Toll-Free Thoughts

On February 16， Chinas toll-free program for Spring Festival holiday came to an end. During the week-long holiday， excluding Hainan and Tibet， the program exempted cars with seven or fewer seats from toll charges， saving a total of 3.932 billion yuan for drivers.

The toll-free policy was the main reason many people took road trips during this years holiday. During other times， travelers frequently encounter expensive tolls and get fed up with inefficient management. No one is sure who is ultimately collecting the money， adding to negative public sentiment about toll roads. As some have expressed， if highway tolls were more reasonable， driver-friendly， and regulated， the toll-free program during holidays wouldnt be so attractive.（Fan Zhengwei， People.com.cn）

Firework Industry on the Decline

According to statistics from Fireworks Administration of Beijing Municipal Government， from last Lunar New Years eve （February 9） until the end of the fifth day of the first lunar month （February 14）， a total of 313，000 cases of fireworks were sold in Beijing， a decrease of 45 percent compared to the previous year.

Fireworks are a traditional Chinese way to celebrate the New Year. Nowadays， with air pollution on everyones mind， more people are advocating setting off fewer fireworks or eliminating them from Spring Festival celebrations. Besides， meteorological indexes for setting off fireworks were released for the first time during this holiday， which can be used to guide the time-honored Chinese celebration ritual.（He Jun， People.com.cn）

Liquor Makers Fined

Two of Chinas major liquor producers have been fined for price fixing. On February 19， two Chinese liquor companies， Kweichow Moutai Co. Ltd.， and Wuliangye Yibin Co. Ltd.， were fined 449 million yuan by the National Development and Reform Commission for price manipulation. Moutai was fined 247 million yuan and Wuliangye 202 million yuan， equivalent to 1 percent of all sales of the two companies in 2012.

According to Chinas anti-trust laws， Moutai and Wuliangye are forbidden to set fixed or base prices for distributors. The anti-trust investigations of the two companies have revealed the governments intended next move. The prices of top-shelf Chinese liquor such as Moutai will continue to fall， resulting in prices dropping across the industry. Some analysts suggest that if Moutai and Wuliangye want to maintain their market shares， they must diversify according to the market， especially as tightening leisure expenses of governmental and public departments will definitely hurt their sales.

（Li Xiaohong， China Economic Times）

Who Is Responsible for Toxic School Uniforms？

Recently， carcinogenic dyes were found by Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision in school uniforms produced by Shanghai Ouxia Clothing Company.

Schools， Ouxia Clothing Company， and related governmental supervision departments all share responsibility for such a severe quality problem. To address the issue at its root， quality supervision watchdogs and educational departments should set rigid requirements for market access of companies producing school uniforms， and schools should purchase products from reputable suppliers. As for enterprises violating laws such as Shanghai Ouxia， severe punishments should await. Only heavy penalties for breaking laws will deter corporate crime.

（Ling Han， Xinhuanet.com）

Buzzwords

Taobao Girl

﹙“淘女郎”﹚

As the online shopping craze continues building momentum， many online shops have recruited models to help display their products. Taobao.com， the largest retail online shopping platform in Asia， with more than six million shops， compiled a ranking of online models based on popularity and sales volume for the products they promote， inspiring more shops to search for their ideal Taobao girls.

Positive Energy

﹙“正能量”﹚

“Positive energy” is used in physics， but the phrases popularity was born in British psychologist Richard Wisemans book Rip it Up. In his context， it refers to healthy， optimistic， and positive motivation and emotion. In China today， people and events that are encouraging， inspiring， and hopeful are deemed to possess ‘positive energy.

Down to Earth

﹙“接地氣”﹚

Nowadays， the phrase “down-toearth” has been frequently used in a variety of sectors in China – for example， asserting that literature should depict stories of real life， that media coverage should attach importance to grass-root views and voices， or that governmental regulation should address ordinary peoples needs and interests.