11th of March 2011
The Lion Awakes
Daily News, Culture & Current Affairs about China
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People's Daily
China may expand two-child policy to urban areas
Based on the research of experts, family planning departments are currently considering lifting restrictions limiting the two-child policy to rural and minority areas, a CPPCC member said on March 6.
Wang Yuqing, CPPCC member and deputy director of the Committee of Population, Resources and Environment said he is personally in favor of the gradual opening of the two-child policy. Currently, in the rural and minority areas of China, if the first child of a family is a girl, the family is allowed to have a second child.
As the aging population problem has become increasingly prominent in China and the demographic dividend has reached a certain stage, this policy should also be gradually opened in urban areas, he said.
Wang revealed that currently, related family planning departments are also considering this problem based on the research of many experts. He personally believes restrictions on the two-child policy will be lifted in urban areas at the end of the 12th Five-Year Plan period.
NPC & CPPCC Sessions
2006 - 2010
China Daily
CPPCC opens in Beijing
The Fourth Session of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) opened at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing March 3, 2011.
More monthly deficits 'likely'
Trade figures may reduce pressure for yuan appreciation, experts say
BEIJING - China is "highly likely" to see more trade deficits in the coming months after it reported a surprise February deficit, the biggest in 7 years, due to slowing overseas demand and rising commodity prices, economists said.
The General Administration of Customs (GAC) announced on Thursday a deficit of $7.3 billion in February, the first since last March's deficit of $7.2 billion.
The deficit, some economists believe, could help reduce pressure to appreciate the yuan.
"It is absolutely good news for China, at least in the short term, as calls by some countries for yuan appreciation are getting stronger," said Zhou Shijian, senior researcher at the Center for US-China Relations at Tsinghua University.
Adviser: Inflation to hit 5%
The surge in commodity costs could derail the fight against price rises, said adviser
BEIJING - Consumer inflation in China will rise by 5 percent on average in 2011 and surging international commodity prices will be a major cause of uncertainty as the country battles to contain that inflation, said a central bank adviser on Wednesday.
However, accelerating the appreciation of the yuan should not be used as a tool by policymakers to curb surging prices. That's the view of Li Daokui, a member of the central bank's monetary policy committee, who spoke to China Daily in an exclusive interview.
Premier Wen Jiabao vowed to keep inflation within a range of 4 percent or lower this year, when he delivered the government's annual work report to the nation's top legislative body, the National People's Congress, on March 5.
See Kaixin's - ECONOMIC CHINA
Top legislator warns of chaos unless correct path is taken
Wu rules out blindly imitating Western countries in choice of political system
BEIJING - The country's top legislator on Thursday warned of a possible "abyss of internal disorder" if China strays from the "correct political orientation".
China will never adopt a multiparty revolving-door system or other Western-style political models, Wu Bangguo, chairman of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, said while delivering a work report.
The establishment of a socialist law system, with Chinese characteristics, institutionally and legally ensures the country stays on the right path, he told about 3,000 NPC deputies.
'Drought won't dry up the grain supply'
BEIJING - Despite the severe drought this winter, China is hoping to haul in another good harvest following seven successive record harvests of agricultural products, Agriculture Minister Han Changfu said on Thursday.
He made the remarks in response to international concern that China's grain harvest could be lower this year and that the country would need to import more as a result, triggering a hike in global prices.
Tight regulations guarantee land supply for public
BEIJING - China has unveiled an accountability system for local leaders in a bid to guarantee the building of 10 million units of government-subsidized housing.
A list, including those officials who are in charge of the local projects, will be released to the public in early April.
See Kaixin's - CHINA REAL ESTATE
BYD to unveil electric buses in Denmark
COPENHAGEN - China's electric vehicle maker BYD Automobile Co Ltd is set to trial a full-size, all-electric bus in the Danish capital Copenhagen, according to a news release issued by Denmark's biggest public transport operator Movia and Denmark's Ministry of Foreign affairs Thursday.
Designed and manufactured by BYD, a leading Chinese electrical vehicle and battery producer, the model K9 bus is expected to reduce carbon emissions by 55 percent compared to conventional buses.
See Kaixin's - GREEN CHINA
Tsinghua No 35 in world university ranking
SINGAPORE - Fifteen Asian universities made their way into the world's 100 best universities in a reputation ranking released on Thursday, including two Singapore universities.
Tsinghua University and Peking University are respectively No 35 and No 43 on the list. The University of Hong Kong is the 42nd and Japan's Osaka is No 50 worldwide and the seventh best in Asia.
Kaixin OpEd – The first 30 years of China’s re-emergence starting in 1979 where characterised by Chinese students studying overseas.
This was indeed a good educational strategy for China. Many of those students returned to China, and are returning to China, with learning and experience that would have taken China perhaps many decades to develop.
Kaixin has observed for some time that there is a small but growing stream of students from the ‘west’ moving to China to study.
Kaixin opines that this trend will continue, particularly to the top universities in China.
As China re-takes its place as a world power it will become important, if not vital, to have studied in China.
Rules sought to stop artworks smuggling
BEIJING - China's cultural relic watchdog has vowed to strengthen regulations to combat online smuggling, Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday.
"Without effective regulation, the current chaos in the online trading of artworks and antiques will pose severe dangers to the cultural heritage of China," Xinhua quoted Shan Jixiang, director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage and a member of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
Other CPPCC members also appealed for legislation that would regulate online arts trading, which currently takes place under no restrictions.
Witness of Tibet Photography Contest and Exhibit
2011 marks the 60th anniversary of the peaceful liberation of Tibet, and the magazine China's Tibet and Federation of Literary and Art Circles of Tibet Autonomous Region are jointly holding a "Witness of Tibet, 1950-2010" photography contest. In addition to prizes, all winning works will be exhibited in Beijing and Lhasa in May 2011.
See Kaixin's - CHINA & TIBET & Jambhala (Photographer)
CCTV
CCTV Tian Wei Report: Improving China's legal system VIDEO
In the morning, top legislator Wu Bangguo delivered the work report of the NPC Standing Committee. For more on this, let's talk to Tian Wei.
Q1, Hello, Tian Wei. In your opinion, how can the top legislature supervise the implementation of its future goals?
Q2, In what way can the NPC mobilize resources to improve the legal system?
CCTV Exclusive interview with H.K. Chang on innovation in universities VIDEO
Earlier our reporter Tian Wei spoke to CPPCC member H.K. Chang, who is a former president of Hong Kong City University. He shared his view on encouraging innovation and creativity in Chinese universities.
CCTV Tian Wei reporting: Wealth gap between rich and poor VIDEO
Now let's go back to Tian Wei, who's standing by at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
Topic 1: Billionaires at two sessions
Q1, Tian Wei, according to some foreign media reports... there are several billionaire deputies and members attending the two sessions this year... can you tell us more about that?
Topic 2: Wealth gap between rich and poor
Q2, Just how big is the gap between rich and poor in China, and how important an issue has it become for the country's development?
CCTV Tian Wei report: China's ambitions in foreign affairs VIDEO
For more analysis on Monday's NPC session, let's crossover to Tian Wei who's been following today's developments. Good evening, Tian Wei.
Q1: Can you tell us more about China's blueprint for foreign affairs during this 12th Five-Year Plan as outlined by Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi?
Q2: China faces existing diplomatic challenges in dealing with its Asian neighbors. How does the country plan to improve regional relations over the next five years?
CCTV Live cross: Top issues on the group discussion of NPC deputies and CPPCC members VIDEO
For the latest on today's developments at the NPC and CPPCC gatherings, let's crossover to my colleague Tian Wei.
Q1: Earlier today, you attended the group discussion of NPC deputies and CPPCC members. What issues topped the agenda at the talks and did participants reach consensus in the end?
Q2: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will hold a press conference on Monday. What are some of the announcements expected to be made?
CCTV Tian Wei reporting: How is public opinion reflected in govt's work report? VIDEO
For more on the news briefing for this year's NPC session, we are joined live by our reporter Tian Wei, who is at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Hello, Tian Wei.
Topic 1: Focus of media at press conference
Q1. What was the focus of the media at the press conference?
Topic 2: How is public opinion reflected in govt's work report?
Q2. What have the NPC deputies been doing to make sure public opinion is reflected in the government's work report?
CCTV Village democracy in Jiangmei VIDEO
While Beijing is entering its political season, a small village in southeast China's Fujian Province is also exercising its democratic politics. Two years ago, Miao Yougao was elected the head of the villagers' committee of Jiangmei in Fuding city.
Chair a villagers' representatives meeting is a challenge for Miao Yougao. They always have endless issues to argue.
A motion to raise funds for a village water facility has been passed. But that was the easy part.
Miao Yougao, Jiangmei Village Chief, Funding City, Fujian Province, said, "The villagers live scattered in several places. It's difficult to build a public facility to benefit every family. Being village head is really a tough job."
Global Times
The UK taught the world how to produce in the 19th century, the US showed the world how to consume in the 20th century, and China needs to demonstrate how to develop in a sustainable way in the 21st century.
FM denies tensions at home
Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi focused on the future of Beijing's relationships with Tokyo and Washington at a press briefing Monday, and flatly denied that the country was experiencing internal tension.
When asked whether China's domestic situation had been affected by revolutions in the Middle East and North Africa, Yang said he had not noticed any warning signs.
"What I have seen is that the Chinese people had a joyful Spring Festival. Now we are busy working, focusing our attention on pursuing domestic development," the foreign minister said on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC).
He dismissed reports of Chinese police officers harassing foreign journalists, saying China is a country under the rule of law, and that the authorities regulate journalists' behavior in line with this.
Some foreign reports have noted that an Internet campaign in February called for a "Jasmine Revolution" to take place in a number of Chinese cities, but that the move gained little traction.
Global Times reporters saw a crowd of onlookers gathering outside McDonald's in Wangfujing in Beijing on February 20, and police officers were deployed to maintain the peace while a person threw a bunch of jasmine flowers.
Some reports indicated that police had roughed up foreign journalists during Beijing gatherings, but Global Times reporters did not notice any violence during the Wangfujing event.
Stability desire sees off street politics
Maintaining stability has become a hot topic for Chinese society. It is of concern to all Chinese people whether China can maintain its national stability and ensure it remains sustainable at a time when various thoughts and opinions are emerging.
Recently, Chinese authorities have taken measures to stop a very small number of people defending "street politics" in several cities, an action supported by the majority of the public.
On the other hand, in view of its size and speed of evolution, Chinese society has enhanced its tolerance for these few trouble-makers, which is also important for the stability of the country.
"Absolute stability" should not be the target of stability maintenance. "Absolute peace" is as worrying as "chaos" because the former indicates that something is being hidden or suppressed and will one day break forth.
We do not mean to advocate "street politics," but that the prevention and control of "street politics" should become an element of social life outside popular concern.
Enough memory of chaos for China
The Beijing Daily in a commentary Saturday criticized a few people that "used the Internet to incite illegal rallies, trying to stir up chaos and 'street politics.'" The message delivered by the newspaper was clear and meaningful.
...
Unrest is still imprinted deeply into Chinese society. Revolution catalyzed a new China, but society also paid heavy costs for the revolution.
At the moment, China has to solve problems pragmatically, and evolve through gradual reform and growth.
China has been involved in this process for more than three decades. It's impossible for the nation to overhaul it in the name of another revolution.
China is not a social paradise. Wealth distribution and social equality are far from satisfactory. However, China is not a black hole either, as evidenced by its social progress grabbing global attention.
China is in an experimental mode where civil livelihoods can be raised further.
...
Indeed, Chinese people have many complaints. This does not mean they seek social uprising and subversive changes. Most Chinese still desire stability. This will be proven by history.
Dialogue
A 30 Minute Current Affairs Programme on CCTV - 9 (In English) where current issues are discussed by experts from China and Internationally:
Challenges to world's 2nd largest economy
China's policies to avoid property bubbles
International News Sources
The Wall Street Journal
China Trade Rise Prompts Shifts Around the Globe
"When somebody writes the history of our time 50 or 100 years from now," says Lawrence Summers, the Harvard University economist and former Obama aide, "it is unlikely to be about the Great Recession of 2008…or about the fiscal problem that America confronted in the second decade of the 21st century. It will be about how the world adjusted to the movement of the theater of history toward China."
See Kaixin's - ECONOMIC CHINA
Economists React: China’s Surprise Trade Deficit
China posted a trade deficit of $7.3 billion in February, according to customs data reported Thursday. The Shanghai Composite Index closed the morning session down 1% following news. Analysts weigh in:
China Shows Willingness to Discuss Yuan Policy
PARIS—French president Nicolas Sarkozy has staked his yearlong presidency of the Group of 20 industrialized and emerging nations on getting China to talk about its foreign-exchange policy at international gatherings. After a rough start, it now seems the Chinese are prepared to meet him halfway.
Kaixin OpEd – Half-way is a direct function of the two starting points.
Kaixin is quite sure that both China and the ‘west’ (America in particular) have differing concepts of just where the starting point is.
Hence, where the half-way point is …
See Kaixin's - YUAN REVALUATION & INTERNATIONALISATION
Chinese Investors Find Fewer Mining Opportunities
TORONTO—Chinese investors are finding fewer mining deals than they have in the past few years, as a recovery in the capital markets translates into more funding alternatives for mining companies, said a managing director at Bank of China Ltd.'s investment-banking arm.
The financial crash of 2008 and ...
China Becomes “Billionaire Factory to the World”
Enjoy it while we can: America still has the most billionaires. But China, Russia, India and Brazil are moving up fast.
New Minister's Priority: China
TOKYO—Managing relations with China will be one of the top priorities for Japan's new Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto, as a couple of months of relative calm between the two countries seems to be coming to an end.
Competition for Brides Fuels High China Savings
One prescription for addressing China’s trade imbalance with the U.S. is to persuade the country’s tiger moms to loosen their purse strings.
Shang-Jin Wei, director of the Chazen Institute and a professor at Columbia Business School, said Wednesday that China’s demographic situation — 1.15 pre-marital-age men for every one woman — is the fundamental factor behind the nation’s high savings rate.
Too few brides may be contributing to China’s trade imbalance.
See Kaixin's - Marriage in China - Ancient & Modern
The New York Times
I.H.T. Op-Ed Contributor
Why It Won't Happen in China
It is an open question whether the sight of decades-old regimes crumbling in the face of mass unrest will spread to nations beyond the Arab world. In fact, institutionalized single-party regimes such as that ruling China are much more resilient than the sclerotic personal dictatorships that have been toppling in the Middle East.
China Posts Trade Deficit of $7.3 Billion in February
By DAVID BARBOZA and BETTINA WASSENER
SHANGHAI — China reported a $7.3 billion monthly trade deficit in February, its largest in seven years, after imports climbed sharply but exports lagged.
China rarely reports trade deficits, but analysts said the figures Thursday had most likely been distorted by the effects of the Lunar New Year holiday period, because many exporters had to ship in January.
Caixin Online
Obama Picks Locke as China Ambassador
An analyst says U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke's rich experience in business and politics will enhance his appeal as a candidate for the position.
Official Warns of Land Grabs in Hukou Reform
An official in the rural affairs office of the State Council said that the farmers in 13 cities that have annulled the rural registration have not seen any improvement
(Beijing) – While the reform of the household registration system is currently being discussed at this year's annual Lianghui meeting, an official close to the State Council's rural affairs office says that proposals to confer migrant workers the same status as urban-dwellers could be misused by local governments.
See Kaixin's - CHINA REAL ESTATE
Hard Way for Huawei's American Ventures
Setbacks have been plentiful for a Chinese telecom equipment maker still pressing forward with U.S. market goals.
Budgetary planning for the health care system; Investment in national water management; Health care reform at the county-level; Contributions of non-state-owned enterprises
In 2010, the budget for primary health care institutions was 63.2 billion yuan when only 69.4 percent of the budget was spent. The money spent represented 94 percent of 2009's expenditures. Budgetary planning needs to account for the entire health care system and should be managed better." ...
Asia Times Online
Unstringing China's strategic pearls
By Billy Tea
Oft-repeated thinking that China is trying to build military bases along its crucial sea lines from the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean is more a product of speculation than fact. Examine China's involvement in Indian Ocean ports, and the "String of Pearls" theory breaks, while all evidence points to countries making an effort to balance Chinese, Indian and American strategic influences.
SINOGRAPH
Money buys a yacht and a rubber stamp
By Francesco Sisci
The social pact that helped create China's new rich allows the wealthy to join the rubber-stamping National People's Congress, provided that political power remains out of reach. Since they are well represented on the advisory body, it seems a price the rich are willing to pay: much like fees to berth a luxury yacht while not actually using it.
Libya puts China in world stage spotlight
By M K Bhadrakumar
Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar was a career diplomat in the Indian Foreign Service. His assignments included the Soviet Union, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Germany, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Kuwait and Turkey.
The parallel with the Iraq War of Western proposals for intervention in Libya is striking, with the crucial difference that things are in fast-forward mode as Russia and China clear the diplomatic path. Whether this is a one-off or China's defining moment as a United States collaborator in global common interests will come to light if the US presses the United Nations for a no-fly zone in Libya.
... A precedent of immense significance for international security is taking shape, and China has every reason to introspect. As Launcelot Gobbo posed to his blind father, "Do I look like a cudgel or a hovel-post, a staff or a prop? Do you know me, father?"
China's new brew
By Daniel Allen
Coffee is firmly taking its place among the popular drinks of a modernized China, with United States-based Starbucks facing increasing competition from fashionable cappuccino and latte outlets and beans from southwestern Yunnan province making the grade among quality-oriented buyers.
Fear of death by eating
By Mitch Moxley
Nearly 70% of all Chinese do not believe the food they consume is safe, little surprise given the continual reports of deaths from food poisoning and adulteration despite government efforts to improve matters. Organic farming is a growing trend, but not strong enough yet to persuade the public that farmers have morals.
Kaixin OpEd – Yes, the people Kaixin speak to in China are concerned about the safety of the food they are eating, and the water.
This is putting pressure on government, which in turn is starting to seriously address the issue.
China is a big country with a huge population and a tendency to flexible enforcement of central government initiatives at the lower levels of government, particular in the outer areas.
Also, the farmers have to make a living, so they do whatever they can to maximise their income. The more unscrupulous farmers push the envelope at times.
As the economic benefits of the new China flow out into the rural areas, the incentive for farmers to tamper with the food chain will diminish. As their incomes rise, so will their need/desire to use unsafe farming methods.
Also, the risk/reward will shift, so that the risk of being caught will not outweigh any rewards. Particularly as enforcement is strengthened in regional areas.
It will take time, but it has started and is moving in the right direction.
China Daily - China's imports of NZ milk jump five-fold
WELLINGTON, New Zealand - China's milk imports from New Zealand have surged more than fivefold since 2008 as rising incomes stoked demand, sending prices to a record and bolstering the economy as it recovers from the deadliest earthquake in 80 years.
China, the biggest importer of New Zealand dairy products by value, purchased about 353 million kilograms of the country's milk products in 2010, up from 69 million kilograms in 2008, according to government data supplied by Fonterra Cooperative Group Ltd, the world's largest exporter. Fonterra processes 95 percent of the country's milk and earns a fifth of its export revenues, the company said.
The Wall Street Journal
The Commercial that Made Taiwan Cry
It’s the video that brought throngs of Taiwanese viewers to tears in just three minutes. In one month, it’s been viewed more than a million times on YouTube.
The video? A commercial for TC Bank that tells the story of five elderly men, averaging age 83, who decide to go on a 13-day motorcycle ride through Taiwan. The hook? It’s based on a real story.
Kaixin OpEd - Yes, Kaixin also ...
It has a powerful message.
See Kaixin's - CHINA & TAIWAN
See Over for the 10th of March 2011
CULTURAL CHINA
Articles of interest from the week's news
Insights into China's Society & Cutlure
Witness of Tibet Photography Contest and Exhibit
2011 marks the 60th anniversary of the peaceful liberation of Tibet, and the magazine China's Tibet and Federation of Literary and Art Circles of Tibet Autonomous Region are jointly holding a "Witness of Tibet, 1950-2010" photography contest. In addition to prizes, all winning works will be exhibited in Beijing and Lhasa in May 2011.
A village's fight for environment
HEFEI - Zhang Gongli was delighted to see blue skies and white clouds again in his hometown, a small village in east China's Anhui province.
He and his village, Qiugang in Bengbu City, became famous because of a 39-minute short documentary named "the Warriors of Qiugang," which was nominated for the 83rd Academy Awards for best Documentary Short Subject in Hollywood.
The film followed villagers like Zhang for three years as they fought pollution from nearby chemical factories.
"I am so happy to see the beautiful sky again as it used to be, " said Zhang, the main character in the film and the leader of more than 1,000 villagers in the battle.
He said he appreciated the film's director because he believed the shooting had helped with their battle.
Zhang Gongli attends a forum on water crisis and public policy in Beijing
See Kaixin's - GREEN CHINA
The vanishing village - VIDEO
Sky high，clouds pale, grass green, children are running happily in the fields. Those are our impressions of the village. However, when you enter the village by yourself, you will find, behind the prosperity, there are hundreds of scars.
Sweet home on the plateau
BEIJING - On the window of Phuntsog's house hang photos of smiling faces from across the country.
Although the 63-year-old Tibetan has rarely stepped out of his hometown, he has met people from everywhere in his small home inn in Nyingchi county, in the southeastern part of the Tibet autonomous region.
Nyingchi lies on one of the major routes tourists choose to enter Tibet, especially for hikers, as its lower 3,000-meter elevation serves as a warm-up for visitors to get used to the high altitude on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
Phuntsog, 63, stands in front of the inn he runs in his hometown Nyingchi, the Tibet autonomous region, in this file photo. He has earned a good name among backpackers throughout the country because of his hospitality and thoughtfulness toward others.
See Kaixin's - CHINA & TIBET
Rare Chinese rock art remains obscure
A technical worker arranges pretreated chrysanthemum rocks in Xuan'en county, Hubei province on March 9. The gray rocks, which contain chrysanthemum-shaped crystals inside, are found only in China, but the art is not widely known. The rocks are then carved around the petals. The carvers make a meager profit from their difficult work under rough conditions.
A teacher guides a student to make a paper-cut with figure of Lei Feng, who is honored on March 5 annually, at Bozhou Special Educational School, Central China's An'hui province on March 2. Day of Lei Feng (1940 to 1962) is in honor of the soldier of the People's Liberation Army in China, who is seen as a cultural icon symbolizing unselfishness, modesty, and dedication to the country.
See Kaixin's - The Lei Feng Story - 雷锋 (Léi Fēng) plus English Translation of the Lei Feng Song
Entertainers show some traditional performances for visitors from across the whole country at the famous temple fair in Daokou, Central China's Henan province
A new year begins in Tibet
Song, dance, and fireworks as Tibetans celebrate Losar. Wang Yan reports.
Their homes smelling of fresh paint, Tibetan families dressed in their newest best, welcomed their New Year, or Losar, with food, wine, dancing, singing - and fireworks. The biggest festival of the year for Tibetans, which began on Saturday, will last for about two weeks.
Like most of his fellow Tibetans in Lhasa, Tenzin Dawa and his family are up at the crack of dawn on the first day of the new year.
Mistress event ends in uproar (Can be a very slow download)
AN online event intended to let China's mistresses celebrate their status and air grievances quickly descended into a slanging match yesterday.
Things got off to a bad start when, in her introduction, an invited wife proclaimed her loyalty to her husband.
"They are shameless," said Bai Wanqing, a grassroots lawmaker and TV show mediator, who said she had reported the website to the police.
Kaixin OpEd – A good friend of Kaixin’s who is a very attractive, intelligent lady with a good career is mistress to a senior police officer in China.
So Kaixin expects that is would depend on which police officer you reported the site to.
So, why is our friend a mistress?
Wouldn’t she have preferred to be in the comfort and security of a good marriage?
The answer to the first question is that she also has a son. Women who cannot produce a child are not in high demand in China as wives.
Yes, she would prefer to be in a good marriage, the tricky bit is finding one.
It is all very complicated and it is not so easy to point the finger at any one person or reason.
The circumstances for each person differ.
They range from the husband walking out on a young wife with a baby to young women looking for an easy life. And pinching a rich husband from a middle-age wife is an easy way of achieving that. However, the subsequent marriage is often not what either party had in mind, in Kaixin’s observation.
Mao got rid of polygamous marriages and mistresses. Well, he made it illegal and generally unacceptable, but it was still a perk of the powerful.
In 1979 Deng Xiaoping threw open the universities to anyone who could pass the entrance exam.
People from rural China were encouraged to study hard and change their lives by going to university.
Young people from the city and the country were thrown together for the first time in China. The differences of education overcome by everyone being at the same level, for the first time in China.
Young people being young people and hormones being hormones, many marriages resulted.
However, while the differences in education had been eliminated for these young people, the differences in social background had not.
To understand China, you need to understand the vast gulf between city and country, between the well-educated urban elite and the un-educated village farmers.
When you marry in China, you marry the family, not just the person.
Families from the country were very traditional and a young wife was supposed to know her place.
Try telling that to an urbane young university educated woman in a China that was talking its place in the world.
There was much misunderstanding and many divorces.
This generally left the young woman on her own with a child.
The ex husband and family felt no need to support the wife, so she was left to struggle on.
She had next to no chance of marrying in a China with the new one-child policy.
Many were left with little alternative than to become mistresses.
Many did it to give their child a better life.
So, judging them is perhaps a little harsh.
Many of the men from that generation went on to become quite wealthy in China. This new wealth bought its temptations.
Men being men, the temptation of a bright young thing proved to be too much.
Thus, the second wave of women were left on their own.
The divorce laws had improved, but not that much.
However, the competition for becoming a mistress had become quite fierce. These women were now competing with a wave of young woman from the country who wanted to snare a man with money.
Preferably in marriage, but as a mistress was not such a bad alternative.
Kaixin now talks to men who fell into the honey trap and married a young woman from the country.
They soon found that being middle-aged and married to an ill-educated young person from the country was not all they had imagined.
Many pined for the comfort and security of their established marriage with someone they could talk to.
One friend of ours, rather than break her marriage, told her husband to live with the young thing for a while and see how it all went. It was a brave move and she was devastated, however she did reserve the right to take a young man if she wanted.
Her husband’s eyebrows still haven’t returned to normal.
The husband went off to connubial bliss with his twenty something girlfriend. A few weeks later he returned, apologised and asked to be returned to the fold.
Our friend let him back into the home, but on the condition that this was his one and only chance.
He readily agreed.
In today’s modern China an established perk for the rich is a mistress.
It is a consequence of the profound changes taking place in China and will sort itself out over time.
For the moment, forums mixing the three parties are perhaps best avoided.
CCTV Foreigner views Confucianism’s rise in China VIDEO
For some foreign scholars in China, Confucianism is much more than ancient wisdom, it could even be integrated into the democratic processes.
Daniel Bell is the first foreigner hired since the Cultural Revolution to teach humanities at Tsinghua University, one of the most prestigious places of higher learning in Beijing. In his books, he talks about how western-style liberal democracy is far from perfect.
Prof. Daniel A. Bell, School of Humanities, Tsinghua University, said, “Cause one of the problems with western style democracy is even when it's working well, it does a good job of representing the interests of voters, who are affected by the polices of the government. But nobody represents the interests of non-voters, who are affected as well. And that refers to future generations, or people living outside of the country. Like, think of global warming, whatever China does, or the US does, doesn't just influence voters. It influences non-voters, too.”
Professor Bell says the Confucian way of selecting government officials is based on one's merits and ability to make moral judgments. He says it may pave the way for a political system to shoulder global responsibilities.
SINOGRAPH - 21/1/2011
Confucius takes a stand
By Francesco Sisci
Chinese authorities last week placed a statue of Confucius in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, near the portrait of former paramount leader Mao Zedong. The move to give such a public face to the great philosopher is in line with Beijing's decision to cut down on Maoist paraphernalia in the political heart of China. Maoists are up in arms.
See Kaixin's - Confucius, Traditional Chinese Medicine ... best represent Chinese culture
See Kaixin's - Confucius - Video Documentary
See Kaixin's - Mao’s Last Swimmer - Chairman Mao's swim anniversary Nanning China
See Kaixin's - Lei Feng (Scroll Down to Graeme Ed) ‘Think of other people first, help others who are in need’
Kaixin OpEd – Xiaosui recalls the Cultural Revolution (which she lived through) and how Mao wanted to wipe Confucius from Chinese history.
Why?
Mao came from a village in rural China. He had seen how lofty ideas such as Confucianism had not benefited the rural population and peasants of China one jot.
He wanted to leave all that behind and forge a new China.
Yes, his ideals were corrupted by power, but the Cultural Revolution was actually founded on a sound idea, to rid China of the old ways that had contributed to grinding the average rural worker/farmer into the dust.
However, an idea, a philosophy, as strong as Confucianism cannot be wiped from the face of history.
It is re-emerging in China as China is taking its place in the world as a leading power. A place it held for most of recorded history.
The leaders of China know that the Chinese people, in particular the youth, need a powerful philosophy to guide them.
The influences and temptations of China’s re-gained wealth are great, and distracting.
Communism is a strong philosophy, but it is mainly political and economic. Also, China has let it evolve to benefit the needs of China, rather than wear it as a straightjacket.
Confucianism has 1,000’s of years of history in moral guidance.
Communism may provide the physical sustenance to the people of China, however Confucianism will provide the philosophical sustenance.
The Lion Awakes
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