TRUSTED VEGETABLES

Yangcheng Evening News

October 31, 2011

Vegetables packaged and labeled as "Hong Kong-bound vegetables" are now sold in many supermarkets in south China's Guangdong Province. Although sold at higher prices, the vegetables have been selling well since its launch. The packages carry product information and consumers can even find the testing reports on the Internet.

As Hong Kong's major supplier of farm produce, Guangdong has been selling "Hong Kong-bound food" for 16 years and not a single serious food safety accident arose during this time, which explains their popularity on the food scandal riddled Chinese mainland. The brand should become a standard for all Chinese vegetable products as it is trusted and scale production will make it affordable.

SECURITY CAMERAS

Southern Metropolis Weekly 

November 14, 2011

Using security cameras to monitor suspicious people and situations has been a common practice in many countries. The magazine says that cameras act as a criminal deterrent, and are not intended to spy on people's lives, despite their proliferation in banks, hospitals, schools, theaters, railway stations and airports.

To avoid infringement on people's privacy, there should be clear planning on the location of security cameras and their management, according to Tang Xiaotian, a professor with Shanghai University of Political Science and Law. He also said the public should be informed of the location of security cameras and suggested people do nothing that will leak their private information in places where the cameras are installed.

FEEDING POOR STUDENTS

The Beijing News

October 28, 2011

The State Council of China decided on October 26 that the Central Government would subsidize 3 yuan ($0.46) per day to every student in compulsory education schools in impoverished rural areas, for nutritious meals. The subsidy totals 16 billion yuan ($2.46 billion) a year.

Previously, charity groups had launched a campaign to provide free lunch to pupils in poor rural areas, and managed to raise more than 16 million yuan ($2.46 million) within several months, benefiting more than 10,000 students in 77 schools. However, this fund is far from enough. The concern now is on how to implement the government policy. Apart from strict supervision on how schools make use of the nutrition subsidy, public supervision should also be encouraged to make the campaign more successful.