China’s Going Green Challenge

July 15, 2010

For decades, the world watched the American lifestyle through TV and the Internet.  Now, the citizens of nations like China and India want the same lifestyle.  The downside is that having 1.3 billion people living like Americans means five times the pollution America produces.

It isn’t as if China is not doing what it can to go green and reduce pollution.  The problem is the number of people who expect a better standard of living.  China has also promised 700 million rural Chinese that the electric grid is coming their way and along with it electricity-dependent home appliances. Source: Huffington Post

Even with inefficient factories, like Guangzhou Steel, being closed and replacing more than a thousand older coal-burning power plants (like those still used in the US), China worries that the demand by Chinese consumers will foil China’s goals to reduce carbon emissions. Source: New York Times

If Americans are unwilling to give up their energy dependent lifestyles, why should the Chinese do without?

See China Going Green

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. 

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Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

China’s Latest Labor Movement

July 14, 2010

“The China Beat”, Where to Begin: New Perspectives on Chinese Labor by Mark W. Frazier, offers a long post about what’s taking place in China’s labor movement.

Frazier says, “It is clear that migrant workers have gained a level of organizational sophistication and political awareness to make demands for higher wages, better working conditions, and in some cases, elections for union representatives.”

There are several books mentioned in the post.

Against the Law: Labor Protests in China’s Rustbelt and Sunbelt by Ching Kwan Lee.

The Chinese Worker after Socialism by William Hurst

The China Price by Alexander Harney

Some Assembly Required by Calvin Chen

State’s Gains, Labor’s Losses by Dorothy Solinger

Factory Girls by Leslie T. Chang.

The changes started with the land reforms under Mao, continued with Deng Xiaoping when he said, “Getting Rich is Glorious” introducing capitalism to China, then the growth of an urban middle class, and now capitalist exploitation of the worker while China’s Sexual Revolution is going strong.

However, what if the labor protests in China are from job losses caused by the global economic crises. People are angry.  After all, millions have lost jobs already.

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. 

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China’s Sexual Revolution – Part 1/5

July 14, 2010

The world’s biggest country is going through the world’s largest sexual revolution.  From the Internet to corner sex shops, China is changing. But lost in the mix, millions of single men can’t find a date much less a mate.

Changes are talking place as China goes through the West’s 60s rebellion.  Mao’s Little Red Book has been replaced with a black book filled with phone numbers and date info.

Mao’s taboos against capitalism and sex are gone. With these changes comes the dark side—drugs, prostitution, HIV and STDs.  Under Mao, sexuality was almost done away with.  Everyone wore the same baggy colored clothes.  Everyone had the same haircut. Couples that fell in love and were caught were punished. Today, cosmetics, perfume and stylish clothes have replaced Mao’s uniforms.

Millions are learning about romance and love. However, millions of others have been left with sexual, psychological problems and are very ignorant about sex. They were victims of Mao’s Cultural Revolution’s sexual repression.

Learn about how Adoptions in China Changing or go to China’s Sexual Revolution – Part 2

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. 

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2 Comments | capitalism, China, Chinese Culture, Chinese men, Chinese women, Communism, crime, cultural differences | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
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The Coming Apple-Google War in China

July 14, 2010

No wonder Google backed down on their threats to pull out of China.  There’s much money to be made from China’s growing middle class, but Google’s headaches are not over yet thanks to Apple.

The China Tracker, Paul Denlinger, reports that Apple has opened its second store in China’s Shanghai Pudong district, and it features the world’s largest pieces of curved glass. In addition, Apple plans to open 25 more stores in China by the end of 2011 where computers, iPhones, iPods, and iPads will be sold.

Why does this mean war between Google and Apple? Because Google is selling its Android platform (mobile phones, etc) to the Chinese consumer, but Apple and other competitors have a sweater deal. You’ll need to read Denlinger to learn the details.

Apple’s edge comes from having most of its products assembled in China and a deal with China Unicom to buy its products so Apple has no risk since there is a no return policy. The risk belongs to Unicom.

In fact, Google’s decision to confront China’s government over censorship was not a good idea since it has tainted Google’s image in China while increasing it in the West where the Chinese consumer does not shop. Meanwhile, the winner will probably be the Chinese middle class when these two giants have a price war to see who wins.

See Doing Business in China

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the author of the award winning My Splendid Concubine and writes The Soulful Veteran and Crazy Normal.

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Big Brother is Watching — Who?

July 13, 2010

There are more than 4 million security cameras in the UK—one for every fourteen people. Many have been installed by businesses but more than a million are cameras controlled by the government and/or police. Source: London Evening Standard

Recently, I read a piece from Voice of America about China Tightens Xinjiang Security, Targets Tibetan Environmentalist.

CIA Map of China

The lead paragraph says, “China has installed 40,000 security cameras throughout the capital of Xinjiang region days before the first anniversary of the country’s worst ethnic violence in decades.”

As usual, there is no mention that next-door a war is raging against the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. There is no mention of Pakistan’s struggle with the same enemy that NATO and US forces are fighting.

In fact, if you look at a map of the region, you will see that Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang province, is close to Kyrgyztan, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan and Pakistan, all areas having trouble with Islamic fundamentalists but in China, the Muslims are a peaceful ethnic group according to the Western media. That’s interesting.

If Britain, a democracy, puts up more than 4 million security cameras to deal with crime and unrest in the UK, why can’t China do the same without being criticized? Did you know that local governments in the US are installing these cameras too? Source: MSNBC

Learn more about Minority China

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. 

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2 Comments | America, China, Islam, media, politics, Tibet | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Permalink
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