Change Is a Must

The days are numbered for China's"golden weeks"as traditional festivals seem set to take their placeThe arrival of China's new holiday system will see an end to the country's May Day golden week and the addition of three traditional festivals,the Tomb-Sweeping Day, the Dragon Boat Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival, as public holidays. The change has been a hot topic of discussion in recent months,with people asking why it was done and whether other festivals might be added to the country's national holidays. With these questions in mind,Beijing Review interviewed Li Hanqiu,a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and former Director of the Publicity Department of the China Peasants and Workers' Democratic Party,who participated in the process of developing the new holiday system.     

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.     

Is Tiered Pricing For Electricity a Good Idea?

正The National Development and Reform Commission of China (NDRC) came up with a draft for tiered pricing of household electricity in March. After nationwide hearings, the new pricing policy will be carried out from June.     

Aluminum Blues Is Good News?

It’s a sign that China’s macroeconomic controls are workingAttention automakers, plane manu- facturers and anyone else who uses alumina to turn a profit: The price of the metal in China began plum- meting from November 3. Why? Because the Chinese Govern…     

Is It Good to Abolish Test Rankings?

The Ministry of Education (MOE)recently released a draft document on the protection of minors. Several of its sections barring primary and middle schools from ranking students based on their examination scores have so far triggered heated debate, particularly among parents with school-going children.     

A Good Harvest or a Bad Harvest?

<正>WTO members push for an early harvest trade deal as Doha Round talks flounder Based on anearly harvestplan hatched in     

Is a Cyberwar Coming?

<正>The alleged Sony hacking warns of the grave consequences of cyberwarfare As 2014 came to a close,the United States and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea(DPRK),also known as North Korea,kicked up a row over the alleged cyberattack on Sony Pictures Entertainment,one of the     

Can Good Money Produce a Good Book？

FOR over 1,000 years the Chinese have extolled the virtues of reading with the saying： ＂There are houses of gold and girls of jade in books.＂ That is literally true today, but more so for the writers than the readers.     

How Do We Resolve Holiday Problems?

<正>Chinese Ministry of Railways statistics show that from September 28 to October 7,the National Day Holiday period,China’s railway networks were used for 67 million trips,an all-time high.On October 1 alone,8.9 million trips     

Is it Time to Change the Competitive Mindset of Education?

Asalient feature of China’s education system is competition, som ething that has long been the subject of debate. While Li Qi, a professor of economics at Agnes Scott College in Georgia, the United States, asserts that strict quantitative assessm ent at school helps prepare students for the real world but there is room for reform, Jiang Li, Vice President of the Test Group of Chinese Academ y of Inspection and Quarantine, argues that instead of a frantic scram ble for the most professionally rewarding disciplines, students should be encouraged to develop their true passions instead of being bulldozed into the subjects chosen for them by their parents.     

Is There a Road Ahead?

As the Iranian nuclear issue was submitted to the UN Security Council, observers are not entirely pessimistic about the outlook for resolving the problem. Hua Liming, former Chinese Ambassador to Iran, comments on the issue in an article carried in the People's Daily Overseas Edition. His main ideas follow:     

Are Profits Good Reason for Rebuilding a Long-lost Kingdom?

An ancient Chinese kingdom largely lost over time may come alive again if the plans of a less developed county in Hunan Province are realized.Xinhuang County announced on October 16to     

Off to a Good Start

Korean Peninsula denuclearization is irreversible despiteexisting challenges North Korea has finally begun to denu-clearize. On June 26, North KoreanAmbassador to China Choe Jin Susubmitted his country's nuclear dec-laration to Wu Dawei, China's Vice ForeignMinister and top negotiator on the North     

A Good Man Is Hard to Find

Like most expats my life in China has been both stimulat- ing and frustrating.To be fifty and read no better than a Chinese preschooler,to suffer indignities with my digestive system and to periodi- cally fall prey to homesickness—all these woes and more magically lifted recently when a misfortune befell me. After a long weekend in Inner     

Is Chinese as a Subject Important?

In January, six universities in Shanghai held independent admission tests to select students from more than 10,000 appli- cants. At four of the universities, Chinese was not a test subject or science students     

Tiger Mother? Good Mother?

正Chinese parents face dilemmas in choosing education methods for children Meng Yijun,an accountant at a PR firm in Beijing,has a 10-yearold daughter. Although she was born in 1974,the Year of the Tiger according to Chinese astrology,Meng said     

Coffee:The Good News Is Filtering Through

For those of us who depend on our daily dose of java, the evidence is in: Coffee, in moderation, is not bad for you after all. In fact, some studies indicate it may even have some health benefits.     

Is Deception Acceptable to Save a Life?

<正>In March 2011,Xie Sanxiu,a rural woman from Hubei Province,fell to her knees and walked on them in Guangzhou,capital city of Guangdong Province,hugging her ill daughter and begging for money.