What Should Be the Minimum Age for Marriage?

正During the 2012 session of the National People's Congress (NPC) in March,a deputy named Huang Xihua submitted a proposal to lower the minimum legal age for marriage to 18.Currently the minimum legal age for marriage is 22 for males and 20 for females.Huang said the current marriage age threshold is the highest in Chinese history and is responsible for     

Should Fireworks Be Banned?

<正>During the Spring Festival,which fell on February 3 this year,a large number of fires and injuries to people were triggered by fireworks. A new round of debate over whether to again put firework bans in place     

Should Calligraphy Be Compulsory?

China’s Ministry of Education issued a notice early this year requiring Chinese calligraphy education to be made a required course at primary and middle schools. In big cities where there is a good cultural basis for such a move, calligraphy class is expected to start this autumn     

Should Jaywalkers Be Fined?

It is common to see pedestrians crossing in the middle of a street or ignoring a traffic light, deliberately or unconsciously, especially in small and medium-sized cities. Two decades ago, there were few cars, and the traffic laws were inadequate. Therefore, people developed the mind-set that they will not be punished for this common behavior and that there is nothing wrong in jaywalking. However, nowadays, with the rapid     

Should Moon Cakes Be Taxed?

<正>It is a custom in China that when the Mid-Autumn Festival draws near, a company or organization will offer its staff moon cakes, as non-cash benefits. It has recently been reported that these noncash benefits, such as moon cakes, should be taxed according to their value, which has spurred heated debate.     

Should Care Visits Be Enforced?

<正>The China National Committee on Ageing recently announced the revision of the law which protects the rights of elderly people was completed. Among the revised sections,a provision that grown-up children will have to visit society’s elderly seniors more often was included in the draft law.     

Should Premarital Property Be Personal?

The latest effort by the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) of China to clarify the ownership of premarital property has become a hot topic for discussion. The SPC issued on November 15 a draft judi-     

Should Online Businesses Be Taxed?

From July 1,people running businesses or offering services online in China are required to register their identities with trading platform operators. The real-name registration system for online businesses under     

Should Unmarried Mothers Be Fined?

Wuhan, the capital city of central China’s Hubei Province, recently published a draft regulation stating that parents of children born out of wedlock would befined. Accordingly, an unmarried woman who cannot provide the ID certificate of her partner     

Should ''''Anti-Corruption'''' Accounts Be Abolished?

The "account against corruption" originated in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province. At the beginning of 2000, after Xu Yunhong, former Secretary of the Ningbo Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, and some other top officials were arrested on corruption charges, the municipal government set up China's     

Should Traditional Masterpieces Be Cut?

<正>The Department of Education of east China’s Shandong Province recently issued a document, requiring middle and primary schools to screen and filter traditional classics carefully. The document says some content of traditional masterpieces, such     

How Should Dogs Be Raised?

A 6-year-old girl recently died due to the bite of a Tibetan mastiff in Dalian, in northeast China’s Liaoning Province. One month before, an elderly man was also bitten to death by two fierce dogs while he was doing morning exercises in Zunyi, southwest China’s Guizhou Province. In May, five people were attacked by Tibetan mastiffs in Beijing. In response to a series of recent dog-related incidents, Beijing police have launched a citywide crackdown on large and dangerous dogs. A rule by the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau bans dogs 35 cm in height or taller and 41 breeds identified as violent. Dog owners who breach the rule will be fined 5,000 yuan ($813), while     

Should Good Deeds Be Materially Rewarded?

If someone does you a good turn, do you reward them or not? Chinese society is currently caught in a debate     

Should Voluntary Services Be Financially Rewarded?

The city of Suqian in east China's Jiangsu Province, put a new regulation into practice six months ago whereby police authorities reward residents who volunteer to make peace in neighborhood quarrels, mediate in civil disputes or, for that matter, help in put-ring out fires.     

Should Billionaires Be a University Yardstick?

<正>From 1999 to 2010,Peking University (PKU)has produced 79 billionaires,and the most of all universities in China for three years in a row,said PKU President Zhou Qifeng.After PKU on the list is Tsinghua University with 70 billionaires and     

Should Standing Tickets Be Full Price?

With the Spring Festival, or Chinese Lunar New Year, fast approaching this February 10, almost half the country’s population finds itself in the surge of mass migration. Train tickets, as in the past, are in high demand. Amid the difficulty     

Should Heroic Deeds Be Suitably Rewarded?

Saving people in distress can now bring a good Samaritan big bucks. The govemment of Guangzhou, Guangdong Province,announced in October that the maximum reward to people who risk their lives to save the lives and property of others,whether civilians or civil ser- vants,would be raised from 50,000 yuan ($6,667)to 300,000($40,000)yuan.The high-     

Should SCI Theses Criterion Be Revoked?

Recently,a notice released on the website of China's Ministry of Education(MOE)stirred a controversy in the country's universities.The notice listed 10 suggestions targeting Science Citation Index(SCI)academic papers.     

Should the Shaolin Temple Be Commercialized?

China's famous Shaolin Temple has re- cently opened a shop on the country's largest online C2C marketplace www.taobao.com, selling a variety of Shaolin-related products. One notable item is the Shaolin Kungfu Secret Recipe costing 9,999 yuan($1,429).     

Should Minor Criminals Be Given Leniency?

The People’s Procuratorate of Ningbo,in east China’s Zhejiang Province,became the center of controversy when it implemented a program to deal with minor crime offenders,which is known as "good deeds for nonpros-ecution."