China has maintained a high growth rate for more than 30 years since the beginning of economic reform in 1978, and this sustained growth has generated a huge increase in average living standards. China had many characteristics in common with the rest of developing Asia 25 years ago: large population, low per capita income, and resource scarcity on a per capita basis. In the 15 years from 1990-2005, China averaged per capita growth of 8.7%.
The whole reform program is often referred to in brief as the open door policy". This highlights that a key component of Chinese reform has been trade liberalization and opening up to foreign direct investment, but not opening the capital account more generally to portfolio flows. China improved its human capital, opened up to foreign trade and investment, and created a better investment climate for the private sector.
After joining the WTO China’s average tariffs have dropped below 10%, and to around 5% for manufactured imports. It initially welcomed foreign investment into special economic zones", but it is important to note that some of these were very large, amounting to urban areas of 20 million people or more. The positive impact of foreign investment in these locations led to a more general opening up of the economy to foreign investment, with the result that China has become the largest recipient of direct investment flows in recent years. The opening up measures have been accompanied by improvements in the investment climate. Particularly in the coastal areas have cities developed their investment climates. In these cities the private sector accounts for 90% or more of manufacturing assets and production. In 2005 average pretax rate of return for domestic private firms was the same as that for foreign-invested firms. Local governments in coastal cities have lowered loss of output due to unreliable power supply to 1.0% and customs clearance time for imports has been lowered in Chinese cities to 3.2 days. China’s sustained growth fueled historically unprecedented poverty reduction. The World Bank uses a poverty line based on household real consumption (including consumption of own-produced crops and other goods), set at $1 per day measured at . In most low-income countries this amount is sufficient to guarantee each person about 2000 of nutrition per day, plus other basic necessities. In 2007, this line corresponds to about 900 RMB per year. Based on household surveys, the poverty rate in China in 1981 was 64% of the population. This rate declined to 10% in 2004, indicating that about 500 million people have climbed out of poverty during this period. This poverty reduction has occurred in waves. The shift to the household responsibility system propelled a large increase in agricultural output, and poverty was cut in half over the short period from 1981 to 1987. From 1987 to 1993 poverty reduction stagnated, then resumed again. From 1996 to 2001 there was once more relatively little poverty reduction. Since China joined the WTO in 2001, however, poverty reduction resumed at a very rapid rate, and poverty was cut by a third in just three years
China has been the most rapidly growing economy in the world over the past 25 years. This growth has led to an extraordinary increase in real living standards and to an unprecedented decline in poverty. Between 1981 and 2005 it is estimated that the poverty rate fell from 85% to 15%, roughly 600 million people. However because of this, China faces serious and environmental degradation.It has also seen growing disparities of different kinds as people in different parts of the country and with different characteristics have benefited from the growth at different rates.
Starting from the pre-reform situation, some increase in locations benefited first from the opening policy and as the small stock of educated people found new opportunities, though particular features of Chinese policy may have exacerbated rather than mitigated growing disparities. The household registration (hukou) system kept rural-urban migration below what it otherwise would have been, and contributed to the development of one of the largest rural-urban income divides in the world. Weak over rural land also limited the ability of peasants to benefit from their primary asset.
Aside from income inequality, there has also been an increase in inequality of educational outcomes and health status, partly the result of China’s uniquely decentralized fiscal system, in which local government has been primarily responsible for funding basic health and education. Poor localities have not been able to fund these services, and poor households have not been able to afford the high private cost of basic education and healthcare.
The large trade surplus that has emerged in China have exacerbated the inequalities and makes them harder to address. The trade surplus stimulates the urban manufacturing sector, which is already relatively well off. It limits the government’s scope to increase funding for public services such as rural health and education. The government has been trying to rebalance China’s production away from investment and exports and toward domestic consumption and services to improve the country’s long-term macroeconomic health and the situation of the relative poor in China.
Recent government measures to reduce disparities including relaxation of the hukou system, abolition of the agricultural tax, and increased central transfers to fund health and education in rural areas.
In conclusion, China's poverty reduction techniques come at a price and she has to be able to cope with the arising challenges and issues.
Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
Showing posts with label China. Show all posts
Environment
Environmental degradation can be defined as deterioration of the Earth's natural surroundings as a result of excessive exploitation of the available resources. These resources include water, air, flora, fauna, soil etc. Basically, the life on the planet is interwoven to such an extent that a decrease in a particular attribute triggers a domino effect on all the other attributes dependent on it.
One form of environmental degradation is air pollution.
History of Air Pollution
Humans probably first experienced harm from air pollution when they built fires in poorly ventilated caves. Since then we have gone on to pollute more of the earth's surface. Until recently, environmental pollution problems have been local and minor because of the Earth's own ability to absorb and purify minor quantities of pollutants. The industrialization of society, the introduction of motorized vehicles, and the explosion of the population, are factors contributing toward the growing air pollution problem. At this time it is urgent that we find methods to clean up the air.
The primary air pollutants found in most urban areas are carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, hydrocarbons, and particulate matter (both solid and liquid). These pollutants are dispersed throughout the world's atmosphere in concentrations high enough to gradually cause serious health problems. Serious health problems can occur quickly when air pollutants are concentrated, such as when massive injections of sulfur dioxide and suspended particulate matter are emitted by a large volcanic eruption.
Carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, is the main pollutant that is warming Earth. Though living things emit carbon dioxide when they breathe, carbon dioxide is widely considered to be a pollutant when associated with cars, planes, power plants, and other human activities that involve the burning of fossil fuels such as gasoline and natural gas. In the past 150 years, such activities have pumped enough carbon dioxide into the atmosphere to raise its levels higher than they have been for hundreds of thousands of years.
Industrialized countries have worked to reduce levels of sulfur dioxide, smog, and smoke in order to improve people's health. But a result, not predicted until recently, is that the lower sulfur dioxide levels may actually make global warming worse. Just as sulfur dioxide from volcanoes can cool the planet by blocking sunlight, cutting the amount of the compound in the atmosphere lets more sunlight through, warming the Earth. This effect is exaggerated when elevated levels of other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere trap the additional heat.
Most people agree that to curb global warming, a variety of measures need to be taken. On a personal level, driving and flying less, recycling, and conservation reduces a person’s "carbon footprint"—the amount of carbon dioxide a person is responsible for putting into the atmosphere.
The sources of air pollution are both natural and human-based. As one might expect, humans have been producing increasing amounts of pollution as time has progressed, and they now account for the majority of pollutants released into the air.
Case Study: Air Pollution in
According to the World Bank 16 of the worlds’s 20 cities with the worst air are in
The air pollution and smog in
Coal is the number once source of air pollution in
Effects of Air Pollution in China
The engines of Chinese airlines have to be overhauled and replaced more frequently than elsewhere because operating in Chinese air corrodes the turbine blades faster.
The Beijing Coking-Chemical Plant was one of the
Public health is reeling. Pollution has made cancer
“It is a very awkward situation for the country because our greatest achievement is also our biggest burden,” says Wang Jinnan, one of
But pollution poses its own threat. Officials blame fetid air and water for thousands of episodes of social unrest. Health care costs have climbed sharply. Severe water shortages could turn more farmland into desert. And the unconstrained expansion of energy-intensive industries creates greater dependence on imported oil and dirty coal, meaning that environmental problems get harder and more expensive to address the longer they are unresolved.
The government has numerical targets for reducing emissions and conserving energy. Export subsidies for polluting industries have been phased out. Different campaigns have been started to close illegal coal mines and shutter some heavily polluting factories. Major initiatives are under way to develop clean energy sources like solar and wind power. And environmental regulation in
Health Problems and Air Pollution in China
Washington Post writer John Pomfret was based in
It has been reasoned that all forms of air pollution are 10 times more damaging to health than all forms of water pollution. According to the World Bank and WHO between 300,000 and 350,000 people die from outdoor air pollution and about 300,000 die from inside air pollution. Some think the true figure is much higher. Some estimate that indoor air pollution kills more than 700,000 people a year. The fine particles produced by coal-fired stoves exacerbates respiratory problems and is especially damaging to children’s lungs functions.
Air pollution causes premature births, low-birth weight babies, and depresses lungs functioning in otherwise healthy people. It has also been blamed for
Air pollution is also linked with a variety of respiratory aliments. Around some factories the asthma rate is 5 percent. It is estimated that 26 percent of all deaths in
Air pollution is believed to have significantly reduced crop production. Studies based on satellite imagery and ground-based observation suggest that particles of suspended pollutants scatter sun light over two thirds of eastern China resulting in harvests of rice and winter wheat that may be 5 to 30 percent less than if there was no pollution.
Combating Air Pollution in China
To reduce air pollution in
In
Bibliography:
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/pollution-overview.html
http://healthandenergy.com/air_pollution_causes.htm
http://library.thinkquest.org/26026/Environmental_Problems/air_pollution.html
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/environmental-degradation.html
http://factsanddetails.com/china.php?itemid=392&catid=10&subcatid=66
http://www.wri.org/publication/content/8416
Example 1
The New Media in China has made the fusion of the Arts and Science possible. These art works are displayed at the Millennium Art Museum of the China Millennium Monument in western Beijing. Teachers and students from 28 prestigious universities around the world, including 11 Chinese institutions of higher learning, are showing their "new media art" works, ranging from video art, digital art and animation to flash art and sound art.
The exhibition, organized by Tsinghua University, the ZKM Art and Media Centre of Germany and the V2 Art Exhibition Association of Netherlands, includes the work of students from the nine most important Chinese art academies and Peking and Tsinghua universities. The exhibition has been attracting a lot of attention in Beijing where the arts are very big at this time. New media art works allow more interaction between art and the viewer than does traditional art, which make it fun to visit the exhibition, said Wang Yudong, deputy curator of the Millennium Art Museum.
A lot more artists have since then found more freedom in artistic expression with the aid of computer software such as "Painters." Majors in new media art are now offered in almost all important Chinese art academies and more and more universities in the country, following the example of the China Academy of Fine Arts, Hangzhou, which in 1996 was the first Chinese academy to open a new media arts studio, winning it a leading position in the field.
Example 2
Using the Internet for advertising and exchanging commercial information has become fairly common. The importance of the Internet for commercial purposes has been underlined by the Chinese government's acceptance of the use of the Internet to conclude contracts in the draft Unified Contract Law. Shopping on-line is also becoming more popular. The first electronic business in China, run by the Xinhua Bookstore, started operation in the spring of 1996. Furthermore, most tertiary level academic institutions are connecting to the Internet. Also, China's first digital library system was established in Shenyang in October 1998.
Example 3
Mobility is a hot term in 2007, mobile news, mobile magazine, mobile email and mobile share trading , mobile media is fast becoming an big industry in the new media category. For example, in March, 2008, for the first time, mobile media was allowed by the government to be reported in the annual sessions of the People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, which is regarded as an important sign that mobile media are being recognized by the government. At present, mobile news has over 20 million users, and the figure is still increasing rapidly.
Example 4
MIIT Punished 600 Telecom Service Providers For Spam Short Messages In Q3
China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has published a report on the service quality of the country's telecom service providers in the third quarter of the year.
The report shows that in the period, more than 13000 mobile terminals involved in illegally sending of group short messages were shut down. In addition, over 600 telecom value-added service providers were punished for illegal practices, and about 11000 basic telecom service providers were either closed or asked to rectify their SMS businesses.
Previously, MIIT issued a circular which stated that the total short messages sent via each mobile phone number during non-holiday days shall not be more than 1000 or else the SMS function of the mobile phone will be screened. However, with the coming of 3G, spam short messages and malware programs are now beginning to attack 3G mobile phones.
MIIT's statistics show that in the third quarter, a total of 10791 complaints were received, 30% of which were made about communication service quality, which was an increase of 3.7% compared with that of the previous quarter.
http://www.chinatechnews.com/2009/11/24/11080-miit-punished-600-telecom-service-providers-for-spam-short-messages-in-q3
How new media influence China in a good way:
- Although this article show how mobile phone have been used for spamming (a negative thing), MIIT also known as China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has done ways to stop this problem
- The very fact that MIIT combat this problem of new media is a positive thing because there will be lesser complaints
Example 5
Pigs get ID chips in central China
(Xinhua)Updated: 2009-11-20 19:18
CHENGDU: Pigs in southwest China from Friday began having two identity chips fixed on their back legs detailing where they were butchered, examined and sold.
Forty-five markets in downtown Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, have started to sell pork with ID chips, said a spokesman with the city's food and drug administration on Friday.
Two plastic rings containing the chips with information on where the pig was bred are fixed around the pig's hinder limbs before it is sold to a slaughterhouse.
Additional information is added to the chips as the pig gets slaughtered, inspected and sold to the end market.
The chip is scanned when each piece of pork is sold so that the customer can have a receipt with a code that links to an entry that records the slaughter, inspection and sale of the pork in a city database.
Every seller is required to scan the chip of meat they purchase so that the system logs how much pork they have in stock. Meanwhile, their electronic scales are linked to the market system to keep track of how much pork they sell.
"The amount of pork sold must not exceed that of pork purchased. That way we make sure no pork comes from illegal channels," the spokesman said.
The customer could inquire about the pork by phone, text message or on the administration's website to ensure it was safely bred, butchered, stored and transported as well as properly examined.
Pork seller Wu Bo welcomed the policy. "Customers can now buy without hesitation. With the chips, they can eat without worry," Wu said. "If anything goes wrong with the quality, we know who to blame."
The city government and seller pays for every identity chip, which costs two yuan (29 U.S. cents), the spokesman said. "The cost is too small to affect the pork price."
The chips were tightly fixed and were almost impossible to take off without breaking them, the spokesman said in response to questions on whether the identity chips can be swapped.
Each of the pork pigs sold in Chengdu will get ID chips by the end of next April, the spokesman added.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-11/20/content_9015257.htm
How new media influence China in a positive way:
- These ID chips enable the authorities to locate pigs and also for the public to eat pork knowing that it was safely bred, butchered, stored, transported and well examined.
- In other words, the authorities track these pigs and the use of ID chips is also a form of communication between them.
- Thus, it reduces illegal butchering and minimize food poisoning since every seller is required to scan the chips so that the system logs how much pork they have in stock.
Example 6
More cameras to watch Chongqing
By Wang Huazhong (China Daily)Updated: 2009-11-11 08:28
CHONGQING: Nearly 500,000 surveillance cameras will watch public places in Chongqing by 2012, in accordance with a new government initiative. By installing new cameras and updating surveillance systems, city officials will see an improvement in video quality. Also, the total number of cameras will reach 497,000 by 2012, city government officials said.
The plan aims to improve public security and enhance police capabilities in handling emergencies, thus advancing a "Safe Chongqing," a police source said. This vision is the government's top agenda and has been pushed forward by the unprecedented dragnet of Chongqing gangs since June.
The ongoing anti-gang operation, which had arrested 385 and prosecuted 327 people for their suspected involvement in gangs this year, was overwhelmingly supported by the public and has instilled the citizens' confidence in the government, surveys showed.
"Under the current backdrop and the irreversible trend of cracking down on gangs, it is not hard to understand why the public has favored the installation of so many controversial surveillance cameras," said professor Fang Ling, director of the law research center at the Chongqing Academy of Social Sciences.
New regulations stipulate that six types of private areas, such as hotel rooms and dormitories, should be exempt from the lens.
The city already has 310,000 video cameras rolling, but the quality of the video is questionable and standards are not yet consistent, according to a Chongqing Daily report.
Random interviews by China Daily of dozens of people in the street showed that many underestimated the number of cameras already in operation in the city. Some were astounded to learn that cameras, besides electronic ones deployed to photograph vehicles violating traffic rules, even existed in public places.
"Is 500,000 too many? Are we being watched now?" said a 28-year-old freelancer, Hu Ming, who, among others, thought the number of functioning ones was 10,000 at maximum.
But most of them said they don't think cameras will violate their privacy.
The majority of the interviewees said the cameras are for the good to collect evidence against thieves, robbers and criminals.
"What's the big deal? The cameras do not watch you exclusively. They record everyone in public," said Xue Shiyu, an undergraduate student from Chongqing University.
"When in crowded public places, I don't think it's annoying to be watched by one more pair of eyes behind screens," she added.
Calling for an enhanced awareness of privacy, Fang, however, said people must constantly monitor their privacy to make sure their rights are not violated.
"People may not know that their behaviors, dress styles and even their inelegant looks when sleeping on buses is protected privacy and that they are vulnerable to be exploited by people who watch them," Fang said.
One example of the exploitation was reported in January 2008 when a video clip of a couple hugging and kissing in a Shanghai subway station, with their faces recognizable, was circulated on the Internet for others' amusement. The video was taken by three subway staff members, who used mobile phones to record the footage.
"It takes time for people to build an understanding of the right to privacy. We must make sure that surveillance cameras are not abused," Fang said.
An expatriate in Chongqing was a bit worried about the installment of more cameras.
"A citizen's right of privacy could be compromised. It is not comfortable to be monitored while you are shopping or dining in a restaurant, for instance," said Tony Spenser, an Englishman in his 60s
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-11/11/content_8946617.htm
How new media influence China in a positive way:
- Cameras in public allows relevant authorities to keep track of its citizens in public
- This is part of the anti-gang movement which is common in Chongqing
- Although some argues that it violates citizen’s right of privacy, majority of the people who are interviewed did not feel that way, probably because it is still a public place after all
- Installation of new and more cameras will mean that the authorities will be able to keep a vigil eye and communicate with its citizens in efforts to deter gang fights
Example 7
iPhone sets up Apple cart for crazy fans
By Gan Tian and Wang Xing (China Daily)Updated: 2009-10-31 08:38
Cliched undoubtedly, but the early bird did catch the Apple worm and fortune did favor those who braved Friday's cold and rain with a trendy gadget called iPhone.
In Beijing, a large crowd gathered at The Place shopping center many hours before the much-hyped iPhone was officially launched on the Chinese mainland.
A few hundred people queued up at The Place, with Henan province native Zhi Xianzhong in the front. The 32-year-old became the first person to get the iPhone from China Unicom, Apple's partner, at 7 pm after weathering the cold and rain for 7 hours and 40 minutes.
The handset, which Zhi said would be a gift for his wife, came with a certificate.
Liu Xinling, 25, too got a certificate from China Unicom, for she was the first to book a handset online at 00:02 am on Oct 1.
"I kept refreshing the Unicom website continually before logging on to book the handset," she said.
An iPhone 3GS handset (without connection) costs 4,999 yuan ($733), more than half of the country's per capita urban disposable income, and about 25 percent more than what it sells for in Hong Kong.
But the high price did not scare away iPhone fans, who love the gadget for its "creative functions, breathtaking design and faster speed".
Hundreds of fans cheered when the Apple store in Sanlitun opened sales at 8 pm. Zhao Xin, 31, a salesman, became the first to buy the iPhone from the store.
With pop music, flashlights, fashionistas and shoppers, the Sanlitun store became a big party venue for buyers. The store had made arrangements for its staff to help buyers install software and know more about it. The proud new owners also got help from the slides in the three giant iPhones hanging from the glass walls.
Soon, Apple fans were seen "helloing" each other and making plans for celebrating their luck.
Li Liang, 25, bought an iPhone even though he was not happy that the official handset was not equipped with WiFi.
"I know a lot of fans are like me. They have a touch of iPod, which has WiFi, and they buy an official iPhone that has some localized functions," Li said
Luo Baohuang, a public relations manager, and a few iPhone fanclub members even threw a party at a restaurant to celebrate the occasion after they bought the official iPhones online. Luo, 29, has been using Apple's products for about eight years.
iPhone's official debut on the Chinese mainland has encouraged fans a lot, he said. "We no longer have to go to Hong Kong or the US to buy them," Luo said.
The launch, however, has put users of unauthorized iPhones in a dilemma. It is estimated that the mainland has 700,000 to 1 million unauthorized iPhone users, who smuggled the sets from overseas.
Wang Hongliang is glad that she resisted buying a pirated set. "An unauthorized set has no guarantee of after-purchase service, and you need to re-install its system from time to time, so I waited for the official one," she said.
Some fans are considering giving up their unauthorized phones and buying a "real" one because it has all the functions, Huang Luxia, a 25-year-old white-collar worker, said.
Apple first held talks with China Mobile in 2007 to introduce iPhone on the mainland. But it later turned to China Unicom, which adopted the 3G standard that Apple's iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS are compatible with.
Experts said China's ban on the WiFi function in cellphones, the amount of handset subsidy, and Apple's insistence on running its store in China were the major obstacles that had kept iPhones out until Friday.
China Unicom wished the stylish handset to boost its 3G service, launched earlier this year, and help attract elite users from rival China Mobile
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-10/31/content_8876952.htm
How new media influence China in a positive way:
- Introduction of iPhone reduce sales of unauthorized iPhones
- Even people who have bought them are changing to the authorised version
- The demand for iPhone is relatively high and this means that the industry will reap higher economic profit which in return help the nation’s economy
The New Media in China has made the fusion of the Arts and Science possible. These art works are displayed at the Millennium Art Museum of the China Millennium Monument in western Beijing. Teachers and students from 28 prestigious universities around the world, including 11 Chinese institutions of higher learning, are showing their "new media art" works, ranging from video art, digital art and animation to flash art and sound art.
The exhibition, organized by Tsinghua University, the ZKM Art and Media Centre of Germany and the V2 Art Exhibition Association of Netherlands, includes the work of students from the nine most important Chinese art academies and Peking and Tsinghua universities. The exhibition has been attracting a lot of attention in Beijing where the arts are very big at this time. New media art works allow more interaction between art and the viewer than does traditional art, which make it fun to visit the exhibition, said Wang Yudong, deputy curator of the Millennium Art Museum.
A lot more artists have since then found more freedom in artistic expression with the aid of computer software such as "Painters." Majors in new media art are now offered in almost all important Chinese art academies and more and more universities in the country, following the example of the China Academy of Fine Arts, Hangzhou, which in 1996 was the first Chinese academy to open a new media arts studio, winning it a leading position in the field.
Example 2
Using the Internet for advertising and exchanging commercial information has become fairly common. The importance of the Internet for commercial purposes has been underlined by the Chinese government's acceptance of the use of the Internet to conclude contracts in the draft Unified Contract Law. Shopping on-line is also becoming more popular. The first electronic business in China, run by the Xinhua Bookstore, started operation in the spring of 1996. Furthermore, most tertiary level academic institutions are connecting to the Internet. Also, China's first digital library system was established in Shenyang in October 1998.
Example 3
Mobility is a hot term in 2007, mobile news, mobile magazine, mobile email and mobile share trading , mobile media is fast becoming an big industry in the new media category. For example, in March, 2008, for the first time, mobile media was allowed by the government to be reported in the annual sessions of the People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, which is regarded as an important sign that mobile media are being recognized by the government. At present, mobile news has over 20 million users, and the figure is still increasing rapidly.
Example 4
MIIT Punished 600 Telecom Service Providers For Spam Short Messages In Q3
China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has published a report on the service quality of the country's telecom service providers in the third quarter of the year.
The report shows that in the period, more than 13000 mobile terminals involved in illegally sending of group short messages were shut down. In addition, over 600 telecom value-added service providers were punished for illegal practices, and about 11000 basic telecom service providers were either closed or asked to rectify their SMS businesses.
Previously, MIIT issued a circular which stated that the total short messages sent via each mobile phone number during non-holiday days shall not be more than 1000 or else the SMS function of the mobile phone will be screened. However, with the coming of 3G, spam short messages and malware programs are now beginning to attack 3G mobile phones.
MIIT's statistics show that in the third quarter, a total of 10791 complaints were received, 30% of which were made about communication service quality, which was an increase of 3.7% compared with that of the previous quarter.
http://www.chinatechnews.com/2009/11/24/11080-miit-punished-600-telecom-service-providers-for-spam-short-messages-in-q3
How new media influence China in a good way:
- Although this article show how mobile phone have been used for spamming (a negative thing), MIIT also known as China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has done ways to stop this problem
- The very fact that MIIT combat this problem of new media is a positive thing because there will be lesser complaints
Example 5
Pigs get ID chips in central China
(Xinhua)Updated: 2009-11-20 19:18
CHENGDU: Pigs in southwest China from Friday began having two identity chips fixed on their back legs detailing where they were butchered, examined and sold.
Forty-five markets in downtown Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, have started to sell pork with ID chips, said a spokesman with the city's food and drug administration on Friday.
Two plastic rings containing the chips with information on where the pig was bred are fixed around the pig's hinder limbs before it is sold to a slaughterhouse.
Additional information is added to the chips as the pig gets slaughtered, inspected and sold to the end market.
The chip is scanned when each piece of pork is sold so that the customer can have a receipt with a code that links to an entry that records the slaughter, inspection and sale of the pork in a city database.
Every seller is required to scan the chip of meat they purchase so that the system logs how much pork they have in stock. Meanwhile, their electronic scales are linked to the market system to keep track of how much pork they sell.
"The amount of pork sold must not exceed that of pork purchased. That way we make sure no pork comes from illegal channels," the spokesman said.
The customer could inquire about the pork by phone, text message or on the administration's website to ensure it was safely bred, butchered, stored and transported as well as properly examined.
Pork seller Wu Bo welcomed the policy. "Customers can now buy without hesitation. With the chips, they can eat without worry," Wu said. "If anything goes wrong with the quality, we know who to blame."
The city government and seller pays for every identity chip, which costs two yuan (29 U.S. cents), the spokesman said. "The cost is too small to affect the pork price."
The chips were tightly fixed and were almost impossible to take off without breaking them, the spokesman said in response to questions on whether the identity chips can be swapped.
Each of the pork pigs sold in Chengdu will get ID chips by the end of next April, the spokesman added.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-11/20/content_9015257.htm
How new media influence China in a positive way:
- These ID chips enable the authorities to locate pigs and also for the public to eat pork knowing that it was safely bred, butchered, stored, transported and well examined.
- In other words, the authorities track these pigs and the use of ID chips is also a form of communication between them.
- Thus, it reduces illegal butchering and minimize food poisoning since every seller is required to scan the chips so that the system logs how much pork they have in stock.
Example 6
More cameras to watch Chongqing
By Wang Huazhong (China Daily)Updated: 2009-11-11 08:28
CHONGQING: Nearly 500,000 surveillance cameras will watch public places in Chongqing by 2012, in accordance with a new government initiative. By installing new cameras and updating surveillance systems, city officials will see an improvement in video quality. Also, the total number of cameras will reach 497,000 by 2012, city government officials said.
The plan aims to improve public security and enhance police capabilities in handling emergencies, thus advancing a "Safe Chongqing," a police source said. This vision is the government's top agenda and has been pushed forward by the unprecedented dragnet of Chongqing gangs since June.
The ongoing anti-gang operation, which had arrested 385 and prosecuted 327 people for their suspected involvement in gangs this year, was overwhelmingly supported by the public and has instilled the citizens' confidence in the government, surveys showed.
"Under the current backdrop and the irreversible trend of cracking down on gangs, it is not hard to understand why the public has favored the installation of so many controversial surveillance cameras," said professor Fang Ling, director of the law research center at the Chongqing Academy of Social Sciences.
New regulations stipulate that six types of private areas, such as hotel rooms and dormitories, should be exempt from the lens.
The city already has 310,000 video cameras rolling, but the quality of the video is questionable and standards are not yet consistent, according to a Chongqing Daily report.
Random interviews by China Daily of dozens of people in the street showed that many underestimated the number of cameras already in operation in the city. Some were astounded to learn that cameras, besides electronic ones deployed to photograph vehicles violating traffic rules, even existed in public places.
"Is 500,000 too many? Are we being watched now?" said a 28-year-old freelancer, Hu Ming, who, among others, thought the number of functioning ones was 10,000 at maximum.
But most of them said they don't think cameras will violate their privacy.
The majority of the interviewees said the cameras are for the good to collect evidence against thieves, robbers and criminals.
"What's the big deal? The cameras do not watch you exclusively. They record everyone in public," said Xue Shiyu, an undergraduate student from Chongqing University.
"When in crowded public places, I don't think it's annoying to be watched by one more pair of eyes behind screens," she added.
Calling for an enhanced awareness of privacy, Fang, however, said people must constantly monitor their privacy to make sure their rights are not violated.
"People may not know that their behaviors, dress styles and even their inelegant looks when sleeping on buses is protected privacy and that they are vulnerable to be exploited by people who watch them," Fang said.
One example of the exploitation was reported in January 2008 when a video clip of a couple hugging and kissing in a Shanghai subway station, with their faces recognizable, was circulated on the Internet for others' amusement. The video was taken by three subway staff members, who used mobile phones to record the footage.
"It takes time for people to build an understanding of the right to privacy. We must make sure that surveillance cameras are not abused," Fang said.
An expatriate in Chongqing was a bit worried about the installment of more cameras.
"A citizen's right of privacy could be compromised. It is not comfortable to be monitored while you are shopping or dining in a restaurant, for instance," said Tony Spenser, an Englishman in his 60s
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-11/11/content_8946617.htm
How new media influence China in a positive way:
- Cameras in public allows relevant authorities to keep track of its citizens in public
- This is part of the anti-gang movement which is common in Chongqing
- Although some argues that it violates citizen’s right of privacy, majority of the people who are interviewed did not feel that way, probably because it is still a public place after all
- Installation of new and more cameras will mean that the authorities will be able to keep a vigil eye and communicate with its citizens in efforts to deter gang fights
Example 7
iPhone sets up Apple cart for crazy fans
By Gan Tian and Wang Xing (China Daily)Updated: 2009-10-31 08:38
Cliched undoubtedly, but the early bird did catch the Apple worm and fortune did favor those who braved Friday's cold and rain with a trendy gadget called iPhone.
In Beijing, a large crowd gathered at The Place shopping center many hours before the much-hyped iPhone was officially launched on the Chinese mainland.
A few hundred people queued up at The Place, with Henan province native Zhi Xianzhong in the front. The 32-year-old became the first person to get the iPhone from China Unicom, Apple's partner, at 7 pm after weathering the cold and rain for 7 hours and 40 minutes.
The handset, which Zhi said would be a gift for his wife, came with a certificate.
Liu Xinling, 25, too got a certificate from China Unicom, for she was the first to book a handset online at 00:02 am on Oct 1.
"I kept refreshing the Unicom website continually before logging on to book the handset," she said.
An iPhone 3GS handset (without connection) costs 4,999 yuan ($733), more than half of the country's per capita urban disposable income, and about 25 percent more than what it sells for in Hong Kong.
But the high price did not scare away iPhone fans, who love the gadget for its "creative functions, breathtaking design and faster speed".
Hundreds of fans cheered when the Apple store in Sanlitun opened sales at 8 pm. Zhao Xin, 31, a salesman, became the first to buy the iPhone from the store.
With pop music, flashlights, fashionistas and shoppers, the Sanlitun store became a big party venue for buyers. The store had made arrangements for its staff to help buyers install software and know more about it. The proud new owners also got help from the slides in the three giant iPhones hanging from the glass walls.
Soon, Apple fans were seen "helloing" each other and making plans for celebrating their luck.
Li Liang, 25, bought an iPhone even though he was not happy that the official handset was not equipped with WiFi.
"I know a lot of fans are like me. They have a touch of iPod, which has WiFi, and they buy an official iPhone that has some localized functions," Li said
Luo Baohuang, a public relations manager, and a few iPhone fanclub members even threw a party at a restaurant to celebrate the occasion after they bought the official iPhones online. Luo, 29, has been using Apple's products for about eight years.
iPhone's official debut on the Chinese mainland has encouraged fans a lot, he said. "We no longer have to go to Hong Kong or the US to buy them," Luo said.
The launch, however, has put users of unauthorized iPhones in a dilemma. It is estimated that the mainland has 700,000 to 1 million unauthorized iPhone users, who smuggled the sets from overseas.
Wang Hongliang is glad that she resisted buying a pirated set. "An unauthorized set has no guarantee of after-purchase service, and you need to re-install its system from time to time, so I waited for the official one," she said.
Some fans are considering giving up their unauthorized phones and buying a "real" one because it has all the functions, Huang Luxia, a 25-year-old white-collar worker, said.
Apple first held talks with China Mobile in 2007 to introduce iPhone on the mainland. But it later turned to China Unicom, which adopted the 3G standard that Apple's iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS are compatible with.
Experts said China's ban on the WiFi function in cellphones, the amount of handset subsidy, and Apple's insistence on running its store in China were the major obstacles that had kept iPhones out until Friday.
China Unicom wished the stylish handset to boost its 3G service, launched earlier this year, and help attract elite users from rival China Mobile
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2009-10/31/content_8876952.htm
How new media influence China in a positive way:
- Introduction of iPhone reduce sales of unauthorized iPhones
- Even people who have bought them are changing to the authorised version
- The demand for iPhone is relatively high and this means that the industry will reap higher economic profit which in return help the nation’s economy
Earthquake
On May 12, an earthquake measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale devastated China’s south-western province of Sichuan leaving millions in urgent need of emergency assistance. The earthquake killed over 80,000 people, injured 374,000 and left 15 million homeless.
The Red Cross response to the earthquake in China was immediate. Thanks to the tireless efforts of 180,000 thousand local volunteers more than one million survivors have received Red Cross relief supplies.In addition to distributing tents, food, water, clothes and medicine, local volunteers were also heavily involved in the rescue and treatment of the injured pulled alive from the rubble.
The Red Cross also sent several psychosocial support teams to the affected area to support the emotional and practical needs of survivors.
In response to the Chinese government’s urgent call for international donors to assist with shelter, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies mobilized and shipped 100,000 tents to the area. Many survivors have now been moved into temporary shelters, but significant numbers in rural areas are still living in tents.
In addition, the Red Cross and Red Crescent deployed three Emergency Response Units to provide clean drinking water and mass sanitation for earthquake survivors in some of the most devastated townships. These played a key part in preventing any serious outbreak of diseases, which is always a serious consider following a disaster of this magnitude.
The Canadian Red Cross has delivered 7,250 urgently-needed tents to survivors and supported the Government of Canada’s deployment of 700 additional tents. In addition, Canadian Red Cross aid worker, Yunhong Zhang, was deployed to lead the International Red Cross response, which has included the mobilization of 100,000 tents.
The Red Cross response to the earthquake in China was immediate. Thanks to the tireless efforts of 180,000 thousand local volunteers more than one million survivors have received Red Cross relief supplies.In addition to distributing tents, food, water, clothes and medicine, local volunteers were also heavily involved in the rescue and treatment of the injured pulled alive from the rubble.
The Red Cross also sent several psychosocial support teams to the affected area to support the emotional and practical needs of survivors.
In response to the Chinese government’s urgent call for international donors to assist with shelter, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies mobilized and shipped 100,000 tents to the area. Many survivors have now been moved into temporary shelters, but significant numbers in rural areas are still living in tents.
In addition, the Red Cross and Red Crescent deployed three Emergency Response Units to provide clean drinking water and mass sanitation for earthquake survivors in some of the most devastated townships. These played a key part in preventing any serious outbreak of diseases, which is always a serious consider following a disaster of this magnitude.
The Canadian Red Cross has delivered 7,250 urgently-needed tents to survivors and supported the Government of Canada’s deployment of 700 additional tents. In addition, Canadian Red Cross aid worker, Yunhong Zhang, was deployed to lead the International Red Cross response, which has included the mobilization of 100,000 tents.
China's Next Big Boom Could Be the Foul Air
The steady barrage of statistics trumpeting China's rise is often greeted elsewhere as if the figures were torpedoes and the rest of the world a sinking ship.
The numbers inflame the exaggerated perception that China is methodically inhaling jobs and resources and, in the process, inhaling the rest of the planet. Burp. There goes the American furniture industry. Burp. Thanks for your oil, Venezuela.
But one statistic offered last week by a top Chinese environmental official should stimulate genuine alarm inside and outside China. The official, Zhang Lijun, warned that pollution levels here could more than quadruple within 15 years if the country does not curb its rapid growth in energy consumption and automobile use.
China, it seems, has reached a tipping point familiar to many developed countries, including the United States, that have raced headlong after economic development only to look up suddenly and see the environmental carnage. The difference with China, as is so often the case, is that the potential problems are much bigger, have happened much faster and could pose greater concerns for the entire world.
"I don't think it will jump four or five times," Robert Watson, a senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council, said of the pollution prediction by Mr. Zhang. "But it could double or triple without too much trouble. And that's a scary thought, given how bad things are now."
China is already the world's second-biggest producer of greenhouse gas emissions and is expected to surpass the United States as the biggest. Roughly a third of China is exposed to acid rain. A recent study by a Chinese research institute found that 400,000 people die prematurely every year in China from diseases linked to air pollution.
The political attention comes as environmental problems are begetting social and economic problems. Violent riots have erupted in the countryside over contaminated water, stunted crops and mounting health woes. In a handful of villages, farmers have stormed chemical factories to stop the dumping of filthy water. Roughly 70 percent of China's rivers and lakes are polluted. In cities, people drink bottled water; in the countryside, most people are too poor to pay for bottled water, so they boil polluted water or simply drink it.
Public anger is also rising in cities. In some, air pollution is so thick that on the worst days doctors advise, impractically, against going outside. Last week, hundreds of people living in the Beijing outskirts protested plans for a factory they fear would inundate the neighborhood with pollution.
The severity of the situation has created an opening for environmentalists in and out of the government. Environmentalism is a chic issue for college students, who have participated in garbage cleanups and joined the growing number of nongovernment organizations focused on pollution. The once-meek State Environmental Protection Administration, or SEPA, has become more aggressive in identifying and going after polluters and calling for reforms.
The numbers inflame the exaggerated perception that China is methodically inhaling jobs and resources and, in the process, inhaling the rest of the planet. Burp. There goes the American furniture industry. Burp. Thanks for your oil, Venezuela.
But one statistic offered last week by a top Chinese environmental official should stimulate genuine alarm inside and outside China. The official, Zhang Lijun, warned that pollution levels here could more than quadruple within 15 years if the country does not curb its rapid growth in energy consumption and automobile use.
China, it seems, has reached a tipping point familiar to many developed countries, including the United States, that have raced headlong after economic development only to look up suddenly and see the environmental carnage. The difference with China, as is so often the case, is that the potential problems are much bigger, have happened much faster and could pose greater concerns for the entire world.
"I don't think it will jump four or five times," Robert Watson, a senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council, said of the pollution prediction by Mr. Zhang. "But it could double or triple without too much trouble. And that's a scary thought, given how bad things are now."
China is already the world's second-biggest producer of greenhouse gas emissions and is expected to surpass the United States as the biggest. Roughly a third of China is exposed to acid rain. A recent study by a Chinese research institute found that 400,000 people die prematurely every year in China from diseases linked to air pollution.
The political attention comes as environmental problems are begetting social and economic problems. Violent riots have erupted in the countryside over contaminated water, stunted crops and mounting health woes. In a handful of villages, farmers have stormed chemical factories to stop the dumping of filthy water. Roughly 70 percent of China's rivers and lakes are polluted. In cities, people drink bottled water; in the countryside, most people are too poor to pay for bottled water, so they boil polluted water or simply drink it.
Public anger is also rising in cities. In some, air pollution is so thick that on the worst days doctors advise, impractically, against going outside. Last week, hundreds of people living in the Beijing outskirts protested plans for a factory they fear would inundate the neighborhood with pollution.
The severity of the situation has created an opening for environmentalists in and out of the government. Environmentalism is a chic issue for college students, who have participated in garbage cleanups and joined the growing number of nongovernment organizations focused on pollution. The once-meek State Environmental Protection Administration, or SEPA, has become more aggressive in identifying and going after polluters and calling for reforms.
Beijing's Air Pollution: It Isn't The Cars
On July 20, half of private cars in Beijing went off the road in a sweeping attempt to improve air quality in advance of the Olympic games. Commercial and governmental vehicles, taxis and buses are all running as usual, but traffic is moving noticeably faster. I've been watching the plates, and drivers really are obeying the regulations. Furthermore, the Chinese have suspended tourism and visas for anyone not attending the Olympics, which is improving traffic even more. There are noticeably fewer tour groups, taxis, rental cars and minibuses. At the same time, a new subway line and the light rail to the airport opened, and more people are taking mass transit.
But guess what? Beijing's air pollution doesn't appear to have changed. In fact, visibility outside my window the last few days has been worse than it was in the week before the car regulations came into place.
This should come as no surprise. Beijing's air pollution varies a great deal from day to day. The fact that it seems worse is probably due to unfortunate weather conditions-high temperature and humidity, and low winds that would otherwise dissipate the smog.
Contrary to popular perception both inside and outside China, Beijing's air pollution problem is not primarily due to increases in personal vehicle use. Granted, there have been dozens of press reports about the surging numbers of vehicles that Beijingers are buying. These reports are true, but also misleading. In contrast to the experience in the U.S., Beijing's boom in vehicle ownership has not yet invaded its surrounding areas. It is mainly China's wealthiest cities that are participating in the car boom; smaller cities and towns have seen more modest growth in vehicle ownership.
The real causes of Beijing's air quality woes lie elsewhere. An article last year suggested the key component to Beijing's ozone problem (the stuff that makes your eyes itch, causes shortness of breath and reduces visibility) is actually volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from small factories in neighboring Hebei province. A sniff test suggests that there are plenty of these factories operating in and around Beijing. Many are small (and possibly illegal), and they operate only at night to avoid the scrutiny of environmental inspectors. So the Beijing government has several problems: first, it must locate these hidden factories. Then they must shut them down--and convince neighboring provinces to do the same.
Beijing's other major problem is particulates, which come from several sources. One is construction: Beijing is still rushing to complete non-Olympic buildings before the big day. Another is coal-fired power plants and factory boilers. China's largest coal-mining province, Shanxi, is directly up wind of Beijing. Shanxi ships much coal to other provinces, but it also has mine-mouth power plants and coking plants that contribute to regional pollution.
A final source is trucks. As with the VOCs from small factories, emissions from heavy vehicles are worst during the night, since trucks are banned from the city during the day. Studies have shown that Beijing's pollution levels are highest in the early morning. This would not be the case if most of the pollution came from passenger cars, which operate mainly during the day. But it is good evidence that the chief sources of pollution are the VOC-producing factories and trucks operating at night.
The international focus on Beijing's car problem, when the true problem lies more with industrial emissions, suggests we often apply lessons from one place a little too readily to another. China's air pollution problem--like its [greenhouse gas emissions](node/9331)--is primarily connected to industry. There is no question that smart transportation planning would help China avoid vehicle-caused smog and global warming in the future. But for the here and now, the real challenges are in industry, and the real efforts need to be in strengthening local enforcement of existing pollution and energy efficiency standards and with developing new multipollutant standards that address issues like VOCs
But guess what? Beijing's air pollution doesn't appear to have changed. In fact, visibility outside my window the last few days has been worse than it was in the week before the car regulations came into place.
This should come as no surprise. Beijing's air pollution varies a great deal from day to day. The fact that it seems worse is probably due to unfortunate weather conditions-high temperature and humidity, and low winds that would otherwise dissipate the smog.
Contrary to popular perception both inside and outside China, Beijing's air pollution problem is not primarily due to increases in personal vehicle use. Granted, there have been dozens of press reports about the surging numbers of vehicles that Beijingers are buying. These reports are true, but also misleading. In contrast to the experience in the U.S., Beijing's boom in vehicle ownership has not yet invaded its surrounding areas. It is mainly China's wealthiest cities that are participating in the car boom; smaller cities and towns have seen more modest growth in vehicle ownership.
The real causes of Beijing's air quality woes lie elsewhere. An article last year suggested the key component to Beijing's ozone problem (the stuff that makes your eyes itch, causes shortness of breath and reduces visibility) is actually volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from small factories in neighboring Hebei province. A sniff test suggests that there are plenty of these factories operating in and around Beijing. Many are small (and possibly illegal), and they operate only at night to avoid the scrutiny of environmental inspectors. So the Beijing government has several problems: first, it must locate these hidden factories. Then they must shut them down--and convince neighboring provinces to do the same.
Beijing's other major problem is particulates, which come from several sources. One is construction: Beijing is still rushing to complete non-Olympic buildings before the big day. Another is coal-fired power plants and factory boilers. China's largest coal-mining province, Shanxi, is directly up wind of Beijing. Shanxi ships much coal to other provinces, but it also has mine-mouth power plants and coking plants that contribute to regional pollution.
A final source is trucks. As with the VOCs from small factories, emissions from heavy vehicles are worst during the night, since trucks are banned from the city during the day. Studies have shown that Beijing's pollution levels are highest in the early morning. This would not be the case if most of the pollution came from passenger cars, which operate mainly during the day. But it is good evidence that the chief sources of pollution are the VOC-producing factories and trucks operating at night.
The international focus on Beijing's car problem, when the true problem lies more with industrial emissions, suggests we often apply lessons from one place a little too readily to another. China's air pollution problem--like its [greenhouse gas emissions](node/9331)--is primarily connected to industry. There is no question that smart transportation planning would help China avoid vehicle-caused smog and global warming in the future. But for the here and now, the real challenges are in industry, and the real efforts need to be in strengthening local enforcement of existing pollution and energy efficiency standards and with developing new multipollutant standards that address issues like VOCs
Air pollution cutting China's 'vital' rain
China's increasing air pollution has cut the light rainfall essential to the country's agriculture over the last 50 years, new research suggests.
The research, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research last month, is based on rainfall data collected from weather stations across China.
The number of light rain days — those with precipitation of less than ten millimetres — in northeast and southeast China has been cut by 25 per cent and 21 per cent respectively over the past five decades, researchers have found.
"Analyses of air pollution data, satellite data, and large-scale circulation all suggest that aerosols may have played a more dominant role in the observed decrease trend in light rain in East China," the authors write.
Qian Yun, co-author of the research and an atmospheric scientist at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, United States, told SciDev.Net: "The decreased light rain will definitely deal a blow to agricultural potential in east China, the main food production area in China."
"Light rain soaks slowly into the ground [making it easier for the soil to absorb] which is better than heavy rain, which can flood fields and run off into nearby waterways."
The authors say that increased levels of aerosols — particles of pollution in the air above China — are caused by increasing fossil fuel consumption, particularly in big cities like Beijing.
They think that because rain drops form around aerosol particles, more particles means smaller drops that are less likely to form rain clouds.
Qian says the team will now build a model to calculate the agricultural and economic losses caused by air pollution to guide policymakers.
But Guo Jianping, a meteorologist at the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, who was not involved in the research, says the relationship between light rain and agricultural growth is difficult to define.
"Usually it is hard for small amounts of water to seep down into the ground and be absorbed. In addition, more rain days do not mean it's good for agriculture as less solar radiation is available,"
The research, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research last month, is based on rainfall data collected from weather stations across China.
The number of light rain days — those with precipitation of less than ten millimetres — in northeast and southeast China has been cut by 25 per cent and 21 per cent respectively over the past five decades, researchers have found.
"Analyses of air pollution data, satellite data, and large-scale circulation all suggest that aerosols may have played a more dominant role in the observed decrease trend in light rain in East China," the authors write.
Qian Yun, co-author of the research and an atmospheric scientist at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, United States, told SciDev.Net: "The decreased light rain will definitely deal a blow to agricultural potential in east China, the main food production area in China."
"Light rain soaks slowly into the ground [making it easier for the soil to absorb] which is better than heavy rain, which can flood fields and run off into nearby waterways."
The authors say that increased levels of aerosols — particles of pollution in the air above China — are caused by increasing fossil fuel consumption, particularly in big cities like Beijing.
They think that because rain drops form around aerosol particles, more particles means smaller drops that are less likely to form rain clouds.
Qian says the team will now build a model to calculate the agricultural and economic losses caused by air pollution to guide policymakers.
But Guo Jianping, a meteorologist at the Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, who was not involved in the research, says the relationship between light rain and agricultural growth is difficult to define.
"Usually it is hard for small amounts of water to seep down into the ground and be absorbed. In addition, more rain days do not mean it's good for agriculture as less solar radiation is available,"
China's increased efforts to promote the eco-environment compensation mechanism
In recent years, the establishment of a sound ecological environment in the pace of increase in the compensation mechanism. 2001-2004, the countries of the Central forest ecological benefit compensation fund an experimental basis. Since 2005, the central government formally established the forest ecological benefit compensation fund, marks the compensation mechanism of forest ecological benefits, was formally established. Now accumulated more than 200 billion yuan invested, will focus on seven million hectares of ecological forest into the scope of compensation. In 2006, the State authorities issued on the progressive establishment of mining environmental management and ecological restoration accountability mechanisms guidance to the mines to make the deployment of a pilot eco-environmental compensation. At the same time, the central government also adopted to improve standards of environmental protection expenditures and transfer payments coefficient approach, increase of Qinghai Three Rivers, south-middle part of the natural forests, water areas and protected areas such as financial transfer payment.
Over the past 10 years, China has started the implementation of the returning farmland to forest, pasture, natural forest protection, Beijing and Tianjin sandstorm source control, the southwest karst rocky desertification area of governance, Sanjiangyuan nature reserve in Qinghai, Gansu Gannan important source of water recharge area of the Yellow River such as the nature of ecological compensation has some major ecological construction projects, with a total investment of more than 7000 billion yuan, of which the nature of the expenditures for a variety of subsidies for the more than 3,000 billion yuan.
Through the establishment of a compensation mechanism is to make the ecological environment of the internalization of external costs, the formation of the ecological environment beneficiaries pay spoilers compensation, builders and protectors of a reasonable compensation for a favorable operating mechanism, thereby enhancing the ecological environment of the community consciousness. Worth looking forward to is that the current parties are speeding up the development of "Eco-Compensation Ordinance," which will make the future more in the practical operation "law" Keyi.
But overall, China's ecological environment is relatively fragile situation has not fundamentally changed, particularly in promoting the ecological construction and environmental protection interests do not straighten out. "Eleventh Five-year" eco-environmental planning to limit the development of regional and prohibition of the development of regional explicitly provides that: limits the development of regional major national ecological security, including those related to protected areas of natural forest resources, forest area, grassland, "three" areas, an important water source protection areas, serious soil erosion areas and so on; prohibiting the development of region is dominated by various types of nature reserves established by law
Over the past 10 years, China has started the implementation of the returning farmland to forest, pasture, natural forest protection, Beijing and Tianjin sandstorm source control, the southwest karst rocky desertification area of governance, Sanjiangyuan nature reserve in Qinghai, Gansu Gannan important source of water recharge area of the Yellow River such as the nature of ecological compensation has some major ecological construction projects, with a total investment of more than 7000 billion yuan, of which the nature of the expenditures for a variety of subsidies for the more than 3,000 billion yuan.
Through the establishment of a compensation mechanism is to make the ecological environment of the internalization of external costs, the formation of the ecological environment beneficiaries pay spoilers compensation, builders and protectors of a reasonable compensation for a favorable operating mechanism, thereby enhancing the ecological environment of the community consciousness. Worth looking forward to is that the current parties are speeding up the development of "Eco-Compensation Ordinance," which will make the future more in the practical operation "law" Keyi.
But overall, China's ecological environment is relatively fragile situation has not fundamentally changed, particularly in promoting the ecological construction and environmental protection interests do not straighten out. "Eleventh Five-year" eco-environmental planning to limit the development of regional and prohibition of the development of regional explicitly provides that: limits the development of regional major national ecological security, including those related to protected areas of natural forest resources, forest area, grassland, "three" areas, an important water source protection areas, serious soil erosion areas and so on; prohibiting the development of region is dominated by various types of nature reserves established by law
China's efforts to cut greenhouse emissions effective
China on Wednesday said its efforts to cut greenhouse emission were the best in the world, vowing continued work.
"China's energy consumption per-unit GDP has decreased by 10 percent from that in 2005, our target this year is another 5 percent drop," Yu Qingtai, China's top envoy on climate change, told a press briefing in Beijing.
Released in 2007, China's National Climate Change Program set a goal of lowering energy consumption per-unit GDP by 20 percent by 2010 from that of 2005, which Yu said would cut a total of 1.5-billion-ton greenhouse emission, an equal to 300 million ton of carbon dioxide every year.
"The figure shows that China's effort to cut greenhouse emissions and its actual effect are second to none," the envoy said.
Stressing China's status as a developing nation at a stage of industrialization and urbanization, Yu said the country was confronted with double challenges of developing the economy and protecting environment.
"China has a population of 150 million who are living on less than two U.S. dollars a day, a poverty standard recently set by the United Nations," Yu said.
With its coal-dominated energy mix, China looked to the renewable energy as a way to cut gas emissions, Yu said.
Under China's national program, the renewable energy will account for 10 percent in the country's energy total by 2010 and up to 15 percent by 2020.
"China has achieved impressive progress in utilizing renewable energy," Yu said, citing the figure of 2008 showing that the country's use of hydropower and solar power ranked first in the world, wind power the fourth.
China's bio-gas users in countryside, Yu said, amounted to 26 million by 2007, which would help reduce the use of 16-million-ton coal annually and cut 44 million tons of carbon dioxide.
Although the global economic downturn took its toll on China, Yu said the Chinese government didn't waver in its efforts to tackle climate change.
Of China's 4-trillion-yuan stimulus package unveiled last year, around 58 billion yuan was earmarked for climate change projects, Yu said. "The percentage ranked the second worldwide, according to a report by the Hongkong-Shanghai Banking Corporation."
Yu said the Chinese government also advocated the energy-efficient products among the public with an aim to cutting greenhouse emission.
"In a nutshell, China has taken the climate change seriously, set clear goals and acted vigorously," Yu said.
"China's energy consumption per-unit GDP has decreased by 10 percent from that in 2005, our target this year is another 5 percent drop," Yu Qingtai, China's top envoy on climate change, told a press briefing in Beijing.
Released in 2007, China's National Climate Change Program set a goal of lowering energy consumption per-unit GDP by 20 percent by 2010 from that of 2005, which Yu said would cut a total of 1.5-billion-ton greenhouse emission, an equal to 300 million ton of carbon dioxide every year.
"The figure shows that China's effort to cut greenhouse emissions and its actual effect are second to none," the envoy said.
Stressing China's status as a developing nation at a stage of industrialization and urbanization, Yu said the country was confronted with double challenges of developing the economy and protecting environment.
"China has a population of 150 million who are living on less than two U.S. dollars a day, a poverty standard recently set by the United Nations," Yu said.
With its coal-dominated energy mix, China looked to the renewable energy as a way to cut gas emissions, Yu said.
Under China's national program, the renewable energy will account for 10 percent in the country's energy total by 2010 and up to 15 percent by 2020.
"China has achieved impressive progress in utilizing renewable energy," Yu said, citing the figure of 2008 showing that the country's use of hydropower and solar power ranked first in the world, wind power the fourth.
China's bio-gas users in countryside, Yu said, amounted to 26 million by 2007, which would help reduce the use of 16-million-ton coal annually and cut 44 million tons of carbon dioxide.
Although the global economic downturn took its toll on China, Yu said the Chinese government didn't waver in its efforts to tackle climate change.
Of China's 4-trillion-yuan stimulus package unveiled last year, around 58 billion yuan was earmarked for climate change projects, Yu said. "The percentage ranked the second worldwide, according to a report by the Hongkong-Shanghai Banking Corporation."
Yu said the Chinese government also advocated the energy-efficient products among the public with an aim to cutting greenhouse emission.
"In a nutshell, China has taken the climate change seriously, set clear goals and acted vigorously," Yu said.
China's New Effort to Environmental Protection
The Information Office of the State Council of the People's Republic of China promulgated the White Book of “China's Policies and Actions for Addressing Climate Change” on October 29, 2008 in Beijing. This White Book explains the impact of climate change on China and introduces China’s policies and actions addressing climate change, as well as the relevant mechanism establishment.
This 16,000-word White Book consists of ten parts, which include the Foreword, Climate Change and China's Situation, Impact of Climate Change on China, Strategies and Objectives for Addressing Climate Change, Policies and Actions to Decelerate Climate Change, Policies and Actions to Adapt to Climate Change, Enhancing Public Awareness in Addressing Climate Change, Enhancing International Cooperation on Climate Change, Institution and Mechanism Building for Coping with Climate Change, and the Conclusion.
China signed the “United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)” in 1992, and then in 2002, approved the “Kyoto Protocol” which was endorsed by 149 nations and regions in 1997. By June 2007, the “China National Plan for Coping with Climate Change” was released by China government.
Actually, the announcement of the White Book and other above-mentioned actions reflected just one aspect of the numerous steps taken by China in environmental protection in recent past years.
Things were different thirty years ago when China began its economic reformation and actualized its opening policy. In many areas, the enhancement of GDP figures increased at the expense of the environment and natural resources. The statistical data have shown that the expense of natural and energy resources for each one dollar output of GDP in China used to be five to eight times to that in leading industrialized countries such as the United States.
Fortunately, the Chinese government and also more and more enterprises, organizations, and individuals have become aware that destruction of forest and grassland, water pollution, air pollution, and degeneration of farmland obstruct persistent and steady economic development.
s27 Lee Ji Sook
This 16,000-word White Book consists of ten parts, which include the Foreword, Climate Change and China's Situation, Impact of Climate Change on China, Strategies and Objectives for Addressing Climate Change, Policies and Actions to Decelerate Climate Change, Policies and Actions to Adapt to Climate Change, Enhancing Public Awareness in Addressing Climate Change, Enhancing International Cooperation on Climate Change, Institution and Mechanism Building for Coping with Climate Change, and the Conclusion.
China signed the “United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)” in 1992, and then in 2002, approved the “Kyoto Protocol” which was endorsed by 149 nations and regions in 1997. By June 2007, the “China National Plan for Coping with Climate Change” was released by China government.
Actually, the announcement of the White Book and other above-mentioned actions reflected just one aspect of the numerous steps taken by China in environmental protection in recent past years.
Things were different thirty years ago when China began its economic reformation and actualized its opening policy. In many areas, the enhancement of GDP figures increased at the expense of the environment and natural resources. The statistical data have shown that the expense of natural and energy resources for each one dollar output of GDP in China used to be five to eight times to that in leading industrialized countries such as the United States.
Fortunately, the Chinese government and also more and more enterprises, organizations, and individuals have become aware that destruction of forest and grassland, water pollution, air pollution, and degeneration of farmland obstruct persistent and steady economic development.
s27 Lee Ji Sook
Tiananmen Square massacre
The Tiananmen Square massacre was an example of loss of human rights in China. It happened in 1989 where thousands of students who were part of the China’s pro-democracy movement, camped in the Square for seven weeks in late May and early June, refusing to move until their demands for democratic reform were met.
The protests were sparked by the death of a pro-democracy and anti-corruption official, Hu Yaobang, whom protesters wanted to mourn. By the eve of Hu's funeral, 1,000,000 people had gathered at Tiananmen Square. The protests lacked a unified cause or leadership; participants included disillusioned Communist Party of China members and Trotskyists as well as free market reformers, who were generally against the government's authoritarianism and voiced calls for economic change and democratic reform within the structure of the government.
The march began with students who were protesting for the rights to free speech and a free press, and even erected a symbolic Statue of Liberty named the “Goddess of Democracy.” They wanted human rights and freedom, similar to the Americans and the other audiences around the world. However, as the days passed, millions of people from all walks of life joined in, angered by the widespread corruption of the government and calling for democracy.
Even though violence was expected to curb the protest, the ferocity of the attack took many by surprise, bringing condemnation from around the world. This hopeful demonstration came to a sudden and horrifying end. On the night of 3 June and into the early morning hours of 4 June, the army launched an assault on the unarmed civilians in the Square. They stormed the area with tanks and machine guns, firing into the crowd at random. Several hundred civilians have been shot dead by the Chinese army during a bloody military operation to crush a democratic protest in Peking's (Beijing) Tiananmen Square. Tanks rumbled through the capital's streets late on 3 June as the army moved into the square from several directions, randomly firing on unarmed protesters. The injured were rushed to hospital on bicycle rickshaws by frantic residents shocked by the army's sudden and extreme response to the peaceful mass protest.
Hundreds of young students were killed and thousands wounded in the attack. Scenes of brutality and chaos were broadcast from Tiananmen Square, and there were reports of students and civilians being imprisoned in other parts of China. Despite being in a dangerous situation, students were still protesting for democracy and human rights. Amid the panic and confusion, students could be heard shouting “fascists stop killing,” and “down with the government”. At a nearby children’s hospital, operating theatres were filled with casualties with gunshot wounds, many of them were local residents who were not taking part in the protests. At least 30 were killed in two volleys of gunfire, which came without warning. Terrified crowds fled, leaving bodies in the road. Troops continued to search the main Beijing university campus for ringleaders, beating and killing those they suspected of co-ordinating the protests.
The Chinese government attempted at censorship, but the cruel and brutal images broadcasted from Tiananmen Square cannot be erased from the public memory. Few who watched the coverage will never forget the sight of a lone student standing defiantly against a column of army tanks, or soldiers clubbing demonstrators until they were bloody and lifeless, or the panic-stricken faces of the people in the Square. Although the Chinese government would like to strike Tiananmen Square from the record books, television has insured that its lessons will be taught for many years to come
Censorship in China
The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing have drawn international attention to censorship in China. Watchdog groups say the preexisting monitoring system piles on new restrictions, and the government continues to detain and harass journalists. But the country’s burgeoning economy allows greater diversity in China’s media coverage, and experts say the growing Chinese demand for information is testing a regime that is trying to use media controls in its bid to maintain power.
As China becomes a major player in the global economy, authorities in Beijing are trying to balance the need for more information with their goal of controlling content as a means to maintain power. Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) Senior Fellow Elizabeth C. Economy says the Chinese government is in a state of “schizophrenia” about media policy as it “goes back and forth, testing the line, knowing they need press freedom—and the information it provides— but worried about opening the door to the type of freedoms that could lead to the regime’s downfall.” Although President Hu Jintao was expected to be more liberal than his predecessors, his administration has pursued a media policy that involves increased regulations as well as the arrest and prosecution of journalists.
The watchdog group Reporters Without Borders ranked China 163 out of 168 countries in its 2007 index of press freedom. Journalists face harassment and prison terms for violating these rules and revealing classified matter. The government’s monitoring structure promotes an atmosphere of self-censorship; if published materials are deemed dangerous to state security after they appear in the media, the information can then be considered classified and journalists can be prosecuted.
How does China exert media controls?
The Chinese government uses different means of intimidation to control the media and induce journalists to censor themselves rather than risk punishment. Censorship tactics include:
• Dismissals and demotions. One of the most common punishments, say watchdog groups, is to fire or demote editors and journalists who publish articles objectionable to the Communist Party’s Central Propaganda Department (CPD).
• Libel. Government officials occasionally use accusations of libel as a way to intimidate media outlets and publishing houses. Cases range from a journalist charged with libel for writing pieces critical of Communist Party leaders on foreign websites to an author whose book about the extortion of farmers by local officials was banned after one of the officials sued him and his publishing house.
• Fines. In August 2007, China passed the “Emergency Response Law,” which bans the spread of unverified information regarding riots, disasters, and other emergencies. Originally, the law threatened to fine media sources up to $12,500 for violations, but it was redrafted with more ambiguous language before it was passed.
• Closing news outlets. News organizations that cover issues the CPD considers classified face closure. In a 2005 report, the People’s Daily said 338 publications were shut down the previous year for printing “internal” information.
• Imprisonment. China imprisoned twenty-nine journalists in 2007, making it the world’s biggest jailor of reporters for the ninth year running, according to Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
Almost two-thirds of the jailed reporters were arrested for materials published on the Internet. One incarcerated foreign correspondent, Ching Cheong of Singapore’s Straits Times, was arrested in 2005 while reporting about leaders within the Chinese Communist Party. Cheong was sentenced to five years in prison, plus one year’s deprivation of political rights. His arrest had a chilling effect on press freedom in Hong Kong, where he was based.
How does China control the influence of foreign media?
China requires foreign correspondents to get permission before making reporting trips within the country and reporters often face harassment if they cover delicate issues.As part of its bid to host the 2008 Olympics, China promised to relax constraints and “be open in every aspect to the rest of the country and the whole world.”
In January 2007, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao signed a decree that allows foreign journalists to report without permits before and during the Beijing Games. The decree also allows foreign journalists to interview any individual or organization as long as the interviewee consents. The new guidelines came into effect on January 1, 2007, and lasted through October 27, 2008.But critics accuse China of reneging on its Olympic promise.
The Foreign Correspondents Club of China reports that 180 foreign correspondents were detained, harassed, or attacked in China in 2007 despite the nominally relaxed regulations. In addition, China continues to filter foreign (and domestic) content on the Internet—in many cases using technology provided by U.S. companies such as Yahoo!, Microsoft, and Google.
One of the largest foreign uproars came when Beijing introduced regulations in September 2006 requiring foreign wire services to distribute news through Xinhua instead of selling economic information directly to clients. CFR’s Economy says the restrictions had less to do with media control than with a bid by Xinhua to cut into wire services’ profits. The move was “brazen,” says Dietz, because even as Beijing continues prosecuting journalists who cover controversial social issues, “China knows it cannot afford to tamper with the flow of economic data, and that is where it will receive the most external pressure.” But despite the pressure that foreign groups place on China, experts say that criticism coming from outside China will have little effect on policy.
As China becomes a major player in the global economy, authorities in Beijing are trying to balance the need for more information with their goal of controlling content as a means to maintain power. Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) Senior Fellow Elizabeth C. Economy says the Chinese government is in a state of “schizophrenia” about media policy as it “goes back and forth, testing the line, knowing they need press freedom—and the information it provides— but worried about opening the door to the type of freedoms that could lead to the regime’s downfall.” Although President Hu Jintao was expected to be more liberal than his predecessors, his administration has pursued a media policy that involves increased regulations as well as the arrest and prosecution of journalists.
The watchdog group Reporters Without Borders ranked China 163 out of 168 countries in its 2007 index of press freedom. Journalists face harassment and prison terms for violating these rules and revealing classified matter. The government’s monitoring structure promotes an atmosphere of self-censorship; if published materials are deemed dangerous to state security after they appear in the media, the information can then be considered classified and journalists can be prosecuted.
How does China exert media controls?
The Chinese government uses different means of intimidation to control the media and induce journalists to censor themselves rather than risk punishment. Censorship tactics include:
• Dismissals and demotions. One of the most common punishments, say watchdog groups, is to fire or demote editors and journalists who publish articles objectionable to the Communist Party’s Central Propaganda Department (CPD).
• Libel. Government officials occasionally use accusations of libel as a way to intimidate media outlets and publishing houses. Cases range from a journalist charged with libel for writing pieces critical of Communist Party leaders on foreign websites to an author whose book about the extortion of farmers by local officials was banned after one of the officials sued him and his publishing house.
• Fines. In August 2007, China passed the “Emergency Response Law,” which bans the spread of unverified information regarding riots, disasters, and other emergencies. Originally, the law threatened to fine media sources up to $12,500 for violations, but it was redrafted with more ambiguous language before it was passed.
• Closing news outlets. News organizations that cover issues the CPD considers classified face closure. In a 2005 report, the People’s Daily said 338 publications were shut down the previous year for printing “internal” information.
• Imprisonment. China imprisoned twenty-nine journalists in 2007, making it the world’s biggest jailor of reporters for the ninth year running, according to Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
Almost two-thirds of the jailed reporters were arrested for materials published on the Internet. One incarcerated foreign correspondent, Ching Cheong of Singapore’s Straits Times, was arrested in 2005 while reporting about leaders within the Chinese Communist Party. Cheong was sentenced to five years in prison, plus one year’s deprivation of political rights. His arrest had a chilling effect on press freedom in Hong Kong, where he was based.
How does China control the influence of foreign media?
China requires foreign correspondents to get permission before making reporting trips within the country and reporters often face harassment if they cover delicate issues.As part of its bid to host the 2008 Olympics, China promised to relax constraints and “be open in every aspect to the rest of the country and the whole world.”
In January 2007, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao signed a decree that allows foreign journalists to report without permits before and during the Beijing Games. The decree also allows foreign journalists to interview any individual or organization as long as the interviewee consents. The new guidelines came into effect on January 1, 2007, and lasted through October 27, 2008.But critics accuse China of reneging on its Olympic promise.
The Foreign Correspondents Club of China reports that 180 foreign correspondents were detained, harassed, or attacked in China in 2007 despite the nominally relaxed regulations. In addition, China continues to filter foreign (and domestic) content on the Internet—in many cases using technology provided by U.S. companies such as Yahoo!, Microsoft, and Google.
One of the largest foreign uproars came when Beijing introduced regulations in September 2006 requiring foreign wire services to distribute news through Xinhua instead of selling economic information directly to clients. CFR’s Economy says the restrictions had less to do with media control than with a bid by Xinhua to cut into wire services’ profits. The move was “brazen,” says Dietz, because even as Beijing continues prosecuting journalists who cover controversial social issues, “China knows it cannot afford to tamper with the flow of economic data, and that is where it will receive the most external pressure.” But despite the pressure that foreign groups place on China, experts say that criticism coming from outside China will have little effect on policy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)