China's development has seen a dramatic rise in quality of life for many of its people as many people are well aware. But despite this improvement in quality of life, modern China also has some very high suicide rates. According to 2010 figures supplied by the WHO, China is ranked 9th in the world in suicide rates behind Latvia and ahead of Slovenia. What accounts for this … [Read more...] about Disturbing trend of suicides in China
Does the west care about what real Tibetans think?
It seems not. Rarely does their opinions (or the opinions of Chinese citizens for that matter) come into the equation when speaking about Sino-Tibetan issues. It's taken as a given that they all want independence. That all of their lives are far worse under Chinese "occupation" than it was under the Dalai Lama's Shangrila Kingdom. Westerners likely take the viewpoints of … [Read more...] about Does the west care about what real Tibetans think?
Why is the US so unhappy?
Perhaps it's too much democracy, human rights and freedom. More likely, it's too less of those things and way too much worries and troubles such as a lack of financial security, too much crime, not enough health care, and deficiencies in other indices of well-being. A common way to measure happiness and well-being is the Happy Planet Index by the New Economics Foundation. In … [Read more...] about Why is the US so unhappy?
Brzezinski: Dangerously Wrong
Zbigniew Brzezinski is a well known political scientist and the media often gives him opportunities to voice opinions on foreign policy. How deserving is this accorded credibility? Well, though I have not read much from him, from the looks of this article he wrote in foreignpolicy it would appear that his competence as a expert on international affairs is grossly inadequate … [Read more...] about Brzezinski: Dangerously Wrong
Anti-sinitic discrimination from other Chinese and collective self-esteem
The recent post by DeWang about the RT short documentary on Chinese Americans going back to China has further reinforced an ugly conception I have been only somewhat familiar with: that many Chinese people in China believe that Chinese people are not as good as their western counterparts. It may not be an explicit belief but something more like a deep-rooted sensibility that … [Read more...] about Anti-sinitic discrimination from other Chinese and collective self-esteem