The author is too pessimistic about the healthcare system in Shanghai or China. That's to say, the article is way too exaggerated and involve too much mood. I think one of factor she thinks so is she is too far away from her mother geographically. The lesson from her article: if you get sick, go to hospital as soon as possible, don't wait.
The Bitter Regrets of a Useless Chinese Daughter
91–100 of 310 posts
Re: The Bitter Regrets of a Useless Chinese Daughter
#92The harsh reality of 1st or 2nd generation Chinese is that while many of us went to the top universities and grew up with a modern, 1st world mindset, we can't escape the fact that our financial and family background is from the developing world, and we live in both worlds at once - our mindset is modern, but the issues and problems of the developing world are still very much things we have to deal with. I first enco…
> a modern, 1st world mindset,
Yours was a valuable testimony. Let me just comment on one aspect of the mindset bit. Class, as you noted, still very much exists, but modern day aristocrats don't expose themselves to snipers as they did two or three centuries ago. Instead we get celebrities and players and self-made rich critters out there to catch the limelight and flak. And family, the key base to aristocratic wealth and power, is played down as unnecessary, because a meritocratic system needs no more than individual prowess to succeed.
Re: The Bitter Regrets of a Useless Chinese Daughter
#93The harsh reality of 1st or 2nd generation Chinese is that while many of us went to the top universities and grew up with a modern, 1st world mindset, we can't escape the fact that our financial and family background is from the developing world, and we live in both worlds at once - our mindset is modern, but the issues and problems of the developing world are still very much things we have to deal with. I first enco…
Your testimony reminds me of a kid I met in Mali. The guy was our guide, and he spoke 6 languages, including 4 local dialects, french and english. He had a cellphone and knew how to drive a 4x4. He drove us to the desert, in a place at the north of Bamako known as the Dogon's country. There, he asked us if we were ok to take a detour by his parents village, and we agreed. His parents were living with no electricity,…
Lots of people from North Africa are leading this life too. North Africa is richer but the inequality is sometimes is surreal.
The countries' bad infrastructure and the lack of options to move to better countries (visas restrictions) give them no choice.
Re: The Bitter Regrets of a Useless Chinese Daughter
#94I can't help but think... wouldn't the average Chinese be much better off if the current Taiwanese gov. still ruled China? I mean, look at Taiwan... it has nothing (no land, no diplomatic ties, etc). Yet it has a lot (decent economy for avg. joe, democracy, etc). Compare this to the current PRC: - cultural revolution wiped out most of the smart people - centries of wrong economic policy (until pretty recent radical c…
> I mean, look at Taiwan... it has nothing (no land, no diplomatic ties, etc). Yet it has a lot (decent economy for avg. joe, democracy, etc). Whereas China is not successful? It entered the top 5 of global economies from huge poverty in the 20th century, is now #2, and is poised to become #1 in the not so distant future. And this starting from developing world conditions, and a long time of colonial abuse. Wikipedia…
People look at the recent actions of the PRC while ignoring the vast past economic harm 1949-1960. Set your house on fire and the rebuilding process looks like real progress.
They have done ok recently. That said they have made slower progress than many countries which spread out the boom times from industrialization. Which is why they are still beyond Taiwan even though Taiwan’s recent progress is relatively slow their boom was extremely fast.
In context China was a much larger share of the worlds economy in 1700 which more or less represents it’s share of global population and resources it’s currently slightly below the global average per capital GDP which is a reasonable threshold for good governance. https://www.businessinsider.com/history-of-chinese-economy-1...
Re: The Bitter Regrets of a Useless Chinese Daughter
#95The harsh reality of 1st or 2nd generation Chinese is that while many of us went to the top universities and grew up with a modern, 1st world mindset, we can't escape the fact that our financial and family background is from the developing world, and we live in both worlds at once - our mindset is modern, but the issues and problems of the developing world are still very much things we have to deal with. I first enco…
Your testimony reminds me of a kid I met in Mali. The guy was our guide, and he spoke 6 languages, including 4 local dialects, french and english. He had a cellphone and knew how to drive a 4x4. He drove us to the desert, in a place at the north of Bamako known as the Dogon's country. There, he asked us if we were ok to take a detour by his parents village, and we agreed. His parents were living with no electricity,…
When Asian parents says, don't get a literature degree, become a doctor, they have a good reason to say it.
It's not necessarily this bad in terms of standard of living (the above description would be subsistence levels, maybe less than 200$ a year), but the median household income in China is about $12-15k US a year compared to $56k in the US. And it's not that in China everything is cheaper so 12-15k goes a long way - no, they just live with less. Things that we take for granted, like insurance, available hospitals, quality goods, good customer service, safety of food & goods (a big one we don't even notice) - these are the result of a developed economy, and we definitely pay for it - we (as an economic whole) have the additional income to allow for these things to exist.
Even with a 10% GDP increase per year, it would take China another 15 years to get to US level standard of living. With a 5% GDP growth, it would take 30 years. These are just numbers to me (12k vs 50k living, I can see one is 4 times better!), but my parents know firsthand what the difference feels like and it makes their urgency much stronger.
For reference, I think my grandparents would be living on an equivalent of around $2-3000 a year based on what I know my mom gives them (and maybe other family members).
Re: The Bitter Regrets of a Useless Chinese Daughter
#96I came to US about 10 years ago. Finished my PhD and spent about 4 years in Software Industry. Saved some money. US has taught me a lot about entrepreneurship and software. Now moving to India for good to work on my own startup, spend more time with my hobbies and to stay close with my parents who are in their 60's. It took me more than an year to convince my parents (hardest to convince was my Mom) and my Wife. Look…
Are your parents in the US or India?
Re: The Bitter Regrets of a Useless Chinese Daughter
#97Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I mean, look at Taiwan... it has nothing (no land, no diplomatic ties, etc). Yet it has a lot (decent economy for avg. joe, democracy, etc). Whereas China is not successful? It entered the top 5 of global economies from huge poverty in the 20th century, is now #2, and is poised to become #1 in the not so distant future. And this starting from developing world conditions, and a long time of colonial abuse. Wikipedia…
People look at the recent actions of the PRC while ignoring the vast past economic harm 1949-1960. Set your house on fire and the rebuilding process looks like real progress. They have done ok recently. That said they have made slower progress than many countries which spread out the boom times from industrialization. Which is why they are still beyond Taiwan even though Taiwan’s recent progress is relatively slow th…
>People look at the recent actions of the PRC while ignoring the vast past economic harm 1949-1960. Set your house on fire and the rebuilding process looks like real progress.
Sure, but when the house becomes the #2 most expensive property on the planet (and poised to #1), it's not a rebuilding success comparative the previous burn anymore. Especially if before the fire the house was in poor condition to begin with.
Re: The Bitter Regrets of a Useless Chinese Daughter
#98The harsh reality of 1st or 2nd generation Chinese is that while many of us went to the top universities and grew up with a modern, 1st world mindset, we can't escape the fact that our financial and family background is from the developing world, and we live in both worlds at once - our mindset is modern, but the issues and problems of the developing world are still very much things we have to deal with. I first enco…
> a modern, 1st world mindset, Yours was a valuable testimony. Let me just comment on one aspect of the mindset bit. Class, as you noted, still very much exists, but modern day aristocrats don't expose themselves to snipers as they did two or three centuries ago. Instead we get celebrities and players and self-made rich critters out there to catch the limelight and flak. And family, the key base to aristocratic wealt…
Instead we get celebrities and players and self-made rich critters
out there to catch the limelight and flak. And family, the key base
to aristocratic wealth and power, is played down as unnecessary,
because a meritocratic system needs no more than individual prowess
to succeed.
Although I think I get what you mean by this I'd love for you to expand on it. I'm sure you have dwelled as I have and arrived at some keen insights.
Also who or what did you mean by
snipers as they did two or three centuries ago
Re: The Bitter Regrets of a Useless Chinese Daughter
#99Earlier quoted context omitted.
People look at the recent actions of the PRC while ignoring the vast past economic harm 1949-1960. Set your house on fire and the rebuilding process looks like real progress. They have done ok recently. That said they have made slower progress than many countries which spread out the boom times from industrialization. Which is why they are still beyond Taiwan even though Taiwan’s recent progress is relatively slow th…
> People look at the recent actions of the PRC while ignoring the vast past economic harm 1949-1960. Set your house on fire and the rebuilding process looks like real progress. Sure, but when the house becomes the #2 most expensive property on the planet (and poised to #1), it's not a rebuilding success comparative the previous burn anymore. Especially if before the fire the house was in poor condition to begin with.
#2 is kind of meaningless when they are the #1 largest country by population and most countries are tiny by comparison. It’s like comparing the value of houses when one has as much land as Texas and you include that in the ‘house’ price.
In nominal terms they are 72 per person adjust for PPP and they are #79 which which not bad. It’s the next 30 years when things get interesting. http://statisticstimes.com/economy/countries-by-projected-gd...
Re: The Bitter Regrets of a Useless Chinese Daughter
#100Earlier quoted context omitted.
Would Taiwan have democracy if its government weren't forced to excile?
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That ignores the long list of socialist/communist states who now have a different system: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_socialist_states#Forme...
Being ruled by a Communist Party doesn't automatically make a country less susceptible to regime changes than other dictatorships.