Reflection

Writing this blog was a daunting task. Before even starting this blog, I had a struggled with deciding what topic I should write about. Eventually I chose to write about my recent trip to China because I had witnessed many things that happened over there that I wanted to discuss. This project helped me in many ways. For instance, I have gained new technological skills by learning how to post and use a blog. I loved how we could customize our page to our liking.

Also, this project was less time-consuming than writing a research paper, making me have more time to spend with my family. Finally, the last thing I liked about this project was that we got to see what our classmates wrote about. That is important because we could see what they liked and their standpoints on their topics.

Despite having many pros, there are a few cons about this project compared to the research paper. First off, it was easier to write papers because for me, it was easier to keep on track and focus on what I am talking about. Furthermore, it was hard to think of specific sub topics to write about because I had to make sure I had enough information to write about and fully discuss about the topic. Another thing is that there was so little time to write about each sub topic.

There were times where I was pulling my hair out and getting frustrated over how much I had to write. Sometimes, I even fell behind on some assignments. Finally, the last thing I did not like about the project was the Visual Rhetoric. I could not understand what ethos, pathos, and mythos meant and how it correlated to a picture.

If I were to do this project again, I would probably want to choose a different topic because others’ blog’s sub topics were correlated and intertwined together, making it easier to write. Overall, I thought this was a good project, but it might be too stressful and technological for me.

I smell the pollution!”

Bad Air in China

My previous postings were about higher education and the new urban poor in China. Now I would like to take on another hot topic, the environment, in China with my readers.

In the past decade China earned her reputation as the factory for the world. Many of manufacturing jobs were relocated from the west including the United States to China. The Chinese economy enjoyed a comfortable ride through this transition. A significant portion of Chinese citizens got them out of the poverty for this opportunity. However, behind the prosperity is the severely damaged environment. For instance, 9 of the 10 cities with the world’s worst air pollution are found in China (Schmidt, 2002).  Many of us might still remember the great concerns about the air quality raised by some of the athletes participating in the Beijing Olympic Games three years ago. During our latest trip to China, my son complained about the fact that he could smell pollution. The severity of air pollution was easily spotted when I was there. Even the snow on the ground was somewhat grayish in my hometown.  The consequence of air pollution is so enormous for the Chinese society. The respiratory disease linked to air pollution is the leading causes for the death in China (Schmidt, 2002).  Adults die most often because of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and children because of pneumonia (Schmidt, 2002). Air pollution causes millions of Chinese to suffer from chronic ailments including heart disease, cancer, decreased immune function, and fatigue (Schmidt, 2002).

The polluted and diminishing water resources are even a greater threat to the life of many Chinese citizens.  A recent report showed that the underground water sources for drinking water in more than half of the Chinese cities do not reach the national standards. The hazardous chemicals in the drinking water used by more than 190 million people are above the safety level (Schmidt, 2002). For this reason, my parents have been buying bottled water for drinking. Because of the limited availability of water resources, many cities in northeastern China are plagued by the chronic water shortage. My mom often store quite a few plastic bottles filled with tap water in her balcony in case there is unexpected water outage,  which had happened several times a week. When I was there, I experienced a cutoff of water while I was in a middle of a shower.

Another drastic effect resulting from the degradation of environment is the dust storm of this time of each year. While I am writing this blog, I just noticed a headline from Xinhua News that the citizens in Beijing are suffering from one of the worst dust storms this year. The visibility falls below 2 miles (see the picture above). The situation can be much worse in some of northwestern areas, like Gansu province. The visibility could be as low as 50 meters. The local citizens are forced to stay inside buildings. Economic activities are brought to a halt.

Sandstorm in Gansu

The worsened environment is directly correlated with the industrialization in China during the past 60 years. The degradation was accelerated in the past 20 years, which matches the period of fast growth in Chinese economy. Coal is the most used source to power Chinese economy. The coal was often burned without treatment to reduce the release of hazardous gases, such as sulfur oxide and nitrogen oxide, and without the removal of particles in the soot (Schmidt, 2002).  Associated with the recent economic boom, a vast amount of small to medium sized factories were erected everywhere. Many of those factories produce chemical and biological wastes. Since the local governments are concerned only about the economic profits, they stay blind to the potential environment damages. It is often reported that the chemicals from manufacturing facilities are freely discharged along the major rivers. Now the problem becomes too huge to be remedied. It was estimated that the damages caused by pollution and degraded resources consume up to 8% of China’s GDP, roughly equal to the annual growth of the country’s economy (Schmidt, 2002). In other words, the economic development in the industrialization process is washed out. History may not repeat itself. However, one can find a lot of similarities in the history. What we seeing in China reflects what has happened in US early last century when US was going through her industrialization. The sad reality is that we do not learn from history.

                          I am glad that the Chinese government is committed to restore the environment. In next decade 1.5 percent of GDP will be invested in the environment protection. More importantly the Chinese government at all levels should feel the urgency and accountability in this issue. They should have a balanced policy in economical development and environment protection. We have already seen that Chinese are importing technologies in clean coal. They have an annual target in increasing forest coverage. In my hometown, they just started a centralized heating system. This way the emission will be better controlled. I trust that the situation will be improved with time. I hope that other developing countries will avoid the same mistakes in their industrialization process. In the end, we will live in a better world. 

             

             Work Cited:

Bad Air Quality (n.d) http://www.our-energy.com/pictures/static_content/china_hydropower_as_the_right_solution/bad_air_quality.jpg Retrieved  April, 30,  2011 from www.Google Image.

Sandstorm in Gansu (March, 2010) http://feww.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/sandstorm-19-march.jpg  Retrieved April, 30, 2011 from Google Image.

Schmidt, CW. (2002, September). Economy and Environment China Seeks a Balance. Environmental Health Perspectives, 2002 Volume 110, PA517-PA522.Retrieved March, 24, 2011from Academic Search Complete Database.

Visual Rhetoric

This image depicts two students preparing for the gaokao, the Chinese college entrance exam. Above both of their heads, there is a banner saying the gaokao is 56 days away. One student, the one with the red hair, is stressed because he needs to cram all the information he learned in the past into his head in so sssslittle time, whereas the other student, the one with the glasses, is calmly studying for the test. Also, the stressed student is saying he cannot handle all the stress to study for the big college exam anymore.

The picture shows the rhetorical strategy of pathos. Pathos is the quality or power in any form of expression evoking emotions and feeling for it and it is evident in this image. For instance, it appears as if that the student on the left is very stressed out because one can see that he is sweating, frowning, and looks as if he is going through a nervous breakdown because of his power studying for the test. Many can relate to this picture because we all know that at a time of lots of pressure, we give in and cannot take the stress anymore. For this student, if he breaks down, he would not be able to study for the test, which is a short 56 days away, and not do so well.

Another rhetorical strategy this image shows is ethos. Ethos is the characteristic spirit of a culture, era, or community as seen in its beliefs and aspirations. This image shows ethos because it shows two students studying for the gaokao and reaching for their goals in life, just like how the Chinese culture supports higher education and treat gaokao as an important event in one’s life.

This image supports my opinion that the gaokao puts too much psychological pressure on the students and their family, especially for the fact that one single test decides one’s fate. It should be reformed to make it a consistent evaluation for the quality of the students.

This picture shows an excited college student who is holding a city hukou book. He probably, like many other students from the countryside, earned the hukou from performing well on the gaokao by getting into a college in a big city. Since he did well on the gaokao, his destiny was changed. With a city hukou the student would get better opportunities to get a job and enjoy some privileges. At the end they tend to be more successful than a person without a city hukou.

The picture shows the rhetorical strategy of mythos. Mythos is the interrelated set of beliefs, attitudes, and values held by a society or cultural group, which in this case is the Chinese. University education in China is bound to hukou, a residential permit, a system to bind a person to the land he or she is born to and do not allow people to relocate easily. This is because many Chinese believe that taking the gaokao is an important event that happens in one’s life and doing well on it will lead the student into a successful life, like what happened to the student pictured in the image.

Another rhetorical strategy that is shown in this picture is ethos. Like the first picture, this image shows ethos because it shows a farmer student with humble beginnings, climbing up the social ladder because of gaining a city hukou. With that, it would be easier for him to get a job and make a better life for himself. Just like before, the gaokao has changed this person’s fate.

This image does not support my opinion about the disadvantage side of gaokao because I argue that the test is too stressful and needed to become fairer whereas this shows a pro. In his case, the test changed his fate for the better.

Work Cited:

Blogosfere. Gaokao (n.d) http://arteesalute.blogosfere.it/2008/06/ansia-da-esame-in-cina-il-gaokao-e-un-dramma-nazionale.html.  Retrieved 4/25/11 from Google Images.

Chinasmack. Farmer-student-registration-3 (August, 2010). http://www.chinasmack.com/2010/stories/rural-college-students-household-registration-dilemma.html. Retrieved 4/25/11 from Google Images.

                                                              

New Urban Poor

Migrant factory workers working in a clothing factory

China recently has triumphed to become the world’s second largest economy after three decades of economic reform. With the rise of the emerging middle class and the rich, Chinese people are eager to buy luxury goods.  China will become the world's biggest market for luxury goods in five years, according to a report from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. China's luxury goods market had increased to 9.4 billion U.S. dollars by the end of 2009, making up for 27.5 percent of the world's luxury goods market and replacing the United States as the world's second largest luxury goods market.  For instance, I was surprised to learn that Louis Vuitton and Burberry have their designate stores in Changchun, one of the second tier cities in China.  Many economic elites have grown accustomed to a western life style. They have their personal vehicles for daily transportation, take trips abroad, and dine at fancy restaurants, etc. However, the life of an average Chinese citizen is very different from what described above.

Like other developed countries, the rich and middle class only make up part of the Chinese population; many others are living in a life of poverty. A new urban poor has emerged in China. The new urban poverty is mainly composed of rural migrants, unemployed people, laid-off workers, poor workers, and retirees from failing or bankrupted enterprises. They are marginalized under the market transition of the economic system.

Here I am going to share with you some of the stories and scenes I heard and observed while I was in China last December. Associated with the last two decades of economic reform, many of workers from the factories used to be owned by the government lost their jobs. The security they were paid as a buy-out was far less than what is required to maintain a basic life in a long term. A considerable portion of them did not receive a desirable level of education due to the Cultural Revolution. The job opportunities for them are slim in the current competitive job market. Many of them end up with living with their parents for survival. The family of Mr. Lao Zhang, a long time neighbor of my family, is the perfect reflection of the reality. Mr. Lao Zhang has an enviable pension since he retired from a government institution. However, two of his three children have been jobless for years. Now the two children have to live with Mr. Lao Zhang in order to cover their food and shelter. This phenomenon is general in traditional industrial cities, like Changchun.

When we were waiting for our connecting train back to Changchun in Beijing, I saw a few people lying down on the cold, concrete ground in the hallway of the train station. From their appearances and the luggage they were carrying, I could tell that they were rural migrants who might be construction workers or small restaurant waiters waiting for their trains heading back to their countryside homes to reunite with their long-time-no-see parents, children and bring home well needed money. They are the group of people who do not really benefit from China’s explosive economic growth.  

The rural migrants became a large part of the workforce in China’s developing economy.  A lot of large cities suck in migrant workers with the demand for construction of new high-rises. They worked very hard with a low pay. Also, in cities located on the Pearl River Delta, such as Shenzhen and Guangzhou, industrial development attracts lots of young rural migrants. It is typical that the workers in this area were made to work long hours, sometimes in less than desired environment. It may be exaggerated to say that the expanding economy has improved the lives of millions of citizens while simultaneously crushing the dreams of others. However, it does reflect the unfairness in the distribution of the benefits from Chinese economic development.

The article I read for this topic states that the new urban poverty in China, which has been brought up in the market transition and social restructuring period, has had consequential impacts on Chinese socio-economic stability (Liu & Wu, 2006).  Researchers argued that the state is the manipulator of institutions and policies do matter in the creation of new urban poverty, and that the cleavages between the old and new institutions further intensify it (Liu & Wu, 2006. Authors suggest that the Chinese government should aggressively reform the current welfare system and establish a system based on citizenship which will provide basic living support and development rights for the urban poor group. Also, abolishing unjust policies, like the hukou system, and correlated unfair employment policies will let the migrant workers to be treated as regular citizens (Liu & Wu, 2006).

The social inequality has its root in a long standing policy, called hukou, in China. Hukou is a register household system according to a person’s birth place and serves as an “invisible wall” between the urban and rural sectors. It is extremely difficult to transfer one’s rural registration to an urban one.  In general the farmers in the countryside are not protected by the social welfare system. Because of hukou, the massive population of rural migrant workers in China has been excluded from receiving the full benefits, like healthcare and education, despite their remarkable contribution to the society since they remain their “peasant” status. They only can undertake the hard, dangerous and dirty physical, labor-intensive jobs. They do not receive equal employment opportunities and security of life in urban areas. Therefore, many migrant workers have to return to the countryside to retire, raise children or treat illnesses as their limited pensions are not enough to cover the high cost of living in cities.

In recent years, the Chinese government has introduced a series of anti-poverty programs, such as the three-tier social security system. Some programs have already started to have effects, while others are still in the development process.  However, the infrastructure of Chinese cities has developed far too quickly for the development of benefits for urban dwellers. It is the time to tell the government that more changes are needed in order to end the discrimination and the unequal treatment against migrant workers living in cities.

Work Cited:

Liu, Y & Fulong Wu. (2006, April). The State, Institutional Transition and the Creation of New Urban Poverty in China. Social Policy & Administration, 2006 Volume40, Issue 2, P121-137. Retrieved March, 21, 2011from Academic Search Complete Database.

Workers (2010, August). Chinahukoureform.wordpress.com  Retrieved April, 16, 2011 from Google Image, http://chinahukoureform.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/workers1.jpg?w=232&h=300

Gaokao: College Entrance Exam

Stressed Chinese student preparing for gaokao 

In my previous post, I wrote about the grim employment situation millions of graduates are facing now. However, in order to get into colleges, high school graduates have to pass one of the most stressful tests in the world, college entrance exams, also called “gaokao”. According to Xinhua News, Chinese education officials forecast a nationwide drop in the number of students taking the gaokao exams this year since many educated young Chinese after their graduation cannot find jobs that can effectively utilize the skills they learned in college.

The gaokao, which can be compared to SATs, is observed as one of the most important life events for the participants and their parents because college admissions in China are solely dependent on how well the students perform on this particular test. The results of these specific tests can ultimately change the fates of many students, especially for those who come from the countryside to climb the social ladder (Jing, 2007). For instance, my friend’s case reflects what I had written above. He was a farmer’s son, raised in a small village. Being the first in his entire family to go to a prestigious university, the results of the gaokao totally changed his destiny.

 The Chinese people have always been advocates of education.  Selecting talent through exams is a tradition in China, and passing the exams was considered one of the most important accomplishments in a person’s life.  Keju, the imperial civil service exam, was first adopted in the Sui Dynasty (581-618 A.D.), and lasted through the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Intellectuals who wanted to be an official must take the multi-tier examination.  The keju was a high stakes gateway to the ruling class that, during its 1,300 year history, proved to be one of the only ways of gaining social promotion. I remembered that we had read lots of sad, happy, and bizarre stories in my high school years about individuals who studied for the keju or about their long journeys to the sites where the keju was held. The present gaokao is an evolved version of ancient keju. After a decade-long suspension during Cultural Revolution, the gaokao was restored in 1977. Based on the records, almost 6 million students competed for 220,000 university spots.

After more than 20 years, I still remember what it felt like to take the gaokao. My experience with gaokao was in the summer of 1984. Before the test, I was very stressed out in preparing for it. I got so nervous that I was biting the pencils in my hands while I was taking the tests. Many anxious parents were waiting outside the classrooms. My parents came and brought food and other treats to my classmate’s house where I stayed during the two hour lunch break. I felt guilty for the fact that my parents did so much for me and I did not make it into good university. Eventually I ended up at a local university. In retrospect, gaokao was a bitter experience to me.

It has been more than 30 years since the first gaokao after Cultural Revolution. There have been many controversies about the gaokao (Jing, 2007). The gaokao puts too much psychological pressure on the students and their family, especially for the fact that a single test decides one’s destiny (Jing, 2007). It is also unfair to many students in the area where fewer colleges or universities are available in their local regions or provinces since they are correlated with the admission quota (Jing, 2007). Many believe that the gaokao discourages the training for student’s creativity because the cramming teaching methodology is often employed to boost the student’s test scores (Jing, 2007). 

There are probably many answers to why China has suffered from this lack of innovation, but the gaokao have contributed to a widely recognized problem in Chinese education.  Now looking back at it, I thought that most of the information that we had learned in school had no practicality in real-life situations. I believe that despite having many upsides, the gaokao has not benefited many people as it was thought to be. Although so many problems have been realized, there is not much better system available for choice. The education reformation is another one lying ahead of the Chinese educators.  

Works Cited:

Chinese students: The most stressed in the world. (2009, June 08) cnreviews.com Retrieved April, 10 from http://cnreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/gaokao.jpg

Jing, X. (2007, June, 27). Test Under Test. Beijing Review, 2007 Volume 50, Issue 25 PP28-29. Retrieved March 19, 2011from Academic Search Complete Database.