[Courtney Caldwell]

Though I knew from previous work I did from the week, the animation regarding national carbon emissions was quite astonishing. China, by over DOUBLE the amount of the US in the #2 spot, is by far the largest emitter of carbon emissions. In the lecture around the same spot, it's mentioned that as of about 7-8 years ago, about 4000 people per day were dying prematurely due to air pollution. This is a horrific statistic, and takes me back actually to when I traveled on my Fulbright. We were given a warning about air quality in Beijing prior to travel, but it's something that is quite wild to experience. The high rates of pollution seem to be reserved of course for more industrialized parts of the country, as well as the coal producing Inner Mongolia (we also went to Mongolia where it was a bit evident, but less so than in Beijing). 

With China investing heavily in renewable sources of energy, I'm wondering how long it will take to see changes in the air quality and emissions in the country? Actually this prompted me to look more into this and I found this article on how the renewable energy projects actually need more policy support to get up and running. However, it does say Xi plans to cap carbon emissions by 2030. This however takes me back to the documentary I watched this week and just makes me wonder what the fallout will be for those in more rural areas who are working to survive in industries that are contributing to pollution, what does it mean for their livelihood? 

 

[Courtney Caldwell]

As for lecture 2, this lecture left me wondering so much about China's reputation in the world vs. why China actually makes the moves it does. After feeling humiliated and exploited for so long, it would make sense to build/implement systems that keep that from happening again. I just appreciated this perspective because the narrative the world has of China (really specifically here in the US) is very much one of China as the aggressor and threat vs. a country that is simply trying to not allow history to repeat itself. It was a perspective I hadn't really considered and as an ethnic studies teacher, I appreciated this new counter narrative of why China has made the decisions is it has in more recent history. 

[Courtney Caldwell]

For the task to share an article, I was interested to look more into the consequences of the importing of plastic to China, but also the consequences of banning imports on both China and the world. Most information I found was quite dated, China had implemented a ban in 2018 on most imports of plastic waste. But I found this article from 2022 which addresses some of the things I was wondering about. Firstly, the processing of plastic waste is very detrimental to the environment, and this article actually states its supposed to create more carbon emissions than coal by 2030. Secondly, it states how NOT importing is having positive effects on China because it's allowing them to cut down on their carbon emissions, but also it's causing western countries to build their own plans for waste management that does not rely on others. 

I think it will be interesting to see how this ban does actually impact China as one of the worlds biggest producers, but also polluters. I'm wondering how this will help them cut down their carbon emissions by 2030 or beyond. 

 

[Courtney Caldwell]

I chose to watch the documentary, "Plastic China." I found it both fascinating and heartbreaking - If you look it up, the one line description on IMDB says "a portrait of poverty, ambition, and hope set in a world of waste." That is completely true - first, I found it interesting that China imports (or imported, I am unsure if the ban was lifted) plastic waste from other countries like the U.S. and U.K. It's supposed to be a mutually beneficial agreement (cheaper to export the waste for UK and US, and better quality materials than found domestically in China) but ultimately at what cost? The documentary followed a farmer, who ran this recycling workshop and repeatedly kept saying "i'm just a farmer, this is what I have to do to survive." But he (Jun) employs another family who travelled great distances from their rural village home to work in the factory for about $5 a day. 

One of the biggest themes of the documentary is yes on the poverty surrounding this business - everyone is barely getting by, and it makes me wonder how beneficial the business truly is to the country? The people in the documentary are really living in great poverty, but also feel they have no other options. 

Particularly heartbreaking but also heartwarming is the focus on the children. Heartbreaking that the children are not able to go to school though it's clear they want to because the family simply cannot afford it. The owner of the factory is able to send his son to school, but not without a lot of thought (and money) going into it. He said at one point that education of his children comes first. His employee on the other hand, his daughter is 11 and unable to attend school. While he WANTS for his daughter to be educated, he simply does not see a way to make it happen unless they return to their rural village. It really made me stop to consider a few things. One, I was wondering about access to education in China - is it free everywhere? Or is it only free in cities perhaps as a way to keep a steady workforce elsewhere? This focus on the children was particularly heartwarming though because no matter what, they were VERY focused on family - aside from some arguments, they found joy daily, and found treasure among the waste, even ways to learn outside of school. It was quite a story of resilience, but left me wondering about this "mutually beneficial" agreement to import waste - is it truly beneficial or simply beneficial to those higher up in society? It seems to really not benefit those processing it...

[Courtney Caldwell]

I read the article by Elaine Yau about the success of Chinese TV, but not film overseas. I found it interesting that it seems the relatability of the themes presented in Chinese TV series are what makes it easier for it to cross international borders whereas the themes in Chinese film tend to be too nationalistic to be successful. This point wasn't completely surprising though considering the conversations we have been having about nationalism over the past weeks. 

Now, what I did find to be quite fascinating though is that one of the reasons film hasn't been as widely accepted has to do with the Chinese being painted as saviors and looking down upon other cultures/people. Why I found this interesting is because it made me consider how much other countries, including the US do this too and yet have been successful globally. I think in part it may have something to do with the actors and how well known they are, as according to the article many Chinese film stars are stars in China but have yet to become well known abroad.

I'm interested to know if Film/TV is an industry that Xi Xinping really cares about getting to a point of crossing international borders, or if it's simply about a spreading and thus better understanding of Chinese culture that's the goal through Film/TV. 

[Courtney Caldwell]

I found the part about the low retirement age (54) to be interesting and the comparison to OECD countries having an average retirement age that is 10 years older. I know the lecture mentioned how China needs to and has been trying to raise the retirement age but has been receiving push back on raising that age. I'm wondering why that may be? Additionally, what the consequences may look like if that age remains low. It also made me consider why we have a retirement age of 65+ here in the US. Is this purely a result of our social security system that really relies on people to remain working and paying into it? Is it because it's been engrained in American culture to live to work? Found it quite interesting. 

[Courtney Caldwell]

Hey Kirstjen, 

the second part of your post actually really struck me because I've actually been wondering about this since my trip to China in 2018. The first article you linked (the one on the word living) references the unfinished massive buildings on the outskirts of Xi'an. I went back to my photos from my trip and vividly remember taking photos of these MASSIVE buildings that are sitting empty and/or unfinished. I would be interested to know as well what the government response is or will be to fix the housing bubble caused by these so called ghost towns. It was actually quite wild to see, and almost felt a bit post-apocalyptic to me. 

[Courtney Caldwell]

I agree with this, I don't think it's a negative reflection on the education system in China either. I'm not completely sure, but at certain point I think students in China are either chosen/accepted to/eliminated from/age out of the schooling system so seeking education elsewhere may be an opportunity to become more competitive in the "real world".  One of the videos from last week (about Australia/China relations) actually had students discussing reasoning for studying abroad. A lot of it tied to building those relationships, and learning about methods/practices that will be ultra beneficial upon the students return to China. It broadens horizons for students, and provides diverse perspectives that can be really helpful and also, alleviates pressures created by the competitiveness of the post-secondary education system in China as well.

[Courtney Caldwell]

I focused on the Carnegie Endowment, How China Became an Innovation Powerhouse, 2023 video/article. I found it really interesting to look at the differences in what society says is the "conventional" way to be successful and competitive, but how China really proves that conventional wisdom wrong. While in the US the ways to be competitive are through democracy, free markets, and capitalism, China does quite the opposite and as the video states has become an innovation powerhouse. 

The part of this video I found particularly fasinating, and it actually made complete sense, was the part that discussed "the Great Firewall". The Chinese government implementing this great firewall actually had a side benefit. Because American influence was blocked by this firewall, it actually forced the Chinese to innovate and flourish on their own and kept American business influence out. While the video acknowledges it's absolutely possible to get AROUND the firewall, it still creates this benefit for Chinese businesses. 

I also appreciated the perspective brought up at the end about how a lot of people in the US look at maintaining ties with chinese researchers and innovators as a way to "steal" technology. While this does present a problem sometimes, more often, people from China and the US WANT to work together and it actually drives innovation forward. The suggestion that instead of perceiving it to be a threat, we should LEARN from these relationships, and adapt these developments to fit our needs in the US is one I think is important. The Chinese don't have to be a threat in terms of innovation, competition helps drive the innovation and working together can really only push us forward in terms of technological advancements. 

[Courtney Caldwell]

Interesting enough, it turns out we read the same two articles. In your initial post you expressed how after last weeks video it made you think of your own thoughts of China and how they weren't negative. I, too, have this feeling and it makes me think of the conversation we also had about perceptions of China in the west, but more specifically here in the U.S. There's a lot of stigma about China in the U.S. that doesn't exist elsewhere, like Canada for example as you had mentioned in our conversation. It really made me consider why that might be, and what interactions or influences have led to those opinions. 

Back to the point at hand (oops!) - these two articles were really fascinating to me. It's was interesting in the Sydney Morning Herald article, when Birtles expained the residential surveillance at a designated location as a "Orwellian" or totalitarian procedure that allows investigators to shut off communcation to the outside world while they build a case, and how it's this super powerful tool for "authorities to use and abuse." I think your idea for how to use this in class would really intrigue your students and also could potentially be used even in ethnic studies/social justice classes when discussing policing and justice practices. To know that Cheng Lei was detained for so long, and as of September 2022 after a trial very heavily guarded, still had no official sentence or release is quite disheartening. 

I agree that when comparing this weeks information to last, it does seem like the tactics used are quite opposite of the peaceful China discussed in the "Never Forget" Lecture. It makes me wonder more about "Wolf Warrior Diplomacy " - it's an "assertive" policy vs. the low profile ways of past. I can see how it aligns with the concept of trying to not be humiliated again but where is the line? When China claims to be peaceful and yet acts relatively aggressively (ex: kidnapping, holding in isolated detention, making foreign media afraid to stay, etc), is this not similar to SOME of the humiliation or fear tactics used against them in the past? 

 

[Courtney Caldwell]

This week I watched the video "The China Dream: Tensions with Australia."  Toward the start of the video, there's a quote from President Xi Jinping's speech at the 100th Anniversary celebration of the CCP in which he reiterated a point that came up last week, "“The chinese people will never allow any foreign forces to bully, oppress, or enslave us. Anyone who dares to do that will have their heads bashed bloody against the Great Wall of Steel forged by over 1.4 billion Chinese people” To this end, the explanation that followed regarding China's "Wolf Warrior Diplomacy" and actions by both sides were equally concerning yet it made more sense considering that lens.

It seems that the relations between the two countries began breaking down in 2018 but was further exacerbated after there was a formal request from Canberra to look into the origins of COVID-19. As a result, China reacted in a way that to me seems like not only a blow to Australia, but China as well. Both countries are losing billions of dollars as a result of a strained/banned trade relationship, and a lack of tourism. There was a quote by the man who was operating the hot air balloon that said, "the politics are not the people - it's a political problem not a national problem" - essentially it's the people being punished for a political issue. It just leaves me wondering how far is too far? Considering these are two powerful countries, at what point does it become too much to the detriment of the country to continue harming/penalizing the other?

To clarify that question a bit further, the example was given of how it's also impacting education heavily. Education between the two is also a billion dollar institution but students from China are being blocked or even discouraged from traveling. It's interesting because while it's not putting off students (not all anyway) from wanting to travel between China and Australia, it's really making it a challenge. I felt particularly connected to this part because on my Fulbright we actually studied and found a home for our final presentations at The University of Sydney's Suzhou campus. This was in the summer of 2018, and I actually can't seem to find that it exists any longer. Whil there, we interacted with students studying from Australia in China on their winter session and also engaged with Chinese students studying at the Australian University as well - it really was a great relationship building venture, so when they spoke of how this would be broken down without the educational exchange between the countries it was sad to hear/consider after experiencing the exchange first hand. I wonder, for China in particular, these relations actually help break down barriers and help foreigners understand China a bit more in depth and first hand, so why would this relationship be cut off or made to suffer as a result of politics?
 

[Courtney Caldwell]

Lecture 1 was really nostalgic for me. I went on a Fulbright-Hays through the 1990 Institute/UCB in the summer of 2018 (last it traveled I believe) that followed the Silk Road in China and Mongolia and went to many locations described here while learning the history. we began in Xi'an and throughout the trip actually learned about the influence and impact of Buddhism - we did go to the Wild Goose Pagoda, and the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang as part of our journey. The history of the Silk Road and foreign influence and plundering that happened even during that time period I think also can play into the history of China feeling exploited for a very long time. This portion of the lectures reminded me not only of the beauty and the history but also made me think of one of the texts we read, "Foreign Devils on the Silk Road," which explains the concept of exploitation and plundering by foreigners along the Silk Road - one such example is the Mogao Caves specifically were often plundered by foreigners trying to make a fortune along the Silk Road (the book discusses this). Anyway, to this end, I have actually done multiple lessons on this topic already - I did a lesson on Buddhism specifically where they either researched a cave  & it's sculptures, or a jataka (a story of the Buddha depicted in a cave) and had to create a talking tableau. Additionally, I did a lesson on the Belt and Road Initiative, we first learned a brief history of the Silk Road and its influence, and then connected it to the modern day Belt & Road. Students were assigned locations on the modern road and they had to research the site, why it was of strategic use, etc. They all plotted their locations on an interactive class map with their findings. 

[Courtney Caldwell]

While a lot of these stand out to me, I think my favorites are the Armenian stamp as I really enjoy the pattern on it. But also the French Polynesia stamp - I love the lotus on it.

Happy Lunar New Year, all! 

[Courtney Caldwell]

Hi Everyone!

My name is Courtney Caldwell and I teach 9th grade AVID, Link Crew Leadership, and 9th grade Ethnic Studies at Aragon High School (with Jerrica Keane who is also in this seminar) in San Mateo, CA. 

I had the opportunity to go on a Fulbright through China and Mongolia and it really made me truly appreciate a better understanding of Chinese culture, politics, and rich history. I'm excited to learn more about China and it's global connectedness and incorporate more diverse texts/info  more in to my curriculum in ethnic studies.

 

See you all next week! 

Courtney

[Courtney Caldwell]

I'm unable to make any new posts where the submission is supposed to go so here is my lesson plan.

Thank you!

 

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