What are your principles? You may not have thought about it so directly. Principles are what you think is right and wrong. They are the rules that guide you. They are what tells you if it’s right to steal, even though no one will ever know. Whether it’s right to cheat, even though no one will ever find out. Whether it’s right to hurt someone just because you can.

Principles are not only for yourself, they are for your family, for your society, and for your country. I’ve read in the news that China’s economy is becoming stronger and that our life is getting better and better, but when people in other countries still think that our products and our reputation is cheap; that we copy everything, make fake products, pirate DVD, then I wonder how much credibility we really have.

I am positive that our country and some people have made tremendous contributions to China. Take Haier and Shanghai Tang as examples. They’ve both become international Chinese brands. China needs more enterprises like these, more to increase not only our economy, but also our standing in the world.

Sometimes I feel bad about the way we are perceived. A lot of the time the problem is one of principles. People like the easy way to make more money; to make their life more enjoyable; to not work so hard like others. Some people think it’s the smart way, and they believe it’s the most efficient way. They lose their principles or faith when they face the temptation.

Principles also affect our everyday life. Do you work hard because you want to succeed, or do you secretly hope that someone will come and rescue you so you don’t need to do anything? What make your life not empty, so that you are not like someone who has lost their faith and just joins the big crowd? Principles can make you not just like toys or animals. They can make you feel like you have a brain and wisdom to think what is right and what is wrong.

To be in this new generation brings with it new responsibilities. We have better education, a more international culture; we have our own thoughts and our own dream to pursue. We can do better than our parents. However, should we focus only on material gains? Is a new car, house, or TV the road to happiness? Our principles may cause us to ask ‘what can I do for my country?’ As well as taking from the country we need to give back to it. We need to ensure that while we grow economically strong it is not at the expense of reputation. Life is not just about taking; it’s also about giving.

I will try and make sure I stick to my principles.

（生活的原则）

生活的原则是什么？这个问题你可能没有问过自己。原则简单的定义是:你相信什么真理是对,什么是错，然后在你一生中鞭策着你成长，不只是道德原则，是自己的待人处世的准则；比如说考试不作弊，不要因为别人工作偷懒你就偷懒，不要因为赚快钱而去做违法的事，不要因为没耐性就插队或不要报复他人因为别人伤害了你。也许听起来比较可笑，因你觉得不值得这样做，做一个正直的人，在这个世界上它不可能出现或不现实，但请相信自己的原则，象坚持四项基本原则一样，不动摇。

有没有生活的原则，这小到个人道德的问题，再到你家庭教育的问题，大到影响到中国社会的原则。虽近年来，中国的经济实力增长无可否认，人民生活水平也有所提高，但说到中国的名声及产品，给外国人的第一印象还是产品不精致，便宜，仿冒，造假，盗版光碟及信用度不高等；像最出名的（Google-谷歌）中国的版本(Baidu-百度) ICQ变到中国几亿人口都在用的腾讯QQ；站在我们的角度，不是说提倡中国版本不好，外国版本中国化，改装到更适合中国人喜欢的版本，更贴中国人的心；但对外国人来说，不仅是侵犯到他们的版权及名誉问题，还盗用他们的研发劳动成果。

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