Media Watch

SOE RESHUFFLE China Economic Weekly April 11

the merging of chinas central enterprises， or state-owned enterprises （soes） controlled by the central Government， began 13 years ago， trimming the number of the heavyweight bloc from 196 to 106. the process is aimed at beefing up market vitality and nurturing competitiveness. Against the backdrop of supply-side reform， regrouping efforts have been revved up so that soes play a more important role in strengthening competitiveness and combating overcapacity.

After reviewing the integration measures in the past as well as those to be introduced this year， china economic weekly looks at what can be learned from previous merging practices. through mergers and acquisitions， state-owned assets can be optimized while redundant construction or over-competition can be avoided. the ideal mega-groups formed after the regroupings should be capable of standing out in international competition and spearheading chinese enterprisesgoing-global initiative.

LONGER WEEKENDS ANYONE？ Nanfang Daily April 5

workplaces where workloads permit it are being encouraged to offer employees a two-and-a-half-day weekend in summer. in the wake of a document published by the General Office of the State council in August， at least eight provinces have come up with detailed regulations on implementing the longer weekend policy.

however， the two-and-a-half-day weekend is not compulsory. employers have discretionary power to decide whether or not to prolong their workers weekends. companies that prioritize profit may refuse to reduce work hours for fear of its impact on productivity， while some government departments and public institutions may allow employees an extra half day off regardless of it affecting operations.

the two-and-a-half-day weekend will allow people to spend more time on travel and other leisure activities. however， such an arrangement alone is insufficient to spur the tourism industry as policymakers have been expecting.

A reasonable holiday system should enable employees to fully enjoy their right to vacation. the priority at present is to thoroughly implement the paid leave system.

PARKING HEADACHE Oriental Outlook April 14

while motor vehicles are becoming more and more important in our daily life， difficulties in finding parking space are also exacerbating， especially in metropolises like Beijing and shanghai. According to the Ministry of Public security， the number of cars in china exceeded 150 million by the end of 2014. A conservative estimate shows that nearly 50 million do not have parking space.

Oriental Outlook looks at the severity of the problem and solutions to it. it says building more parking lots is not the answer because despite the shortage， some parking space is left unused. it is more feasible to coordinate and integrate existing resources so that the existing space can be well and fully used.

the internet is being explored by businesses to connect vacant parking space to drivers who need to park. Although it can help information sharing， businesses should find a more feasible way so that this can be a sustainable trade.

GROOMING CITIZENS Outlook Weekly March 28

Although china has become the second largest economy in the world， some of its citizens are yet to behave themselves in a way that goes with the nations status. uncouth acts such as spitting in public have tainted their image and may， eventually， even hinder the countrys economic and social progress.

Outlook Weekly and Beijing-based china Mainland Media Research co. conducted a joint survey on the overall deportment of the chinese in March， interviewing more than 2 million people in 12 cities.

worryingly， only 30 percent of the interviewees were satisfied with the overall conduct of the population， while 50 percent regarded it as “average” and as many as 17.7 percent as“poor.”

the overall behavior of the population and their level of civility are the new yardsticks for creating a moderately prosperous society in all respects.

however， improving a populations cultural consciousness takes a long time. the key lies in education.

on one hand， traditional values such as benevolence and righteousness should be followed. on the other hand， modern concepts such as social responsibility， legal awareness and following rules should be integrated into the education system.

A fair and egalitarian social environment and harmonious family relations would also contribute to social decorum.