China’s Me Generation!?

original posted on Time Magazine 26th july,2007

Points in the Passage:

• There are roughly 300 million adults in China under age 30, a demographic cohort that serves as a bridge between the closed, xenophobic China of the Mao years and the globalized economic powerhouse that it is becoming.
• These people “belong to a generation for whom prosperity and personal freedom haven’t required democracy“
• “the Cultural Revolution, the opening to the West, the student protests in Tiananmen Square and their subsequent suppression.” according to the author, makes this generation feel powerless in politics- “There’s nothing we can do about politics,” says Chen. “So there’s no point in talking about it or getting involved.”
• It was pedicted that “that economic growth would eventually bring democracy to China”, but China’s Me generation seems to be happy in preserving the status quo-“They are proud of what China has accomplished, and very positive about the government,” says P.T. Black, who conducts extensive marketing research for a Shanghai-based company called Jigsaw International.
• Because of China’s one-child policy, instituted in 1978, this is the first generation in the world’s history in which a majority are single children, a group whose solipsistic tendencies have been further encouraged by a growing obsession with consumerism, the Internet and video games. They have known little (about the situation and politics in china before eg. the Great Leap Forward, Cultural Revolution…) but peace and an ever increasing economic boom.

• China’s future will be defined by whether they realize that democracy can help China, too.

Thoughts:

• How true is passage in applying to modern China? Do people (or according to the author, “China’s Me generation”) really not care about the Politics in China? Do Americans care more about the Politics? How do people define politics? Is it true that Democracy can really “save” CHINA or is it what the Media (especially the western) trying to make people think so?

Evaluation:

For those who can read chinese, I would recommend you to read these following passages which are all about the “China’s Me Generation”.

One passage is the declare of one of the people who was interviwed by the journalist of the Time Magazine as she is not happy with what the journalist said in this passage and she thinks that the author, Simon Elegant, twisted her words without her permission. http://www.sohoxiaobao.com/chinese/bbs/blog_view.php?id=701593

And this passage is from one of her friends in talking about how foreign journalist usually think of when they interview people in china http://www.wangxiaofeng.net/index.php?p=1334

This passage is written by one of the linkmen in Phoenix TV, Hong Kong, as she talked to the author, Simon Elegant, about the motive and intension of writting this article “China’s Me Generation” http://blog.phoenixtv.com/html/32/674832-970716.html#xspace-itemform

Or you can view them using google translate by typing in the URL addresses above in the form.

Some relevant Questions:

1. Do people in your country (eg, Singapore) care about the Politics?
2. How far do you think young people nowadays are considering material possessions and physical comfort as more important than spiritual value?
3. Is globalisation necessarily a bad thing?

By Fangming

“Foreign direct investment in China rises 12% in first half” (The Straits Times)

 

Facts:

-         China’s foreign direct investment is currently US$6.6 billion

-         China was the world’s 4^th largest recipient of foreign direct investment last year after US, UK and France (according to the UN)

-         Pull factors: Low manufacturing costs and a pool of 1.3 billion increasingly affluent consumers are luring foreign companies to set up factories in China.

-         Due to investment inflows, China is now the world’s biggest producer of cell phones, computers and clothes.

 

Evaluation:

-         Remember Economics? Trade surplus invites resentment from the US, causing it to slap protectionism and this has worsen their bilateral relationship (Read ConnECT issue 2007.2 for further details. haha =P)

-         1.3 billion of increasingly affluent consumers translate into more consumerism in China, which may have a dampening effect on its environment. The fact that currently China becomes the world’s most polluting country (defeating the US) is perhaps one growing concern.

-         Environmental concern may due to irresponsibility of those manufacturing factories. The environment concerns are played down by the need to develop economically and efficiently.

 

Relevant questions:

1. How far can a balance be achieved between environmental conservation and economic progress?
2. Consider the importance of speed in modern society
3. The term “superpower” is no longer relevant. How far DYA with this statement?

by Christina Amanda

Top Official calls for new food safety laws

Summary: 

• A top health official has called for more integration within China’s fragmented food regulatory system yesterday to boost its troubled safety record.
• The military warned that unsafe food could undermine its combat-readiness.
• New laws were needed to strengthen food safety supervision by coordinating the duties of competing government agencies.
• The lack of a centrally controlled regulatory system is considered a key defect underpinning China’s perennial food and drug safety woes.
• Blurred lines of authority and divided responsibilities often enable the country’s countless illegal operations to escape detection.
• A specially developed food quality control system would be employed at 39 Olympic test events starting from Aug 8.
• Foods and drugs are special products, and manufacturers and sellers cannot only go after economic gain.
• Rising pork prices have also led to some farmers force-feeding their pigs with wastewater to increase their weight before slaughtered.

Personal Comments: 

o       This article is related to questions on “Governance and Politics”. For example, “what may a county’s citizens justly demand of their government?”

o       Related to questions on “health”. For example, “how far do you agree that our health is in our own hands?”

o       Possible questions:

- Food is serious business. Comment.

- Assess how effectively your country ensures the safety of her people.

 

§         Since food is one of the essential things we need for survival, this matter should not be taken lightly. Of course, the government ruling the country should have the largest role in improving and regulating the quality of the food her country produces or imports.

§         Define the lines of authority clearly and prevent divided responsibilities to prevent illegal operations from happening.

§         Food safety problems can have serious negative impact on the country.

-The number of tourists may decrease.

-The citizens of the country may live in fear over their health and safety of the food they consume everyday.  

         *Source: The Straits Times     Saturday, July 14, 2007

By Wei Bin 

 

China awakens to need for safety and quality

Source: World News, The Straits Times, 14th July 2007

Summary :

Zheng Xiaoyu, the former head of China’s State Food and Drug Administration, was executed this week after his conviction for accepting massive bribes in return for certifying the sale of shoddy goods and fake medicines. It was meant as a warning to other corrupt officials. The scandals about the quality of Chinese products have now reached worrying proportions, threatening not only the country’s image, but also its foreign trade.