Zhu Yuan

The importance of people-first principle

The second edition of Huang Wanli's biography, Lonely Journey Along the River, was published just before Spring Festival.

Chen Weihua

Revealing tale of two Washingtons

During my two trips to Seattle, Washington, I was often reminded by local government officials and business leaders that this Washington is not "the other Washington".

Op Rana

There is more to Iran than meets the eye

The Arab League has withdrawn its observer mission from Syria because the violence in the country has not subsided. The West puts the blame squarely on the Bashar al-Assad government.

Chen Weihua

Luxury shoppers ring alarm bells

Living in New York, I have the great pleasure of having Chinese friends come from afar to visit. Yet instead of seeing the real jewels of New York, such as St. Patrick's Cathedral, the Broadway musicals, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge and jazz in the West Village, they are desperate to visit the Fifth Avenue and Woodbury Common outlets, about an hour's drive from Manhattan, where some 200 discount luxury goods stores are located. And it is not just the women it's also the men.

Zhu Yuan

Individual efforts count in social progress

Chinese scholar Xiong Peiyun's new book, You The Freedom (Ziyou Zai Gaochu), elaborates on how an individual can live a better life by adopting a positive attitude toward life. "Making the best use of the freedom you have is as important as the efforts to strive for the freedom you want," is what the author said in a recent interview.

Chen Weihua

Path of cooperation over confrontation

For the past week, I have seen Americans painting starkly different blueprints for relations between China and the United States.

OP Rana

Will Durban end the fight against climate change?

Greenpeace International released a report on Nov 22, saying a handful of multinational corporations are "exerting undue influence" on the political process in the United States and Canada and other pivotal countries to delay global action on climate change.

Chen Weihua

Ingratitude is all too common unfortunately

Thursday is the annual Thanksgiving holiday in the United States. This traditional American festival is a time for people to gather for family reunions, carve a big oven-roasted turkey and go shopping on what are known here as Black Friday and Cyber Monday. More importantly, it is a time for people to express thanks to family and friends.

Liu Shinan

Prize honors devotion to medical science

When the US-based Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation announced it was honoring Chinese pharmacologist Tu Youyou last weekend, some Chinese netizens said it reflected poorly on China's top academic institutions.

Xu Xiaomin

Tyranny of the majority rampant online

We should question this expression of personal opinion and the prevalence of group assaults. What we need is real, independent critical thinking instead of an Internet mob.