Tighten construction rules

Media reports on the collapse of a residential building in Fenghua, Zhejiang province, have sparked a public debate on the poor state of some buildings in China. And the public seems concerned over the lack of measures to prevent similar incidents elsewhere, says an article in Guangzhou Daily. Excerpts:

The fact that local officials and experts had inspected the building in Fenghua without giving any warning of the poor state it was in just days before it collapsed has created panic among the public. More shocking for the public is the fact that the officials and experts had declared the building safe.

People now say that officials and experts need to exercise more caution while declaring a building safe to prevent similar incidents.

Officials should, therefore, monitor the construction industry more strictly and strengthen the supervision of unsafe and dilapidated buildings. Some media reports have exposed the activities of greedy real estate developers who compromise the quality of products used in construction and thus jeopardize the lives of residents.

The authorities, therefore, have to put in place a "safety net" around the construction industry and scrutinize building proposals more minutely before approving them. Since realty developers are likely to exploit the loopholes in building rules and the supervision mechanism, the authorities should take measures to ensure that developers use quality materials. The measures should include strengthening building rules and penalizing developers who violate them.

A house is the most expensive asset that most people buy. So the realty sector should be monitored more closely. Time and disasters are the best criteria to judge the strength of a building. But that doesn't mean officials should not take measures to ensure that developers follow all the norms while constructing a building.

A tragic family incident

A few days ago, a Beijing resident, surnamed Li, surrendered to police saying he had killed his 13-year-old daughter following an argument over her obsession with some Republic of Korea movie stars. The tragedy could have been avoided had Li properly interacted with his daughter, says an article in Yanzhao Evening News. Excerpts:

Nothing could be more tragic than a father killing his daughter. The man was apparently unhappy with his daughter for apparently devoting her life to worshiping ROK celebrities at the cost of ignoring her studies. The tragic incident has taught us an important lesson: family education and healthy parenthood are essential for teenagers.

The celebrity worship syndrome evident among teenagers is seen as an irrational social phenomenon. Teenagers who suffer from the syndrome are likely to be misguided without proper parental guidance.

Li had failed to establish proper communication with his daughter and explain to her the hazards of celebrity worship. Instead, he tried to overcome the father-daughter conflict by force, which led to her death.

The 13-year-old's rebellious attitude contrasted with her father's intense love for her. Seeing his daughter, who used to be a good student, indulge in idol worshipping, Li took the wrong step of venting his anger through violence.

The tragedy of Li's family is representative of most households in China and shows that many parents are misguided in their efforts to build the characters of their children, which indeed is a tragedy.

The opinions expressed on this page do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

(China Daily USA 04/10/2014 page12)