Happy Chinese New Year

Pollution concerns may subdue the celebratory bangs and fancy firework displays.

News and rumors about the H7N9 virus may cook up a worry about poultry in kitchens.

Difficulty in getting a ticket home may leave planned trips aborted.

And work may keep some from joining their loved ones for this once-a-year moment of togetherness.

But nothing should dilute the festive mood of Spring Festival.

When dusk falls today, most of us will be home, heading home, or with our hearts home.

Home is sufficient reason for every Chinese, rich or poor, spendthrift or frugal, near or far, to hit the road and brave the crowds. Times change. Economic conditions differ. But our sentimental attachment to home will not.

There is no better way to celebrate the warmth of home than the togetherness tonight with loved ones. There are no winners, no losers at the family dinner table. For those who gained, it is time of sharing. For those who suffered, it is time of healing.

When we bid farewell to the Year of the Snake and usher in the Year of the Horse, a whole new start will be there for each and every of us. That is exactly what Spring Festival is about - to leave the bad behind, and embrace the good ahead.

The outgoing year may not have been easy and enjoyable for each of us. Many of our fellow citizens are still struggling for subsistence. Even for most of us who earned more and found life getting better, there is plenty to complain about.

Urban dwellers about haze. Rural residents about arbitrary land acquisitions. Those in between - rural laborers working in cities - about the invisible fence that renders them outsiders in their new places of residence. And everyone about corruption, injustice, income gaps and food safety.

But still the Year of the Snake was a hopeful one. The economy defied hard-landing prophecies, outperformed anticipations, and remains in decent shape. Tougher anti-graft, anti-extravagance moves are making officials behave themselves. In a further sign of positive change in governance philosophy, President Xi Jinping just declared that safeguarding human rights is the basis for preserving stability, and the essence of preserving stability is safeguarding human rights.

Changes in policy orientations have resulted in tangible improvements in people's lives and are inspiring higher hopes.

That is also our sincere wish for the world at large.

(China Daily 01/30/2014 page8)