From Chinese Public School to University to Workforce

Teacher Student Time

It’s common for us to praise countries like China, Japan, and Korea on their teaching methods. Of course, their math scores frequently deliver a spanking to American children and the future of American students gets even gloomier from there. The results are in the numbers and the proof is ample, but this educational success doesn’t come without a cost. As we attempt to compete academicaly, and globably, this cost has been (or is still being) experienced by American students with mixed responses from their administrators. At least the few administrator I’ve talked to were not full of praise about their new exam-based system. Read More…

New Threat! Water Armies All Across China

The Water Army is Coming!

Although they sound like a new villain from a Hollywood movie, they are less scary in person. They are soldiers of propaganda, using whatever free-speech tools they can muster to win the hearts and minds of a voting public. But this is not a political tale, rather, it is a commercial one; and the votes are cast with Ren Min Bi (Chinese Yuan).

So, where does this “Water Army” come from? In fact, it is a Chinese term which has been causing difficulties for consumer protection around the Chinese Internet. Imagine you go to a forum online and look for information about insurance, a new car, or even a toaster. Hundreds or thousands of these soldiers are hired for cheap, usually ￥0.7 RMB ($.01) per post, and begin a campaign to sway public opinion toward or against various products. In a country where the average worker makes 20-25RMB ($3) per hour, it is economically feasible for Water Armies to exist. Read More…

Vibrating Mode: Earthquakes Around Asia 2011

Recent Quake Location

It seems every couple days there is another earthquake punching holes in the topography of Asia, and across the world too. Zhuhai, where I’m currently living, also has shaken a few times in the past year. I hadn’t felt a tremor before 2010 and nothing like it had happened in this city since I got here in 2006. It was an unusual wobbling which lasted a few minutes… maybe the kind of nauseating shake that Californians are used to… Across the Pearl River Delta, in Shenzhen and Hong Kong, a 2.8 magnitude jolted the area in November of 2010 [*]. What’s strange is that this area is not considered to be on any kind of fault line.

With friends in Taiwan, The Philippines, and Japan, the recent earthquakes have added worry and frustration to many people I know there. (Keep them in your thoughts and prayers, if you are into that kind of thing.) It could be the media reports have come to my attention more recently, or it could be an increase in plate-shifting, or maybe 2012 as my students suggest… Although we can’t be sure, the consistency of recent earthquakes is a little disturbing. Yesterday, March 24, a 6.8 hit Burma and Thailand; March 22, a 6.1 hit the Philippines and Taiwan in the same day; Japan was hit by a 9.0 on March 11; Myanmar got a 5.4 on March 10; Papua New Guinea got a 6.5 on March 9; Japan got a 7.2 on March 9; a few Pacific island countries got 6.0 or higher in March too [*]… and those were just this past month! February counted over twelve 6.0+ magnitude earthquakes around Asia. Read More…

The Chinese Way to Get Hit by a Cement Truck

Spun around!

When someone says “I feel like I got hit by a speeding bus,” I now know what they mean from personal experience. Actually, it was a cement truck and it was attempting to slow down when it hit us. Our driver was caught off guard by a parked van in the lane for the off ramp and hit his breaks just in time… that’s when most people look around and brace for the second impact…. which I discovered was a truck… and its screech was deafening.

With a steely crunch, our taxi was sent spinning 180° and left facing oncoming traffic. Our trunk was smashed into the back seat and glass showered over us. I checked my friend for wounds immediately. Neither of us got injured, thank God, but we were trapped in the back seat for a little while because the doors were pinched shut. We were lucky and I was bizarrely calm while my friend was passing out. I agree with people when they say “it could have been a lot worse.” Read More…

Ben’s Five Year Plan: 2011-2015

Creating a New World...

The Chinese 12th Five-Year Plan (FYP) is being decided upon by the National People’s Congress this month; March 2011. It’s a tradition for centralized, authoritative governments to use this kind of policy making “plan”. Of course, The Party has drifted away from its soviet roots into the protector of the current socialist market economy. We’ll probably keep hearing about these plans in global news media for years to come.

Hearing this news got me starting to think about my FYP. My father often thought about our family plans in 5-10 year increments… especially when moving house. So how would I consider my last fiver years compared to my next five years?

I moved to China in 2005, but found the cozy city of Zhuhai in 2006. Technically, I’ve been in Zhuhai for 5 years studying Chinese, exploring some website ventures, teaching English, and travelling around Asia. But the next five years are going to look pretty different.
Here are my tasks and goals: Read More…

Don’t Donate Money to Japan?

Cash Donations Post-Disaster

A clever writer at Rueter’s stirred up controversy recently with an opinionated article titled “Don’t Donate Money to Japan“. He has a point, although written quite offensively to many, which has made me think twice about sending cash immediately after a disaster. A Yahoo Japan donation page recently showed that over $7,100,000 has been raised since the earthquake. You might be thinking, “Go us!”… but it certainly is peanuts compared to what governments shift around on a daily basis for foreign aide and one-off assistance. I’m not saying we should stop donating money to disasters like the recent one in Japan, but we should use our brains a little more before doing so.

It’s true that we feel good about ourselves afterwards, but there are MANY other ways we can help out. The donation issue has motivated me to do something about it. I’m going to put direct links on AL.ME to non-cash requesting organizations. The delivery food, drink, clothing, toys, study materials, etc. You send them products that haven’t expired or are in good condition, and they will wholeheartedly deliver to those in need. Yes, they also need money to run their organization, but they will find that money in other ways… the common man need not worry!

One of the needy organizations at this moment, which isn’t getting much attention is Second Harvest Japan.
* Food & Beverage (MUST be unexpired): rice, canned items, retort-pouch food, food for elderly people, baby formula and baby food
* Items for Baby & Elderly People (MUST be unopened): baby diapers and adult diapers
* Items for Soup Kitchen(MUST be unused): paper plates, paper cups, plastic spoons, plastic forks, chopsticks and saran wraps.

Donated food and supplies will be used both in the disaster zone and outside the zone to reach those in need.

Or send donations directly to local governments:

1. Foods (instant foods, dietary supplements, baby foods)
2. Warm blankets (That north part of Japan is still really cold now)
3. Clothing
4. Baby clothings, and DIAPERS!!!!

Attn: Earthquake relief supplies
Miyagi Prefectural Office
3-8-1, Honcho
Aoba-ku, Sendai city, Miyagi
980-8570, JAPAN

Attn: Earthquake relief supplies
Iwate Prefectural Office
10-1 Uchimaru Morioka city, Iwate
020-8570,JAPAN

Attn:Earthquake relief supplies
Aomori Prefectural Office
1-1-1 Nagashima, Aomori city,
Aomori, 030-8570, JAPAN

Attn:Earthquake relief supplies
Fukushima Prefectural Office
2-16 Sugitsuma-cho, Fukushima City
960-8670, JAPAN

Japanese Radioactive Rain

"Japanese Earthquake! That's great!"

In the past few days, since the earthquake/tsunami crisis in Japan, a lot of rumors have spilled over into the rest of Asia. With a death toll climbing, there has been an awkwardly friendly tone between the Chinese and Japanese. Chinese QQ groups often send each other a gif (animated picture) of laughing Chinese farmers with a caption about how the great news happening in Japan… I guess we (Americans) aren’t the only ones with twisted humor!

Visit Second Harvest Japan to donate food and supplies to victims who still need assistance. Thank you!

But with all the political rhetoric that exists we are merely human and quite gullible! Since the nuclear reactor explosions, there have been notices about how we should not go outside during rainstorms because of the acidity circulating in the “Asian weather system” right now. It’s possible that the Koreas and Northeast China might be effected, but its really hard to believe this would effect Southern China… about 2,000 KM away from Japanese ground zero. The jet stream makes it literally impossible.

Fukushima, Japan

As far as dangerous rain, we should be used to it here in the industrialized parts of China. Pollution has been spewing into rivers and lakes for decades! For the sake of the locals, let’s hope that the current situation isn’t deemed “acceptable” now that the acid rain rumors have been washed out to sea.

-

Neighbors of Japan have also expressed legitimate fears of what has emptied out of rain clouds immediately after the nuclear power plant in Fukushima (ironically translated as “Good-Fortune Island”) exploded. After spewing illegally-toxic radioactive water into the sea, many neighbors of Japan have begun to react. People are keeping children home from school on rainy days all across Northeast Asia.

organizations

A Super-Sized Metropolis in China?

A Guess from The Telegraph

A metropolis of humongous purportions is said to be in the works for southern China, although there are reports on this being false. The cities of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Jiangmen, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Huizhou and Zhaoqing would merge together, theoretically, amalgamating various public services, including: health care, job opportunities, communication networks, transportation, natural resources, etc. With one big city they would eliminate long-distance calling fees and reduce over-burdened facilities, such as hospitals. Merging into one unit, with a completed high-speed train network, would allow citizens to travel to other city areas when their current location is overwhelmed by local demand. Read More…

High Speed Rail Around Asia

KTX-Korea

High Speed Rail (HSR) is not new to Asia, although the biggest network is now being constructed in China. HSR has been in Asia for decades and is getting upgraded all the time. As you experience various countries across North Asia, it is important to get familiar with these amazing trains and be sure to work them into your trip! The thrill of legally speeding at 340 km/h (210 mph) on the ground is an awesome feeling.

Shinkansen-Japan

I was lucky enough to experience the early HSR in South Korea (called KTX), which opened just as I arrived there in 2004. It speeds across the country in just under 3 hours. Of course Korea is pretty small, but the KTX beats the 5+ hours car trip plus $60 tolls.

THSR-Taiwan

Chinese Education in 2011

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

The New Year has passed in the West, but we are gearing up for a the Year of the Rabbit in China! Last year was an important year for setting up my online training programs, but 2011 is the year that things get really interesting: we turn up the heat on our existing web-based training and in-person study abroad programs.

EFET set up an Online Learning Academy last year using BuddyPress, which allows for private social networks built on top of Wordpress. Take a look at my school and join a free session of the English Corner Buffet, which is a joint program I offer with Bu Duan Wang. BDW is a Chinese not-for-profit organization which supplements the limited courses offered to primary school students in poor rural areas. Students who don’t get a Science, Math, Chinese or English class can now study in their wired classrooms. Learn more about the volunteers in their goodwill programs on their English site.

Although it is a bit early to be sure, another development is happening for me in China in 2011. With international study abroad programs accepting over 300,000 students last year, and forecasting 645,000 by 2025, more Chinese students are chasing their dreams abroad. However, there is a disconnect between the education systems of their home and guest countries. University professors in America often find that these students lack “critical thinking, creativity, teamwork, and communication skills.”[* 08/11/2010] In the article published on The Diplomat’s website, a principal from Beijing (Jiang Xueqin) was working toward providing better preparation for students who plan to go abroad. Unfortunately, many Chinese parents disagree about what makes a “successful” student. SAT, AP, IELTS, and TOEFL are usually considered the (only) keys to success here.

We can’t ignore the value of these exams for a student’s educational prospects, but no study abroad preparation program would be complete without a strong concentration on building people-skills. That is why I’d also like to take on the challenge of delivering better-prepared Chinese students to western universities and colleges. Of course, we have a lot to learn from how others have started building programs which may increase the chances of achieving this goal.

Ultimately, this year will introduce many challenges but it is going to be a great year! If any of the above topics interest you, please feel free to contact me through Asianliving.me or ben @ efet.info

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