Summer Camp for the Hearing Impaired

Last weekend, I visited a summer camp in Taipei where they provide activities and care for little children with hearing disabilities. At the camp, daily activities include visiting museums, playing games, and learning music. As a helper there, my main job was to keep any children from hurting themselves or running off. As such, I ended up spending a lot of time with these children and we became very close to each other. Of the twenty or so children at the camp, children from ages three to twelve were present, making my job much more difficult and diverse as I had to change my personality to accommodate such a large range of ages. Two days and twelve hours a day removed a sizable portion of hours from my required community service. Accompanying me in my task were several other kids of my age, and between activities I learned a lot about the adolescent population of Taiwan. In conclusion, my trip to the camp of the hearing impared surely helped both the teachers there and the children. I myself developed close bonds with the children and gained valuable knowledge making my trip very worthwhile.

Jet Li and His Charity Post 2004

On the day December 26th 2004, Jet Li, his two daughters, and the family maid had been playing at the beach in Maldives when a massive tsunami struck the region, leaving 82 dead. Somehow, although he was at the shore of the tsunami, Li survived and helped his daughters and maid to safety at the Four Seasons Hotel. Obviously the experience left him stunned, but it helped him realize how close he was to dying and how lucky he was to survive. This revelation caused him to start his own earthquake/tsunami relief foundation and he has done much charity work since. In the aftermath of the Chinese earthquake in '08, news reports of Li surfaced showing him, in plain workers' uniform, carring raw materials for the construction of temporary shelter. Clearly, his selfless work has had as much an effect on the world as the tsunami that caused it had on Li, and he will continue to do great work whenever the occasion arises.

Too Brief Overview of Gary Locke

In my last entry, I mentioned a politician by the name of Gary Locke. Locke, as I also mentioned, is the current Secretary of Commerce. He is also the former Governor of Washington, the first ever Chinese-American to have that tittle. His position brought him political power and success, and also a barrage of hate mail and insults because of his somewhat pro-republican actions. Rather than continue as governor, he left the office after two terms to spend more time with his family. After that he was involved with the political parties of various other people and acted as a connection between the American government and that of the Chinese. When introducing the new Secretary of Commerce, Obama commented, "Sometimes the American story can be told in the span of a single mile. More than 100 years ago, Gary's grandfather left China on a steamship bound for America. He had no family here. He spoke no English. He found work as a servant and purpose in a dream. He raised a son, Gary's father, who would go on to fight in World War II, return home, and open a grocery store, and later raise a family of his own." Clearly, Locke's story of humble beginnings and becoming governor of Washington reflects the American dream much better than most can imagine, and he is ideally suited for his new post.

Locke and Chu in China for Economic Recovery

This week, U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Gary Locke, is in China and has been promoting economic changes to increase China's wealth and its people's wellfare. He was with U.S. Secretary of Engery, Steven Chu to ask China to be more leanient on foreign trade relations, thus openning new opportunities for Chinese-American bussiness dealings. Clearly in this state of econemy, the two secretaries are looking for ways to recover the U.S. from the crisis, and they see China as a potential place to begin this recovery. Gary Locke is probobly most famous for being the only Chinese-American governer in the history of the U.S., and as Secretary of Commerce and a Chinese-American, he is ideally suited for bridging economic connections between U.S. and China. Also, Locke and Chu are two of the three Chinese-Americans in Obama's cabinet, showing Obama's effort to incorporate more diversity in the government, whether this is for better or worse is a matter that is still being observed.

China Tries to Stop Unrest in Tibet

The recent history of Tibet has sparked controversy all over America and the UK. Both believe China to be over controlling and side with Tibet in its desire for independence. China however, remains adamant on their control of this territory because of its strategic location. So in order to repel the demonization of the media, China adopted some new tactics to quell the unrest. For instance, China opened Tibet to the public as well as the reporters so they could get a better idea of the real situation there. Also, they filtered news sites and articles in China so the readers would get a more one-sided report on how things were going in Tibet. In the past, China has sat quietly on the sidelines and observed techniques from other countries as they are doing so now. The results are usually very effective and already, we see less unhappiness regarding the situation in Tibet.

Upcoming Economical Book Comments

My dad was recently asked to write a comment to be on the jacket of a book that was written by his friend. The book's tittle is A Guide to the Top 100 Companies in China, by Ilan Alon. It describes the economic rise of China and the companies that arose and benefited from this new wealth. The history of these companies is given in detail, as is the its major functions and productions. Also, it is one of the few books, I think, that takes into account the quality of life for those who have lost rather than benifited from the rising econemy. Alon puts into perspective how the rise of big companies puts smaller, cottage industries out of bussiness. In foreign relationships, Alon remarks on the increasing number of American foreign-exchange students coming to China to learn its native language. Alon believes that his book will clear up some grey areas on China's most successful companies because there is little literature written on the subject elsewhere. As I have only read the introduction, I hope Mr. Alon's new book will be as useful as he claims it will be.

Hoogewurf's List

Rupert Hoogewerf is from Luxembourg but immigrated to China early in his life. He became an abled accountand and publisher of the Hurun Report magazine. In this magazine, he published a list of the richest people in China at the time. At the time, China was relatively poor and people paid little attention to this publication. However, the list actually put into effect many qualities that we observe in the wealthy population of China today. The list motivated others to try and place their name on the list, and also uncovered falsifications of income by several people on the list. Authorities were quick to investigate and proved these suspicions true. Clearly, the Hoogewerf list had a great impact on China's econemy, and has made Mr. Hoogewurf a very important man with a multi-millionaire company.