A Report on Judicial Corruption

Caijing Magazine

May 27

In a transitional period of society and the judicial system, corruption is inevitable. Compared to similar problems among other government officials, judicial misconduct is not serious. However, corruption among judges will harm social justice and authority of the law.

Newly elected president of the Supreme People's Court Zhou Qiang recently stressed on many occasions the importance of building a fair judicial system and strengthening of the judicial team.

In addition, courts at different levels have worked to improve morals among judges and enhance punishment of the corrupt. The procuratorial and disciplinary inspection organs have also played a role in supervising their work. However, these measures are not enough to ensure a clean judicial system.

The cover story published a report on the characteristics of judicial corruption and main rent-seeking fields in a bid to raise some constructive suggestions on combating judicial misconduct.

Anxious About Breasts

China Newsweek

May 27

American star Angelina Jolie's preventive double mastectomy has had an impact on the Chinese public. She underwent surgery because she carries the BRCA1 gene that increases a woman's risk for breast and ovarian cancer.

Li Chen, a graduate student at the Breast Center of Beijing Cancer Hospital, has constantly received phone calls during the past week asking whether his center could detect the BRCA1 gene and how much it cost.

In response to Jolie's brave move, Li Huiping, a doctor at the hospital, cautioned the public to be careful in undergoing a mastectomy because there are many other ways of reducing the risk of breast cancer. She said even if a new pair of breasts are reconstructed afterward, a woman might have psychological problems due to the possible loss of identity.

Tourist Scrawls Arouse Criticism

People's Daily

May 27

A scrawl including several Chinese characters on a wall of the world famous Luxor Temple in Egypt was recently photographed and posted online by a Chinese traveler.

For a long time, Chinese tourists have engraved their names on walls or pillars at scenic spots or historic relics at home. With Chinese tourists abroad having rapidly increased from 10 million in 2000 to 83 million in 2012 over the past decade, the problem has become international.

Chinese tourists have additionally been criticized for spitting on the ground, jumping queues and quarreling for seats. Such behavior not only stains local cultural heritage, but damages the reputation of Chinese people.

What makes people optimistic is that instances of misconduct offer the chance for improving personal behavior and apology, as was the case in Egypt.

Modernization and increased affluence in China should not come at the expense of civilization. The incident in Egypt should teach every Chinese to behave in good manner both at home and abroad.

Shortage of Doctors

Jiefang Daily

May 28

Many hospitals in Shanghai face a shortage of doctors in varying degrees, a reason why it is difficult for citizens to receive medical services. Nevertheless, the total population of qualified doctors in the city is not small. Every thousand people in the city are allocated 2.23 doctors on average. This figure not only leads in China, but also reaches the level of other moderately developed countries. So where does the shortage come from?

The demand for public medical care in Shanghai has seen rapid growth in recent years. On the contrary, doctor training has remained insufficient. Since 2010, the number of doctors has not increased, while outpatients at hospitals have increased by 60 percent.

Experts say sharp increase of patients can be attributed to an aging population and more patients from outside of Shanghai traveling to the city for better medical care.

Furthermore, the structure and allocation of doctors among hospitals and clinics are imbalanced due to obvious differences in location, salary and working conditions. Compared to a few famed large hospitals, many community clinics in Shanghai suburbs are urgently short of doctors.

Enhancing fundamental medical services is an important objective of China's current medical care reform. The challenge concerns community clinics finding it difficult to appeal to medical graduates. The government needs to make a comprehensive plan of cultivating more doctors and establish a sound system to allocate medical resources and improve services at community clinics.