The War of "Nail Household" Against the Eviction Team

Thousands of kids today are fans of online games, but you may not know about one popular online game in China that is based on 'eviction,' a subject that I have explained in my previous blog. After 1949 when Chinese Communist Party got power, they confiscated all lands. Today, whenever Chinese government wants your land, you have to give it up by law. Numerous conflicts have occurred and several people have died over this issue of land ownership.

Now, this new game uses 'eviction' as backdrop. In this game, the offender is the eviction team. They use light weapons to destroy a house. The family living in the house can use household items to defend themselves. If the family should win, they will be awarded with a certificate stating that they are the most intrepid hero against the eviction teams. If they lose, they will be encouraged with the statement that although the house falls, people not, and wishing them to fight again.

Online Protest in China

Protests are illegal in China, but Chinese government can hardly prevent Internet users from holding virtual protests. This time, they're support a 'nail household' in Jiangxi Province.

All land in China is controlled by the government. Due to urban expansion, the country needs land. Sales of land by different levels of governments to development companies also have become their major incomes, as high as 50% annually. One problem facing the government is the eviction of the residents. Many families have refused to move even though the foundation has already been dug.

(http://www.ybtv.cc/bbs/attachments/month_0712/20071229_c0496bb73f12f016b39aLyHSo5gRfY2q.jpg) Chinese called these families 'nail household' or 'Dingzi Hu'.

On 10th of September, 3 members of Zhong's family burned themselves to resist the eviction. One died and two seriously injured. Mr. Zhong's daughter decided to find support in Beijing. They were intercepted in the airport by a team of 40 led by the county party secretary. Ms. Zhong sneakedinto a restroom and used her cellular phone to call a journalist. Two days later, she was kidnapped by the party. Although she asked for help from the police, the police refused . The journalist then put this incident on a microblog and soon got attention of many Internet users. Although the netters cannot help Ms. Zhong against the Chinese authoritative power, they formed a 'virtual protest'. Ms. Zhong eventually was able to petition her case in Beijing, but we do not know how government will handle the case.

The Nobel Peace Prize 2010: Liu Xiaobo & How China Should React

As most experts predicted, China’s LIU Xiaobo (劉曉波) received the Nobel Peace Prize 2010.

Dr. Liu is no ordinary dissident. He was a professor at Beijing Normal University and a popular literature and philosophy critic. His book once was sold several times higher than the listed price and was used by book sellers to sell additional unpopular books with it as a bundle.

In 1989, Liu was in the U.S. to solicit support for democratization. After learning the student protests for democracy in Beijing, he decided to go back to China. He told his friend that “this is the moment we have been expecting and we cannot be absent.” He joined the hunger strike in the Tian’anmen square and negotiated with the government for peaceful retreat of the students. In the night of June 4^th, PRC soldiers opened fire. Estimations show a death toll ranging 200 according to the Beijing mayor to 3,000 according to the Soviet archive. Dr. Liu then refused supporters’ assistance to go into exile. He waited and was arrested by PRC government.

Dr. Liu was released in 1991 but then became a frequent prisoner. He was convicted of subversion in 2009 for his major role of Charter 08 - a document that thoroughly lists the fundamental institutional arrangement for a modern democratic country including separation of power, legislative democracy, independent judiciary, public control of public servants, and election of public officials.

As expected, PRC official propaganda said the Norwegian Nobel Committee’s decision “blasphemes Alfred Nobel's purpose of creating this prize” and "may harm China-Norway relations". Some scholars have even regarded this event as some Western governments’ conspiracy. In such a totalitarian country, government officers and even civilians cannot understand that the Nobel committee is independent from Norwegian government.

Inside China, all reports related to Dr. Liu and even this year’s Nobel prizes were banned. Searching “Liu Xiaobo” on Google generates a blank page. When NHK, the Japanese premier TV news company, announced the Nobel peace winner, the TV screen went black. Rumors in China say Barrack Obama is the peace prize winner again.

Chinese government should have a positive view on the decision. After successfully ensuring that“hundreds of millions of people have been lifted out of poverty,” the PRC government is indeed looking for political reform, led by the country’s Chairman HU Jintao and Prime Minister WEN Jiabao themselves. They understand it very well that the reason they launched the political reform was not just because of foreign governments’ pressure but because it was the only solution to domestic problems including corruption. So far, no one knows how they will lead the country into a new era, but the Nobel Committee’s decision may tell them where to go.

http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2010/press.html

The Impact of Senkaku (Diaoyu) Islands Dispute on East Asian Power Balance

On 7 September 2010, a Chinese fishing trawler collided with two Japanese Coast Guard patrol boats in disputed waters near the Diaoyu (Senkaku) islands. After the collisions, Japanese sailors boarded the Chinese vessel and arrested the captain Zhan Qixiong. Mr. Zhan was then formally charged under Japanese law.

The uninhabited Diaoyu islands (Senkaku islands in Japan and Diaoyutai in Taiwan) are located 170 kilometers northeast of Taiwan and 410 km west of Okinawa. According to Nicholas D. Kristof, a senior New York Times journalist, “Chinese navigational records show the islands as Chinese for many centuries, and a 1783 Japanese map shows them as Chinese as well.” In 1894, Japan occupied the islands during the First Sino-Japanese War. The Qing Dynasty of China ceded Taiwan and surrounding islands to Japan after losing the war. After World War II, Japan unconditionally surrendered to the Ally and Taiwan was handed back to China. When Japan’s Okinawa was then administered by the U.S. In 1949, the Republic of China retreated to Taiwan. In 1972, the U.S. handed Okinawa and Diaoyu Islands back to Japan. The handover triggered major protests in Taiwan and its oversea citizens. One of the protesters is the current ROC President Ma Ying-jeou, whose doctoral dissertation at Harvard is a study on the ownership of Diaoyu Islands. The People’s Republic of China was in the chaotic Cultural Revolution that time and had no ability to deal with the US or Japan. Today, China, Taiwan, and Japan all claim the ownership of Diaoyu Islands but Japan in actuality controls the area.

Although China and Taiwan do not fight with Japan for the ownership of the islands, they certainly do not want to see Japan using domestic law to charge Mr. Zhan. If Mr. Zhan is really charged under Japanese law, China and Taiwan silently consent to Japan’s claim over the islands. It is not difficult to understand China’s strong reactions.

In spite of China’s strong reactions, Japan did not succumb, at least until China made some effective actions. First, China decided to discontinue the negotiation with Japan about the joint exploration of the oil field in East China Sea. Then, it decided to dig Chunxiao (literally Spring Dawn) oil field independently. The field is located in the overlapped claimed sea territories by China and Japan. But most effectively, China secretly disallowed export of rare earth to Japan. Rare earth, which contains different kinds of chemicals such as lanthanum, promethium, gadolinium, is essential to nuclear weapons, superconductors, hybrid cars and so on, and China produces 95% or even more rare earths in the world today. Although Japan has enough reserve to support a couple of years’ consumption, the U.S. does not. The U.S. was shocked by China’s action. According to some Taiwanese newspapers, it was the U.S. who convinced Japan to release the captain.

East Asian Power Balance and the Sinking of Cheonan

“The Cheonan, a South Korean warship, exploded, broke in half and sank near a disputed sea border with North Korea on March 26, 2010, killing 46 of the 104 sailors aboard.” said New York Times. While South Korea is mourning the dead, the US has taken the initiative to exercise its influence in this area. On July 20, the US and South Korea announced a naval exercise with unprecedented scale, “including an American aircraft carrier — the nuclear-powered George Washington, one of the largest warships in the world — 20 other ships and submarines, and 100 aircraft. It will involve 8,000 men and women from the American and South Korean armed services,” said New York Times. Although, the two countries claimed that “The exercises…are meant as a show of force and a “first step” in trying to deter North Korea from acts of aggression in the region,” analysts believe that their real aim is China. Taiwan has coastal guards and residents in Dongsha and the largest islands of Spratlys, and China in Paracel islands. U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton voiced, while attending the ASEAN regional forum in Hanoi, that the territorial disputes in South China Sea are a leading diplomatic priority and the United States has a national interest in freedom of navigation there.

After the collapse of Soviet Union, the United States found China to be potential threat. A series of disputes between the two countries in 90s – the U.S. bombing China’s embassy in Yugoslavia, the collision of a Chinese jet fighter and U.S. spy plane, Bill Clinton’s accusations on China’s human rights policies, massive Chinese refugees moving to the U.S. coasts and the like, occurred, but none of these has affected China’s steady and significant economic development.

The two nations’ dispute stopped when the terrorist attack happened on September 11, 2001. Since then, dealing with terrorism has become the highest priority of George W. Bush administration as well as the Chinese government.

Now, soldiers have been called back from Iraq, the U.S. seems to refocus on China. The U.S. policy on China is clear – encircling China so that it has to pay huge bills to obtain the resources it needs: Afghanistan is occupied by U.S. military force. Uzbekistan and Pakistan are allied. Korea, Japan, Taiwan, and Thailand have been in the anti-communist camp with the U.S. for 60 years. The border crossfire between India and China has never fallen. China may well realize the U.S. intention but it does not have the power and excuse to stop them.

The Metamorphosis of Sino-Japanese Relations

In my previous blog, I introduced the conflict between China and Japan over the Diao’yu (Senkaku) Islands. This event is unexpected if we know the current Japanese cabinet’s attitude to China. The incumbent and former Japanese Prime Ministers Naoto Kan and Yukio Hatoyama are noticeable for their pro-China attitude. Unlike his predecessors, Hatoyama did not pay visits to Yasukuni Shrine, where WWII war criminals were enshrined. This is a clear indication of his friendship to China and Korea, both of which Japan had invaded or occupied. Hatoyama was also the family name of a demonized Japanese military policeman in a Chinese opera. After Yukio Hatoyama became the Prime Minister, Ministry of Central Propaganda ordered that no villain can be named as Hatoyama.

The incumbent Prime Minister Naoto Kan was a member of a Japanese youth delegation to China in 1984. The group got warm welcome from the then Chinese Prime Minister HU Yaobang. His ambassador to China, Niwa Uichiro is the first one not from Japan’s traditional diplomatic circle where ‘pro-China’ is a taboo. He told people he is pro-China but also patriotic. He has been working on the friendship between the two countries because he knows the two countries have been and will be forever neighbors. He is an entrepreneur who has deep connections in China. He also serves as consultant of many important municipal and provincial governments in China including Beijing.

So, it is clear that rebuilding the friendship with China is the incumbent government’s major agenda. Although both countries have their claims on the ownership of Diaoyu Islands, it is not likely that they will continue the stalemate. True, Kan sent a secret emissary to China to compromise, and on October 5th, Kan and Chinese Prime Minister WEN Jiabao “unexpectedly” met in the hallway during the Asia-Europe Meeting.





• 菅 直人 (Kan Naoto)
• 鳩山 由紀夫(Hatoyama Yukio)
• 小澤 一郎 (Ozawa Ichirō)
• 丹羽 宇一郎 (Niwa Uichiro)

Shoe Musuem Showcases the Ancient Art of Foot Binding

On the last International Museum Day (May 18), a new shoe museum opened in Tianjin, China. The museum features over 1000 shoes from over 5000 years of Chinese history. From the most ancient to the most modern designs, these shoes come in all shapes and sizes. Some of them will baffle you, "how could someone possibly fit their foot in there?" The answer to that sort of question dates back to feudal times in China. Sometime in what most historians estimate to be the 10th century A.D., the practice of foot binding began in China. Foot binding is a process where a woman's feet were broken and crushed into a smaller, stub-like shape. The idea behind this was that women who had small feet were more attractive because it meant that they were not subjected to manual labor. In other words, they came from wealthy, high standing families and married rich. At the peak of its practice, almost 100% of all high-class women had their foot bound. Lower class women also had their food bound, but it was a lot less common because they had to work on the fields or perform other manual labors. This at least explains why foot binding became popular, but not how the practice actually began.

There are many many different stories of how foot binding began. Some say that the female Chinese population felt sympathy for a prince's concubine who had club-like feet. In response, women started binding their feet so the club-like shape became fashionable. Others will tell you that an ancient emperor once had a dancer perform with bound feet. The trend took hold and people emulated in the dancer's example (although how she managed to dance with bound feet is a mystery to me). A third story is that an emperor had his empress's feet bound so they would resemble the moon. But one, lesser-known story (more believable in my opinion than the stories of a single women inspiring everyone to crush the bones in their feet) says that when the Manchurians took over China, they made all males wear the distinct "moon cut" where the hair on the frontal lobe of the head is shaved off in an arc from ear to ear and a long ponytail is left in the back. In response to this, the Han people said, "Okay, if you're going to make us adopt your culture, we're going to practice ours even more, lest we lost out cultural identity." Foot binding already existed by then, but only in the imperial courts. So the common people took up the practice and foot binding gained massive popularity among the Han.

Foot binding met its end in 1949 when it was outlawed by the Communist party. In Taiwan, it was banned by the Japanese ruler-ship in 1915 (Taiwan was a territory of Japan back then). There had been previous attempts by the government to ban foot binding, but none were successful either because they were not properly enforced or that the following leadership revoked the ban. Starting in the 20th century, the movement against foot binding started to gain momentum. Educated internationalists realized how foot binding made foreign countries look down on China, feminists opposed how demeaning the practice was to women, and foot binding was theorized to weaken the Chinese population because weaker women would produce weaker offspring. Although foot binding has disappeared into the pages of history, women who experienced foot binding before its banning suffered lifelong disabilities and infections in their feet. Women who had their feet broken were permanently crippled. Despite its perverseness, foot binding is a big part of Chinese history. Being outlawed today, evidence of its practice exists only in shoe museums like the one recently opened in Tianjin.

Egofa

A while ago I wrote a post about the new ECFA between China and Taiwan. This new an revolutionizing pact has its origins deep in the history of the cross-strait relations. In many ways, ECFA is very similar to a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) except the Chinese didn't want it to be called that, since FTA's exist only between two sovereign countries, and they didn't want to give Taiwan that title. On the other hand, opposition to the ECFA comes mostly from Taiwanese independence groups who believe that the agreement will draw them closer into becoming one with mainland China. Also harmed by the agreement are Japan and Korea, two big players in the Asian trade market. The ECFA is surprisingly favorable to the Taiwanese; they do not have the same limits and expenses that Japanese and Korean businesses have to face. As a result, the ECFA is bringing much welcome commerce and business to Taiwan. Chinese workers and Korean/Japanese businessmen hoping to take advantage of Taiwan's vantage point in relation to China.

Also, not as well known is the fact that "egofa" (with the "g" sounding like a cross between a "g" and a "k") means "to expand" or "to develop" in Taiwanese dialect. As such, the ECFA is a humorous notion and a much appreciated little head-nod to the local Taiwanese people.

Calligraphy Got Me Into College

Yujun GAO is a Taiwanese student who recently got accepted into Harvard, Stanford, Columbia, Princeton, Yale, University of Pennsylvania, and MIT. How did she do this? Well, her mom tells us that she's not particularly hard working. When we compare her to the male Chinese student mentioned in my earlier post, who applied to almost all these schools but was rejected by all of them, Yujun is the exact opposite of him. He is the number one student in all of mainland China, but it wasn't her academic skills that got Yujun into college. She practices calligraphy, the ancient art of Chinese character painting. Needless to say, she's an expert at it. She says she practices everyday, and while she may not be as diligent in her school work, she is extremely disciplined when it comes to her art. She keeps a blog where she writes about her works and posts galleries of them, and when the administration boards read it, they were stunned.

I think by observing the differences between Yujun and the above mentioned mainland Chinese student, we can see what gets you into college these days and what doesn't. Personally, I think that Yujun presents herself as a unique personality and character. She has good grades, but more importantly she has something more; an art and an interest. While the mainland Chinese student is the "epitome" of the perfect Chinese student, it is exactly that quality that got him rejected. I think the boards saw him as a sort of robot of the Chinese education system. All his awards and first prizes didn't show his personality or how he was special. On the other hand, Yujun listens to rock music while she practices calligraphy; she is clearly one of a kind. The colleges couldn't afford to pass up this truly unique person, but there's a "number one" student in China every year.

My Visit to Sri Lanka

A couple of weeks ago I went to Sri Lanka to attend Sri Lanka Model United Nations 2010. I had a fun time; it was my first Model UN experience and I learned a lot about how the UN works and its role in the international community. But more importantly, I got to see Sri Lanka and the people that inhabit it. It's a very poor country and has emerged even more battered from a civil war only a while ago. Even now, there is still a strong military presence everywhere you go to maintain order and quell riots.

They are similar to Indians in speech, mannerisms, and skin tone, but the main religion in Sri Lanka is Buddhism while Indians mostly practice Hinduism. Another similarity between the two peoples is their "tournament of life". Sri Lanka and India both have high population densities and relatively low standard of living. Every student graduating from high school and going into college is in competition with very many peers. Only the best of the best make it to the top, not like in America, where things are more balanced. You can have perfect grades and still not make it into the top colleges. People in Sri Lanka are always in competition with each other. Westerners might think them rude, for they shove and push in lines and drive recklessly. But that is because they have to. They have to play aggressive or get pushed behind. I think being in Sri Lanka allowed me to feel how lucky I am and how easy of a life I lead.

China Growing Greener

China's rise to international prominence is, in a sense, much like that of a celebrity's. It was fast, it was unexpected, and as soon as China got sure footing on its new status, it was bombarded by accusations of child labor, pollution, government control, etc. But regardless of whether these allegations have merit, the Chinese government understands the importance of appearance and public image. China is the country with the largest population and the most pollution. In an effort to display its efficiency and sensibility, China has been putting money and effort into reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. And more recently, the Chinese government has begun to tackle the Goliath of all pollution problems; vehicle pollution. China is the world's fastest growing automobile market, and as a result, millions of vehicles are leaking greenhouses gases into the atmosphere in streets of China.

That's why China is currently exploiting all available means of cutting down pollution in the country. And while other countries are busing being sitting ducks to their ecological issues in the aftermath of the recession, China is mobilizing its money and resources with astounding speed to show the world that it is autonomous and efficient in everything it tries to do. One of the most recent innovations to reduce vehicle pollution is the "straddling bus", basically its a bus that stands on stilts above the roads so traffic can pass freely underneath it, with its wheels attached to the side of the lanes. The buses run on electricity and solar energy, making them very energy efficient. This design will not only reduce traffic congestion by 25-30 percent, but will save a projected 860 tons of fuel a year that would have been used by conventional buses. Also, the Chinese government announced that it will be investing many billions of USD in the development of more efficient hybrid and electric cars. All of this is intended to show off China's ability to allocate massive amounts of its resources to speedily develop the country into a leader in green technology.

Lastly, continuing on the quest for greener technology. China is trying to become less dependent on environment-harming energy sources and instead turning to greener energy supplies like solar and wind power. Last year, China overtook Germany as the second largest producer of wind-generated energy, putting it behind the US. However, at the rate that China is going, advocates of and experts on the wind power in China say that it will soon exceed the US's output of wind energy, possibly in the next decade.

Japan and Germany - 65 Years Later

I think everyone is familiar with the political positions of Japan and Germany during World War II, but 65 years later, much has changed and much remains the same. Germans for the most part (excluding Neo Nazis) don't condone the actions of the Nazi regime. Even during WWII, Hitler's initial popularity among the Germans was only due to the fact that he hid the Jewish atrocities from the public. However, as the war wore on and people saw how insane Hitler was, they lost a lot of faith in him, even his own soldiers sometimes despised their fuhrer. Needless to say, Germany is now completely the opposite of how it was back then and has clearly put the issue of WWII behind them. This has allowed the international community in which it resides to get along with Germany without conflict over this issue.

Japan's situation, however, is very different. Even though the global community regards its actions in WWII as atrocious, Japan maintains to itself that it's actions were just. Even though Japanese people today don't have the mindset of their WWII counterparts, they have never really repented their role in the second World War. The notion of that war remains a foggy idea in the minds of young Japanese today who were not there to experience it. The subject is rarely mentioned in Japanese history textbooks, and when it is, Japan is always referred to as the liberator of Asia. When we compare Germany to Japan, Germany doesn't make any effort to hide the fact that Nazis massacred millions of Jews. Movies like Stalingrad were even made by Germans, showing how well they've dealt with the issue. That is why everyone today is familiar with concentration camps and ghettos, but not everyone knows that hundreds of thousands of Chinese and Koreans were used by the Japanese for live medical experiments (dissecting their bodies, injecting them with viruses, Frankenstein-like things) or that many many more were simply buried alive by the Japanese. And to add insult to injury, Japan sometimes even commemorates these war criminals as martyrs of Japan.

The Yasukuni Shrine and the Yushukan Shrine immortalize the Kami or spirit of many Japanese casualties of war over the years, including many WWII war criminals. The Yushukan Shrine honors the Kamikaze pilots of WWII as heroes and depicts Japan's role in the war as a defender of Asia that was provoked by the Allied powers into violence. Many high-ranking Japanese politicians make special visits to these shrines to honor the dead. Although it can be said that Japanese people place "respect for the dead" very highly, and that they are also honoring Japanese casualties of war other than those of WWII, each and every visit to these shrines sparks resentment in the international community. However, as a result of this, some Japanese Prime Ministers choose to boycott visits to these shrines. In 1978, Hirohito, also known as Emperor Showa, initiated a boycott of the Yasukuni Shrine due to the fact that 14 WWII Class-A war criminals had been enshrined there. The current PM, PM Naoto Kan, also refused the visit the shrine in an effort to speak out to the Asian community that Japan is ready to move on. I think this is a great leap forward for all the countries of Asia because in the past, China and Korea really really didn't like Japan. And this dislike affected their economic and political relations with Japan. By moving forward and adopting a more "modern" point-of-view, Japan only risks making new allies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasukuni_Shrine
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-10978571
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_731

Big Countries and Their Little Islands

Taiwan and Sri Lanka are similar in their relationship with China and India, respectively. Both are"counterpart islands" to a developing international superpower, and both rely heavily on exchange with their mainland counterparts. However, it can be said that Taiwan's relationship with China is not as strong as the relationship between India and Sri Lanka. The governments Taiwan and China have "strained" relations and only grudgingly interact with each other. While there are some sentiments in Taiwan of independence from China, Sri Lanka relies heavily and openly on India. Although on the surface Sri Lankans and Indians may look the same, they are independent from one another and have major cultural differences. For example, Sri Lanka is around 70% Buddhist while India is about 80% Hindu. However, these ethnic differences between the two states do little to harm their relations. Both rely on each other both economically and militarily (India in the past has used its military to stabilize unrest in Sri Lanka, although they were not as willing to intervene during the Sri Lankan Civil War).

Recently, the governments of China and Taiwan have started corresponding to reach an economical agreement that will provide the interaction that both of them need. By 2008, they reached an agreement that would allow people and commerce to travel between Taiwan and China. Hopefully, this will prove to increase to good relations between China and Taiwan and develop a friendship more similar to that of Sri Lanka and India.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-Strait_relations#Resumption_of_high_level_contact_.282008.E2.80.93present.29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India_%E2%80%93_Sri_Lanka_relations

A Display of Culture in China

Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Beijing have always been the big players in China's cultural expansion. The modernization, efficiency, and culture of these few cities masks the rural and shabbier aspects of other parts of China. Guangzhou, however, is on its way to being added to this list of elite cities of culture. The city proudly announced the opening of the new Guangdong Museum and Guangzhou Opera this spring. But when we look at the now vacant 2008 Olympics facilities in Beijing, some of us may be asking ourselves, "do we really need another one of those?". However, I think the sponsors of these two new projects had this in mind as well. The museum and opera house are less of a temporary superficial display and more of a lasting arts center for a city with too much industry and too little culture. In terms of money, the opera house cost around $120 million and the museum was priced around $130 million. And while the museum is free, tickets to the opera house can cost as much as 2880 renminbi (about $410), a hefty price for a population of largely factory workers. However, the opera house has special discounts for monetarily disadvantaged peoples so everyone can enjoy the fine arts that this new project has to offer. Clearly, the construction of these new facilities was not an effort by the city of Guangzhou to impress the world, rather, it was aimed at becoming a gravitational center of art to attract much needed culture to the city.

Zheng He's Visit to Sri Lanka

Recently I visited Sri Lanka for a week and peeked into the local life of the Sri Lankans. Sri Lanka isn't a very popular tourist destination, but hundreds of years ago, the Chinese explorer Zheng He visited the island 6 times! However, Zheng He's voyage was so extensive that his visit to Sri Lanka is only a small blip on the route he took. As a result, very few accounts of his visit are available today. Zheng He's fleet of over 300 ships and 100 times as many crew had various economical and social objectives during their voyages. The primary one in Sri Lanka was to establish an alternate Silk Road passing over Sri Lanka and India because the land road was blocked at the time. Although he may not have been completely successful in this, Zheng He's visit to Sri Lanka strengthened the relationship between China and Sri Lanka so that they became partners in trade and travel. Historian Lorna Dewaraja says that the voyages "improved the good relationship already existed between the two countries for more than a thousand years."

Although many accounts depict Zheng He as a Muslim, he had a rare respect for all religions and an open-mindedness that made his travels much easier. "It was clear that Zheng He, as a Muslim, offered valuable gifts to the Buddha, to Allah and the God of Tamil," says Dewaraja. Clearly, as China's envoy to the world, Zheng He wanted to spread a message of his tolerance and acceptance of other cultures, an invaluable quality for an adventurer.

http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/zhenhe/134661.htm

Guns, Germs, and Steel 12

There is only one subject of chapter 19, and that is Africa. Contrary to the American's notion of an entirely black Africa, Africa is actually home to 5 different races, and as with the other chapters of this book, Diamond draws connections between the development of these races and their environment. Africa, like the Americas, was invaded and colonized by Europeans several centuries ago. And like the Americas, a number of common key factors determined the European's victory. Africans had few domesticated animals compared to the European's army of useful livestock. Also, most of Europe's climate is relatively uniform. Africa, however, stretches extremely long on the north to south axis and has many many diverse and varying climate zones. This varying climate meant that livestock and people from different climate zones had a hard time migrating to other areas for fear of diseases and other alien threats. As mentioned in previous chapters, the spread of technology is that much harder on a north to south route because climates vary north to south unlike east to west. Not only that, but a series of geological obstacles such as the Sahara and other deserts and rain forests blocked the spread of development. However, all these drastic geological features and climate differences actually slowed the advancement of Europeans. This undoubtedly played a role in preventing Africa from becoming like present-day America.

Guns, Germs, and Steel 11

Chapter 18. As stated previously, livestock had an enormous effect on the development of civilizations. If we looks closely, Europe had the most diverse cache of domesticated animals throughout the world. They possessed 13 of the 14 major domesticated animals on Earth. This was a key factor in their ability to dominate the globe. If we look at the European conquest of the Americas, livestock played a big role in the European victory. The reason that European diseases wiped out the natives, and not vice versa, is that Europeans had developed immunity to the viruses carried by their 13 indigenous animals. On the other hand, Native Americans only had the llama which contributed very little to the human society of the area whereas European animals do work, provide resources, and can be used in war.

Other reasons of European victory include better social structures as well as better technology. The Eurasians developed almost every technological advancement before their American counterparts. Obviously, a combination of all these things allowed the Europeans to so easily dominate the rest of the world.

Guns, Germs, and Steel 10

In Chapter 17 of Guns, Germs, and Steel Jared Diamond tells us about the relationship between climate and history. Why did Europeans have colonies in some areas of the world but not in others? Why didn't Australians coming from Europe migrate to the rest of Indonesia? Environment is the key to all of these questions. The subject area of this chapter is mainly Austronesia, an area that includes southeastern Asia and Oceania. These Austronesians came from the southern Chinese boarder as well as from Taiwan. As they migrated, their language evolved to adapt to their surroundings. New words were formed to describe regional things that did not exist elsewhere. However, the reason Austronesians could not settle in Australia was ecological. Differences in climate and environment prevented Austronesians from living outside of their "comfort zone". The same is true for Europeans. They only colonized Australia, New Zealand, and Hawaii because they were remote and far enough from the equator to have similar climates as Europe. Tropical diseases and other hindrances stopped their advancements. That is why many of the international borders we see today exist at all.

High-Speed Rails All Around

High-speed rails in Europe and China have brought convenience, "green" traveling, and a better economy to the people of those areas. President Obama, recognizing these benefits, recently pledged $8 billion taxpayer money to fund America's first high-speed rail. It is odd that the U.S., one of the leading superpowers of the world, is so late in building a high-speed rail. This is most likely because Americans don't need a high-speed rail since so many of them own cars or travel by subway or train. If that is the case, this new high-speed rail could soon become a poorly maintained burden on the U.S. economy. However, Obama obviously recognizes these possible setbacks and to him, practicality may not be his foremost goal. Aside from being fast and convenient, high-speed rails are a show of social development and technological advancement. Recently, when Obama was visiting China, he went sightseeing at China's own high-speed rail. If fact, China has many more of these transportation systems in the planning. One ambitious plan is to build a "grid" of 8 interlocked high-speed rails, 4 traveling east-west and 4 traveling north-south. When Obama saw Europe and China's railways, and heard of their grand plans for the future, perhaps he thought it was time for the U.S. to have its own high-speed rail

Hillary Clinton Speaks Out to the Chinese People

Recently Hillary Clinton and Tim Geithner visited China and appeared on the popular Chinese TV show "Appointment With Lu Yu". American politicians get media and news coverage all the time when they visit China, but Clinton and Geithner were the first to appear on what is more of a talk show than a news channel. I think Hillary connected very well with the Chinese masses in that she presented herself as more of a real person than a politician. There was no discussion of debates or politics; what was talked about was Clinton's family and background. Clearly, this was deft move intended to bridge the gap between U.S. politicians and the average Chinese.

On the other hand, Geithner has always been well-liked by the Chinese public. He attended Peking University to learn Chinese and is well known for playing basketball there. His Chinese name is Gao Yiran (Chinese 高逸然). Gao meaning tall and Yiran meaning something like "naturally free soul". By having a Chinese name, attending school in Beijing, and speaking excellent Chinese, Geithner has cast himself in a favorable light among the Chinese people; very rarely do they see important Western politicians show such deep and sincere appreciation for their culture.

China's Green Policy

We're all familiar with the issue of global warming. We've seen its effects already through polar bears trapped on floating ice blocks as well as the growing number of dead sea life washing up on shores around the world. For the average westerner, this is enough to motivate them to "go green" and start saving electricity and fuel. But in China, many people are still living in 3rd world conditions. Things like global warming don't matter to them. The poorest of the Chinese will work hard to feed themselves and their families, regardless of greenhouses gasses and whatnot. This reason, combined with the booming, super-industrialism of China results in high emissions of greenhouse gasses and damage to the environment. That is why China came up with a simple but possibly very effective solution to this problem. The government introduced "CO2 quotas", a system in which if you emit C02 exceeding your allowed amount you have to buy more "quota" or plant trees. Not a very elegant solution on the surface, but the average person won't have much of a problem keeping their C02 emissions under the quota. The impact lies in big business. Large companies who emit large amounts of C02 will regularly exceed their quota. Obviously, you won't see such companies like Boeing going around and planting trees, so their solution is to "buy" those trees from the average, poor Chinese farmer mentioned above. Now we see why this solution is plausible; large companies will be pressured to emit less Co2 at the same time that the lower class Chinese will be motivated to plant more trees, resulting in a "greener" China.

The Hukou Housing System

The Hukou system is a government rule that says only those with who have applied and been approved for immigration are allowed to move between areas. This system was employed by China some time ago to regulate the balance between rural and urban areas. For instance, when China was rising to economic strength there was a huge influx of immigrants from the countryside into the cities. Hukou helped manage this surge of migrants, but as it was not strictly enforced, many people moved to the cities illegally anyways. Even today there are many citizens in Beijing and other major cities who are not registered to live in those cities. Even though this may seem to make little difference since the Hukou system is not heavily enforced, in reality, this presents a major problem to China, its people, and its government. If you are not registered to live in a certain area you do not receive some major benefits that you would otherwise be entitled to. Health care, food supply, and other benefits are restricted to those with proper registration. Another one of these benefits is education. This ties back to my previous post about the Chinese preschool shortage. Those without registration can only send their children to local schools by paying a hefty price. As you can see, what was once a rationalized solution to a growing immigration problem is now a heavy burden on the people of China. It is one of the many problems that are lowering the quality of life of the average Chinese.

Beijing Kindergarden Crisis

A growing problem in the city of Beijing and throughout China is that there aren't enough preschools to accommodate the children born in the last few years. The extremity of the situation shows itself in several ways. For example, some of the better preschools are charging up to 15000 USD a year! Think about it! You could send your child to college with that money, but instead its being spent on preschool! Also, prior to the beginning of the school year, the registration lines for preschools is dauntingly long. In one case, a grandma in her 60's went to wait in line for her grandson because no one else would bother. Another family was in line for 9 days! Inevitably, the severity of the situation has caused many illegal preschools to spring up. Chinese law dictates that preschools must be administered by the government but the officials turn a blind eye on these underground schools because the government knows they are necessary to keep students in education. It has reach a point that the number of illegal preschools outnumbers legitimate ones! The root of the problem is that government funding for preschool education is too low and that there are not enough teachers. This is partly due to low pay for teachers resulting in not many people wanting the job. Clearly, the problem of Beijing's preschools has reached outrageous levels and even now the Chinese government is pounding its head at how to tackle this issue.

Guns, Germs, and Steel 9

Chapter 16 of GGS begs the question, "How did China end up as uniform as it is today?". China's resolute unity is indeed unique and for several reasons. As mentioned before, the disparity between latitudes supports very different climates and environments in a north to south axis. As such, Northern China is very different from Southern China. So how the two become unified and how did technology and commerce travel between them? The reality is that China had and still has a multitude of dialects. While most speak Manderine, many Chinese speak smaller localized languages known only to a few thousand people. Also, China started widespread agriculture early on, allowing it to develop more advanced societies similar to those of Europe's. China's expansion can be seen in Korea and Japan, whose cultures are very similar to that of the Chinese. Chinese language remains so prominent in its neighboring countries that little has changed in the written language; you can still spot many similarities between the characters of the languages.

Guns, Germs, and Steel 8

Chapter 15 - the development of Australia. We are all familiar with the story of English criminals being shipped to Australia and later populating the continent, but what about the indigenous peoples who had come to live there long before the Europeans? Aborigines were hunter-gatherers, and that is one of the many reasons why Australia ended up the way it is today. Why were indigenous Australians technologically and socially inferior to Europeans at the time of their meeting? As mentioned above, Aborigines did not farm and therefore could not develop food surpluses and specialized societies. Much of the land in Australia was unfit for agriculture. Also, the Australian hunter-gatherers had low population limits. They had a lot less people than cultures in Eurasia did, and this led to a less cosmopolitan environment. Finally, European crops and livestock were well-suited to the Australian terrain and made colonization much easier. Not only this, but Europeans brought lethal diseases to the Australians. The big picture is that the British colonized and dominated Australia in the same way it did other countries at the height of its power.

Guns, Germs, and Steel 7

Chapter 13, "Necessity's Mother", contradicts the old saying, "Necessity is the mother of all technology". Diamond says that experimentation is the mother of all technology. Those peoples with free time and energy could devote themselves to the tinkering of materials. Eventually, they would come upon a gadget that was interesting but redundant. However, over a period of time, people would eventually find a use for this seemingly useless invention that made daily life easier. But another key point is the difference in the spread of technology between peoples. Europeans were on the forefront of technological advancement for such a long time because of several reasons. First, Europeans were early to adopt farming and therefore food surpluses. This resulted in its peoples being able to devote more time into inventions. Second, Europe, unlike Africa or the Americas, was easy to traverse and therefore technology spread more easily since there were not natural barriers to prevent it. And lastly, Europe's population was denser than most other areas of its time. This meant it had more inventors and more people power. In the end, Europe's lucky mixture of fundamental qualities allowed it to surpass all other nations in terms of technology.

Guns, Germs, and Steel 6

In this chapter, we come across one of the pinnacles of human existence: the development of writing. However, this invention was not some new fab that took the world by storm overnight. The spread of writing was disappointingly slow. Diamond explains that this is because of the limited uses of writing at the time. As you can imagine, much of the things we use writing for today (books, history, etc.) were not very relevant to the everyday life of the ancient man. However, the countries that did grasp this marvelous technological advancement received the full benefits of its potentials. Nations with writing could more easily make documents and instructions for new technology. Also, news and information could travel quicker and more accurately by writing. The original message of the sender would not be altered by numerous repetitions from word of mouth. All in all, most cultures did not develop writing on their own, but borrowed it from nearby nations.

Guns, Germs, and Steel 5

The following chapter of Guns, Germs, and Steel analyzes the reason's for Europe's long-standing dominance over the world. In other words, why Europe of all countries was able to quell, conquer, and in some cases exterminate other nations. The answer lies in livestock. Europeans have always been a pastoral people with many domesticated animals. As proven earlier in the book, domesticated life is a big factor in the wealth of a nation, but another, less obvious gift from livestock were germs. Europeans contracted many viruses from their livestock but were protected by their immune systems. On the other hand, other cultures' immune systems had not adapted to combat such germs. That is why Europeans had such an easy time invading the Americas and Africa; their germs eliminated most of the opposition before they even came face to face.

Guns, Germs, and Steel 4

Chapter 10 of GGS answers yet more interesting questions. This time, "Why does the spread of farming move faster on an east to west axis?" The answer lies in the question. Areas on the same line of latitude share similar qualities such as length of day and climate. Humans, as atoned to their environment as they are, have adapted similarly to their area of latitude meaning that other humans on the same east-west axis will be similar. So the answer to the question is quite simple: plants moving on an horizontal route were spreading to areas similar to that of their origins. Therefore, the species could develop and be domesticated more easily there than north of south of their original position.

Also important to the spread of crops were geographical barriers. Deserts, mountains, thick forests, and the like all played roles in preventing the spread of indigenous species. That is why the people of The Sahara domesticated camels but not Africans further south. The same can be said for the Americas, for example the domestication of llamas in Mexico but not further south or north. As we can see, the domestication of certain plant and animal species was heavily affected by both longitude and geography.

Guns, Germs, and Steel 3

Chapter 9 of Guns, Germs, and Steel explains why some animals and plants were domesticated and some were not. The mystery is that most major domesticated animals were domesticated very early on. These major animals are what Jared Diamond calls "The Major Fourteen". After the last of the 14 was domesticated (several thousand years ago), there has been little progress in the domestication of animal life. That is to say that no new animal has been added to the Major 14 for thousands of years. This seems strange at first because surely technological advancements over time would allow for domestication of more species. But Diamond explains that there are several key factors that determine where or not an animal is worth domesticating. There are 6 reasons in all: Diet, Growth Rate, Problems of Captive Breeding, Nasty Disposition, Tendency to Panic, and Social Structure. All of these qualities are vital to the domestication of any animal. If an animal is lacking just one of these characteristics it is rendered unable to be domesticated.

Guns, Germs, and Steel 2

Today I've got another post on Guns, Germs, and Steel, specifically about chapters 5-8. These four chapters describe the introduction of agriculture to humans and why agriculture went in the direction it did. To begin with, why did some cultures begin farming earlier than others? It wasn't an issue of geography; many fertile areas were not farmed earlier than less fertile ones, but an issue of necessity. Some cultures found that hunting and gathering was more effective than farming.

More importantly, why did some plants and animals become domesticated and others not? The answer is that there are certain criteria that all domesticated life must meet, if a certain plant or animal fails in one of these areas, it's not worth domesticating. In my opinion, this means that the success of certain culture comes down mainly to chance. If, in the beginning, you found that the area you lived in was full of game, you wouldn't bother with farming. On the other hand, a less lively area with fertile land would support farming and eventually those farmers would discover the benefits of having a food surplus and their society would advance. Also, the lazier hunters mentioned above would have hunted most domesticate-able animals. We can see this through Native Americans who hunted the indigenous horses of the Americas. Later, they would find that without horses, they were militarily disadvantaged since they had no cavalry which undoubtedly made it easier for the Europeans to exterminate them. All in all, it was the time an circumstance of human introduction to a certain region that determined the success of those particular humans, although the results may take thousands of years to play out.

ECFA - The Good and the Bad

The ECFA is a trade agreement signed last month between China and Taiwan. Previously, China had used its influence to prevent other countries from trading with Taiwan. With this new agreement, China and Taiwan can conduct limited trade with each other; effectively opening their boarders to each other. However, not everybody supports this new agreement. Taiwan has a history of people who strongly advocate independence from the PRC. They fear that this new agreement will only serve to further tie Taiwan to China. Also, as with any trade agreement, select businesses fear that the ECFA will negatively impact their income if their markets are being opened to another country. Most of all, Taiwanese people worry that mainland Chinese people will take their jobs due to the agreement.

Nonetheless, the big picture is more jobs and revenue created for both countries. Going beyond reasons of the economic, I believe that the ECFA will ease any remaining tensions between mainland China and Taiwan. Also, the negotiations provide an opportunity for Taiwan to be fully recognized in the eyes of China, to establish itself as more than a subsidiary of the PRC. Whatever the results, the two parties have had antagonistic relations with each other for well over half a century, and this agreement is the beginning of a friendlier environment for everyone.

Foxconn's Employee Scuicides

Foxconn is a computer electronics manufacturing cooperation that makes parts for Apple, Sony, Microsoft and other major names in the software industry. With its origins in Taiwan, Foxconn has its industries mostly in China where it has come under attack from allegations of employee mistreatment. If we look at its history, this is not surprising; Foxconn has had 12 employees attempt suicide in the mere first few months of this year, not to mention rumors of other misconducts on the company's premises.

To name a few examples, employee Sun Danyong committed suicide after losing one of the 16 iPhone prototypes. Supposedly, his superiors physically abused him and illegally raided his house. A few days later, he jumped off his apartment building. In February, a reporter that was photographing Foxconn buildings was beaten by security. The list of misconducts goes on an on and the result is what we see as bad work conditions for Foxconn employees. As if China didn't have enough problems with the media snapping at its child and factory labor issues.

However, the blame might not all be on Foxconn. If we look closely at its revenue compared to that of its suppliants, Foxconn only has a 4% annual gain while Apple's is 40%. Obviously, Foxconn might not be able to afford better working conditions for its employees (although this does not absolve them from blame) (Foxconn actually provides dormitories for its employees). The pressure on the employees, in fact, may be coming from the big companies like Apple and Microsoft so they can keep their 40% profit gain. If Foxconn were to put money into its employees' welfare, the money would eventually come out of the American companies' pockets. In the case of Sun Danyong, his intrusive superiors were actually from Apple, and it is quite possible that it was his fear of their reprimanding that caused him to commit suicide.

The Best are not Good Enough

At the end of the most recent school year, China's College Entrance Exam Board released the scores of the top students. This might seem weird to some people because in America, people respect each others privacy and nobody's scores would ever be publicly announced. But in China, it is a common practice to announce the top student of the school, school district, province, and country. This year's top student, Mr. Li, graduated at the top of his class; he was class president, Chairman of the Model UN, and had won numerous math competitions across China. Predictably, Mr. Li applied to all the top schools of the U.S., such as the Ivy Leagues, but less predictably, was rejected from all of them.

The reasoning for this was that while colleges in China rely largely on scores and titles, colleges in the U.S. look for passion and devotion to one's interests. They very likely saw Mr. Li as a tool of the Chinese school system with little independence or defining character. People around the world say that the American school system is declining, and that Chinese, Indian, and certain European students are the new #1, but American students possess the diversity, well-roundedness, confidence that is hard to find in Asian countries. But if the Chinese school system's best produce is a student like Mr. Li, by rejecting him, is the U.S. rejecting almost all mainland Chinese students? Even if a diverse, well-rounded, American-college-ready student were to appear in the Chinese school system, to be #1 would mean to end up like Mr. Li, and to not be #1 would mean to not rise to prominence nor get noticed by the American school system. Perhaps it will take much longer for the Western and Eastern school systems to come to the same level and make stronger connections.

http://udn.com/NEWS/MAINLAND/MAI2/5685175.shtml

Guns, Germs, and Steel - An Analysis

As a departure from the tradition of this blog, from now on, once in a while, I will be adding some articles about interesting books I have read that may be relevant to Chinese-American relations. One book I have recently begun reading, Guns, Germs, and Steel, by Jared Diamond, is particularly noteworthy in that its author is very well-known and his book is equally famous. Jared Diamond's other book, The Third Chimpanzee, details the progress of early human evolution and why certain key factors have allowed us to develop into the most dominant species on the planet. GGS follows along that line in describing why certain groups of people in certain areas of the world have risen to prominence over other nations. In that sense, there may or may not be a section on China with which I can tie this book back to the overall theme of the blog.

Chapter one begins the chronology of human history with an account of the spread of humanity throughout the globe. Where humans went and at what time they got there are two subjects addressed in this chapter. What is most interesting is that we can see the progress of human development in their movement around the world. We can see which peoples developed boats and reached the islands soonest as well as at what time technology was introduced that allowed humans of a certain region to overcome geographical obstacles and reach new regions. Chapters 2-4 are more specific examples of international interaction. From the Maori-Moriori conflict to the Spanish conquest of the South Americas, the main idea developed in these passages is that a nation's success is determined by a few, key factors. Farming and writing are top on this list, as farming allows for settlements to grow and writing for information to travel quickly and accurately. As we can see, Jared Diamond is skillful and insightful in pinpointing the exact causes of one country's dominance over another.

China's Media Moves into Times Square

Xinhua News Agency, the official press agency of China, recently announced its final decision to move to 1540 Broadway. This major physical shift is representative of China's increasing globalization. Too long has China been a secluded country and only recently has it opened up its boarders to trade and commerce. Although Xinhua already had a headquarters in New York, this new office space will give the company a stronger foothold on the American media. Following along with this move on the U.S. mass media, Xinhua also announced that it would be producing an English-language channel. Perhaps they are hoping that this would be able to give China a voice in the American news media which had long been dominated by news channels like Fox who may not have portrayed China in a favorable light. If this is the case, then it is odd how China is seeking to extend its influence into American media but at the same time allows so little American news, websites, and opinions into their strictly monitored media network. Also, many people may be concerned about the influence Xinhua will have internationally and in America. The agency has long been criticized for its lack of credibility as well as for been a puppet of the Chinese government.

Southern Metropolis Daily, China's Liberal Newspaper

Southern Metropolis Daily, mainly distributed in the Pearl River Delta area, is one of the more liberal newspapers in China. As I mentioned before, it was this newspaper that first published the Tianamen cartoon that so annoyed the Chinese government. But that was not the first time that Southern Metropolis Daily has been a thorn in the government's side. Their journalists have been ferreting out and exposing government mishaps that the government would have preferred be kept secret. It is truly a unique newspaper in that it still exists even when its ideals are so opposite from the government's. In the U.S., freedom of speech is something exercised everyday; we, newspapers, and journalists are free to expose and criticize the government whenever we want. But in China, that is a criminal offense. As you can imagine, many of Southern Metropolis Daily's journalists are now behind bars, mostly due to trumped-up charges the government invented to get this newspaper under control. This news company dances skillfully on the legal line regarding freedom of speech in China.
Its controversial ideas are what gets Southern Metropolis Daily its readers, but the newspaper is recognized for its liberal side even outside of China. Once, when Obama was visiting China, he requested to go meet with the heads of Southern Metropolis Daily. Predictably, the Chinese government denied his request. They obviously didn't want two of the most liberal groups in their territory conspiring together.

Tianamen Propaganda Censorship

Everyone is familiar with China's strict internet censorship policies, and as last month marked the 21st anniversary of the Tian'an'men Square massacre, there was sure to be clashes between protesters and government. The Chinese government has been doing its best to obscure the massacre from the eyes of the Chinese public. For example, one of the newest pieces of protester propaganda to hit the web is that of a young boy drawing tanks and soldiers on a chalkboard. Published by the news article Nanfang Dushi Bao (Southern City Daily) in respect to Children's Day, the image was promptly deleted from the Chinese internet but was leaked to the rest of the world. This is just another instance of the effort to cover-up a blemish on Chinese history.

But is this the best way to confront the issue of Tiananmen that still lingers in people's minds today? Perhaps it would be better to face the problem head-on. When we look at atrocities and mistakes in American history, the difference between the Chinese and American cultures is apparent. The massacre of Mailai during the Vietnam war was certainly a stain on U.S. history, but no attempt was made to cover it up. We recognize our mistake and we've moved on. But China is still stuck in the past because it does not recognize the error of its ways. Maybe it was right to stop the protesters at Tiananmen, but not with violence. And with China's affinity for censorship and cover-ups, there's nothing stopping China from committing similar acts of violent riot control.

To Burst or Not to Burst

We all know that the real estate in the U.S. especially has taken a major beating, and before that Japan's as well. What happened was that the real estate bubbles in the two countries burst. In a real estate bubble, the people have a lot of excess money, so they invest it in real estate. Too many people invest, and the real estate market crashes. The price of people's homes go down, and they turn them over to the banks who sell them and further decrease their value. By then the bubble has already burst. With the current global economy steadily recovering, China's real estate market has grown quickly. However, many people are concerned that the looks of the Chinese real estate market mirror that of Japan's twenty years ago, right before crashed. 2008 already brought the Chinese real estate market startlingly close to a crash like Japan's, but the current state of ambiguous economy makes the future hard to read. The Chinese government, of course, recognizes the dangers and is making efforts to prevent a crash. But what's happening now is that, because of China's heavy reliance on the construction industry, more and more houses are being made that the investors cannot keep up with nor the government can stop. And if this truly does cause a burst similar to Japan's, the results could be catastrophic for the rest of the world which relies so heavily on China's consumer spending. Regardless, even if China's real estate market is on its deathbed, the government is well more equipped and forewarned than Japan or the United States were.

"When China Rules the World": Another Take on the Near Future

My most recent post was of Joel Kotkin's book about the U.S.'s place in the world in 2050. His projections are optimistic. They are also false, according to Martin Jacques's book, "When China Rules the World: The End of the Western World and the Birth of a New Global Order". A bold title, to be sure, but one that is equally as likely as Kotkin's vision of American dominance in 2050. Jacques has put up a convincing side backed by years of extensive research. The result is a belief that a nation can be powerful and rich without being democratic. Even if you disagree, it is undeniable that China is growing at an alarming rate for the now.

But whether this growth stays constant remains to be seen. For example, Kotkin's "The Next Hundred Million: America in 2050" brings up the point that America's population is constantly growing while other countries' are remaining steady. An increasing population, he says, is key to a strong economy in the long-run. This prompts us to ask, then, "What about China's population, which is consciously shrinking?" For the answer, we can look to Japan. Japan had the same overpopulation problem as China has more than twenty years ago. Their response to this problem was similar to China's and the population steadily declined. However, now Japan has a rather large elderly population in comparison to its work force and spends too much money on the previous generation's retirement and gains too little from its current youth's income. However, the difference between Japan and China is that Japan was already very wealthy at the time it began to decrease its population, while China, although economically strong, is relatively poor overall. Judging from this, China will have the same problem as Japan, just not enough money to pay for it, although all of this remains to be seen.

Nonetheless, if we ignore this possible outcome and go back to Jacques's book, China is more than ready to extend its influence to the rest of the world. It has a rapidly growing GDP and as quickly entered the exclusive group of world superpowers, but has somehow managed to resist the persistent "Westernization" that the rest of the world is feeling. It has made its own name its own way and will most likely continue to do so. So when China rules the world, Jacques foresees the reversing of Westernization (Easternization?). And in contrast to America's somewhat racially accepting policies, China has always been polite but high-minded. This adamant and maybe racist state of mind is what keeps the Chinese way from dissolving and may also be what will influence the rest of the world if it does indeed rise to the top.

"The Next Hundred Million: America in 2050"

That is the title of Joel Kotkin's futurist book detailing what life will be like in 40 years. Judging by the current census population growth rate, it is estimated that by 2050 the American population will have increased to 400 million, hence the title of the book. A strong and growing population, Kotkin theorizes, is the key to a nations success. While other developed countries have relatively stagnant populations, the U.S.'s continue to grow. According to Kotkin, that is one of the major influences on America's future. And what an optimistic future it is. Kotkin writes that by 2050, America will be ecofriendly and free of racism. This book is a rare find in the piles of declinist writings that have followed the 2008 economic crash. Many think that America's golden days are long lost and China and India are on the rise, but not Kotkin. Most people think America is sliding downwards, not Kotkin. He believes it is the other countries in Europe and Asia that are on the decline because of their stagnant populations. I noticed that this would specifically apply to China because of its efforts to reduce the population. Perhaps America will not rise again to become the wealthy, dominating giant it once was, but judging from Joel Kotkin's latest book, the U.S. at least has a better future to look foward to.

New "Red Dawn" Movie Underlines Communist Fears

One of MGM's upcoming films, a remake of the 1984 movie "Red Dawn" has stirred up the Chinese press in an indignant fury. The original film is about a Soviet invasion on America. However, this remake chooses to depict a Chinese invasion to capture the growing resentment that Americans feel towards China. The original film was probably an accurate description of the average American's fear of Soviet attack, and it was probably regarded as a joke in Russia anyways, since Communism was collapsing at the time. But China and America arn't even enemies (perhaps economically, but definitely not militaryly, as depicted in the film). I don't want to jump to conclusions in saying that MGM is racist, but it's unsettling how China, of all the countries the U.S. is likely to go to war with, is depicted as the savage, Communist bad-guys. Not only that, but from what we can gleam from the trailers, the Chinese forces are seen to be allied with Nazis. And as if to add insult to injury, the films main Chinese antagonist is played by a Korean actor. This movie boldly summarizes the anti-sino inclination of the American media and the fantasy of the typical paranoid redneck.

China Proposes to Replace USD as Standard Currency

Ever since the economic recession, the U.S. dollar has dropped significantly in value. Although the economy is showing significant recovery, China still believes this damage could be permanent. For about a year now, the idea has been around to replace the USD with the Chinese Yen as the international standard currency, or to at least have them side by side. The response to this suggestion was mixed; some people felt that this would solve many economic difficulties, while others felt it was too much of a stretch for the Chinese. In my opinion, the recession of the USD is most likely to be temporary, at which point it can resume being the standard currency. In this case, China seems to be overly opportunistic in its approach and sort-of jumping-the-trigger. From another sense, China could be simply testing the waters for a significant political bonus. If that is the case, we can expect more of these suggestions for currency from China. Either way, I don't think the time is right for the Chinese currency to overtake the USD, simply because the USD is more widely known and trusted.

http://rawstory.com/2010/02/imf-chief-pushes-power-worlds-stage/

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/article5963370.ece

China and Iran

The other day, I heard a news cast about how Western countries are pushing to have China sever ties with Iran, a long time trade partner. Obviously, China adamantly refused, citing their long, long partnership with Iran due to both political and economical reasons. The two exchange many common goods, such as crude and "made in China" products, and have been doing so for hundreds of years. Despite the more modern concerns of terrorist activity in the region, China is unwilling to relinquish its friendship with Iran. This is probably due to the fact that China has just come out of seclusion and established itself as an economically powerful country, and doesn't want to make too many enemies too soon. As you will notice, China has very few international rivals, because as independent as they claim to have been in the past centuries, they depend very much on international consumers for their products. In conclusion, some other countries may criticize China for associating with suspicious countries, but Iran isn't an enemy of China, and China isn't eager to make it one.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People's_Republic_of_China_–_Iran_relations#Relations_today

U.S. Health Care, Chinese Health Care

All of you probably know about Obama's proposed health care reform and his plans for American society. Something similar is happening in China. Many people there are pushing for a reform of their health care as well. The government had released a drafted blueprint to the public, and has since finalized the plan. The Chinese government has promised new medical equipment, cheaper health care, and medical services for many rural villages. Of course, this idea doesn't come cheap, China has already massed billions of dollars to implement this change. But the idea is that if people have cheaper health care, they will have more money left to spend on consumer goods, thus bolstering the economy. The fact is that most families in rural China keep all of their savings reserved for any future medical needs. With this problem eliminated, the money saving stress in China can lift and they can focus on improving the economy. The change was received well by doctors, but the majority population viewed it as an empty promise. As we are moving forward in the world, one country that moves to renovate its health care will motivate many others to follow in their lead.

http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/aug2009/gb20090821_005732.htm

Grameen Banking and ROSCA in China

As I said in my last post, the idea of Grameen Banking is widely used throughout 3rd-world countries. That is why many people are suggesting it should be used in China, as although the economy has been improving, there are still many impoverished villagers there in need of financial aid. The big question would be, would it work? Is the Chinese community such that it could support such a banking style like so many other 3rd-world countries. Actually, this question has already been tested and confirmed. In Taiwan, many businesses and charities use a fund management method called Rotating Savings and Credit Association (ROSCA). This is where members of a group meet and contribute towards a cumulative savings account and each has independent access to it. In a way, this can be said to be a controlled, trial run of Grameen Banking in Taiwan, and since it is so successful there, it is likely that it will enjoy similar responses in China.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotating_Savings_and_Credit_Association

Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank

Muhammad Yunus is a banker and economist from Bangladesh. He has been noted for his actions regarding world poverty, and also the founding of the Grameen Bank. The Grameen Bank is literally a bank for the poor. They make loans to impoverished villages so they can exercise better financial management skills and develop a good credit rating. Instead of making loans to individual people, the Grameen Bank gives loans to a large group, such as a village, and then collects the payment from the entire group. This way, it is less likely that there will be a net loss of money because the group can use mob psychology means such as peer-pressure to keep other group members from making bad investments. Also, this means that even if one person makes a loss of money, another group member can balance out the debt. Muhammad Yunus founded this bank in the faith of the impoverished. He believed that those who a poor are not poor due to some fault of their own, but because they missed out on the opportunity to be successful because of the state of living. That is why he had this bank created; so that those living in poverty could access this opportunity and become successful.

GAPP Cracks Down on Video Games in China

Recently, the GAPP, General Administration for Press and Publication, deleted almost 30 renowned online video games from the internet because they were illegally launched. Most famous of these, World of Warcraft was to be imported to the Chinese population, but the GAPP halted this transferring because they said that World of Warcraft did not have license to distribute in China. Also, other games have experienced deletion and changes due to censorship. This is a bit odd since up until now, the GAPP has turned a blind eye towards rampant illegal video games and is suddenly cracking down on almost all of them. While some may argue that this is good for the Chinese public since the games are illegal anyways, others will criticize the Chinese government for throwing another blanket of media control over its population. Could this move by the GAPP be a mere political power display? It is possible that in many instances like these, companies have paid off the GAPP to be allowed to distribute illegal material in China, think of all the illegal DVD's they sell there. Perhaps video game distributors came up short on the bill this time around.

The Murder of Vincent Chin and His Legacy

In June, 1982, in Detroit, Vincent Chin was beaten to death by Ronald Ebens and Micheal Nitz. The reason for this was that the two Americans were former workers at a Chrysler factory and due to the rising sales of Japanese automobiles, were laid off. They beat Chin to death because they mistook him for a Japanese, even though he was Chinese. Neither offender ended up serving jail time, a result which caused much indignation from the Asian-American community. Almost thirty years from then, there is still racism aloof. Even though the American attitude towards Japanese has cooled, many feel dislike towards Asians due to their rising economy. The murder of Vincent Chin was caused by resentment towards the rising Japanese car industry, and the mass amounts of "made in China" products out there that could potentially put American factory workers out of business may cause a similar type of hate crime.

That is why it is important that we learn from Vincent Chin's story and also hate crimes throughout history. If America begins to regard China with derision the way they did with Japanese, any Chinese-American who might be able to compete with an American is in danger. Hopefully, we've moved on a bit since the 80's. This way, we can ensure that neither Chinese nor American feels unsafe to pursue a better life.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_Chin

Susan Shirk on US-China Relations over Dalai Lama's Visit

The other day, I heard a news cast on the radio reviewing the events of Obama's meeting with the Dalai Lama of Tibet. There was a little bit of a debate between whether the meeting would cause friction between U.S. and China, or if it was an intentional slap in the face from the U.S. to China. Not that these accusations are unfounded. In the past few years, the U.S. has seen China try to block them out of Tibet as well as prevent them from trading with Taiwan. However, Susan Shirk, Director of University of California's Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation, disagrees. She believes that Obama's meeting with Tibet is just what previous Presidents have done in the past. From my point of view, this is a grey area since, in the past, U.S. Presidents had just seen China come out of a long seclusion and were keen not to upset them. Now, Obama is making a move that he knows will cause further tension and suspicion from the Chinese government. And also, pressure from the Chinese people for their country to remain powerfull might force the government to make an assertive response to the situation.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/jan-june10/dalailama_02-18.html

Tzu-Chi's Social Entrepreneurship

Today, I read an article on Tzi-Chi's (see my other posts) website about an extremely large iceberg that had recently broken off of Antarctica due to global warming. Much more than just a news article, it offered suggestions on how to prevent such tragedies from happening in the future. This is where social entrepreneurship comes into Tzi-Chi's organization. Since its foundation, Tzi-chi has grown so large (over 70,000 active volunteers, and a certified UN NGO with average US$100M donation annually) that business-like management is needed. By advertising its waste-reduction achievements, it can attract more attention to its cause, but instead of profiting from this attention, they can use it to further their charitable cause. Like a business, they realize that the efforts of their volunteers alone are not enough to solve the climate change crisis, so they broadcast and showcase their volunteers working as much as possible to motivate locals and viewers to work just as hard.

http://tzuchi-culture.com/taipei_new/?mod=tc_monthly_en&act=detail&id=193

Entrepreneurship in Charity - Project Hope

This week, I read about something called Project Hope going on in China. Project Hope is a charity organization that builds schools and provides primary level education for the many many poor people in rural China. This ongoing project has built over 11 thousand schools and raised millions of dollars for their cause. As such, the organization behind Project Hope has grown larger and larger and more stringent management style is needed. This is where social entrepreneurship comes in. Social entrepreneurship is when a person or organization applies entrepreneurial ideas to combat growing social problems. In a project as big as Project Hope, using social entrepreneurship has become necessary and has made the management of the project similar to the management of a large business. I particularly like this idea because it can connect seemingly selfish businesses with generosity and progress. Even now, charity is becoming more and more of a business with people investing in them and founding organizations as well as schools offering diplomas in categories like social entrepreneurship. These types of organizations in China make a lot of money from those in China who have made money and want to give some of it back, as well as businesses that want to improve their social image.

William Hearst and the Roaring 20's

Yesterday, I visited Hearst Castle in California, the only authentic castle in the United States. Throughout my tour, I learned a lot about William Hearst and the business smarts he needed to build such a lavish castle. Like Rockefeller, Ford, and all the big business tyrants of the Roaring 20's, Hearst made his fortune by being the first to implement new and innovative technology. Rockefeller had his railroads, and Ford dominated the car industry, but Hearst brand of money-making was the media. He owned newspapers, news channels, and magazine companies. In the laissez-faire market of the 20's, it was easy to make millions through monopolies and enterprises that are controlled more strictly by law today. Such is the current situation in China. Just having established itself as economically powerful, people are flocking to China to be a part of its "free-for-all" market. In relation to Hearst and the other 20's tyrants, these people that are invested in the Chinese market are all looking for new and innovative ways to sell to the people. Many are looking into cutting-edge technology while others use less tangible approaches and look for the newest marketing technique. Either way, China has all types of consumers ready to buy, and it can be agreed that the market there is different that any before it.

International Attention to Climate Change

I've been seeing a lot of articles lately about how global leaders are each tackling the growing problem of global warming. Specifically, Hu Jintao, has made promises to reforest immense plots of land as well as reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In a manor that reminds us of Obama's speeches at the beginning of his presidency, Hu Jintao has laid out many outlines, blueprints, and objectives on battling this problem. However, both presidents stop just short of any real action. Such is the case for many political leaders these days; they say that we have to fix this problem, but fail do tell us how. Maybe this is further evidence of the fact that global warming is an inevitable future. However, I believe that what Hu Jintao and President Obama are telling us to do is the first step in solving this crisis. International unity and economic strength are key points if we are to overcome climate change. All in all, formal action on this matter is still awaited, but I believe that both the U.S. and China are off to a good start.

A Stain on Chinese History

Today, I read an article that was written in response to the PRC's 60th anniversary parade. It questioned the Chinese government because there was not even a word said about the darker side of what everybody was celebrating, the PRC's rise to power. Sixty years ago, in the city of Changchun, the People's Liberation Army, led by Mao Zedong, laid siege one the already battered residents. Although they were successful, the siege resulted in thousands of civilians starving to death. Oddly enough, this black mark of China's is never mention in any history textbook that its students use. As such, it has become a dark but forgotten moment in Chinese history. Such a cover-up reminds us of the strict censorship that the Chinese government placed on its citizens, and how China could go another anniversary celebration without touching upon this unresolved matter.

The PRC's 60th Anniversary: Power or Puffery?

In recently read an article detailing the events of the parade celebrating the People's Republic of China's 60th anniversary titled, "China Celebrates 60 years of Communism." Although the title indicates clear bias which is followed through in the article, it did bring up many interesting points that put the Chinese government under scrutiny. Surely, President Hu Jintao made a big effort to broadcast his parade around the globe, but this article questions whether or not the parade was for everyone or just certain Chinese. Hu Jintao conducted the parade in a manner reminiscent of previous Communist leaders, most notable Mao Zedong, whom is infamous in the Western world but greatly looked upon in China. So why, some people may ask, would Hu Jintao bring back such a despised figure if the parade was aimed at the entire world? Well maybe the article is correct, then, in saying that the parade was specifically designated at the Chinese public only. In my opinion, the anniversary celebration was mostly a display of military strength to intimidate of countries and establish China as a global power. However, this could have probably been better done if Hu Jintao had done it in a way more accepted by the global community, and not just his own country.

Hu Jintao's Outline for Tackling Global Warming

A few weeks ago, Chinese President Hu Jintao presented a speech in which he described how all countries should cooperate in an effort to prevent global warming. During this speech, he stressed the importance of developed countries supporting 3rd world countries such as those in Africa as well as small islands. He says, "We should make our endeavor on climate change a win-win for both developed and developing countries and a win-win for both the interests of individual countries and the common interests of humanity." I believe he makes a good point because without financial and technological stability, many countries will not be able to contribute in the battle against climate change. And if they cannot contribute, Hu Jintao's plan for international cooperation and benefits falls apart.

One thing I noticed about Hu Jintao's speech was that even though he lays out all the objectives to commentate in battling global warming, he provides little insight on how to achieve them. He wants support to be provided to economically unstable countries, but the U.S. is facing its own monetary difficulties at the moment. And also, even if these 3rd world countries did get this aid, they would be hard pressed to spend it on global warming issues when they are facing civil war and poverty.