Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[chenhaosen]

I am a chinese.

These days the SARS has greatly influenced my motherland.But now it

seems be under control.

But will the sars beat the economy of the whole world,especially China.

I am looking forward for your opinion.you may mail me to

[email protected]

[Corey]

I don't know if it will destroy the world economy, but it is definitely going to hurt ESL schools around the world and east Asian economies.

Too bad.

Corey
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[AustriaStudent]

Well, I am afraid but I COULD NOT agree with you. Maybe the Chineese governemnt let you think, that this terrible disease is under control, but thats not the fact.

If WHO is alowed to help (allowed by Chinees governemtn) that on the long run, will hopefully not affect the world economy.

[obelix]

The WHO, like the rest of the UN, is a joke.
The CDC, in Atlanta USA, is really the world leader in infectious disease control.
Despite many travellers from China into USA there is no epidemic there and the one in Toronto Canada was soon brought under control after the CDC told them how to do it.

[Thom]

I dont know if SARS will destroy the Chinese economy but the three gorges dam collapsing and putting 40% of the chinese population underwater should do the trick.

Failing that, the black hole in the Chinese budget should finish the job.

It's nice to be out of China where I can actually write this stuff !
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To those who do not know that our world is in flames, I have nothing to say.

[obelix]

Can you imagine a western democracy where theydestroyed the homes of over 4 million people for a lousy dam?

[Thom]

This tihng is an absolute classic of Chinese arrogance.

I've seen it with my own eyes and was lucky enough to have an overseas Chinese (californian) engineer with me. He looked incredulously at it and asked our guide why on earth they were building it in a straight line accross the riverbed instead of the more structurally sound arc.

'Do you have any idea how much it cost to build a straight line?' She asked. 'It would not be possible to build it in an arc. The cost would be too high'.

Fills you with confidence. I pointed out to our guide that since the 'Liberation' as PC chinese are apt to call the events of 1949, over 60 minor dams and 4 major dams have collapsed with the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives and all for similar reasons. Corruption in the building trade meant that corners were cut to fill the pockets of builders and local politicians and so the dams were structuraly unsafe. This dam is billions over budget and it does not take a genius to work out where the money is going. Even conservative estimates put the total ammount being siphoned off at up to 20%. Makes PFI look straight up.

It doesnt end there but I dont want to bore you. Believe me when I say that this dam's collapse is a matter of when and not if.

Five hundred millions people live in the floodplanes downstream of the san xia dam.

Are there any Chinese people reading this. What do you think about what your government s doing. It is your loved ones who are living in the shadow of this thing. Your loved ones who will pay the price for the CCP's grandstanding. Do you live in Wuhan? Nanjing? Even Shanghi?

Dont believe for a momment that this dam will "Show the world that China is a superpower'. The world laughs at the chip on the shoulder of your national conciousness as it will gasp at the tragedy of your fall.

Apologism for the CCP is denial.

Open your eyes.
_________________
To those who do not know that our world is in flames, I have nothing to say.

[chenhaosen]

First ,thank you all for your opinion,I like communicate with everyone,even you disagree with me.
I think some of you don't know the reality of China know the Chinese Govn.
Yes I agree that the cost of The three gorges dam is very high,reaching 28 billion dollars, But do you remember that in 1998 there was a big flood,Do you know how many people have died for the flood,how much money have been waved by the flood,
But if we China have a Dam, we will have the tool to conquer the flood,control the flood.If it is built successfully in 2009,I think all the people will benefit from it.
So I am and will agree my Govn to build the Three Gorgles Dam,
I am waiting for your opinion.

[Thom]

I do remember the floods. I remember that flooding in China has killed almost as many poeple as the late Deng Xiaoping.

But there are many ways to control flooding. As far back as the Qing dynasty, the great floods which killed millions of peasants living in the floodplanes of the Huang Jiang and Chang Jiang were controlled by an intricate system of Dykes, embankments and overflow channels which remain almost unmatched to this day. These incredible achievments had been withheld from my students in Shenzhen because the Education Bureau does not like to remind the Chiinese people of the achievments of the Emporers, only their excesses.

Even official studies have shown that the flooding problem could be prevented by a series of smaller dams which would have a far lesser environmental, scoial and economic impact. The reason that the CCP chose to build one large dam instead is political. Chinese leaders since Sun Yatsen have dreamed of daming the Chang Jiang and this immense project was seen as a way of demonstrating China's power to her own people and to the outside world. It is a way of gainling 'face'. Certainly in the South of China where I spent most of my time, ths desire to be recognised as a superpower seemed a part of the national mindset.

Fatuous econmic reasons have been given for the choice of a large dam instead of a series of smaller ones. It is claimed that the power will generate and the ability to take ships of up to 10,000 tons as far as Chonqing will help to drive the modernisation seen in coastal areas inland.

To prove what a success the San Xia dam would be (economically), the CCP built a smaller dam downstream to act as a prototype. The Gezouba dam as it is known has in fact been a complete failure but this has been covered up within China and described as insignificant in dealings with international parties. Like the San Xia dam, it ran massivly over budget due to a combination of false estimates and corruption. It was supposed to provide so much power that power lines were to be constructed all the way to Shanghi so as not to waste it. In the end however, it produced a fraction of the power predicted. The power lines didnt even make it out of Hubei province, let alone to Shanghi, and it's economic impact was negligable. In addition, the problem of silt accumulation has meant that vast ammounts of much needed captal is being spent on unpredicted maintainance. The only reason that the CCP is able to contimue with the main dam project after the abject failure of it's prototype is that it is utterly unaccountable to the people.

With the sheer volume of water accumulating behind the dam, the floods caused when it collapses will be like nothing that even China has ever seen before. I repeat: 500 million people live in the floodplains downstream of this dam. The risk of flooding that you worry about is perhaps the greatest argument that anone could make against the dam.
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To those who do not know that our world is in flames, I have nothing to say.

[chi-kei]

Actually, the wide spread of SARS in Hong Kong has crushed the economy deeply. You can take it for a example.
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Now, the "nameless monster"
has turned into an actually existing man.

[Corey]

[Nemesis]

Please, get real. SARS was a flash in the pan. More people are killed every day from malaria then were killed in the four months of the SARS fraud.

Same goes for a few other diseases, such as pneumonia.

Not to mention a holiday weekend in Thailand where over 500 are killed in traffic accidents every year.

[jessielee]

I'm a Chinese girl.I live in Shanghai,China.In the period of SARS, there are only 7 people infected. Of them only 2 people died.So I think the fact is that it's not affect our daily life seriouly.

[Nemesis]

[quote="jessielee"] I'm a Chinese girl.I live in Shanghai,China.In the period of SARS, there are only 7 people infected. Of them only 2 people died.

Proves my point. And how many people live ion Shanghai? Millions? SARS was a fraud hoisted upon the world to give the WHO more power and money and to see how we would all react.

The next scare will put even more restrictions on us.

[Corey]

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