People talk about how China is going to become the next world power and surpass
the United States, but I do not think China has the capabilities to do that
unless they change their ways on some issues.
First of all, China needs to fix their pollution problem. Their
problem with pollution is not only hurting the people who live there, but also
hurting the environment. Having been there myself, I can say that the pollution
there is terrible. The sky is always grey, despite what the tour guide said,
which brings upon a slightly depressing feeling. The only time I think I might
have seen a glimpse of blue sky was in Hong Kong. Apparently the day before I
arrived in Beijing, people could barely see the length of a football field in
front of themselves. I came across some plants that would be covered in a light
layer of grey dust. When going to the Great Wall, the tour group could not see
anything when trying to take a picture of the “great” view. If you tried to
take a picture of the view, the picture would just be a white wall which the
tour guide called “heavenly mist”. If China could cut down on the pollution,
then more people would live longer and resources might be more abundant for
them.
Second, China needs a better healthcare system and care about the people more.
When your guide is walking you through the streets of Shanghai, it is an
unfortunate sight to see people missing limbs with no place to go because they
have no money. It is terrible to see these people had to make their own crutch
or skate board to be able to get around so they can hopefully get money from a
passerby. Of all the places that I have been to, I have never seen so many
handicapped people asking for money in one place. China should care that these
people cannot support themselves. This shows a disregard to human rights of
handicapped people who cannot work to support themselves. The people should not
be forced out onto the street because he or she was born different or lost a
limb in an accident. China should take care of their people better especially
the poor. If the poor can afford housing, it is very cramped housing. The
people live in a small room on a complex with tons of people. If one person
were to get sick, then the whole complex could catch it. The living conditions
are also quite dirty with so many people living in one place.
Also, China artificially subsidizes businesses especially
real estate to force a netter rate of return and profit for the business and
economy as a whole. Plus they are subsidizing housing and putting a lot of
money into the military which long term they will not be able to afford. And
besides coal they do not have a lot of natural resources so importing what they
need is very expensive. Finally they stifle true entrepreneurs and innovators
and do not encourage origination for one's self but all for the State. Throughout
history, this does not work long term.
To become a powerful nation, China must severely cut back on
their pollution and work on treating their citizens better. China really has to reform if it wants to become the next
great power.
While every point you made is undeniably true and pertinent to your argument, one could play devil's advocate and ask why should China change its policies towards human rights and pollution if while operating under these policies China's GDP has risen by about 10% per year for the past 36 years?
ReplyDeleteAll these problems that you described here such as pollution, small living space, poverty, and such. You can find them here in the U.S. too. Go to Detroit in the 1990s when the U.S. car manufacturing was at its peek. The air may be bad, but the economy is good, This is how we know the city is producing goods and making money,
ReplyDeleteInteresting points here. All developing states go through "growing pains" and it will be very interesting to see how China handles theirs. How effectively China addresses the "externalities" of its economic boom will, in my opinion, shape the nature of their rise on the world stage.
ReplyDeleteI find the points you brought up interesting but I don't necessarily agree with you. While yes, pollution and healthcare are important problems that certainly need to be addressed, I don't think that's stopping China from developing into a world power. Healthcare is a significant individual problem, not necessarily a problem for the entire state or government. Just recently, China became the dominant economic power in the world, passing the United States. I think it is without question that China is well on its way to becoming a world power, if not already being one.
ReplyDeleteI think the problems that you brought up are correctible, especially after China becomes a dominant world power. Pollution and health care are most definitely important issues, but I do not believe that they stop China from developing into a world power. China is already well on its way to becoming the world's most powerful country.