China Daily Global Edition (USA)
A double-edged achievement
The US military reportedly launched a ground-based interceptor from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Tuesday that successfully intercepted an intercontinental ballistic missile target fired from the Reagan Test Site in the Marshall Islands. Given that previous ground-based antimissile tests conducted by the United States were all targeted at slower-moving medium-range ballistic missiles, the successful interception of a more complex and longerrange ICBM target marks a new and huge accomplishment for the US’ anti-missile system.
The technology behind the Ground-based Midcourse Defense is extremely complex, and the system uses globally deployed sensors to detect and track ballistic missile threats. The interception is a move that is compared to hitting a bullet with another bullet, though at far higher speeds. Undoubtedly, the interception of the ICBM demonstrates the remarkable progress the US has made in technologies such as the development of hypersonic engines, intelligent control, precision fast tracking and energy release management.
Ground-based interceptors that can destroy ICBMs are viewed as a strategic technology that will change the prevailing military armament rules and the established pattern of strategic deterrence, and thus all the world’s major military powers have been striving to make a breakthrough in this area. Once the US’ intercontinental missiles interception technology becomes mature, it will likely be a game changer exerting inestimable influence on the established military landscape, given that antimissile technologies are by no means purely for defensive purposes. There are no explicit boundaries between defensive and offensive weapons, and once needed, any strategic defensive weapons can be converted into strategic offensive weapons.
The technologies used for intercepting ICBMs may soon be directly applied to such advanced weapons as hypersonic missiles, stealth spy planes and strategic early-warning aircraft. If there is no restraint from relevant countries, its competitive use may topple established weapons development concepts and spark a new arms race.
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The total amount of the surcharge collected nationwide by the State Grid exceeded tens of billions of yuan a year. However, the surcharge was never written on the receipt that residents received when they paid their electricity bills. The State Grid should be praised for putting an end to the fee because consumers have the right to know where their money goes.
However, according to reports, the canceled fee is only one of six additional fees charged consumers by the State Grid, which, added together, account for 6 percent of people’s electricity bills. It is not yet known if the other five are to be canceled.
Further, electricity is only one of the utilities for which consumers pay such surcharges. Tap water,
The car-hailing regulations in most cities, which require drivers to have local household registrations and their vehicles to meet certain standards, have screened out many who used to work full time in the business.
The decline in the number of qualified drivers, unsurprisingly, has added to the travel woes of commuters with many of them paying more and waiting longer to get a ride-sharing car. Some people who were using car-share services have even gone back to using public transport, which, in most of the big cities struggles to meet the demand.
Car-hailing services are supposed to supplement public transport and alleviate traffic congestion. That drivers have to go to great lengths to stay in the business is not good news.
As of May 4, just 1,504 out of nearly 7,000 candidates passed the examination for car-hailing natural gas, the central heating in winter, even garbage disposal, for each of these services, residents must pay not only the initial price, but also various kinds of additional fees.
Even when you watch a film in the cinema, you have to pay an additional 5 percent fee for the development of domestic films.
It was in the 1960s that the government started collecting these additional fees, enlarging them in the 1980s. That was reasonable then, because the national economy was rather weak and the government needed to collect fees from the residents to support public projects. Since China is now the second largest economy in the world, it is time to cancel most, if not all, of these outdated fees. service in Guangzhou, a pass rate of around 21.5 percent. The pass rate in Shenzhen was only 10 percent.
The waning subsidies offered to drivers have also dissuaded some qualified drivers from staying in the business.
However, the biggest problem is the much higher threshold for drivers when it comes to vehicle standards and examinations.
That public transport is beginning to feel the pain after the exodus of car-hailing drivers points to the fact that the dividends of the digital economy can diminish if rigid transport management stands in the way. There is much room for improvement with regard to how to deal with emerging commuting options. And as an integral part of the sharing economy, ridesharing services should be placed under flexible management.