Grief over Notre Dame shows value of cultural heritage

While there are no doubt exceptions, most people are saddened by the misfortune that befell Notre Dame Cathedral on Monday evening.

Kids should be encouraged to explore wonders of books

Many people around the world know of an old Spanish knight tilting at windmills and the blood of guilt that a Scottish noblewoman cannot wipe from her hands. Although written with quills hundreds of years ago such scenes still speak to us today amid the incessant barrage of instantly forgettable images and text.

Resettlement housing must be fit for purpose - namely living in

ACCORDING TO MEDIA REPORTS, newly built houses for some relocated residents in Mianchi county, Henan province, Sangzhi county, Hunan province, and other places have quality problems that may pose safety risks to the occupants. Li Sihui, a media commentator at Guangming Daily, says:

Ivory trade no longer elephant in corner

AT A NEWS CONFERENCE ON MONDAY, the General Administration of Customs said that it had confiscated 7.48 tons of ivory and smashed a smuggling chain. China Daily writer Zhang Zhouxiang comments:

Pompeo's remarks show Washington has lost the plot

Editor's note: In his interview with local media on Saturday, Xu Bu, China's ambassador to Chile, rebuked US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for the views he expressed on China during his visit to Santiago the day before. Excerpts:

Hot words: Rural elementary and secondary school chief teachers

乡村中小学首席教师 (xiāngcūn zhōngxiǎoxué shǒuxí jiàoshī)

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Latin America not the US' backyard

China and Latin American countries are becoming increasingly linked through trade and investment. China is the second-biggest trade partner of the region - the United States being the biggest.

Cross-Straits ties haven't reached a crisis point

Tensions and security risks may be rising across the Taiwan-Straits, but the situation cannot be called a crisis. Since taking office in 2016, the island's leader Tsai Ing-wen has refused to acknowledge the 1992 Consensus that there is only one China and, instead, pursued the "Taiwan independence" line, which has deteriorated cross-Straits relations.

China and India can propel global growth

On the eve of the annual spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank - which saw finance ministers and central bankers from across the world gathering in Washington on April 12-14 - the IMF World Economic Outlook 2019 projected a sharp decline in the growth rates of 70 percent of the economies including the advanced G7 economies, except Japan.

Excessive banners simply send the wrong message

Editor's note: Some grassroots civil servants from Jiangsu province told the Xinhua Daily Telegraph that almost every government department requires them to hang banners on public sites, and that there are not enough lamp posts and railings along the main roads on which to hang the slogans in some small cities. China Daily reporter Li Yang comments:

A fine kettle of fish saving species

ON SATURDAY, 700 Chinese sturgeons raised at a breeding center were released into the Yangtze River, in an attempt to boost the population of this endangered species. China Daily writer Zhang Zhouxiang comments: