Archive for the 'Politics' Category
August 16 2008: Red Sympathiser
Just because I’m aware that I’m being labelled by certain parties as a brain-washed Communist/Red China sympathiser (you are so subtle), a short list of some of the many things the Chinese central government does that I don’t agree with:
- State-controlled media. I support a free media (rather than the monopoly on news by the People’s Daily), a breaking-down of internet censorship and the elimination of firewalls prohibiting access to certain sites, etc. I spit on Google for censoring the search results you get when doing a search within China.
- Labour laws and official unions. While both technically exist in China, the former is hard to enforce on ground level, especially when considering the official workers unions are often staffed by those who are comfortable taking bribes from factory workers to overlook violations of the aforementioned laws. Independent unions need to be established, and the laws themselves need to be revised to include:
- Minimum wage of at least 5RMB an hour, rather than the 50 jiao (50 Chinese cents) which is the current average. It only comes to $1USD an hour which doesn’t sound like much, but which is ample when compared to the Chinese standard of living where you can get an excellent meal for 3RMB.
- Regulation of the hours that a single person is allowed to work over a seven day period. No more than eleven hours a day over six days - they must be granted a day of rest on the seventh.
- Government-regulated inspections of factory dormitory living conditions to ensure they meet standards to be specified by the WHO.
- Government-regulated inspections of working conditions (within the factories themselves) to ensure they meet workplace health and safety standards.
Among other workplace laws and regulations of course, but the above would be what I consider to be the most urgent issues for the Chinese workforce.
Filed under Asian-ness & Politics with 8 Comments
August 13 2008: Talent Vs. Appearance
There’s been an awful lot of controversy today surrounding the eleventh hour switch of the little girl singers at the opening ceremony, with a large majority of comments on that particular article going “OMG China is evil”. These commenters are obviously delusional, and/or haven’t been living in the modern world.
Physical appearance matters. This is especially true for the entertainment industry, which this case falls into. Want a singer to appear on international television? You’d want an attractive singer, or at least an attractive person who can lip-synch. It’s the same everywhere - when was the last time you saw an unattractive actress, actor, singer, model? If you’re wanting to succeed in showbiz, you’d better hope that you’re good-looking, because no amount of talent will get you anywhere otherwise.
The article goes on to criticise the Chinese for only appointing slim and attractive women to present at the medal ceremonies. Yes, and? Slim and attractive women are a staple at ceremonies around the world. Grand Prix ceremonies are rife with sexy grid girls in skimpy outfits. A tennis tournament in Spain had models act as ballgirls to garner attention. Slim and attractive women are a staple for sports events - their presence sells tickets.
It’s not to say of course, that talent is worthless. On the contrary - talent is important as an athlete, a doctor, an engineer, etc. I’d be worried if physical appearance played a larger part than talent in these occupations. It’s not to say of course that physical appearance doesn’t matter. A doctor would be out of a job quickly if he showed up to surgery in sweatpants, an athlete wouldn’t last long in their sport if they didn’t keep themselves in peak physical condition. On a more basic level, I personally certainly wouldn’t show up to a job interview looking anything less than perfectly groomed; every little bit helps, and first impressions do matter.
Those kicking up a fuss about the “talent vs. appearance” argument need first to consider what industry they’re protesting against. Different degrees of each are needed for each particular job description…and in the case of the little girl singer in the ceremony, a bright, young, pretty thing was more appropriate for the role.
Filed under Asian-ness & Body & Media & Politics with 19 Comments
July 29 2008: Black Man, White Woman
I’ve never posted on this blog before regarding U.S. politics (other than the occasional jab at the Bush administration), but it’s certainly not for a lack of caring about it. It would be awfully misguided for anyone in the world, American or not, white or not, to profess a disdain for U.S. politics as the might of the U.S. in international circles means that what happens in the U.S. will have an impact on our lives on the other side of the world.
So, the upcoming election. Other than a simple “Yay Democrats, Boo Republicans” stance (I’m a small-l liberal) I’m not going to go in depth, because what I find most interesting, was the race to become the Democratic nominee between Obama and Clinton. Yes, Obama won, yadda yadda, he’s going against McCain, yadda yadda. Without reading too far into their respective policies, what I was most struck by was the candidates. Yes, I’m going to make a big deal about the fact that Obama is African-American, and Clinton is a woman. I’m going to play that card.
It’s very easy to view the U.S. as simply Christian fundamentalism and the Bible Belt, as the Deep South where the KKK still exist. It’s equally as easy to view it as a country where the white man still reign supreme in the media, with few exceptions. You can also see it as a country where there’s still no paid parental leave, and where, in many states, women still have no choice over what they do to their own bodies.
Yet, the outpouring of support for two potential presidential candidates, two candidates who have defied this representation of what the U.S. today stands for. America has progressed to an era where it’s no longer taboo for a black man or a white woman to hold a ‘reign’ over the country - which is a lot more than my own country can claim. Australia is nowhere near having an indigenous Australian hold top office, nor would the Labor Party have been voted into government last year if it had been Julia Gilliard who led the party rather than Kevin Rudd.
We’re touted as a society of equals, yet the reality is that some are more equal than others. We’re a society of the white man, of blokes having a pint at the pub together. We’re a society where I could dream of becoming Prime Minister, but where as an Asian female, it can only remain a dream.
So the race between Obama and Clinton gave me hope. As representative of a racial minority, Obama represented my Chinese heritage, as a woman, Clinton represented my sex. If they could be in the running to become president, maybe I could too, someday, somehow. If McCain wins…well, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.
Filed under Politics with 7 Comments