American Colleges Want More Chinese Students

This has to be concerning for young American high-school students wanting to go to elite colleges.

From The Boston Globe:

BEIJING - Don't be fooled by the teenager's slender frame and wire-rimmed glasses. His name is Tiger - and he's an American high school student's worst nightmare.

The 16-year-old junior, as adept at proving geometry theorems as he is at defending a soccer shot, has set his sights on Harvard University. And Harvard, on him.

Just last month, Tiger and dozens of China's brightest students gathered in a five-star hotel blocks from Tiananmen Square for the final round of a math contest that planted the Crimson flag firmly in the world's most populous nation. They competed under the watchful gaze of William Fitzsimmons, Harvard's admissions dean, who has handpicked undergraduates for three decades.

Students such as Tiger, or Li Taibo in Chinese, represent the future face of elite American colleges, their greatest hope as they vie to maintain international dominance. It's especially true for Harvard, as it tries to elevate the profile of its math and sciences to be on par with its legendary humanities program.

Read On

I've been asked countless times from Chinese high school and university students about applying to American universities. They want to know which schools are the best, tips about getting in, etc.

The advice I've given out most is the following:

There are heaps of great universities and trade schools in America. Don't only focus on Harvard and Princeton since it's quite likely that you won't be able to get into those kind of schools. There are hundreds of great public and private universities outside of the Ivy League. Look at what you want specifically want to study and then find which schools have good departments in that area.

Unsustainable Lifestyles

Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao, got chippy at a climate change conference yesterday.

From Reuters:

BEIJING, Nov 7 (Reuters) - Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said rich nations must abandon their "unsustainable lifestyle" to fight climate change and expand help to poor nations bearing the brunt of worsening droughts and rising sea levels.

Wen told the opening of a conference on Friday the financial crisis was no reason for rich nations to delay fighting global warming.

"As the global financial crisis spreads and worsens, and the world economy slows down apparently, the international community must not waver in its determination to tackle climate change," Xinhua news agency quoted him as saying.

The two-day meeting is to push China's call for rich nations to fund a huge infusion of greenhouse gas-cutting technology for developing countries. But foreign officials at the meeting raised doubts about Beijing's proposal, which could stoke contention over who pays and how much.

China is widely believed to be the biggest emitter of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas from industry, power plants and vehicles lifting global temperatures. But Wen threw the onus back on rich nations, with their much higher emissions per person and long history of polluting the air.

"Developed countries shoulder the duty and responsibility to tackle climate change and should alter their unsustainable lifestyle," he told the meeting.

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I can see where Wen is coming on this. Seeing Chinese people live on much less than people back in America do (and still be happy) is enlightening. The "lords of more" that control Western society are forever taking their toll on our fragile planet.

The citizens of Wen's own country could listen to his advice too though. His comments don't only apply to Western countries. China's rich strive to live like Americans. Judging by the amount of foreign cars and new condos and houses I see every day around town, it looks like scores of Chinese people are in fact reaching their dreams.

Reading this article reminds me a lot of this article about how venture capitalism is making serious investments into "green" energy production.

I'm not sure how green technologies are going to be developed - whether through private or government investment - but the sooner they can be implemented the better as far as I'm concerned.

The Bubble is Bursting

China's decade-long economic hey-day is most likely over.

From The New York Times:

SHANGHAI — Each new forecast of China’s economic fortunes predicts slower growth than the forecast that preceded it.

Just as China attained supercharged growth that astounded much of the world, it appears to be slowing more sharply and more quickly than anyone anticipated.

“It’s tough to be optimistic,” said Stephen Green, an economist at Standard Chartered Bank in Shanghai. “The three engines of growth — exports, investment and consumption — have all slowed down.”

The signs are so troubling that last week Prime Minister Wen Jiabao warned that this year would be “the worst in recent years for our economic development.”

A series of government reports released over the last few weeks indicated that China’s export juggernaut was moderating. Real estate construction projects are being suspended. Consumer confidence is in decline. And many factories in southern China are closing, putting tens of thousands of migrant laborers out of work.

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It'd be foolish to think that any country is going to get out of the current economic crisis unscathed. In a globalized world, we're all in it together.

Whenever I tell people outside of China that I'm learning Chinese, they often remark that I'll be able to make a lot of money one day with this skill. With China's recent economic growth over the past several years, I see where they're coming from.

Maybe it's true that I'll be able to take advantage financially of the hard work I'm putting into learning Chinese one day. But given the current state of the world economy, I wouldn't say that this is by any means a certain thing.

More Chinese Reaction to Obama

Here's what a few people are saying in China about yesterday in America.

From Reuters:

BEIJING (Reuters) - China welcomed Barack Obama as a youthful president-elect with the energy to tackle the financial crisis now threatening its economy and an ethnic heritage that could help America reach out to the rest of the world.

Excitement about the billion dollar race filtered down to the streets of Beijing on Wednesday, where ordinary Chinese citizens who have never voted themselves and some who could not even name the candidates embraced Obama's message of change.

"The black guy is a good choice, he has so much more energy than the other one, who was far too old," said Han Xue, a new father who runs a small cigarette and alcohol store and followed the results on a television behind the counter.

The dramatic victory, in which Obama carried some states that had not voted for his Democratic party in decades, was a major boost to America's reputation.

"I am very happy U.S. history was made. I think in a lot of Chinese people's eyes America was a racist country, even today the television said that white people wouldn't vote for Obama," said Li Nan, a student at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Read On

I've heard more or less the same things from the Chinese people I've talked with. It's not as if they followed the election real closely, but they knew it was going on and the significance of the result.

OBAMANATION!

Look at all that blue!

There wasn't much doubt going into the night what would happen, but this is still sweet.

I had an adult "English Corner" this afternoon. Believe me, the students I talked with understood the importance of this election. The ten or so students I talked with, ranging in age from twenty to forty years old, were so excited and proud about America's decision.

I've been on cloud nine all day.

Honestly, today's reminded me a lot of a day I had a few months ago:



Today has been such a happy day for me and my country.

My friends from a range of different countries - China, America, England, Australia - are all going out tonight to celebrate the victory. All of my friends from other countries are surprised and happy with the decision America's made.

I'll finish this post with a few pictures:








From Obama, Japan

Watching Results on the Internet

For anyone in China, abroad, or not next to a computer in America, I just found out about www.justin.tv yesterday.

I'm streaming CNN live. It's awesome.

My Electoral Map - An Obama Landslide

Yeah, I'm feeling pretty bullish about Obama's map.

With these expectations, I'm possibly setting myself up for a huge disappointment. That being said, I just don't see much going McCain's direction come Tuesday.

A few things of note on my map:

• Georgia, which has its former senator Bill Barr running as the Libertarian Party candidate, will be Obama's. Barr combined with record black turnout will seal the deal for Georgia's 15 electoral votes.
  
• The tried and true red state of Montana, which is becoming a much lighter shade of red with a progressive governor and senator in Brian Schweitzer and John Tester, will go blue.
• The former red states: North Carolina, North Dakota, Virginia, Iowa, Colorado, New Mexico, and Nevada are also going to Obama.
• Missouri and its difficult polling environment will stay red. This will be only the second time in over 100 years that Missouri has not voted with the winning president.
• Obama will win Pennsylvania, McCain's last of many Hail Marys (see Palin, suspending his campaign, etc.), by over 10 points.
• The "ground games" and enthusiastic voters of Florida and Ohio will give Obama 3 to 5 point victories in each state.
• McCain will win his home state of Arizona by less than 3 points.
  

I'll very likely look at this map on Wednesday morning and see that I was way too optimistic on this. But this is what my gut and heart, combined with a bit of my brain, is telling me.

Think I'm an idiot? Show me how and why. Make your own map here and post it in the comments section.