A strange and shocking statistic has popped up today, saying that more than two million young Chinese die from indoor pollution, more than half of them are under the age of five.
The China Center for Disease Control and Prevention released the statistic in a study, and said that indoor pollution levels can be five to 10 times higher than the country's outdoor air.
The indoor pollution causes respiratory diseases that kill 2.2 million young people each year, and about a million of them are under five years old.
Apparently the study cites formaldehyde, benzene, ammonia and radon as the indoor pollutants. Formaldehyde can be found in new furniture in China, which is slowly released into the air over several years. The chemical can be found in things like particle board, plywood, and furniture coverings and cushions using materials like PVC.
Long-term exposure to these indoor pollutants can result in a number of health problems, from respiratory diseases, mental impairment and even cancer. Young children, fetuses in utero and the elderly are most at risk.
Is anything safe in China anymore?
Monday, May 17, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Say What You Mean
Vice President Xi Jinping, who is expected to lead China from 2012, is breathing some fresh air into the Chinese Communist Party -- by urging government officials to get rid of "empty words" and political jargon in speeches and documents, according to the Xinhua News Agency.
When many government officials make speeches, it's more about length than substance; they seem to be filled with platitudes and not much else.
Earlier this week, Xi urged over 900 officials and students at the Central Committee's Party School to study party theory and also learn from ancient Chinese literature to simplify their writing.
He said that the content of the speeches or documents should have "substance" and that "unhealthy writing" could lead to inefficiency.
That's because a lot of time is spent trying to figure out what things like the "theory of the three represents" and "scientific outlook on development" means and how they relates to their own situation or applies to a certain issue.
The "three represents" is a saying from Jiang Zemin, about open party membership, while the latter is from President Hu Jintao, promoting sustainable economic development that doesn't have much to do with science.
Perhaps this is Xi's way of trying to show that he is concerned about being more in touch with the masses again, and make it easier for the public to understand what the government is saying.
If officials really do follow up on his suggestion, this could lead to a revolution of sorts in terms of government transparency -- for once governments at all levels will have to really say what they mean.
And this could mean officials giving record-setting short speeches! Perhaps this also means no more TV shots of party members falling asleep either. Drat.
When many government officials make speeches, it's more about length than substance; they seem to be filled with platitudes and not much else.
Earlier this week, Xi urged over 900 officials and students at the Central Committee's Party School to study party theory and also learn from ancient Chinese literature to simplify their writing.
He said that the content of the speeches or documents should have "substance" and that "unhealthy writing" could lead to inefficiency.
That's because a lot of time is spent trying to figure out what things like the "theory of the three represents" and "scientific outlook on development" means and how they relates to their own situation or applies to a certain issue.
The "three represents" is a saying from Jiang Zemin, about open party membership, while the latter is from President Hu Jintao, promoting sustainable economic development that doesn't have much to do with science.
Perhaps this is Xi's way of trying to show that he is concerned about being more in touch with the masses again, and make it easier for the public to understand what the government is saying.
If officials really do follow up on his suggestion, this could lead to a revolution of sorts in terms of government transparency -- for once governments at all levels will have to really say what they mean.
And this could mean officials giving record-setting short speeches! Perhaps this also means no more TV shots of party members falling asleep either. Drat.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
People Watching at the Third Ring Road
Crossing the Third Ring Road on the east side of Beijing can be a drag. There is a long wait at the intersection -- at least five minutes -- and at times the bus driver will simply shut off the ignition it's that long. Being stuck there during rush hour can be an eternity.
So there are people who take advantage of the situation. Men and women, young and middle-aged, will walk along the idling cars and stick pamphlets or flyers in the car windows or door handles, creating more trash on the streets. Some men carry giant maps of China rolled up on their shoulders trying to sell them along with odd artifacts. Who sits on the road waiting for the light to turn green and then thinks, "Oh! I need a map of China! And there's a guy I can buy it from!"
Last night I saw an old man begging. He seemed to have come from the rural areas, wearing simple cotton clothing and going car to car, bowing and asking for money; but he didn't seem to be getting much luck.
My friend told me he had seen a Buddhist monk and nun doing the rounds as well, asking for donations and in return getting a card with a blessing printed on it. Who knows if they are legit or not...
Strange things happen at these intersections. You can see a lot because there's always a wait...
So there are people who take advantage of the situation. Men and women, young and middle-aged, will walk along the idling cars and stick pamphlets or flyers in the car windows or door handles, creating more trash on the streets. Some men carry giant maps of China rolled up on their shoulders trying to sell them along with odd artifacts. Who sits on the road waiting for the light to turn green and then thinks, "Oh! I need a map of China! And there's a guy I can buy it from!"
Last night I saw an old man begging. He seemed to have come from the rural areas, wearing simple cotton clothing and going car to car, bowing and asking for money; but he didn't seem to be getting much luck.
My friend told me he had seen a Buddhist monk and nun doing the rounds as well, asking for donations and in return getting a card with a blessing printed on it. Who knows if they are legit or not...
Strange things happen at these intersections. You can see a lot because there's always a wait...
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Strange Bureaucratic Rules
Changing money here into US dollars can be a frustrating experience for those uninitiated in the world of Chinese bureaucracy.
It turns out that a person can only exchange a maximum of $500 a day, but perhaps those with guanxi can increase that daily limit to a significantly higher number.
But for us plebians, this is the amount.
The other day I took my 3,420RMB ($500) to the Bank of China. I had to fill out a simple form that included my address and telephone number. Then the teller looked at my passport, entered a few of my details into the computer and a few signatures later, got my five Benjamins.
Yesterday I got to the Bank of China too late and it had just closed, but next door China Merchants Bank was still open. I happen to have an account there and thought the process may be even easier.
However, I was completely wrong.
The teller, granted she was being very meticulous, pointed out that in my computer file showed that my passport number was different and wondered why. I had no answer for her and she corrected it, adding more details about my passport into the electronic file.
She kept asking me if I wanted $500 and I said yes, wondering why so many confirmations.
Then she asked me what the American money was for.
Why did I have to tell her? She explained that she had to write down the reason for the foreign currency exchange.
I later told a Chinese friend about this and she just explained it was because China Merchants Bank doesn't usually service foreigners so the teller was asking more questions, whereas Bank of China is more specifically geared towards foreigners, which is used to doing more foreign exchange.
She gave the analogy that all Chinese banks have a slice of pie and are not allowed to take someone else's slice, or compete for customers. For example, Agricultural Bank of China is focused on farmers and rural areas, China Merchants Bank for entrepreneurs, Bank of Communications for telecom clients, and so on.
This explains why there are so many banks in business in China, and this analogy extends to all kinds of state-owned enterprises, like steel, cars, aviation, power, telecommunications and media.
Most of these state-owned enterprises are bloated businesses, wasting a lot of money on personnel they don't really need, or not concerned about being more efficient because there is no need to compete.
And with that comes the top-heavy bureaucracy.
My friend reminded me that in order to quit her job from a state-owned newspaper, she had to get 20 signatures. Yes, 20. And many of these senior people, most past retirement age and held honorary positions, only periodically came to the office.
Why someone needs 20 signatures to quit is ridiculous.
The only explanation is TIC -- this is China.
It turns out that a person can only exchange a maximum of $500 a day, but perhaps those with guanxi can increase that daily limit to a significantly higher number.
But for us plebians, this is the amount.
The other day I took my 3,420RMB ($500) to the Bank of China. I had to fill out a simple form that included my address and telephone number. Then the teller looked at my passport, entered a few of my details into the computer and a few signatures later, got my five Benjamins.
Yesterday I got to the Bank of China too late and it had just closed, but next door China Merchants Bank was still open. I happen to have an account there and thought the process may be even easier.
However, I was completely wrong.
The teller, granted she was being very meticulous, pointed out that in my computer file showed that my passport number was different and wondered why. I had no answer for her and she corrected it, adding more details about my passport into the electronic file.
She kept asking me if I wanted $500 and I said yes, wondering why so many confirmations.
Then she asked me what the American money was for.
Why did I have to tell her? She explained that she had to write down the reason for the foreign currency exchange.
I later told a Chinese friend about this and she just explained it was because China Merchants Bank doesn't usually service foreigners so the teller was asking more questions, whereas Bank of China is more specifically geared towards foreigners, which is used to doing more foreign exchange.
She gave the analogy that all Chinese banks have a slice of pie and are not allowed to take someone else's slice, or compete for customers. For example, Agricultural Bank of China is focused on farmers and rural areas, China Merchants Bank for entrepreneurs, Bank of Communications for telecom clients, and so on.
This explains why there are so many banks in business in China, and this analogy extends to all kinds of state-owned enterprises, like steel, cars, aviation, power, telecommunications and media.
Most of these state-owned enterprises are bloated businesses, wasting a lot of money on personnel they don't really need, or not concerned about being more efficient because there is no need to compete.
And with that comes the top-heavy bureaucracy.
My friend reminded me that in order to quit her job from a state-owned newspaper, she had to get 20 signatures. Yes, 20. And many of these senior people, most past retirement age and held honorary positions, only periodically came to the office.
Why someone needs 20 signatures to quit is ridiculous.
The only explanation is TIC -- this is China.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
The Need to Understand Why
Another random school attack happened today in a private kindergarten in Linchang Village, Shaanxi Province, where seven children and two adults were killed by a man wielding a kitchen cleaver. After committing his bloody crime, Wu Huanming, 48, went home and killed himself. His motive is unclear.
This is the fifth attack on school children in the past three months, with at least 15 killed and dozens injured. These violent and deadly acts are increasing parents' fears and anger that not enough is being done to protect their children.
While security is supposedly being stepped up in schools, particularly at school gates, by having more adults manning the area, that is not directly addressing the issue at hand.
Dahe Bao, a prominent newspaper in Henan Province published a strong editorial on its website, blaming the misbehaviour of officials for causing these attacks.
"After being treated unfairly or being bullied by the authorities, and unable to take revenge on those government departments that are safeguarded by state security forces, killers have to let out their hatred and anger on weaker people, and campuses have become the first choice," said the editorial, with the byline of Shi Chuan.
The paper also criticized the government's attempts to censor news of the recent school attacks, possibly in a bid to downplay any perception of dysfunction in Chinese society. There were unconfirmed reports that the propaganda office forbid domestic media from continuing further coverage of the previous attacks, or exploring why these attacks were occurring.
"Any effort that attempts to maintain social stability by silencing public media is outrageously wrong," it said. "It is undeniable that the media's coverage on these incidents of bloodshed may 'inspire' potential killers, but it will educate more people by raising awareness of self-protection and spur the authorities, and this is the role that media should play in the society."
The government seems to be wanting to sweep these incidents under the carpet and not asking why this is happening and try to prevent these horrific attacks from happening again.
Whenever accidents occur such as the ones in mines or a spate of attacks like these, China does not conduct any thorough investigations or public inquiries to understand why these things happen and what recommendations should be made to avoid the same thing from occurring.
At the same time, the government is further squeezing the existence of civil society groups, like non-governmental organizations or NGOs from doing their work in China.
On Monday AIDS activist Wan Yanhai fled to the United States with his family because he could not handle the pressure government bureaus were putting on him. Tax authorities visited him to make sure his books were correct, and even the fire department came to inspect the offices, in any way to find fault with Wan's operations.
Wan, a former health official, began his work by exposing the outbreak of AIDS in Henan Province in the 1990s because poor people were selling their blood and were infected with dirty needles. He has been advocating for greater AIDS awareness and prevention since.
Then in recent years house churches are being shut down because they are not specifically government approved. The authorities pressure landlords into not renting spaces to these religious groups, who then resort to conducting services in parks and are publicly disrupted by the police.
By clamping down on a civil society, people have fewer places to turn to for help, resources or fulfill spiritual needs. It seems that all the government wants people to do is consume, consume, consume and live in a material world.
Many people are buying into that, particularly young people. But sooner or later they will be wanting more -- more than just the latest designer bag or expensive food. They may ask what is the meaning of life? What are we doing here? And they may be at a loss to understand or accept the situation. Then what?
Whether the government likes it or not, it needs to allow civil society to grow and fill in the holes the authorities don't have services for. Otherwise there may be more random senseless attacks like the one today.
This is the fifth attack on school children in the past three months, with at least 15 killed and dozens injured. These violent and deadly acts are increasing parents' fears and anger that not enough is being done to protect their children.
While security is supposedly being stepped up in schools, particularly at school gates, by having more adults manning the area, that is not directly addressing the issue at hand.
Dahe Bao, a prominent newspaper in Henan Province published a strong editorial on its website, blaming the misbehaviour of officials for causing these attacks.
"After being treated unfairly or being bullied by the authorities, and unable to take revenge on those government departments that are safeguarded by state security forces, killers have to let out their hatred and anger on weaker people, and campuses have become the first choice," said the editorial, with the byline of Shi Chuan.
The paper also criticized the government's attempts to censor news of the recent school attacks, possibly in a bid to downplay any perception of dysfunction in Chinese society. There were unconfirmed reports that the propaganda office forbid domestic media from continuing further coverage of the previous attacks, or exploring why these attacks were occurring.
"Any effort that attempts to maintain social stability by silencing public media is outrageously wrong," it said. "It is undeniable that the media's coverage on these incidents of bloodshed may 'inspire' potential killers, but it will educate more people by raising awareness of self-protection and spur the authorities, and this is the role that media should play in the society."
The government seems to be wanting to sweep these incidents under the carpet and not asking why this is happening and try to prevent these horrific attacks from happening again.
Whenever accidents occur such as the ones in mines or a spate of attacks like these, China does not conduct any thorough investigations or public inquiries to understand why these things happen and what recommendations should be made to avoid the same thing from occurring.
At the same time, the government is further squeezing the existence of civil society groups, like non-governmental organizations or NGOs from doing their work in China.
On Monday AIDS activist Wan Yanhai fled to the United States with his family because he could not handle the pressure government bureaus were putting on him. Tax authorities visited him to make sure his books were correct, and even the fire department came to inspect the offices, in any way to find fault with Wan's operations.
Wan, a former health official, began his work by exposing the outbreak of AIDS in Henan Province in the 1990s because poor people were selling their blood and were infected with dirty needles. He has been advocating for greater AIDS awareness and prevention since.
Then in recent years house churches are being shut down because they are not specifically government approved. The authorities pressure landlords into not renting spaces to these religious groups, who then resort to conducting services in parks and are publicly disrupted by the police.
By clamping down on a civil society, people have fewer places to turn to for help, resources or fulfill spiritual needs. It seems that all the government wants people to do is consume, consume, consume and live in a material world.
Many people are buying into that, particularly young people. But sooner or later they will be wanting more -- more than just the latest designer bag or expensive food. They may ask what is the meaning of life? What are we doing here? And they may be at a loss to understand or accept the situation. Then what?
Whether the government likes it or not, it needs to allow civil society to grow and fill in the holes the authorities don't have services for. Otherwise there may be more random senseless attacks like the one today.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Final Close of the Fiery Chapter
Later a video someone took from a nearby building showed that it was indeed the massive fireworks that started the fire on the roof. That building, which was completely gutted, was supposed to house the Mandarin Oriental hotel which was set to open within weeks.
Many people lost their jobs with the hotel because of the fire.
It was very clear from the beginning that some executives from CCTV had wanted to organize a fireworks party to mark the end of the Spring Festival, and some how managed to get Grade A fireworks that were used in the Beijing Olympics and hired some people to set them off.
However, who was to blame? Was it the person who pushed the button? Was it the person who organized the party? Was it the people who prevented police from stopping them from what they were doing because it was illegal to set off such powerful fireworks in a high-density area?
Surely it wouldn't be too difficult to figure out who was responsible and then prosecute them.
But it took until over a year later to finally punish who was responsible for a building that should be a complete write-off, but instead the government is trying to salvage it despite concerns for structural safety.
On Monday, the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court sentenced 20 people for between three to seven years.
Most of the blame fell on Xu Wei, CCTV's former construction chief who pleaded guilty to ordering the illegal fireworks display and got seven years in prison for it.
The 19 others were handed sentences ranging from three to six-and-a-half years for getting industrial-grade fireworks and setting them off without the property safety permits. These people included staff from CCTV and two construction companies responsible for fire prevention and security during the fireworks display.
The government was probably hoping the length of time it took to prosecute people would allow the whole fiasco to fade. But the ugly reminder of the burned-out structure is still here, which had cost 5 billion RMB ($731 million) to build.
How they are going to salvage the building is still a mystery, as even the architects from OMA said it should be torn down.
But the government will forge ahead in trying to renovate the building, perhaps later realize it's not safe and then finally tear it down. Many buildings in China are built and then torn down in order to boost GDP figures. Maybe that's what's happening here to keep unemployment figures down?
Monday, May 10, 2010
A Xinjiang Favourite
The other day a Uyghur friend took me to a Xinjiang restaurant in the district office for Bazhou (巴州), which is in the middle of the giant region near the desert.
Located in Haidian District, near the universities, the restaurant can be hard to find as it's off a major street and down a series of alleys. However, the nearest landmark is the old Beijing TV tower or laobeijing dianshi ta (老北京电视塔), which apparently many taxi drivers know.
An impressive arch greets visitors to the compound, with two giant soldiers on horseback and Uyghur script on the left column, Chinese on the right.
The restaurant is in a building and once you enter and turn right, it's down the corridor to a home-style kind of restaurant, complete with checkered tablecloths.
This particular place is famous for its yogurt and we got a bowl each. For freshly-made yogurt, it had a wonderfully smooth texture and just a small spoonful of sugar was needed to sweeten it.
We also ordered liang pi, thick yellow noodles made from rice in a spicy chilli sauce, topped with finely sliced cucumber. This was a favourite dish and we later on ordered another.
The highlight was the dapanji, or "big plate chicken". It was a giant platter filled with chopped chicken, potatoes, dried red chillis, green peppers, garlic, and thick noodles to soak up the spicy sauce.
This dish was perfect for chilli heads, and so it was a touch too spicy for me. Nevertheless, the chicken and in particular the potatoes were fantastic, cooked just right.
Dumplings were also a must. These are giant dumplings that require more than one bite to finish. We had minced mutton with onions and spices, and the other was pumpkin, that wasn't too sweet.
As if that wasn't enough, we also ordered the lamb pilaf, featuring roasted lamb stir-fried with thinly sliced carrots and rice. It wasn't too oily which was a pleasant surprise. But by this time I was too full to eat more, having filled up with spicy chicken.
But my friend insisted on finishing with dessert and we had a small serving of walnut cake cut into four pieces that thankfully weren't too sweet.
I practically waddled out of the restaurant after we were finished the dinner, which only cost 187RMB ($27.38) for four.
Hopefully we can find this restaurant again on our own... as long as we can find the TV tower...
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