Voices

“Unity and stability are blessings， while secession and turmoil are disasters. People of all ethnic groups of the country should cherish ethnic unity.”

President Xi Jinping called for resolute opposition to any words and actions that might damage the countrys ethnic unity， during a panel discussion with ethnic minority members of the National Committee of the Chinese Peoples Political Consultative Conference （CPPCC）. Xi also urged that everything possible be done to accelerate the social and economic development of Chinas minority ethnicities and their home areas in order to bring material benefits to the people there.

“The Yasukuni Shrine， resting place for WWII war criminals who were the Nazis of the East， is a spiritual symbol of Japanese military aggression. To this day it has implied that Japans historical invasion was justified， that the Pacific War was a war of defense， and that the verdict of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East was invalid. Fourteen Class-A war criminals are venerated at the shrine. When Japanese leaders visit such a place， presenting flowers and paying homage， they blatantly breach the bottom-line of Sino-Japanese relations， of human conscience， international justice and the post-war global order.”

Liao Liqiang， Chinas Ambassador to Belgium， published an article entitled“Have You Read The Blue Lotus？” in local newspaper La Libre Belgique on February 25. The article presses Japan to come clean about its history. The title refers to the fifth volume of The Adventures of Tintin， the comic book series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. It is about Tintins discovery of the machinations of Japanese spies in Shanghai during the 1930s.

China Newsweek

Issue No. 6， published on February 24， 2014

A New Era of Psychological Disorders

It seems that todays urban residents are suffering from new types of psychological maladies， such as willpower deficiency， decision-making difficulties， affinity phobia， social anxiety and language learning mania. The exact pathogenesis cannot be identified， nor can any medical treatment be given. If charted on a spectrum of psychological disorders， such mental conditions would fall somewhere between psychological impairments and mental disease. In a sense， they reflect the mental state of todays society.

The appearance of these psychological disorders is closely bound to the urbanization sweeping China， as well as Internet infestation. People in todays world have to withstand considerable pressures. The Internet has become an appendage of our daily life， continually feeding us with information. However， as much as it helps us keep pace with the modern era， it also leads to information anxiety， which is the gap between the information we understand and the information we think we ought to understand. In this sense， a psychological disorder can manifest as a defense mechanism to resist and relieve emotional insecurity， unease and panic.

In recent years， such psychological disorders have prevailed among the urban population. More people tend to poke fun at themselves for being lunatics， while others muse on their procrastination or complain about being shopaholics. Media， both new and old， have extensively covered this issue. Thanks to such reports， a good number of people are beginning to recognize their symptoms. In the meantime， those suffering from such disorders find comfort from fellow sufferers in online communities.

The message is that we must be aware that peoples states of mind might not be able to catch up with a rapid developing society as quickly as was first thought.