Fine people who waste food, says pioneering rice scientist. Father of hybrid rice’ slams the excess of sumptuous official banquets, see SCMP article
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1135460/fine-people-who-waste-food-says-pioneering-rice-scientist
In my book Toxic Capitalism I detail some of the waste in food, not only in developing countries such as the USA, but unfortunately also in China and in Hong Kong. Yuan Longping is right to raise the alarm as the waste of food is sometimes shocking, like in the banquets and even in universities. Fines are not enough, education is even more urgent. Since several years China is now obliged to import massive amounts of food (corn, soya, milk, meat, …).
As says the article: “China News Service has reported that the country’s leftover food could feed more than 200 million people a year. The State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development said about 128 million people were living below the official poverty line in 2011.”
Blame the government officials, the new rich and all others who forgot the value of food.
Update:
China Daily published the original interview on 25 January:
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2013-01/25/content_16172766.htm
According to the article China wastes every year 200 billion yuan (US$32 billion) of food.
Internet speeds in Beijing: Stone Age conditions
The SCMP reports that Hong Kong has the highest Internet speeds of the world.
The top recorded speed of 54.1 megabits per second was documented in Hong Kong in the third quarter of 2012. The article mentions China averages about 1.6 Mbps
China: what peaks are you talking about? I already become dizzy if I read people complain they have only speeds like 3 Mbps, too slow, as others have 15 Mbps in some countries. In Beijing, despite all our complaints and “upgrading” my download speeds going “straight” are typically 100 kbs if all is well (if not, 20 kbs). Sometimes speeds using one VPN go higher, like 500 kbs, a reason to celebrate. Internet infrastructure in China is still lousy, not even to talk about the censorship. Some of my friends, in newer compounds with less kids surfing for movies and games, report better speeds. Still, feels like being in the Internet Stone Age.
See SCMP “Hong Kong has fastest peak internet speed in world”:
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1135480/hong-kong-has-fastest-peak-internet-speed-world
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Beijing air pollution: nothing new for me
Suddenly everybody notices the bad air in Beijing. Finally I am not the only one.
I have been probably one of the first to publicly point out the bad situation. Just check this blog for earlier posts.
See as an example: https://blog.strategy4china.com/?p=3737
But here you can also find historical data about the distorted figures from the Beijing administration, as well as a guide to what we are talking about. All done years ago and still valid:
About the Beijing API charts: https://blog.strategy4china.com/?page_id=2463
About API and AQI and the impact on health by air pollution: https://blog.strategy4china.com/?page_id=2343.
And all the other entries on air pollution.
Hong Kong faces its waste problem
As I mention in my book “Toxic Capitalism” the city is certainly not an example to follow in terms of municipal waste per capita, recycling (e.g. glass), food waste and waste disposal. Hong Kong has a typical “throw-away mentality”. But as the landfills are running out of space (they will be full by 2019), proposals to build an incinerator (cost: HK$14.9 billion) and other initiatives face public opposition and scrutiny. As in other cities, the core problem remains the same: people simply waste too much and don’t care. They push the problem into the future. Let the next generation clean it up. Toxic Capitalism at its best. Hong Kong will spend at least HK$31 billion on waste-handling infrastructure in the next seven years, read more in the SCMP:
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1133346/hk31b-bid-solve-hong-kong-waste-crisis