Social Stability - 122. page

Qiushi published an article entitled, “What is China’s Fundamental Crisis?” The author believes that the ultimate crisis that China faces is not an economic crisis or a political crisis caused by corruption. Rather, China’s “fundamental crisis is the crisis caused by the conflict between ideology and reality. It is a crisis of values, a crisis of faith.” 

Chinese medical personnel conducted a research study on H7N9. The British Medical Journal then published the results, which were also reported in BBC Chinese and reprinted on Netease.com. The study outlined the cases of a 60-year-old man and his 32-year-old daughter who contracted bird flu and died in March 2013.

In order to improve the image of the Chinese tourists who travel overseas, the National Tourism Administration requested that the tour guides and travel agencies take full responsibility for the Chinese tourists’ uncivilized manners and behavior. The administration is also considering including a requirement regarding civil behavior in the contract. The request came after the news media reported on a number instances in which Chinese tourists’ manners and behavior were uncivilized. The top five annoying mannerisms of Chinese tourists are: talking loudly in public, littering, spitting, not following orders, and damaging culture relics.

Source: Guangming Daily, August 4, 2013
http://http://politics.gmw.cn/2013-08/04/content_8499785.htm

On July 26, Meng Jianzhu, head of the Central Politics and Law Commission, attended and spoke at the 20th anniversary celebration of Chang An Magazine, a publication of the Central Politics and Law Commission. Meng requested all levels of all departments under the Central Politics and Law Commission to be active in using the Internet and the new media, such as microblogs, Weixin, or Wechat, to increase communication with the public. He also asked all levels to build a trusting, close, and positive relationship with the media in order for the Central Politics and Law Commission to play a key role in leading the main stream media.

Source: Xinhua, July 27, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2013-07/27/c_125074487.htm

On July 11, 2013, Beijing News reported that, according to statistics from China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, there are over 100 million people who suffer from various forms of mental illnesses. Over 16 million of them have severe mental illness, meaning one in every 100 has severe mental illness. For treatment, two percent of the 16 million take medicine, while less than 10 percent receive in-patient treatment. Reports indicate that about 10 percent show an inclination to commit violence. It is common for family members to chain these people in a cage at home. In Hebei Province alone, the number of people “living in a cage” has reached 100,000. 

Beijing University released its China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), which shows that income inequality is increasing, with the top five percent’s income being 234 times that of the lowest five percent. The Studies based its report on statistics for the 2010 to 2012 period. 

According to a joint study by Chinese and Western scholars from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tsinghua University, Beijing University, and a professor at the Hebrew University of Israel, severe air pollution in northern China reduces the average life expectancy by at least 5.5 years. However, in an interview with BBC Chinese, Professor Song Yuqin from Beijing University’s School of Environmental Science and Engineering expressed his doubts about the “5.5 years life expectancy reduction” conclusion. “You do not need to take it (the conclusion) seriously.” In Prof. Song’s opinion, it is unlikely that smog could be eliminated in 20 to 30 years because China is in the process of development. He did, however, call on the government to take action because "the root cause still lies with the government."

Source: BBC Chinese, July 10, 2013
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/china/2013/07/130710_china_environment_south_north.shtml

Xinhua carried an article that Ban Yue Tan Magazine, a subsidiary publication of Xinhua, originally published on the subject of the increase in "temporary couples" among farm workers who work in urban areas. According to the statistics that the Ministry of Statistics published, there are over 160 million farm workers who have migrated to urban areas. Of those over 54 percent are between 21 and 40 years old. The article reported that there could be as many as 100,000 farm workers who had formed “temporary couples” while away from home due to the long term separation from their spouses. The phenomenon is especially popular in Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces. A survey published by Daguu.com, an online job search website, showed that of 18,000 surveyed, 62 percent of the married couples live apart while 13 percent of them hardly ever see each other each year. The impact of temporary couples has resulted in a clash with the traditional marriage value system in the countryside, bringing the divorce rate to as much as 50 percent in some regions, as well as having a negative effect on the children.

Source: Xinhua, July 14, 2013
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2013-07/14/c_125004504.htm