Press Interpreter

"Life is most precious under heaven"

The change gives new meaning to the old phrase: "Human life is matter of 'heavenly' concern." Now, the word "heaven" refers to the Supreme Court.
　　
01/04/07 -- On December 31st, 2006, chief justices of the Hunan and Sichuan Higher People's Courts signed the last batch of death sentences. Just one day later, the authority to decide life or death would lie solely with the Supreme Court.

The Beginning and End of the “Third Debate on Reform� 2004-2006
2004-2006 "第三次改�论争"始末 　

Would it be Possible to Disclose All the Cases Brought to the People’s Congress?

03/09/06 -- On July 9, 2005, after killing his factory supervisor, A-xing, accompanied by reporters from this paper, turned himself in to the authorities. The A-Xing murder case and the subsequent murder case of worker Wang Binyu aroused widespread interest. In the coming days, the A-Xing murder case will be tried in the Shantou, Guangdong court. (This is a follow-up to a story first reported on in the July 14, 2005 edition.)*

The Chinese Countryside Emerges

Coming to a Consensus on the Meaning of Reform

China’s Development Strategy Formally Changes Course

“The Master of Great Potential� and the Myth of Instant Wealth

02/23/06 -- On New Year's eve 2006, 23 year old Xu Ping, a female village school teacher, looked around the table full of family members. She was on the verge of tears.

Xu Enhuai looked at the unusually mature face of his daughter and said something of deep significance to his three sons: "In the future, when life is good, you absolutely should not forget your older sister."

02/16/06 -- Henan is a microcosm of China. China is the world's most highly populated country, Henan is China's most highly populated province. China is also the world's largest agrarian country, Henan is China's largest agrarian province. China is the world's largest developing country and it can be said that Henan is China's largest developing province. China's GDP is among the highest in the world but its per capita GDP falls below average. Henan's GDP is the fifth largest in China but the province's per capita GDP is only 18th in the country.

02/23/06 -- Don't be startled, but the number of people who have died from AIDS has already exceeded the number who have died from Hepatitis B. The Ministry of Health has released last year's legally mandated report on infectious disease epidemics in China. Of the 13,262 people who died from infectious diseases, the five diseases accounting for the greatest death tolls in order from greatest to least were: Tuberculosis, Rabies, AIDS, Hepatitis B, and Neonatal Tetanus. This report, which was released on February 14, Valentine's Day, didn't have the slightest shade of romance to it.

“平时是天使 周末是魔鬼�
Angel During the Week, Demon on the Weekend

�焦改�争论
Summarizing the Arguments for and Against Reform

榆林：“中国科�特�的�长烦�

02/16/06 -- The healthcare burden has already become one of the largest complaints reported by the public -- there is the relentless sound of criticism in our ears. To be fair, all levels of government have not been unconcerned about this issue. Rather, they have been wracking their brains for a solution to the difficult problem of "seeing the doctor is expensive." However, even though the government has tried a lot of solutions, such as, for example, fixing the price of medicine, setting up "fair price hospitals," restructuring the administration of hospitals demanding unreasonable fees, etc., it has always attacked the symptoms of the problem rather than the roots. The problem lies in the fact that these measures all were aimed at the supply side of healthcare services. Effective measures aimed at the demand side, which is determined by the robustness of the medical insurance system, have been few.

02/16/06 -- There are many things, which if we only look at the things around us, don't seem at all strange. For example, when we look at the several 14 or 15 year old children by our side who have left school and are unemployed, hanging around in the streets with nothing to do, it doesn't seem like anything at all. But if we widen our view and look at the country's future, the problem doesn't seem so small.

02/09/06 -- I recently saw by chance on the web the qualifications required for taking the examination to become a public official. Two aroused my suspicion. Examinees must be between 18 and 35 years of age and must have graduated from college. As a result of these rules those older than 35 and those without a college education will lose the right to take the public officials examination. I needed to see whether depriving this group of people of the right to take the exam was indeed authorized by law. Opening to page 2, section 11 of "The Public Officials Law of the People's Republic of China," I saw that the relevant qualification requirements for public officials are "18 and older" and "has a level of education suitable to the requirements of her posting and the ability to do the work." There is no requirement that examinees be 35 or younger and have a college education. As a result, I drew the following conclusion: the qualification requirements for taking the exam are not authorized by law, but rather are illegal and must be revoked.

01/19/06 -- A Glance Around -- There is an old episode that goes like this: A mouse assembly is discussing how to deal with cats. There are many ideas, but none are satisfactory. Finally, the mice have a breakthrough. By hanging a bell from the body of the cat there will be warning when the cat arrives and everyone will have time to flee. The multitude acclaims the idea, but an honest mouse quietly asks, "if this plan is so good, then who will go to hang the bell from the cat?"

02/09/06 -- According to Human Rights statistics, last year in China private charity donations reached an historic new high, reaching 1.7 billion yuan. This is undoubtedly a new development in the charity industry, however looking at it from the perspective of the population average, that works out at only a little over one yuan per person. This therefore only shows limited growth in the development of the charity industry in China. The direct result of the yawning gap in the charity industry is that charitable organisations lack funds and have difficulties functioning. This results in some charity offices receiving an annual income of a mere ten thousand yuan. The body of social security charities is finding it hard to stand the strain.

01/26/06 -- Strengthening rural land management is a crucial component of development and reform. It not only concerns agricultural development and rural stability, but also the sustainable development of industrialization and urbanization. On the issue of land management, we certainly must not make the mistakes of history.

01/05/06 -- At the end of every year the media comments on the year's major events, but I like to look back on some of the year's "details." In the business world, there is an expression: "success and failure depend on the details." Don't the details of the relationship between a country -- a society -- and the lives of its people reflect their quality of life?

12/08/05 -- Several years ago, a small group of investors from Wenzhou visited the Pearl River Delta Region but quickly lost interest and went elsewhere. Ever since, the focus of China's entire real estate market has been on the Yangtze River Delta region and on Shanghai in particular. But now, the government is applying macroeconomic controls to slow the real estate market there because it is unable to shoulder the burden. People are looking anew at the Pearl River Delta. Is the return of those wealthy people behind the recent wild fluctuations in housing prices?

12/01/05 -- Shanghai monks believe in Buddhism, pursue transcendence, and take MBA classes

In general, people think monks are "out of this world." But eight monks from the Shanghai Temple of the Jade Buddha are taking courses in a master's of business adminstration (MBA) program at Shanghai Jiaotong University.

A City Where Parents Don’t Have to Pick Between Schools
一个无需择校的城市

Facing Crisis: Let’s Share the Load
�对�机，让我们分担并分享

Some Mainstream Economists are Responding to a Crisis of Trust

11/17/05 -- Korean television drama "The Great Changjin" contains obsolete plot-lines, formulaic characters and dogmatic values. So why is it as popular as “My Sassy Girlfriend�?

Even Li Bingxun, the director of “The Great Changjin�, didn't expect that this piece could be so popular in China. "I think it is because we share similar culture and values. Changjin is an average person. The theme of struggling for success meets people's desire for success. People everywhere, regardless of their nationality, are touched by stories that describe the average person's endurance of hardships and eventual success."

The Autobiography of a Killer �人嫌犯的人生自白

Attacking a Difficult Issue: "Reform in the Deep Water Area" 攻�：推动改�涉过深水区

National Savings Agency VS International Speculators 国储局VS国际炒家：对决铜期市

11/17/05 -- My father- and mother-in-law live in the country. My wife and I work in the city. Since we live far away from them and we are both busy with work, we seldom visit them except on holidays.

Bird Flu Has Infected Humans, Vietnamese Sample Inspected 禽�感传染人类　越�标本调查

Difficulties Faced by Shanghai Baoshan Iron and Steel Corporation �钢��困局

Shanghai Baoshan Iron and Steel Corporation Responds to Questions From Southern Daily �钢股份答�方周末

11/10/05 -- Even before the first rays of sunlight reach the tops of the trees, you enter the school alone. Like most village schools, you are the only teacher for several grades.

By yourself, you split firewood and light a fire in the stove—your face reflects the gentle light of the flames. The classroom begins to warm up. Students enter in two’s and three’s, their faces are pure and filled with joy—like the morning sun. Morning after morning, you go through the same motions. Year after year, you help raise group after group of students.

11/03/05 -- "This is the only windmill in Hongkong," pointed out Zhang Yunqi, as the Rainbow Warrior scudded by Lamma Island, on which the windmill solitarily stood, "though there is plenty of utilizable wind energy in Hongkong."

10/06/05 -- One August afternoon, in the center of Japan's Nagano County in a small town, the sun was fierce. In that place a small student, under the direction of a famous music conductor, held a brass music instrumental ensemble performance. Hundreds and thousands of Japanese people stare squinting in a dense mass surrounding them.

09/08/05 -- When viewed from an airplane, the Penghu archipelago is supposed to look like a jade necklace. However, even under clear skies, they seem to be covered by haze that even the typhoons Maisha, Coral, Taili, and Butterfly could not dissipate.

08/11/05 -- Other than the movement of the shade in the courtyard, time in this village seems to have come to standstill and become entirely meaningless.

Primitive mud houses and modern tile houses are crowded together by the dry river bed; at the entrance to the village old men squat together smoking cigarettes, while aimless young men sit on the steps of their homes. Xiao Zhai village is like an orphan abandoned in the deep recesses of a mountain, with only a narrow and beat up dirt road to show that it hasn't completely lost touch with modern civilization.

08/04/05 -- If one were to admit that the withdrawal of Cnooc’s bid was not unrelated to the United States Congress’ mistrust of China, then one should also acknowledge that the recent Sino-American strategic negotiations demonstrate that America and China are establishing a new precedent of mutual trust.

7/21/05 -- Editor’s note: After Fuling District of Chongqing Municipality presented its cadre observer system to the public last month, it attracted the attention of many people—both supporters and opponents. The Organization Department of the District Party Committee bore a great deal of pressure because of this. This publication intends to present an objective picture of the origin and development of this reform. What perhaps deserves consideration is that despite the controversy regarding [Organization Department’s] method, its courage in daring to test and probe the locality deserves admiration.