at home… in China

Friedman (Op-Ed Columnist – Yes, They Could. So They Did. – NYTimes.com) reinforces the point about China’s pivotal role in sustainability…:

We head off down … one of New Delhi’s main streets. The ladies want to show me something. The U.S. Embassy and the Chinese Embassy are both located on Panchsheel, directly across from each other. They asked me to check out the rooftops of each embassy. What do I notice? Let’s see … The U.S. Embassy’s roof is loaded with antennae and listening gear. The Chinese Embassy’s roof is loaded with … new Chinese-made solar hot-water heaters.

Source, just to make sure I mention again that this is a quote: Op-Ed Columnist – Yes, They Could. So They Did. – NYTimes.com

A New York Times article I feel like recommending:

Gillibrand’s Affinity for Asia Becomes an Asset – NYTimes.com.

Two things struck me:

It sounds a bit like a typical piece about a politician knowing a little bit about the world and some languages, but somehow, a little of the fascination and the learning that came from studying a foreign language, learning about its culture, and being open to the whole experience comes through.

At the same time, there is this mention that Gillibrand “is apparently the only member of Congress with some proficiency in Mandarin, other than Representative David Wu, an Oregon Democrat who was born in Taiwan.”
Congress has 535 members!

The glitz and glamour of Chinese urban landscapes has come to stand for the country’s rise. Shanghai still runs by the moniker “Paris of the East,” but one sometimes wonders if the time is far away when other cities might be called the Shanghai of the West.
On the other hand, China’s rise has led to increasing awareness of this country’s role in the world, including the central position it will play with regards to sustainability (cp. Liu, Jianguo and Jared Diamond. 2005. China’s environment in a globalizing world. Nature 435:1179-1186). The neon signs and the constant building activity take on a darker meaning in this context. They seem to stand for a future akin to the landscape of “Blade Runner,” with little hope for social development and environmental protection.

In all the lights, a hope and a lesson is hidden. Hidden, literally, in the dark.
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On the Li River, where people come to enjoy the scenery of the famous limestone hills – except if they can’t quite enjoy it because something went wrong. Which is obviously the case, here…

20 sec China podcast website, RSS

Ein Kommentar aus der Ferne

Dr. Gerald Schmidt

China hat Deutschland endgültig überrundet und ist zur drittgrößten Volkswirtschaft der Welt geworden. Gleichzeitig hat die Finanzkrise auch hier ihren Effekt und bereits zu einem starken Rückgang des Exportwachstums geführt.

Wieder einmal kommen zwei gegensätzliche Ideen gleichzeitig zum Tragen:
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