Coupon reminder of hungry days
A special exhibition is currently being held in Beijing. On display are a variety of commodity ration coupons used in China during the time of the planned economy, which ran from the early 1950s to the mid-1980s.

Severely punish those who wilfully break laws
Traffic police in Beijing have tightened up road patrols to crack down on motorists who deliberately hide their licence plates. The move was in response to the recent rise in the number of such misdeeds. Many car drivers took off the rear licence plate or covered it with mud or graffiti to escape speed-monitoring cameras.

Achieve both efficiency and fairness
The government has eventually admitted that the wealth disparity between China's rich and poor populations has reached an unreasonably large extent.

'Fair-price' hospitals won't solve the disorder
As part of its efforts to "build harmonious society," the government has taken initiatives to establish "fair-price hospitals."

Maintain traditions of festivals
At midnight on Lunar New Year's Eve, I stood on the balcony of my 11th floor apartment in Beijing and watched colourful fireworks rocket into the night sky from behind every building I could see. Deafening explosions swept across the city.

End of ban lights fuse of festive fun
Beijing's ban on fireworks has finally been lifted.

Chunyun tests gov't ability to administer
"Chunyun" has become a very special word in the modern Chinese vocabulary. The word, literally meaning "spring transportation," has many implications. For people that work away from their hometown, it refers to the happiness of reuniting with loved ones and the bitterness of battling for a train ticket; for railway staff it represents 40 days of arduous work; for scalpers it suggests a busy season of business; for the police it implies a war against theft and luggage containing inflammable materials; for the government it is a test of administrative ability.

Shenzhou to Songhua, 2005 saw progress and problems
I had a mixed feeling about 2005. There was ecstasy over great successes like the launch and return of the manned Shenzhou-VI spacecraft, and sorrow over the loss of human lives in a chain of disasters such as the coal mine blasts in several provinces. In general, however, hopes and confidence transcended frustration and disappointment.

Helping farmers raise income level
New Year's Day this year witnessed two significant events in China: From that day on, the World Food Programme no longer provides food aid to China, marking the end of 26 years of China receiving aid from the United Nations food organization. Also on that day, China abolished the 2,600-year-old agricultural tax.

Don't forget the poor amid festive celebrations
Christmas Eve revelries have quietened down. But the jovial excitement evoked by the adopted Western festival seems to be continuing into next week, when the nation will bask in a three-day New Year's Day celebration.

Severely punish theft of manhole covers
A few days ago, a netizen posted a message on an Internet BBS complaining about his frustrating experience of seeking help after he got a flat tyre after driving over an uncovered manhole on a road in Xi'an.

Can tougher rules end mine disasters?
Li Yizhong, minister of the State Administration of Work Safety, has vowed that "determined moves will be taken to shut down illegal collieries and those which, though legally registered, still fail to qualify for safe production even after rectification" and that "at least 4,000 coal mines will be closed by the end of the year."

Habit of impatience tarnishes civilization
There is one thing I have never understood since my childhood: movie and theatre goers always leave before the end of the show.

Raise living standards for coal miners
The coal mine explosion on Sunday that caused 134 deaths and left 15 people missing in Qitaihe, Heilongjiang Province, once again put the issue of colliery safety in the spotlight.

Wealth and social responsibility
If it weren't for the recent reports of a few events involving rich people, I would never realize that China's wealthy population was quite so numerous.

A road ethics lesson for drivers
Twenty young lives perished in an instant, as the teenagers, bursting with youthful spirit, greeted sunrise with their routine morning exercises on a rural road.

Specifics key to quality products
The bicycle I bought recently is much better than those I used several years ago. But one small part is still as awkward as its predecessor. The valve in the wheel is slanted towards a spoke, making it very difficult to fasten the pump to it when trying to inflate the tyre. Bicycle manufacturers never seem to pay attention to the position of the valve when mounting the inner tyre on the steel wheel. I have seen too many slant valves, both on my bicycles and other people's, and both today and 20 years ago.

Time to go deeper into tax reform
The day before yesterday, the China Social Investigation Institute published the result of a survey it conducted following the recent amendment to the Personal Income Tax Law.

Learn to be a mature leader
Frankly speaking, the Yasukuni visit by the Japanese prime minister is a tedious topic. It comes up every year triggering protests and comments. From the perspective of a newsman, it definitely is not exciting news.

Let China grow at own pace
Beijing's guesthouses have been very busy welcoming distinguished guests from the United States.

Dose of civilization needed
Despite pressure on the public transport system and overcrowding at tourist attractions, we Chinese still enjoyed a week of National Day holiday tourism.

Gorgeous mooncake boxes
More than a week has passed since this year's Mid-Autumn Festival but I am still enjoying the exquisite flavour of mooncakes. It is not that I received too many gift boxes of the sweet, oily food. I bought the cakes I have loved to devour since my childhood - but at discount prices.

Minor traffic offences
Parramatta Road in Sydney has narrower lanes than Jingshun Road in Beijing but traffic on the Australian motorway is faster than on its Chinese equivalent.