Aug 13, 2012
Translated by Zhang Dian

Editors from the EO's Chinese website publish a daily collection of extracts from commentary pieces that have appeared in the mainland press over recent days. Every Friday the EO's English team translates a selection of these opinion pieces

Labor Camp for Mother Of Rape Victim
    
Background
Via AP:

Police in Yongzhou, a city in Hunan province, sent a woman to a labour camp for 18 months for campaigning for harsher sentences for the seven men convicted of abducting, raping and prostituting her 11-year-old daughter. The decision has since been reversed.

Commentary:

We still have no idea what the whole story is, but obviously Yongzhou Public Security Bureau should not simply be allowed to get away with declaring their own innocence, there's still a lot to be discussed about the sentence handed down to Tang Hui. By no means should a mother whose daughter was forced into prostitution and can no longer have children be sentenced when she struggles for her daughter's rights.

Daily Sunshine (晶報), a commercial daily published by the Shenzhen Press Group.
Original article: [Chinese]

In some key steps of the judicial process, it's only when people adopt some methods outside of the law that they're able to "force" the legal process to advance. If officials deprive people of their right to defend their interests on the premise that it's "not appropriate," people will have no method to protect their own rights. What's more, Tang Hui did not simple beginning petitioning from the start. Initially she placed her trust in the local police and legal institutions. She only began to petition after she no longer trusted them

The Beijing News (新京報)
Original article: [Chinese]

Admittedly, it is not appropriate for Tang Hui to "cry and make a scene." We just want to know what drove this mother repeatedly try to gain justice for her daughter in such an extreme manner? What kind of punishment do the Yongzhou Police deserve for refusing to open the case and for letting criminals act with impunity?

Oriental Morning Post (東方早報)
Original article: [Chinese]

China is not a society that strictly abides by the rule of law. Officials should be of high caliber and have the ability to handle complicated situations. But a minority of grass-roots officials put themselves above the public, and think they are the center of the local order. Officials should bear in mind that they are public servants, and are not above the people.

Global Times (環(huán)球時報)
Original article: [Chinese]

National Rejuvenation 62% Complete  

Background

Via the China Story Blog:

Yang Yiyong, director of the Institute for Social Development under the National Development and Reform Commission, said at an academic forum in Beijing that based on calculations of the country's economic and social development, education and health, scientific and technological innovation, living environment and international influence, a conclusion is drawn that China had completed 62% of its great revival by the end of 2010 and that China will enter the first tier of developed countries by 2049. The finding has drawn ridicule from the public and state media alike.

Commentary

The 62 percent figure has become a joke. To attempt to quantify an abstract and vague concept that has nothing to do with being precise only confuses people. In the face of doubts among people, the researcher Yang Yiyong said that he didn't spend any state funds on his research and what he did was just a hobby. But as a scholar who is paid by the government, isn't it right for the public to keep an eye on the conclusions he is coming to?

The Beijing News (新京報)
Original article: [Chinese]

Ideals are something we should struggle to achieve rather than something that we blindly worship. Therefore I don't advocate the extreme position that this grand narrative of "National Rejuvenation" cannot be quantified. There can be some meaning in attempts to measure national rejuvenation, but the key is to put our national conditions and people's life into consideration, based on the facts. We should avoid blind subjective judgements.

Yanzhao Metropolis Daily (燕趙都市報), a daily paper published by the Hebei Daily Newspaper Publishing Group
Original article: [Chinese]

We have to be alert of the number 62 percent, since it's a superstition that's being presented as science, an attempt to fool the whole society. Conscience should be embodied in  all scientific research, but if it becomes a fraud, the basis of society's common sense will be challenged. And there will be no future for a society without common sense ... We have to take this 62 percent number seriously.

Beijing Morning Post (北京晨報)
Original article: [Chinese]

Don't Drink the Green Tea

Background

Via Worldcrunch:

A Chinese television reporter looking into accusations that private hospitals were scamming patients with false (and costly) diagnoses applied an unusual undercover trick: he submitted tea as his urine sample. And as it turns out, the CCTV reporter is suffering from quite a number of “diseases,” according to three different hospitals, and is desperately in need of costly treatments

If the medical equipment can't even distinguish urine from tea, then we have enough reasons to cast doubt on the so-called precision of the equipment. Both the public and health professional must be aware of the limitations of these devices and avoid relying on them. If the testing equipment doesn't have any problems, no positive results should be returned from a green tea sample. The Ministry of Health should be grateful that these journalists have revealed the incident instead of trying to find excuses.

China Business View (華商報), a popular daily newspaper published in Xi'an.
Original article: [Chinese]

It's a pity that many journalists haven't made any progress in relation to reporting about medical issues over the past 5 years. However, it seems that some medical institutions should also be embarrassed by their own behavior too. A hospital makes easy money until it's outed by an amateurish journalist in an awkward way. Will the Ministry of Health feel ashamed too?

Southern Metropolis Daily (南方都市報), influential commercial daily published by the Southern Media Group.
Original article: [Chinese]