China news 25th May 2020
How to improve a city’s economy
From May 8th, Chengdu set up 1,595 temporary road stalls and booths, allowing 18,260 temporary over-the-counter business locations, 88 large-scale supermarkets to occupy road sales outlets, and 16,384 mobile retailer business locations.
According to an official report, Chengdu ’s temporary occupation of roads has far exceeded expectations, adding 80,000 jobs in two months. There were 5,034 temporary bicycle placement sites, 80,000 jobs were added, and the resumption rate of catering shops in the central urban area exceeded 98%.
The outbreak of the epidemic has caused serious impact on the city’s offline businesses. Many shops that were forced to close their doors urgently need to resume normal operations. However, indoor business activities are restricted. Consumers are afraid and they dare not enter the closed stores.
At the same time, Chengdu also added night markets, temporary road stalls and booth areas.
Only let the city really “live” and economic and social recovery and development will be better.
Source: bjnews.com.cn.
This kind of confrontation with China does not have to be taken seriously
All Western countries are criticising China.
Given the competition between the big powers of China and the United States, many countries, especially small ones, are faced with a dilemma. On the one hand, they must respond to the United States ’appeals’; they must also take into account their relations with China.
Some countries, especially those in Europe, still retain a sense of superiority and are reluctant to let go of their glory and self-esteem as great powers. Naturally, they are also reluctant to endorse China.
The epidemic broke out in China first and China’s experience in controlling it was first released. As more countries learn from China’s experience, there will be voices that Chinese experience will work in the future, and some that China’s experience will not work. Such hot discussions are inevitable. After all, national conditions are different, and the same measures have different effects in different countries.
China must understand that the source of offensive remarks against China is in the United States. China does not need to crack down on every country. It has thousands of enemies. It cannot worry about everything.
Some unfriendly voices against China that are subjective and malicious are not necessarily to be taken seriously. China has never recently been so close to the centre of the world stage, and it needs to view its mixed reputation calmly and normally.
Source: hk01.com.
Virtuous politics
Daniel A. Bell, an internationally renowned political philosopher, dean of the School of Political Science and Public Administration of Shandong University, and professor at Tsinghua University comments on aspects of politics.
Confucius said that a gentleman is a role model with above-average abilities and virtues. The political system should aim to select and promote public officials with outstanding abilities and virtues.
The ideal of virtuous politics, which we call Confucianism has not only passed on for more than 2,000 years in Chinese politics, but also provided China with political advantages.
The typical saying in the Western media is that China has carried out substantial economic reforms but has not carried out political reforms. However, this is because the Western electoral democracy is regarded as the sole criterion for political reform. If we set aside this standard, China’s political system has undergone major political reforms over the past few decades.
A lesson from the “hundred-year history of humiliation” before 1949 and the civil war is that the country needs a strong, centralized and effective government to maintain social order. In a country with a stronger anti-elite spirit, such as the United States, intellectuals known for their professional knowledge and kindness have not exerted equally important social influence. There is no doubt that in China, pride in Confucian values will only continue to increase, because Confucianism has helped the Chinese people overcome the most serious challenges to human well-being in recent years.
Is it possible to spread Confucianism to the West?
Electoral democracy is the biggest obstacle to exporting virtuous politics. Countries that see elections as a way to select leaders are likely to reject meritocracy. Virtuous politics can and should be supplemented by democratic practices, such as the rectification of grassroots governments, referendums and elections, consultation and deliberation, and freedom of expression.
However, virtuous politics is not compatible with top-level competitive elections. One of the shortcomings of electoral democracy is that it is often easier to gain the support of voters by demonizing opponents and creating enemies, rather than reflecting on their responsibilities on issues and trying to solve them effectively. Unfortunately, this shortcoming is especially evident during an election. In the United States, candidates will almost inevitably obtain votes by “slamming China.” All we can do is hope that political leaders will become more rational after they are elected.
At the same time, China should not participate in their dirty games. We should remain vigilant and commit to working with talented people to solve global problems such as global epidemics and climate change. We can also try to motivate others through our experience.
We need to improve the abilities and ethics of public officials and give more dedicated space for dedicated professionals so that they can communicate before problems break out. We should inspire others through humility, good deeds, and learning from mistakes.
Source: news.ifeng.com.
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