China Daily edited a bit my post but the result is pretty close:
2 September 2013 – Frustration with smoking ban
By Gilbert Van Kerckhove (China Daily)
Comment on “Health inspectors express frustration with smoking ban” (China Daily, Aug 23)
In the article, health inspectors express frustration with the smoking ban in public places such as restaurants and hotels. If you are a smoker, you can simply ask for an ashtray in a restaurant or hotel. The smoking ban is not yet strictly enforced in facilities managed by Chinese staff.
So if you are a non-smoker and want to avoid secondhand smoke, you have to look for a facility managed by foreigners.
If you have any doubts about this, just visit any restaurant or pub in Sanlitun, an area full of bars and restaurants in Beijing. You won’t find a single smoker in Morel’s Restaurant. But you would be free to smoke in a couple of other well-known bars and restaurants.
The key to banning smoking is imposing the directive with sue seriousness.
Gilbert Van Kerckhove, via e-mail
See:
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/opinion/2013-09/02/content_16936709.htm
Letting Steam Off
Fracking: Gangplank to a warmer world
See the article 28 July 2013 in NYT by Anthony R. Ingraffea:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/29/opinion/gangplank-to-a-warm-future.html
As I explain in my book Toxic Capitalism, fracking (hydraulic fracturing) might be a great new technology but if not done properly it carries very heavy risks for the environment. One of the dangers I mention is methane.
As Ingraffea mentions, methane is a far more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, though it doesn’t last nearly as long in the atmosphere. Still, over a 20-year period, one pound of it traps as much heat as at least 72 pounds of carbon dioxide. Its potency declines, but even after a century, it is at least 25 times as powerful as carbon dioxide. When burned, natural gas emits half the carbon dioxide of coal, but methane leakage eviscerates this advantage because of its heat-trapping power. This is the gas that is released into the atmosphere unburned as part of the fracking process, and also from pipelines, compressors and processing units.
A 2011 study from the National Center for Atmospheric Research concluded that unless leaks can be kept below 2%, gas coming from fracking lacks any climate advantage over coal. And a study released this May by Climate Central, a group of scientists and journalists studying climate change, concluded that the 50% climate advantage of natural gas over coal is unlikely to be achieved over the next three to four decades.
But be sure, the fracking lobby does not want to talk about this.
Our solution? Waste less, consume wisely, reduce energy consumption, and don’t cut corners in the quest for energy and raw materials.
China: political statements that deny the real situation
Wu Bangguo, the outgoing chairman of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee, said in his last report to the legislative body that it would do everything it could to resist erroneous theories and reject Western political models. He also said, China’s political system “reflects the nature of China as a socialist state and ensures that the people determine their own destiny”.
A typical piece of crappy statement, China has become an authoritarian capitalist country, controlled by the richest club of politicians in the world. With no system of checks and balances, no separation of the 3 powers, disrespect for the rule of law and non-enforcement of its constitution, what model is that? Socialist? “People” determine their destiny? They mean, people = vested interests of the billionaires. We really hope the new team will bring much expected changes. Mr. Xi Jinping, we cross fingers for you.
Meanwhile, the ever more strict censorship of the media demonstrates the lack of confidence in their own system. The more they censor, the more they admit their weakness and incompetence. Little by little the Chinese netizens are getting enough of it. If you have nothing to hide, if you are confident, you are transparent.
I then still like more what Wen Jiabao says, like in his March 13 report.
He frankly acknowledged 11 failures, the most prominent and frequently criticized, being a growing wealth gap, the deteriorating environment, an unbalanced economic structure, unsustainable growth and increasingly rampant corruption among officials.
“Social problems have increased markedly, and many problems in the areas of education, employment, social security, medical care, housing, the environment, food and drug safety, workplace safety and public order affect people’s vital interests. Failing to persuade my children not to do business [in China] is a significant mistake of mine. It’s my biggest regret in life.”
Wen also admitted that other areas of his premiership were unsatisfactory, including dealing with petitioners and immigrant workers and curbing corruption inside China’s medical system, the report said, according to SCMP.
The jury is still out on Wen Jiabao, I am more reserved to make a swift evaluation on whether he was the perfect actor or he was sincere in trying to make China a better country. I always paid attention to his statements – they made at least sense and seemed visionary at times.
China: cup noodle country?
Cup noodle fans should think twice when booking holidays in the Maldives, according to several Chinese travel agencies. Some luxury resorts have stopped providing Chinese guests with hot water to prevent them from skipping meals and room service in favor of cup noodles.
One even allegedly coined a new interpretation for “CN” – the acronym of “China”: cup noodle, as reported by the SCMP.
Another complaint is that Chinese tourists sometimes cook food in the water heaters (including crabs) and ruin the heaters.
Chinese tourists often fail to try out any “foreign food” preferring the (bad) cup noodles. They should learn to eat other food. Just imagine I stay here in Beijing and refuse to eat Chinese “ugly food”, accepting only Belgian fries and steaks, and of course a Camembert. How insulted the Chinese hosts would be. I am now more Chinese than the average Chinese: I love all the different cuisines here, but Chinese stick often to “their” food only and can be so damned fussy (I am from XYZ and we don’t eat rice, spicy food, beef, etc.). Things are changing slowly, as I see the many Chinese now eating out in Western restaurants (and visibly enjoying it). But we still have too many “farmers-eating-noodles-only”. Many Chinese have really closed minds for other cultures.
Jackie Chan continues to make waves
Actor Jackie Chan says it’s time China got tough about upholding the law. The actor comes regularly in the news for his remarks, his frequent advertising stunts and even being seen using a military car.
At least here Jackie Chan is right (he made a similar remark years ago that I quote in my seminars). As Chinese people generally speaking have zero respect for laws and regulations, only enforcement works. Singapore, with all its ethnic Chinese had no choice either and became a police state. As I explain to first-time visitors to Beijing, if you want to understand Chinese mentality, forget Confucius. Stand at a traffic intersection, see how people have no regard for anything. Including throwing trash through their car windows.
Beijing has a new law prohibiting smoking in restaurants. While most foreign-managed restaurants respect the regulation, just walk into most other bars and restaurants where Chinese smoke as much as before.