NEW Work: Migrant workers look for work in a job market in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province on February 19 (TAN JIN)

Values Changing

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the International Working Women's Day.

On the eve of Women's Day on March 8, a lingerie show was held by a department store in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province. As long as a woman paraded in the store in her underwear, she would receive lingerie worth 500 yuan ($73.5) as a reward. Of the audience of 5,000, almost 60 percent were males. Here, women's dignity was being made use of by the shops to attract customers' attention. This example reflects Chinese women's passive status in the people's subconscious.

The new generation of women, born in the 1990s, to some extent despise this traditional festival. As a result, a so-called Girls' Day on March 7 is prevailing among young college students all over the country.

A survey targeting female college students shows that 60 percent of them are not ready to be categorized as "women" and don't want to participate in any commemoration activities of Women's Day. The refusal shows somehow many females do not dare to face up to the legitimate rights and interests they deserve. This lack of confidence in turn makes some females who are eager to be respected become very sensitive. For example, it has been suggested housewives should be paid by their husbands for housework.

Dignity is something women should struggle for by themselves. If one day it's no longer necessary that Women's Day exists, it will be really time women's status and dignity is being really well protected.

Qianjiang Evening News

A Bigger Slice of the Pie

Premier Wen Jiabao said in the Government Work Report to this year's full session of the National People's Congress the government is to promptly formulate policies and measures to adjust the distribution of national income. The measure will gradually increase the proportion of income individuals receive from the distribution of national income and the proportion of the primary distribution of income that goes to wages and salaries.

The expanding gap between assets of residents and the state is on one hand curbing consumer spending while on the other hand resulting in overcapacity and Chinese economy's excessive dependence on foreign trade. To tackle this problem, an overall reform of the personal income tax system is necessary.

In China, wealthy people account for 20 percent of the total population, but they only contribute 10 percent of the country's total individual income tax revenue. As a result, wealthy people pay far less tax proportionately than most groups. Worse still, China practices an outdated taxation system, not taking into account taxpayers' family burdens and expenses, among other factors.

Apart from raising the personal income tax threshold, a rational taxation system must be established, so as to make personal income tax an effective tool to adjust the distribution of national income. For example, a household could be made the tax-paying unit, instead of the individual.

Beijing News

Urban Sprawl

Beijing had set a target to keep its total population within 18 million by 2020, but the city's resident and migrant population has already passed 22 million.

Migrant population was 5.09 million at the end of 2009, a recent document from the Municipal Government said. But statistics from other sources show the number has already topped 9 million and is growing.

Beijing previously had planned targets of keeping its population to 8 million and 10 million, but none of them was realized in the specified time and actual numbers always greatly exceeded the set targets.

Reality tells us the existing population management measures, which is based on residence controls, is no longer effective.

After nearly 30 years, China has rocketed into a phase of more rapid and greater urbanization and a growing number of people from small and medium-sized cities are moving into big cities.

Big cities like Beijing and Shanghai should take active measures to protect the rights of the migrant population but not to limit their flow. Otherwise, it would lead to endless troubles and bring about many obstacles to the offspring of those migrants.

Zhujiang Evening News

Health Powerhouse

Minister of Health Chen Zhu recently suggested the opening of a health channel on national broadcaster CCTV.

Nowadays, many of China's newspapers and magazines already cover health topics, sometimes in dedicated publications, which are very well received. But print media are limited in that they are not as vivid or as immediate as TV. A topic that is hard to explain in words and graphics can be easily made clear on TV through vivid visuals and audio.

The spreading of knowledge about health is necessary because of frequent emergencies and accidents, but more important is the dissemination of knowledge and tips about topics such as disease prevention and control, food safety and nutrition. This work needs to be done day after day and year after year. Not only CCTV, but also local TV stations should open health channels. This is because, in different areas, people have different concerns. Overall, health programs on TV will do tangible good for ordinary people in an inexpensive and effective manner.

Guangzhou Daily