The crackdown on gangs in Chongqing has probably laid bare the evolution of criminals from street rogues to big-time thugs, successful businessmen and respectable politicians.

The biggest crackdown on Chongqing's criminals and their colluding officials was driven by city Party chief Bo Xilai's political determination, not by a power struggle as some Western observers have erroneously concluded, says Lin Zhe, a professor of the Central Party School of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Two years ago, I wrote a column about how the early arrival of winter left Beijing residents shivering as we waited for Nov 15, the officially designated date for the start of central heating.

On Monday, the Supreme Court drafted regulations for proceedings of administrative cases on the disclosure of government information. But without an amendment to the Law on State Secrets, local governments will not stop using the ruse of State secrets to deny people information, says an article in Shanghai Morning Post. Excerpts:

The 11th Session of the 11th National People's Congress (NPC) replaced former minister of education Zhou Ji with Yuan Guiren. The news drew wide public attention because education is closely related to people's life and they pin high hopes on the educational reform, says an article in Guangzhou Daily. Excerpts:

Some senior citizens in rural areas of Henan province recently found that local police stations had cancelled their hukou (household registration). The case reveals the flaws in grassroots governments' management, says an article in China Youth Daily. Excerpts:

The commitment, made by President Hu Jintao at the United Nations Climate Change Summit in September 2009, that China will reduce its carbon emission per unit GDP (carbon intensity) by a "notable margin" by 2020 compared with the 2005 levels, signals a qualitative change in China's policy on energy-saving and emission reduction.

With more foreign central banks having begun to tighten their credit supply nowadays, Chinese policymakers need to review the "moderately loose" monetary policy that has so far effectively powered a strong rebound of the national economy.

It is rare for such a turf war to take place between central government departments. And it is urgent for the regulatory agencies involved to define the boundary of their responsibility.

When the world is increasingly becoming a global village, globalization is something that a nation or an individual finds hard to ignore whether one likes it or not. How to look at this inevitable process and let more people share its positive results in an even broader way and minimize its negative effects has become a global concern.

Another view on nuclear-free DPRK

Four months have passed since the bloody riots in Urumqi that killed almost 200 people and life has been slowly returning to normal.

Six Ugyur men, all former inmates at the United States' notorious Guantanamo Bay prison, have landed in Palau and say they are looking forward to starting new lives on the tropical Pacific island.