Medicine Reform

Beijing Youth Daily
March 24

It has been reported that quite a lot of cheap basic medicines have been disappearing from drugstores in provinces such as Hunan and Anhui. Once the cheap medicines are removed from shelves, consumers have to buy substitutes, which tend to be much more expensive than the original medicine, adding to patients' economic burdens.

However, pharmaceutical companies also have their reasons to stop producing cheap medicines. Cheap medicines mean small profit margins or even no profits at all, which is a blow to manufacturers' enthusiasm.

Campaign to Curb Smog

Oriental Outlook
March 20

Smog that has exasperated half of all Chinese cities, including the capital Beijing, in recent years has made environmental protection a political priority in China. Meanwhile, the Chinese Government has begun to change their ways of thinking on reducing environmental pollution. A number of heavy polluting and low energy efficient coal power plants across the country have been closed, and air quality has been made subject to an assessment standard for local governments. A regional coordination mechanism is to be set up.

However, the key to the environmental protection campaign is to share economic interests equally as well as distribute responsibility impartially to local governments.