As Beijing watches Hong Kong’s protests, what does it see? In part, a threat to the Communist Party’s – and China's – hard-won image of stability. 

It’s tempting to think diplomatic breakthroughs can be driven by taking unyielding stands. But that alone seldom works. It’s when leaders step back from hard lines that progress gets traction.

Hawaii positions itself as a pioneer in the quest for a future free of fossil fuels. How it deals with obstacles in its path to 100% renewable energy could hold lessons for the rest of the U.S.

While accuracy is important in a head count, so is individual privacy. The Census Bureau is doing more to protect identities – but some are concerned the data won’t be as trustworthy.

Our back-to-school reading list includes some famous names, such as a Samantha Power memoir (“The Education of an Idealist”) and the first novel (“The Water Dancer”) by Ta-Nehisi Coates. We also review a portrait of devotion in “Out of Darkness, Shining Light,” by Zimbabwean author Petina Gappah.

Latin America must be doing something right about transparency and accountability in government. A rising number of people in the region tell pollsters they believe they can make a difference in the fight against corruption. A recent example comes from El Salvador, one of the region’s smallest and poorest countries.

A new president, Nayib Bukele, who enjoys 90% popularity, just signed an agreement with the Organization of American States to set up an international investigative body in El Salvador to battle corruption and reform law enforcement. The United Nations is eager to support it.

Mr. Bukele says the launch of the International Commission Against Impunity in El Salvador is a “cry” of the population. Thousands of Salvadorans flee the country each year because of violence. But it is corruption that fuels the criminal gangs and hinders police and the courts. And it is a growing anti-corruption sentiment among voters that allowed Mr. Bukele, a former ad executive who promised clean governance, to defeat the country’s traditional parties in an election last February.

For now, the proposed body, known as CICIES for its initials in Spanish, would work only with police to strengthen investigations. Both the attorney general and the legislature have yet to back the project. The established parties in El Salvador might be wary of an independent CICIES run by foreign experts unearthing old corruption. 

A similar body set up in neighboring Guatemala in 2007 was fully independent and achieved remarkable success, but it was closed down this month after it began to probe President Jimmy Morales. Honduras opted for a weaker version of an international commission, although that body has introduced modern prosecution techniques.

If El Salvador’s politicians need any convincing about CICIES, they should note that the anti-corruption commission in Guatemala is credited with reducing homicide rates by an average 5% a year over the course of its work. Integrity in government translates into saving lives. Ordinary people in El Salvador know that. And they chose a president who wants to make it happen.