China is not an exception

Comment on "Sub-contract factories fall victim to US crisis" (China Daily, Oct 16)

I used to believe that China has a diversified economy and does not rely on the US market very much, so China will not suffer from the worldwide financial crisis this time.

After reading the article, I've changed my mind. The world economies connect with each other so much that not a single economy could remain intact in such a serious economic situation, and China is not an exception.

The Chinese toymaker, whose products are sold mainly to the US market, has become the latest victim of the crisis. Staying calm and keeping the stability is now the most important thing to the Chinese people.

The Chinese have experienced many disasters, both economic and natural, many times, and I believe the Chinese government is strong enough to weather the financial tsunami this time.

He Yichen

via e-mail

Respect traffic rules equally

All foreigners will surely agree with the opinion expressed in an article on the website of People's Daily.

It is about the fact that some educational authorities in a county of Guizhou province forced among students the habit of "saluting passing cars".

The strange initiative was criticized in the article using a simple argument, that goes as follows: "Pedestrians and car drivers are all equal in status and all have the right to use the road. Compared with vehicles, pedestrians are in a weaker position. So modern traffic rules usually stipulate that vehicles should give way to pedestrians, not vice versa".

Even if that logic applies only to zebra crossings, not to highways, and is definitely against jaywalking, the author of the article did a useful job.

In Western countries, the relative acceptance of any particular traffic rules was attained through decades of deadly accidents and hard fees imposed on drivers and pedestrians not observing the law.

However, the author went so far as to call the request for saluting the passing cars as "feudal", "outdated idea".

But conducts violating stipulated traffic rules are not related to any particular historical classes, nor to the social status of citizens.

They are related to the fact that China's speed of development has been so fast - pedestrians and drivers, being equal in the face of the law, have not yet become conscious of their duties and rights. Both deserve to be equally educated by the media, the school, and so on, and protected or punished by the law, when they violate it.

Claudio Cervini in Beijing

via e-mail

Don't distort the purpose

Comment on "China liberalizes rural land use to boost development" (China Daily website, Oct 20)

This is good news for the farmers, if the local governments can do it right following the policy. Hope the right purpose of the central government will improve the farmers' living and life.

Alex

on China Daily website

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(China Daily 10/21/2008 page9)