http://www.thepunch.com.au/tags/china/ Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/chinawatch-growing-up-in-a-brewing-social-disaster/ This column is the first of a monthly series we’ll be running on what’s happening in China from a political, social, environmental, music and arts perspective. If you’d like to contribute to the series, know of some great links, websites, magazines, contacts or just harbor a passion for China, feel free to drop me a line: lucy@thepunch.com.au. Today in China there are approximately 123,509,752 children under 14 years of age. By the end of this year, 20 million others will be born. Thanks to the one-child policy, 70 per cent of these children will go through life without a sibling. The average Chinese parent will spend up to two-fifths of their yearly income to educate them. By 2040, this generation will form part of a minority: the workforce of a country that has grown old before reaching its full economic potential. Here’s how they’re growing up. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/chinawatch-growing-up-in-a-brewing-social-disaster/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/chinawatch-growing-up-in-a-brewing-social-disaster/#item7517 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Striding along Rome’s Piazza Navona in late September, his “Nikon necklace’’ bouncing off his chest as a sign of a duty-free camera indulgence, was Paul Keating. He was, he told a group of Australians, constantly being stopped by Australian tourists who wanted a chat and to get in a photo with him. It was suggested to him he was having the same public popularity problems as Kevin Rudd. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/rudd-not-a-caucus-winner-but-an-expert-on-talkfests/ Striding along Rome’s Piazza Navona in late September, his “Nikon necklace’’ bouncing off his chest as a sign of a duty-free camera indulgence, was Paul Keating. He was, he told a group of Australians, constantly being stopped by Australian tourists who wanted a chat and to get in a photo with him. It was suggested to him he was having the same public popularity problems as Kevin Rudd. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/rudd-not-a-caucus-winner-but-an-expert-on-talkfests/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/rudd-not-a-caucus-winner-but-an-expert-on-talkfests/#item6984 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Striding along Rome’s Piazza Navona in late September, his “Nikon necklace’’ bouncing off his chest as a sign of a duty-free camera indulgence, was Paul Keating. He was, he told a group of Australians, constantly being stopped by Australian tourists who wanted a chat and to get in a photo with him. It was suggested to him he was having the same public popularity problems as Kevin Rudd. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-kind-of-person-ignores-a-dying-two-year-old-girl/ It’s hard to pick the most disturbing moment. Is it when the van hits two-year-old Yueyue, pauses, then drives off? Is it the mother and small child who detour around her prone body? Or is it the sheer number of people who clearly see her and do nothing? Warning: Disturbing footage The video of the Chinese toddler, who wandered away from her mother and into trouble, makes you heartsick. It makes you question humanity. It makes you want to shake those people - shake them until their teeth rattle. And of course, even as Yueyue lies in hospital with critical head injuries, it makes you wonder whether a similar evil negligence could happen here, or whether life is cheaper in places where it’s so much more abundant. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-kind-of-person-ignores-a-dying-two-year-old-girl/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/what-kind-of-person-ignores-a-dying-two-year-old-girl/#item6957 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Striding along Rome’s Piazza Navona in late September, his “Nikon necklace’’ bouncing off his chest as a sign of a duty-free camera indulgence, was Paul Keating. He was, he told a group of Australians, constantly being stopped by Australian tourists who wanted a chat and to get in a photo with him. It was suggested to him he was having the same public popularity problems as Kevin Rudd. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/one-green-job-created-is-3.7-jobs-destroyed-elsewhere/ Jobs are being lost, buildings are closing; hundreds of people are moving overseas. Australian manufacturing is facing a major slump, with thousands more jobs expected in light of the carbon tax policy - especially in places like the La Trobe Valley in Victoria. According to recent research from the Australian Trade and Industry Alliance, less than nine per cent of the one million manufacturing workforce are employed by firms that will receive compensation for the carbon tax. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/one-green-job-created-is-3.7-jobs-destroyed-elsewhere/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/one-green-job-created-is-3.7-jobs-destroyed-elsewhere/#item6754 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Striding along Rome’s Piazza Navona in late September, his “Nikon necklace’’ bouncing off his chest as a sign of a duty-free camera indulgence, was Paul Keating. He was, he told a group of Australians, constantly being stopped by Australian tourists who wanted a chat and to get in a photo with him. It was suggested to him he was having the same public popularity problems as Kevin Rudd. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/we-cant-look-beyond-coal-without-pricing-carbon/ As the carbon tax starts to make its way through the legislative process, the Federal Opposition and peak business groups like the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Australian Industry Group, the Master Builders Association and others claim our economy or their part of it will be ruined by a price on carbon. A similar view was apparent at a recent Oxford-style debate organised by Tom Switzer, editor of the conservative Spectator Magazine Australia. The topic debated was “is a carbon tax needed to combat global warming”. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/we-cant-look-beyond-coal-without-pricing-carbon/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/we-cant-look-beyond-coal-without-pricing-carbon/#item6717 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Striding along Rome’s Piazza Navona in late September, his “Nikon necklace’’ bouncing off his chest as a sign of a duty-free camera indulgence, was Paul Keating. He was, he told a group of Australians, constantly being stopped by Australian tourists who wanted a chat and to get in a photo with him. It was suggested to him he was having the same public popularity problems as Kevin Rudd. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/aussie-economy-kicking-goals-a-league-above-the-rest/ We shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that Australia is still in a “different” economic league to the rest of the world and there are five rocks underpinning those solid foundations. The global financial turmoil is definitely a worry. Many are saying it’s based on fear… and they’d be right. But it is also based on reality. Some of the economic numbers coming out of the US and Europe are seriously bad. So bad that the global market reaction has been justified. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/aussie-economy-kicking-goals-a-league-above-the-rest/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/aussie-economy-kicking-goals-a-league-above-the-rest/#item6561 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Striding along Rome’s Piazza Navona in late September, his “Nikon necklace’’ bouncing off his chest as a sign of a duty-free camera indulgence, was Paul Keating. He was, he told a group of Australians, constantly being stopped by Australian tourists who wanted a chat and to get in a photo with him. It was suggested to him he was having the same public popularity problems as Kevin Rudd. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-city-the-size-of-london-in-the-middle-of-china/ Have you heard of Changsha, Chengdu and Chongqing? How about Wuhan or Weifang? Indeed try a little test: name seven cities in China … you can even count Hong Kong. To my shame, I was unaware of any of these places before I set off for China last week. I was also unable to name seven Chinese cities. As a late ring in for our Foreign Minister – who had something on even closer to his heart than China – I joined Trade Minister Craig Emerson in leading a trade delegation to China of a hundred Australian businesses. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-city-the-size-of-london-in-the-middle-of-china/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-city-the-size-of-london-in-the-middle-of-china/#item6488 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Striding along Rome’s Piazza Navona in late September, his “Nikon necklace’’ bouncing off his chest as a sign of a duty-free camera indulgence, was Paul Keating. He was, he told a group of Australians, constantly being stopped by Australian tourists who wanted a chat and to get in a photo with him. It was suggested to him he was having the same public popularity problems as Kevin Rudd. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Abbott-reads-from-Maos-little-green-book-of-nonsense/ Australian politicians have spent more than 20 years thinking up reasons not to tackle climate change, but the latest from Tony Abbott really must take the cake. According to the Opposition Leader, it now seems that until Communist China introduces a market-based mechanism to reduce their emissions, Australia shouldn’t either. That should buy us some time then. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Abbott-reads-from-Maos-little-green-book-of-nonsense/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Abbott-reads-from-Maos-little-green-book-of-nonsense/#item6447 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Striding along Rome’s Piazza Navona in late September, his “Nikon necklace’’ bouncing off his chest as a sign of a duty-free camera indulgence, was Paul Keating. He was, he told a group of Australians, constantly being stopped by Australian tourists who wanted a chat and to get in a photo with him. It was suggested to him he was having the same public popularity problems as Kevin Rudd. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/australia-should-innovate-and-let-china-copy/ OK – time to wake The Punch out of its self-imposed-carbon-tax-debate-hibernation… a-thon. It’s been a nice reprieve, but a debate this frustrating, and this ridiculously overblown, can’t be ignored forever. Especially when so much of the debate rests on weak foundations. Let me just say upfront that I am not exactly what you would call undecided on this issue of a carbon tax. In fact, I am totally in favour of it. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/australia-should-innovate-and-let-china-copy/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/australia-should-innovate-and-let-china-copy/#item6403 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Striding along Rome’s Piazza Navona in late September, his “Nikon necklace’’ bouncing off his chest as a sign of a duty-free camera indulgence, was Paul Keating. He was, he told a group of Australians, constantly being stopped by Australian tourists who wanted a chat and to get in a photo with him. It was suggested to him he was having the same public popularity problems as Kevin Rudd. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Should-Australia-defend-the-great-wall-or-the-grand-canyon/ Recently a colleague mockingly asked me why I bothered writing. I replied: because the quality of debate is appallingly bad. Exactly, she said. Thus with a sense of light-hearted despair at the recent banter in the media, I weigh into Australia’s strategic policy apropos the on-rushing war with China. It appears that the conservative minds that discuss strategic policy are aligning. China is growing, the world is changing, and power is being redistributed. According to those who subscribe to the various brands of “Realist” international relations theory, this situation necessarily entails armed conflict between states. feedback@thepunch.com.au (Tory Shepherd) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Should-Australia-defend-the-great-wall-or-the-grand-canyon/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Should-Australia-defend-the-great-wall-or-the-grand-canyon/#item6264 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:45:28 +0000 Striding along Rome’s Piazza Navona in late September, his “Nikon necklace’’ bouncing off his chest as a sign of a duty-free camera indulgence, was Paul Keating. He was, he told a group of Australians, constantly being stopped by Australian tourists who wanted a chat and to get in a photo with him. It was suggested to him he was having the same public popularity problems as Kevin Rudd.