LESS COSTLY BOOKS: Local residents in Qingdao, Shandong Province, flock into a book fair offering generous discounts on book purchases in the city in April 2009 (XINHUA)

Salt in the Wound

Recently, the China National Salt Industry Corp. told its provincial companies to prepare for open market competition, which means possibly an end to monopoly in the industry and probably cheaper prices.

Against prices, consumers actually care more about quality. If opening the salt market means no more guarantees of quality, it will only add to consumers' concerns, especially after the scandal involving melamine-contaminated dairy products has increased public distrust in food safety. When the market is completely open, consumers are afraid cheap but substandard edible salt products will hit store shelves. For example, in 2004, the Salt Monopoly Bureau in Guangdong Province was repealed but two years later resumed because of deterioration in salt quality there.

There are almost 4,000 salt producers in China, but only 96 have edible salt production licenses. The opening of the salt market might induce some immoral business people to sell toxic industrial salt as edible salt. Regulation in recent years has seemed ineffective.

Like rice, salt is an essential part in people's diet, so the salt industry should focus more on social responsibility than commercial profits. To some extent, a salt monopoly supervised by government departments may be more helpful than harmful.

Yangtze Evening News

Helping Everyday People

On January 8, 2010, on behalf of the local government, the local government of Xinghua City, Jiangsu Province, made an official apology to a petitioner who had been hurt by gatekeepers of the Xinghua Municipal Government when he was blocked by them at the gate and told that the government "only cared about big issues instead of his little trifles." The gatekeepers involved were disciplined.

The petitioner soon had his employment problem, which was apparently not a "trifle," solved. Actually, millions of ordinary people are faced with similar problems, but it's questionable if their problems can also be solved as quickly.

In some government departments, "hidden rules" spread so widely that even gatekeepers follow suit. They act indifferently to ordinary people. The scandal in Xinghua is not just about rude gatekeepers, but the government's willingness to hear and help the people.

The Beijing News

Sustaining Attention

On January 11, two scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Gu Chaohao and Sun Jiadong, were awarded China's top science and technology award for 2009.

After the awards ceremony, the two scientists soon became the focus of media and their fame rocketed overnight. But, before they received the award, how many people knew about them? Almost all scientists in China do not have high profiles until they win prestigious prizes.

This is because scientific research is time-consuming and before anything has been actually achieved, scientists are reluctant to publicize their research. Unlike pop stars, who often become well known after a movie or a song is released, a scientist must go through untold tough times before his or her name becomes familiar to the public. Since China's top science and technology award was set up in 2000, it has been awarded to 16 scientists. But it seems few of them are still remembered by the public.

Scientists are not necessarily interested in making themselves well known, but the public's reaction reflects society's lack of attention to science and scientists. In an era when science and technology are a primary productive force, isn't it a pity to see scientists so easily neglected by society?

Guangzhou Daily

They're All Losers

Recently, the Publishers Association of China, Books and Periodicals Distribution Association of China and China Xinhua Bookstore Association jointly issued a "rule" requiring books to be retailed at the cover price in their first year of release. It also proposed that online bookstores and those booksellers who have authority to sell should not offer more than 15 percent discount of the cover price.

Rocketing book prices give rise to a greater number of complaints from ordinary people. It's not easy to buy books if a few cost a monthly wage. In the past, at least online shops had discounts, but the new rule is likely to deprive them of all favorable treatment.

This rigidity will have two results. One is that people will cut their budget for books and fewer people will read. The other is that sales of shoddy pirated books will increase. If readers can't afford books, bookstores will find it much harder to survive.

For the sake of their own interests, book retailers take collective action to ease competition. But when every side seems to be losers in this game, how long can such a profit-oriented strategy sustain?

Qilu Evening News