September 10 marked the 23rd Teachers' Day of China. It seems that on every Teachers' Day, all the attention is suddenly focused on the devoted teachers who struggle in hard and poor conditions, and who are neglected throughout the rest of the year. Once the occasion has passed, few people seem to care about the hardships facing these teachers, with limited education resources almost all invested in schools and teachers in cities.

Surveys show that only 40 percent of China's 13 million teachers feel satisfied with their career, while the rest are unsatisfied for such reasons as meager income, poor working conditions and low social status.

Teaching is a calling, but as individuals, teachers have the desire to improve themselves and have better living conditions just as everyone else does. It's unfair if teachers have to bear inferior working conditions for a lifetime just because they are expected to have high standards of morality.

While Chinese cities are already saturated with excellent teachers, China's vast rural areas are in extreme need of good teaching resources. The issue at stake is how to encourage more teachers to devote themselves to rural students, rather than praise these loyal people only on the Teachers' Day.

Guangzhou Daily

Blaming the Wrong Wheels

In big cities like Beijing and Shanghai, traffic congestion is a common sight daily. In order to improve the current awkward urban traffic condition, the Ministry of Construction has suggested that private cars should be limited by making car-driving more expensive.

However, it's unfair to put all the blame on private cars. Throughout the country, government vehicles spend far more time on the road than private cars. In some areas, although the traffic problem is deteriorating, the fleet of government cars is expanding rapidly. Official statistics show China had at least 4 million government vehicles in 2004. The number might be even bigger nowadays.

The aim of raising the cost of car usage is to ease traffic pressure, but actually it does nothing except force private cars to take on more responsibility for the traffic problem. Nevertheless, the traffic congestion is a public headache, so it should be shared by the whole of society, not only by a certain group of people.

Qilu Evening News

No Smut Allowed

A talent show launched by Chongqing Television Station has been told to cease production by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT), because it is deemed as vulgar and of poor quality. This is the first time that the media watchdog openly demanded a TV program of this kind to be shut down, following their other list of regulations issued earlier this year. According to a survey by China Youth Daily, 96 percent of respondents support SARFT's decision to stop this program.

While expressing satisfaction, we can't help asking why the local government in Chongqing did not take earlier action to prevent such a tasteless program before it caused extensive criticism among the public? Another problem is that, as it's uneasy for SARFT to keep an eye on all TV stations, it's quite possible that similar programs will surface again in the future.

In order to curb the resurgence of vulgar programs, it's important to demand that TV broadcasters have a sense of social responsibility. However, faced with fierce market competition, all media organizations want to make more profits, so self-discipline alone is not enough. There must be explicit laws and regulations to restrain similar programs. Only on this basis can SARFT avoid the embarrassment of accusations that they are too harsh on punishing TV stations. This will help Chinese TV industry develop in a sound direction.

Market News

Droves of Freshmen Quit College

Gansu is an underdeveloped province in northwest China. In 2005 and 2006, more than 30,000 enrolled college freshmen there refused to register, not because they are too poor to go to college, but because the departments they wished to enter did not admit them. Some even gave up because universities in their own province of Gansu enrolled them. The students and their families believe that if the major is not popular or the college is not prestigious, it's difficult for a graduate to later find an ideal job. Even if local universities enroll them, the students feel they still can't remove the taint of this backward region.

In most impoverished areas, local schools have long educated and encouraged their students to go to cities in developed areas. Growing up with such encouragement, students all tend to take "getting out" as their target. If colleges can't provide them with the opportunity to get out, then, it would appear, they would rather choose to give up.

If all the top students leave home, who will take responsibility for the development of their backward hometowns? Given the discouraging reality, it's necessary for the current education system to focus on making some adjustments that would encourage talented students to remain and develop their hometowns after graduation.

Workers' Daily