TIGHTER EXAMINATION: A clerk checks milk powder for sale in a supermarket in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region on September 25, 2008, after melamine contamination of baby formula and other dairy products was exposed (LI ZIHENG)

Protecting Animals

Recently, a particularly brutal four-minute video of a girl torturing a rabbit triggered public indignation. Later it was revealed a commercial organization had made a number of animal abuse videos for sale.

Enraged netizens quickly began a search for the people responsible. The woman carrying out the abuse was identified and she apologized for her cruel actions.

Animals spend their life as companions to humans and are even killed because of various human demands. It's necessary for humans to show respect for other forms of life and make the process of their death less painful.

A society's development level is not only based on how human beings are treated, but also on how other life besides human is treated.

The restrictions of morality over a person are limited, especially when the torture of animals is connected to financial profit. In 2006, a video of a cat being abused was posted on the Internet. The involved woman later apologized and the website producing the video was closed down. But, four years later, animal cruelty remains.

How can we end the abuse of animals? The only way is legislation. It's a pity that by now there is no animal protection law in China. The horrifying rabbit-torturing video again shows it is necessary to act as soon as possible.

Xinmin Evening News

Inferior Imports

Statistics issued by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of China show, more than 670 tons of substandard imported dairy products were confiscated between March and August of this year, with infant milk powder accounting for almost 70 percent. Most of the confiscated dairy products came from Australia. The China Dairy Industry Association said there should not be a blind faith in the quality of foreign brands.

There have always been calls for the consumption of domestic products, but poor quality remains a major concern among consumers. In addition to outdated technology and management methods, a large number of inferior products are made by unethical businesses deliberately for excessive profits. For example, three years have passed since the scandal of melamine contamination of formula and other dairy products was exposed, but discoveries of problematic milk powder are still reported.

Most imported commodities are of good quality. Even if certain foreign products are flawed, consumers still have many other choices, so they will not necessarily turn to domestic brands.

Chinese businesses should make greater efforts to catch up with leading foreign counterparts instead of feeling gratified by finding substandard imported commodities. Otherwise, they can never expect to win consumers.

China Youth Daily

Happiness Far Off

A conference on Chinese students' mental health was recently held in Chengdu, southwest China's Sichuan Province. In order to boost psychological health education for middle and primary school students, Chengdu's education authorities are planning to work out a system to measure students' happiness.

A recent international survey shows, of the 21 countries involved, Chinese children rank first in terms of computing ability while in imagination they were the last and in creativity fourth from last. It was proposed legislation should be enacted to guarantee investment in education for developing the imagination of primary and middle school students.

When imagination needs the backing of law, it's useless to study whether Chinese students in middle and primary schools are happy or not. Learning is equal to suffering and when this is the prevailing mentality among students, study is no longer a way to improve oneself but torture.

As long as higher test marks remain as the ultimate target of school education, a so-called happiness index will be meaningless. Even if psychological education is conducted among students, any ameliorative effect will soon retreat once students go back to their desks. For the students, what they need is respect for freedom of independent development, not a so-called happiness index.

Yanzhao Evening News

Cart Before the Horse

In October and November, two babies died soon after birth in Ningxiang County Hospital in Hunan Province. In both cases, the expectant mothers' demands for caesarian deliveries were repeatedly rejected. The local health authorities say there are regulations about the proportion of caesarian births and natural deliveries. In this county, the stipulated proportion for caesarian births is below 35 percent.

The World Health Organization (WHO) released a report earlier this year, indicating China's caesarian birth rate is as high as 46 percent, while nine other Asian countries' average rate is 27.3 percent. It's reported some hospitals in China induce pregnant women to have caesarian births, so they can make profits. Since the release of the WHO report, the Ministry of Health has made efforts to bring the rate down.

The idea is great, but the biggest problem is mothers' and babies' health and even lives are threatened when there is an order to cut the number of caesarian births. Every woman is faced with a different situation when they are giving birth, so birth plans should be tailored to them, not decided by official documents.

The tragedy caused by hospitals' refusal to conduct caesarian operations reflects deep-rooted problems in China's current health care system. The health authorities have always tried to solve problems with administrative orders instead of well-devised regulations and service standards.

Oriental Morning Post