Are Westerners in China more socially virtuous than Chinese?

Is it true that westerners have developed a stronger sense of civic duty while Chinese have "become inured to petty violations of the country's rules and regulations."

Chinese youth: Rise of a new culture

From what Westerners described a "Revolutionary China" to a "Socialist Market Economy," China has gone a long way to achieve what it now calls a modernized society. A crucial aspect of this reformed society is the rise of a new youth culture.

China's political reform is done gradually on many fronts

My article published on April 19, Political reform paves way for economic growth, aroused some debate among our readers, and one critique is that the language is a bit outdated, talking only about the changes from the late 1970s to 2000. What about the recent decade?

It isn't personal, except when it is

I began writing op-eds for newspapers in 2003. What I can't abide and what seems to be aggravated by the Internet are increasing attacks upon individuals rather than their ideas.

Disregard university rankings

Many things can be ranked but universities should not be among them. As the stakes have become too high for colleges to ignore their rankings, it might not long before we see a collusion scandal break out.

Selling naming rights can be a win-win

Although perhaps the partnership between Jeanswest Clothing and Tsinghua University has raised eyebrows because the retail business is seemingly incongruous with a university environment, on the face of it, there doesn't seem to be an obvious ethical dilemma.

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People should choose when to retire

April's census data revealed that people above the age of 60 now represent 13.3% of China's total population. While good suggestions have been made to solve the ageing problem, the outdated mandatory retirement policy is not being fully addressed.

Baijiu can be a bottle of fun at parties

I would like to suggest an entry to the "things to do before you die" list. One word. Six letters, four of which are vowels. Baijiu (bye chew, but with a "J") is what I call Chinese Moonshine or Chinese Firewater.

New drunk driving law shouldn't be watered down

Making drunk drivers understand that they will be subject to criminal penalties regardless of whether they have an accident or not, will make everyone more responsible about insisting that people who have had too much to drink, not drive.

Biking good to reduce gas emission

China used to be a real bicycle kingdom. Many foreigners, especially those from Nordic countries were impressed when they visited Beijing or Shanghai in the 1980s and 1990s.

Have Guangzhou's youth found Shangri-La?

There is a widely circulated story in the Chinese press this week about the results of a survey conducted in April by the Guangzhou-based, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Macao Youth Research Institute. But is that an accurate account of what the survey found?