Liu Shinan is China Daily's assistant editor-in-chief. He writes commentaries on social and cultural issues.
I had a mixed feeling about 2005. There was ecstasy over great successes like the launch and return of the manned Shenzhou-VI spacecraft, and sorrow over the loss of human lives in a chain of disasters such as the coal mine blasts in several provinces. In general, however, hopes and confidence transcended frustration and disappointment.
New Year's Day this year witnessed two significant events in China: From that day on, the World Food Programme no longer provides food aid to China, marking the end of 26 years of China receiving aid from the United Nations food organization. Also on that day, China abolished the 2,600-year-old agricultural tax.
Christmas Eve revelries have quietened down. But the jovial excitement evoked by the adopted Western festival seems to be continuing into next week, when the nation will bask in a three-day New Year's Day celebration.
A few days ago, a netizen posted a message on an Internet BBS complaining about his frustrating experience of seeking help after he got a flat tyre after driving over an uncovered manhole on a road in Xi'an.
Li Yizhong, minister of the State Administration of Work Safety, has vowed that "determined moves will be taken to shut down illegal collieries and those which, though legally registered, still fail to qualify for safe production even after rectification" and that "at least 4,000 coal mines will be closed by the end of the year."
There is one thing I have never understood since my childhood: movie and theatre goers always leave before the end of the show.
The coal mine explosion on Sunday that caused 134 deaths and left 15 people missing in Qitaihe, Heilongjiang Province, once again put the issue of colliery safety in the spotlight.
If it weren't for the recent reports of a few events involving rich people, I would never realize that China's wealthy population was quite so numerous.
Twenty young lives perished in an instant, as the teenagers, bursting with youthful spirit, greeted sunrise with their routine morning exercises on a rural road.
The bicycle I bought recently is much better than those I used several years ago. But one small part is still as awkward as its predecessor. The valve in the wheel is slanted towards a spoke, making it very difficult to fasten the pump to it when trying to inflate the tyre. Bicycle manufacturers never seem to pay attention to the position of the valve when mounting the inner tyre on the steel wheel. I have seen too many slant valves, both on my bicycles and other people's, and both today and 20 years ago.
The day before yesterday, the China Social Investigation Institute published the result of a survey it conducted following the recent amendment to the Personal Income Tax Law.
Frankly speaking, the Yasukuni visit by the Japanese prime minister is a tedious topic. It comes up every year triggering protests and comments. From the perspective of a newsman, it definitely is not exciting news.
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