Chinese hospitals scare Indians

India has many free or charitable medical institutions that can cater to the poor. Is it the lack of such institutions that one now finds many with illness in China begging on streets or is it the scariness of Chinese treatment that makes them run away?

Smile, Darn Ya, Smile

Conventional wisdom has it that when you smile, the world smiles with you, but when you frown, you frown alone. Researchers Jessica Tracy and Alec Beall suggest that smiles may not be all they are cracked up to be.

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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Hope for Middle East peace talks bleak

Any anticipation that US President Barack Obama's speech on the Middle East on May 19 would help break the impasse in the region's peace process may look too good to be true.

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 While good suggestions have been made to solve the ageing problem, the outdated mandatory retirement policy is not being fully addressed.

India's positives China could learn-Part II

Here I would like to concentrate on the many things India has that the Chinese could learn. The main objective is to introduce the many facets of each country where some mutual learning can take place.

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.

More flexible RMB will help China

Many Americans are blaming America's deficits on China's RMB exchange rate policy. In their view, China's unfair trade and exchange rate policy is also destroying the US economy in some other ways, such as bringing higher unemployment rates.

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.

Inflation and consumption

Inflation is the most immediate problem facing China's economy. The author is a great admirer of China's economic policy. But overall correct policy naturally does not mean that every individual issue is tackled correctly.

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.