Asia - The Trawler.org
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Xu Jin: Review of Economic Legacy by Hu Jintao & Wen Jiabao (FTChinese, CN)
195 days ago by Amy Yizhi Mao
After eighteenth CPC National Congress, the two leaders of China in the past decade, Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao, both stepped down from the post. Wen even stressed that “please forget me”. FT Chinese columnist Xu Jin joined the debate to discuss what legacy they had left to China and world economy. (See article)
The controversy is right there. During the past decade led by Hu and Wen, China did enjoy substantial GDP growth and increased to the second in the GDP ranking. However, accompanied is a set of more problems to be tackled such as increasing inequality and sky-rocketing housing prices in the domestic market and interest rate dispute in the international market.
She refers to Ray Huang about improvement remedy in both superstructure and underlying structures regarding current reforms. Nevertheless, the latest statement by Xi Jinping on “Common prosperity” may suggest new direction.
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Lian Qingchuan: Ningbo Anti-PX protests and Rise of Localism (New York Times Chinese Version, CN)
226 days ago by Amy Yizhi Mao
New York Times published a column by Lian Qingchuan as a follow-up on Anti-PX protests in Chinese Eastern city Ningbo during last week. Lian is a famous columnist and senior journalist. He was a visiting scholar in Columbia University and writes for FT Chinese regularly.
Lian sees the conflicts between central and local authorities behind the protest. State-owned enterprises form leagues with local government in search of interests in giant projects such as PX (in this case). However, environment and health issues, are left out by these giants but cared foremost by local residents in the East such as Xiamen, Dalian and Ningbo. They had to march for their own concerns and local issues have thus risen above the surface.
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LIN LAN: Protests in Ningbo against Chemical Plant Expansion (RFI, CN)
233 days ago by Amy Yizhi Mao
RFI (Chinese version) posted a column by Lin Lan describing the ongoing protest in the eastern Chinese city of Ningbo. Thousands of people gathered in the city center and marched against construction of a paraxylene (PX) facility at the plant in Zhenhai District during the weekend. The plant is owned by a subsidiary of the Sinopec, China’s biggest refiner. Protesters were afraid that paraxylene, used in the manufacture of polyester, is a carcinogen.
Lin argues that the protest, which causes a conflict between police and citizens, deserves extra attention considering the upcoming 18th National Congress of CPC. Many celebrities delivered their concern over Ningbo on the Chinese microblog Sina Weibo, including actress Yao Chen. No domestic media has covered the issue so far. In the context of growing economy and worsening environment, grassroots democracy challenges await new leaders in China.
The plans were cancelled on Sunday, announced by the official channel of Ningbo government on Sina Weibo.
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HU SHULI: “Equal Opportunity Rather Than Equal Pay” (Caixin, CN)
242 days ago by Amy Yizhi Mao
Hu Shuli, editor-in-chief of Caixin.com, posted a column on October 17 regarding income inequality, stressing the importance of equal opportunity.
The reform of the income distribution system, prepared for as long as eight years, is reported to take place within this month. Income distribution, an issue concerning everybody, is a major task for the authorities. In this context, primary distribution of income serves a more critical role than redistribution.
Hu points out that one third of the income gap across industries exist due to monopolistic power. These unreasonable gaps include uneven entry into markets and the deprivation of property, such as farmers’ fruitless struggle to gain land revenue share in urbanization.
Policy implications are to deepen market-oriented reform as well as strengthen the reform of the political system on the constraints of power. Excessive adjustments in labour compensation based on the conventional income redistribution cannot touch those interest groups. Even worse, the middle-income groups will be hurt.
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KAI YE: “Mo Yan’s Secret Kingdom” (New York Times Chinese Version, CN)
247 days ago by Amy Yizhi Mao
Mo Yan was awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday October 11. He became the first Chinese Nobel Prize laureate in Literature, as a result of his ability to, as stated by the Swedish Academy: merge folk tales, history and the contemporary with hallucinatory realism. New York Times Chinese Version invited Kai Ye, Mo Yan’s long-time editor to write a column on Mo’s writing style. (See article)
The rumour, in fact, has been transmitted for a couple of weeks that Mo would be awarded the prize this year. Here it is; the discussion however still goes on whether Mo deserves the award. Ye speaks highly of Mo’s works, especially of his crucial ability to interweave reality and romance in his novels.
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Jin Xu: Congestion on Holiday Highways (FT Chinese, CN)
254 days ago by Amy Yizhi Mao
FT Chinese published a column on Economic Person by its columnist Jin Xu discussing congestion on Chinese highways, the most popular topic in this newly-ended Golden Week. It is estimated that 740 million used the expressway network during the holiday. Two reasons contribute to the traffic gridlock. This 8-day public holiday starting from September 30 to October 7, longest in history, combines Mid-Autumn Festival and National Holiday altogether. And this year the government waived the highway tolls during a vacation period for the first time.
Xu questions this free-meal policy and links this traffic chaos to Spring Festival travel season. In essence, they both relate to allocation of social resources. Efficiency and fairness in public policy, in today’s China, should be considered with more prudence than ever.
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Tan Ye: Refutation of Anti-intellectual Population Theory (FTchinese, CN)
261 days ago by Amy Yizhi Mao
Tan Ye argues against anti-intellectual population theory in her column The Boundary of Market on FTchinese.com with a series of seven articles. She received her PhD in history from Fudan University and now is a famous columnist in finance and economics.
Ye’s main argument is that the net increase of the Chinese population is dramatic because the death rate declines at a rate faster than the fertility rate growth. She cites data from the report by UBS but does not include a link in the article. Furthermore, she points out that water resources in China cannot support the excessive population if current pollution is not going to be reversed. Other issues including aging and demographic dividend are also taken into consideration.
Ye’s seven articles can be recognised as a symbol of heated debates in population policy (more specifically, the one-child policy) in China.
Xu Jin: Review of Economic Legacy by Hu Jintao & Wen Jiabao (FTChinese, CN)
195 days ago by Amy Yizhi MaoAfter eighteenth CPC National Congress, the two leaders of China in the past decade, Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao, both stepped down from the post. Wen even stressed that “please forget me”. FT Chinese columnist Xu Jin joined the debate to discuss what legacy they had left to China and world economy. (See article)
The controversy is right there. During the past decade led by Hu and Wen, China did enjoy substantial GDP growth and increased to the second in the GDP ranking. However, accompanied is a set of more problems to be tackled such as increasing inequality and sky-rocketing housing prices in the domestic market and interest rate dispute in the international market.
She refers to Ray Huang about improvement remedy in both superstructure and underlying structures regarding current reforms. Nevertheless, the latest statement by Xi Jinping on “Common prosperity” may suggest new direction.
Lian Qingchuan: Ningbo Anti-PX protests and Rise of Localism (New York Times Chinese Version, CN)
226 days ago by Amy Yizhi MaoNew York Times published a column by Lian Qingchuan as a follow-up on Anti-PX protests in Chinese Eastern city Ningbo during last week. Lian is a famous columnist and senior journalist. He was a visiting scholar in Columbia University and writes for FT Chinese regularly.
Lian sees the conflicts between central and local authorities behind the protest. State-owned enterprises form leagues with local government in search of interests in giant projects such as PX (in this case). However, environment and health issues, are left out by these giants but cared foremost by local residents in the East such as Xiamen, Dalian and Ningbo. They had to march for their own concerns and local issues have thus risen above the surface.
LIN LAN: Protests in Ningbo against Chemical Plant Expansion (RFI, CN)
233 days ago by Amy Yizhi Mao
RFI (Chinese version) posted a column by Lin Lan describing the ongoing protest in the eastern Chinese city of Ningbo. Thousands of people gathered in the city center and marched against construction of a paraxylene (PX) facility at the plant in Zhenhai District during the weekend. The plant is owned by a subsidiary of the Sinopec, China’s biggest refiner. Protesters were afraid that paraxylene, used in the manufacture of polyester, is a carcinogen.
Lin argues that the protest, which causes a conflict between police and citizens, deserves extra attention considering the upcoming 18th National Congress of CPC. Many celebrities delivered their concern over Ningbo on the Chinese microblog Sina Weibo, including actress Yao Chen. No domestic media has covered the issue so far. In the context of growing economy and worsening environment, grassroots democracy challenges await new leaders in China.
The plans were cancelled on Sunday, announced by the official channel of Ningbo government on Sina Weibo.
HU SHULI: “Equal Opportunity Rather Than Equal Pay” (Caixin, CN)
242 days ago by Amy Yizhi MaoHu Shuli, editor-in-chief of Caixin.com, posted a column on October 17 regarding income inequality, stressing the importance of equal opportunity.
The reform of the income distribution system, prepared for as long as eight years, is reported to take place within this month. Income distribution, an issue concerning everybody, is a major task for the authorities. In this context, primary distribution of income serves a more critical role than redistribution.
Hu points out that one third of the income gap across industries exist due to monopolistic power. These unreasonable gaps include uneven entry into markets and the deprivation of property, such as farmers’ fruitless struggle to gain land revenue share in urbanization.
Policy implications are to deepen market-oriented reform as well as strengthen the reform of the political system on the constraints of power. Excessive adjustments in labour compensation based on the conventional income redistribution cannot touch those interest groups. Even worse, the middle-income groups will be hurt.
KAI YE: “Mo Yan’s Secret Kingdom” (New York Times Chinese Version, CN)
247 days ago by Amy Yizhi MaoMo Yan was awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday October 11. He became the first Chinese Nobel Prize laureate in Literature, as a result of his ability to, as stated by the Swedish Academy: merge folk tales, history and the contemporary with hallucinatory realism. New York Times Chinese Version invited Kai Ye, Mo Yan’s long-time editor to write a column on Mo’s writing style. (See article)
The rumour, in fact, has been transmitted for a couple of weeks that Mo would be awarded the prize this year. Here it is; the discussion however still goes on whether Mo deserves the award. Ye speaks highly of Mo’s works, especially of his crucial ability to interweave reality and romance in his novels.
Jin Xu: Congestion on Holiday Highways (FT Chinese, CN)
254 days ago by Amy Yizhi MaoFT Chinese published a column on Economic Person by its columnist Jin Xu discussing congestion on Chinese highways, the most popular topic in this newly-ended Golden Week. It is estimated that 740 million used the expressway network during the holiday. Two reasons contribute to the traffic gridlock. This 8-day public holiday starting from September 30 to October 7, longest in history, combines Mid-Autumn Festival and National Holiday altogether. And this year the government waived the highway tolls during a vacation period for the first time.
Xu questions this free-meal policy and links this traffic chaos to Spring Festival travel season. In essence, they both relate to allocation of social resources. Efficiency and fairness in public policy, in today’s China, should be considered with more prudence than ever.
Tan Ye: Refutation of Anti-intellectual Population Theory (FTchinese, CN)
261 days ago by Amy Yizhi MaoTan Ye argues against anti-intellectual population theory in her column The Boundary of Market on FTchinese.com with a series of seven articles. She received her PhD in history from Fudan University and now is a famous columnist in finance and economics.
Ye’s main argument is that the net increase of the Chinese population is dramatic because the death rate declines at a rate faster than the fertility rate growth. She cites data from the report by UBS but does not include a link in the article. Furthermore, she points out that water resources in China cannot support the excessive population if current pollution is not going to be reversed. Other issues including aging and demographic dividend are also taken into consideration.
Ye’s seven articles can be recognised as a symbol of heated debates in population policy (more specifically, the one-child policy) in China.
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