Spare a thought for migrants this festival

Migrant workers said they feel sad for a couple in Foshan, Guangdong province, who were detained on Monday for booking train tickets online and selling them to migrants desperate to return home for Spring Festival by charging just 10 yuan extra. They believe the couple have been wronged by being branded "scalpers", because they were actually helping migrant workers get the elusive train ticket.

The couple indeed have to be punished according to law. But then the authorities should take measures to ensure migrant workers get train tickets without all the hassles and tensions.

Migrant workers, who comprise the majority of the passengers and suffer the most during Spring Festival, find it even harder to book a train ticket after the Ministry of Railways launched the online ticketing service last year.