The Superpower Debate

The media keeps hyping China up as the next superpower.

Of course it all depends on what your definition of superpower is.

If you look at China in terms of its economic strength, then it is, with its hundreds of trillions of US treasury bills. But if you're looking towards it as a country that will lead the world in politics, economics, society and military, then the Middle Kingdom falls short -- way short.

China is the world's factory. It manufactures practically everything from clothing and toys to computers and cars.

Its millions of people are employed in hundreds of thousands of factories, producing these goods, day after day.

These people are not asked for their input in the production process, or if they have suggestions on how to improve on the product. They are just told to make them as fast as they can so they can be paid per piece.

Management in China is very much top-down. Bosses bark orders down to their underlings who execute them. In many state-run companies, completing tasks at a high standard is not put into consideration -- staff only care about finishing their assignment rather than doing it well.

And bosses feel entitled to bark orders because of their titles and also because their salaries are so many more times than those of their staff. And by the same token, these underlings don't make enough every month to care too much; they just want to get the job done so that they can get their measly salary to survive.

There isn't much chance of those at the bottom to rise higher in salary or position, so these underlings are resigned to their fate and have little motivation for self-improvement, or acquire more knowledge or skills to get a better job.

At the management level, executives are battling each other for supremacy in office politics. They keep information to themselves, which results in little cooperation and creative thinking. Most of the time companies are stagnant or don't demonstrate much progress unless the big boss orders something to be done.

And every boss has a boss above them. No one ever knows who the big cheese really is.

In the 17th National Party Congress this October, President Hu Jintao said he wants China to move ahead -- through innovation.

Hu is thinking in the right direction, but getting 1.3 billion people on the same page will be a challenge to say the least.

Currently there are more and more young people graduating from university. This is great, but there aren't enough jobs for educated people.

Companies need to innovate, think outside the box. But when most of them are run with top-down management, success completely depends on the boss rather than the minds of many.

Also, the education system is such that students are spoon-fed information so the only way to get through with flying colours is to memorize rather than question. Pupils are not encouraged to think critically, to wonder or have different ideas.

Even the lucky some who have studied abroad don't seem to have picked up much Western thinking, like freedom of speech, free press or healthy criticism. They just learn what they were sent there for and come back. Even their English is hardly better than someone who has never left the country.

These observations bring on a conclusion that China is far from reaching the possibility of becoming a superpower anytime soon. If and when the country opens up more and encourages its people to think beyond the box will China develop and follow the path of Japan, Taiwan and Korea.

For now it will grab as much money as it can, supplying goods for the rest of the world.

Perhaps China thinks money will help it sort out its problems. But it will soon learn that money doesn't buy happiness.

Another 10 Years

Hong Kong residents didn't get the answer they were looking for.

Beijing finally gave a ruling, albeit a vague one, saying the former British colony would finally be able to directly elect their leader in 2017, and legislators in 2020.

Chief Executive Donald Tsang was very pleased to get the news, while the pro-democracy camp was very disappointed.

Both Tsang and President Hu Jintao plan to leave office in 2012 and the following year respectively, so they won't have to deal with this issue closer to the time.

Meanwhile Hong Kongers took to the streets to demonstrate their frustration.

The year 2017 was chosen to mark the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to China, but the people aren't keen to wait that long.

Since 2003 when SARS hit, Hong Kong people have become more community minded and politically active, setting a precedent when hundreds of thousands of them took to the streets to show their displeasure of then Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa.

They believe they are ready to take more responsibility of their city, while Beijing begs to differ.

As the mainland hasn't clearly set out how universal suffrage would be implemented in the Special Administrative Region, 2017 isn't set in stone either.

Which means the fight for democracy still continues.

Resolutions for August 2008

The eight month countdown to the Olympics is literally around the corner.

Twenty-six of the 31 venues are completed and many of them have undergone testing.

The new subway Line 5 is up and running, and more lines are madly tunneling their way under the city.

Finishing touches are being added to Terminal 3 at Beijing Capital Airport, ready to receive tens of thousands of visitors a day.

Progress of the hardware is practically ahead of schedule.

But what about the software?

Officials are really concerned that the Chinese still aren't getting the message that they should really curb their desire to spit.

"Hosting the Olympics is not only about building grand stadiums," said Zheng Mojie, deputy director of Beijing's Capital Ethics Development Office, the official etiquette watchdog.

"As tens of thousands of foreign visitors are expected to flood into China next summer, both China's positive and negative sides will be amplified. So we must change those bad local habits," she added.

One civil servant named Wang Tao has taken it upon himself to wage a campaign by recruiting a team of volunteers who call themselves the Green Woodpecker Project. He chose this bird because he says it picks up worms and cleans up the forest.

Wang's team literally hit the streets and as soon as they see someone about to hork, they stop them and hand them a tissue. Wang even films them on his camcorder as evidence of their bad behaviour and apparently puts the clips on his website.

However it's going to take longer than months to fix the problem.

The concept of spitting is ingrained in the culture and hey -- if paramount leader Deng Xiaoping did it, why can't I?

Many believe if there is an irritation or too much phlegm in their throats, the best thing to do is to spit it out.

But I don't know when the practice of just spitting on the streets began.

No one bats an eyelid when they hear that screeching noise and no one makes a face; spitting is a memorable addition to the city's atmosphere.

It probably won't be until the "floods" of visitors come to Beijing and look with shock and horror will the residents perhaps consider what they are doing is not quite polite.

In the meantime city officials are stepping up their campaigns to stop the spitting as well as enforcing the idea of lining up properly.

The 11th day of every month is designated "Queuing Day". With some imagination, the number 11 looks like a pair of orderly lines.

But one day a month isn't enough to instill this culture in the people. I've had to fight tooth and nail to get into a 614 bus at Dongzhimen. If you don't stick out your elbows and force your way in, you'll never get on, let alone get a seat.

Again, there aren't enough officials to enforce this or to catch people spitting to fine them 50RMB (US$6.50).

People are just going to continue these practices before and after the Games.

During the Olympics they'll probably be hidden away at home, so the foreigners can't see them.

China's Copy Cats

The Chinese have their own versions of almost every main Internet site outside of the country.

Instead of Google, they have Baidu.

Instead of Google or Yahoo news, they have Sina.com.

They also have their own social networking sites like xiaonei.com.

Want to sell something on a site like eBay? Go to taobao.com.

Foreign firms have a hard time penetrating the Chinese market. And when they finally get their paperwork approved, like Facebook did recently, do they find out they got in too late and now they're stuck with using their name more as a marketing tool than having registered users.

And another reason is that these copy cat sites are launched and established so quickly so that foreign-owned sites don't even get a chance to get in first so that they can build up their users. That way when sites like youtube.com.cn finally get in, it's not a novelty anymore.

But another possible explanation is that it's a way for the Chinese government to keep its people living in a cyber bubble. As long as there are google-like sites like baidu and social networking ones like xiaonei that are in Chinese, the public will think it's fantastic and use them.

It prevents the people from looking elsewhere to consume news or place their lip-synched videos on sites outside of China, where they could possibly get new ideas...

Overdosing on Fresh Air

There's a report that on Thursday Beijing had the worst air quality it's had all year.

According to the Beijing Environmental Protection bureau, 15 of the 16 pollution monitoring systems registered a "five" for air quality.

"Level five is the worst level of air pollution," said a spokeswoman. "This is as bad as it has been all year."

The elderly and children were warned not to go outside on Friday as pollutants from coal burning and vehicle exhaust were suspended in the air. In the last few days there hasn't been much wind in Beijing so the accumulation has led to people breathing in thick smoggy air.

This report comes despite the government promising air quality will improve by the time the Olympics roll around in August.

But international agencies like the United Nations and the World Bank rate Beijing's air quality as one of the worst in the world due to coal burning, sand storms and the increasing number of cars on the road.

The government plans to stop all construction and factories in the spring so that the air will clear by the times the Games begin.

But it's not that simple. The capital doesn't get regular rainfall or wind gusts like coastal areas to guarantee the air will be cleaner in over eight months.

It takes more than just weeks and months to decrease the number of pollutants in the air. It's more a long term thing. Or perhaps the government's band aid solution is to launch its rockets to trigger clouds to sprinkle rain over the city.

My friends here at home ask me about the pollution and I tell them it's frightening. "What do you do? they ask. "There's nothing much you can do except breathe it in!" I reply.

What's even more frightening is that the government is not measuring the smaller pollutants in the air, the microscopic ones that can cause cancer and other chronic respiratory diseases.

Which is why now I'm back home, I'm breathing in a bit deeper everyday... hopefully cleaning out my lungs and getting rid of toxins before inhaling the thick smog again.

While China is a land of opportunity and potential, the pollution is enough to make you think twice about going.

China's Take on Pakistan

For some, the assassination of Benazir Bhutto came as a shock; for others it was not a surprise.

The former prime minister of Pakistan was rallying crowds for the upcoming January 8 election when she was shot by a gunman and she died in hospital.

The 54-year-old probably knew the risks she was taking when she returned to the country only two months ago after a self-imposed exile. But she wanted to offer another choice to Pakistanis -- other than military man-turned civilian leader President Pervez Musharraf.

News reports from there are predicting Pakistan will descend into chaos, with riots already erupting in the streets.

But China's English-language newspaper is quoting Chinese experts who believe otherwise:

The experts, however, said Pakistan is not likely to plunge into chaos because Musharraf still enjoys strong support at home, especially from the military, and abroad.

But according to foreign correspondents, many are pointing fingers at al-Qaida for her death, and some blame Musharraf for not giving Bhutto enough protection. Military support will only lead to more bloodshed, and not necessarily calm.

The experts here may be vaguely referring to China when talking about strong support from abroad. But as China claims it doesn't meddle in other country's internal affairs, how will that help Musharraf make Pakistan stable?

The article also quotes Sun Shihai, an expert on South Asian studies with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences who adds, "I think the general election will be held on schedule."

However, many news agencies are quoting people within Pakistan who believe the chances of postponing the January 8 election are very high, as well as the possibility of Musharraf calling a state of emergency.

From the China Daily story, one can figure out which side of the fence China is sitting on.

And not everyone is on that side.

A New Appreciation for the Game

Whenever there's a table tennis tournament broadcast on TV, my colleague turns on the one above her desk and stares at the screen.

The players dance back and forth behind their respective ends of the table, at times gently hitting the ball on angle so it lands in corners, or smashing it leaving their opponents no chance to defend themselves.

China used to dominate in this sport for a long time. But this year, it's losing its grip as the champ of table tennis. Some of its top players lost a few key tournaments, giving other teams the hope of chipping away at China's armour, while Chinese fans question their team's performance for next year.

While the Chinese paddlers are trying to keep cool about public opinion, I never really had an appreciation for the game until last night.

We went to my parents' friends' house for Christmas dinner last night. And after gorging on the endless array of food from sushi to turkey, curry and jello pudding, I tried playing some table tennis in the basement.

They bought a table that was recently used in a local tournament, and also a machine that lobs balls for practice, similar to a tennis ball machine. If you hit the ball correctly, it hits a protective net on the other end and falls back into the bucket to be lobbed again.

I didn't have too much difficulty hitting the ball, but hitting it back into the other court was hard, as I hit it out most of the time.

I tried a few slices, but my backhand wasn't too hot, and missed the balls completely. My forehand was fine, except they still would have been easy shots to slam back at me if I actually played against someone.

It was a pretty good workout, as the balls kept coming, fast and furious, at different speeds and angles.

And it definitely gave me a new appreciation for the game. Those players make it look so easy...