TICKET CRUNCH: Buying a train ticket for Spring Festival travel each year is a headache for many Chinese (YUAN JINGZHI)

Train Ticket Scalping Resolution

As millions of Chinese are caught in the travel rush for the lunar New Year, the topic of adopting a real-name train ticket system (as used by airlines) is again becoming the focus of public attention. However, the Ministry of Railways said it was not time to implement the real-name system, arguing it would cost too much to launch both economically and technically.

It's necessary to make a comparison between the expenses of implementing the real-name system and of clamping down on scalpers. The root cause of rampant ticket scalping is that the capacity of the railway department falls short of the rising passenger volume. Before this problem is completely addressed, the crackdown on ticket scalpers may last for years. The cumulative amount of money for anti-scalping efforts is likely to surpass that needed to launch a real-name ticketing system. Thus the claim that the real-name ticketing system is economically and technologically prohibitive is unconvincing.

It's time for railway officials to publish the real cost of the time and energy used to crack down on ticket scalpers and consult the public for more effective ways to fundamentally solve ticket exploitation.

The Beijing News

Fake Notes Policy Needed

In the past month, reports on fake 100-yuan banknotes prefixed with HD90 have been frequent in the Chinese media. Theoretically, as long as all people refuse to accept and use counterfeit banknotes, they will be weeded out of circulation. However, this time the quality of the fake banknotes is so high that they even escape the scrutiny of some fake cash detectors. If the machines are unable to spot the fakes, how can ordinary people do so? Besides, even if it is found that the banknotes at hand are fake, ordinary people are incapable of tracking their makers and distributors. They must depend on related law enforcement departments to eradicate this menace.

However, some local banking institutions have failed to take effective measures to help the police track down makers and distributors of fake banknotes, and instead claimed that fake banknotes starting with the prefix HD90 are not as high quality as they are said to be and can be easily uncovered. Some police officers also have not done anything tangible to solve this problem, except for confiscating fake banknotes when they are found.

Some departments are set up to deal with fake products, including fake banknotes, so they must act decisively and purposefully to eradicate the source of the problem. Meanwhile, the public also has the right to demand these departments create a market undisturbed by counterfeit money because it's not their duty to worry about this issue.

Qilu Evening News

Movies Lacking in Soul

According to statistics released by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, China produced 406 movies in 2008, with their total box office sales topping 2.6 billion yuan ($370 million), a historical high. However, at a recent seminar held by a national film association, experts pointed out that Chinese movies are short on cultural influence and some even lack it completely.

Why are prestigious Chinese moviemakers unable to produce culturally inspiring movies when the country already has a sound social environment and advanced film technologies. They fail in this because they are not devoted enough to movie-making, paying too much attention to visual effects while neglecting the cultural value of their productions. Today's movie industry is filled with flippancy and money worship. Moviemakers are eager only for box office success.

Apart from amazing special effects scenes, seldom do we find something that makes a new movie worth watching twice. Movies are part of entertainment, but they are not only entertainment. Cultural influence is the soul and core of a movie.

Shenzhen Economic Daily

Who Is Really Benefiting?

The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development recently demanded that local governments stabilize the property market in a responsible way, warning against stimulus measures such as excessive tax breaks.

The property market is the first to be heavily hit in China by the global economic crisis. As a result, measures to shore up the property market have emerged all over the country.

The ban from the Housing Ministry is expected to curb some local governments' efforts to maintain and even boost already high housing prices through administrative intervention. However, this is far from enough.

Some local governments' fascination with the property market stems from the fact that land transfers contribute a big proportion of their revenues.

In order to effectively cut the complicated links between property developers and officials, earnings from land transfers must not go directly into local government coffers. In this way, local governments will lose interest in boosting housing prices and instead pay more attention to people's livelihood.

Workers' Daily