c*******2
发帖数: 617 | 1 最后一段： 就算大多数中国人对新的一年充满希望和机会， 我们西方仍然会把中国描
述成一个除了危机以外一无是处的国家。
There's a tendency in the China commentariat, something I'm certainly guilty
of, to treat the country as nothing but a series of looming crises, whether
they're political, economic, social, or environmental. But it's worth
remembering: Even conservative estimates project the Chinese economy to grow
by seven percent in 2014 and, while not all of this growth will translate
into a commensurate rise in living standards, much of it will. This,
ultimately, is what the China story has all been about—the sudden, and
unexpected, emergence of several hundred million human beings out of poverty
in the last 35 years. Several forces threaten the sustainability of this
prosperity, but it's important not to forget that for most of China's
population, 2014 will be a year of hope and opportunity.
******************************************************
A Jittery China Faces 2014
Crises face the country as it celebrates the new year. But the economic
miracle shows no signs of ending.
MATT SCHIAVENZADEC 31 2013, 5:19 PM ET
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Prediction: Mao Zedong's image will sit atop Beijing's Tiananmen Gate for
another year in 2014. (Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)
2014 has already arrived in the People's Republic of China and, while the
occasion is celebrated far less there than here in the United States, China'
s 1.3 billion people will enjoy a public holiday on January 1st. Following a
busy, intriguing 2013, the break is welcome: The first year of Xi Jinping's
stewardship was an eventful one in the country, and as 2014 begins China
faces a number of issues that, in the aggregate, pose a threat to the
country's stability. And while the past two weeks have been relatively calm,
a glance at recent headlines reveals a lot about the challenges China faces.
***
The most important China story of the moment isn't happening in China at all
where many Japanese war dead are buried, has further destabilized an already
tense region. James Fallows has written extensively (and cogently) about
this topic over the last week, and anyone who wants to understand why
Yasukuni is so controversial ought to start with these posts. While Abe's
visit has more to do with the logic of internal Japanese politics than with
China, the upshot is this: there are no signs that this brinksmanship in
East Asia is going to stop.
Yasukuni wasn't the only important headline affecting China this week. Here
were the others:
On Defensive, JP Morgan Hired China's Elite
The New York Times's Dealbook section this year has explored how major U.S.
financial institutions, like JP Morgan, sought to hire the children of
important Chinese officials and businessmen in order to facilitate their
business operations in the country. These "legacy" hires are technically not
legal under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, but major banks are plowing
forward anyway as securing deals with Chinese companies often relies on
making key personal connections.
This story—ostensibly about possibly nefarious behavior at an American bank
—touches upon two sensitive issues in China: corruption and income
inequality. Politics and big business enjoy a cozy relationship in the
country, and a large number of Communist Party elite have leveraged their
government connections to secure high-income jobs with big, multinational
companies. President Xi Jinping has cracked down on the more ostentatious
symbols of official privilege, such as lavish banquet dinners, but the
profitability of Communist Party elite is woven into the very fabric of how
China works and cannot be undone without major structural changes.
Pollution Rising, Chinese Fear for Soil and Food
When we think of Chinese pollution, the image of Beijing's smoggy skies,
which grew worse in 2013, prevail. But air pollution is only one aspect of
China's environmental crisis, as food safety continues to be an enormous
problem in the country, where stories of gutter oil keep Chinese consumers
up at night.
Why is food security such a problem? Corruption is one problem, but the
central logic of the Chinese political economy—that politicians throughout
the system have an incentive to boost GDP at all costs—means the pressure
to focus on industrial development is enormous, and environmental safeguards
have failed to keep up.
In April, the planned construction of a polyethylene plant near the city of
Kunming led to major protests, and while these issues never escalate beyond
local problems, Beijing knows that environmental grievances can unite groups
across ethnic and class boundaries.
Are You Qualified to Be a Journalist in China? Take This Quiz.
China's crackdown on foreign journalism has gotten so much attention in the
Western media (The Atlantic is no exception), that it's easy to forget that
the supression of Chinese journalism has been far worse. In January, the
annual New Years op-ed by Southern Weekend—considered China's most daring
and liberal major newspaper—was censored, and later in the year the
Communist government silenced the country's "Big V," or most outspoken,
social media users, in order to stifle political debate online.
Now, Chinese journalists who wish to renew their press cards in 2014 must
pass a lengthy exam testing them on their mastery of "Marxist" journalist
ideals. Though the requirement has elicited snickers from the journalists
themselves—not all of whom appear to be taking the exam seriously—the news
itself sends a powerful message: The Chinese media is not liberalizing
anytime soon.
Chinese Police Kill Eight in Xinjiang "Terrorist Attack"
On Monday, police in Yarkant, a city in China's far-western Xinjiang region,
killed eight people who had allegedly attacked them with knives and
explosives. In typical form, the Chinese government identified the attackers
as "terrorists," while a representative from the World Uighur Congress, a
Munich-based advocacy organization, said that the people were non-violent
protesters demonstrating against a series of arbitrary arrests. Few concrete
details have emerged.
The incident capped off another violent year in Xinjiang, where an estimated
130 people lost their lives in the region, including 35 in a single day in
June. Tensions between Xinjiang's native Uighur population and China's
majority Han continue to grow, as many Uighurs feel that they are not
sharing in the region's growing economic prosperity. Rather than address
these grievances, Beijing instead pretends that violence comes from small
bands of extremists; or, put another way, terrorists.
***
There's a tendency in the China commentariat, something I'm certainly guilty
of, to treat the country as nothing but a series of looming crises, whether
they're political, economic, social, or environmental. But it's worth
remembering: Even conservative estimates project the Chinese economy to grow
by seven percent in 2014 and, while not all of this growth will translate
into a commensurate rise in living standards, much of it will. This,
ultimately, is what the China story has all been about—the sudden, and
unexpected, emergence of several hundred million human beings out of poverty
in the last 35 years. Several forces threaten the sustainability of this
prosperity, but it's important not to forget that for most of China's
population, 2014 will be a year of hope and opportunity. | T*****y
发帖数: 18592 | 2 最烦看一堆英文没俩汉字儿的帖子
guilty
whether
grow
poverty
【在 c*******2 的大作中提到】
: 最后一段： 就算大多数中国人对新的一年充满希望和机会， 我们西方仍然会把中国描
: 述成一个除了危机以外一无是处的国家。
: There's a tendency in the China commentariat, something I'm certainly guilty
: of, to treat the country as nothing but a series of looming crises, whether
: they're political, economic, social, or environmental. But it's worth
: remembering: Even conservative estimates project the Chinese economy to grow
: by seven percent in 2014 and, while not all of this growth will translate
: into a commensurate rise in living standards, much of it will. This,
: ultimately, is what the China story has all been about—the sudden, and
: unexpected, emergence of several hundred million human beings out of poverty
| c*******2
发帖数: 617 | 3 *****************以下是传统的中国崩溃论的八股文章， 就不用读了。 | P*****t
发帖数: 4978 | 4 The Atlantic专门开了个中国session，自己说目的是要让读者更了解中国，结果一年
到头就没几篇正面报道，最后反倒是把西方人对中国的偏见跟加深了。
guilty
whether
grow
poverty
【在 c*******2 的大作中提到】
: 最后一段： 就算大多数中国人对新的一年充满希望和机会， 我们西方仍然会把中国描
: 述成一个除了危机以外一无是处的国家。
: There's a tendency in the China commentariat, something I'm certainly guilty
: of, to treat the country as nothing but a series of looming crises, whether
: they're political, economic, social, or environmental. But it's worth
: remembering: Even conservative estimates project the Chinese economy to grow
: by seven percent in 2014 and, while not all of this growth will translate
: into a commensurate rise in living standards, much of it will. This,
: ultimately, is what the China story has all been about—the sudden, and
: unexpected, emergence of several hundred million human beings out of poverty
|
|
