Session #4 - February 25

[clay dube]

One readily accessible article from the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post is here:
https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/health-beauty/article/1903395/chinas-organic-food-boom-driven-personal

A consulting company produced this study: https://www.china-briefing.com/news/chinas-health-foods-market-makes-attractive-foreign-investors/

Sixth Tone, a Chinese state media outlet that often does great work, has a more recent article: https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1003165/greener-pastures-chinas-fraught-relationship-with-organic-food

One of the websites I recommended to Aleida on the environment is China Dialogue. It has an article about organic food in China: https://www.chinadialogue.net/article/show/single/en/10354-China-s-middle-class-gets-a-taste-for-healthy-eating

[clay dube]

Kelly, you noted several things, but one is the role of the Confucius Institutes in the US. We'll talk about that next week. Many politicians have been bashing them of late and several have closed. My question is, who should be paying to teach Americans Chinese? Should we rely on foreign governments or is this important enough for US taxes to be put towards it?

[clay dube]

Ben - it doesn't sound as though you were a fan of Stan's article. Nonetheless, you may find his story to be of interest. You can hear it in our China Life series: https://china.usc.edu/3-solving-china-puzzle

 

[clay dube]

Hi folks - it was optional viewing this week, but I think that you might like this 10 minute film, produced by an American student working with a Chinese student. It's called Leftover Park, 2014 (9 minutes).

[Kelly McKee]

Thank you, Clay!  I look forward to taking a look at the resources!

[Billie Johnson]

It seems appropriate that perhaps the youth are in a time of discovery.  I must have been hard for some to live up to certain standards with the "24 Filial Piety Exemplars" hanging over their heads.  

[Billie Johnson]

I wasn't sure which video I would review for this class and now I think we have a winner.  Thank you!

[Alison Douglas]

I didn't know this either, and thought it was intesting that we send our trash over there.  Now that they don't want to take it, I wonder what will happen over here in?  Also, I was blown away by the company that is worth 5 Billion to send over paper and such.

[Alison Douglas]

Generation-  I found it interesting how they focus on taking care of the elders, but I wonder how that will change with the new Millenials becoming more and more materialistic.  The lecture talked about how there is a loss of humanity, and the story about the young girl that was ran over.  It is sad to see people so consumed with themselves.  I feel like that is exactly how people are here in CA, always the busy hustle.  People focused on the need to make money.  It will be interesting to see what happens as the younger people age and how their society changes.  Especially when they come over here for education and realize how they want freedom.  For example, when Shuping Yang talked about, "Freedom in Oxygen."  I could imagine that this idea will spread amongst the Millenials.  

Environmental crisis-  It is scary the problem China has with pollution!  It is such a drastic increase and unbelievable that 4,000 premature deaths each day due to pollution.  It seems like they are trying to take care of the problem with other sources of energy, but seems to be happening more slowly than it should.  Also, what will happen with all of the recyclables?  Where will we send them and what will happen as a result.  I found it interesting that we export so much cardboard out and it's a business worth 5 billion.  Finally, how will they handle the water shortage?  You don't hear a lot about these issues and how other countries really impact what we do here.

[Alison Douglas]

This reminds me of the Great Fog in London, and how scary that was.  It is an ongoing problem in China and is getting worse not better.  I'm curious to see if they'll be able to start to control it.

[Aleida Rojas]

Hi Diana,

I was aware of the trash/ recycling that the U.S. was shipping to China. I was not aware of the level of soiul contamination and how it is affecting China's food production. I was in shock! Like you, as I was reading the article, I kept thinking...do they ship this rice to the U.S? I was very concerned when I learned that Chinese Farmers know that the rice is contaminated but they still sell it anyways. All the environmental issues that China is facing today is due to the lack of government regulation. I wish more people in the U.S. would learn about the devastation that China has caused to their own environment and I wish we could learn from their mistakes. 

[Aleida Rojas]

Hi Lynne,

I remember watching the news that showed people wearing masks due to air pollution. The images that they showed in T.V. were disturbing. People were not able to drive because they had no visibility. Again, Why is the Chinese govenrment not doing more to solve these problems? Especially if it leads to shorter lives spans, chronic illnesses, and lower production?

[Aleida Rojas]

Hi Billie,

I really liked the political cartoon that illustrates how this new generation has to deal with the pressure of work, taking care of their aging parents, taking care of their kids, and compete in a very competitive economy. This explains why so many of them are taking longer to get married and why so many of them do not want to have any children. 

[Aleida Rojas]

Hi Robert,

I was impressed by the number of millennials who simply leave and never come back! The fact that so many members of the "Boomer" generation are so lonely, that they are willing to adopt a 45 years old woman. It is interesting to note that the "boomer" generation is now regreatting having sons because most of the leave and do not come back. 

[Aleida Rojas]

Hi Gail,

The fact that Green Peace is trying to bring some enviromental justice to China is incredibly impressive. They have even adviced farmers to take these chinese coorporations to court. But, even after the Chinese govenrment claimed that they were going to take environmental issues seriously, the courts simply made those cases disappear. I was shocked when I learned that China would need all the wealth of the world in order to pay for their soil clean up. I hope that they do something soon!

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