Huang Qihuan， a 45-year-old police officer in Loudi， Central Chinas Hunan Province， successfully saved a family after he offered himself up to a local kidnapper in exchange for residents who were being held hostage in an apartment.

At midnight on August 30， Huang was dispatched to the apartment to solve a conflict， where a man was threatening his brother with a knife. Huang exchanged himself for the hostage and persuaded the kidnapper to free the family after a five-hour negotiation， during which Huang experienced threats from the knife-wielding kidnapper， who also poured cooking oil on Huang and turned on a gas cooker， with the intention of killing them both.

The knife was held to Huangs neck for several hours， causing injuries which required him to be rushed to hospital.

“I was mentally prepared for death several times during the five hours as a hostage. These five hours were the most horrifying that Ive ever experienced as a police officer，” Huang recollected.

Huang became a policeman in 2006 after being discharged from military service. His heroic act won praise throughout the country， prompting tributes to the nations police.

Progress in Justifiable Self-Defense

Beijing Youth Daily September 2

On the evening of August 27， a drunk passenger named Liu Hailong got involved in an argument with bicyclist Yu Haiming over a traffic dispute in Kunshan， east Chinas Jiangsu Province. During the dispute， Liu took a machete out of his car and attacked Yu. Yu then grabbed the machete from Liu and fought back， killing him. This incident has attracted significant attention in China over whether Yus actions will be adjudged a justifiable self-defense.

The Public Security Bureau and Procuratorate in Kunshan have jointly issued an announcement that， in accordance with the Constitution， Yus actions are recognized as legitimate defense and he does not bear criminal responsibility for Lius death.

The development of Yus case and the multiple interpretations of the justifiable selfdefense system further indicate that Chinas justifiable self-defense system is being better implemented， leaving behind its reputation for being too conservative.

Another important aspect of Yus case is that the intervention of public opinion has helped the case to be processed in a more rational way. The correct application of justifiable self-defense should take into consideration both legal and social effect， and respect the publics moral expectations in a bid to improve the legal sense of society.

Social Security Dilemma

Caixin Weekly August 27

According to a recently released policy， all social insurance will be collected by tax authorities starting on January 1， 2019. As a result， Chinas social security system， especially the pension system， is facing new challenges brought about by enterprisesconcerns about rising costs and a widening pension gap due to an aging population.

Although the change is only related to the collection and management of tax rather than the fundamental rules of social security， some enterprises are still concerned about the increased burden once social security for employees needs to be paid strictly in line with regulations.

An aging population has also made the imbalance between the revenue and expenditure of Chinese social security funds more prominent. In recent years， the value of fiscal subsidies in the revenue of pension funds has exceeded 400 billion yuan （$57.97 billion） per year， more than 15 percent， and is showing signs of increased momentum.

In order to strike a balance between the increasing burden of enterprises and sustainable social security funds， decision makers need to take rational measures. Enterprises should be further classified in an appropriate way as high social security may be detrimental for labor-intensive smalland medium-sized enterprises which create a large number of jobs. Aside from urging enterprises to pay social security according to regulations， tax authorities should also strive to reduce the fees.

The reform is also aimed at improving the coverage and efficiency of social security collection as Chinas pension gap widens， with problems caused by an imbalance between the revenue and expenditure of pensions looming. As a solution， authorities have adopted a policy to make adjustments and bridge the gap between different regions in terms of pension funds.

The relevant sectors still need to make accurate calculations and make the standards of pension beneficiaries more specific to provide elderly people with a social safety net.

Encourage Public Participation

Peoples Daily September 3

Chinas rapid economic growth demands corresponding changes in the planning of urban and rural development strategies. To ensure the stability of primary-level organizations， the strengthening of the democratic system at this level has become an important part of plans， with a view to increase peoples satisfaction by ensuring their rights to knowledge， participation， expression and supervision.

The problem now is that the public is not actively involved in the process of urban and rural planning. Besides， while some techni- cal problems need to be solved by special authorities， they are not so well informed of the specific questions and the complex entanglement of interests.

Therefore， more active public participation is needed so that their demands can be fully understood， their information can be received and they can play a supervisory role.

To encourage public participation， four things must be stressed. First， the right to participate in all regions and by all people covered by the urban and rural planning must be ensured. Second， the public should participate in an orderly manner according to procedure. Third， the whole planning process should allow public participation， supported by an effective feedback mechanism. Fourth， the relevant planning authorities should always pay careful attention to public opinion and improve their work accordingly.

FORMER POLITICAL ADVISOR SENTENCED

Liu Shanqiao， former vice chairman of the Hubei Provincial Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference， was sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined 2 million yuan（$293，000） for taking bribes by a court in central Chinas Henan Province on September 4.

Liu， born in 1956， was convicted of accepting money and gifts worth over 17.9 million yuan （$2.59 million） either personally or through persons of interest between 2009 and 2017， said a statement by the Intermediate Peoples Court of Nanyang City.

The court found that from 2003 to 2017， Liu took advantage of his positions to assist certain organizations and individuals in business operations， project contracting， personal arrangements and promotions， among other crimes.

Lius illicit gains will be turned over to the state treasury， the statement said. Liu admitted his crimes in court and told the court that he did not plan to appeal.

“China should capitalize on the functions of a socialist market economy， and provide higher quality financial services to private and small- and micro-sized firms through market competition.”

Yi Gang， Governor of the Peoples Bank of China， in a statement released by the bank on September 5

“We are focused on Asia， but we are also looking to support non-Asian countries.”

Jin Liqun， President of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank， outlining his vision for further cooperation with regions around the world in an interview with China Daily

“In the petrochemical industry， the international market usually lacks sufficient understanding of Chinese products. Their impression of ‘made in China is stuck at the early stage of Chinas opening up when we produced cheap and low-quality goods.”

Sun Songquan， Vice General Manager of the Sourcing Department of Sinopec Engineering （Group） Co. Ltd.， at a Belt and Road Forum in Urumqi， Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region， on September 4

“Career or life？ This has become a difficult question for most parents born in the 1980s when it comes to the decision about having another child.”

Zheng Zhenzhen， a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Institute of Population and Labor Economics