During dinner the other night, a couple friends asked me what I have against China. That question led to a discussion on what was right/wrong with China, and whether they're headed in the right direction.To make a long argument short, I stand firm on my opinion that China's economy is growing too quickly. While big cities flourish, smaller rural areas remain stagnant and people there suffer.
Some argue that in order for China to become successful, sacrifices need to be made. Grow now, and take care of your people later.
I'm not saying China should abandon their economy to take care of their people, but their negligence towards poverty and corruption is absurd. Plus, in this day and age, I think it is plausible to expect a nation to do both. We have technology, we have transportation, we can see the big picture.
Then there's the silly argument of national pride. The Chinese have been stepped on for so many decades, that its time for them to show off a little with their booming economic prowess, and their ability to sent a little rocket into space. To me, this is soooo high school. If China had just a little bit of foresight, they would see that by building strong base, their success can only be prolonged. The opportunity to show off will be endless. Why blow your wad now?
I have high hopes for China. I don't want them to fail. I want China to succeed. However, their current actions don't even meet my lowest expectations. Political prisoner, journalist, and patriot, Ching Cheong has now been in prison for 837 days on trumped up charges of spying. While we discuss wealth and China's success, many innocent people are rotting away in Chinese prisons.
Give me fairness, give me freedom, then we'll talk. So sorry, but China isn't even in the same league as its western counterparts.
4 comments:
Hey Justin - Since this is your blog, not mine, I'll try to keep my comments short!
You asked a big question - "Is China heading in the right/wrong direction?" This question definitely needs to be addressed but you lumped many issues together. First, if you are talking about politics, then our discussion can stop here - I don't think we disagree that there exist lots of room for improvement. However, when you turn to economics and healthcare, then I disagree on certain issues. One of the biggest issues you touched on (and which we talked about extensively during dinner) is healthcare. I think it's absurd to think that China should emulate what the US is doing - it's like comparing apples to oranges. China is an emerging market with a relatively young population and the US is a developed nation with a significant aging population. I did some research in this area - according the World Health Organization's 2006 World Health Report, China spends 5.6% of GDP on healthcare. India, which is often used as a country of comparison, spends only 4.8% of GDP on healthcare. For your reference, Korea, Singapore, and Japan spend 5.6%, 4.8%, and 7.9% respectively. Of course, the US spends the most of any nation but they have their own issues as well (e.g. it is one of the few developed nations without universal healthcare - 16% of Americans aren’t covered – so much for great healthcare!) You might find this of interest as well but while the US spends more on healthcare than any other country, it ranks 72 out of 190+ nations in terms of overall health of their citizens. China ranks higher at 61. I'm not saying that China has done enough. However, you can not discredit their efforts – instilling more stringent labor laws, keeping population in check, etc. Improving the Chinese healthcare system can't happen overnight and requires work in many areas, such as education reforms, wage appreciation for healthcare workers, and development of infrastructure to support the healthcare system. It's not just a matter of spending more money - it's a process. The US or other developed nations didn't get there overnight so I wouldn't expect China either.
In terms of developing rockets - it's not a matter of pride (alone). The question is whether the pride comes after the fact or if it is the sole driver of development. Developing the space program is a means for economics and political development for China. For example, satellites that support China’s development don't just appear in the sky - they need to be developed and refined.
You said: "Give me fairness, give me freedom, then we'll talk. So sorry, but China isn't even in the same league as its western counterparts." It pains me to hear this because it is sweeping comments like these that prevent all of us from having a fair, open, and honest discussion. I believe credit should be given where it's due.
OK, I've written too much already!
I forgot to mention - I also disagree with your point about sacrificing Chinese people for China's economic development sake. You strive for a democratic country, where merit prevails. Yet you argue that the government doesn't care for its people. The country is growing - jobs are being created. In fact, there is a major shortage of talented labor in China. Maybe the issue is that those who are displaced from more traditional roles (e.g. farmers) need to be better assisted in assimilating them with the "new" China. My question to you - you think US is much better, but is it? If so, why are so many people below the poverty line? In fact, I believe the US has one of the highest poverty rates among developed nation. This seems to go counter to your comment at dinner that everyone in the US is happy....and the US only has 270 million people!
Since I was the other guy at the dinner which sparked this topic I'll add my two cents.
First STOP comparing China to USA -- they are simply at very different stages of development. The comparison is not fair at all. Secondly imagine yourself at the helm of managing 1.2 billion people. The USA, Japan, Great Britain and even tiny little Singapore can boast of their development, governance and social stability but the population of all these countries COMBINED is still less than China. So the comment of "let's take care of the people and poverty" is so much more complex. How do you feed a billion starving people living in poverty in the cities and in rural areas? How do you re-train the rural labor force so they can assimilate into the cities in the current wave of urbanization? How do you provide adequate health care for a billion people? How do you ensure they receive basic education?
This is a challenge which no country on Earth, no government and no leader HAS EVER faced. So give them a break! China and India are simultaneouly experiencing this and I'll bet my ranch that China is -- at the moment -- doing better purely from an economic standpoint than India (that's not to say India hasn't come a long way or that it may well takeover China in the future).
Like my finance professor use to say, "it takes a model to beat a model." It's always easy to criticize and every system no matter how perfect you think it is (even the great USA) has flaws. After criticizing one must offer a better solution or alternative than the status quo.
In terms of shooting rockets into space, that's precisely what the USA did in the 70s! Partly it was to thwart the Russian aggression but it also in my belief served a greater purpose amidst the oil crisis and economic depression: it gave Americans pride, patriotism, and above all, HOPE for the future.
We will be the first developing country to host the Olympics next year! How far along has China come?
Finally food for thought: In a recent poll conducted by CNN, more people around the world believe the USA poses more of a threat to global peace than China.
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.
PS – You guys are welcome to leave as long a comment as you wish. If you like, I’ll post it as an entry and respond to it.
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