SAFETY PRECAUTION: Students conduct a fire emergency exercise in a primary school in Chengdu, Sichuan Province

Online Cover-up

As the Internet becomes increasingly a part of people's life, companies specialized in removing online posts have sprung up. In the Internet age, how to face and respond to public opinion is a priority when scandal about a region, a company or an official arises.

Some people, including officials at different levels, believe it is necessary to remove online posts to minimize damage that may be caused by criticism. That's why the business of removing posts has grown.

These companies, however, violate the public's right to know.

Scandal-hit people should always keep in mind that it's better to face problems and improve their operations than to cover up the truth.

What's more, both traditional and new media should establish strict codes of professional ethics as soon as possible.

It is true that China's Internet industry is still quite young, and may sometimes be misdirected by short-term interests.

China Youth Daily

Tough Decisions

A major dispute arose in late September when residents in Panyu District of Guang-zhou, southern Guangdong Province, found out a solid waste incineration power plant was going to be built in their neighborhood.

Finally, the Panyu District Government said that they might hold a "district-wide referendum" to solve the problem.

At first glance, the proposed referendum seems to represent a sense of empowering people by letting them have a choice in the matter. Many people are excited about having a say in this important matter, which concerns their living standards.

No one wants to live in the vicinity of a garbage incinerator project, which produces dioxin, among other harmful substances. But if the building of the power plant is essential for regional development, there is really no other option for residents of communities near the proposed facility.

If we take a closer look at the "referendum proposal" of the Panyu District Government, we find it has nothing to do with democracy at all.

The government should not pass on a hard decision to the citizens, especially when it comes to a choice between urban development and people's life.

The government should listen to the people, research carefully and reach a balance between respecting the will of the majority and protecting the right of the minority.

Qilu Evening News

Safety in Schools

On the evening of December 7, a stampede in private Yucai Middle School in Xiangxiang City, central China's Hunan Province, killed eight students and injured 26 others. This was undoubtedly tragic, but it was not the only incident of its kind in the previous months. On November 3, six students were injured in a stampede in Xijiang Primary School in Hunan's Changning City and, on November 25, another incident left 25 injured in a township school in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality.

The Ministry of Education has issued many regulations on the prevention of such incidents and has asked schools to carry out emergency evacuation exercises every semester. But most schools pay little attention to campus safety and only take action when tragedies occur in other schools. Although some schools have safety facilities, in most cases, they are just for the upper-level authorities' safety inspections. Seldom are there schools which have safety education as a regular course. For example, after the fatal Wenchuan Earthquake in Sichuan Province in May 2008, schools rushed to carry out safety education, but their enthusiasm faded within months.

When schools are reluctant to increase investment in safety programs, disasters like stampede incidents become inevitable. Children are too young for them to keep in mind safety warnings, especially when all of their energy and time are spent on study.

In order to prevent similar tragedies, it's urgent for schools to pay attention to students' daily safety issues and make safety education a regular part of the curriculum.

Guangzhou Daily

Wrong Targets

In the run-up to next year's Asian Games in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, local police recently held antiterror exercises. But targets of the exercises were migrant workers seeking to get back overdue wages. Liu Xiaogang, Vice Chairman of the Guangzhou Municipal Federation of Trade Unions, has expressed "strong protest" over the practice by directly criticizing it as harmful to migrant workers' dignity.

When we talk about terrorist attacks, it is about attacks on innocent people and their property. By this standard, migrant workers are by no means terrorists. Their efforts to get back wages in arrears are righteous acts.

Instead of hurting employers, migrant workers seeking defaulted wages are always the victims of immoral employers' exploitation.

Because of the high cost of safeguarding their legitimate rights, migrant workers sometimes turn to extreme methods for fair treatment. But they never hurt the innocent. As members of a underrepresented group, in most cases, migrant workers commit self-injuring behavior to attract public attention, such as setting themselves ablaze or jumping from skyscrapers.

As victims of employers' malicious non-payment of wages, it's humiliating for migrant workers to be targets of antiterror exercises and it is also humiliating for the whole of society.

Qilu Evening News