Demand for private schooling is increasing in China, but supply is stagnant. Selection is tighter and the number of disappointed parents and grandparents is increasing. (more…)
Posts Tagged ‘China’
private schools in China
Friday, May 19th, 2017China’s aircraft industry
Friday, May 5th, 2017China’s new Comac C919, a passenger plane designed to compete with the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320, is expected to roll off the production line in 2019.
In a hangar on a vast industrial complex near Shanghai’s Pudong airport, the Chinese-made aircraft that harbours the country’s hopes of rivalling the Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 is being prepared for its first test flight in May.
The Comac C919 is bounded by a huge Chinese flag and a banner bearing an exhortation from President Xi Jinping: “Focus and get down to work to make China’s first large aircraft fly into the skies.” ….
Derek Levine, who wrote a book on China’s aviation ambitions, says that while the first flight will be a “huge accomplishment” in political terms, China will remain “15 years behind” unless it can develop its own engines and avionics, rather than relying on foreign suppliers.
Ben Bland, “China’s challenger to Airbus and Boeing set for skies at last“, Financial Times, 28 April 2017 (gated paywall).
For what’s its worth, my guess is that in a decade or two China will have mastered aircraft production, just as they have mastered high speed rail.
ending poverty in China
Tuesday, May 2nd, 2017Elimination of poverty is no easy task. Even if the state obtains adequate resources for the project, there remains the problem of transferring income to those living in abject poverty.
In China, the targeting of relief for the poor is improving, but is still fraught with incompetence and fraud. As a result, there are huge errors of inclusion (benefits that go to the non-poor) and exclusion (the poor who receive no benefits). (more…)
Chinese wine is improving
Thursday, April 20th, 2017It is unfortunate that Chinese wine drinkers seem to be deserting the produce of their own vineyards for imported alternatives. In my experience, the quality of the best Chinese wine has recently turned a corner — in the right direction. ….
There is one potential handicap, however. The countries that have had the most success in establishing export markets in the modern era have had a USP. New Zealand has carved a niche for the world’s most valuable per-bottle prices by offering uniquely, refreshingly fruity Sauvignon Blanc. Australia saw massive success with its friendly Chardonnay and rich Shiraz. Argentina has blitzed North America with its bold Malbec.
But Chinese vineyards are dominated by the red Cabernet and Merlot grapes that grow in abundance all over the wine world — not least in Bordeaux, which produces massive quantities of inexpensive examples every year, typically made by co-ops that do not have the debt that recent investors may be saddled with.
The reaction of many Chinese producers to market trends has been to acquire foreign vineyards and wineries. …. One thing seems sure: Chinese influence in the world of wine will only increase.
Jancis Robinson, “China’s strides in the wine race are yielding robust results“, Financial Times, 20 April 2017.
Janice Robinson writes a weekly column on wine for the Financial Times, and is editor of The Oxford Companion to Wine.
A much longer, ungated version of the column is available here.
China, North Korea and US foreign policy
Wednesday, April 19th, 2017Will China apply pressure on North Korea to make it behave? FT journalist James Kynge thinks this is unlikely, for it is not in the interest of China to have US troops on its border. (more…)
the failure of universal pensions in Hong Kong
Saturday, January 21st, 2017The outgoing Chief Executive of Hong Kong failed to keep a promise to push for universal pensions. Hong Kong is a wealthy territory. Taxes are very low, and government spending is even lower, leaving large fiscal surpluses. There is no economic reason to deny Hong Kong’s elderly citizens access to a basic pension. There is a universal pension in effect, but the amount is so small that it is known as “fruit money”. What is needed is a pension large enough to satisfy basic needs.
[Chief executive] Leung Chun-ying’s question-and- answer session for his swan song policy address was cut short after pan- democrats protested the ejection of lawmaker Lau Siu-lai for playing a recording of the outgoing chief executive’s “broken promises.” ….
Leung was answering questions about the policy address he delivered on Wednesday. When it was Lau’s turn, she played a 2011 video clip on her phone in which Leung “promised” to push for universal retirement protection.
In the press conference that followed his address on Wednesday, Leung denied having shown any support for universal pension when he ran for chief executive.
But in the clip Leung can be heard telling a senior citizen, Lo Siu-lan, that “we don’t need to be vigorous in implementing universal pension, we just need to be serious.”
When Lau told Leung he failed to fulfill his election promise, Legco president Andrew Leung Kwan-yuen ordered her to leave the chamber.
Chaos broke out as 10 pan-democratic lawmakers surrounded security guards who tried to escort Lau out of the chamber.
Andrew Leung suspended the meeting and in the melee that followed several people fell to the floor, some on top of Lau and independent lawmaker Claudia Mo Man-ching.
After more than 20 minutes, Andrew Leung asked the pan- democratic lawmakers to return to their seats. And when they refused he adjourned the meeting at about 11.45am.
Phoenix Un, “Leung session ends in bedlam“, The Standard (Hong Kong), 20 January 2017.
See also this earlier post.
the politics of universal pensions in Hong Kong
Monday, January 16th, 2017One of the three candidates for Chief executive of Hong Kong is a strong supporter of universal age pensions for the territory’s residents. Suffrage in Hong Kong is severely limited, though, so the pro-universal candidate has little chance of winning the election, scheduled to take place at the end of March.
Chief executive hopeful Woo Kwok-hing warned voters against his “dangerous” rival Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, describing her as an autocrat who would decide everything by herself for the Hong Kong people.
Speaking before a public forum yesterday, Woo described Lam, who resigned as chief secretary on Thursday, in a negative light when asked by Lay Yan-piau, an Election Committee member from the social welfare subsector, to comment on Lam’s disregard of University of Hong Kong professor Nelson Chow Wing-sun’s research report which endorsed a universal pension.
The retired judge said Lam was “dangerous” as she talked like an autocrat, making all the plans for Hong Kong without public consultation on issues which should engage the public. ….
Woo reiterated his support for a universal pension scheme financed by tripartite contributions from employers, employees and the government as suggested by the scholarly proposal.
Phoenix Un, “‘Dictator’ Lam mustn’t lead HK, warns Woo“, The Standard (Hong Kong), 16 January 2017.
Woo Kwok-hing (born 1946) is competing against two pro-Beijing candidates: Regina Ip (born 1950) and Carrie Lam (born 1957). A new Chief executive will be selected by the 1,200-member Election Committee on 26 March 2017. Woo would like to see the voter base for choosing the Election Committee expanded from the current 250,000 to one million by 2022, three million by 2032 and eventually near-universal suffrage.
Trump’s China policy
Sunday, December 18th, 2016The biggest surprise since Donald Trump’s election victory is his decision to pick a fight with China. Not once in his campaign did he mention the word Taiwan. Yet all of a sudden there is now a threat over America’s “One China” policy ….
Without realising it, the US electorate appears to have opened the gates to a new cold war in which America’s hand will be far less strong than it was first time round. One of the reasons the US won the original one was its skill at breaking China away from the Soviet block. Detente between Richard Nixon’s US and Mao Zedong’s China in 1972 cemented the Sino-Soviet split and weakened Moscow’s global appeal. Mr Trump plans to do the reverse.
Michael Flynn, the retired lieutenant general who will play a key role as Mr Trump’s national security adviser, believes China is in league with Isis and other Islamist terrorist groups to defeat the US. It is a breathtaking fiction. Before he joined the Trump campaign, Mr Flynn believed Russia was part of the same anti-US axis. He has since dropped his Russia hawkishness for a Trumpian admiration. ….
Contrary to Mr Flynn’s view, China is a natural ally in America’s struggle against Islamist terrorism. ….
Can we trust Mr Trump’s instincts in a crisis? Will Mr Putin act as a restraint — or even a mediator — between a defensive US and a rising China? We cannot yet know the answer. What we do know is that Mr Trump’s closest adviser is a man who sees China as a mortal foe.
Edward Luce, “Donald Trump’s collision course with China“, Financial Times, 19 December 2016 (metered paywall).
There is much more in the full column.
Another surprise was the announcement by Trump’s transition team that it would appoint, as ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, vocal opponent of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Trump ignored this subject during the campaign, except for one moment, in February, when he told a town hall meeting “in Charleston, South Carolina, that he wanted to be a ‘neutral guy’ in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and not pick sides“. Instead, we now see a threat over America’s “two-state” policy for Israel and Palestine.
We wait with bated breath for more hints of what Trump’s foreign policy initiatives might be.
stumbling toward universal pensions in Hong Kong
Saturday, December 17th, 2016Sad news from Hong Kong. What is the point of government consultation with voters, if government chooses to ignore dissenting views?
An official advisory commission on universal pensions, after three years of discussion and consultations, convened and released its Report on Thursday, 15 December. The Commission on Poverty of Hong Kong’s Legislative Council (LegCo) discussed the Report. LegCo is expected to retain a means-test for social pensions, even though the Report finds overwhelming public support for universal pensions. (more…)
political crisis in the USA and in China
Tuesday, December 13th, 2016I have long thought that governance in the USA is converging with that of China (and other countries of the so-called third world). The convergence is to a style known as ‘crony capitalism’, which has well-known defects. Two op-ed columns in today’s Financial Times, one by Edward Luce and another by Martin Wolf, remind me how governance in the two countries are coming to resemble each other, even though one country is evolving from a democratic system and the other from a Communist system. There is danger of turmoil in each country. (more…)