China's Future in Foreign Eyes

Oriental Outlook
December 20, 2012

The five to 10 years following the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China will be a critical juncture for China's rise and renewal. To become a stronger country, it needs to utilize wisdom and adopt diverse perspectives and rational attitudes.

Li Cheng, a senior researcher with the John L. Thornton China Center at Brookings Institution in the United States, said the most salient feature among new Party leaders underlines basic-level experience and high ideals. They have shown the courage to pursue reform and make breakthroughs. The biggest challenge facing China concerns reaching national consensus on key issues such as the country's slowed economic growth and its strained relations with certain neighbors. Such consensus would mean confidence in the future.

The Indian-American economist Arvind Subramanian said the world is paying close attention to see if China's top decisionmakers take the necessary measures to rebalance the economy and accelerate development. However, he believes, the temporary slowdown in growth is necessary. The economist pointed out that, although many people do not believe it, the yuan will become the first-choice reserve currency in the next 10 to 15 years. Subramanian said it is imperative for China to further reform its financial field and state-owned companies.

The Power of the Public

Lifeweek
December 31, 2012

Public strength was given full reign in 2012: On the one hand, microblogs inspired and pushed it to voice opinions on social and political issues; on the other, individual interests were recognized after more than 30 years of rapid economic development. Rationality and maturity have combined to push forward and deepen national reform.

Step-by-step investigations by netizens, followed by relevant government department response, constituted public anti-corruption efforts in 2012. Online anti-corruption moves enabled the public to secure social justice via informal means. The Internet has proved a new channel of supervision. Public measures reflect both indignation against corruption and distrust of traditional supervision systems. However, fighting the problem online is still far from adequate and necessitates strict laws.

School Bus Incidents

Workers' Daily
December 28, 2012

In late December, four people died after a minibus carrying 15 kindergarten children drove into a pond in Guixi, south China's Jiangxi Province. The accident follows one in Zhengning, northwest China's Gansu Province, in November 2011, and one in Fengxian County of east China's Jiangsu Province in December the same year.

Following the incidents, Zhengning and Fengxian counties soon banned the operation of unlicensed school buses. As a result, children have been left without a means to get to school. In Fengxian, parents have begun taking their children to school by tricycle. In other parts, due to insufficient finances, unsafe school buses continue to run.

Standardizing school bus operation is essential, but in rural areas, this seems to be a hard task. The fact that parents have to take children to school themselves reveals just how terrible current bus services are. The problem indicates a serious shortage of financial input in rural education.

Law on Online Business

China Youth Daily
January 3, 2013

Online shopping platforms like Taobao are very popular with consumers and quite lucrative to businesspeople in China. However, some people are taking advantage of loopholes in the network to steal personal information. This practice has damaged online shops and caused losses to owners. The more prosperous an online business is, the more regulations need to be put in place.

Recently, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress passed a legal decision on the protection of private online information. It targets the abuse of personal information to ensure a safe online environment for Internet users.

Recent years have seen more college graduates start online businesses. In 2012, 68 percent of those operating on the Web were born in the 1980s, with those born in the 1990s also joining the trend. For these young businesspeople, it's very important to win trust from consumers in the process of doing business and a safe Internet environment is a precondition. They need an orderly and sound online space for fair competition.

Apart from these youngsters, big portal websites and network operators have all expressed support for strengthening legislation on online business.

The legal decision comes at the very moment it is demanded. It offers network operators legal support in protecting personal information. The obligations and rights of organizations and individuals have been clearly expounded.

Both online shops and consumers expect safer online transactions. This decision is only a start. To ensure long-term development and prosperity, we need more such legal regulations.