BUILDING UP PHYSIQUE: Students at a Beijing primary school play outside after class. It's very important for students to do more exercises after hard work in classes (XINHUA)

No Excuse for Inaction

In Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, workers on some construction sites receive only a small amount of cash as wages while the rest is paid in the form of food, alcohol and cigarette vouchers. But the government department responsible for regulating the local construction market says it knows nothing about it.

The Labor Law has an explicit regulation prohibiting wages to be paid in kind. They must be paid in the form of legal tender. But the law was not effectively enforced. The regulatory department in Wuhan was set up to probe how businesses operate wage payment systems.

However, media investigation has revealed the illegal operations have existed for quite a long time at many construction sites in Wuhan.

The construction sites do not bother themselves by doing anything to conceal what they are doing. There are clear records of cash and voucher payment on paper and, if the regulatory department spared a little time to investigate, it would be easy to find the illegal operations.

Workers tried to report the situation to the regulatory department, without response. "We know nothing" is too often used as an excuse for inaction. Behind the so-called "we don't know" is the regulatory department's dereliction of duty.

Guangzhou Daily

Stronger Physique

A survey on Chinese people's health conditions shows, compared with 1995, in 2005 Chinese students' muscle strength, physical endurance and pulmonary capacity were declining.

Good health is the basis for students to effectively carry on with their studies and to do any other activity.

Jiangsu Province has put a regulation into practice, stipulating junior middle and primary schools must give students at least an hour for physical exercise every day and students in high schools must be made to do physical exercise at least three times a week. But, whatever the regulation says, schools have to send as many students as possible to higher learning institutions, or they might be criticized by local education authorities.

When he visited a middle school in Hebei Province before this year's Teachers' Day, Premier Wen Jiabao joined the students for shadow boxing and basketball, and called for greater attention to students' physical health.

It's hoped schools, parents and the whole of society really realize the importance of physical exercise, so as to develop the right attitude toward physical education.

People's Daily

Development at Core

The Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatment of acupuncture is applying for World Intangible Cultural Heritage status, says China's Health Ministry.

Because of its long history, TCM has a unique medical perspective that makes it a precious treasure for humanity. Inclusion on the World Intangible Cultural Heritage List will help to better preserve TCM.

But, given the declining popularity of TCM among the public, it's more urgent to create a favorable environment and to produce more helpful policies for the further development of the centuries-old medical science.

Besides, most people tend to prefer senior TCM doctors, believing older and more experienced doctors treat them much more effectively than young practitioners. So, ensuring young TCM doctors' have promising career prospects so that they dedicate themselves to their work is another big challenge in the TCM sector. Without a larger pool of trainee doctors, the future of TCM is worrisome.

Guangzhou Daily

Meaningless Race

At the start of the fall semester, many colleges are competing each other in terms of the level of luxury in student dormitories.

Following the news that Xiamen University Tan Kah Kee College provides 150 square meters of dormitories with views of the sea for every six students, Wuhan University of Technology's dorms equipped with air conditioners and water heaters are becoming less in demand among freshmen.

Indeed, only a small number of families can afford such luxury.

The start of a new semester is usually a time when some freshmen show off their families' wealth, and this casts a shadow over students from less affluent families. Schools have the responsibility to create a fair environment by providing students with equal services, but should never consolidate students' feelings about the existence of a rich-poor gap by providing unequal services.

Equality in education is the foundation for social fairness. Colleges must understand the fair and reasonable distribution of education resources is more significant than any luxury race.

Qilu Evening News