Country Review: China Essay

The year 2008 has been a colorful year for china, with a lot of til nowts to highlight the unsophisticated all year round. The Olympic Games was one of its or so successful endeavors for the year. But the rustic also had its share of contr all oversies this year, worry issues on food contamination and galore(postnominal) more. Before the Olympic Games kicked off, one of the issues being discussed was the quality of chinawares air. It is very important since the Olympic Games is a major sports event. In an oblige from BBC password, chinaware has confirmed that the air quality of the host city Beijing has been good (Bristow).The pollution level of the area was able to meet the expected standards on all daylight that the event and this is the output of extensive measures breake in order to reduce the emissions during the Olympic Games. Another historic event for China was the countrys first successful spacewalk, which was a part of a 68-hour voyage in space. All three astro nauts successfully returned to the Beijing Aerospace Center after their three day mission in outer space(Yinan). China was the third country to conduct a spacewalk, behind the United States of America and Russia.The crew of Shenzhou VII safely come in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, marking the end of their space escapade which has started on folk 25, 2008. In relation to the two previous news articles, China had enough reason to celebrate its National Day last Monday because of their hosting of the Olympic Games in Beijing and the countrys first ever spacewalk. In a Yahoo News article, China highlighted on these two events as their biggest triumphs for the year, despite other issues like natural calamities, ethnic problems, and food safety scandals (Chang).In Chinese Premier Wen Jiabaos address, he touched lightly on the calamities and problems but gave focus on Chinas ability to perplex shell out of all these issues. The 59th founding anniversary of the Peoples Republic of China is this coming Wednesday, and it would also mark thirty years of economic reforms, turning the country into one of the worlds largest factory floors. One of the calamities that shook China this year was a 7. 8 magnitude earthquake last August 12.In a BBC News article, it was reported that almost 900 students are buried in a school building that collapsed when it was hit by the killer quake (BBC News Hundreds Buried by China Quake). The quake hit Sichuan provinces capital Chengdu, claiming hundreds of lives instantly. The rubbles of the Juyuan Middle Schools building buried a lot of teenagers, some of which are still alive and desperately crying for help. President Hu Jintao immediately ordered an all out effort to help and fork over the victims of the killer earthquake.In another BBC News article dated August 10, 2008, seven militants and a security guard immediately died after a series of bombings hit west China, specifically in the northwest area of the Xinjiang region (BBC News Deadly Violence constitutes West China ). These acts of violence targeted a legal philosophy station and other populated areas. Xinjiang has a large population of Muslim Uighurs, and some of them are separatists, fighting for independence and waging low level campaigns against the Chinese regularise for several years already. In the aspect of foreign affairs, China also had its share of problems.In a Yahoo News article dated folk 29, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jabao said that there is a need for more negotiation regarding Irans nuclear program, rather than pressuring them more (Yahoo News). He regarded that major powers like China should focus more on pursuing peaceful talks to countries such as Iran, rather than resorting to the use of force and intimidation. He is more focused on the resolution of the problem in a peaceful way, rather than being rash and using force, which would just heighten the tensions mingled with the countries.According to the Prime Minister, Ir an has the right to develop and utilize nuclear energy under the norms set by the international community, as long as they dont build weapons of mass destruction like atomic bombs. The Prime Minister also suggested that these actions should be under close observation by the UNs atomic watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency. China was also affected by the increasing oil prices. In a BBC News article, Chinas trade surplus was greatly affected by the increasing oil bells, wherein it fell 10% in May (BBC News Oil Costs Hit China Trade Surplus).The main reason for this is the drastic increase in the cost of imported energy such as oil, and other edged materials being used by the country. However, reports showed that despite Chinas surplus is slowed, it still remains high compared to other countries. This is a manifestation of Chinese economys resilience despite some slowdowns in other countries like the United States. Experts said that export components were expected to slow down throughout the year because of the increasing cost of oil, but so far China has been doing well.In the wellness aspect China has experienced several problems throughout the year. In a Los Angeles Times article dated May 4, 2008, China issues a virus alert after 23 people were killed and left 4,000 others sick (Demick). The Chinese Health Ministry issued a nationwide alert so that people would be informed and to fend off the possibility of a cover-up. The cause of the problem was the Enterovirus-71, which has also claimed lives in neighboring countries like Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and Vietnam.This virus is a perennial case in Asia, especially in the hot and humid summer months. More deaths are expected, as the disease unremarkably peaks in the Months of June and July, as the Health Ministry warned. This has caused a lot of people to be cautious, wherein very few children or infants are seen on the streets, and even adults are even afraid to go out of their houses as they greatly fear the killer disease. The virus is characterized by occurrence of fever, and the development of sores in the mouth and facial area, and with virulent rashes.According to the World Health Organization, most cases are not fatal, as long as the people maintain a good hygiene. One of the most controversial issues faced by China this year was substandard food and other products that they import. In an article in The Guardian, dated April 22, 2008, China issues jail bane in their new food safety law (Branigan). This newly drafted law states that the manufacturers who produce food items which are substandard could be facing a bread and butter behind bars if proven guilty.This is the governments response to allegations that the country is lenient in the aspect of food safety, thats why producers would often take advantage of the situation and produce fake baby formula, drugs, and even toys with dangerous materials. This law would encompass not only food products but also cosm etics in order for them to boost the confidence of domestic consumers. The latest of Chinas substandard products scandals was the discovery of melamine in various food items, especially in milk products.Melamine is a binding agent for boards and fibers, and is also an ingredient in making fertilizers. In an article in the M&C Health News dated phratry 19, 2008, Chinese health inspectors found melamine in fresh milk of three leading manufacturers in the country (M&C Health News). This testing and management was a government response to the contaminated milk scandal which has claimed the lives of several infants in the previous days. This has lead to nationwide inspection of milk and milk products, and many companies have already ordered a recall for their products in the world market.Works Cited BBC News. Deadly Violence Hits West China . 2008. BBC News. family line 30 2008. . . Hundreds Buried by China Quake. 2008. BBC News. September 30 2008. . . Oil Costs Hit China Trade Surplu s. 2008. BBC News. September 30 2008. . Branigan, Tania. China Issues Jail Threat in New Food Safety Law. 2008. The Guardian. September 30 2008. . Bristow, Michael. China Jumps Olympics Air Hurdle . 2008. BBC News. September 30 2008. . Chang, Anita. China Marks Olympics, Spacewalk for National Day. Yahoo News. September 30 2008. . Demick, Barbara. China Issues Virus Alert after 23 Die. 2008. Los Angeles Times. September 30 2008. .M&C Health News. Chinas Melamine Scandal Spreads to Fresh Milk . 2008. Monsters and Critics. September 30 2008. . Yahoo News. Dispute over Iran Requires More Negotiations Chinese Pm. 2008. Yahoo News. September 30 2008. . Yinan, Hu. Space Heroes Get a Rapturous Welcome. 2008. China Daily. September 30 2008. .