The travel rush at Spring Festival always makes headlines because it strikes a chord with almost everyone in this country. Going back home ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year's Eve for a family reunion after a year of work, no matter how far one is away, is a duty ingrained in the minds of most Chinese people.
Under the "America First" policy of US President Donald Trump, the flow of capital to real industry in the United States seems to be a long-term trend.
DURING A RECENT INSPECTION TOUR OF LUDIAN in Southwest China's Yunnan province, which was hit by a 6.5-magnitude earthquake in August 2014 that killed 615 people, Premier Li Keqiang, while talking with local residents, learned that one local laborer was owed 50,000 yuan ($7,274) by his company. Li was "angry" and criticized the company. Beijing News comments:
IN RESPONSE TO complaints by passengers at the doubling or even tripling of fares as Spring Festival draws near, Didi Chuxing, China's largest ride-sharing platform, announced on Monday that it will ban its drivers from collecting the "dispatching fee", a tip paid by passengers, during the holiday period. Beijing News commented on Wednesday:
THE FIRST MONTH of the Chinese Lunar New Year is always the busiest season of the year for rural wedding ceremonies, which some families spend decades of savings on. Beijing News commented on Wednesday:
President Donald Trump's often changing foreign policy positions and unorthodox diplomatic exchanges have made the United States an unpredictable partner in international affairs, especially in Sino-US relations and Pacific affairs.
Spring Festival, which falls on Saturday this year, is coming. In a few days, the festival will be celebrated with family reunions and parties.
As usual, the performance of their children in the final exams has dominated the emotions of their parents ahead of Spring Festival. The family atmosphere, parent-child relationship, consumption and even the kids' food are all closely related to their scores.
At the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, one key topic was the increasing importance of private rather than public capital in solving problems that don't respect national boundaries.
There can be little doubt that, like Taiwan, the South China Sea has the potential to become a wild card in Washington's strategic game with Beijing.
For Asian businesspeople who were expecting greater access to the US market, perhaps the best advice for the time being may be to heed the suggestion of Russian poet Alexander Pushkin for days of grief: "Merry days will come, believe."
A NEW FAMILY PLANNING POLICY was implemented last year, which, in principle, allows every couple to have two children. On Sunday, the National Health and Family Planning Commission announced that over 45 percent of the newborns that year were the second or third children in their family, which was around 30 percent before 2016. China Youth Daily comments: