Not sure, but think I mentioned a couple of months ago that there was fear in China that the annual shortage of diesel would cause problems. This fear was well founded because the shortage of diesel is causing mega problems in the country. You in North America complain about the price of diesel going up, but how would you like to be faced with not being able to buy any diesel or be severely restricted to how much you can buy and then also be forced to queue for hours to get the little you are allowed? Transport drivers and taxi drivers are facing huge problems because of this.

One taxi driver normally brings in 500 yuan (about $79) for a 12 hour shift driving a taxi in Changsha. In the winter his income drops drastically to maybe as little as 200 yuan. That does not even cover his daily costs because he must pay 220 yuan daily to the taxi company. Due to the diesel shortage he is forced to wait 2 hours or even longer at a gas station to get refueled. To add insult to injury he is often restricted to only 50 yuan of diesel. That means that he needs to come back and wait another two hours for another 50 yuan of diesel in the afternoon. So at least 4 hours of his 12 hour shift is spent waiting for diesel. Some places have no fuel at all.

The first diesel shortages occurred in the winter of 2003 in the Yangtze River Delta and have become widespread in the past few years in central, eastern, southern and south western China during the peak season for diesel. Nearly half of the privately held filling stations and a quarter of the State owned stations could not ensure ample supplies last month.

Some results of this diesel shortage has caused buses in some areas to stop operating for days at a time in mid December. A funeral home in Chongqing could not meet the demands for cremation for a short while last year. Sorry, could not discover what they did with all the waiting bodies while waiting for more diesel. Hmmm, wonder why the words Soylent Green come to mind? Long distance truck drivers are being particularly hard hit. Trucks with fruit and veggies are having a very rough time because they cannot afford to be stuck on the road waiting for diesel.

The causes for these shortages appear to be due to various reasons. One reason is the low water level in the Xiangjiang river has restricted the amount of diesel that can be shipped to the Hunan region. Another area was trying to reduce air pollution with the high polluting and energy intensive industries, so switched to diesel to keep their businesses going. Seems like nobody looked ahead to ensure that there would be enough diesel for everybody when they did this. Leading experts place most of the blame for the chronic problem on the way the government pricing system for oil products. This forces some companies to sell diesel at below cost, so many just opt to put out a 'sold out' sign. There is lot of discussion and argument about the state manipulation of oil prices, but will not go into that part as it is rather boring. Bottom line is that all diesel users are very unhappy with the present situation and do not want to go through another winter like this.

OK, time to switch subjects. Lots to choose from, so it's hard to know where to start.

China is very serious about education and the minister of education wants the country's financial expenditure in education to target 4% of the GDP this year. I tried to find out what the states plan on spending on education for 2012, but can't discover a definitive figure. It would have been nice to compare two big countries.

One big problem in China is besides needing to increase the expenditure on education is how to spend the money where it is really needed. China's education is unbalanced between the urban and rural areas. A lack of of quality teachers for rural schools, those in underdeveloped, remote and mountainous areas in particular, has become a major obstacle that prevents rural students from receiving the same quality of education as their urban counterparts. Even in urban areas, the distribution of education resources is unbalanced. Quality teachers are usually clustered in so-called key schools.

As far as occupational education is concerned, despite the increase in enrollment from 3.98 million in 2000 to 8.78 million in 2010 for medium level occupational schools and from 1.3 million in 2000 to 3.1 million in 2010 for higher occupancy schools, there is much to be desired in the quality of graduates and the widening gap between their skills and the needs of enterprises. China is now looking at designing the systems to make it possible for quality education resources to be by as wide a range of students as possible. The country is also looking to facilitate the constant training of teachers so that the quality of the majority of teachers will be improved. One way to do this is to rotate teachers from rural schools so that the best teachers do not just teach at one school.

Apparently in spite of the best efforts, it is acknowledged that something is ailing in the country's education and instead of new policies, plans are being made for detailed schemes in the implementation of existing policies. Education expert are needed to visit specific schools in both rural and urban schools to figure out where the the real problems lie.

Next subject.
China has a growing problem in that the elderly need a place to live and probably die. It used to be that their families took care of them, but for many families, this is no longer possible. Now a new problem is emerging; nobody cares for the carer's job, specially in big cities. Most young migrant workers are reluctant to work as caregiver's because there is little employment security for them. The caregivers's that are available are asking for more money a month than most people can afford and now some are even asking for their own bedroom. This is beyond the means of most Chinese. The government estimate that more than 5 million caregivers will be needed to take care of the aging population by 2015.

Young migrant workers are now not only concerned about making money, but also look at whether the job is interesting. Caregiving is viewed as a boring job that restricts their social life. As a result, many young workers prefer to work in factories and restaurants. Babysitting pays better than caregiving to the elderly. Plus the caregivers find that caring for the elderly suffering from disabilities or chronic diseases can be quite stressful and consequently look for less stressful jobs.

The Chinese government is aware of the growing problem, but so far has not yet come up with solution that will attract caregivers and provide social insurance for them. Nearly 3 out of 10 Chinese will be 60 years or older by 2040.

 

Hey Stan, don't expect you to be able to respond to our occasional intellectually stimulating comments on this thread, you have a lot on your plate, but wanted you to know that we do appreciate your posting. I only add a few comments so you know we are listening. In the words of Noah Webster "Is good stuff" (think he said that).
My hand shoots up--I know, I know, call on me!!

Yes it would. I’ve mentioned my niece in law from China. She is brilliant but has mentioned her uncles in a different province who she adores but are apparently practically illiterate due to lack of schooling.

Not much different from the US. Personal experience: Medium to lower rated Nursing homes (at least in CA and Alaska) have a huge amount of immigrant caregivers (primarily from the Philippines and Mexico). They are good people but have been hired because there is a real lack of "locals" to do the job.

I will be interested in seeing what they come up with. The US is going to also have to come up with a fix in the near future.

 

Bark, thanks for your comments. They are much appreciated.
Here is the next 'chapter' Hope it is of some interest to some of you. Am trying to make these comments as varied as I can:

Trains are used by many of the Chinese to travel around the country. The Spring Festival is one of the busiest times of the year for travel in China and from Jan 8 to Feb 16 the railways expect to handle about 235 million trips in this time period. That is approximately 13.5 million more trips than last year for the same time. On average, the railways will transport some 5 million passengers a day.

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Pressure to succeed academically means Chinese children, even pre-schoolers, are taking extra lessons and giving up exercise. Screen time in front of computers and TV’s is another factor for the rise in the incidence of myopia among students. A Ministry of Education report in September, based on a national survey in 2010 of about 350,000 youngster’s ages 7 to 22 in 31 provinces, highlights this fact.

Among primary school children, almost 41 % need corrective lenses, mostly for myopia (shortsightedness) The figure rises for middle school and university students, respectively, to 67% and 85%.

Kids, especially those younger than 6 undergo the most important physical and functional development of the eyes. The prolonged close-up visual activities and a lack of outdoor activities appear to be leading to all this myopia and making the situation worse. Nobody does eye exercises. Genetic factors do contribute to the eye problem and some western researchers suspect that East Asians are more genetically pre-disposed to myopia. However, there is strong evidence to show that the major causes of myopia among Chinese children are too much reading and screen time, a lack of outdoor activities and a bad diet, rather than genetic factors.

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The unlikely players in an unlikely new China clothing venture includes yaks from the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, a British ex-army officer, a former US aid worker and the sole member of the Ghanian ski team. This disparate cast of characters is all linked to Khunu, a company formed with the ambitious intention of popularizing adventure garments made from the hardy beasts wool.

Tests so far, both theoretical and practical, have shown that wool from the hefty Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau animals is significantly warmer than lamb wool and more importantly, softer than the much prized cashmere sourced from the same remote areas. The wool is softer than merino and has a more luxurious feel. Based on these findings, the duo has launched the Khunu label, producing China made sweaters that are designed to appeal to discerning adventure lovers. It certainly has a distinctive name; Khunu is named after an ancient Mongolian dynasty.

The founders of the company had been looking for a business venture aligned with their concerns for the plight of poorer rural communities. They discovered that the course fiber from the yaks was being used for ropes and tents, but that the soft fiber was not being used at all. It was just falling off the animal and blowing away in the wind. Having worked to establish a demand for the product, the pair began to set up a supply chain. This is difficult to do, given the fact that the herders are nomadic by nature. The plan is to target the community leaders to spread the message that there is a market for the softer, usually discarded, yak wool. China being so large and diverse makes it difficult to organize the whole supply chain and build infrastructure in these remoter regions.

Once this venture takes off, could you call it a Yak-to-Back success?

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One consequence of increased global trade is that insects and viruses are posing a growing threat to crops in China. Alien species are attacking crops and causing billions of dollars worth of damage to the economy, even though detection rates have increased fourfold since 2002. There were more than 320,000 detections of 3,400 harmful species at entry ports in the first nine months of last year. These harmful species mainly come from major trading nations, including Brazil, the United States, Australia, South Korea and Argentina. Insects account for about half of the harmful species detected. Other harmful species include weeds, roundworms, fungi, bacteria and viruses.

In the first six months of 2011, 46 plant epidemics broke out nationally, affecting 58 counties according to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture. Invasive foreign species were mostly to blame. Foreign species can quickly adapt to a country as they are free from their natural predators. For example, a kind of caterpillar from Australia is the food of a certain bird there, but it has no enemy in China. As imports of agricultural products grow, so too does the threat of invasive species.

Invasive species can play havoc with agriculture. For example, tilletia controversa, a fungus known to damage heads of wheat, can wipe out an entire crop. The Mediterranean fruit fly, from Africa, poses a threat to 300 types of fruit and vegetables. The Ministry of Agriculture acknowledges that screening procedures at points of entry are not totally secure. Many ports only have facilities for spot checks, so some do enter. They admit that they can only slow down the invasion, but cannot stop it completely. They are working on the problem and recently revised it’s list of foreign harmful species from 95 to 439 and is committed to a 100% detection rate and fighting any outbreaks with effective quarantine measures.

The most frequently detected invasive species are:
Bacrocera dorsalis Hendal.
The cowpea weevil
Longhorn beetle
Red-knot nematode.

 

I thought you were canadian eh....

Anyway, keep the reports coming.

 

Have a Canadian passport.

Married to a Mexican. Drive a Texas plated truck that was built in Mexico. Own property in Mexico. Presently living in China. Have family in South Africa, Canada and Australia. Ummmm, what am I?

 

I'd say unless your parents were .mil, your South African.
and it sounds like you're one of the few that rival me in country count.

 

I am South African. Parents and grandparents all born there.

 

thanks for being a Canadian eh we are a better country because of people like you being Canadian keep the comments coming

 

Thanks eh. My two Canuck born sons are still in the Toronuh area.

 

Didn't you say Obama was in one of your classes in Kenya??? LOL

Great stuff, Stan - - very interesting.

Bob

 

Hopefully you wont need any major medical attention while in China.
My niece has indicated that you can find modernized, western medical care in most of the larger cities.

However she cautions that care in the smaller cities is sometimes limited to reflexology-based foot massage parlors, acupuncture or powdered herb purveyors.
They might work for a cold but might not help with appendicitis.

She indicated that advertisements for questionable medical practices are much more visible on the streets of China than they are in the US.

If you get the time, it would be interesting for you to share any observations on advertizing or experiences with medical practices.
~

 

Yeah Stan, get yourself good an' sick, go to a hospital, then tell us how good or bad the care was... if you survive it!

 

Stan, that’s not quite what I had in mind but he has a point.
If you have access to a nail gun, band saw, balcony or caustic chemicals
it might speed up your research.

 

Thanks for your concern as to my well being. You guys are all heart. Not! Sheesh, what a bunch of

Actually, I already have had some experience with one of the local hospitals that has a branch that deals with ex-pats. I hurt my knee, so went to go and have it checked. The hospital I was referred to has a few US trained doctors on staff. I phoned in and made an appointment for the next day. Once I arrived at the hospital I was dealt with fast and efficiently. The American doctor saw me within 10 minutes of the appointed time and I was in and out of the place in less than an hour. Filling in the pre-examination paperwork took the most time. Medical insurance (via BUPA) covers this and all I need to do is file the claim. Even if I was paying out of pocket, it was not very expensive.

One of our ex-pat designers recently had a heart attack on the job. He was rushed to hospital and had a bypass operation. He is now back at work and doing OK.