Soccer brawl

Comments on the story "Soccer brawl put Olympic team's England trip to shame" (China Daily, February 8)

This will be a good learning experience for the young Chinese players.

Football is a rough game and they need to learn how to discipline themselves and follow the same standards as everyone else.

Peter

On China Daily website

It doesn't do much for the image of our country to have our Olympic football team fighting and earning a few knockouts at the football pitch in Europe. It is obvious our boys hadn't been educated at all in the spirit of sportsmanship.

Where is the problem? With our boys or with the people in charge of football? To me, it is the latter, because they do not realize the very important role that sports should play in nurturing our national character. Let me explain:

Sports should serve as a vehicle (1) in strengthening the physique of our children and (2) in teaching discipline and team spirit to them.

Seen against these objectives, sports (including football) should be made a compulsory subject in schools, given the same importance as maths, science, history, geography, languages. Failure in sports should result in failure in getting promoted to the next class it is that important.

Brought up this way, our children will grow up to be caring and disciplined citizens with good communal behavior. Winning or losing is secondary, as sanctified by the exhortation of our past leaders who called for friendship first and trophies next.

Eye-opener

On China Daily website

Having played football for six years in China, I have to say that sadly I am not surprised by these reports. Brawling at games is common.

I don't know the reason, but again it appears that the group mentality has a lot to do with it - everyone is suddenly very brave when they have 20 teammates behind them.

A passer-by

On China Daily website

Parental pressure

Comments on Raymond Zhou's column "Forget date rental for new year" (China Daily, February 9)

It is about time parents ask themselves why they have to make such a fuss about their grown children not bringing home a mate. It is the kids' own life. It is hard enough not to have to please the parents.

Just enjoy the children when they come home and try to understand them, rather than change them or influence them.

If they don't know how to handle their lives now, it is too late. They have already grown up. You have already passed the stage when you can teach them how to live.

So, let them be, and make the Spring Festival a real festival of enjoying each other's company.

A passer-by

On China Daily website

It's about time someone asks why making parents happy is such an important thing. What determines if you're sufficiently loving toward your parents?

It's time to expose the parents' self-interest in wanting their kids to live a certain way. Children are not just their parents' social security net for their old age.

Billy

On China Daily website

Correction

"Twisting road to nuclear-free Korean Peninsula," which was published yesterday, was a signed article by Gong Shaopeng.

We regret the error in the byline.

(China Daily 02/14/2007 page11)