Time to Cancel ‘35’ Recruitment?

Cancelling the age threshold of 35 for civil service recruitment has once again become a trending topic in Chinese society. Nowadays, those in their mid-30 s are called senior citizens in certain fields such as the IT industry, and many are repeatedly dismissed once they reach this ceiling. Even company managers and unit heads have little hope of being promoted once they hit 35.     

‘China Should Believe in Its Model’

According to Peter Walker,author of Powerful,Different,Equal:Overcoming the Misconceptions and Differences Between China and the U.S.and senior partner emeritus at U.S.management consultancy Mc Kinsey&Company,China should follow its own development track and not be distracted by the Wests accusations.This is an edited version of his interview with Beijing Review.     

Should Officials Be Honored for Doing Their Jobs?

Li Huaizhou, 40, is an ordinary farmer from Dengfeng City, Henan Province, who was recently thrust into the spotlight. The scrap dealer has made media headlines for erecting     

Should Chinese Take A Backseat to English In Higher Education?

There is a strange “tradition” in China’s higher learning, which sees English language courses being compulsory while     

Change to Believe In?

On January 20,2009, weather forecast-ers in Washington, D.C. had predicted rain-not unlike the heavy downpour that greeted George W. Bush after he was elected to a second term five years earlier.     

Can Public Access to Senior Officials Promote Transparent Governance?

Transparency took another step forward in Kunming,capital of Yunnan Province, recently,when the government took the bold initiative to publish the names and contact details of all leading city officials in a lo- cal newspaper.The February 16 issue of Kunming Daily listed phone numbers of the     

Should ‘I’m Sorry’ Let Officials off the Hook?

Saving face is something that is deeply rooted in Chinese culture, and for over 5,000 years this con-cept has motivated and deter-mined the outcome of decisions and behavior across the spectrum of Chinese society. It was, therefore, particu-larly surprising when Tang Jie, Secretary General of the Municipal Government of Shenzhen, in Guangdong Province, made a vow to local lawmakers that, if his govern-ment did not perform well in terms of administration, the officials involved should apologize publicly for their misconduct. His     

Should Online Essays Be Used In Academic Evaluations?

China's current academic evaluation sys-tem sees publications in core journals as a basic index to measure the academic qualification and quality of an academic insti-tute, a university or an individual. Individuals who have more publications in fi rst-class journals wil have bigger opportunities for promotion within the academic system. As a result, those who want to get a higher professional title or get promoted face fi erce competition to have their essays published in the limited amount of core academic journals.     

Should Government Departments Be Involved In Legislative Procedure?

Wulong, a small remote county 170 km from downtown Chongqing, has recently made head-lines for seeking impartial lawmaking after participating in a pilot     

Can Probes of Golf Membership Listings Help to Expose Corrupt Officials?

Apowerful swing, the swish of a titanium club and the sweet crisp smackas it connects with a white dimpled ball. Golf, the sport associated with money,business deals and all the finer things in life.And in an age where any competitive edge     

Should Names of Criminals Be Included In City Annals?

Naming and shaming criminals is nothing new, but recording their nefarious deeds for all time brings a new twist to this method of understanding and dealing with the social issue of crime. Chuzhou, a city in east China's Anhui Province, stirred up a hornet's nest of controversy in early February when the city fathers decided to include the names of past and present criminals convicted of serious crimes in the local annals. Local residents opposed to this move argued that this blatant form of discrimination would have a negative impact on the     

Should Home Buying Be Tied to Hukou?

<正>Responding to the recent frenetic rise in house prices,the Central Government in January announced eight new regulations     

How to Stimulate Domestic Consumption？

DAYS ago I received an e-mail, the heading of which was ＂No-one Should Buy Clothes in the Next Few Months Because Prices Will Soon Fall Sharply.＂ The sender is a casual acquaintance that I don＇t have frequent contact with. Iwas just one of scores of people she forwarded the e-mail to.     

Should University Libraries Be Open to the Public?

In March 2012, the Capital Library Alliance was established in Beijing. Since its foundation, 34 university libraries, including the prestigious Peking University and Tsinghua University, will be gradually open to the public. Readers in Beijing will need just one simple library card to borrow books from over 60 libraries, which will soon be expanded to around 100.     

Should Bookstores Continue To Be Free to Wander?

正Given that a large number of people who go to bookstores do not buy books,but only go to read books and use bookstores as free libraries,some Chinese bookstores have begun to charge an admission fee.A bookstore in Shijiazhuang,north China's Hebei Province,began to charge a 20-yuan($2.89)admission fee as of September 18.If a customer ends up buying a book,the 20-yuan ticket can be used as a coupon.In addition,once a ticket is bought,     

Is Live-Stream Marketing by Officials a Good Idea?

With the novel coronavirus disease(COVID-19)pandemic effectively under control in China,the countr's economic activity is expected to recover soon.However,many farmers are struggling to offload agricultural products that were hard to sell during the shutdowns that marked the peak of the outbreak.In the hardest-hit Hubei Province in central China,local officials are livestreaming on e-commerce platforms to pitch products on behalf of local farmers,in a bid to convinee more people to buy them.So far,it has proved an effective means of advertising.     

Should Children Be Encouraged to Go to College at an Early Age?

<正>Ten-year-old Zhang Yiwen from Shangqiu in central China’s Henan Province has stirred up debate for passing this year’s college entrance examination(Gaokao)and enrolling at the Shangqiu Institute of Technology.She is expected to receive a junior college degree in electronic information and engineering in three years’ time,which is different from a regular four-year degree.Normally,Chinese students graduate from high school at 18.Unlike her peers in primary school,Zhang was home-schooled from kindergarten through high school by her parents.     

Should Doctors Be Allowed to Impose Operations on Patients?

Li Liyun,a 22-year-old who was in her ninth month of pregnancy,died of serious pneumonia at Chaoyang Hospital in west Beijing on November 21,after her husband refused to let doctors perform a Caesarean sec- tion.The hospital had offered to do the operation free of charge but the husband did not believe it.     

Should Universities Ban Profanity Online to Resolve Moral Dilemma?

Peking University recently announced that in response to frequently seen profan- ity and malicious rumors by some netizens on Internet forums and bulletin boards,it is considering modifying its school rules to ban this form of behavior online. China now has 9.200 million Internet users for whom being online is part of modern cul- ture.Internet offers room to express opinions and ideas freely but it's also a way for people to release the stress of life.It's inevitable that this freedom is abused,resulting in all forms of insults,damaging gossip and the spreading of lies.Because of the lack of self-restraint and imposed disciplines,this kind of commu- nication is rapidly lowering moral standards.