Economic  Observer  Opinion & Analysis 

Call for Land Reform to Facilitate Post-Quake Migration

Commentator Wen Guanzhong argues that populations living in potentially dangerous places, like those located in the quake zones, should be encouraged to migrate. Land reform is necessary to facilitate it.

6月5日 18:28

Disaster and Chinese Civil Society

If the Sichuan earthquake could provide a chance for the Chinese government and civil society to foster trust, it would be a blessing in disguise.

6月4日 16:33

Foreign Views on China's Earthquake Responses

The collapses of public buildings, like schools, during earthquake are avoidable if more investment had been made in structural design and construction material.

5月23日 14:28

Comparing Information Openness in China and India

Does China's regulation on information disclosure truly guarantee public's access to information?

5月20日 16:17

For One in Fifty-Thousand

Wen Zhao reflects on pushing past the window of opportunity for rescuing trapped victims, and on further opening up the flow of information.

5月19日 11:35

Why are Schools Crumbling like Sand Houses?

The May 12 earthquake obliterated schools and buried students under debris while government buildings remained intact. Why are the schools so fragile?

5月15日 16:46

Behind the Defiance in the Skies

The unusual show of protest by pilots from China Eastern Airlines that led 18 flights to turn back midway last month has underscored a deficiency in the Chinese legal system.

4月22日 12:10

A Stimulated Diesel Shortage

Chinese official statistics show that fuel production, reserve level and exports are all stable. So why are there long queues and strict rations at gas stations?

4月1日 16:03

Fed Rate Cut Hurts China

Another interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve, though a boon for Wall Street, will be a headache for the East.

3月21日 13:07

The Venom of Boorish Speech

Columnist Wu Xiaobo examines the trend of Chinese entrepreneurs and elites drawing public outcry with their boorish manner of speaking.

3月18日 18:23

The Day China Runs Dry

With the prospect that China's massive but dwindling aquifers will virtually run dry due to over-pumping, Lester Brown calls for China to allow water prices to better reflect its scarcity.

2月29日 18:52

Food Security: Moving Towards the Precipice?

"China and the world are accelerating in the fog toward a precipice", writes Paul Ehrlich, noted population and food security scientist, in discussing world food price increases.

2月28日 18:00

Central Dossier Adds to Agriculture Reform Crescendo

Interview: Song Hongyuan of the Ministry of Agriculture tells the EO what's notable about this year's first central dossier, the revealing annual State Council policy statement.

2月26日 14:46

Dismantling China's Urban-Rural "Dualism"

One of China's top economists, Li Yining, proposes the ways and means to remove the barriers segregating the rural from the urban.

1月25日 18:37

The World is Polluting China

Commentator Hou Dongmin says China has absorbed huge environmental costs to feed the world's hunger for cheap products. Beyond this, China cannot let itself slip into the unsustainable consumerism frenzy that has engulfed the West.

12月27日 17:35

Crawling Towards the Crash

Chen Zhiwu of Yale University ties what he calls all of the indicators of a doomed economy to one common root source: a slow appreciation of the yuan.

11月23日 16:09

No Sympathy for Oil Giants

The state-owned oil giants are exaggerating their losses and exploiting their monopoly status in the market.

11月8日 15:11

Tearing Down Discrimination

A research report says that some government organs have passed laws to institutionalize discriminatory hiring practices. As a result, public service applicants are oftentimes rejected for bizarre or work-irrelevant reasons.

9月11日 13:11

Establishing Rule of Law Socialism

Li Shuguang tells Observer how unscrupulous government agencies can market and sell public trust, and stresses that better rule of law could have prevented the downfall of the Dental Treatment and Advisory Group.

7月31日 14:28

Freedom of the Press is Positive

A new, closely-followed law may restrict local media's ability to report on breaking events. Observer asks Cai Dingjian, professor of law at the China University of Political Science and Law, about the consequences this has for society.

7月20日 17:13