COST-CONSCIOUS SHOPPING: Facing high inflation, many people prefer saving to spending (HUANG ZONGZHI)

More Free Medicare

According to the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Civil Affairs, free medical treatment for senior citizens will be expanded to cover those who are more than 95 years old. Currently, only those over 100 years old were given free medical care. The new regulation will benefit more than 5,000 elderly people in Beijing, compared with around 430 now.

This is a good gesture. It is hoped this favorable policy will be adopted in more places. Governments at various levels should moderately raise medical subsidies for the elderly people in rural areas. In rural areas where income is relatively low, there should be a reduction or even exemption of premiums, and premiums for urban residents should also be properly cut.

The elderly are vulnerable to chronic diseases. Medical insurance for them should take this situation into account. It is also necessary to include more items and medicines on the reimbursement list and lower the threshold for reimbursement.

Under the current medical insurance system, younger generations pay for retirees' medical expenses. This system may not be financially viable in the long term. Governments may have to input more in the medical insurance for the retirees.

People's Daily

Earthquake Education

Hit by a massive earthquake on March 11, Japan is now attracting global attention for its relief work, as it shows the world a picture of a calm and highly disciplined population.

In the aftermath of the disaster, people still queue to buy food and make calls, and they consciously save electricity to ensure the power supply. After escaping from the earthquake and taking shelter on the city square, not a single person smokes and there is not a single piece of litter on the ground. Everyone is helping each other. Japanese businesses have also begun to take action by offering free telecom service. All this shows the Japanese nation's strong solidarity in the face of this natural catastrophe and also the fruit of national disaster education.

The Japanese media have acted very responsibly. They have presented no special reports on death, no images of crying or shouting, no instigating reports from the disaster locations. Their focus has been on collecting and broadcasting disaster-related information. The media have never interviewed any relief workers, in order to avoid interrupting the relief process; neither have they interviewed victims' relatives, who are already in great misery.

Catastrophes are always moments that reveal the very truth of a nation. The high quality found in the Japanese can be used as educational material in China.

China Youth Daily

Plane Tree Disputes

Plane trees are regarded as one of the symbols of Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. These days, plane trees of more than 70 years old along streets in Nanjing are mostly laced with green ribbons—it is a way for residents to express their wishes to save the trees. The Nanjing Municipal Government decided to cut down hundreds of plane trees in order to construct Line 3 of the Nanjing Metro. This decision stirred up residents' dissatisfaction, since people have a deep attachment to the old trees. In response to residents' concerns, the government promised to improve the tree-removal scheme and try to protect all of the trees.

By removing the trees, the government hopes to make transportation easier for residents; at the same time, residents hope to preserve the environment. Both have good intentions. The question is, if the public had been consulted ahead of time, would the situation be so embarrassing now?

The government, for its part, did not first inform residents of its plans regarding the construction project and did not listen to the public's opinions about the tree-removal scheme.

For major projects directly affecting people's lives, we have certain systems and regulations that should be followed before they are approved. Why are current systems unable to ensure that the public's voice is heard? Maybe the plane tree issue warns the governments of the need for urgent improvement.

Changjiang Daily

Consumer Unwillingness

The People's Bank of China, the central bank, found in a quarterly survey released on March 20 that of 20,000 urban bank depositors in 50 major cities, 85.8 percent of urban residents prefer saving money in banks to spending. The willingness to spend fell to 14.2 percent, the lowest since 1999.

What's behind this 12-year-low willingness to consume? Sluggish domestic demand might imply something. The majority of ordinary people feel they do not have much money to spend. When middle- and low- income earners have to save as much money as possible to cope with children's education, housing and unexpected major illnesses, consumption will undoubtedly shrink.

If the nation wants to stimulate the public's willingness to consume, a priority should be placed on reducing the gap between the rich and the poor and speeding up the construction of the social security system. Moreover, another reason consumer willingness is impaired is people's fears about food safety. A series of food-related scandals have frightened Chinese consumers. Therefore, the effort to ensure food safety to restore consumers' trust is another engine to increase consumer willingness.

Yanzhao Evening News