What is it about America

[SirLancelot]

For an idea of what China will become in the future, I think Singapore is the example China (the government) aspires to.

 

Hong Kong and Taiwan are also other examples of what China may become, as well as Japan and Korea.

 

I saw many younger women smoking in bars and clubs in Shanghai. It's becoming more acceptable and prevalent in bigger cities.

 

http://english.people.com.cn/200311/05/eng...05_127620.shtml

 

Shanghai young women reaching for the fag

Reflecting changing trends, an increasing number of Shanghai young women are taking to smoking, with some claiming it is an outlet to relieve pressure.

 

The link that David provided titled AMERICAN CULTURE ¨C A WARNING FOR CHINA said it all. China¡¯s current cultural climate will no doubt be eventually consumed and forever changed by a capitalist media similar to what the US has gone through in the last 40 years. Enjoy the differences we see today, as China may forever loose the Social Capital that the US has lost since the introduction of television. That is, unless, the Chinese government can restrict what the citizens are exposed to. But, seems to me that¡¯s like a flee attempting to wrestle an elephant. Frank mentioned in a thread once how China reminds him a lot of how America was in the 40s and 50s. How evenings you¡¯d find families lounging on their front porches, strolling over to neighbors to play cards and talk. There was a sense of belonging and of extended families¡­of having a strong Social Capital.

 

The article also got me to thinking about the differences between TV here in America vs. TV in China today. Seems evenings the women would gather around the TV to watch Chinese soaps that were usually dramas based on ancient China¡­no guns¡­no sex¡­little violence. My wife often comments how American TV often show couples simulating having sex, (she equates this to how all Americans are). She says she never sees this on Chinese TV. Will this exposure corrupt her? Doubtful, at her age, her cultural foundation is pretty firmly rooted. Yet, for someone younger exposure to violence, sex etc will probably have the same influence that has in the western world over the last 40 years. I suppose only time will tell¡­

[AmericanRooster]

It says nothing about either culture, except that the US is a better place to get your PhD.

... And that there isn't much competition for those same PhD slots from American citizens... I can assure you that we will not choose to admit 25% foreign nationals, if there are equally qualified US candidates. The sad reality is that the US is bleeding badly when it comes to this area. Thankfully many of those foreign PhDs stay here.

 

 

An interesting outlook, but most of the schools consider foreign students to be desirable and actively recruit them, with some being offered full scholarships. 25% is more or less of a healthy balance.

We will disagree on this one...

 

 

American universities do indeed recruit foreign students believing the increase in student diversity will serve to further enrich the education of their students and increase their prestige as a top University. The University I used to teach at also recruited heavily overseas for financial reasons. The foreign students almost always paid cash instead of using financial aid and cost a lot less administratively because of this.

In order for me to believe it, you have to prove that an AVERAGE of 25% of doctoral candidates are preferred INSTEAD of Americans... nation-wide. That is a very high standard to achieve, and it is no secret that we have trouble finding American doctoral candidates. That is the point... not that universities don't like foreigners... the issue is a question of why you have 25% foreigers... my contention is that we can't find enough Americans anyway.

[Dennis143]

It is no secret and has been known and foretold for years that the current rat in the snake known as the baby-boomers will need more workers to pay into the social security pool in order to pay for our benefits, as the boomers have not been making babies as our parents did.

 

20 years ago (I don't know what the stat is today) a person retiring would collect everything that they had paid into the system within the first 4 years of retirement. There were 4 workers paying SS for every person retired. At the rate we made babies and at the rate we'll be retiring, the government forecasted there'd only be 2 workers for every retirie. So, where do they get the workers to pay into the system?

[Dan R]

For an idea of what China will become in the future, I think Singapore is the example China (the government) aspires to.

 

Hong Kong and Taiwan are also other examples of what China may become, as well as Japan and Korea.

 

I saw many younger women smoking in bars and clubs in Shanghai. It's becoming more acceptable and prevalent in bigger cities.

 

http://english.people.com.cn/200311/05/eng...05_127620.shtml

 

Shanghai young women reaching for the fag

Reflecting changing trends, an increasing number of Shanghai young women are taking to smoking, with some claiming it is an outlet to relieve pressure.

 

The link that David provided titled AMERICAN CULTURE ¨C A WARNING FOR CHINA said it all. China¡¯s current cultural climate will no doubt be eventually consumed and forever changed by a capitalist media similar to what the US has gone through in the last 40 years. Enjoy the differences we see today, as China may forever loose the Social Capital that the US has lost since the introduction of television. That is, unless, the Chinese government can restrict what the citizens are exposed to. But, seems to me that¡¯s like a flee attempting to wrestle an elephant. Frank mentioned in a thread once how China reminds him a lot of how America was in the 40s and 50s. How evenings you¡¯d find families lounging on their front porches, strolling over to neighbors to play cards and talk. There was a sense of belonging and of extended families¡­of having a strong Social Capital.

 

The article also got me to thinking about the differences between TV here in America vs. TV in China today. Seems evenings the women would gather around the TV to watch Chinese soaps that were usually dramas based on ancient China¡­no guns¡­no sex¡­little violence. My wife often comments how American TV often show couples simulating having sex, (she equates this to how all Americans are). She says she never sees this on Chinese TV. Will this exposure corrupt her? Doubtful, at her age, her cultural foundation is pretty firmly rooted. Yet, for someone younger exposure to violence, sex etc will probably have the same influence that has in the western world over the last 40 years. I suppose only time will tell¡­

 

No way will China follow Singapore. Singapore is more regulated than the U.S.. Why you can't even spit on the sidewalk without being fined.