American Airlines introduces new logo

NEW YORK American Airlines is getting a new look.

The airline showed off the first plane bearing a new logo and paint job at Dallas--Fort Worth International Airport on Thursday.

American's new look

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American Airlines/AP

The familiar red, white and blue stripes along the side of the fuselage are gone, replaced by a new logo and "American" in large letters on the silver body. Red and blue horizontal bars are emblazoned on the tail.

"We thought it was time to update the look - it's been 40 years," Thomas Horton, CEO of American's parent, AMR Corp., said in an interview.

The new livery was painted on a Boeing (BA) 777-300 that was flown into Fort Worth, Texas, overnight and was to be shown to the public later Thursday. The plane goes into service Jan. 31.

American expects about one-third of its fleet, or roughly 200 planes, will sport the new look by the end of the year with the rest to be repainted within five years. The makeover will extend to airport signs, self-help kiosks and American's website.

American declined to say how much the "rebranding" campaign will cost.

Horton said planning for the redesign began in the summer of 2011, when American announced it would buy hundreds of new planes from Boeing and Airbus, many of which will be made of composite material that can't easily be painted in American's traditional polished-aluminum look.

That means American was thinking of a makeover even before it filed for bankruptcy protection in November 2011. Horton said bankruptcy creditors were kept informed about the redesign. The desire to cut costs didn't derail the effort.

"We're very much coming to the end of the restructuring, and really all the cost-reduction initiatives have been bolted down," Horton said. "We really are at that moment now to turn the page and set the course for a new American."

American Airlines unveils a new company logo and exterior paint scheme on a Boeing 737-800 aircraft on January 17, 2013 in Dallas, Texas. The exterior changes are the first for the company since 1968 and were announced as the parent company of American Airlines, AMR, is considering a merger with US Airways.

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Tom Pennington

Under pressure from creditors, AMR is studying whether to embrace a merger with US Airways (LCC) or remain on its own. A decision is expected soon, and Horton said the redesign doesn't tilt the company toward either outcome.

Horton said AMR did not tell US Airways in advance about the new livery - "That wouldn't have been appropriate; they're a competitor" - but he gave US Airways Group Inc. CEO Doug Parker a courtesy heads-up on Wednesday night.

US Airways praised the "compelling result" of the redesign, as spokesman Ed Stewart put it.

The pilots' union at American, which has long fought with AMR and wants company management replaced, was less enthusiastic.

"A new paint job is fine but it does not fix American's network deficiencies and toxic culture," said Dennis Tajer, a spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association. His and other unions at American support a merger that would put US Airways executives in charge of the combined airline.

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Football Star Manti Te'o Faces Tough Questions

Notre Dame's star linebackerManti Te'o faces a problem bigger than any running back he's had to bring down.

As the elaborate hoax about his dead "girlfriend" unravels, many questions remain to be answered, chief among them whether he was complicit in promoting the dramatic story of his girlfriend's death from leukemia. Te'o may soon be forced to tackle those questions himself.

"A lot of people are very suspicious when Te'o says he had no idea and he was just a sucker in this," Deadspin writer Timothy Burke said on "Good Morning America" today. "Why would somebody go to such great lengths to hoax him like that?"

Click here for 'Catfish' stars' advice on online dating.

Burke's Deadspin story broke the scandal, forcing Te'o and Notre Dame to admit the girlfriend, Lennay Kekua, never existed. Notre Dame claims that Te'o is the victim of a "cruel hoax."

"[Notre Dame is] sticking to his story and they're going to, I think, fight and make every sort of attempt they can to prove he had no idea this was going on and that he was the unfortunate victim of a year-long prank," Burke said.

But it won't be easy.

"I think that there are some questions about when he became aware of it, simply because Notre Dame and Te'o's statement have indicated that he found out about it in late December, but he chose not to correct or identify when he was asked before the BCS Championship game about his girlfriend," he said. The championship game was played on Jan. 7.

Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

Tale of Notre Dame Football Star's Girlfriend and Her Death an Alleged Hoax Watch Video

Notre Dame's Athletic Director Discusses Manti Te'o Girlfriend Hoax Watch Video

MTV's 'Catfish' Series Pulls Back Curtain on Online Profiles Watch Video

Burke said he is particularly eager for answers about the story Te'o told of meeting his girlfriend in 2009 and his father Brian Te'o's statements about how the purported girlfriend used to visit Manti in Hawaii.

What is clear is that Te'o tweeted Kekua twice after she was reported to have died on Sept. 11 or 12, 2012.

On Sept. 12, the day after his grandmother's death, Te'o tweeted to his purportedly deceased girlfriend, "You will always be with me wherever I go! Tell dad, BJ, papa Ima, papa Santiago, and grandma that I said hello! I love you! #574L."

Nearly two months later, on Nov. 6, he tweeted her again saying, "I miss you!"

Those tweets may be an indication of his sincerity or, to skeptics, elaborately planted fake evidence of his heartbreak.

The university's athletic director Jack Swarbrick said at a Wednesday night news conference that the school was not speaking for Te'o.

"At the end of the day, this is Manti's story to tell and we believe he should have the right to tell it, which he is going to do," Swarbrick said.

Swarbrick said that Te'o and his family came to the university last month with concerns that Te'o had been the victim of a hoax.

"The university immediately initiated an investigation to assist Manti and his family in discovering the motive for and nature of this hoax," he said. "While the proper authorities will continue to investigate this troubling matter, this appears to be, at a minimum, a sad and very cruel deception to entertain its perpetrators."

The school's investigators monitored online chatter by the alleged perpetrators, Swarbrick said, adding that he was shocked by the "casual cruelty" it revealed.

"They enjoyed the joke," Swarbrick said, comparing the ruse to the popular film "Catfish," in which filmmakers revealed a person at the other end of an online relationship was not who she said she was.

"While we still don't know all of the dimensions of this ... there are certain things that I feel confident we do know," Swarbrick said. "The first is that this was a very elaborate, very sophisticated hoax, perpetrated for reasons we don't understand."

Click here for more scandalous public confessions.

Swarbrick also said that he believed Te'o's representatives were planning to disclose the truth next week until Wednesday's story broke.

Te'o, who led the Fighting Irish to the BCS championship game this year and finished second for the Heisman Trophy, has only issued a written statement so far.

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Scientology ad crossed the line

The Church of Scientology is also at fault for thinking the advertorial would survive The Atlantic readers' scrutiny, Ian Schafer says.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The Atlantic published and pulled a sponsored Scientology "story"


• Ian Schafer: On several levels, the ad was a mistake


• He says the content was heavy-handed and comments were being moderated


• Schafer: Experimenting to raise revenue makes sense, but standards should be clear

Editor's note: Ian Schafer is the founder and CEO of a digital advertising agency, Deep Focus, and the alter ego of @invisibleobama. You can read his rants on his blog at ianschafer.com.

(CNN) -- "The Atlantic is America's leading destination for brave thinking and bold ideas that matter. The Atlantic engages its print, online, and live audiences with breakthrough insights into the worlds of politics, business, the arts, and culture. With exceptional talent deployed against the world's most important and intriguing topics, The Atlantic is the source of opinion, commentary, and analysis for America's most influential individuals who wish to be challenged, informed, and entertained." -- The Atlantic 2013 media kit for advertisers

On Monday, The Atlantic published -- and then pulled -- a story titled "David Miscavige Leads Scientology to Milestone Year." This "story" went on to feature the growth of Scientology in 2012.

Ian Schafer

Any regular reader of The Atlantic's content would immediately do a double-take upon seeing that kind of headline, much less the heavy-handed text below it, shamelessly plugging how well Scientology's "ecclesiastical leader" Miscavige has done in "leading a renaissance for the religion."

This "story" is one of several "advertorials" (a portmanteau of "advertising" and "editorials") that The Atlantic has published online, clearly designated as "Sponsor Content." In other words, "stories" like these aren't real stories. They are ads with a lot of words, which advertisers have paid publications to run on their behalf for decades. You may have seen them in magazines and newspapers as "special advertising sections."

The hope is that because you are already reading the publication, hey, maybe you'll read what the advertiser has to say, too -- instead of the "traditional" ad that they may have otherwise placed on the page that you probably won't remember, or worse, will ignore.

There's nothing wrong with this tactic, ethically, when clearly labeled as "sponsored" or "advertising." But many took umbrage with The Atlantic in this particular case; so many, that The Atlantic responded by pulling the story from its site -- which was the right thing to do -- and by apologizing.

At face value, The Atlantic did the right thing for its business model, which depends upon advertising sales. It sold what they call a "native" ad to a paying advertiser, clearly labeled it as such, without the intention of misleading readers into thinking this was a piece of journalism.

But it still failed on several levels.

The Atlantic defines its readers as "America's most influential individuals who wish to be challenged, informed, and entertained." By that very definition, it is selling "advertorials" to people who are the least likely to take them seriously, especially when heavy-handed. There is a fine line between advertorial and outright advertising copywriting, and this piece crossed it. The Church of Scientology is just as much at fault for thinking this piece would survive The Atlantic readers' intellectual scrutiny. But this isn't even the real issue.

Bad advertising is all around us. And readers' intellectual scrutiny would surely have let the advertorial piece slide without complaints (though snark would be inevitable), as they have in the past, or yes, even possibly ignored it. But here's where The Atlantic crossed another line -- it seemed clear it was moderating the comments beneath the advertorial.

As The Washington Post reported, The Atlantic marketing team was carefully pruning the comments, ensuring that they were predominantly positive, even though many readers were leaving negative comments. So while The Atlantic was publishing clearly labeled advertiser-written content, it was also un-publishing content created by its readers -- the very folks it exists to serve.

It's understandable that The Atlantic would inevitably touch a third rail with any "new" ad format. But what it calls "native advertising" is actually "advertorial." It's not new at all. Touching the third rail in this case is unacceptable.

So what should The Atlantic have done in this situation before it became a situation? For starters, it should have worked more closely with the Church of Scientology to help create a piece of content that wasn't so clearly written as an ad. If the Church of Scientology was not willing to compromise its advertising to be better content, then The Atlantic should not have accepted the advertising. But this is a quality-control issue.

The real failure here was that comments should never have been enabled beneath this sponsored content unless the advertiser was prepared to let them be there, regardless of sentiment.

It's not like Scientology has avoided controversy in the past. The sheer, obvious reason for this advertorial in the first place was to dispel beliefs that Scientology wasn't a recognized religion (hence "ecclesiastical").

Whether The Atlantic felt it was acting in its advertiser's best interest, or the advertiser specifically asked for this to happen, letting it happen at all was a huge mistake, and a betrayal of an implicit contract that should exist between a publication of The Atlantic's stature and its readership.

No matter how laughably "sales-y" a piece of sponsored content might be, the censoring of readership should be the true "third rail," never to be touched.

Going forward, The Atlantic (and any other publication that chooses to run sponsored content) should adopt and clearly communicate an explicit ethics statement regarding advertorials and their corresponding comments. This statement should guide the decisions it makes when working with advertisers, and serve as a filter for the sponsored content it chooses to publish, and what it recommends advertisers submit. It should also prevent readers from being silenced if given a platform at all.

As an advertising professional, I sincerely hope this doesn't spook The Atlantic or any other publication from experimenting with ways to make money. But as a reader, I hope it leads to better ads that reward me for paying attention, rather than muzzle my voice should I choose to interact with the content.

After all, what more could a publication or advertiser ask for than for content to be so interesting that someone actually would want to comment on (or better, share) it?

(Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly said native advertising accounts for 59% of the Atlantic's ad revenue. Digital advertising, of which native advertising is a part, accounts for 59% of The Atlantic's overall revenue, according to the company.)

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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Ian Schafer.

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Football: Hodgson eyes long-awaited England glory

LONDON: As the Football Association begins its 150th anniversary year, England manager Roy Hodgson has challenged his players to provide the ultimate celebration by at least putting themselves in contention to end almost half a century without a trophy.

Hodgson is the latest in a string of managers charged with ending England's wait for a first major honour since their lone World Cup final triumph, against the then West Germany at London's Wembley Stadium in 1966.

But after helping the FA launch its landmark birthday on the London site of its first meeting, the current incumbent in the so-called 'impossible job' refused to accept it may take another 50 years to replicate.

"There's always hope," Hodgson insisted. "Hope springs eternal. But what you have to do to win tournaments is make sure you're regularly among the ones who are up there with a possibility of winning.

"You could compare it to someone who is an amateur darts player. The more darts he throws in and around the centre, one day he will get it in the bullseye.

"If he's spreading them around the board your chances will be less than if he's getting them in the 25 circle."

Hodgson took England to the quarter-finals at Euro 2012, only losing on penalties to Italy -- even though his team's performances were often described as limited by many critics who yearn for England to rely more on technique and finesse than just their famous bulldog spirit.

The FA shares the same ambition; which is why it has built a national academy in central England at St George's Park -- a school for coaches where all 24 national teams will also be based.

And although Hodgson knows any rewards from that venture are a long way down the line, he hasn't ruled out a degree of short-term success if England qualify for the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil.

"The first thing we have to do of course is qualify for the tournament," he said. "And then when we qualify it will be important that we give a very good account of ourselves at the World Cup in Brazil. And who knows, once you are there you have a chance of winning it.

"I think we have some very good young players coming into the game playing regularly now and showing that they do have the ability to shoulder the burden."

Hodgson was joined at The FA's anniversary launch by several former England managers including Sven-Goran Eriksson, Terry Venables and Fabio Capello, who left the role in controversial circumstances following a row over a decision to strip John Terry of the England captaincy.

But the Italian was all smiles as he said: "We are all friends now. It is very good to come back and see the people I used to work with. I have no problems with anyone.

"You know I can't talk about what happened with England but I am enjoying my life with Russia and my hope is that we play England in Brazil at the World Cup. That would be very good I think."

FA chairman David Bernstein welcomed Capello's participation by insisting: "Fabio is a man of great dignity and I respect him enormously.

"To see him today (Wednesday) and the warmth he showed, and there was a great deal of warmth when we met each other was really fabulous. It's the way it should be. There were hugs all round."

Meanwhile it emerged the FA, which has already arranged anniversary England friendlies against Brazil, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland, was also looking to fit in matches against Argentina and Germany at Wembley in October and November.

-AFP/ac

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U.S. regulators ground Dreamliners over fire risk

By Aaron Cooper, CNN

updated 7:24 PM EST, Wed January 16, 2013

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• NEW: A veteran pilot calls the grounding a prudent move


• FAA grounds Dreamliners for battery fix


• The move follows an emergency landing in Japan and another incident in Boston


• United is the only U.S. carrier to fly the 787 and says it will comply

Washington (CNN) -- U.S. regulators Wednesday ordered airlines to stop flying their Boeing 787s until they can show they've fixed a fire risk linked to battery failures aboard the closely watched Dreamliners.

The move by the Federal Aviation Administration follows an emergency landing in Japan that prompted that country's two major airlines to ground their fleets of 787s, and a similar problem aboard a Dreamliner on the ground in Boston nine days earlier.

"The battery failures resulted in release of flammable electrolytes, heat damage, and smoke on two Model 787 airplanes," the FAA announced Wednesday evening. "The root cause of these failures is currently under investigation. These conditions, if not corrected, could result in damage to critical systems and structures, and the potential for fire in the electrical compartment."

This battery was involved in a fire aboard a Japan Airlines Boeing 787 January 7 in Boston.

The only U.S. carrier to operated the eagerly awaited, long-delayed jetliner is United Airlines, which said earlier Wednesday that it had inspected its fleet of six 787s and would continue flying them. United spokeswoman Christen David said Wednesday evening that the airline would comply with the order "and will work closely with the FAA and Boeing on the technical review."

The FAA noted that its directive also signals international aviation authorities to take "parallel action" regarding their own airlines.

Since July, the growing list of reported troubles aboard the Dreamliner include a fuel leak, an oil leak, two cracked engines, a damaged cockpit window and a battery problem. The FAA announced a safety review of the aircraft last week.

In the most serious incident so far, All Nippon Airlines 787 with 129 people aboard made an emergency landing after a battery alarm Wednesday morning. Those on board reported a burning smell in the cabin, and an alarm indicated smoke in a forward electrical compartment.

Hours later, ANA and Japan Airlines announced hours later that they were grounding their Dreamliners pending an investigation. A maintenance worker discovered an electrical fire aboard an empty Japan Airlines 787 slated for departure from Logan International Airport in Boston on January 7.

There was no immediate response from Boeing, which saw its stock take a beating after the incident in Japan. But Boeing chief engineer Mike Sinnett expressed confidence in the battery system after last week's incident in Boston, "I am 100% convinced the airplane is safe to fly. I fly on it all the time."

Asked last week whether he would consider grounding the jets, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said there was "nothing in the data" that suggested the Dreamliner was unsafe.

Longtime commercial pilot and industry analyst Patrick Smith said the battery issue did not appear to be a major problem, but called the FAA order "a positive and pro-active step."

"I don't think that it was dangerous for the plane to be flying, but it probably wasn't the best thing to be flying it on the heels of this latest emergency landing in Japan," Smith said.

"All airplanes have their teething problems, and this was trending in a bad direction," he added. "Now the authorities have said, 'Stop,' and that's a good thing."

CNN's Mike M. Ahlers and Thom Patterson contributed to this report.

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13 home buying tips for 2013

(MoneyWatch) Although housing prices started to rebound last year and are expected to continue rising in 2013, it's still a buyer's market. Prices remain 30 percent below their peak before the housing crash and mortgage rates hovering at all-time lows. If you are ready to jump in to the real estate market, here are 13 house-hunting tips for 2013.

1. Run the numbers. Put together a financial plan to determine whether you can really afford to buy. After all, just because it's a good time to purchase a home doesn't mean it's a good time for YOU to buy. It's important to understand how much home you can afford and whether home ownership might preclude you from addressing other important financial issues in your life.

2. Save 20 percent for a down payment. I'm not a huge fan of putting down less than that amount (although the Federal Housing Administration allows it). Keep your downpayment fund in cash or cash equivalent accounts, so that market movements don't thwart your plans.

3. Use this great "rent vs. buy" calculator from the New York Times. Renting might still be the better deal in your area.

4. Be an informed buyer. You're not going to buy a house simply because there's a pretty photo posted online, but you can conduct a lot of price research. That said, there's nothing better than talking to people in the neighborhood for "on the ground" intelligence.

5. Obtain a copy of your credit report. If you haven't done so in a while, go to AnnualCreditReport.com and request your free copy. It's important that you correct any errors on the report before you start the mortgage process.

6. Get pre-approved for a mortgage. Pre-approval is a good gut check on your price range for a home. Gone are the days that banks will fork over cash to anyone with a heartbeat. The best way to start is to ask friends for referrals from mortgage brokers and to shop around with banks and credit unions. Make sure to compare apples to apples and to ask the broker about your total costs to you at closing. You should also know that once you actually find a home, the mortgage process is on the same pain level as a root canal, only it requires more patience and there's no Novocain. You'll need to dig up tons of paperwork and fair warning -- there will be multiple requests for even more documents as you move toward closing. Eventually, you will need "commitment letter," which details the terms of your loan approval.

7. Find an agent. As much as everyone complains about realtors, I still think that it's tough to go through the home buying process alone. In some markets, buyers' brokers are available, but the most important qualities in brokers are honesty, experience, good connections with other agents, and good referrals from buyers like you. Remember that most agents represent the seller, not the buyer.

8. Hire a real estate attorney. This is a major transaction in your life, so don't try to save money when it comes to legal fees. Even if your mortgage company provides a lawyer, hire your own to help draft all documents and to ensure that your interests are being represented at every step of the process.

9. Get an appraisal. An appraisal will determine the market value of the property and ultimately will be used by your lender to determine the amount of your loan. You have a legal right to get a copy of this and will want a copy for your records.

10. Schedule a home inspection. Think you've found your dream house? Maybe, but unless you have an engineer walk through the premises with you, you might be buying a new roof in a couple of years. Don't get freaked out if a problem arises during the inspection; it can often be addressed with a simple adjustment in price. It's imperative to protect yourself, so don't blow off this important step.

11. Start with a fair offer. The offer should be based on similar houses sold in the neighborhood in the past six months. Your agent will help you with the process, but the offer should include the price you're willing to pay for the house, your financing terms and contingencies such as specifying what will happen if any problems come up during the inspection.

12. Purchase homeowners insurance. If you are a life-long renter, this can be an eye-opener in terms of cost. Make sure that you understand the difference between insuring the structure and insuring the contents. And if you are buying property that is close to water, make sure that you have an agent who can help you enroll in the national flood insurance program.

13. Review your HUD statement BEFORE closing. The government document provides basic details about the involved parties and a lot of numbers. Mistakes do occur, which is why it is vital that you review the statement and confirm that everything is correct.

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Obama Unveils Sweeping Plan to Curb Gun Violence

Flanked by four children from across the country, President Obama today unveiled a sweeping plan to curb gun violence in America through an extensive package of legislation and executive actions not seen since the 1960s.

Obama is asking Congress to implement mandatory background checks for all gun purchases, including private sales; reinstate a ban on some assault-style weapons; ban high-capacity magazines holding more than 10 rounds; and crackdown on illicit weapons trafficking.

The president's proposal also includes new initiatives for school safety, including a call for more federal aid to states for hiring so-called school resource officers (police), counselors and psychologists, and improved access to mental health care.

Obama also signed 23 executive actions on gun violence, policy directives not needing congressional approval. Among them is a directive to federal agencies to beef up the national criminal background-check system and a memorandum lifting a freeze on gun violence research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"I intend to use whatever weight this office holds to make them a reality," Obama said at a midday news conference. "If there's even one thing that we can do to reduce this violence, if there's even one life that can be saved, then we have an obligation to try.

"And I'm going to do my part."

Maqndel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

Andrew Cuomo Signs New York Gun Control Law, Obama Readies Federal Plan Watch Video

'The View' on NRA Shooting App: Think It Out Watch Video

The announcement comes one month after a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., left 26 dead, including 20 children. Obama called it the worst moment of his presidency and promised "meaningful action" in response.

The proposals were the work of an Obama-appointed task force, led by Vice President Joe Biden, that held 22 meetings on gun violence in the past three weeks. The group received input from more than 220 organizations and dozens of elected officials, a senior administration official said.

As part of the push, Obama nominated a new director for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, which leads enforcement of federal gun laws and has been without a confirmed director for six years. The president appointed acting director Todd Jones, the U.S. attorney for Minnesota, to the post, if the Senate confirms him.

The administration's plan calls for aid to states for the hiring of more school resource officers, counselors and psychologists. Obama also directed the Department of Education to ensure all schools have improved emergency-response plans.

He also called on Congress to make it illegal to possess or transfer armor-piercing bullets; it's now only illegal to produce them.

"To make a real and lasting difference, Congress must act," Obama said. "And Congress must act soon."

Officials said some of the legislative measures Obama outlined could be introduced on Capitol Hill next week. The pricetag for Obama's entire package is $500 million, the White House said.

"House committees of jurisdiction will review these recommendations," a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner said in response to Obama's announcement. "And if the Senate passes a bill, we will also take a look at that."

The proposals are already being met with stiff opposition from gun rights advocates, led by the National Rifle Association, which overnight released a scathing ad attacking the president as an "elitist hypocrite."

"Are the president's kids more important than yours?" the narrator of the NRA ad says. "Then why is he skeptical about putting armed security in our schools, when his kids are protected by armed guards at their school?"

Obama has questioned the value of placing more armed guards at schools around the country, although his proposal does call for placement of more police officers at public schools. The NRA opposes most of the other gun restrictions Obama has proposed.

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Is China ready for labor camp reform?

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Chinese media recently said infamous 'Re-Education Through Labor' system would be reformed


• HRW: Roughly 160,000 people are detained in China for up to four years without trial


• Maya Wang: Like other long-mooted reforms, this might only be a cosmetic gesture


• As a type of arbitrary detention, RTL should not be reformed, it should be abolished, she says

Editor's note: Maya Wang is a researcher in the Asia Division of Human Rights Watch based in Hong Kong. She is an expert on a wide range of human rights issues in China including arbitrary detention, torture and disability and women's rights. Follow her on Twitter @wang_maya.

New York (CNN) -- Did the Chinese government announce earlier this week that it would end its notorious detention system known as Re-Education Through Labor (RTL)?

On January 7, Meng Jianzhu, the head of the powerful Political and Legal Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, reportedly announced that the government would "stop using" the system, in which roughly 160,000 people are detained for up to four years without trial for "crimes that are not severe enough to warrant a criminal sentence," by the end of 2013.

Read: China hints at ending its labor prison camps

After media outlets confirmed the news with officials who attended the meeting Meng spoke at, the original articles reporting the decision vanished from the Internet. A subsequent Xinhua news story watered down Meng's statement, committing the government only to "advancing reforms" of RTL -- which is old news -- a long-stated but never-implemented goal.

This episode highlights three realities of China's human rights situation: 1) the news is often not what it initially appears to be, especially if a key government decision is at stake; 2) the new leadership is struggling to reply adequately to growing popular demand for reform; and 3) changes to RTL, like other long-mooted reforms, might only be a cosmetic gesture, leaving intact laws and practices that violate domestic and international human rights standards.

Read: 'Lost generation' recall hardships of Cultural Revolution

China's new leaders have come to power during a serious legitimacy crisis, with a nation eager for political reforms. Indeed, party chief Xi Jinping has repeatedly vowed to "deepen reform." At the same time, there has been rising public discontent over local officials' abuse of RTL to muzzle ordinary people seeking justice or criticizing the government. The system was further discredited by the recent detentions of Tang Hui, a mother seeking redress for the rape of her young daughter, and Ren Jianyu, a village official who posted negative comments online about the government.

Meanwhile, the main obstacle to abolishing RTL, the Ministry of Public Security, which holds the unchecked power to detain individuals in these facilities, has seen its political clout diminished under the new leadership arrangement. The time for abolition of RTL appears ripe, but it's unclear whether Xi is ready to move from talking about reforms to delivering them.

As a type of arbitrary detention, RTL should not be reformed: it should be abolished outright.

The tepid Xinhua announcement promising to "reform" RTL suggests that instead of abolition, the government will merely tinker at the margins of the existing system. Fears this might be the case derive from the August 2012 announcement of a pilot scheme in four cities. Few details are available, except that the name of the system was revised from Re-education to "Education and Correction," and minor constraints on the police's ability to impose these punishments were established.

The debate in and outside of China this week echoes the 2003 debate about the abolition of "Custody and Repatriation." This system of administrative detention was designed to detain individuals found outside of their official location of residence (hukou). It was similarly discredited and abolished after a series of abuses, the last straw being the beating and death of a young man in a Custody and Repatriation center in Guangzhou in March 2003.

The decision to get rid of the system was made at the beginning of the then-new leadership of Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao, and was perceived as a signal of reform. Yet the failure to match the end of Custody and Repatriation with a wholesale prohibition on arbitrary detention mitigated the benefits of its abolition. Migrant workers who had been prey for the system benefited from its abolition, but local governments soon found new ways to deal with the other category of people detained in Custody and Repatriation centers -- petitioners.

Illegal and ad hoc "black jails" were set up to prevent them from trying to reach higher authorities to denounce local official misconduct. The central government tolerates the existence of these patently unlawful black jails, demonstrating that it continues to lack commitment to ending arbitrary detention.

Read: Chinese petitioners claim hotel used as 'black jail'

Swapping one system of arbitrary detention for another would be a missed opportunity for the new leadership. Real change requires that the government abolish RTL, and establish in its place a new system to punish minor crimes that is consistent with the Chinese Constitution as well as its international human rights obligations, and pass the necessary legislation during the next National People's Congress in March.

The judiciary -- not the police -- should be responsible for considering charges, determining guilt, and assigning appropriate punishment. People who are accused must have the ability to confront and question their accusers, the right to counsel, and all fair trial guarantees. Anything short of this will not quench the public's thirst for the "deepening reform."

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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Maya Wang.

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RP's Kenneth Jeyaretnam to focus on national & local issues

SINGAPORE: He's no stranger to politics, having contested in West Coast Group Representation Constituency during the 2011 General Election. This time, Kenneth Jeyaretnam is venturing out on his own, to stand as Reform Party's (RP) candidate in the Punggol East by-election.

The former hedge fund manager took over the reigns of the Reform Party, following the death of his father, J.B. Jeyaretnam.

He said he has come a long way from then, having initially had the mindset of an economist. "I've learnt, I've become much more of a democracy advocate, activist, and recognised that without democracy, without freedom, we're not going to have prosperity."

Since contesting in the General Election in 2011, the 53-year-old said he has been walking the ground, making his presence felt in Punggol East since December last year.

Mr Jeyaretnam said his Party is relatively new, and has to work with limited resources, but he's confident it has the interests of the residents at heart.

"I think we would focus both on the national and local level, on ensuring that the welfare of the citizens is uppermost in the government's minds."

He said if elected, he will raise the concerns of the residents. These include cleanliness and drainage issues in the area, and questioning the lengthy renovation work of Rivervale Plaza.

He said he will also move to the ward if elected. "I use public transport, and I've noticed that there are a lot of problems with public transport, and delays on the Light Rail Transit (LRT) in getting here. I would hope I will experience it first hand, the problems faced by the locals."

Mr Jeyaretnam said residents have welcomed the Party standing in the by-election, and added that "it's only right that the people should get to choose."

- CNA/ck

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