What is Digg?48 Comments
- blagoaw, on 04/25/2008, -0/+9It can happen in various ways. It's hard to get a clear handle on how it happens, since Chinese people generally don't quite know the details of their laws (and in fairness, we often don't know the details of ours either). Since you specifically said "son", I take it you're aware that in certain rural areas, parents are permitted to have a second child if the first is a girl.
Other explanations I have heard are that if a person has a second child, the penalty is a fine and/or demotion and/or loss of an opportunity for a better job and/or other perks. Basically, they make it into a bad career move (if you think about it, what can they realistically do? they can't imprison the caregivers, nor kill the baby.. so it's not quite that harsh). Some people simply choose to deal with it. There's probably corruption involved sometimes too, but who knows. Other times, there has been a divorce and a remarriage, with a merger of the children into the family. I have also heard that if both parents have a high post-secondary degree (perhaps at least a Masters), then they may be permitted a second child (this was one of the most shocking things I heard - since it seems like it would be an unpopular class division, but that's just me). I've also heard that people of some minorities in certain regions are permitted a second child.
Another thing that will make a big difference soon is that if both the parents don't have brothers or sisters, they can have 2 children. What else.. oh yeah, a sibling who has no children can exchange the credit to siblings :) - fastspawn, on 04/25/2008, -0/+8That's complete nonsense. They have a population 4-5 times larger than USA, of course they'll produce more.
Instead focus on what you can do to cut down greenhouse gases yourself, if you're so concerned. Like stay off the internet - phrenzy, on 04/25/2008, -2/+8I did not expect such a downer story. Summary:
Man buys car
Man gets cancer
Man loses car - YodaJones, on 04/25/2008, -0/+5That was a sad story. I hope Li gets better.
- Brian48216, on 04/25/2008, -3/+8so as much hating that people do on China, anybody notice that they're slowly becoming like....Americans?
- lattin1, on 04/25/2008, -0/+5And why are they the number one producer of greenhouse gases? Because they manufacture most of the worlds *****!!! Per capita the number of people who drive in China is much lower than most industrialized countries.
- IgWannA, on 04/25/2008, -0/+4what a stupidly ignorant thing to say. but to be honest i checked the comments for this article because i knew some idiot would say something along the lines of "china is a lesser country, it shouldn't be allowed to aspire to western standards." and then some moronic comment about how china is the number 1 polluter without acknowledging the fact that china is 4-5 times the population of america, which is a very close second.
- blagoaw, on 04/25/2008, -1/+4Considering we're consuming vastly more energy per capita, perhaps we're the ones who shouldn't be allowe... oh, I can't say that. We're freedom loving peoples.
- GeneralChang, on 04/25/2008, -0/+2Wait, I thought you were only allowed 1 son? How did he have 2?
- Virgule, on 04/25/2008, -0/+2Geely KingKing look like a pretty nice 'lil ride to me:
http://www.autoblog.com/2006/06/04/geely-kingkong- ... - inactive, on 04/25/2008, -0/+2I think they have more then 10 million cars...
- walugi, on 06/19/2008, -0/+1That's sort've hypocritical... Why shouldn't they want a car? It's pushed luxurious and extravagant by car companies to people all over the world. The western car makers also sell these cars to Chinese at comparatively very affordable prices. For many families it's a sign of freedom and independance.
It's also a bit gay how you seem to assume Chinese do not move out of their own cities. Considering how huge China is, and spread it its people are, it makes more sense for Chinese people to buy largely compact, fuel efficient cars then Americans that buy their giant SUVs. - itsthemechanic, on 05/02/2008, -0/+1When they all drive cars, say goodbye to the planet.
- IgWannA, on 04/25/2008, -0/+1front paging works on how quickly articles get dugg, not just the number.
- vestlandsfanden, on 04/25/2008, -0/+1Am I the only one who thought that the buys-a-car-to-get-a-grandson scenario was the highpoint of this article?
- inactive, on 04/25/2008, -2/+3I don't want to effing register.
- IgWannA, on 04/25/2008, -0/+1you can pay a fine. it's quite small if you have a girl first but much larger if you have a boy.
- blagoaw, on 04/25/2008, -1/+2I dugg your comment up because of a lot of interesting and reasonably true points, but I think you're fearing a bit too much in there. If they're feeling alright in China and they're not muscling around a lot outside of their border, then it never quite fazes me on a personal level. If you think they're going to be powerful, then learn some Mandarin and make some friends. Borders are becoming more open and it's becoming necessary to adapt uncomfortably fast to alien cultures, but this is something that needs to be recognized with or without China's rise.
- talk2santosh, on 04/26/2008, -0/+1Western attention to China’s growing appetite for automobiles usually focuses on its link to mounting dependence on foreign oil, escalating demand on natural resources like iron ore, and increasing emissions of global warming gases.
- iamstevieb, on 04/25/2008, -0/+1A nice article showing how the Chinese economy is growing mixed with a story about the evolving Chinese culture.
- pseudononymist, on 04/25/2008, -0/+1Yeah, it's our god/allah/yahweh-given right to pollute freely, god/allah/yahweh dammit.
edit: Xenu, I forgot Xenu. - iamstevieb, on 04/25/2008, -0/+1good explanation, have a digg :)
- ADVIZR, on 04/25/2008, -0/+1Thank you, I dugg you as well. But don't assume that it's misplaced fear. Yes, there are lots of people out there who don't have a clue and simply "fear" rival super powers. That's not at all where I'm coming from. There are plenty of Chinese people who fully agree with all of my sentiments and see past blind nationalism.
> "If you think they're going to be powerful, then learn some Mandarin and make some friends."
I am. :) - MiNGLED, on 04/25/2008, -0/+1The government doesn't make any distinction between less girls or boys, just the general rule of only 1 child. They are a little more relaxed in rural areas but you still have to pay a fine if you have another child, many times most peoples monthly wage. The reason why most families want another child if their first is a girl is boys are more important culturally. This aspect isn't unique to China, many counties place more importance on boys over girls.
- yacks, on 04/25/2008, -0/+1Don't you have that switched around? I thought the Chinese wanted less girls because less girls = less babies... 2 guys cant create a baby.
- IgWannA, on 04/25/2008, -0/+110 million privately owned ones.
- ADVIZR, on 04/25/2008, -0/+1I'll just paste what I wrote to pvnrt:
Apparently you misunderstand. I detest what the US has done as much as anyone not living under a rock. What other countries do does not negate the reality of the type of country China is becoming. If you re-read my points, you'll specifically see that I'm against blind nationalism. - ictoan, on 04/25/2008, -0/+1I am totally against more and more people getting cars in China. It’s a sign of foolishness. There are many people in China that most cities are dense and packed. People could easily get from one part of the city with foot, bikes or buses or subways. People who are buying cars in China are not doing it because it will be more convinent for travel, but they are doing it to flash their status and affluence. Having more cars will also force more parking lots to be build and gasoline to pump.
It always puzzles me how the rise of automobile is a sign of prosperity for a country. Having cars can attribute to independence but it also decentralizes human interactions.
I think China should focus on how to provide more transportation services rather than to encourage automobile purchases. - ADVIZR, on 04/25/2008, -0/+1Apparently you misunderstand. I detest what the US has done as much as anyone not living under a rock. What other countries do does not negate the reality of the type of country China is becoming. If you re-read my points, you'll specifically see that I'm against blind nationalism.
- samuella, on 09/08/2008, -0/+0Soon China Will be one huge leader in all over the world.
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http://search.ashtech.info/business%20finance - ASSASSYN360, on 04/25/2008, -0/+0So they just discovered owning an automobile display social standing, and success.
- ADVIZR, on 04/25/2008, -4/+4Indeed, however, there's a very unsettling twist to it.
1. Within the US, a huge portion of US citizens understand how corrupt the Bush administration is and are angered to no end about their own country's policies. They also voice their opinion to no end on the matter and, to a large degree, have helped to sway public opinion against Bush or make certain truths be known throughout the history of this country. In short, there's still some semblance of free speech that is fully in tact.
2. The US went through its revolution. It fought hard to be free of tyranny, to uphold free speech and Constitutional ideals. While there are still forms of censorship from the top-down, the US is comparably barely censored at all from the bottom up (especially thanks to the Internet).
3. China has existed for thousands of years, yet the people have not fully fought to win what we consider inherent freedoms of a modern society.
4. Chinese culture is very deeply rooted in being content with their government and accepting forms of full censorship. It's just accepted and life goes on, as many prefer to stay within the fray of that type of "harmony."
5. In other words, while China is, indeed, becoming fully capitalistic or so called "westernized" they are not necessarily headed toward democracy or free speech. That's a very 'scary' reality when you consider that combined with the fact that it creates a huge wall of separation between the Chinese people and the outside world. Attempts at breaking through that wall and bringing to attention corruption are met with misunderstanding. Many Chinese interpret objective dialogue as jealousy or hatred, where it is not. People become nationalistic because they feel personally attacked. They fail to separate nations vs. people in the equation. Once again, that's because the culture itself is largely content with its government and is within censorship.
6. It's one thing to have capitalism + overwhelming power. That's just fine. The US has that. China has the right to also. However, it's another thing to have that combined with being content with one's gov't + censorship. That's where it's a scary proposition because corruption by a government becomes even more extreme due to a lack of free speech and information, breeding nationalism.
7. I'm very pro-Chinese. Most Chinese are wonderful, just as most Americans are wonderful -- most people around the world for that matter are wonderful. I'm all for China blossoming into the mega-power it's destined to be. I want China to be *part* of the world. It's the lack of rights for their citizens which is extremely troubling. - DeathMote, on 04/25/2008, -0/+0Um, yeah because there are no rich 16 year old white girls with 3 series convertibles or dudes with mustangs and porsches.
- IgWannA, on 04/25/2008, -1/+1indeed. only 10 million cars in a country of 1.3+ billion. that's less than 1 car per 100 people. by comparison, in america there is about 1 car per person.
- Puplu, on 05/16/2008, -0/+0Cars are needed for practical purposes rather than putting up a reputation in the society. But cheap cars from renowned brands like Toyota can be available from Toyota Fianncial services. You might be interested in http://www.encyclocentral.com/23270-Toyota_Financi ...
- pvnrt, on 04/25/2008, -0/+0@DeathMote
so true. it's too easy to talk smack about someone else and then overlook the same ***** that's going on at home. - blagoaw, on 04/25/2008, -0/+0Yep, that's what my first sentence was about. I knew plenty of white guys in highschool who just didn't want to talk about where their car came from, but it was from their parents. It's less socially acceptable, but it happens (and it works).
- DeathMote, on 04/25/2008, -0/+0"That's a very 'scary' reality when you consider that combined with the fact that it creates a huge wall of separation between the Chinese people and the outside world. Attempts at breaking through that wall and bringing to attention corruption are met with misunderstanding. Many Chinese interpret objective dialogue as jealousy or hatred, where it is not. People become nationalistic because they feel personally attacked. They fail to separate nations vs. people in the equation. Once again, that's because the culture itself is largely content with its government and is within censorship."
It's funny that you say this when Giuliani kept spouting that America was attacked for its "Freedom". Yes. They hate our freedom. That's why they want to kill us. A majority of Americans are just as unaware of how our government manipulates in other countries internal affairs for our own gain. Then we're told the American people are attacked for the "Freedom" they have. - yenta4shop, on 09/05/2008, -0/+0http://www.yenta4shop.co.uk/
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http://astore.amazon.com/vuarnet.sunglasses.online ... - blagoaw, on 04/25/2008, -0/+0That kind of thing is sort of prevalent everywhere.. they're just very open and overt about it. Ever see Asian students driving their BMW's and Mercedes at a university campus? They're not so ashamed that their parents bought it to decline it, and lots of girls will accept a ride. It's okay to say this, because it's there. In Chinese culture, this is done for housing too.
- inactive, on 04/25/2008, -2/+1 "I'm all for China blossoming into the mega-power it's destined to be"
O Really? I think Peak oil and global warning and scarcity of resources would put an end to that. - ttsupra26, on 04/25/2008, -2/+1I would rather read this: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/23/business/media/2 ...
- minzhishi, on 04/25/2008, -1/+0de facto
- brianbb98, on 04/25/2008, -3/+1since no ones said it yet... "front page with 77 diggs??"
- nallabackwards, on 04/25/2008, -6/+3buried so nobody else loses 3 minutes of their day.
- FizzanoMatrix, on 04/25/2008, -5/+1They're just releasing modded 3.x in China so what do you expect.
- KloroFormd, on 04/25/2008, -7/+2This is front-page worthy?
- macmangb, on 04/25/2008, -8/+1They shouldn't be allowed to have cars, China is the leading producer of greenhouse gases and now they are just producing more.
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