China in the News

[Anonymous]

I just found an interesting article from TIME, titled, “China Cracks Down on Tainted Meat Sales”, dated Friday, June 22. 2005. To summarize, China is fighting to overcome intense criticism for exporting unsafe products-including poisoned pet food to kid’s toys made with lead paint. The Chinese government recently cracked down on the illegal selling of tainted pigs, stating that anyone caught selling the poisoned meat would be severely dealt with. According to the article, there are a number of other products that have also been tainted such as toxic monkfish, frozen eel and juice, even toothpaste. However, it is important to remember that China is in the spotlight due to the 2008 Olympics…..and WE never got sick! Whew!!

[Anonymous]

Great article, very eye opening regarding China's growth as well as what effect it has on the rest of the world. The article did a good job at breaking down the contributions of both China and the United States in terms of Co2 production and emmissions. What I thought was most interesting was the point made about how the west and its' consumption has turned China into the world's factory. The economic and physical growth that China has gone through is just as staggering as the growht in emmissions and greehouse gases released in the atmosphere as a result.

China's Top CO2 producer. CNN.com

[Anonymous]

China-The Benefits of Tea. CNN.com
The Benefits of Tea- While a short article it nonetheless was thought provoking. Basically it discussed how tea has been a staple beverage for Europeans and Asians for centuries and the benefits it provides them. While in China I got a first hand look at what an integral part of the culture and everyday life tea is for the Chinese. Reading this article caused me to really put more thought in to tea then I ever thought I would. I wondered just how important tea is? There are certain stereotypes that permeate society about life in China; it is harsh, fast paced, very strict, and stressful. But that was not really the case. Sure there were some aspects of society that were fast pace but no more than what you would see in any bustling city in America. Schools seemed to be well run and students seemed to be happy. While the presence of the government was felt it was not as obtrusive as I thought it would be.
I am not saying that tea is the answer to the above. I do think however, that it is used as a relaxant and scheduled tea breaks as they occur in China do.

[Anonymous]

Great article outlining a new kind of arms race for the 21st century,
Cyber Arms Race. As both the United States and China compete for
dominance in the world of cyberspace I think an important question to
ask is, "what does this mean"? During the "Cold War" the arms race was
easily understood, you stockpile more nuclear arms than your enemy, at
that time it was the Soviet Union. Now however, as technology has
improved and cyberspace is now the new domain of choice we see nations
vying for control of it. Does this mean that control over information
equates power? Espionage now entails the stealing of trade secrets and
jamming computers, sounds like something out of the movie War Games. If
nothing else this article shows just how reliant we as a world have
become on computers and the ever important role they are playing in all
of our lives.

[Anonymous]

Again, Good article about a horrific topic. It is both amazing and frightening
that the buying and selling of humans as slave labor still exists.This
reminds me of the feudal China and Japan unit that our kids study in 7th
grade. I think an important question that needs to be asked is with all
of China;'s growth and expansion that is taking place how much of it is
coming at the cost of this kind of labor? I would be curious to know the
actual number of workers there are involved in this kind of labor
abuses. I am also curious to see how authorities will crack down on this
problem.

[Anonymous]

Apples in China, who knew?Apple farmer through out the United States are in fear of China's increase in apple production and the threat they produce as a viable competitor in the apple trade. Currently, China produces nearly half of all the apples produced in the world. And they are able to compete with farmers around the world because they have a cheap labor force. This has happened once before to apple producers during the early nineties when the Chinese began making apple juice. Chinese companies were able to produce it in such large cheap quantities that some US companies were forced out of business. In an effort to thwart history from repeating itself farmers in America are looking to Congress to pass an un precedented amout of farm aid to help the industry develop cost effective industries that would make harvesting less costly. The one advantage that farmers do have is the regulations in place that would potentially delay Chinese apples from hitting American shelves in the form of pest and disease control regulations in place. While this may halt Chinese competition for now, it will not last foreve

[Anonymous]

The movie "Nanking" is set to be released on July 3 and is causing great debate among Chinese and Japanese citizens through out Asia. The movie chronicles the Japanese massacre at Nanjing in 1937. According to the film the massacre included the slaughtering of hundred of thousands of Chinese and the raping of thousands more. the actual numbers are a matter of great debate between the Chinese, Japanese and the respective governments of both countries. While the massacre happened seventy years ago anti-Japanese sentiment still runs deep in China when in 2005 demonstrators vandalized Japanese shops and Japanese diplomatic offices. I am curious to see the reaction of both the Chinese and Japanese as well as the rest of the world to Nanking.[Edit by="slajoie on Jun 26, 8:08:18 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

This was a brief article that describes a ruling for a US film industry group against the pirating of film by Chinese violators. What I found most interesting is the staggering amount of revenue lost to movie and video piracy every year. Which raises the question, why doe the Chinese government do more to curb the piracy? I think the quote about the rulings being too little to late accurately describes what was awarded. Hopefully, this will be the beginnings of more rulings aimed at putting a stop to the piracy. If it continues I can't imagine what it will cost to go see a movie.

[Anonymous]

This article appeared in the "Other Views" section of the Daily Breeze on Thursday, June 21st. How relevant to what we are doing/learning! It first appeared in the Kentucky Enquirer in Fort Mitchell, Ky. It's short and to the point so I'll just quote it:
"More than 200 million Chinese elementary and secondary students are studying English, a required course in all primary schools. Meanwhile, just 24,000 American students are studying Chinese. As American companies fight to retain their dominant spot in tough global markets, the language imbalance could prove to be as big an economic issue as the trade imbalance....The seriousness--and growing implications--of America's pitiful foreign language program is evidenced by the Bush administration's 2006 creation of the National Security Language Initiative. The program has sent more than $80 million into U.S. schools for targeted study....There's a critical role for American businesses as well. Offering targeted financial support for teacher recruitment and training, curriculum and testing development, and language enrichment programs would be a great way to help grow a bilingual and culturally sensitive work force...."
During our China trip, we had talked in small groups about how the Chinese students were so eager to be with us and were so attentive, how they seemed to be interested in learning all about the United States, and how they spoke English so well (helps to learn another language in the primary grades!). In my mind, I imagined teachers from China visiting our high school and I don't think our students' reaction would be the same, and I think that this ties into the ethnocentrism that our society perpetuates (English is it; the American way is it). I wrote a short article about the six PVHS teachers that visited China and submitted it to our PTSA newsletter. In it, I mentioned how our PV students are being prepared to meet the global challenges of the future by learning Chinese. But I still feel strongly that throughout our country, our foreign language instruction needs to start in the elementary grades, as evidenced by how quickly the young students in our district fortunate enough to be part of the grant project are picking up Mandarin.
Aileen Willoughby

[Anonymous]

Interesting article about which direction China's President Hu Jinato
sees the country going in. Hu stated that the focus of attention should
be on education, employment, social security and a basic health care
system for the nation. This sounds surprisingly familiar, as if I have
heard political leaders here in the states repeating these same
concerns. What I think will be really interesting is whether or not
China will be able to meet the needs above for its' growing population.
As China grows economically and develops more wealth it will be
interesting to see how the communist controlled government decides whose
needs are met. Is it possible that China will be able to succeed where
Russia did not?

[Anonymous]

This was an interesting article about how in China few people use credit
cards and personal checks really don't exist. Ultimately, the article
went into great detail about government supported banks there and what
kind of role they play in the nation's economic development as well as a
means for investment. While that was little too heavy for me, my
attention was focused on how different life really is there. Thinking
about my own spending as well as in America in general, credit cards,
bank cards, and debit cards have become a necessity. The idea of
someone rolling in suitcases of cash so they can purchase cars for their
business is definately foreign. However, in China, as the article states
is a reality, as well as a necessity.One of the reasons behind the
strict hold on credit is American spending and the high levels of
indebtedness that have come with being too loose with credit. Maybe it
is not such a positive thing that the idea of life without credit cards
seems so impossible

[Anonymous]

Another good article about the food concern .The Chinese government began a
crackdown on food plants and purveyors resulting in more than 23,000
food safety violations. This is just one of the many recent articles
describing the problems that China is going through with food
sanitation. The article said that more than 30,000 law enforcement
officials turned up illegal food making dens, plants, illegal
processing plants, banned food additives and a counterfeit bottled water
and fake soy sauce ring. Violators were accused of using a variety of
toxic and illegal chemicals in the processing of foods. Charges of
corruption and bribery are also being filed against many officials with
the government agency in charge of ensuring safety in the nation's food
and drugs. The former head of which was sentenced to death for accepting
bribes and approving substandard drugs for distribution.
The article cited a consulting firm that said China would have to invest
100 billion over the next decade to upgrade its' logistics and food
storage capabilities. 100 billion is a huge amount, I would be
interested in knowing if this is because the situation is so bad in
China or is it because it is just a costly process. It seems like as
China grows and expands externally it should pay close attention to it's
need internally as well.

[Anonymous]

China has realized its environmental problems due to its rapid modernization. Chinese government has implemented the environmental protection as one of its national policies. Those policies not only protect their own ecosystems in China but also prevent global warming worldwide as well.

The policies include the following:
1. Improving the legal and administrative systems
2. The prevention and control of industrial pollution and the comprehensive improvement of urban environment,
3. Territorial control and rural environmental protection
4. Protection of the ecological environment and biodiversity
5. Environmental science and technology and environmental publicity and education

The special laws on environmental protection includes:
1. The law on the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution
2. The law on the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution
3. The law on the Prevention and Control of Environmental Pollution by Solid Wastes
4. Marine Environment Protection Law
5. Forestry Law
6. Grassland Law
7. Fisheries Law, Mineral Resources Law
8. Land Administration Law
9. Water Resources Law
10. Law on the Protection of Wild Animals
11. Law on Water and Soil Conservation
12. Agriculture Law.

Reference:

Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations Office at Geneva and Other International Organizations in Switzerland

[Anonymous]

In the Daily Breeze on March 12, 2007, there is an article about recruiting new sheriff deputies by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The agency has enlisted the help of Jackie Chan, a martial arts expert ans internationally known actor. The famous Chinese actor will be dressed in a LA County Sheriff's Deputy uniform. The Sheriff's department is using the Chinese spokesperson to help recruit Asian Americans into the force because they are proportionatly underrepresented in the Sheriff's department. Jackie Chan has been in many action movies and performs his own stunt work. The ads will be focused on the excitement, action, and adventure of the job of being a deputy. There would be a lot less crime if law enforcement officers were like Jackie Chan because in his movies, he always defeats the villians.[Edit by="lfrlekin on Jul 1, 10:28:06 AM"][/Edit]
[Edit by="lfrlekin on Jul 1, 10:29:20 AM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

In The Tidings on January 26, 2007, there was an article about the Catholic Church in China. The Catholic community in China faces many problems imposed upon them by the Chinese Government. The Vatican announced that Pope Benedict XVI would be writing a letter to the country's Catholics. Despite the persecution and impairments from the Chinese Government, the number of Catholics continues to grow larger. The communist government is just begining to relax its position against the Catholic Church and allow the Vatican's influence to be present in the church. In the past, the governemnt has tried to block the Vatican from freely directing the Catholic Church and the Catholic faith in China, which forced much of Catholicism underground because of the religious persecution. The Chinese Government is starting to allow Catholic priests and bishops to follow thw autonomous authority of the Pope in Rome. The Vatican continues to have dialogue with the Chinese Government to overcome the misunderstandings of the past, and work together for peaceful religious freedom throughout the entire world.

[Author]

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