Slaying Chinglish

Andrew Jacobs writes in the New York Times about the confusion caused in China by street signs and other public messages for non-Chinese speakers. The translation is often done using an automatic program or by someone without knowledge of English idioms. The result is a ubiquity of awkward wording that does not get the message across. While translations like "fatso" or "lard bucket" for extra large clothing may be amusing, for many Chinese officials they are very embarrassing. The Shanghai Commission for Language Use has been trying to clean up these Chinese malapropisms, with a plan modeled after Beijing’s efficient fixing of English signs for the 2008 Olympics. Unfortunately, the Shanghai Commission’s original due date, the beginning of the Shanghai Expo, has already come and passed. Wang Xioming, an English scholar at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, was spurred to action by the laughter of her foreign colleagues. Zhao Huimin says that translation errors undermine the intended utility of signs. Regardless of the reasons of esteemed officials, lovers of "Chinglish" are upset at the future changes. Oliver Lutz Radtke, who is actually pursuing a doctoral degree in Chinglish at the University of Heidelberg, says that without such malapropisms, a "window into the Chinese mind" would be lost. Jeffery Yao, although he himself is following government directives to properly translate signs, offers the custom of anthropomorphizing nature in park signs, as an indicator of Chinese "expressive" translation. An example of this would be “The Little Grass Is Sleeping. Please Don’t Disturb It” or “Don’t Hurt Me. I Am Afraid of Pain" instead of the Western “Keep Off the Grass."

This reflects China's growing international interactions and the subsequent effect of globalization on China's cultural landscape. It also reveals a slight cultural cleavage between traditionalism and Westernization. This is important because it is a sign of growing foreign investment in China; such growing capitalism may also potentially help to liberalize politics in the future. Nevertheless, the article did indirectly mention China's still strict political culture when it said that businesses do not dare to ignore the government’s suggested translation improvements.

View more pictures of Chinese-to-English malapropisms.

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(Photos from the NYT)

Swinging activity spurs controversy over privacy in the Chinese home

As reported by a May 20th New York Times article, a Chinese computer science professor in Nanjing Institute of Technology has been accused of "crowd licentiousness" with a sentence of three and a half years in prison. Allegedly Ma Yaohai, 53, has participated in several activities classified under the term of "hooliganism," including partner swapping and group sex. Prosecutors have claimed that he held at least 18 orgies in his two bedroom apartment which he shares with his elderly mother. Ma along with 21 other swingers were arrested and prosecuted, but he was the only swinger who spoke out against the charges, which he will contest later in court, claiming that the accusations are his own private concern: "How can I disturb social order? What occurs in my house is a private matter." Apparently, deviant sexual activity now constitutes a violation of the Chinese political ideology. Ma had set up a sex chat room for other swingers to facilitate swinging activity in China. Several bloggers have spoken out against the government's prosecution of the case due to the infringement on the sexual freedoms of Chinese citizens.

This article demonstrates comparative government concepts because of the debate over the government's lack of respect for its citizens' privacy. The role of the national government in China clearly plays a large role in the individual roles of citizens. This case also demonstrates the continued role of Confucianism in Chinese society, as citizens are expected to compose themselves with propriety. This emphasizes the traditional aspect of Chinese society that has greatly impacted how the Chinese government operates.


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Photo credit: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/asia_pacific/10136210.stm

A worthy use of toxic chemicals

In a recent Reuters article titled "China scientists find use for cigarette butts," the author discussed a recent use for items thought to be nothing but evil. They ended up finding "nine chemicals after immersing cigarette butts in water."

The scientists used these nine chemicals, and "applied [them] to N80, a type of steel used in oil pipes," and the pipes rusted less. They cited nicotine as being one of the chemicals that prevented corrosion. This finding is most pertinent for producers and maintainers of oil pipelines, because it could potentially save them millions of dollars in repairs.

Before this was found, the cigarette butts were doing nothing but killing fish and looking ugly. Many people have been looking for a way to recycle the previously worthless butts however they had a large amount of trouble in finding a real use.

This article relates to comparative government because China may end up improving their environment which will improve their international relations. This is also just awesome because there is finally a use for something as evil as cigarette butts. This find could also improve the world economy, by allowing oil companies to be more efficient.

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China quake activist sentenced on subversion charges

A BBC article reports that Tan Zuoren, a Chinese activist, has been sentenced to five years in jail. One of Tan's lawyers, Pu Zhiqiang, said that "all of the proceedings were linked to 4 June (1989)." Tan was officially charged with igniting "subversion" related to the governmental suppression of the pro-democracy movement of the Tiananmen Square incident. However, Tan's supporters and human rights groups -- notably Amnesty International -- say that his investigation related to the construction-related causes of the 2008 Sichuan quake is the real reason for his conviction. Among the 80,000 that died in the 2008 earthquake, many were schoolchildren killed by the collapse of several thousand school buildings. Grieving parents and allegations of corruption in the school construction led to much public support for Tan's research, a fact that Roseann Rife, of Amnesty International, likely influenced the judicial decision to not include mention of the quake in the verdict, for fear of public backlash. Wang Quinghua, Tan's wife, said that "this isn't justice" and Pu said that Tan planned to appeal. Chinese artist and fellow activist for earthquake victims, Ai Weiwei, said that he thought this would be "a very important case for China...It shows the Chinese legal system has taken a big step backwards. Tan's crime was entirely one of speech, of conscience."

This case reveals a sad state for civil society in China. Like the situation of AIDS activist Wan Yanhai  who left China because of governmental pressure, this case involves undue suppression of interest groups and independent research. Yet Wan left the country as a preventive measure and was never arrested like Tan. In conducting research in the failed construction of schools, Tan was responding to public concerns, unlike the Chinese government who did not hold up promises of investigation. Chinese citizen-state relations are further compromised by the fact that Tan's original trial from last year was adjourned without a verdict, and this trial's verdict was decided upon and read out in about a mere ten minutes. A continual censorship of governmental criticism lends injury to the administration's legitimacy.

(Photo credit: Shanghaiist; BBC)

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Mass killings in schools spread in China

According to a May 13th article by the Economist, a series of attacks on Chinese elementary students has broken out after an initial attack early in March. As guns are near impossible for civilians to attain, the weapons used by the attackers are predominantly knives, which they have used to severely injure and kill several Chinese elementary school children. After the first attack, several "copy-cat" incidents have occurred across China. Chinese officials have been granted the power to kill these attackers on the spot in several provinces, and security patrols have been heightened to prevent any more attempts. The perpetrators of these attacks are said to be mentally-ill Chinese citizens. Observers have contemplated the idea that the motives of the murderers may stem from frustration with the government which they have taken out on the weak. A British medical journal reported that less than 10% of Chinese mental patients do not receive treatment. The Chinese government has been predictably tight-lipped concerning the attacks, as a measure to cover up the violence (which has occurred at a most inopportune time, due to the ongoing Shanghai World Expo) and prevent further copy-cat attempts.

These killings have presented China with a challenge in terms of national security. The government's swift response to the attacks demonstrates great efficiency of the Chinese government, which is due to the concentration of power within the Politburo and its Standing Committee. The use of knives reflects China's strict ban on gun use. The media's limited response to the attacks demonstrates the government's control on information flow (a corporatist system) and a lack of transparency in reporting events. The lack of treatment for mental patients reveals a problem within the health care system and an issue in public policy.


Photo credit: http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/05/15/china.kindergarten.attack/index.html?iref=allsearch

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What's for dinner?

In a February article from Foreign Policy, Adam Miller wrote about the use of dogs as food in China.

The article starts with and anecdote from the author's trip to China, and how he followed the sound of a wounded dog to where he saw one being beaten to death. It was being beaten because it is said to preserve the flavor. As the author found the dog, he drew a camera, and attempted to photograph the action, however one of the two men with clubs began to menacingly threaten him with the club that he was using to kill the dog.

However, there are proposed laws to stop this, and the punishments range from $725 to $7,250 in fines, and 15 days in prison. The range is based on whether the crime was done by a singular abuser, or a corporation.

Reaction to the legislation is divided by socioeconomic levels, partially because as annual income increases, so does pet ownership. An increase in violence, along with an increased reaction from pet owners spurred animal-cruelty laws. Pet ownership is relatively new, however, because it was "outlawed as a bourgeois affectation during the Cultural Revolution." The animal cruelty laws are now being used as an outlet for urban rural split.

This article relates to both animal cruelty, which can be used as an indicator of overall social welfare, socioeconomic cleavages, and civil liberties. The animal cruelty is obvious, and in most areas where animals are treated in such a manner, humans don't fare much better, as shown by one of the two murderers immediate turn of the club to the author.

The socioeconomic cleavages are purely the divide between pet owners, and those who want to eat dog. The relationship to civil liberties is freedom of the press. While the author was able to publish this, it is because he was not working for a Chinese magazine. He was, however, not allowed to take pictures, and while the government wasn't the party prohibiting pictures, they also did not do anything to allow the pictures to be taken.

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AIDS Activist Leaves China After Government Pressure

“When I work in China, they can really find a target to attack. When I left, they no longer had a target.”

Wan Yanhai (CIES)

Edward Wong of the New York Times reports that, Wan Yanhai has left China for the U.S. with his family in order to better continue his work as an AIDS activist. Wan is the founder of a prominent AIDS activist group, the Aizhixing Institute (Bejjing), which had been the subject of increasing governmental pressure. Kate Krauss, Wan's friend and director of the AIDS Policy Project, said that it became "impossible for Wan Yanhai to remain in China" because of the government. The governmental pressures include scrutiny from the tax agencies. The tax officials were not local, but rather unusually, from a municipical authority. Wan's office was even investigated by the fire department, apparently to ensure the office was in line with fire safety codes. It is important to note that Wan is extremely notable in AIDS campaigning in China, and has, in fact, dealt with the government before. Aizhixing was founded in 1994, a time when AIDS was not spoken about much publicly. In 2002, Wan was detained for four weeks because of pointing his finger in the mid-'90s to the government’s negligence the cause of an HIV spread in Henan Province villages.

The inquiries on Wan are not isolated; they come at a time of increased inspection on all civil society groups -- particularly those that receive foreign investment. The vitality of grassroots organizations in an important indicator of the health of citizen-state relations. The fact that Wan had to relocate to Philadelphia in order to continue his activism is not a promising sign for the global legitimacy of the Chinese government. Also, in the last year, administrative pressure has been a method of pressure on civil society groups. For example, in July 2009, Gongmeng, a legal research organization in Beijing, was shut down and a leader detained after an investigation by tax officials.

Link to the English version of the Aizhixing site.

Kim Jong Il pays clandestine visit to northern China

As reported in a May 5 New York Times article, Kim Jong Il crossed the Yalu River earlier this week to leave North Korea to make his first foreign visit in four years to China. Though the Chinese government has made a pointed effort to cover up the infamous dictator's presence within Chinese borders, several South Korean and Japanese newspapers have been successful in spotting Kim in the northern cities of Dandong, Dailan, and finally Beijing. In spite of several aggressive attempts against foreign journalists by the Chinese police, substantial evidence has been found to support the belief that he did meet with Beijing officials. It is presumed that he met with leaders hoping to convince him resume talks with the United States, China, and Russia over the North Korean nuclear weapons program. Photographers have noted that his hair has thinned since his last public appearance, and has a limp, evidence that the North Korean dictator hasn't fully recovered from his stroke two years ago.

The Chinese government's high level of secrecy concerning the North Korean leader's visit demonstrates a lack of transparency in affairs of foreign policy. Clearly, the Chinese are not willing to demonstrate a public friendship with North Korea, but wants to pursue diplomatic relations with countries including those infamously associated with a lack of democracy. China sees itself as a pivotal role in influencing North Korea, an example of foreign policy. This could also be seen as a lack of legitimacy in terms of the international political domain, as North Korea serves as a bone of contention among most developed countries.



Photo credit: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/06/world/asia/06beijing.html?ref=asia

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Issues Related to Rural to Urband Migration

In a recent Economist article titled "Invisible and Heavy Schackles," the author wrote about the registration system, which prevents people from easily moving. There are many people in China who have migrated from the countryside to the city, who are not considered citizens.

Because of the way the classification system works, "on a hereditary basis," the registration system may label citizens incorrectly based on the work they do. The system was created to keep rural migrants from moving into cities, because Mao said that vagrants "lack constructive qualities." However, this concept has been reversed due to the rapid industrialization. The people once confined to the rural districts were necessary labor for factories.

Even though migrants are no longer stopped, they still do not have access to the social services they need. It not only prevents people from rural areas from having "access to education, health care and housing compensation payouts," but it also hampers those who migrate from one city to another. The regulation that allowed "police to detain people and deport them to their home towns," was only removed in 2003 after police beat a college-educated man to death because he didn't have the correct identification papers.

The reason the reform hasn't already come is that it would "have a huge impact on crucial aspects of the economy," including "land ownership" and "public services." Reform would also have social implications, as citizens of cities already dislike the idea of rural children sharing classrooms with urban children. The prices for going to school are not different based on class, but the percentage it takes from the income of the families is. There is no system to make people pay equally, the rich get off easy, while the poor suffer. This system has the effect of nearly requiring rural students to stay in rural areas so that they are able to learn properly.

The system had another glaring issue "until the late 1990s," the entire system was matriarchal, while every other system in China seems to be patriarchal. Children were limited by where their mothers grew up, even if their father's entire family was from a different location. The reforms are coming slowly, and it is nearly impossible to change classifications. The change requires either graduation from a school most can't get into, or "seven years' work--along with the required tax and social security payments."

The current system does have its benefits for some. The one child policy is not as important in the countryside, so some families have two children, and what is essentially health insurance is cheaper.

The majority of this issue relates mainly to human rights issues. Where people live determines what they can have, so rural residents, whether or not they live in rural areas, are allowed less than urban residents. This mainly presents itself in two places, education and healthcare, which are two of the UN rights of children, which are typically only infringed in poorer parts of rural Africa.

This issue also relates to government legitimacy in that it shows that the government is not doing an effective job in giving citizens access to the rights already guaranteed to them, without a significant amount of hassle. The government is also slow to reform the system, and suppressing complaints against it rather than reacting in a way that will not harm its subjects.

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Chengguan's thuggish behavior gets out of hand in China's cities

A March 31 article in The Economist reported an outbreak of civilian violence in the city of Kunming in response to the attack on an illegal street vendor by the chengguan, a lower sector of the Chinese police force with a reputation for thuggish behavior. The chengguan is reputed to be responsible for several crackdowns on mildly illegal activity within cities like illegal solicitation and house demolition. There have been several examples of the chengguan's brutish behavior when dealing with urban issues, such as the 2008 killing of a man attempting to film a group of Chinese officers halting a rural protest against chemical waste. Several urban workers have been beaten to the point of brain damage or death for activities such as utilizing a bicycle as an illegal taxi or peddling wares on the street. There has been a strong outbreak of protest among university students and homeowners protesting house demolition, and even law professors have appealed to the Chinese legislative body to curb the authority of the chengguan. In response to the Kunming incident, the press took varying stances, with the government's account that the violence was "a lie," dissent against the brutal nature of the chengguan, and criticism of the Kunming officials for releasing minimal details of the outbreak.

The growing resentment to the thuggish authority of the chengguan indicates the Chinese people coming to question the legitimacy of their local governmental bodies, and as a result, the party's interests for their people. The strain between Beijing and the local government presents the challenges of the Chinese government to control such a populous and large nation. The shady nature of chengguan dealings tarnishes the Chinese government's legitimacy and demonstrates a lack of transparency within the party regime. As unrest has moved from the countryside to within the cities, the added stressors on the government may prove to be too much to resist political change.


Photo credit: fredalix, http://www.flickr.com/photos/fredalix/3877604826/


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China's Problem With Housing Market Speculators

In a recent Economist article titled "China mulls a property tax: An odd sort of tax," China's struggle with rising housing costs was discussed.The country is currently experiencing a surge in property pricing, that was"helped by a torrent of carefree lending from state-run banks." There are now signs that sales are dropping due to this increase in prices caused by speculators.

The government is already fighting this trend by raising "down-payment requirements for second homes and the reimposition of a sales tax for properties sold within five years." The NPC, however, believes that a property tax may help prevent "speculators from hoarding empty property and help bring prices down." Some also believe it could help get rid of corruption in local governments.

The government has been running simulations to test the effect of the proposed law, but the local governments dislike the idea. Reducing property prices would hurt cities that sell land to developers. However, some want to law to apply to larger properties, but not residential, because most of the problems are being seen with speculators, and not the average Chinese citizen, but this will not please the cities because it will still affect the majority of their land sales.

Many believe that a property tax would not do much to slow the rising property prices "because of China's huge demand for housing as it urbanizes." The new law could improve government services by giving property owners reason to demand more from their government.

This proposed law can increase the legitimacy of China's local and national governments by reducing corruption and increasing the demand for government responsibility to property owners. It will also affect the economy, yet that part of the decision is still the most hotly debated part of the discussing, but will most likely stop a housing price increase that is remarkably similar to what happened in the US housing market recently.

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Official in China Says Western-Style Democracy Won’t Take Root There

Li Fei, deputy director of the legislative affairs commission of the standing committee of the National People’s Congress, stressed already high tensions between China and Western nations like the U.S. in a recent interview. As Edward Wong of the New York Times writes in a Saturday article, Mr. Li's statements come in spite of recent statements by other officials saying "in public and in the Chinese news media that the country is moving toward democracy, implying that some form of a Western-style political system could take root." However, sometimes officials say directly that China will not have a Western-style democracy. Mr. Li said that "different countries have different election rules and a socialist China won’t follow Western election campaigns." He also said that a country's wealth is a prerequisite for Western-democracy: “Western-style elections, however, are a game for the rich,” he said. “They are affected by the resources and funding that a candidate can utilize. Those who manage to win elections are easily in the shoes of their parties or sponsors and become spokespersons for the minority.” 

National People’s Congress

These sentiments betray a disregard for the voice of the population being expressed through direct elections, undermining citizen-state relations in the Comparative Government viewpoint. Mr. Li said that the priority should be on improving the current style of elections, not expanding the use of direct election. Yet, the current system of elections in China is nothing more than a nominal process. Many critics of China from the West say that people at the local level are given no choice but the Communist Party. I thought it was very interesting that Mr. Li made such blunt comments; however it is not the first time as Wu Bangguo, chairman of the standing committee of the National People’s Congress, said in March 2009 that China would never "copy" Western countries and have a multiparty democracy. 


Li Fei's interview was originally published online by China Daily. Read it here.


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Rare Outspoken Reform Call From China State Media

Premier Wen Jiabao

It might seem that 'freedom of speech' is a basic right alloted by the government to its people. However, this is clearly not the case in China. As reported by the Associated Press in the New York Times, thirteen different newspapers pulished a joint editorial criticizing the hukou policy. The hukou policy dates back to ancient China and is now required by law in China and Taiwan. Houkou refers to the residency system that is managed by household registration. Mao's purpose in implementing this policy was to control migration between cities and rural areas. Yet in recent years, with increasing urbanization in China, the system's limits have begun to be pushed. It is extremely hard to change one's status from rural to urban, meaning that migrant workers in the cities miss out on government services. Furthermore, the problem continues into the next generation, as children born in the cities to migrant parents are registered as 'rural' citizens, preventing such children from access to education. The editorial, signed with the logos of thirteen newspapers, was published on Monday; by Tuesday, the orginals and the links had been removed. On the past Saturday, Premier Wen Jiabao noted the tensions stemming from hukou and promised reform. The timing of these events is particularily significant since the National People's Congress, China's biggest event, began on March 12th.

''Freedom of movement is a human right."

                            -- Removed Editorial

Here, regional cleavages are displayed as are issues with citizen-state relations. By hindering access to government services from a certain group of citizens, the Chinese government is diminishing their own legitimacy and distancing themselves from their own people. The now removed editorial praised Wen Jiabao for acknowledging the problem and promising to take action which indicates a faith in the governement. Nevertheless, disregarding recent investments in interior China, there is a very distinct regional cleavage between the rural interior and urbanized coastal area. The Hukou policy enforces this cleavage and by doing so hinders national unity. The apparent lack of freedom of speech, which as mentioned earlier is a basic right of democracy and is seen as vital in many Western states, will do nothing for China in the international realm. However, the strong words of the editorial are being repeated across the globe which may have a positive effect on the abolishment of hukou.

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Workers Rights in China?

In a recent Economist article titled "Core and Periphery," Apple's finds in its own internal audits were used to better understand workers rights in China. Apple usually keeps very tight controls on the companies that assemble its products, and will audit them from time to time. With a recent audit, they discovered something they were not very happy with.

Apple found companies that were violating both Chinese law, and company guidelines. They found underage workers, caused pollution by dumping hazardous waste, and had many other issues involving pay and discrimination. These problems are said to be extensive in many companies that manufacture products for the west, but they are hidden.

Besides these common problems, there were hours and safety violations. However, the one violation that was not illegal, but was against Apple policy, was "discriminating agains pregnant women." This type of auditing can bring many issues in Chinese factories into the view of the world, while China still prohibits foreign reporters and "censorship of the press."

The manufacturing facilites unfortunately "stated that Apple was the only company that had ever audited their facility for supplier responsibility." While Apple is finding these problems and correcting them, it would appear that all of the other firms are simply ignoring the rights of Chinese workers.

This article clearly shows how easy it would be to hold China, or at least Chinese factories, accountable for their horrid working conditions. If more companies that sourced supplies or manufacturing services through China would do this, then the human rights in China might improve.

The fact that China has not shared this information by itself shows that either the government does not care, or they want to cover up their problems. The lack of free speech and press prevents much of this type of news from reaching those who would do something to fix the problems in the manufacturing sector. There are basic human rights violations, and problems with China's undemocratic ways that are preventing it from making the progress it needs to make. The government not seeming to have done anything to protect its workers by enforcing laws, also detracts from its legitimacy.

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Wen announces staggering decrease in military budget growth rate

According to a March 5 article from from The Economist, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao announced at the first day of the annual National People's Congress a mere 7.5% increase in military spending, down from 17.8% last year. Amid tensions due to recent arms sales to Taiwan by American manufacturers, this figure was quite unexpected, as most analysts were expecting an increase well above 10%. In fact, the Chinese government has not offered such a low increase in the military budget in the past 20 years. The rest of the world is left to ponder this sudden double take in the Chinese military budget: perhaps the government expects difficult times, despite China's relative success in the recession, perhaps the government sincerely is attempting to ameliorate its menacing image as a military threat. Pentagon analysts assert that China's military accounts have traditionally shortchanged the number of yuan spent on the military budget. For example, last year China declared a budget of $60 billion, while American estimates range from $105 to $150 billion. However, this year's shockingly low increase should not be cast aside. China could have easily declared a increase of as high as 20%, further reinforcing strained relations with neighboring countries such as Taiwan. The new figure also demonstrates a new air of caution that Beijing has taken in response to tell-tale signs of a possible housing crisis and the wearing off of stimulus cash. Either way, the reduced military estimate bodes well for foreign powers looking for a friendlier relationship with China.

This shift in economic measures demonstrates China's increasing insecurity about its future economic performance. Although China boasts a economic growth rate of 8+%, as Prime Minister Wen was only too quick to point out in his two hour speech, this withdrawal in military spending indicates that Chinese leaders are taking greater measures to preserve this economic prosperity by cutting down in the annual military fiscal increase. The lower rate of increase also shines a light on China's efforts to improve international relations. International figures have obviously had some effect on China's image, and Chinese leaders are clearly willing to work on their common perception as a major military threat. The question of legitimacy also arises when discussing whether these figures will be upheld, as in the past China's military estimates are much lower than their actual value. The Economist calls the Chinese budgets "opaque," emphasizing the lack of transparency when declaring military spending, calling the authenticity of the figures cited by the National People's Congress into question.



Photo source: Remko Tanis, http://www.flickr.com/photos/remkotanis/4408321612/



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Factory Labor Shortage in China

“You can walk into any factory and get a job."

This statement by a 22 year old plastics worker would not be true in the current American economic situtation. However, as reported in the New York Times yesterday by Keith Bradsher, China is facing an growing labor shortage for several reasons. Factory wages have risen by as much as 20% in recent months, telemarketers are spending their time cold-calling random people to offer them jobs instead of calling customers, and some manufacterors are closing down production lines because of a lack of workers. The main cause for this shortage is that China once drained its interior population to find workers for the blossoming factories in the coastal areas. Now, after a major stimulus from the Chinese government to create jobs in the interior, many workers are not returning to the coast after going home for the Lunar New Year. Two other impacting trends are the rapid exspansion of higher education -- which decreases the number of people looking for factory jobs -- and the One Child Policy.

This shortage has the potential to impact Americans because of the possiblity of higher priced imported goods from China, as the minimum wage might be increased and many bonuses are being offered. Unfortuntely, in the past, higher wages have resulted in inflation for the Chinese economy. The article also reveals a decreasing regional cleavage between the coastal and interior regions. Where the coastal regions were once the economic center, more and more jobs are being created in the interior, often due to government projects like rail and highway construction. Social cleavages are also briefly discussed in the article as those normally accustomed to "white-collar," desk jobs are being forced to participate in more hard labor. However, the Chinese labor shortage could also be a positive factor for the Obama Administration in the renminbi-dollar negotiations.

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Trade Disputes

In a recent Economist article titled "When Partners Attack," the reporter commented on the fact that China is now the leading exporter, beating out Germany in 2009, and was involved in exactly half of the disputes filed with the World Trade Organization.

China's complaints to the WTO have more than doubled in the last year, which coincides with an increase in disputes filed by developing countries. The US and EU used to initiate 50% of the disputes, but that statistic fell to 27.2%, of the disputes between 2001 and 2008.

Many countries are using the World Trade Organization instead of "the alternative—a series of escalating retaliations unconstrained by any rules." The organization has been gaining strength, and its newer system of dispute resolution works far better. The resolutions are much more powerful now because the WTO allows "the complainant to hit back," without the fear of restrictions on themselves. The organization, however, "limits the amount of retaliation."

This new system has led to 70% of the trade disputes filed with the World Trade Organization to be handled through negotiation alone. There has also been a decrease in the amount of trade barriers that would be challenged. Countries are now afraid of the WTO authorizing retaliation against them. However, there is still a problem for countries too small to retaliate effectively. There is also fear that China's lack of democracy may make it difficult for companies to stop politically motivated disputes, which are possible between the US, EU, and China. But, disputes between those three economies are unlikely because of low leverage for retaliation and the overall size and strength of the economies.

These dispute filing issues could cause China's companies with larger amounts of exports to push for democratization to protect their own interests. If this happens, the chinese people could benefit from an increase in ability to protest government decisions.

Dispute difficulties may also cause the Chinese government to make sure that it is not doing anything that will cause another country to file a dispute with it. This will help keep China more ethical, and may improve workers' rights, if another country makes a complaint. Only the threat of filing a dispute will cause any improvement, but there is at least the ability to motivate. The trade issues that may arise could have the ability to fix human rights issues, increase democratization within China, and increase the Chinese peoples' efficacy, which may reduce social cleavages. But these are all very big "ifs."

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Shanghai pushes for financial dominance

The approaching 2010 Shanghai World Expo raises the question of the financial future of China's Special Economic Zone, according to a February 24 New York Times article. Shanghai investment firms have recently looked to improving infrastructure to attract greater foreign investment and also keep mainland Chinese financial workers from leaving for Hong Kong for jobs. The China State Council has officially appointed Shanghai as the financial capital of the country, and to put the city on the map as a fiscally influential city. The government has been quick to spend whatever needed to make Shanghai an attractive center of investment, leading up to the creation of the World Expo to be held later in this year. Among the changes to be put in place in Shanghai's financial community are a lessening of taxation and currency restrictions, both indicators of China's growing liberalization of the economy. Recent investment ventures by foreign investment group Blackstone Group included environmental and energy initiatives in and around Shanghai, demonstrating the joint involvement of domestic and foreign financial firms.

Shanghai's new economic initiatives most obviously serve as an example of trends of economic change. With China close to the second largest economy in the world, it would be natural for Beijing to loosen the governmental restrictions in Shanghai to promote foreign investment. By opening up Shanghai to the rest of the financial world, China has demonstrated a growing focus in the private sector. This shift towards economic liberalization has brought about several public policy changes in infrastructure, economic liberties (specifically applied to Shanghai as a Special Economic Zone), and social welfare to attract more financial workers, who often go overseas or to Hong Kong. By building up Shanghai's economic performance, the Chinese government is working towards promoting domestic interests while attracting foreign interests. The need for greater foreign investment shows the onset of globalization, especially in cases such as China's, an economic powerhouse that depends heavily on the fiscal participation of other nations. China's willingness to privatize sectors of the Shanghai economy illustrates the huge impact of foreign companies' needs in order to do business in China.


Photo source: "riggslau," www.flickr.com/photos/riggslau




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Repression

In a recent Economist article titled "What are they afraid of?", the author delved into the topic of China's repressive policies.

The article compares China's political history to its current status. A decade ago, it was thought that China was being forced to integrate with the rest of the world, now the forces causing this seem to be far weaker than was once thought.

Recently, China has been passing long jail sentences for most human-rights activists. The large protest movements in China are mainly related to ethnic tensions. The struggles of the past seem to have been repressed effectively. There is little uprising in China's cities, however, and academic by the name of Liu Xiaobo "was sentenced to 11 years in prison in December,""the heaviest-know penalty imposed on any activist for 'inciting subversion' since such a crime was written into law in 1997."

There was worry about the world economic recession causing frustration among those in China, and possibly causing dissent, but their economy actually grew 8.7%. Also, there is a change of power expected in the next few years, but other than some attempts to gain support for promotions, there has been little evidence of any sort of struggle.

It appears to some that all of the expected transitions are still going as planned, even if they are happening in a slightly different manner than expected, such as the vice president not getting a military post thought to be part of his training to take over for the president. The next leaders are expected to maintain the current situation in China. The political analyst Russell Leigh Moses believe that the question within China's government is "'how much more authoritarian show we be?' not 'how do we embark on a Western-style democracy?'"

Even though punishments have been getting tougher recently, they are not unusual. It follows China's pattern of allowing some free thought, but punishing "those seen as straying too far."

China's leadership is still showing signs of trouble even though the country is doing well. There have been speeches and actions that suggest the current stability is difficult to hold constant. Many feel that the economic advancement and stimulus that seem to be making the country strong and quelling decent will not endure. These same people feel that growth and reform are coming too slowly to allow the status quo to be maintained. "A combination of fast-rising prices and low growth might indeed be enough to send protesters on to the streets."

The current status of repression in China has a massive impact on its ability to become free, the government's legitimacy, and the citizens daily lives. If the citizens are prevented from speaking out against the government, or at least speaking out too much, they will never solver many of their problems. Also, the chances for positive political change are reduced.

The jittery nature of China's political elites also hints at a weakness that could be devastating to them and the world. If it comes from a shaky economy, it could mean a potential collapse that will devastate the world. If it comes from problems with authority, it could mean the destruction of the regime and a loss of all legitimacy.

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China Intensifies Tug of War With India on Nepal

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (L, front) and Nepali Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal (R, front)

Jim Yardley wrote last week in the New York Times about the shifting foreign relations power structure in Nepal. The article discusses China's growing importance in the world and in South Asia, a region traditionally dominated by India. Nepal is situated between China and India, the two most populous countries in the world. The Himalayas have always been a solid physical barrier between China and Nepal, while the many cultural and economic ties to India have created a historical connection between India and Nepal. However, with the growing presence of China in the global sphere, it is very important for small nations like Nepal to keep good relations with the Chinese government. From the other side, Nepal appeared on China's radar during Tibetan protests erupted in March 2008, just months before the Beijing Olympic Games. While the Chinese government was able to block the international media from the protests in Tibet itself, the Nepali protests attracted much international attention. Ashok Gurung, director of the India China Institute at The New School, says that "the Chinese realized that Nepal is going to be an important site where they could potentially be embarrassed on Tibetan issues." Nepal is an important place in Tibetan issues because it has historically been a tacit transit for Tibetans to cross over to India for pilgrimages or higher education. For India's part, the country is not worried about economic competition so much as the threat of “political agitation on the Nepalese side of their shared border, as well as the possibility that terrorists trained in Pakistan could transit through Nepal."


This is an important illustration of China's growing strength in the world. Not only has China been strengthening ties with Nepal, with which it has the Tibet issue, it has been rapidly signing agreements with even the tiniest of South Asian countries like the Maldives. This signifies China's growing awareness of the importance of preemptively beneficial international treaties. Furthermore, the China-Nepal situation is evidence of China's continued antagonism of their Tibetan population. Tenzin Taklha, the secretary for the Dalai Lama, says that the China-Nepal agreements -- which include the stationing of Nepali armed police officers in isolated regions like Mustang and Manang on the border with Tibet and more security and vigilance on both sides of the border -- makes things "more difficult for Tibetans."


 

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Photo Source: Xinhua/Li Tao via