The Future of the North Pole

Life Weekly
January 6

Climate change has led to a rapid melting of permanent ice in the Arctic. According to the latest research, in September 2011, the total area covered by ice in the Arctic Ocean had decreased by 40 percent compared to 1979. Based on calculations by scientists, the ice in the Arctic Ocean is estimated to disappear completely by the middle of this century. This means the once ice-covered area will change into a sea where ships can come and go freely without icebreakers.

This revelation tells the economic value of the North Pole. New navigation routes linking East Asia, Europe and North America will be opened, allowing for quick routes for maritime transport linking the three regions.

According to the exploration and evaluation conducted during the United States Geological Survey in 2008, the North Pole has 30 percent of the world's undiscovered natural gas and 13 percent of the world's undiscovered oil. All these resources are concentrated in the offshore continental shelf region and suitable for exploration.

Scientists are worried that a melting North Pole will bring a series of disastrous effects to the Earth. In the global climate system, the North Pole and the South Pole are the two switches that control the ocean currents and the atmosphere. Once destroyed, disasters beyond imagination will occur. Therefore, how to explore the North Pole? How to protect it? How to distribute the resources? All these questions make the North Pole a question beyond a regional affair and a matter of international concern.

Salary Increase for Public Servants

Beijing Youth Daily
January 21

In the latest session of Guangdong Provincial People's Congress, some deputies from Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, called for a salary raise for public servants. They claimed public servants are paid less than enterprise employees.

The comparison is too simple to be credible. In the business sector, employees' salaries are decided by the market. If the market goes into recession, the pay of enterprise employees will fall. But salaries for public servants are paid by governments, which are steadier than industries.

People think public servants are well paid and have opportunities to receive "grey income." In fact, this is a misunderstanding. The salaries of most public servants are meager. Despite low pay, public servants have better welfare, such as insurance and pensions. Public servants don't need to pay endowment insurance. Moreover, after retirement their pension payments are higher than other people, and governments manage to offer officials houses. With the skyrocketing housing prices in China, this is a major form of welfare. That is why so many young graduates rush to become public servants every year.

The controversy over the salaries of public servants should be attributed to non-transparent expenditure of government revenues. To reduce suspicion from the public, governments should open their finances to society completely.

Theater Tickets

Workers Daily
January 6

Today, going to theaters has become a form of luxury consumption for most people. During the Spring Festival period, theaters usually launch a series of festive productions, but they come at a high cost.

According to the Beijing Association of Performing Arts, the average price of theater tickets reached 692 yuan ($114) last year. As a result, the average person rarely gets a chance to enjoy them.

In developed countries, consumption structure is fairly diversified and thus allows room for a strong demand for cultural and arts consumption. But in China, the development is unbalanced. Thus, cultural and arts consumption has not seen remarkable growth.

Mass consumption is always the backbone of the development for the cultural and arts industries. In recent years, governments and society have repeatedly called for support of cultural consumption, but they have to make more efforts to realize the goal. Both governments and theaters should take measures to reduce the price of tickets. Enjoying arts should become a part of life for the masses. It's good news that the Beijing Municipal Government is providing preferential service for residents by offering a 50-percent discount on theater tickets.

Vaccine Crisis

Caixin
December 30

On December 24, 2013, a number of experts on hepatitis B attended a press release with heavy hearts, announcing the recent deaths of infants after their hepatitis B vaccinations.

Since it first occurred in Hunan Province in December, with two infants suspected of dying after their hepatitis B vaccination, similar cases were reported in Guangdong and Sichuan provinces. By December 24, there were seven cases altogether.

Of the seven infants, six had been injected with the hepatitis B vaccine produced by a company based in Shenzhen. Currently, the company's hepatitis B vaccines have been sealed up and administration of the vaccine has ceased.

These tragedies have caused a panic among Chinese parents. Recently, the number of infants taking the hepatitis B vaccine has declined greatly. Many parents have delayed their babies' vaccinations. More than half of those still having their children vaccinated have gone as far as to demand imported hepatitis B vaccines.

Experts are worried that more people will refuse to have their children vaccinated. According to them, the immunization program is a network. Once a breach appears and the infectious disease breaks out, the result will be horrific.

Whether or not the seven infant deaths were caused by the hepatitis B vaccination has yet to be confirmed. According to the government, it still needs the final test results before it can decide the cause of death for the infants and finger the responsible parties.