Google’s China SeeSaw

July 8, 2010

They say that bad news is better than no news.  If true, Google is reaping a bounty in free media coverage.  Since so many do not like China’s Net Nanny, Google stands to earn loyalty and respect in the West.  Keeping track of this Google ploy over Internet censorship in China, I enjoyed posts from two Blogs.

Gizmodo.com had a creative illustration of the Great Wall with holes in it that are being bricked up to close Google. Even if China blocks the Chinese from using Google, Gizmodo says, “Google will still continue to exist in the country however, through Android phones and other services.”

eConsultancy’s Google’s Train Wreck Continues was fun, and I had a good laugh following the timeline of quotes for Google’s on again off again attention caper.

Was Google serious when they said, “We believe this new approach of providing uncensored search in simplified Chinese from Google.com.hk is a sensible solution to the challenges we’ve faced…” as if China would say yes to offer uncensored search in Hong Kong for all of China but not in China.

Maybe Google knows what it is doing and decided to boil China’s pot and generate free global PR while getting out of a tough market that Baidu dominates.

See Google Recycled

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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

Don’t Drive in Beijing—Take the Subway

July 8, 2010

Believe me when I say to avoid driving in Beijing (or taking a taxi) unless it is midnight and the city is sleeping.  According to Belinda Goldsmith writing for Reuters, Beijing is one of the three-worst cities to drive in.

We’ve been stuck in Beijing traffic watching the taxi’s meter adding yuan to the bill when we could have crawled faster.  The other choice is Beijing’s subway built for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, which we prefer. It’s fast and efficient. Wear a money belt though.

Beijing Subway Map

Guangzhou (once known as Canton by the West) subway map

Chongqing Metro Map

Shanghai Subway Map

Information about getting around in Xian

Last time we were in Xian, the subway system was under construction. I learned that of the four lines planned, line one is scheduled to be running by the end of 2013 and line two by the end of 2011.

According to Michael Wurth’s Blog, Xian was boring and “very” hot. Wurth talks about renting a tandem bike and riding it on the wide, ancient Xian city wall claiming to make the ride in under 4 minutes, which is surprising since the wall runs about 17 kilometers.  Personally, when we were on the wall, I enjoyed the experience but we were there in the Fall and the weather was perfect.  If you want to visit China, plan for the Fall or Spring and avoid any of China’s national holidays.

See Visiting Xian

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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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4 Comments | China, tourism | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

With or Without Paper

July 8, 2010

Imagine the rise of civilization to today’s level of technology without paper. Would men have walked on the moon?

Papermaking is one of the four significant inventions from ancient China. Almost 2,000 years ago, the discovery of paper was made in China.

in 105 AD, Cai Lon submitted his discovery to the Han emperor. He had invented a way to make paper. This method soon spread to the rest of China, and the emperor rewarded Cai Lon by making him a member of the nobility.

The basic principles of papermaking invented by Cai Lon are still in use today. To make paper was a six-step process, and paper manufactured properly lasts for centuries. Buddhism arrived in China about the time of the invention of paper and this helped spread Buddhist ideas, which contributed to the spread of civilization.  By the 12th century, the paper making process reached Europe.

See China Points the Way

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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. 

To subscribe to “iLook China”, look for the “Subscribe” button at the top of the screen in the menu bar, click on it then follow directions.

1 Comment | China, Chinese Culture, Chinese history, science | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

A Matter of Distance and Perspective

July 7, 2010

President Obama demonstrates that he does not understand the Chinese thought process in his response to President Hu Jintao of China over how to handle North Korea’s recent sinking of the Cheonan, a South Korean naval ship.

The New York Times Asia Pacific section reports that President Obama has accused Beijing of “willful blindness” toward what North Korea has done.  Some American officials say this was an act of war. Obama indicated the way China is handling this would not solve the problem.

There are two voices to pay attention to. Leon E. Panetta and China’s spokesman, Qin Gang. Mr. Qin said, “China is a neighbor of the Korean Peninsula, and on this issue our feelings differ from a country that lies 8.000 kilometers distant. We feel even more direct and serious concerns.”

Leon E. Panetta, the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, said he believed that the sinking of the Cheonan was part of a succession struggle in North Korea.”

America tends to handle crises of this kind like a bull in a China shop, and what gets broken doesn’t hurt the US homeland. China, on the other hand, will handle this issue like delicate surgery.  One wrong move could end in disaster.  After all, who is closer to that nuclear bullring and how can Obama understand when China’s shoes won’t fit his feet?

See China and North Korea

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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

The Challenge of Rural Health Care in America and China

July 7, 2010

This morning, I read in the AARP Bulletin about small town medicine in the US aptly titled Lonesome Doc.  I learned that 77 million Americans (more than 25% of the population) living in rural areas have 10% of the doctors and that a 2008 study found life expectancies are declining in rural America.  Many doctors will not work in rural America where primary care doctors make about $20,000 a year less than their big-city counterparts.

China has similar challenges with rural health care. In 2009, The Journal of International Relations reported that in China “low-end institutions, particularly the rural township hospitals and community hospitals in the cities are gradually shrinking. More than 87% of rural population was without any health insurance.…When rural low income people need to go to the hospital, 70 to 90% choose self care.”

Then near the end of 2009, China’s central government announced a new five-year plan to improve the quality of life for rural citizens. The New Health Care Bill Facts reported “The (Chinese) government decision to improve healthcare infrastructure in rural areas will result in increasing demand of medical devices and equipment.”

China also recently sent a team to Sweden to learn how chronic diseases are managed there since China, with its ageing population, has seen a dramatic increase in the number of chronic disease cases.”

I wondered what the US was doing to improve rural-health care.  I did read that primary-care doctors coming out of college would have student loans forgiven if they work in rural America. After all, this is America where we trust in the private sector to solve everything as long as the money is there.

See China’s Health Care During Mao’s Time

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of The Concubine Saga. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. This is the love story Sir Robert Hart did not want the world to discover.

To subscribe to “iLook China”, look for the “Subscribe” button at the top of the screen in the menu bar, click on it then follow directions.

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Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

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