Jan 30, 2011
Jan 29, 2011
Rugby Fever
What beautiful weather we've had so far this weekend! Today was the perfect day to watch the Lee rugby matches (and watch the ATL Renegades defeat the UTK boys) and get a nice bike ride in. As my Saturday evening goes, nothing says "I don't feel like doing any homework" better than reading an entire non-class related book, looking at Harvard graduate programs, eating dark chocolate (which, by the way, has almost nothing to do with productivity), and memorising the biographies of all the Oxford University Rugby boys. Yes, this has been a great Saturday.
Jan 11, 2011
China seeks more for rural poor amid pressing needs of economic transformation
By Xinhua Writer Zhu Shaobin.
SHAOXING, Zhejiang, 10 Sept 2010
As countries from around the world share their visions of "Better City, Better Life" at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, experts say the rural poor should not be forgotten, as improved livelihoods in rural areas are key to achieving sustainability and economic transformation.
"There is no doubt China's growth over the past three decades has been remarkable, but this growth has not been trouble-free," said Eric Maskin, professor of social science at Princeton University and Nobel laureate in economics in 2007.
China's fast economic growth has come with side effects, the most notable of which has been an increase in income inequality, especially that between cities and the countryside, Maskin said at a forum held Thursday and Friday in Shaoxing City in eastern China's Zhejiang Province.
The two-day forum discussed how rural areas can reduce the economic gap with cities, amid the broad and pressing need of economic transformation.
Li Yang, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that income distribution amid China's fast urbanization has not been satisfactory. He noted that in China, the Gini Coefficient, the main gauge to measure income disparity, is very high.
Li said the Index was 0.475 in 2007. But estimates put the figure at 0.5 nowadays, far exceeding the United Nations' target of 0.4.
China's income gap between rich and poor is largely due to gap between cities and the countryside, said Li, adding that the urban-rural divide contributes 40 percent of the unequal income distribution of China.
"China's big urban-rural gap is mainly reflected in three things: income; infrastructure and facilities; and social rights," said Ke Binsheng, President of China Agricultural University.
Ke said the urban-to-rural income ratio has widened from 2.56 in 1978 to 3.33 in 2009 as China's 200 million-strong pool of migrant workers do not enjoy equal access to education and health care.
"It has become a great challenge in developing countries to speed up the process of modernization through rural-urban interactions," said Zhang Xiaoqiang, vice minister of China's National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic planning body.
Zhang said the divide seriously impedes the process of building an overall well-off society in China, adding that the integration of rural areas with cities is a major task for the transformation of China' s economic growth pattern.
Greater efforts must be made in establishing comprehensive public services for both cities and rural areas, Zhang said, adding that the building of infrastructure and facilities in the countryside is also important.
"Only if roads are built and electricity networks are well equipped can rural areas expect more social resources, such as capital investment," said Li Yang.
Public services equalization for cities and the countryside is the most important way to narrow the divide, Li Yang said.
Maskin also suggested more job training and education be provided to low-skilled workers, to allow this group themselves to narrow the gap.
SHAOXING, Zhejiang, 10 Sept 2010
As countries from around the world share their visions of "Better City, Better Life" at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, experts say the rural poor should not be forgotten, as improved livelihoods in rural areas are key to achieving sustainability and economic transformation.
"There is no doubt China's growth over the past three decades has been remarkable, but this growth has not been trouble-free," said Eric Maskin, professor of social science at Princeton University and Nobel laureate in economics in 2007.
China's fast economic growth has come with side effects, the most notable of which has been an increase in income inequality, especially that between cities and the countryside, Maskin said at a forum held Thursday and Friday in Shaoxing City in eastern China's Zhejiang Province.
The two-day forum discussed how rural areas can reduce the economic gap with cities, amid the broad and pressing need of economic transformation.
Li Yang, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that income distribution amid China's fast urbanization has not been satisfactory. He noted that in China, the Gini Coefficient, the main gauge to measure income disparity, is very high.
Li said the Index was 0.475 in 2007. But estimates put the figure at 0.5 nowadays, far exceeding the United Nations' target of 0.4.
China's income gap between rich and poor is largely due to gap between cities and the countryside, said Li, adding that the urban-rural divide contributes 40 percent of the unequal income distribution of China.
"China's big urban-rural gap is mainly reflected in three things: income; infrastructure and facilities; and social rights," said Ke Binsheng, President of China Agricultural University.
Ke said the urban-to-rural income ratio has widened from 2.56 in 1978 to 3.33 in 2009 as China's 200 million-strong pool of migrant workers do not enjoy equal access to education and health care.
"It has become a great challenge in developing countries to speed up the process of modernization through rural-urban interactions," said Zhang Xiaoqiang, vice minister of China's National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic planning body.
Zhang said the divide seriously impedes the process of building an overall well-off society in China, adding that the integration of rural areas with cities is a major task for the transformation of China' s economic growth pattern.
Greater efforts must be made in establishing comprehensive public services for both cities and rural areas, Zhang said, adding that the building of infrastructure and facilities in the countryside is also important.
"Only if roads are built and electricity networks are well equipped can rural areas expect more social resources, such as capital investment," said Li Yang.
Public services equalization for cities and the countryside is the most important way to narrow the divide, Li Yang said.
Maskin also suggested more job training and education be provided to low-skilled workers, to allow this group themselves to narrow the gap.
Jan 8, 2011
Leafs Game in Blueland
The Leafs OWNED the Thrashers last night... I had a blast with Anna at her first NHL game! Woohoo!!
Jan 7, 2011
China needs more resources for skills training of rural people
BEIJING -- Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu said Monday the nation needs more resources to conduct skills training of farmers and migrant workers.
The country should encourage more people and social resources to take part in charity projects in this field, Hui said at a ceremony to mark the 15th anniversary of a charity project run by the National Association of Vocational Education of China (NAVEC).
The NAVEC project has trained more than 6.4 million urban and rural needy people over the past 15 years.
Rural people who leave their hometown for cities should have more vocational skills while those staying at home should learn more farming techniques, Hui said.
Last year 145 million rural residents, or over one tenth of China's total population, left their hometown to work in cities.
The NAVEC project tries to help unemployed people in the countryside through skills training and vocational education, Hui said.
The association has financed about 430 million yuan ($63.24 million) for the project over the 15 years.
Source: chinadaily.com (click for article)
The country should encourage more people and social resources to take part in charity projects in this field, Hui said at a ceremony to mark the 15th anniversary of a charity project run by the National Association of Vocational Education of China (NAVEC).
The NAVEC project has trained more than 6.4 million urban and rural needy people over the past 15 years.
Rural people who leave their hometown for cities should have more vocational skills while those staying at home should learn more farming techniques, Hui said.
Last year 145 million rural residents, or over one tenth of China's total population, left their hometown to work in cities.
The NAVEC project tries to help unemployed people in the countryside through skills training and vocational education, Hui said.
The association has financed about 430 million yuan ($63.24 million) for the project over the 15 years.
Source: chinadaily.com (click for article)
Jan 5, 2011
Christmas Expeditions
I flew with my Dad to Toronto so we could spend a week visiting our family and friends. It was a bit hectic, but I think we all enjoyed "catching up" with everyone. Special thanks to Mr. Fisher for the amazing sushi, Aunt Grace for hosting two Kooistra get-togethers, and Grandma for having us at her B&B (and also getting up at 6:45am with me to go the running track). We also stayed four nights at the Toronto Hilton Suites, which was basically like living in a hotel. It was so much fun -- and our suite felt like an apartment!
My dad and I stayed a day longer in Toronto thanks to Delta Airlines, who overbooked the flight. We volunteered to give up our seats and received $1500 in flight vouchers and were put up at the beautiful airport Sheraton. We ate at the hotel bar and watched Canada play in the world juniors (hockey) tournament... and had a great time sharing travel stories with a couple from Oakville.
Back in Atlanta with an hour of sleep, I had to quickly clean the house and get ready for the arrival of my two best friends from Ontario, Katie and Kaitlynn. They spent 5 days with me down here and we had a blast! We took a road trip to Nashville for New Years and stopped in Chattanooga along the way. After Nashville we drove east to the Cookeville area and explored Burgess Falls, Cane Creek Falls, and Fall Creek Falls. We climbed all the way down to the bottom of the "big" falls at Burgess and got completely soaked from the mist shooting down. Luckily we had a suitcase full of spare clothes to change into. And although we got screwed over by the iPad navigation system (Katie almost threw it out the window), we made it back to Cleveland alive. Somehow.
Kristin's car broke down that same night, so she was in Cleveland and let us crash at her apartment for the night, even though she was headed out to Atlanta for the Passion conference. I gave the girls the "grand tour" of Lee University (which took a total of 5 minutes by car, haha) and then we headed back to Atlanta -- after stopping for 2 hours at McKay's used book store, of course. The rest of the week we spent hanging out in Kennesaw... watching movies, get-get-gettin' in the hot tub (it's from a country song), hiking up Kennesaw Mountain with Callie and Duke, and shopping. Now it's back to just my mum and I at home and I'm preparing to leave for school again! One more semester and I'm done. Woohoo!! Click my Picassa page for more pictures.
My dad and I stayed a day longer in Toronto thanks to Delta Airlines, who overbooked the flight. We volunteered to give up our seats and received $1500 in flight vouchers and were put up at the beautiful airport Sheraton. We ate at the hotel bar and watched Canada play in the world juniors (hockey) tournament... and had a great time sharing travel stories with a couple from Oakville.
Back in Atlanta with an hour of sleep, I had to quickly clean the house and get ready for the arrival of my two best friends from Ontario, Katie and Kaitlynn. They spent 5 days with me down here and we had a blast! We took a road trip to Nashville for New Years and stopped in Chattanooga along the way. After Nashville we drove east to the Cookeville area and explored Burgess Falls, Cane Creek Falls, and Fall Creek Falls. We climbed all the way down to the bottom of the "big" falls at Burgess and got completely soaked from the mist shooting down. Luckily we had a suitcase full of spare clothes to change into. And although we got screwed over by the iPad navigation system (Katie almost threw it out the window), we made it back to Cleveland alive. Somehow.
Kristin's car broke down that same night, so she was in Cleveland and let us crash at her apartment for the night, even though she was headed out to Atlanta for the Passion conference. I gave the girls the "grand tour" of Lee University (which took a total of 5 minutes by car, haha) and then we headed back to Atlanta -- after stopping for 2 hours at McKay's used book store, of course. The rest of the week we spent hanging out in Kennesaw... watching movies, get-get-gettin' in the hot tub (it's from a country song), hiking up Kennesaw Mountain with Callie and Duke, and shopping. Now it's back to just my mum and I at home and I'm preparing to leave for school again! One more semester and I'm done. Woohoo!! Click my Picassa page for more pictures.
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