Comment: Decision leaves loophole for rich criminals: Gu Yibing, a civil servant in Jiangsu Province of East China: The rich in China have accumulated their wealth by various means. Many have reached their current status because they were quick to seize good opportunities or willing to work hard. At the beginning of their business, it was almost inevitable for them to take advantage of the special environment when the planned economy was transforming into a market economy. Crimes like tax evasion and manufacturing fake products were commonplace. This is how the "original sin" of some of these business owners blossomed. --国务院电视电话会：严格控制部分行业过度投资: China's State Council calls for strictly censoring over-investment in construction related industries (by state-owned entities). Sounds like they're not real serious about it, the article goes on to relay several other messages by the minister. This may, however, be a sign that the government is getting wise to the construction industry's part in the current economic bubble. --Citibank launches credit card for Chinese: Plans to develop a consumer credit market on the mainland face serious hurdles - chief among them the lack of a national bank clearing system and a paucity of credit records. Local banks are already being burned by delinquent home and auto loans. But Prince said Citigroup did not view the fast expansion of China's credit market as a "bubble" similar to South Korea's woes with runaway personal credit card debt. Citibank's risk management policies should prevent similar problems here, he said. Even I remember just a few years ago when South Korea was the hot new market for credit cards. --This 21st-Century Japan, More Contented Than Driven: There is strong nostalgia nowadays for the Edo Period, the feudal era preceding the last century and a half of rapid change. While the Edo Period had many social problems, people are now remembering it as a time of stability and great cultural vitality. "People want to return to an era where life was perceived to be more enjoyable," Mr. Sekizawa said. The feeling is noticeably strong among the young. If the icon of the 1980's was the "salaryman" who sacrificed his private life for his company, today's icon is the "freeter" — the young Japanese who take odd jobs to make just enough money to enjoy their personal interests or choose their way of life. The stress of competing inside Japan, let alone as part of a country competing against a visibly, and to some, frighteningly, hungry China, is furthest from their minds. A nice article about choosing to withdraw from the rat race.