Category: 1:15 pm Section

  “A New Kind Of Community Grows in Shanghai”“A New Kind Of Community Grows in Shanghai” is a New York Times article that discusses a new green-focused urban project in Shanghai’s old French Concession neighborhood. The Jiashan Market development was created by Brearly Architects + Urbanists, an Australian based company that now has offices in… Continue reading “A New Kind Of Community Grows in Shanghai” →

Construction’s started on a nuclear  plant in Shandong province, south of Beijing. China now has the most plants under construction, which has critics in and out of the country concerned about safety. This is undoubtedly fueled by the recent Fukushima disaster, which did temporarily slow construction. However, the sector is making a comeback, and power output… Continue reading Nuclear Power In China Makes a Push →

Over the past weekend, China’s air pollution reached the highest on record, reaching a level of 465 out of 500. [query: what is this scale?] As these levels generate serious health concerns, it has also become a major topic of discussion for the country’s newest leaders. As the levels rose, residents were advised to stay… Continue reading Beijing’s Air Pollution Hits Record High →

Despite a pivotal leadership shift last November inside the Chinese Communist Party, Tibetan demonstrators continue to protest Chinese rule in their region. New laws issued this week have strengthened the government’s grip on the area, where nearly 100 Tibetan monks, nuns and lay people have set themselves on fire since 2009. Qinghai Province, where most… Continue reading Tibetan Self-Immolations highlight rising Regional Tension →

Watching To Live was a very interesting experience, and I am not surprised that it was met with so much controversy by the Chinese government. The portrayal of the Communist Government was eye-opening, and I thought it was especially interesting to see the juxtaposition of the transformation of China’s status quo and the transformation of… Continue reading To Live →

China’s central bank controls international exchange rates on the global market. On Monday the bank set a record daily rate of 6.2695 RMB/USD, the highest [target] rate since May 2nd.  With the RMB/USD rate allowed to fluctuate up to 1% during the trading day, intraday trading hit the highest level since the introduction of China’s… Continue reading Rising Yuan To Ease Inflation And Capital Outflow Concerns? →

China, the world’s second largest economy, saw foreign investment fall 4% in 2012, the first drop since the global financial crisis began. The shift was from the record $116 billion in 2011 to $111.7 billion in 2012, and does not necessarily mean that investor confidence in China is waning. Having more than doubled sincd China… Continue reading Foreign Investment in China Declines in 2012 →

In Country Driving: A Journey Through China From Farm to Factory, Hessler describes a society that is learning to drive and the idiosyncrasies of the country’s new drivers. He relates that the Chinese rarely use turn signals, windshield wipers, seat belts, or headlights; they tailgate and honk at anything that moves. In a word, the… Continue reading Beijing Shuttle-Bus Accident Kills Seven →

A side effect of China’s rapid growth since its reform under Deng, the pollution experienced in the Chinese capital presents an immediate reminder of the tradeoffs made in pursuit of growth. As an unregulated externality (at least historically), the problems posed by pollution highlight the “tragedy of the commons”, especially under the (effectively) laissez-faire attitude… Continue reading Pollution, Legitimacy and Transition →

Apple CEO Tim Cook believes that China will soon become the largest market for his company’s products. Unlike other technology firms, Apple does not have to deal with tight censorship from the Chinese government. This is because they produce hardware, rather than internet services (like Facebook and Google), which are highly regulated. One service that Apple does provide,… Continue reading China to become Apple’s top market? →

The article “Li’s Urban Planning Drives Sends Invesco Into Machinery Stocks” from Bloomberg’s website explains that the ongoing urbanization taking place in China will result in larger investment in machinery and railway stocks. As more people begin to move to Chinese cities, public transportation and other infrastructure essential to city growth will see improvements. These… Continue reading Urbanization will lead to Investment in Chinese Machinery →

 -by Christy and Suraj Maoping can be considered as a very efficient village, even with very less infrastructures present, at least during the time the film was shot. The Household Responsibility System made growing crop very efficient as every family in the village was responsible to grow their own rice and wheat. Thus, every family… Continue reading The Heart of the Dragon: Living →