Donation to Yale Sparks Debate
Yale University received a pledge of $8,888,888 from Chinese investor Lei Zhang to help build a new business-school campus and to fund international scholarships.
The donation will primarily help build the new SOM campus, while a portion will provide scholarship support for the International Relations Program at Yale's new Jackson Institute of Global Affairs, as well as fund a variety of China-related activities at the university.
Opinions at home have been split in online forums since the story broke a few days ago. On pinggu.org, a forum run by Renmin University of China where Zhang was enrolled as a student of International Finance in 1989, netizens including alumni of the university have taken sides.
Some asked why Zhang, who graduated from Yale less than 10 years ago, chose an overseas institution rather than his Chinese university for the donation. But a larger group of online users voiced support for Zhang's move and said there is still room for improvement regarding management of universities in China.
One netizen calls Zhang a dumbass and asked why he didn't donate the money to those in China who cannot afford to go to school. "Were you born with the knowledge you had before going to America?" demanded one netizen.
Other netizen praised Zhang's decision and added that "if it were given in China, it would be a miracle if there were $80,000 left to be properly used in the end."
Zhang said Yale changed his life and taught him the spirit of giving. In his profile he wrote: "Yale has been helping China for more than 100 years. Many Chinese leaders were educated at Yale. But the relationship has been one-way for too long and I want to help change that."
Zhang, who graduated from the Yale School of Management in 2002, worked for the Yale Investments Office under Chief Investment Officer David Swensen, according to the statement. In 2005, Zhang founded Hillhouse Capital Management Ltd., a Beijing-based investment fund that manages $2.5 billion.
What’s your take on Zhang’s donation to Yale?
Beijing, leave or stay?
Thirty-year-old Xue Jinyong attended college, fell in love and got married in Beijing; in fact he and his wife have lived in Beijing for 10 years. Now they are leaving to find a better life.
With a combined monthly income of about 11,000 Yuan (about $1,617), the couple had hopes to purchase a second-hand apartment at the out skirt of the city that is priced at 1.35 million Yuan.
However, even with the savings of the white-collar couple and that of their parents, they still could not afford the minimum down payment of about 400,000 Yuan.
"After days of consulting with relatives and friends, we decided to move to Taiyuan, where the average housing price is only one fourth of Beijing's 20,000 Yuan per square meter. I can buy a big apartment and we can finally live in our own home," said Xue.
With housing prices skyrocketing out of control in metropolises like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou these days, buying an apartment in becoming a luxury many people cannot afford.
According to Beijing Municipal Statistics Bureau, the per capita annual income in 2008 was 44,715 Yuan, while apartments are selling for an average 20,000 Yuan per square meter.
This translates to an apartment of 80 square meters would costs almost 1.6 million Yuan, which would require a household of two wage-earners to repay with all of their salaries for about 17 years, excluding the interests.
Statistics from Goldman Sachs showed over the past six years, the housing price hikes had outpaced income rises by 30 percentage points in Shanghai and 80 percentage points in Beijing.
Easy credit, property speculation and local government's lucrative land sales all contribute to the high housing prices according to the Institute of Finance and Banking of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
Xue's feelings were mixed.
"I can finally give my family an apartment, but personally I think it is a setback in my lifetime," he said, lowering his head and staring at the ground.
What would you have done?
Americans Working in China, Culture Clash
Hannah Seligson of the New York Times wrote a piece on cultural clash for Americans working in China.
In the article, Seligson highlighted the rift between American and Chinese workers working in China due to “differences in work experience, pay levels, and communication.”
Attracted by China’s rapid economic growth, lower jobless rate, and abundance of opportunities, more and more Americans are coming to China for employment. As a result, more Chinese and Americans are working side by side than ever before. These cross-cultural partnerships, while beneficial in many ways, has created many friction at the work place due to differences in upbringing.
For example, the Americans have had more exposure to free-market principles; they were brought up in a more commercial environment and most American students have had internship experience in college. On the other hand, the current fresh-out-of-college Chinese workforce were born around or shortly after Deng Xiaoping opened up China to the West, so China has evolved from a government-regulated economy to a more free-market system. However, the Chinese have a deeper understanding of Confucianism and Communism, two great influences that shapes China’s culture and economy.
Moreover, the Chinese now rising in the work force were raised and educated in a system that tended to prize obedience and rote learning; the American counterpart, however, have had more leeway to question authority and speak their minds.
No matter how different two groups are, the benefit of American and Chinese working together is great. “China needs workers who understand China and the West, so they can develop a business presence and influence in overseas markets. Likewise, America needs people who truly understand the Chinese, in order to compete and cooperate.”
Do you have American or Chinese co-workers?
Year-end Top 10: Official Say Stupid Things
1. "We are of high-level positions. So don't bother to call the police."
Yu Fuqin slapped a 19-year-old tour guide twice in the face for touching an ancient mural in Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang. When questioned about the issue by security staff, Yu Fuqin’s husband stepped in and said, “We are of high-level positions. So don't bother to call the police.” It turned out that the husband, Zhou Wei, is a lieutenant colonel of the No. 221 Regiment Corps and the wife is a party secretary of a hospital attached to the regiment.
Consequence: the husband and wife were removed from their posts after an online outrage against their behavior.
2. "Why doesn't the public reveal their assets first? And why don’t the entrepreneurs make their profits public to their employees?"
When journalist asked a provincial member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) about officials’ asset declaration program, this official said, “Why doesn't the public reveal their assets first? And why don’t the entrepreneurs make their profits public to their employees?”
Consequence: Unknown.
3. "I will have your website shut down if you dare to report it."
An education official was slapped in the face by a female teacher during a banquet. When asked by a journalist about the incident, the official told the journalist, “I will have your website shut down if you dare to report it."
Consequence: The official remains in his post and the teacher was suspended in early September.
4. "Go straight to the fifth floor. Don't choose the first or second floor."
A 66-year-old villager sought help from Shi Guozhong, a local official from Chengde, Hebei province. When Shi refused to help the villager, the 66-year-old claimed he would commit suicide by jumping from a building. Shi Guozhong told the villager, “It's none of my business. Go straight to the fifth floor. Don't choose the first or second floor.”
Consequence: Unknown.
5. "You are doomed to be punished if you fight against the government. Any action against the government is illegal."
Throwing a self-made Molotov cocktail at authorities is illegal but stating “you are doomed to be punished if you fight against the government. Any action against the government is illegal" is just stupid. Pan Rong from Minhang district of Shanghai was proclaimed “a brave woman” by netizens for throwing the cocktail at authorities to protest the forcible demolition of her house. She and her husband failed to prevent the demolition and were imprisoned for eight months for throwing the cocktail.
Consequence: house demolished and owner imprisoned.
6. "You are a mouthpiece for the party (CPC) or the people?"
After luxury houses were built in a region intended for affordable housing in Zhengzhou, Henan province, journalists interviewed the local official Lu Jun. Instead, Lu Jun asked the journalists if they were “a mouthpiece for the party or the people.” Lu implied that the ruling party has interests at odds with the people.
Consequence: Lu was suspended from his post.
7. "Build, baby, build! We will make up for your loss."
Wang Aimin, mayor of Langfang of Hebei province, issued a slogan to attract investment to the real estate industry. He said, "Real estate is a good industry to invest in and we will offset all the losses of the developers who come to invest - by providing free land as compensation."
Consequence: Unknown.
8. "I say 99 percent of repeat petitioners are mentally ill."
Sun Dongdong, a Ministry of Health expert and a professor of Peking University, told the press that “99 percent of repeat petitioners are mentally ill.” Chinese law allows people to challenge government or judicial decisions they consider unfair by filing petitions to dedicated departments in most ministries and institutions.
Consequence: Dongdong apologized.
9. "Which media organization do you work for?"
Zhou Jihong, head of the Chinese national diving team, felt she was above the questionings of the press by asking the journalist “which media organization do you work for” when the journalist asked her about the rumor that she fixed the diving competitions at the 11th Chinese National Games.
Consequence: Unknown.
10. "Are you a member of the Communist Party (CPC)?"
A dog management office in Zhengzhou has received a storm of criticism for spending 7.3 million yuan ($1 million) in two years -- money that came from charging license fees from dog owners -- without providing more services to the public. An investigation was conducted by a local newspaper.
Wang Guanqi, a local official with the bureau of budget administration, refused an interview and asked the journalist, "Are you a member of CPC? And you have to get approval from our bureau CPC committee if you want an interview."
Consequence: Unknown.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Years!
Merry Christmas and happy New Years to everyone and...
May the spirit of Christmas bring you peace,
The gladness of Christmas give you hope,
The warmth of Christmas grant you love.
Happy Holidays!
The Chinese Worker: Runner Up as Time’s Person of the Year 2009
The number 8 is sacred in China; in fact, it is the number that all important things revolve around. We all know what happened on August 8th, 2008 at 8:08PM.
However, there’s another more important aspect of the number 8 in China today. The Chinese have a word for it: baoba. Baoba means “protect eight,” the 8% annual economic growth rate that officials believe is critical to ensuring social stability. So when the world is in an economic slump, most people thought 8% was unattainable.
But China has done it and it remains the world’s fastest-growing major economy.
8% has been protected and the credit goes to the millions of Chinese workers; that is why the Chinese workers were nominated as the Time’s Person of the Year 2009.
Millions of Chinese workers leave their families behind to head for coastal cities such as Shenzhen and Guangzhou to work in factories that supply the world most of its goods. In and near these factories, according to Time, are “the people who are leading the world to economic recovery: Chinese men and women, their struggles in the past, their thoughts on the present and their eyes on the future.”
Do you believe the Chinese workers should be Time’s Person of the Year? What sacrifices does China have to make to obtain 8% or above year after year.
Chinese husband allows wife to attack him once a week
The 32-year-old man, who was named by the Chongqing Evening News as Mr Zhang, took the unusual step after suffering intense abuse from his wife, who studies kung fu.
"I don't want to beat him, but arguments are inevitable and I can't help myself," his wife told the newspaper. She added that in the week before they signed the deal, she had beaten him up three times.
Mr Zhang said his wife, who is a sales manager at a trading company, had studied kung fu since her childhood and that he was attracted to her "strong and independent temperament".
He also admitted that he had suffered at her hands throughout their six-month courtship. "Before we got married, she had a wild hairstyle and I teased that it made her look like a tigress. During the argument that followed, I said some bad words and I got a taste of her kung fu for the first time."
He said that he had tried to bite his lip in order to avoid being punished, but that he "never wants to lose an argument" and so always ends up with "bruises and scars all over".
In order to curb his wife's aggression, Mr Zhang proposed signing a contract in front of his in-laws. If his wife breaches the contract, she has to return to her parents' home for three days. "She is very obedient to her parents, and her parents will support me and blame her," he said.
His wife said that she always feels regret when she sees her husband with a black eye. "Now that we have a contract, I will force myself to drop the use of force," she said.
Mr Zhang's parents told the newspaper that although they felt bad that their son was regularly attacked, the couple were a good match. "They have a good marriage, so we can say nothing about it," said his father.
China’s One-child Policy to Save the World?
Zhao Baige, vice minister of China's National Population and Family Planning Commission, linked China's one-child policy to emissions reduction at the recent UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen.
Zhao stated that "the [Chinese] policy on family planning proves to be a great success; it not only contributes to reduction of global emission, but also provides experiences for other countries - developing countries in particular - in their pursuit for coordinated and sustainable development."
Zhao's statement is not without merits.
The intelligence behind this is the following:
-If only one child per female was born as of now, the world's population would drop from its current 6.5 billion to 5.5 billion by 2050, according to a study done for scientific academy Vienna Institute of Demography.
-By 2075, there would be 3.43 billion humans on the planet. This would have immediate positive effects on the world's forests, other species, the oceans, atmospheric quality and living standards.
-Doing nothing, by contrast, will result in an unsustainable population of nine billion by 2050.
Less people mean less resources being used up and as a result, less global emission. Moreover, the cost of implementing a one-child policy is drastically less than the cost to develop new technologies to curb the emission and global warming problem.
However, should people forgo a basic individual right to alleviate the current global warming issue? After all, the basic definition of life is the ability to reproduce.
Critics of the one-child policy say "it not only deprives individuals the right to choose how many children they want, but also gives rise to an array of human rights abuses including forced abortion and sterilization, infanticide, sex-selective abortions and the levying of punitive fines or loss of jobs for policy violators."
What's your take on this issue? Do you think population control will be an effective method to combat environmental degradation?
Chinese Cop’s Drink Death ‘In Line Of Duty’
A police officer in China has been declared a revolutionary hero after drinking himself to death at an official dinner.
Chen Lusheng, 38, a traffic policeman in the southern city of Shenzhen, "died in the line of duty" following the epic drinking bout at a dinner with officials in October, the state-run China Daily said.
Mr Chen was awarded the designation of "martyr" after his family complained that compensation offered over his death was inadequate, it said.
The status means the relatives could get more than the 360,000 yuan (£32,500) normally paid out over the death of a working sergeant.
The policeman had become notorious for his drinking ability and "became a target of the hosts, who, one by one, asked for the officer to 'gan bei'," the paper said.
"Gan bei" is Chinese for "cheers", and literally means "drain the glass".
After vomiting, Mr Chen was taken to rest on a nearby sofa where he was soon found breathless and with a purple face, the report said. He later died in hospital of suffocation.
The police officer's death was the latest in a string of casualties arising from the Chinese tradition in which officials and businessmen ply guests with strong liquor at elaborate banquets to frequent cries of "gan bei!"
A village party secretary in eastern China was found dead last month after a night of boozing with businessmen.
And a water resource official in central China died in July after excessive drinking at a formal dinner.
The state Xinhua news agency said in July that about £45bn in public funds is spent each year on official banquets.