REAL ESTATE TYCOON DONATES OVERSEAS

Pan Shiyi， Chairman of SOHO China， one of the countrys leading real estate enterprises， donated $10 million to Yale University together with his wife Zhang Xin on October 29. Although the donation will be used to sponsor Chinese students who have been admitted to the prestigious university， many commentators said that donating to schools in China should have been Pans first priority.

Pan， born in October 1963 in Tianshui， northwest Chinas Gansu Province， has no overseas educational background， while his wife， who serves as SOHO Chinas CEO， graduated from the University of Cambridge and worked on Wall Street for a number of years. Pan began his real estate career in south Chinas Hainan Province in 1987 before establishing SOHO China in Beijing eight years later.

The couple announced that they will donate a total of $100 million to renowned universities outside China. Prior to the Yale donation， they donated $15 million to Harvard University in July.

The Mysterious Neighbor

China Newsweek October 27

As ancient Oriental civilizations located respectively on the north and south side of the Himalayas， China and India share many similarities. They both have a population of over 1 billion， hold enormous potential for economic development， and their respective military powers have both been consistently on the ascension.

However， despite their similarities， for many Chinese， India remains a strange and， culturally if not geographically， distant land. The Chinese peoples understanding of India has been of late limited only to reports about numerous recent rape cases in the country， Sino-Indian border disputes and President Xi Jinpings visit to the country in September. Their impression of India is mainly derived from movies such as Slumdog Millionaire. In 2013， the number of Chinese tourists to India was just over 1 million.

It might therefore be surmised that the Chinese peoples understanding of India is wholly inadequate. As two nations rising in the world， the relationship between China and India is of great importance in the 21st century. With the global center of gravity shifting to Asia， the matter of India， which has become Asias third and the worlds ninth largest economy， will increasingly have bearing on both China and the world.

In addition to their knowledge regarding popular subjects such as the Bollywood film industry， the much-revered Indian cuisine， Indias dominant place in the global IT industry and the infamous slums of its main cities， the Chinese need to know more about India.

Repositioning Confucianism

Caijing Magazine October 27

The series of activities recently carried out by the Chinese Government commemorating the 2565th anniversary of the birth of ancient philosopher Confucius have sparked a fresh debate on traditional Chinese culture.

Since the 1990s， Chinas traditional culture has attracted an ever-increasing amount of attention. However， there have long been two polarized opinions， with those who endorse it holding that traditional culture should rightfully be inherited because it can overcome the shortcomings of our present society and its opponents regarding it as a giant obstacle to social progress.

Every nation should cherish its traditions. Discussing whether or not the Chinese should pass on their traditional culture is an exercise in futility because as long as one speaks Chinese and writes in Chinese， he or she cannot possibly evade traditional culture.

However， it is notable that the Chinese traditional culture based on Confucianism has not displayed a strong ability or tendency to improve itself. Thats partly because as Confucianism was historically wedded to political power， it was shielded from pub-lic commentary or criticism. This made it roundly impossible for the philosophy to reevaluate itself and change with the times.

No such obstacles any longer exist with regard to researching Confucianism and other traditional systems of thought in China. A large amount of funds are being invested in several major projects aiming to study ancient culture. Scholars should also carry out comparative studies of Chinese and Western cultures and learn about the advantages of other philosophical traditions.

Fewer Death Penalties

Global Times October 28

Chinas lawmakers are mulling over removing death penalties for nine crimes， including smuggling weapons and nuclear materials as well as fraud. This move would bring the total number of capital sentences down from 55 to 46. The draft amendment to the Criminal Law was submitted to the Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress for a first reading during the legislatures bi-monthly session.

Chinas policy of diminishing death penalties for certain crimes while retaining capital sentences for others is stable. Some have raised concerns that a reduction in crimes punishable by death will lead to more crime. This is mostly a baseless assumption. Throughout the world， no evidences prove that a lessening of the death penalty will lead to a higher rate of crime. Efforts to increase the efficiency of solving criminal cases and prevent crimes will help to make up for the loss of deterrence resulting from the abolition of death penalties for these nine crimes.