Nothing of note really happened, so this is just a post of a good series of articles on China. The country is definitely on my list of places to see before I die, but probably near the end of my life. My lungs are too precious currently to head over there and tour the country (kidding). But this series looks at several aspects of Chinese life and the affects of the unprecedented economic boom on the society.
China in my opinion will be the new super power within a decade. The amount of influence around the world is crazy. During my stay on Dominica (which was life changing) the influence of the Chinese was crazy. Basically China came to Dominica and said that if Dominica switched their allegiance from Taiwan to China, China would build a new international quality cricket pitch on the island. Estimated at $17 million US, this is some gift. I have nothing against gifts, but what was disappointing with this was that the Chinese used very little (if any) locals in the construction of this facility. This is also occurring in much of the Caribbean and Africa. What do they have on the US? Simply (though its much more complicated) in my opinion, they provide on the promises. Though the environment or the people may suffer, the Chinese keep their word. Maybe the US should take note....
Below is a picture of the stadium during construction when I was there in June of 2006. I was rapidly ushered away by Chinese workers after taking this picture. The link above has photos of the completed complex.
1 comment:
Hello Zac,
I thought I'd leave you a comment on your lonely blog.
I do not think China will be the new superpower within a decade. I agree, China has and will continue to have a major influence in the world over the next decade, but there are some things that will inhibit it to be the next superpower for decades to come.
First of all, the Chinese take an international political stance that U.S. politicians and diplomats can only dream of. The Chinese are worried about the bottom line of making their own country richer and more powerful - and will do whatever it takes to get that. Whether this means building stadiums for support in the U.N. or buying oil and other items from Sudan - who everyone knows is violating numerous human rights as we speak. The Chinese seem to turn their back to this - and they do it quite well. The U.S. has had a decent history (relatively speaking) with foriegn diplomacy and business and usually has good intentions. Unlike China, we will never do business or support countries in such obvious violation of human rights (like Sudan).
Second, China has a population of over 1.3 billion people! When we think, or hear, about China we always hear about the 300 or so million people living along the prosperous coast. You NEVER hear about the 800 or so million poor, neglected, farmers trying their hardest to make a living and survive. The government conveniently forgets about this large majority of people. In my opinion no country will ever become the superpower of the world until they can handle and provide for people in their own backyard. As bad as some people have it here in the U.S., we still have a decent safety net for most people (comparitavely speaking). The other problem with most of these poor farmers living inland is the logistical system. If a farmer living inland wanted to get to the prosperous coast it could take him days (even if he/she had access to a car)!
Third, and probably most important, the U.S. still has the best geography in the world - strategically speaking. China always has to be worried about their neighbors including Japan, the Koreas, India, and Taiwan. Although there are no major problems between these countries now there is always some sort of tension between a lot of these countries. We have Canada to the north and Mexico to the south - 2 very friendly neighbors who we should continue to have good relations with in the future. Our closest "tensions" now are arguably with Venezuela (and maybe Cuba if anyone still counts that). Even if Chavez becomes a force to reckon with (which he wont because he can't control his own backyard), we are still thousands of miles from them.
Sorry its so long I got bored at work!
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