Beneficent loan to poverty coincides with China's complexity

Poverty is truly the controversial issue affecting the peaceful progress in the world. That is the main focus of the Nobel Peace Prize in this year to let all scrutinize this acute and persistent problem. The Bangladesh economist and the banker becomes the Nobel Prize Laureate, as he established the specialized banking network, which provides much liquidity need for the poor to get rid of poverty. This bank has efficient incentives (by eliminating free-riders and moral hazard through mutual surveillance) to retain low delinquency and charge-off rate, making it become a miracle to improve the living standard in impoverished rural region.

Recent news also mentions that the Chinese government would also allow this bank to enter China in order to alleviate rural poverty. Does it work in China? It's skeptical. Not because the Chinese rural villagers are audacious to violate the credit policy, but the right of the rural citizen to farm at their homeland is endangered. The local government carries out unfair trades and series of confiscation of lands in order to build factories or develop real estate. The rural villagers are therefore no use getting profitable business opportunity under the local monopoly control of land, even if there exists beneficent loan for the poor.

While the thing has been common through the recent transparent reporting, problem is sufficiently clear. However, problem is always intricate. On the one hand, the complex hierarchy from central to local government cannot be re-structured easily even central planner knows that. On the other hand, economic development through induction of technology and human capital is another way to transform the rural resident's life, but it has to coincide with the friction from culture and environment. Most acute point is, there is limit of time and resource for the transition as the situation would be polarized to disturb the social stability and peaceful development.

Chinese development and transition are such a complicated issue. What kind of incentives and strategies can cool down the social unrest?

Money with no soul, what Chinese are now having

A rhetorical but accurate phrase to describe people living in absolute utilitarianism is, only money with no soul. Poverty may be one of the major reasons causing this, yet the wealth has never alleviated such undesirable behavior. It seems that the greediness of nouveau riche can be even more destructive.

That's what Chinese are now having. The impolite tourists flood to the other countries shamelessly. Being the top of the hierarchical structure, such as local rich people or renowned officials, is so alluring that it provides more incentives for people to desperately invest in inefficient fixed capital without concerning the adverse side-effect endangering the society. The commodities can have so many fatal faults causing serious consequence for the public health.

The most striking news that I noticed recently is that the people living around the Great Wall dared to demolish the wall with a view to constructing their houses, or selling the bricks of Great Wall as souvenirs for ten Yuan of income. There is also case that the local governments would like to construct highway beside the Great Wall, so that they destroyed part of the Great Wall with length 100m. According to some organized measure, the length of the recognizable Great Wall has been vastly shortened to around 2500km or even less (original record is 6000km).

The above issues are impressing, and suddenly re-ignite my thought on these issues. Economic model is easy to describe the real and monetary metrics. However, the sustainable development issues are not popular to be interpreted well, although there exists various well-known indicators combining the national wealth, social harmony and environment.

Now Chinese society has become wealthier than the past, but this can be a ridiculous illusion to present the whole picture to the world. From the lack of self-esteem to the soar of the boastfulness, the overall substitution from the Chinese traditional wisdom and assets to wealth is proceeding. It can have severe effect to shorten the duration of sustainable economic growth of China. Despite the increasing awareness from the central government, it seems that there is still a long way to go.

Some feeling about the tourism in Hong Kong

- In the ATV news, there was an interview with a mainlander yesterday, mentioning that Hong Kong is worth visiting for at most two days only, as it is actually a small area.

When I went to the book store in Shenzhen, I also found some books teaching how the mainland people have tours in Hong Kong. As I glanced for a few pages, it mentioned that Hong Kong is just a small place that if one wants to see its tradition, one should go to elsewhere within mainland China. In conclusion, Hong Kong is described as a city for shopping, to let tourist touch the modern side of China and approach the renowned theme parks.

As I remember, I have once gone to a place called Krakow located in southern part of Poland. Its area is much smaller than that of Hong Kong. In terms of ordinary rankings like population, living standard, and competitiveness, etc., its name also has less reputation. However, when you travel around that region, you will find that it is worth going for at least four days in order to have complete sightseeing, as it includes splendid salt mine, etching concentration camp, traditional old town and castles, and even the snow mountain for skiing near Krakow (it is relatively far away). To establish the success of their tourism, they have preserved their antique buildings and tradition. Eventually it is exhibited to the people from all over the world.

Perhaps Hong Kong is a vibrant financial center. Consequently, Hong Kong people can hardly find the long-term goal in unveiling the tradition towards the world, but desperately try to absorb as much as money as fast as possible by building extensive modern tourism facilities.

Yet when we think in another way, Hong Kong was once a colony with mixture of western and eastern styles, Hong Kong originally should have this ability to enact its distinctiveness towards the tourists. Some people may even contend that the Chinese tradition in Hong Kong is even well-preserved comparing with mainland China owing to the cultural revolution.

Therefore, why doesn't Hong Kong demonstrate its distinctiveness towards the tourists? Or the people in Hong Kong prefer devising something new to preserving the "remnant"? Is it really a case that the Hong Kong has to sacrifice its traditional things and promote its modern side only? It is indeed retrospective. I hope that the new Dr. Sun Yat-sin Museum, where its origin is Kom Tong Hall, will be another new tourist spot to arouse the foreigner's interest.

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- There is news mentioning the tourists are stalled to travel by the cable car because of the recent malfunction of the cable car system. Moreover, the expected scenario of congestion also affects the people's willingness to play the other games and theme parks in Hong Kong.

It is not something new. Interestingly, I remember that a monk in Po Lin Monastery said that the region around Ngongping should not be used to build the cable car facility as the wind is quite strong at that region. He said that he had urged the planner not to plan in this way, and finally, the cable car was still set up in the current format.

Ironically, the modern facilities can have such potential faults to reduce its attractiveness. The planner really needs to be more responsive with respect to the problems such as congestion and unstable inflow of tourists, together with the matters related to the traditional sightseeing spots.