Results tagged “reformcommission”

Photo from Shanghai Daily.

A BBC report (proxy needed) talks about the Confucian schools that are now thriving across China. And why are parents sending their kids to such schools?:

"Traditional culture has many advantages that cannot be learned by modern education," says Yu Fang, the mother of a three-year-old pupil. "It emphasises virtues like kindness and self-discipline. It is very good for my son and very good for Chinese society as well." Another mother, Wang Ching, agrees: "This is a material world, people want a higher standard of living and they are focused on material things, not spiritual ones." Modern China, with its headlong rush for growth, needs more balance and more of the social order and courtesy extolled by Confucius, she says. Confucianism and Communism have never been happy bedfellows... [read more]

What if Beijing is right? [IHT] What if the doubters have been wrong all along? What if big government and an all-powerful state are good, not bad? What if the business cycle, hitherto thought to be inevitable, if completely unpredictable, could be repealed? These are the questions that Howard French of the IHT asks in his latest Letter from China.China's 1st lunar probe to reach moon orbit Monday morning [Xinhua] China's first lunar probe, Chang'e-1,...

How should a government combat runaway inflation? Most sensible economists would suggest a series of tightening monetary and fiscal policies to realign the aggregate supply demand picture. Well, China has raised interest rate four times this year, twice last month, to no avail. Prices, at both the producer and retail levels continue to bubble up, as do asset prices, such as the real estate and the equity market.

The China arm of the International Ramen Manufacturer's Association (IRMA) (which is basically the international association of instant noodle makers) has been given one big tight slap by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) for price fixing.

Our friends suggested we buy an apartment in Shanghai because paying down mortgage is better than paying rent as the money eventually goes back to us (in theory). After some serious consideration, a few rounds puzzling over how exactly we would pay for our own apartment, we decided no go…for now. Why? Well, in this city, even a one bedroom “hole in the wall” goes for at least 600,000 RMB. Shanghaiist needs to borrow money just to come up with the minimum 30 percent down payment. Then, there are the mortgage payments, the interior decorating expenses and the rent we’d have to pony up for another place while our bathroom is being built, among other things.. . Grrrrr. If we bought an apartment, we’d always be thinking about saving money and paying it back for the rest of our lives. No more 58 RMB cocktails at Manifesto. What a horrible life! Well, according to this Sina's real estate analysis (news in Chinese), nearly 70 percent of Chinese citizens agree.

You might want to go out and invest in Chery. China is about to lift its ban on small, low emission automobiles. Evidently small cars are had been restricted in 84 Chinese cities because of "noise and air pollution, poor safety and unattractive appearance." Um ...

With 999 days to go, the Beijing Olympics' official mascots have been chosen. There was much debate over who should be the mascot. Hot favourites were the Tibetan Antelope and the Monkey King, with the King finally being cast aside, and the Antelope finally joining the bunch of five.

If every single person in China’s population of over 1.3 billion people tossed 34 yuan in, let’s say, Shanghaiist's pocket, that would equal around 5.5 billion US dollars. That is the amount on money being wasted on disposable hotel supplies including toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, shampoo, slippers and combs. China is becoming wary of this situation as well as its strain on the country’s finances.