The securities authorities' decision on Thursday night to put the "circuit breaker" mechanism on hold-only four days after it was introduced-is commendable. It is never too late to correct wrongs, but lessons have to be learned so that policies of similar significance are devised more carefully.

Thursday's decision was made after trading on the Chinese mainland's stock market was halted for the second time this week, indicating the new stabilizer had failed to serve its purpose.

Domestic stock markets saw another 7 percent dive on Thursday morning, after a similar plunge on Monday, which halted trading for the rest of the day as the circuit breaker kicked in.