Saturday, January 24, 2009
Universal Healthcare for China
Dr. Ming Wang forwarded me a link to a New York Times article which reports that the Chinese government has announced a plan to institute universal healthcare by 2012.
China Announces Subsidies for Health Care
By EDWARD WONG
BEIJING — China announced Wednesday that it intended to spend $123 billion by 2011 to establish universal health care for the country’s 1.3 billion people. . . Xinhua, the state news agency, said the authorities would “take measures within three years to provide basic medical security to all Chinese in urban and rural areas, improve the quality of medical services and make medical services more accessible and affordable for ordinary people.”
The article indicates that the Chinese government might be doing this, in part, to stumulate its economy by encouraging Chinese to spend more. Since many Chinese have little or no health coverage, they tend to save a large portion of their income in case they need it to cover medical expenses which, although still cheap compared to the U.S., are rising rapidly in China.
Regardless of the motives for doing so, it will certainly involve a huge commitment by China to accomplish this goal (China announced it plans to spend $123 billion by 2011).
Its a bit ironic that China, with a 1.3 billion population and a smaller economy than the United States, is at least aiming for universal healthcare while the U.S. has so far been unable to do so. Of course, the U.S. population are not big savers so the security of universal healthcare isn't likely to result in increased consumer spending as China is hoping for. However, I think there are other very good reasons that the American healthcare system needs substantial reform. Maybe we can follow China's lead on this one.
Or maybe, Americans will just have to start going to China for cheaper medical treatment.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Chinese Box Office 2008
A short article from Variety Asia Online says that the mainland China movie industry had an increase of 27% in box office revenues for 2008 (worth about U.S. $622 million). Chinese films were responsible for slightly more than 60% of that income according to the China Film Bureau .
The biggest grossing film in China last year was Red Cliff, a historically-based epic about the Battle of Red Cliffs in ancient Han Dynasty China. The film made U.S. $45.3 million in China and over U.S. $102 million worldwide. Red Cliff also has the distinction of being the most expensive Asian-produced movie with a budget of around U.S. $80 million.
Other top grossing films were CJ7, Painted Skin, American-produced The Forbidden Kingdom, Kung Fu Dunk, If You are the One and Forever Enthralled.
Interestingly, increasing numbers of Chinese people are going to movie theaters to watch movies even though pirated DVD copies can be easily and cheaply purchased. This is probably due to the fact that as China's economy has grown, more people have disposable income and are willing to pay more to see a movie in a theater for the entertainment experience (going-out, group-oriented activity) rather than watching pirated copies at home.
The biggest grossing film in China last year was Red Cliff, a historically-based epic about the Battle of Red Cliffs in ancient Han Dynasty China. The film made U.S. $45.3 million in China and over U.S. $102 million worldwide. Red Cliff also has the distinction of being the most expensive Asian-produced movie with a budget of around U.S. $80 million.
Other top grossing films were CJ7, Painted Skin, American-produced The Forbidden Kingdom, Kung Fu Dunk, If You are the One and Forever Enthralled.
Interestingly, increasing numbers of Chinese people are going to movie theaters to watch movies even though pirated DVD copies can be easily and cheaply purchased. This is probably due to the fact that as China's economy has grown, more people have disposable income and are willing to pay more to see a movie in a theater for the entertainment experience (going-out, group-oriented activity) rather than watching pirated copies at home.
Friday, January 2, 2009
U.S. & China: Economic Interdependence?
I haven't posted anything here since returning to the U.S. last year and resuming my relatively normal work routine, but decided to start posting again. So, as I find the time and something of interest strikes me, I'll post it.
For starters, I read this article from the International Herald Tribune describing how the American (and worldwide) economic slowdown is impacting China. If we think we're hurting here in the U.S., it may be worthwhile considering how much worse off many Chinese workers will be as a result.
While Americans have been irresponsibly overspending in recent years which has certainly contributed to the problems currently being experienced, that spending has helped create millions of mostly low-paying jobs in China. As American consumer spending decreases, the number of workers employed in Chinese factories is also decreasing and resulting in increasing unemployment.For starters, I read this article from the International Herald Tribune describing how the American (and worldwide) economic slowdown is impacting China. If we think we're hurting here in the U.S., it may be worthwhile considering how much worse off many Chinese workers will be as a result.
President-elect Obama and the U.S. government is certainly faced with a serious challenge in revitalizing the U.S. economy. However, the problem is not solely a domestic one. The American economy has a huge impact on much of the world, including the current century's growing economic superpower, China. In the past few decades, China has been able to bring a few hundred million people out of extreme poverty. If that trend reverses, the Chinese government may face even greater challenges than the U.S. With its huge population, China's first priority must be to provide jobs in order to avoid the type of economic calamity that in its long history has caused numerous peasant uprisings ultimately leading to forced changes in government.
Maybe this is all just another example of increasing globalization, illustrating that there can be negative as well as positive effects. If so, international cooperation would seem to be crucial to resolving such major economic problems. Let's hope that President Obama's campaign message of "change" will include his playing a leading role in fostering such cooperation among the United States, China and other countries. If Obama and other world leaders can't solve the problems, maybe author/globalization-guru Thomas Friedman ("The World is Flat") can come up with something - I imagine we'll have to wait a new book for his solutions though.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Jane Zhang: China's Mariah Carey?
One thing I've noticed in my travels is that every country seems to have its own American Idol type TV show. China of course is no exception which has its incredibly popular Supergirl show which started in 2005 which was reportedly watched by more than 400 million Chinese fans. Apparently, the show has since suffered some problems (see this article).One of the problems for Chinese singers in developing any recognition and success in the U.S. and elsewhere is of course the language difference. Jane Zhang (Zhang Liangying - 张靓颖), one of the Supergirl Season #1 contestants may have a good chance of doing so due to her Mariah Carey-like voice, attractive looks and ability to sing in English. Ironically, although her choice of English songs and a Spanish-language song in addition to Chinese during the Supergirl competition impressed the judges, it may have alienated some of the Chinese voters who voted (by text messaging) for Li Yuchun.
Zhang's first album, The One, includes 3 songs in English as well as 7 in Chinese. I've listened to it and although its good, it may be a bit overproduced and doesn't seem to show off her vocal talents fully. On her 2nd album, Update, Zhang takes some risks by veering a bit away from tandard Chinese pop and experimenting with R&B and a little jazz.
Zhang is known, among other things, for her vocal range - from D below middle C to G above soprano C, as illustrated by her performance of Minnie Riperton's 1974 hit Lovin' You on the Super Girl show (see video below)
Here's a video of a live medley performance including Don't Cry For Me Argentina.
And, a Chinese song with a little hip-hop flavor:
One thing I can say for sure is that Ms. Zhang has more talent than anyone I've seen on that annoying America's_Got Talent/ show that they play here in Hong Kong. If that's really the best talent America's got to offer, I'd vote for Jane and I'm moving to China.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Hong Kong Turkey
Well, I missed out on Thanksgiving dinner since I'm here in Hong Kong. Turkey isn't extremely popular in China although chicken is extremely popular. Anyway, Happy Thansgiving to all.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Chinese Hip-Hop?
Last week, Lingnan University hosted a Mass Dance competition with all 8 Hong Kong universities sending dance teams. Since I'm living on campus, I couldn't avoid the event since it drew a large crowd. Now, don't be mistaken - I'm not talking about any type of traditional Chinese dance - this was Hong Kong hip-hop_dance style. It was admittedly quite entertaining and obviously the dance teams put a lot of effort into their performances since they were all very well-rehearsed. While I have no problem with Chinese students dancing to hip-hop or any other music they want to, I found it slightly ironic that there wasn't anything the slightest bit Chinese in this entire performance which included lots of music, dance and costumes.
Anyway, this made me wonder where Chinese culture has gone. With 5000 years of musical history, is there not one Chinese rap song that could have been included in this performance. So I did what any inquisitive individual would do in this modern day and age - I googled. There is of course Jin, a Chinese-American rapper who's had at least some degree of commercial success who's had some degree of commercial success. But I didn't find much so I went to a deeper research source - Youtube. Not too much there either, but I did MC HotDog 姚中仁, a Taiwanese rapper who (based on my comprehensive Internet research) seems to be the closest thing China has to a rap star. So as they say in rapspeak- Yo! - check it:
Although I felt a little bit old watching all these young, energetic college students bustin' their moves (can you say that anymore?) to all the modern hippity hoppiest tunes, I felt better when the event ended with a dance to Earth Wind & Fire's hit Boogie Wonderland which goes back to my early youth.
Anyway, this made me wonder where Chinese culture has gone. With 5000 years of musical history, is there not one Chinese rap song that could have been included in this performance. So I did what any inquisitive individual would do in this modern day and age - I googled. There is of course Jin, a Chinese-American rapper who's had at least some degree of commercial success who's had some degree of commercial success. But I didn't find much so I went to a deeper research source - Youtube. Not too much there either, but I did MC HotDog 姚中仁, a Taiwanese rapper who (based on my comprehensive Internet research) seems to be the closest thing China has to a rap star. So as they say in rapspeak- Yo! - check it:
Although I felt a little bit old watching all these young, energetic college students bustin' their moves (can you say that anymore?) to all the modern hippity hoppiest tunes, I felt better when the event ended with a dance to Earth Wind & Fire's hit Boogie Wonderland which goes back to my early youth.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Too Much Caution over "Lust, Caution"?
I haven't seen it yet, but "Lust Caution" (色戒 - Sie Jie), the latest film directed by 3-time Oscar winner Ang Lee, has become very popular in China, especially here at Lingnan University since the story features Lingnan students who plot to assassinate a Chinese officer collaborating with the Japanese during Japan's WWII occupation of parts of China. The film apparently features some steamy sex scenes which China's morality protectors at the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) found to be too explicit for Chinese audiences. As a result, a censored version is being shown in Chinese movie theaters (although I'm not sure if the uncensored version is allowed here in Hong Kong since it has its own spearate censorship laws).Anyway, a few days ago a student at China University of Politics and Law, Dong Yanbin (董彦斌), sued the SARFT claiming that the censored version of the film (which cut 7 minutes of sexual oriented scenes) infringed his consumer rights to information and fair trade (see this article about the lawsuit). Apparently he's doing this to make a point rather than for money since his suit only requests 500 yuan (about U.S. $67)for emotional damages, as well as an apology and making the uncensored version of the film available to adult viewers.
Unlike the United States, China does not have a movie rating system. The SARFT decides what films are allowed to be shown in theaters and has the authority to censor films, as it did by ordering director Ang Lee to edit scenes found objectionable. Although Lee agreed to edit the film for Chinese theater exhibition, he claims that the sex scenes are a crucial part of the story rather than merely gratuitous. Lee says the relationship between the male character (played by Tony Leung) and the female character (played by Chinese newcomer Wei, Tang) "is like occupying and being occupied, prey and predator, under the backdrop of China being occupied by Japan" and "the irony is that you don't know who the occupier is, the man or the woman." In the U.S., you can see the unedited version, but its rated NC-17.
Reportedly, the court will not hear the case unless Dong provides an uncut version as evidence. If you like irony, you'll appreciate that the uncut version is illegal in China. Here's a promotional trailer for the movie.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Barbeque Hong Kong Style
Last night I got to experience Hong Kong style barbeque. While Americans love to barbeque as much as anyone, Hong Kong people have a slightly different sytle. They have large open areas, often in parks, where you pay a fee which gives you access to a barbeque grill and all the food you can cook and eat. Each person gets a two-pronged fork and you load up each prong with food of your choice then grill away. 
Sunday, November 11, 2007
John Rabe - China's Schindler
Last summer, I visited several cities in China as part of a summer study abroad program with Belmont University. One of the cities we visited was Nanjing, an important city in many parts of Chinese history. One of the darker parts of its history occured when the Japanese invaded in 1937 and brutally massacred several hundred thousand Chinese residents which became known as the Nanking Massacre or the Rape of Nanjing (the title of the book by Iris_Chang). I was shocked, not only by the atrocity itself, but also by the fact that I'd never really heard much about it and didn't realize the extent and exceptionally barbaric nature of the Japanese troops which rivaled if not surpassed the worst atrocities committed by the Nazi's. None of the American students in our group had heard of it at all which seems to illustrate the overly Westernized version of history in the U.S. education system.I bring this up because I just read about a movie being produced in Shanghai about John_Rabe, a real-life hero who most Americans have never heard of. Rabe was a German engineer (and Nazi party member) working in Nanjing when the Japanese invaded who refused to leave i n order to help organize a safety zone which protected a quarter of a million civilians. He also appealed to the Japanese and wrote to Hitler trying to stop the brutal treatment inflicted on the Chinese. The photo below shows members of the Belmont group at the Nanjing Memorial Hall.
The German/Chinese co-produced film, The Diaries of John Rabe is being shot in Shanghai as well as Nanjing and features an international cast including German actors, Steve_Buscemi (playing American doctor Robert Wilson), Chinese star Zhang Jingchu and Japanese actors Teruyuki Kagawa and Akira Emoto. It is scheduled for late 2008 release in Germany and China (American release not yet known). There are several other films dealing with the Nanjing massacre also being produced so it looks like this chapter of Chinese history may finally get some more international publicity.Friday, November 9, 2007
China's NBA Championship
The NBA season has just started, but in China the championship is tomorrow when the Houston Rockets play the Milwaukee Bucks. More importantly (to the many Chinese NBA fans), China's Yao Ming goes up against China's rookie sensation Yi Jianlian. American basketball fans know that both are Chinese and both are tall although Yao has 6 inches over his younger compatriot Yi, who's only 7'0". Yao also has more experience and has proven himself to be one of the top centers in the NBA. Yi has just begun his first NBA season, but is off to a very good start. While the two Chinese players will be opponents tomorrow, they will be teammates next summer on the Chinese national team in the Beijing Olympics and should be a formidable frontline. The game will be televised in China at 9 a.m. and is predicted to be watched by over 200 million Chinese viewers. The audience will be much more than most of the world's biggest sporting events and I imagine the NBA is saying China, its 意想不到 (Fantastic)!
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