Precautionary move that puts people's safety first

To guard against potential risks, China's civilian aviation authority ordered all Chinese airlines to indefinitely ground their Boeing 737 Max 8 planes on Monday. The decision, made after one of the aircraft operated by Ethiopian Airlines crashed on Sunday killing all on board, is a necessary and reasonable move as China's airlines operate 90 of the aircraft.

Sunday's disaster happened shortly after the plane took off from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital. The aircraft was new and the weather was clear at the time but the pilots reportedly tried to return to the airport before the plane went into a fatal nose-dive killing all 157 passengers and crew on board. Eight Chinese nationals, including one from Hong Kong, were among the victims.

We extend our condolences to the families of the deceased.