Awry use of family planning rules

A single-child couple entitled to having a second child, were fined by the authorities in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, just because they didn't apply to the family planning office for permission before having a second child. This is harsh to say the least, says an article in Beijing News. Excerpts:

The Ningbo couple are entitled by family planning rules to have a second child because they are the only child of each's parents. But local family planning officials have fined them 70,000 yuan ($11,060) because they didn't apply to the family planning office for permission to have a second child before actually having one.

Agreed, the couple should not have gone in for a second child before informing the family planning office. According to rules, they can have a second child but only after seeking permission from the authorities even though they are eligible to have two children. On this point, the couple were wrong for ignoring the legal procedure.

But local authorities should have treated the case differently. They should have acknowledged the couple's right to have a second child and pulled them up only for not following the norms, rather than imposing the social maintenance fee on them, which is meant for normal couples violating the Law on Population and Family Planning.

Lesson from security guards

A security guard at the Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangdong province, who has been learning English from and teaching Chinese to foreign students, fell in love with one of his students, a Swedish woman, and married her recently. But the "modern fairytale" has sparked a debate among netizens, says an article in Xinhua Daily Telegraph. Excerpts:

In recent times, some security guards have thrown up many surprises. Before the Sun Yat-Sen University case, two guards got admitted to Peking University and Tianjin University because of their outstanding academic performances. They may not have been that successful from the utilitarian point of view, but many security guards have stuck to their principles and overcome the odds to realize their dreams.

Society today is beset with problems. Crisis of faith is one of them. And as representatives of society, individuals carry the burden of these problems. Though fickleness and utilitarianism are realities of our age, we have to realize that society is neither as good nor as bad as we imagine.

Our society is diversified and complicated because it has its bright as well as dark sides. The surprises that people like security guards throw up once in a while are part of the bright side of society. It is true that some individuals' efforts are not necessarily rewarded, but people cannot succeed without determination and hard work.

There is injustice in society. But we should never lose faith in life, and try as hard as possible to rise up to challenges and change ourselves and our society for the better. No matter how difficult the challenges are, we should never cave in or lose the will to excel as some security guards have done.

(China Daily 09/14/2012 page9)