China in the News

[Anonymous]

From every article I have read, the earthquake, from a media perspective, is a blessing in disguise. No longer is the attention on the protesting and the situation in Tibet. The focus has shifted to China trying to deal with a horrible situation. The feeling toward China has changed from anger to sympathy. It's interesting how something so tragic can have some positive outcomes. As they say, every cloud has a silver lining!

[Anonymous]

In Marie Claire magazine (May 2008) there is an article entitled "China Dolls." There is a ridiculous picure of women dressed identically in red suits holding books on their head and chopskicks in their mouths. The article states that in preparation for August's Beging Olympics, China is assembling an army of 380 dewy-skinned, facially proportional, physically fit hostesses for the games. It says that the picture includes girls only between the heights 5'6" and 5'10". They are trying to improve their posture while biting chopsticks to achieve a "natural" smile. It says that China is trying to turn out picture perfect ambassadors for a country that is girding for mass protests over its human-rights record, particularly concerning women.

[Anonymous]

There was an article in Newsweek April 21, 2008 entitled "Don't Feed China's Nationalism." In this article, it stated that at first glance, China's recent crackdown in Tibet looks like a familiar storyline: a dictatorship repressing its people. However, that is only part of the reality. The communist regime, though, is not in opposition to its people. The vast majority of Chinese have little sympathy for the Tibetan cause. Ordinary Chinese are critical of the Beijing government for being too easy on Tibetans. The real struggle, the article states, is between a nationalistic majority and an ethnic and religious minority looking to secure its rights.

[Anonymous]

The Newsweek on April 21, 2008 had so many great articles about China. One I found particularly interesting was "Boycott Opening Ceremonies" by Jonathan Alter. His argument was that humanitarian concerns are interrelated. He feels that in the time before the Beijing Olympics opens in August, the West has a chance to bring China further into the community of responsible nations. If we fail, we may spend the rest of the 21st century regretting that we didn't use some leverage when we had it. Half a dozen European leaders and the Democratic presidential candidates are urging a mini-boycott of the opening ceremonies. The author (Jonathan Alter) believes they are absolutely right to do so.

[Anonymous]

I found an article about smoking fascinating. It was called "China moves to snuff out smoking before Games." It was in the LA Times on Friday, May 2. In this article, it stated that there are anti-tobacco laws in Beijing and they are part of an Olympic cleanup and a bid to curb the widespread habit. These regulations require separate smoking and nonsmoking areas in bars, resaurants, hotels, parks, Internet cafes, and airport lounges. There is an outright ban in places such as offices, hospitals, sports stadiums, museums and universities. Also, starting August 8th, there are also rules against littering, spitting, walking around without a shirt, and cutting in line. These replace less stringent, rarely enforced measures that have been in place since 1995.

[Anonymous]

Pilots in China have punishing schedules, low pay and lifetime contracts. According to an LA TImes articel ("Skies are turbulent for pilots in China" ) China Eastern Airlines pilots recently made their displeasure known. The planes took off from Kunming, turned around in midair or reaching their destination without letting passengers off, and returned to Kunming. It was a collective act of defiance by pilots unhappy about their pay, schedules, and lask of rest as well as lifetime contracts that can only be broken by paying a fortune. They were fined $215,000 and some of their domestic routes were taken away.

[Anonymous]

Have you heard about hte earthquake?
I konw you all have, what a crazy ture of events, over 10 thousand dead and counting.
I wish there is something we could do, can anyone let me know about any relief efforts taking place.

[Anonymous]

There was a heartbreaking article in the Breeze this morning regarding the loss of one Chinese family due to the recent earthquake. They had decided to follow the rules regarding the number of offspring and stopped after one girl. Unfortunately for them their daughter was killed in last week's earthquake leaving them childless. Every life if precious and the recent tragedy has created many sad stories but this one affected me. When you watch your little ones growing up its hard to imagine they won't live long after you have passed on. I'm just saddened by all the lousy news.

[Author]

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