Content about opinion-editorial

Will the new rules banning government officials from squandering public money on banquets and pretentious activities work to the satisfaction of the general public? Will they be able to shift officials' attention to the problems that residents urgently need them to solve?

The country's new leaders undoubtedly expected that the answers would be in the affirmative when they endorsed these rules immediately after they took office.

Guangdong province has been the first to respond to the central government’s directive requiring details of how local governments will implement measures to strengthen controls on the property market.

Its stance is rather mild, however, largely echoing the wording of the policy guidelines issued by the State Council on March 1.

As the economic prowess of China's key State-owned enterprises continues to grow, there are increasing calls for them to hand over more of their profits to the State so that people can share the fruits of their success.

Such calls are well-founded as China's SOEs pay only 5 to 20 percent of their profits to the State, depending on how profitable the industry is. Lou Jiwei, minister of finance, admitted that the ratio is "low" during the 2013 China Development Forum on Sunday.

On Tuesday, the Party's anti-graft body meted out disciplinary punishments to officials who, in six separate cases, had violated the Party's new rules on work style. This highlights the Party leadership's resolve to improve efficiency and put an end to the wasting of public money and other irregularities.

The decomposing pig carcasses recovered from Shanghai's main river have raised concerns not only about the safety of the drinking water source for the country's largest metropolis, but also about the way pigs are reared.

Despite the city authorities' claim that the river water is safe and there has been no swine epidemic reported upstream, there are still questions that need to be answered, such as where did the carcasses come from and what has happened to cause the death of about 10,000 pigs in such a short space of time?

Rising house prices have increased the pressure on the central government as it tries to stabilize economic growth.

The average price of a new house increased in 66 of the country's 70 major cities in February. Among first-tier cities, Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen saw month-on-month growth exceed 2 percent.

China's house prices have been on the rise since last summer and the momentum has increased since November.

With Xi Jinping taking over from Hu Jintao as the head of State and the military on Thursday, the Chinese national leadership is one small step away from completing its smooth generational transfer.

Hopes are running high for the coming decade, as Xi has made a stir with his refreshing no-nonsense style since he took the helm of the Communist Party of China in November. His popularity is partly because of his people-friendly approach to work and down-to-earth style of speaking which people can relate to.

The Leung Chun-ying administration's pronounced strategy of taking a more proactive role on economic development gained widespread endorsement on Wednesday, paving the way for long overdue economic diversification.

This year's Arbor Day should not be just a time for planting trees, as has been the case in the past, it should also be an opportunity for us to reflect on what we can do to improve the health of the country's environment and ecology, which have taken a battering during the past 30-odd years of rapid economic growth.

The suffocating smog that has frequently smothered large swathes of the eastern and central regions since mid-January has raised the alarm that something urgently needs to be done.

A sweeping reform being planned for China's decades-long hukou, or household registration, system, if forcibly pushed through in the years ahead, may remove the entrenched barrier that has stopped many rural people settling in cities and lubricate the country's efforts to accelerate urbanization.

US Secretary of State John Kerry wrapped up the sixth leg of his nine-nation tour in Egypt on Sunday. It is too early to evaluate whether he has attained the objectives of his first overseas trip, but he was certainly spreading money around.

Kerry announced on Thursday in Rome that the United States would provide aid in food and medical supplies as well as an extra $60 million in nonlethal assistance to the Syrian opposition coalition. On Sunday in Cairo, Kerry continued his spending spree by pledging to provide $250 million in aid to the Middle East country.