China's dilemma

China's economy skyrocketed for the past decade. Now, a world super power, country with one of the highest population and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth. All of this is due to recent industrialization. Thousands of factories sprung up throughout China, powering its economy. In contrast, China's air quality levels has been deproving in the recent years. This is because all these newly built factories focus on economic growth instead of the general air quality and health. Harmful air pollutants or fumes are released into the atmosphere and liquid waste are dumped into rivers and lakes . They do these because it is cheaper to dump it without purification processes. This causes pollution and increased enhanced greenhouse effect which leads to global warming. 

 In the midst of improving the economy for a higher standard of living in the country, china neglected the fact that the air quality and pollution.

Wenping

Written Report on China: National Issues

2J CID Group 6 Written Report: China’s National Issues

How does China manage their national issues?

The national issues are pollution, overcrowding, and urban planning.

Pollution:

 

Many modern cities in China have their air quality index (AQI) above 100, at approximately 165 on average. This means that the air in China is very polluted. Harmful particles in the air called PM2.5 in china was found to be 156% higher than the national recommended standard, and 4 times the daily level recommended by the world health organisation.

The biggest contributors to the air pollution are the huge number of factories and vehicles, as well as the burning of coal for energy. 

The recent results show a decrease in the amount of drinkable underground water in china by 2% compared to 57.4% in 2012. If the quality of water is considered poor, it cannot be used at all as a source of drinking water, say china’s underground water standards, while water of relatively poor quality may be used for drinking only after special treatment. In April, cancer-inducing benzene was found in the water supply of the city of Lanzhou, which is considered one of the most polluted in the country.

How China manages it:

Environmental inspectors are imposing tough, new standards on thousands of polluting firms. They are also shutting down and punishing polluting firms. They only permit vehicles that conform to the tough fuel standards, but China does not have the technology to enforce its rules.

Overcrowding:

 

The housing problem has been one of Shanghai's most serious social problems. A survey in 1985 showed that nearly half of the city's 1.8 million households were in overcrowded conditions. 216,000 households had an average per capita living space under 4m²; over 15,200 of those households had less than 2m².

How China manages it:

The Shanghai Municipality implemented the Housing Settlement Project in 1987, to solve the city's housing problems.

Shanghai has resettled over 47,000 households living in houses under 2.5m². The municipality spent 1.8 billion 元 on the project, creating 1.8 million square metres of housing for overcrowded households. New residential areas have been built to accommodate the people.

Urban Planning:

There are namely 2 types of cities in china.

A hybrid city, which incorporates western planning and design principles meshed with traditional Chinese architectural concepts.

E.g. Shanghai and Tianjin

A global city, however, has densely populated metropolitan areas, corporate headquarters and national service stations, extensive public transportation systems, internationally networked airports, large-scale industrial zones.

E.g. Beijing and Guangzhou

Shanghai:

Shanghai is divided by the Huangpu River into Pudong and Puxi. In contrast to the colonial and historical sights of Puxi, the district of Pudong, lying east of the Huangpu River, is all about modern Shanghai. The old Shanghai with its major attractions such as Yuyuan garden and jade Buddha temple are located in Puxi, the west of Huangpu River. Pudong, however, is more modern, a fast-developing economic zone with mega shopping malls and skyscrapers.

Beh Yiying (3), Ho Yoon Yee (8), Wienna Koh (18), Chiok Wen Ping (25), Gerald Ong (26) from class 2J

Yoon Yee's reflection

Reflect on China's dilemma between pursuing higher economic growth and escalating pollution due to the industrialization. 

China's rate a industrialization is remarkable. However, the rapid economic development can't be supported by the environment for much longer. China's heavy traffic and burning of coal to produce energy cause aur pollution. China's most polluted cities have PSI levels of more than 500, and have ever exceeded 1000! Air pollution is blamed for hundreds of thousands of deaths each year.

 Water pollution is also a big problem. Many factories simply dump their waste chemicals/discharge into lakes or rivers, polluting the water. The water is absolutely unfit for drinking, even after treatment. Nearly 500 million people lack access to safe drinking water. The Chinese usually drink bottled water, for fear that tap water is also polluted. In general, pollution is a major problem for China.

I think that China should desperately try to tackle this problem as soon and effectively as possible. Stopping pollution and reducing their greenhouse gas emissions will greatly improve the lives of the Chinese. It is definitely more important than industrialization. 

Yiying's reflection: China's dilemma

China is facing a dilemma between pursuing higher economic growth and escalating pollution due to industrialisation. 

To allow economic growth is to industrialise - to build more factories to manufacture goods in demand. These manufactured goods are exported to the other countries to be sold. More factories allow more goods to be manufactured and sold at a faster rate, which means China can get more profits. 

However, the building of factories is causing an increase in the emission of harmful gases which pollute the air. These gases affect the people's health and also contribute to global warming. 

China has to decide if it is willing to sacrifice the well-being of its people and the world for its economy, or if it decides to forgo its economy for the sake of the health of the people.