Anyone who thinks smoking isn’t government’s business should consider one number: 3.5 million. That’s how many people in the second-biggest economy will die each year from tobacco use by 2030, according to a report by prominent Chinese health experts and economists. More than lives will go up in smoke. So will productivity, public money and growth. China immediately should raise cigarette prices,

Viewpoints Jan. 17, 2011

Can a nation spend its way to prosperity? We don’t have to guess. The experience of two countries over the last year ― Germany and the United States ― provides an answer.Prior to last summer’s summit of the G20 group of nations, German Chancellor Angela Merkel spurned President Obama’s call to boost spending. For Merkel, control of government debt was the “urgently necessary” priority. Ultimately,

Viewpoints Jan. 17, 2011

China’s President Hu Jintao will make a historic trip to Washington this week, appearing alongside President Obama on a stage likely to be dominated by two issues: righting the vast U.S.-China trade deficit and avoiding a catastrophic war on the Korean Peninsula. Both subjects matter. Both are manageable, if we work together.But lurking in the wings is an issue of even greater long-term importance

Viewpoints Jan. 17, 2011

When President Obama performed his “Comeback Kid” act late last year, pushing through Congress a number of important bills, observers marveled at the sudden transformation. The president had morphed from the hapless, listless victim of the midterm shellacking and surprised everyone by becoming a new deft, cunning politician.But watching the Obama who came before the cameras on the day of the Tucso

Viewpoints Jan. 16, 2011

The next 12 months will be a critical period for the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as the top leadership prepares to step down and hand over the reins next year.It will be no less critical for Vice-President Xi Jinping, named last year to head a new generation of CCP leaders who will take center stage at the 18th national party congress.No political succession takes place without intense po

Viewpoints Jan. 16, 2011

It’s a bad sign for civility when you can’t have a civil conversation about it. In the days since a deranged assassin gunned down Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and 19 other innocents ― six of whom are now dead ― President Barack Obama, Speaker John Boehner and pundits from across the political spectrum have issued calls to raise the discourse and practice mutual respect. Even Fox News President

Viewpoints Jan. 16, 2011

Wednesday was a solemn and sorrowful day for everyone in Haiti and for all those who lost friends and loved ones on Jan. 12, 2010. The unsparing earthquake that struck one year ago killed 300,000 people, an unfathomable toll in a country so small.The 7.0-magnitude shock represents one of the greatest catastrophes of modern times. One year later, a debate rages over Haiti’s future, but today it is

Viewpoints Jan. 14, 2011

Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ plan to reduce the Pentagon budget over the next five years is appropriate, overdue and even brave. The politics and emotions will be intense.For a federal budget awash in red ink, no government role is above review, and cutting. The Pentagon has avoided scrutiny for a decade, with soaring growth in the budget taxpayers nominally know about, and two expensive wars e

Viewpoints Jan. 14, 2011

Nine percent of Americans think Japan is the world’s top economic power, and that raises an obvious question: Huh?If we knew exactly who that current-events-challenged minority was, we could make a bundle sending them e-mails on how to redeem unclaimed fortunes in Nigerian banks. Thankfully, most Americans got it right in a Jan. 5-9 survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. I

Viewpoints Jan. 14, 2011

You might have noticed a new brand of car called “Luxgen” on Taiwan’s roads. Luxgen was founded by Taiwan’s biggest carmaker, Yulon, as a separate, indigenous Taiwanese auto company in 2009. Luxgen (the name is a combination of the words, “Luxury” and “Genius”) is doing very well. The company’s website claims that Luxgen is now number six in the Taiwanese market. Yulon is, of course, just one of s

Viewpoints Jan. 14, 2011

The unusually long and severe cold spell is driving up electricity consumption. According to the government, a surge in power demand for heating boosted peak power consumption to 71.84 million kilowatts at noon Tuesday, sending power reserves falling to a dangerously low level of 4.07 million kilowatts, or 5.7 percent of the nation’s maximum power generation capacity of 75.91 million kilowatts. It

Editorial Jan. 13, 2011

Encouraged by the electoral success of its free school meal program last year, the main opposition Democratic Party has recently unveiled a plan to offer free medical services for the entire population. The scheme, together with the party’s proposals for free child care and halved college tuition fees, is fueling a growing debate on welfare.The DP’s health care plan calls for raising the coverage

Editorial Jan. 13, 2011

This year can be the year in which electric cars make headway in attracting a large number of customers who want to buy a vehicle that has no gas emmissions over a vehicle that runs on fossil fuels. But many problems must be overcome before electric cars become a transportation mainstay. Nissan kicked off fierce competition in electric car sales with the December launch of the Leaf, a five-door ha

Viewpoints Jan. 12, 2011

Cigarette makers do a lot more than shred tobacco and roll it up in thin sheets of paper. A December report by the surgeon general’s office outlined a host of changes that tobacco companies have made over the years to render smoking easier to start and harder to quit. For instance, vents and other filter designs make the smoke feel less harsh even though it does the same damage. A bigger, quicker

Viewpoints Jan. 12, 2011

“You say you want a revolution,” the Beatles sang in a song that was released in the year that students across Europe famously took to the streets to protest against the established order.It may not quite be 1968 all over again. Even so, there is a whiff of youthful rebellion in the air. Young people across the region have been staging angry demonstrations in the last few months as government aust

Viewpoints Jan. 12, 2011