Two is one too many in China

As tomorrow is International Children's Day, I thought it appropriate to comment on China's one child policy.

It  has to be one of the more interesting social engineering  policies this country has adopted - the implications of which will be felt for generations to come.


A couple in eastern China's Zhejiang Province who violated the family planning law was recently fined 1.3 million yuan (US$205,000), the biggest such penalty levied by authorities.

The couple gave birth to a daughter in February after having a son in 1995. As the law was written, couples can have a second child under a few conditions such as both spouses being from one child families, or the first child has a non-inherited disease. In some provinces, rural couples are allowed to have a second child if their first child is a girl - hows that for sexual equality.  The couple in question did not qualify under any of these terms. They were wealthy business people who knew the consequences. Local regulations state the fine for having a second child should be four to eight times the average annual income of local residents with family planning authorities having the flexibility set the penalties at their discretion.

Since many of those who do violate the family planning law are rich families, they are given the maximum fines local authorities said. Ruian where this couple lived is in the jurisdiction of Wenzhou, which boasts many wealthy entrepreneurs. Nearly half of Wenzhou's families have two kids, and more than a dozen couples have been fined more than 1 million yuan.

The previous record fine, 1.25 million yuan was just recently imposed in April.

The Chinese government adopted the family-planning policy in 1979 to rein in the growth rate of the world's largest population. The law was enacted because authorities believed China's large population imposed undue pressure on the nation's sustainable development and was a bottleneck for China's competitiveness.

What is already evident is that China now has a gender imbalance. There many more boys born than girls which has created a serious social dilemma - their just aren't enough women around for men to marry - where that goes is anyone's guess?

We know how this will eventually end

And I'm afraid that it will most likely not be a great ending.

A three month old baby found alone in a downtown park a few weeks ago was reunited with his parents yesterday. The parents got their baby back after a warning and paying fines ending the two week drama.

And right about now you are asking why would the parents be warned and fined.

The incident began when police received emergency calls about a baby found sitting in a stroller with no parents in sight. The police rushed to the scene, waited a half hour or so for the parents to show up and then took the baby to the hospital for safe keeping while they tried to find the parents.

The next day after seeing the baby's picture posted online by the police, the mother contacted the police station to claim her child. She said she was regretful for what had happened. She told police she and her husband left the baby in the park after they quarreled about who should take care of the child. In a huff. she caught a bus back to her hometown in neighbouring Jiangsu Province and her hubby hit the road for his home in Sichuan. Duh - what about the kid???

After DNA testing to prove the child was in fact theirs, the police let the parents take the child with stern warnings to shape up.

So there you have it - a great insight into the handling of children's services and welfare here in China - my guess is we will never hear anything more from this family and there is probably a good chance the kid gets sold somewhere in the hinterland never to be heard from again.

The proverbial Question "Is it safe to breath today?"

And the answer of course is it depends on who you believe.

Officially, Shanghai's air quality was "good" yesterday (see picture at left). But at the American Consulate it was a different story. Readings there indicated that the city air was "unhealthy for sensitive groups" throughout most of the day.
The issue of course is just what is an acceptable level of particulates in the air. Monitoring equipment at the consulate is basically the same as equipment at the Shanghai Environmental Monitoring Center. The difference is China and America have different standards for air quality.

Data from the consulate, based on its monitoring machine in its offices on Huaihai Road showed that PM2.5 density began rising from 10am yesterday to a peak of 70 micrograms per cubic meter when the air qulaity was defined as "unhealthy". It remained at around 60 throughout the afternoon.

Here's the rub - China's acceptable daily limit for PM2.5 is 75 micrograms per cubic meter compared with about 25 micrograms in the United States.

The city's readings showed that PM2.5 reached a high of 68 at 11am in Putuo District and 82 in Zhangjiang in the Pudong New Area, the only two spots whose readings are made public. Granted the data from the consulate is only able to measure the air quality of the limited space around the consulate but you have to believe this number holds true for much of Shanghai.

So why worry when China says the air is OK? To begin with PM2.5 sized particles are about 1/30th the width of a human hair and we are at risk because these particles are small enough to lodge deep in our lungs and even enter our bloodstream - sounds wonderful doesn't it?.

Here's the best question of the day from a man named Shu Jiong who is an environmental professor at East China Normal University (do you think there is an East China Abnormal University). Shu questioned whether it was proper for the consulate to use US standards to evaluate Shanghai's air quality. He said, "the two countries have different demographic situations and are at different stages of development, so it will be more suitable to use the Chinese standard to evaluate the air quality in Shanghai". There you have it  - the real thinking behind the difference in standards. China is developing so its OK for it's industries to pollute the air and its citizens to breath more PM2.5 particulate.

Why didn't I think of that.

Who said there is no free press in China

Today's Shanghai Daily(one of the English mouth pieces for the Chinese Government) has illustrated the ultimate in free speech. They've done what I believe no newspaper has ever done in the Western world.

They sold their ACTUAL front cover to Mercedes Benz. This is not a wrap around - it is the front page. Talk about the rise of capitalism - this is over the top and then some. Imagine the New York Times or the Wall Street Journal giving up their front page for an advertiser. Rest assured Mao is turning over in his grave and calling on all the Chinese spirits to come rescue his lost flock.

In most countries and for most newspapers, the front page is off bounds - no ifs ands or buts. Any suggestion to an editorial team that this might generate gobs of money would be scoffed at and turned down.  Newsprint has fallen on hard times so I guess the Chinese are at the forefront of rewriting the rule book.

Study methods take a whole new turn

Throw out the misconception that Asian students are competitive and study 20 hours a day seven days a week with their heads buried in textbooks memorizing every word, every phrase, every formula because  a school in central China's Hubei Province has taken studing to a whole new level and hooked students up to intravenous drips to improve their memory and performance in exams. Xiaogan City No. 1 High School said each student was subsidized 10 yuan (US$1.6) by the provincial education bureau for amino acid drips ahead of National College Entrance Exams.

These folks believe the intravenous drips will improve memory and allay anxiety. Since these exams determine where a student goes for post secondary education, nothing is out of the question to get good marks. In many cities parents rent hotel rooms next to the exam centres to keep their kids relaxed and able to study up to the last minute. This includes providing massages and yoga sessions just before the exam.
 

Photographs posted on microblogging site weibo.com last Friday showed almost 30 senior students  hooked up to intravenous drips in their classroom. Web users claimed this proved this technique has becomes a tradition ahead of the National College Entrance Exams.

A school official, surnamed Xia, said students volunteered for the drip, and in order not to disturb their exam preparations it was administered in the classroom.

Here's a great quote - Sun Zhongshi, an expert with the State Food and Drug Administration, said there was a danger of cross-infection as a classroom was not the appropriate environment for giving intravenous injections, and was skeptical of the benefits of amino acid.

So you saw it here first. Next time your son or daughter has to write an exam, just hook them up to some intavenous solution and voila - you'll have a doctor or lawyer or architect on your hands in no time.

 

Why we worry about food!

Reports of Chinese cabbages tainted with formaldehyde in east China's Shandong Province, the country's largest vegetable supplier have exposed clandestine market practices and triggered a new wave of food safety concerns.Over the weekend, there were reports that vegetable dealers in Qingzhou had been seen spraying formaldehyde on Chinese cabbages .

In visits to farms and wholesale centers, Xinhua news agency reporters found that using the formaldehyde solution has been a popular, unspoken method of keeping vegetables fresh for at least three years and was not limited to Qingzhou. Many local farmers turn a blind eye to dealers treating the cabbages with formaldehyde. "It's a common practice to keep the cabbages fresh," says Yin Lihua, a farmer in Qingzhou's Dongxia township. "Otherwise, the vegetables stacked tightly in their trucks would rot in two to three days." China's wholesale vegetable dealers are not required to use refrigerated trucks for produce, and few can afford them. Yesterday morning, trucks were lined up near Yin's greenhouse, waiting to take the cabbages to faraway cities for sale.

Zhao Mingli, a dealer from the northeastern Heilongjiang Province, was caught by police while spraying the chemical solution. Zhao told them he used the spray to keep the cabbages in good condition during a 10-hour journey to Langfang, a city on the Hebei-Beijing border. "Vegetable dealers in Langfang openly demand formaldehyde-preserved cabbages because they sell more easily. I just did what everyone else was doing for three or four years. Zhao said 2.5 liters of solution costs only 7 yuan and can keep 20 tons of vegetables fresh. Zhao was one of dozens of vegetable dealers apprehended by police in Dongxia township. They admitted having sold formaldehyde-tainted vegetables to many provinces, and many said they ate the tainted cabbages themselves. "You just do away with the first layer of leaves, cut the root and rinse well," Zhao said.

For the record, formaldehyde is used as a disinfectant and embalming fluid and has been declared a known human carcinogen. It is also a skin, eye and respiratory irritant. In 2008, China banned it as an illegal food additive however that hasn't seemed to concern these farmers.

So now you know why we pay so much for produce that is flown in from Australia or grown on farms managed by expats who care about what they are eating.

Quick, I need a hit of BBQ sauce

I genuinely thought I'd heard it all but this is pretty hard to top. The Shanghai Daily newspaper reported today that an additive that enhances the flavor of braised pork is causing people to become addicted to the dish .

The Shanghai Food and Drug Administration yesterday warned local restaurants after it was found that the additive was also available here in Shanghai. The additive, dubbed "King of Meat" can be found in many food markets and is used by many restaurant chefs who know the secret of the taste and don't eat the pork dish themselves - isnt that reassuring.

The Shanghai FDA said yesterday the three relevant ingredients in the composition of the additive were legal synthetic flavors that can be used in all kinds of food, except raw meat in which the use of the additives is banned.

Makes me feel all warm and cosy to know the law says the additives can't be used to cover food that has gone bad or to make counterfeit products. The Shanghai FDA said local restaurants should avoid using or use a minimum amount of the additive while cooking pork with brown sauce and other dishes.

The additive is made of chemical synthetics that contain chlorine and it can irritate the human gastronomic and digestive systems, Mo Baoqing, a professor of Nanjing Medical University, told the newspaper.

What is so spooky about eating in this country is that China has no clear provisions for dealing with such synthetic additives - that's why we've made a conscious decision to stay away from street food and other local dives.

The "King of Meat" mixture is also being sold online. Online vendors boast the special additive is made of "natural spices" and is widely used across the country. "It should be safe as long as you don't put too much of it into dishes," said a Shenzhen-based vendor. "We don't know what the additive is made of, but we haven't heard of anyone being poisoned or harmed by it." Online stores said the additive can be used in almost all kinds of meat products to enhance their taste and get rid of any bad smell. A 500ml bottle costs about 70 yuan (US$11), and most buyers were restaurant owners, the vendor said.

I'll remember that the next time we eat out.

Talk about monkey business

Seems a member of the staff of the Wuhan Zoo in Central China's Wuhan city went above and beyond the call of duty yesterday to save the life of a rare monkey.

Senior breeder Zhang Bangsheng came to the rescue after a three month old French Langur monkey ate a peanut offered by a visitor. The problem you ask - the peanut was not digested and became lodged in the monkey's tush causing a serious obstruction. Since the zoo did not have access to any laxatives, the zoo attendant did what anybody would do - he licked the monkey's behind to stimulate and arouse it and sure enough, out popped the peanut.

Kudos to Mr. Zhang for the quick action however of all the possible options he might have had to free the peanut, I just wonder how he zeroed in on this one. This brings a whole new positive perspective to the phrase "ass kissing".