Liu Shinan
Liu Shinan is China Daily's assistant editor-in-chief. He writes commentaries on social and cultural issues.
Jaywalkers give up right to privacy
[2006-05-10 06:00]As uncivilized habits like spitting and jaywalking have taken decades or centuries to evolve, it may take a very long period of time, though not necessarily decades or centuries, to completely change them.
Pick up the habit of reading books
[2006-04-26 06:35]A nationwide survey found that 51.8 per cent of Chinese people who can read do not read any books at all. And this percentage has been increasing for the past five years.
Unspoken reason for admin fees
[2006-04-19 06:29]It is logical and reasonable: The petroleum price hike prompted the cost of running a taxi to soar; hence taxi fares need to be raised. Taxi passengers will have to pay more. That doesn't sound unfair the person who enjoys the service should pay for the changing cost of producing that service. Surveys found, however, that 80 per cent of urban citizens oppose the authorities' plan to raise taxi fares. This is only too predictable. Nobody would like to spend more except those who can get 100 per cent reimbursement from somewhere.
Police entitled to defend themselves
[2006-04-12 06:01]A top official of Guangzhou municipality urged the city's police officers to "have the courage to fire" at armed robbers who are threatening the life of a citizen or police officer.
Bureaucratic buck passing stops here
[2006-04-05 06:44]The plight of a former national sports champion has aroused widespread concern recently.
Coupon reminder of hungry days
[2006-03-01 05:47]A special exhibition is currently being held in Beijing. On display are a variety of commodity ration coupons used in China during the time of the planned economy, which ran from the early 1950s to the mid-1980s.
Severely punish those who wilfully break laws
[2006-02-22 06:04]Traffic police in Beijing have tightened up road patrols to crack down on motorists who deliberately hide their licence plates. The move was in response to the recent rise in the number of such misdeeds. Many car drivers took off the rear licence plate or covered it with mud or graffiti to escape speed-monitoring cameras.
Achieve both efficiency and fairness
[2006-02-15 06:38]The government has eventually admitted that the wealth disparity between China's rich and poor populations has reached an unreasonably large extent.
'Fair-price' hospitals won't solve the disorder
[2006-02-08 06:33]As part of its efforts to "build harmonious society," the government has taken initiatives to establish "fair-price hospitals."
Maintain traditions of festivals
[2006-02-06 06:24]At midnight on Lunar New Year's Eve, I stood on the balcony of my 11th floor apartment in Beijing and watched colourful fireworks rocket into the night sky from behind every building I could see. Deafening explosions swept across the city.
End of ban lights fuse of festive fun
[2006-01-25 06:04]Beijing's ban on fireworks has finally been lifted.
Chunyun tests gov't ability to administer
[2006-01-18 06:24]"Chunyun" has become a very special word in the modern Chinese vocabulary. The word, literally meaning "spring transportation," has many implications. For people that work away from their hometown, it refers to the happiness of reuniting with loved ones and the bitterness of battling for a train ticket; for railway staff it represents 40 days of arduous work; for scalpers it suggests a busy season of business; for the police it implies a war against theft and luggage containing inflammable materials; for the government it is a test of administrative ability.
