LA Times

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

On Saturday November 27,2004 an article appeared in the LA times about "A Parents Worst Nightmare in China". As many as 9 people were killed and 4 were wounded, when an intruder broke into a dormitory and attacked sleeping Chinese students. The attack was the latest in a wave of assaults on students this summer, by knife-wiedling assailants. These attacks demonstrate how crime has escalated in a country that was once viewed as virtually crime free. They seek out little childeren to make there point. These attacks are said to be results of drastic actions of the goverment. The goverment tried to impose a heavy fine on families for not complying with the sanctions of family planning and couples living together without the benefitof marriage. What a tragedy that a plea for help has to take on such heinous proportions. I thought that this kind of craziness only was fostered in western societies. We must do something to alter this horrible situation.

Yesterday in the paper there was an article that stated that many of the families in China are now choosing to have only one child. They are much happier with the responsibility that comes with raising only one child and are able to enjoy the experience more. Possibly this philosophy will help alter the above reaction to the sanctions.

[Anonymous]

I don't know how you can call this a "plea for help". While China lacks some of the democratic institutions that this country has, this was in no way "a plea for help". This was simply someone with mental illness who snapped. People snap all the time, some doing worse things than others.
At best, we could say that the Chinese government has not done enough to assist the mentally ill (just as most countries in the world have not). We cannot ignore that one of the first knife attacks was conducted by an individual who was schizophrenic. This last individual was not mentally stable either.
The main reason that I do not consider this a "plea for help" is because there is no evidence that these perpetrators tried doing anything prior to going crazy and slashing up innocent schoolchildren. In the United States several people are killed for making fun of the wrong person or other ridiculous things. Does that mean that the government should intervene and make teasing people a crime in order to prevent someone from grabbing a gun or knife and killing someone as a plea for help?

[Anonymous]

I feel there are two seperate issues going on the first is crime on innocent victims is unfortunately apparent in every community.

The second issue is that of deciding how many children to raise and be responsible for.

I don't think that the threat of crime is a detterent for people who want to have children.

It's not something that people think about. If it was then in the United States we would probably see fewer children in crime ridden areas, that isn't the case--I even think it's the opposite. I think for so many years the government of China strongly recommended the idea of no more than two children--I think for people who live primarily in the city.

I don't know how accurately one LA Times article can represent the views of an entire country.[Edit by="ldriscoll on Jan 8, 1:17:34 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

An article like this is tricky-there is so much to consider. Considering violence in any country is a trap. There is a wave of violence that is raising eyebrows and getting water cooler time. great. This implies that waves of violence are novel or unusual. much like the last commenter I might suspect that there is always crime and simply more focus on the recent crimes by the media. There are very few shark attacks, however, many people are irrationally afraid of the sharks in the ocean. News reports cover terrifying stuff all the time, from all over, something which has the effect of seemingly omnipresent terrifying stuff happening. It seems a touch dubious to get carried away-was there no crime in America during the 1950's where the popular media creates an idyllic nick at nite paradise?
I did find the comments about number of children in the last post interesting-the recent economic pop-non fiction phenomenon freakonomics would agree-sheer numbers made the case that fewer kids in depressed areas=less crime. Anyway-I think it's crappy that such horrific events occur anywhere and hope for a better world. I guess it's just another reminder that regardless of culture and distance, people are going to act like people, which lamentably includes occasional psychotic behavior.[Edit by="jluesse on Jul 31, 3:29:37 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

Last Sunday's feature, front page story headline was Child-Theft Racket Growing in China, another article showing the very negative side of current China. Do you think there might be an agenda in this? Is China growing too powerful for the US government to manage? How many babies are being stolen for adoption today? What percentage is it?
As independent, educated thinkers, should we believe everything we read? Isn't the media known for its sensationalist slant? Afterall, isn't the objective of a newspaper to sell newspapers for its own survival? Maybe there is some truth in these stories, but to what degree, to what extent? How can we know in this day of monopoly-owned media?

[Anonymous]

Front page of the L.A. Times Saturday, April 29, 2006

It Helps to "Be Rich Silently" in Polarized China

Very interesting article about the richest man in China. He is worth $2 billion but still lives frugally in an apartment. Huan Guangyu actually earned his wealth by buidling up an electronics store similar to our Best Buy. He grew up very poor and attributes some of his success to his mother telling him stories about their ancestors traveling to Thailand and stories from the Bible (he is Catholic).

The article then continues about how most people in China are very distrustful of the wealthy, because most obtain their wealth by stealing and corruption. It definitely is a rags to riches story about this man but he is not celebrated but rather made suspicious of due to his wealth.

[Anonymous]

What I have read recently is that the kidnappings might be occurring because of the differential between men and women of marrying age. People are even kidnapping very young girls and transporting them over 1000 miles in hopes of raising wives for their sons.

As an adoptive father of a Chinese girl it breaks my heart to think that she could have been kidnapped. It really does not make sense that the babies are being stolen for adoption unless the Chinese government or some local Chinese agencies were complicit in some way. I really don't see the profit in it as these babies are being cared for in orphanages and the government is getting maybe $4000 dollars per family to care for these children for a year or more with round the clock care.

I hope I was reading this wrong.[Edit by="rspringer on Sep 19, 8:59:39 PM"][/Edit]

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