that will hopefully help put an end to the current trade standoff.

Owning US government bonds like holding a ticking time bomb

THE SHUTDOWN of some departments of the US federal government has lasted for nearly a month, creating a record in terms of duration. Economic Information Daily comments:

Burden of raising children can be eased

A WORKING MOTHER IN DALIAN, Northeast China's Liaoning province, found her 9-month-old baby had a fever, so she applied for a day off to take care of it. The next day, the baby's fever had risen to 42 degrees Celsius, but when she applied for another day off her request was rejected. Beijing Youth Daily comments: