West and east...culture, history, markets, people

Looming NYC transit strike

Millions of New Yorkers have had a sleepless night, worrying about how they’d get to work if the strike happened? Now, there are new anxieties: would people be able to get back home safely and on time if the strike were to start during the middle of the day? My friends and I have planned to dine out tonight, but I wonder if it’s a wise decision. What if the strike begins at 8 pm and we’ll all be stuck in downtown Manhattan in this cold winter.

NYC officials and businesses are concerned that a strike would severely hurt the city’s economic activity in this busy holiday season. Employees can’t get to work, contracts and deals will be delayed, movie theatres and broadway theatres will be half-empty….and just think about how many tourists visit the Big Apple around Christmas and New Year every year.

The threat of a strike, in essence, reflects a deeper social problem that is not only afflicting the New York City and U.S., but probably many other countries in the world. In a nutshell, as the society ages, pensions and social benefits issues have become a big headache for both businesses and governments at various levels. As Carl Marx says, the conflict of interests between workers and employers is a constant and deep-rooted problem in capitalist societies.

The question is: who should be responsible for providing pensions and retirement benefits? Employers? Governments? Employers and governments? Employers, governments and workers all together? GM, Ford and many other century-old and once-renowned companies are all shouldering heavy burdens of pensions and retirement benefits. GM, once dubbed the best management company in the nation, has been driven to the edge of bankruptcy despite persistent denials by company officials. Corporations sometimes pay lower wages and use pensions and employee benefits to attract the talents they need. They solve the short-term problem of manpower, while planting seeds of a long-term threat. Unless the governments and businesses sit down and work out a long-term solution to this, threat of strikes will go on endlessly….in New York, in Detroit….somewhere.

But for millions of New York riders, their wish is much simpler: just sit down and reach an agreement. Let me go to work without trouble and let me forget about it.

posted by mapleleaves @ 11:30 AM 0 comments

First-world technologies, third-world cell phones

Tom Cruise, one of the world’s biggest stars, got a taste of Asian cell phone etiquette during his press event in Shanghai, during which a local reporter talked to his wife on cell phone, Reuters reported.

It’s said the superstar strode to the surprised reporter, borrowed his cell phone and began chatting with the reporter’s wife, exhausting his limited Chinese vocabulary. “hello. Xie xie. Ni Hao. How are you?”

The article pointed out the differences in cell phone etiquette between Asia and the United States. “Such chatter is common in much of Asia, where people routinely talk on their phones in the middle of news briefings and many other public gatherings."

But I wonder if Cruise was also amazed by the delicate design of cell phones used in China and other Asian countries.

I was, a few years ago, shocked by the cumbersome design of cell phones used in America.

It’s not exaggerating to say that by just looking at the cell phones most American people are using, you wouldn’t believe that you are living and working in the world’s most developed industrialized country--years ago, I thought I had come to a third-world developing country somewhere in Africa. There is probably at least three generations gap.

It's shocking to me that while many Americans are enjoying the world's most advanced technology, they also feel perfectly comfortable carrying their bulky cell phones around. If you ever do that in China, I'm sure you'll be laughed around. If you are not using the latest model, avoid calling people in public.

One of my American friends once told me that she didn't have a cellphone until only two or three years ago because she didn't need it. That explains the bottomline difference: American consumers only care about the function while Asians see cell phone as fashion. That's why even though cell phone prices in China and other Asian countries are much more expensive than those in the States, Chinese people are still willing to spend a whole one-month salary on a new cell phone model.

posted by mapleleaves @ 8:19 AM 0 comments

China is “news”

While there is still much debate over whether China will dominate the world someday, there is no doubt that “China” has successfully conquered the western media world.

A story about the booming reality shows on Chinese TV in today’s New York Times offers just one example of how western media and readers are eager to peek into Chinese people’s everyday lives.

The story led with the most popular TV show in China in 2005, named “The Mongolian Cow Sour Yogurt Super Girl Contest.” Produced by China’s Hunan Satellite TV station, the show is dubbed the “Chinese version of American Idol.” Some Chinese media experts argue that Hunan TV’s capability to rip off American TV shows, like dating shows and game shows and reinvent them helped the TV broadcasting group become one of the most powerful television properties in China.

The story is intriguing and well-written, albeit superficial. As a Chinese national living in the States and observing American media’s coverage about China on a daily basis, it seemed to me that China is still depicted in western media as something exotic and foreign. Changes in TV shows, generation gaps, China’s controversial one-child policy, frequently make front-page news in American newspapers. But do they really deserve that much attention? Are they newsworthy enough to be put on the front-page? Perhaps in American editors' eyes, the word "China" is newsworthy enough these days. Besides, is communist red China supposed to have that many entertainment TV programs like the United States? Communist China is changing...and that is significantly enough for a front-page story.

posted by mapleleaves @ 9:52 PM 0 comments

As water was resumed in Harbin, more communities along the contaminated Songhua River live without water.

China Daily's web site reported that China cut off water supplies to more communities along Songhua River, but Beijing offers no estimates about how many people rely on the river for drinking water.

China's Central Television said at least 10,000 people downstream in Yilan County were without water service on Monday.

And in Harbin, officials warned that the water wasn't safe to drink after lying in underground pipes for five days. The government did not say when that (safe to drink) was expected to happen, according to some media reports.

I was confused. Did the governor of Heilongjiang take the first sip of the resumed running water on Sunday night as a move to show that the water was safe enough for people to drink?

posted by mapleleaves @ 8:09 AM 0 comments

Will China's yuan revaluation really help U.S. manufacturers?

The U.S. Treasury yesterday decided not to name China as a currency manipulator and said Beijing's July 21 abandonment of its yuan peg to the U.S. dollar played an important role in the Treasury's decision.

It's widely reported that U.S. manufacturers and some senators strongly opposed the decision and claimed that by keeping its currency at a low price, China has gained an unfair advantage in global exports markets.

But I wonder how much U.S. manufacturers would benefit even if China completely abandoned its decade-long currency peg? Or in other words, is China the "real culprit" for the loss of U.S. manufacturing jobs?

G.M. is cutting jobs. Ford quickly joined the group. Will the U.S. blame Japan's strong auto industry and its currency system? My point is, China's currency system is just a scapegoat in the political and trade wars between China and U.S., and is not the real reason why U.S. has such a large trade deficits with many countries, especially China. Just as many economists pointed out, even if the yuan-U.S. dollar exchange rate went up after the revaluation, China would still be able to maintain its export advantage because of its cheap labor and Chinese exporters would try their best to maintain market share by sacrificing short-term profit margins.

posted by mapleleaves @ 7:37 AM 0 comments

Chinese environmentalists warned that it could take years to eliminate the water pollution in Songhua River triggered by a chemical plant plast early this month. They also warned the poisonous material could enter the food chain.

Financial Times just reported that Chinese environmentalists and officials advised residents not to drink water from taps for the time being although the water supply was restored last Sunday. Rural residents of the region have also been told not to fish in the river or to let their animals drink water directly from it.

Gu Jidong, a Harbin native and a professor of environmental toxicology at the University of Hong Kong, warned "it is not as simple as saying that the chemicals have now passed the city and the water is now safe." He said while some of the chemicals have been diluted as they flowed downstream, heavy concentrations of chemicals would be absorbed by the river-bed and sediment and would be released back into the water over a longer period of time.

Prof Gu also said "the chemicals could be absorbed by fish in the river and enter the food chain. The water was also currently too cold for the micro-organisms that would attach to the chemicals and degrade them," he said.

posted by mapleleaves @ 7:51 PM 0 comments

Clean water isn't just a problem for Harbin--89 million of rural Chinese people's health is being threatened by unsafe water

"If there is no fuel, we can give up motor vehicles and walk, but if there is no water what shall we do? We have no choice but to die."

In China, more than 89 million rural people are under threat from drinking water contaminated by industrial pollutants, China Daily, the State-controlled English-language newspaper in China, said on its editorial page today.

The article noted the number of rural people whose health is affected by drinking water containing high levels of fluorine or arsenic is more than 54 million and more than 30 million farmers have to drink bitter and salty water every day, according to statistics from the Ministry of Water Resources.

For 96 million rural residents, the situation is even worse. They still have difficulty in getting enough drinking water to sustain their daily lives, the editorial said.

"While we are concerned with the water supply cut in Harbin caused by an explosion at a chemical plant in neighbouring Jilin Province, we should not forget the 300 million rural brothers and sisters who long for safe drinking water."

posted by mapleleaves @ 11:36 AM 0 comments

Where is social responsiblity in China?

I can't help asking: what the hell is going on in China, and in this northermost province named Heilongjiang, which became notorious almost overnight for its cover-up of the benzene water contamination, the earthquake rumors and now the deadly coal mine accident.

The latest AFX report on Forbes web site said the number of miners killed has reached 134, much higher than the earlier 88. About 221 miners were trapped underground when the accident happened at the Dongfeng coal mine near Qitaihe city in Heilongjiang Province at 9:40 yesterday.

The coal mine tragedy came only days after the water supply was shut down for five days and resumed Sunday night because of a benzene chemical water contamination caused by an explosion in Jilin.

Where is the social responsibility in China? I can hardly remember how many coal mine explosions we've had this year? It's no longer news to me, and to many other Chinese, and to those Chinese government officials. China has a large population and who cares about the deaths of several poor coal miners?

China's state newspaper said "the flurry of accidents came as a senior official warned that the country's speeding development would further raise annual casualty figures, which currently average more than 1 million dead and injured each year."

"The situation will worsen as China's pace of urbanization and industrialization speeds up," said Wang Jikun, deputy director of the General Affairs Office of the Ministry of Public Security, during a meeting at the weekend. He said such accidents leave at least one million Chinese dead and injured every year, with economic losses reaching 650 billion yuan (US$80 billion), around 6 per cent of China's gross domestic product (GDP). Last year was the most serious in terms of casualties. A total of 210,000 people died and 1.75 million were injured in 5.61 million accidents nationwide."

And here is also the cover-up of chemical spills at Songhua River. Local officials, for fear of losing their positions, tried to cover up the pollution and didn't notify the public until almost ten days after the explosion. Even after the water supply in Harbin, a city with about 4 million popultion, was shut down, no one seemed to care about the lives of those villagers and poor people living alongside the river. They still drink the water from the river, and eat the fish from the river--they have no choice. They complained: no water was delivered to them.

Several major newspapers worldwide reported on this blog, written by an anonymous journalist in China who is conducting investigations into the cover-up of the chemical spill.

The writer says,

"I also got on the phone with water-quality supervision officials from the provincial capital of Changchun, who said that they were stationed in Songyuan (downstream of Jilin city, near the border of the two provinces) to monitor river water contamination levels 24 hours a day between Nov. 15 (two days after the explosion) and Nov. 24. On Nov. 16, they found the water with benzene levels over 60 times the national standard. It peaked on Nov. 17, when benzene reached more than 300 times above national standard. Hell, they knew it from the very beginning."

It's reported that the running water was resumed at 6 p.m Sunday night. But I wonder how many people will really trust the government and media? How many people will believe the water is safe to drink? Yes, Zhang Zuoji, governor of Heilongjiang Province, fulfilled his promise by sipping water at the home of a resident signifying that it was safe to drink..." But I doubt how effective "his sipping" will be to convince the public that the water is safe. My point is "one sip" means nothing. The governor is able to afford to drink bottled water everyday while the public can't. (How many governors in China drink running water directly?) The governor has the type of extremely favorable health insurance while the public don't.

In fact, the chemical spill in Songhua River is a good extreme example of the general water and air pollution in China. I remember during my childhood, it's not unusually to see the "yellow dirty water" coming out from the water tap at my home. What we usually did was to open the water tap and let the water run for a couple hours. We'd also use a glass to collect water from time to time to examine if the water quality became better. Such "yellow water" probably is less seen in big cities in China today than in the past. But still, I wonder what's inside the yellow water.

Sadly, there is no Erin Brokovitch in China. There is no "A Civil Action" in China. Even today, it's still an almost impossible task to confront with big companies, and the government.

China Daily, China's State-runned English-language daily, quoted Premier Wen Jiabao when he visited Heilongjiang,

"Anything concerning the common people is the most important thing," Wen said during his visit.

It's easier said than done.

posted by mapleleaves @ 9:34 AM 0 comments

Water Contamination—people, Chinese media, and new leadership of China

The water contamination in China’s northernmost Heilongjiang and Jilin Province has grabbed headlines worldwide in the past few days. Besides covering the explosion and aftermath, several western media have praised Chinese media’s reaction this time and commented that since the SARs outbreak in 2003; Chinese media have enjoyed more freedom in covering such “negative” events.

But I don’t see how western reporters have come to that conclusion. As a Chinese national living in the States, and as a former reporter for a State-controlled newspaper in China, I haven’t really observed any material change in Chinese media’s censorship, at least not in their coverage of the benzene contamination this time. Or it’s fairer to say that Chinese government hasn’t really loosened its control and censorship of media content.

The truth is, the explosion occurred on November 13, but it was not until this week that Chinese people were finally informed how much impact the explosion would have on their lives. The local government of Harbin said running water, after being shutdown for almost a week, would resume starting 11 p.m. Sunday and officials claim that the benzene levels in the Songhua river near Harbin were dropping. Heilongjiang’s Governor, on China Central Television, pledged that he would “take the first sip” to prove that the water is safe. Still unclear is how safe the water is if people drink it in the long-term. The toxic material will not disappear in any foreseeable future. No matter whether it flows to the downstream, or sinks into the riverbed, it’s still there and will be there for a long time, unless effective measures were taken promptly. The point is it’s the public, especially those who can’t afford to drink and use pure water most of the time, who will be using the running water from the river for the months and years ahead. Still unclear is how much impact the pollution will have on watering the agriculture next year? Can people still eat fish from the river?

If Chinese media had enjoyed more freedom, the local residents in the two provinces would have known days earlier how the explosion was going to impact their lives. If Chinese officials had fundamentally changed their way of dealing with media, they wouldn’t have said “no. I can’t answer your question. You have to ask the higher-level government.”

When I worked back in China, I had the opportunity to cover several major coal mine accidents in China. The Chinese logic after deadly “negative” incident is: At the very beginning after the incident, local officials would try their best to cover up. They’d do whatever they can, compensate the victims’ relatives, threaten them and reporters. Then, when things get to the point where they can’t hide anymore, local government would report the incident to its higher level and the higher level would then probably report to the central government. During this period, local officials wouldn’t say anything to reporters unless they get approval from the central government or its higher-level government agencies. But still, officials like to “kick balls,” hoping to exhaust those few aggressive reporters and pressure them to give up.

The other thing about Chinese media in times of crisis is they are not, as some western media said, always covering positive things about the government. They do criticize, as some state media blamed local officials for failing to act promptly after the explosion. But the “rule of game” is: never blame someone whose ranking is higher than yours. In other words, it’s safe for state media to blame local officials, but they can’t blame the central government. Similarly, it’s safe for provincial media to blame city officials or county officials, but they don’t blame provincial leaders, and so on.

The good thing is more and more Chinese people with Internet access have stopped relying on traditional Chinese media for information. They have learned to go to foreign media web sites and tried to find out the truth themselves.

posted by mapleleaves @ 3:15 PM 0 comments

Asia sees a big jump in new HIV infections

“When it comes to Asia let me remind you that ten years ago, one in ten people who were newly-infected with HIV were living in Asia. Today that is one in five,” the remarks are from Peter Piot, UNAIDS director Monday at New Delhi, where the latest UN report on AIDS/HIV epidemic worldwide.

He is deeply concerned about the spreading of HIV virus in the countries of the former Soviet Union in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The report showed the number of people living with HIV in these areas has increased twenty-fold in less than 10 years.

posted by mapleleaves @ 8:17 AM 0 comments

Bush thwarted by locked doors at a news conference in Beijing

President Bush looked annoyed, frustrated, after failling to escape from a new conference in Bejing, BBC reported."President Bush tugged at both handles on the double doors before admitting: 'I was trying to escape. Obviously, it didn't work.'"

posted by mapleleaves @ 8:36 PM 0 comments