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From the chinese press

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-10-21 07:51

Global grain reserve needed

Global corn prices have increased by 14.5 percent this month after a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) report said the country's corn production would drop. The highest increase in corn prices in 37 years has caused panic across the world, says an article on www.china.com.cn. Excerpts:

For a couple of months, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and USDA both had been claiming corn production would increase this year. But just before the harvest season, USDA said the yield would instead drop, sending the global corn market in a tizzy. This is understandable because the US accounts for up to 60 percent of the global corn exports and controls the world corn market in more ways than one.

Recently China, another big corn producing and consuming country, imported about 61,000 tons of US corn. This is the first time in 15 years that China has made such a huge purchase of corn.

Moreover, the demand for corn in the US will increase, too, this year. The reason: the US government has stipulated that ethanol should make up a greater percentage of the fuel sold in the market.

Some people say the US is trying to make the best of a bad situation to make more money. Wheat and soybean prices are already up. Now the US wants to make a killing by artificially raising corn prices. No wonder FAO and USDA forecasts have been changing from time to time.

Such a situation will force countries that depend heavily on imports for food to produce more grains, causing further fluctuations in global grain prices. A better solution, as suggested by people with foresight, would be to establish global grain reserves to reduce the impact of climate change on agriculture.

Where will such arrogance end?

A youth driving a car knocked down two girls in front of a supermarket near Hebei University and drove away arrogantly after telling university security guards who tried to stop him that his "father is Li Gang", says an article in Beijing News. Excerpts:

The son of Li Gang, deputy director of a public security sub-bureau in Baoding, Hebei province, not only knocked down two girls in the university, but also had the audacity to drive his car to a dormitory to pick up his girlfriend. He deserves the severest punishment for his inhuman and arrogant act, especially because the words he shouted - "my father is Li Gang" - made a mockery of law.

The media have reported a series of abnormal incidents on campuses. Perhaps the knocking down of the two girls is the most tragic of them, for it shows that power and money have changed the outlook of the young generation, especially the children of the rich and powerful.

Some children of government officials seem to have inherited their cruelty and arrogance from their parents. Or else, how can a youth drive away after knocking down two human beings? Had the youth's father set a good example for his son to emulate, he would have got down from his car and helped the victims get medical aid.