Editor's note: The government should redouble its efforts to deal with the roots of violence to protect our children.

It should go without saying that local matters of grave concern and political significance are consigned to local Party and government leaders. That is how our system works.

So it also should go without saying that the local Party and government executives should take the lead in protecting school campuses from desperate attackers.

However, this cannot completely solve the problem. As long as there are angry individuals seeking to display their discontent, something bad will happen somewhere. Schools were targeted because by and large they are defenseless; thus the outcomes were sensational. Attackers can easily find other targets once schools become inaccessible. The ultimate trouble is that we can't and should not arm all of society. Do we want to live in a police state after all?

We need to redouble our efforts to deal with the roots of the problem. To do that, we should create a truly harmonious environment where even society's underdogs can live with dignity. It would be tragic if our citizens have to resort to violence to have their stories heard or their injustices aired out.

A remarkable truth behind all the recent campus tragedies is that the attackers shared a degree of frustration that their grievances had been ignored.

Mental disorder or abnormal personality may have a role in such cases. But the roots may be in real-life frustrations.

We bet local leaders will do everything in their capacity to make sure similar cases do not happen on campuses. It is to their own benefit to lend their ears to the growing clamor of voices, especially complaints, from ordinary citizens.

(China Daily 05/05/2010 page8)