China, the land of opportunities

Discussion in 'Asia' started by reedak, Nov 10, 2011.

  1. reedak

    reedak Well-Known Member

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    Following are excerpts from an article headlined "Welcome to a land of untapped and unmapped opportunity" at http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/usa/epaper/2011-11/08/content_14056506.htm

    The writer, Karl Arney, is a graduate of Temple University in Philadelphia. He now teaches English at Henan Business College and Henan University of Economics and Law, and is a contributor to the China Daily newspaper.

    (Begin excerpts)
    For a country that many in the West still believe to be strictly Communist, China certainly has no lack of surprise business opportunities, particularly for foreigners. This is something that should have been apparent to me before I even set foot in the country.

    I never thought of visiting China before I first came to teach English in 2009.

    Yet between February and August of that year I turned in a late application, accepted a job in Zhengzhou (a city I had never heard of) and landed in Shanghai for a weeklong orientation program. A week later, I was teaching college students business English despite a BA in journalism and no prior experience in teaching or business.

    That such a whirlwind process did not immediately show me the nature of possibility in this country reflects just how caught up I was in that gale.

    It wasn't until after a year of acquainting myself with my new profession and the Chinese language that it occurred to me that I should try writing for this column, which I had already been reading for months. Yet one story about a crazy camping trip later, I was already on the verge of doing more with my degree here than I had done in the previous two years in the United States.....

    English is more important that ever, not only for students, but also internationally minded businesses and anyone trying to appeal to the massive influx of foreigners.

    While Zhengzhou may not be a diverse powerhouse like Beijing or Shanghai, that just means there's even less English-language competition and more work to be done.

    Writing for this column became a fun and rewarding part of my schedule.

    By the start of 2011 I had added yet another side job to the list.

    I had responded on a whim (and my girlfriend's suggestion) to an eChinacities.com listing for an English editor at a Chinese company in December 2010 and forgotten about it shortly after.

    Within a month, though, I received a return call and set about editing all of the English-language documents for Shanghai Sourcing Project Consultancy Co Ltd, a company providing consulting and assistance to foreign and domestic companies planning to open factories in China.

    The relationship proved fruitful, and I wound up essentially in charge of English-language marketing for the company.

    One American friend co-founded the most Westernized bar in the city with his Chinese wife, while a French community member manages another.

    A long-term Irish resident is one of the highest-level administrators at my current college's parent organization, and another Irishman is the principal of a school within the company.

    This is to say nothing of the various people who come in for clear business reasons from the beginning.

    And all of this is in Zhengzhou, a relatively small city in the grander Chinese patchwork.

    It's no secret China offers a lot of opportunity for foreigners.

    The continuously growing number of them entering the country is proof that word is out.

    But many, like myself two years ago, come to teach, expecting to do so as a 10-month break from their "real lives".

    The real secret is to tap the diversity of opportunities once you're here.

    Come to China with even the slightest ambition, and there's literally no telling what you might be doing in a year. (End excerpts)
     
  2. waltky

    waltky Well-Known Member

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    But not for child trafficking...

    China rescues 178 children in trafficking bust
    7 Dec.`11 – Chinese police arrested 608 suspects and rescued 178 children in busts of two separate child trafficking networks, authorities said Wednesday.
     
  3. reedak

    reedak Well-Known Member

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    When you open all your windows, all sorts of creatures, good or bad, will find their way into your house -- lizards, bees, butterflies, houseflies, mosquitoes, wasps, spiders and even snakes.
     
  4. waltky

    waltky Well-Known Member

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    Granny says, "Dat's right - if ya can breathe the air...
    :grandma:
    Beijing Air Quality Worst on Record
    January 13, 2013 - Beijing is under an extreme smog warning Sunday, with pollution at hazardous levels for a third day, and people warned to stay indoors.
    Beijing’s air pollution goes off the index
    Mon, Jan 14, 2013 - EXACERBATING: One of the factors causing the extreme air pollution was a lack of wind as pollutants can easily accumulate and fail to dissipate, a health expert said
     
  5. Franticfrank

    Franticfrank New Member

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    That's a really serious amount of air pollution. It will be interesting to gauge the long-term health effects on Beijing's citizens. It really is unbelievable - look at statistics on the increase of air pollution in China between 1990 and 2010. It's absolutely massive. Hopefully something will be done about it, from the photos in the above article, it looks to be a flying/driving hazard in addition to whatever other problems it causes to people, never mind the environment as a whole.
     
  6. waltky

    waltky Well-Known Member

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    Granny says good luck with dat one...
    :grandma:
    China plans rules against air pollution
    Mon, Jan 21, 2013 - THROUGH THE HAZE: Authorities are increasingly concerned about air quality because the issue plays into popular resentment over rising inequality and political privilege
     
  7. waltky

    waltky Well-Known Member

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    Whadaya want cars or clean air? - now ya can have both...
    :wink:
    China's love affair with cars chokes air in cities
    Jan 31,`13 -- Endless lines of slow-moving cars emerge like apparitions and then disappear again into the gloom of the thick smog that has shrouded Beijing this week and reduced its skyline to blurry gray shapes.
    See also:

    Chinese Millionaire Sells Cans of Fresh Air
    January 30, 2013 - China's foulest two-week period for air pollution in memory has rekindled a tongue-in-cheek campaign by a multimillionaire with a streak of showmanship who is selling canned fresh air.
     
  8. waltky

    waltky Well-Known Member

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    Big oil called on the carpet in China for smog...
    :hmm:
    China’s oil giants take a choke-hold on power
    Mon, Feb 04, 2013 - The search for culprits behind the rancid haze enveloping China’s capital has turned a spotlight on the country’s two largest oil companies and their resistance to tougher fuel standards.
     
  9. Franticfrank

    Franticfrank New Member

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    Finding someone to blame for the smog crisis is going to be difficult. How do you pick some culprits out of tens of thousands of dirty companies and hundreds of thousands if not millions of cars. I think if you analyse the situation over a 20 year period, statistics illustrate that China wasn't prepared for the speed of its industrial evolution. Therefore, it's going to be extremely difficult to eliminate the pollution. I can only think of some massive electric car movement or something. But why not? They installed a huge electrical high-speed rail network so why not an electric car network?
     
  10. waltky

    waltky Well-Known Member

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    China has witnessed growing public anger over pollution caused by industrial development...
    :confusion:
    China acknowledges 'cancer villages'
    22 February 2013 - China's environment ministry appears to have acknowledged the existence of so-called "cancer villages" after years of public speculation about the impact of pollution in certain areas.
     
  11. Anders Hoveland

    Anders Hoveland Banned

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    Cars are a mixed blessing. I have always believed that big overcrowded cities should require all of their residents to only have electric cars (or natural gas).

    But I am entirely against an entire country pushing the same type of mandate. The important consideration here should really only be about the smog and noise.
     

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