Below is the response to the comments for yesterday's entry.
Re: Robert
First of all, wow, I'm glad I got you guys to finally leave a comment. Now on to the nitty gritty.
Not sure where all this "US vs. China" comparison is coming from. Because it is definitely not coming from me. I did not once mention the US in my entry, and I don't recall initiating the use of the US as a comparison point during dinner. I won’t try to dissect communism, but I will judge their actions. This entry was supposed to be more about human rights and lack of fairness/freedom. I (perhaps mistakenly) tied in all of China’s issues which made for a much broader topic.
Healthcare. I never said that China should emulate the US system. In fact, the US system is the system that I hate the most. What I support is universal healthcare, and I also think that would suit China the best. Implementation and regulation are issues that I believe China is completely capable of dealing with. That is the “beauty” of communism: decisions can be made, and they are usually met with little resistance. I agree that we shouldn’t compare the US to China (which I did not), but I disagree when you compare China to India. Why compare yourself to a nation that is a failure? The two nations are similar, but China should be looking at their positive possibilities. With their recent success (and surely more to come), China should be looking at their upside potential and not compare themselves to India, or Russia, or Indonesia.
Yes, its great that China spends more of their GDP on healthcare than India, but all I care about are results. Numbers like that don’t give me much of a hard-on. All I know is that right now in China, if you have money, you can go to the hospital (emergency or not). If you don’t have money, you are literally left to die. There is such a thing as “fake ambulances” in China. You can call for one of these illegitimate “emergency” vehicles and go to the hospital… after first paying the driver. Again, I don’t support the US system, nor do I think China should adopt the current US healthcare model. 270 million. Sure, the US has one quarter of China’s population, but it costs a lot less to educate, feed, house, and heal a person in China. Chinese people don’t have high demands like they do in the US. It may be a less daunting task than we all think.
You know, I really do think it is about money. When Hong Kong businessmen can donate cash to have a school built, it gets done. In fact, it is all about money in China now. Chinese people are only motivated by money and very little else. Okay, maybe some are motivated by Andy Lau, but that’s it!
I don’t expect China to get this done overnight, but I hear of NO progress, and NO plan. The only policy changes you hear about are relevant to business and the economy. I want the government to throw us a bone. Let us know that steps are being taken to progressively improve education and healthcare. Right now we’ve got nothing. And though I don’t expect overnight change, I do expect it to happen quicker than it took the US and other western nations. Being the 21st century, I expect China to be able to have quicker and more efficient development.
To be completely honest, I laughed when I saw that whole rocket deal in China. I suddenly felt like the world regressed 30 years. Do you think anyone outside China was remotely impressed? I don’t see how a space program can help the economy at this point in time. If China needs help putting satellites in space, they can ask their buddy, Russia. China might want to develop a space program in the future for those purposes, but I feel that there are more pressing issues at hand. And no, I don’t agree with NASA and/or Bush wanting to send crap to Mars. I’m not comparing the two space programs because that would surely be like comparing a Chevelle to an Enzo
Stricter labor laws are great, but everything is for a purpose. When the government wants to push business out of a certain area, it CREATES and enforces tougher labor laws for that region only. Believe me when I tell you that these “labor laws” are far from universal. The central government changes the rules and regulations as they see fit. Its certainly not for the benefit of the people.
I never said we should sacrifice Chinese people for the economy, but that looks like what China is doing. I like democracy, but obviously China is not there yet. Of course not everyone in the US is happy, but I’ll bet that a majority of their problems are trivial when compared to the impoverished people in China.
“Give me fairness, give me freedom…” sounds like sweeping comments, but it is truly what I and many others value the most. Right now in China, you may not even be able to have a fair, open, and honest discussion without being censored by the government.
Re: Jamee
I’m not comparing the US to China. See above.
Again, all the answers to your questions seem to be: money and communism. In terms of social welfare, I’m only asking for education and healthcare. You don’t have to feed a billion people, but you do have to get them started on feeding themselves. I do have ideas on how to employ these people, but I’ll save that for another time.
Again, all I ask for is freedom and fairness. These two things are virtually free, so no, I cannot cut China a break. Not when innocent people are in prison, and not when my words are censored.
Why are you comparing China to a failing country (India)? Why stoop to that level? No one in China is comparing themselves to India. Its like saying my 81 Honda Civic is faster than your 75 Toyota Corolla. Big fuckin whoop.
I criticize the US as well. Please see my “Only in America” entries. Small but growing.
The US shot rockets into space in the 1970s in order to compete with the Soviet Union. It was much different then because they were actually COMPETING. Space was the new frontier and the two nations were on equal footing to see who could one up the other. Thwart Soviet aggression? Fine. What’s China’s excuse? I believe there are better ways to give hope and increase patriotism. The Olympics are a good example. However, what saddens me is that we actually have to worry whether the now clean streets of Beijing will become dirty again after the Olympics leave town. Is our government really so “spur of the moment”? Do they have a vision? If so, tell me what it is.
There is no doubt that the US poses a greater threat to global peace than China. Which is why I think China should cut their military funding and spend it elsewhere. China's biggest threat is its economy and its tainted food/consumer products.
First of all, wow, I'm glad I got you guys to finally leave a comment. Now on to the nitty gritty.
Not sure where all this "US vs. China" comparison is coming from. Because it is definitely not coming from me. I did not once mention the US in my entry, and I don't recall initiating the use of the US as a comparison point during dinner. I won’t try to dissect communism, but I will judge their actions. This entry was supposed to be more about human rights and lack of fairness/freedom. I (perhaps mistakenly) tied in all of China’s issues which made for a much broader topic.
Healthcare. I never said that China should emulate the US system. In fact, the US system is the system that I hate the most. What I support is universal healthcare, and I also think that would suit China the best. Implementation and regulation are issues that I believe China is completely capable of dealing with. That is the “beauty” of communism: decisions can be made, and they are usually met with little resistance. I agree that we shouldn’t compare the US to China (which I did not), but I disagree when you compare China to India. Why compare yourself to a nation that is a failure? The two nations are similar, but China should be looking at their positive possibilities. With their recent success (and surely more to come), China should be looking at their upside potential and not compare themselves to India, or Russia, or Indonesia.
Yes, its great that China spends more of their GDP on healthcare than India, but all I care about are results. Numbers like that don’t give me much of a hard-on. All I know is that right now in China, if you have money, you can go to the hospital (emergency or not). If you don’t have money, you are literally left to die. There is such a thing as “fake ambulances” in China. You can call for one of these illegitimate “emergency” vehicles and go to the hospital… after first paying the driver. Again, I don’t support the US system, nor do I think China should adopt the current US healthcare model. 270 million. Sure, the US has one quarter of China’s population, but it costs a lot less to educate, feed, house, and heal a person in China. Chinese people don’t have high demands like they do in the US. It may be a less daunting task than we all think.
You know, I really do think it is about money. When Hong Kong businessmen can donate cash to have a school built, it gets done. In fact, it is all about money in China now. Chinese people are only motivated by money and very little else. Okay, maybe some are motivated by Andy Lau, but that’s it!
I don’t expect China to get this done overnight, but I hear of NO progress, and NO plan. The only policy changes you hear about are relevant to business and the economy. I want the government to throw us a bone. Let us know that steps are being taken to progressively improve education and healthcare. Right now we’ve got nothing. And though I don’t expect overnight change, I do expect it to happen quicker than it took the US and other western nations. Being the 21st century, I expect China to be able to have quicker and more efficient development.
To be completely honest, I laughed when I saw that whole rocket deal in China. I suddenly felt like the world regressed 30 years. Do you think anyone outside China was remotely impressed? I don’t see how a space program can help the economy at this point in time. If China needs help putting satellites in space, they can ask their buddy, Russia. China might want to develop a space program in the future for those purposes, but I feel that there are more pressing issues at hand. And no, I don’t agree with NASA and/or Bush wanting to send crap to Mars. I’m not comparing the two space programs because that would surely be like comparing a Chevelle to an Enzo
Stricter labor laws are great, but everything is for a purpose. When the government wants to push business out of a certain area, it CREATES and enforces tougher labor laws for that region only. Believe me when I tell you that these “labor laws” are far from universal. The central government changes the rules and regulations as they see fit. Its certainly not for the benefit of the people.
I never said we should sacrifice Chinese people for the economy, but that looks like what China is doing. I like democracy, but obviously China is not there yet. Of course not everyone in the US is happy, but I’ll bet that a majority of their problems are trivial when compared to the impoverished people in China.
“Give me fairness, give me freedom…” sounds like sweeping comments, but it is truly what I and many others value the most. Right now in China, you may not even be able to have a fair, open, and honest discussion without being censored by the government.
Re: Jamee
I’m not comparing the US to China. See above.
Again, all the answers to your questions seem to be: money and communism. In terms of social welfare, I’m only asking for education and healthcare. You don’t have to feed a billion people, but you do have to get them started on feeding themselves. I do have ideas on how to employ these people, but I’ll save that for another time.
Again, all I ask for is freedom and fairness. These two things are virtually free, so no, I cannot cut China a break. Not when innocent people are in prison, and not when my words are censored.
Why are you comparing China to a failing country (India)? Why stoop to that level? No one in China is comparing themselves to India. Its like saying my 81 Honda Civic is faster than your 75 Toyota Corolla. Big fuckin whoop.
I criticize the US as well. Please see my “Only in America” entries. Small but growing.
The US shot rockets into space in the 1970s in order to compete with the Soviet Union. It was much different then because they were actually COMPETING. Space was the new frontier and the two nations were on equal footing to see who could one up the other. Thwart Soviet aggression? Fine. What’s China’s excuse? I believe there are better ways to give hope and increase patriotism. The Olympics are a good example. However, what saddens me is that we actually have to worry whether the now clean streets of Beijing will become dirty again after the Olympics leave town. Is our government really so “spur of the moment”? Do they have a vision? If so, tell me what it is.
There is no doubt that the US poses a greater threat to global peace than China. Which is why I think China should cut their military funding and spend it elsewhere. China's biggest threat is its economy and its tainted food/consumer products.
4 comments:
I assume your blog will be censored by someone reading it in China.
Which sums up part of the problem with China.
For better or worse, everything is happening too quickly. No one has the time to take a breather and see the short and long term effects of such rapid development. I think you have suggested a lot of the problems that are hitting and will hit China within the decade. Fair enough, everyone wants to better themselves, which in the present they can. But a lack of leadership still means the "old ways" are still present and will be present.
It's interesting to see that this post was made 1 year before the Beijing Olympics begin. As much as I want them to suceed, I also want to see them fail; hopefully with such international scrutiny and embarassment, China will realise that not all is OK and that they need to lift their game, for "face" or for basic decency to its people.
Any country will have its own set of problems - China has came up in the spotlight so much recently. Have you questioned why though?
2008 is Beijing Olympics, true.
It is also the US presidential elections.
Does it not make you wonder how much of the "free market" is really free?
hey, JK, it's joe, don't want over criticizing, just like to pointing out that the current china political doctrine is socialism not communism .
Socialism is a moderated version of communism. The people's republic was built on communism because some 70 or 80 years ago "The Great Chairman" read Das Kapital and believed he could sell that load of crap to the people and he did. However, after the success of the revolution, he sort of lost it and actually believed the crap he was selling, so there goes the "Great Leap Forward" with ideas like commune kitchen "Big Pot Rice", resulting million death and "Gang of Four". So when Deng took over in the 70s, China actually officially abandoned communism and reclassified themselves as socialist (yes like the French and sadly Cubans) with motto like "Economy dictates country growth" and the rest was history. Most of people don't know the difference, if you ask anyone in China today, the difference btw socialism and communism, 9 out of 10 wouldn't know the answer. Like everyone else I didn't know this until my junior year, some exchange professor from oxford taught me in my polit sci class. He was an arrogant prick but nonetheless a knowledgeable prick.
Alrite, here is my 2 cents on this subject. Not trying to "show off" (ok might be a little) but if we are going to discuss some serious issues, we should be rigid about the facts.
Re: John
Everyone I've talked to is excited about China's rapid development, and their "becoming a superpower", and "overtaking the US" mentality. I'm not excited. Can't stop development, but as China grows, they should really consider patching up its gaping problems at the same time.
I doubt the Olympics will fail more than it failed in Atlanta eleven years ago. I guess I hope they succeed, and at the same time shine a huge spotlight on the nation's issues. But does the world really care about starving Chinese kids in rural villages? A lot of China's problems are far from "global". Will the world care?
Re: Edith
Of course the US elections play a role. However, I think the problems I'm more focused on are China's own issues that the US deep down does not care about. I mean, is corruption in China really that important to the rest of the world? The people who ultimately suffer are Chinese citizens.
When someone tells you whether your market is free, then I guess its not really free.
Re: Joe
Thanks for the history lesson ;)
China is still considered by most of the world as a "Communist State"; hence my mistake. I'm no expert, and I don't claim to be. I just tell it as I see it.
Post a Comment