I have just looked at KunmingSwap, mentioned on another thread, and was going to sign up. However, in the registration page they ask for a lot of personal data that is not needed, including phone numbers, unless they are data mining and then selling to direct marketing companies. It could be that the site owner has not considered this as a barrier to people signing up, or that data mining is the main purpose.
If anyone is using KunmingSwap, what has been your experience? Are you getting spammed? Are you getting direct marketing calls?
Are you studying for a degree or are you studying for some other college certificate?
Chinese universities generally have a reputation for being easy, with some students only turning up half the time, if that. However, I also know that engineering degrees are sought after and getting a place on a degree course can be highly competitive. That implies that courses attract some of the top students, who are highly motivated and demands may be high.
If you are doing a non degree course, some of the students will not be motivated, and probably failed the Gao Kao exams (needed for uni entrance) in high school.
On a different note, free speech comes with some responsibilities. There is no absolute free speech, not even on the internet, despite what some people believe. Many people in the UK don't realize that we have no freedom of speech laws, nor is it in the constitution (UK does not have a constitution). People in the UK have probably absorbed freedom of speech ideals from US TV shows. In the UK we have laws governing what we cannot say. There are slander and libel laws, hate speech laws, D notices, the Official Secrets Act, and the list goes on.
There was a US Supreme Court ruling, years ago, that basically says that people have freedom of speech, until that speech impinges on other peoples freedom. What if our postings are impinging on Gokunming's owners making a living from advertising. Is taking down offensive content censorship? I think not.
Look at the number of accounts that have been purged from social media, in the land of free speech (the USA) recently. Never mind the reasons why, they have gone.
At the moment, most of us are not even in the land of free speech. We are somewhere else.
On GoKunming, most posters self censor when it comes to certain topics, and this both out of respect for GoK and because of big brother.
In short. Arguments about freedom of speech are a bit naive.
@herenow said, "Not sure what the solution is, but one idea would be for the consequences of heavily-downvoted posts to extend beyond just hiding them. That obviously presupposes preventing abuse of the voting system by sockpuppets and such."
If heavily downvoted posts and their authors were reviewed by moderators, who then objectively decided if further sanctions were needed, then the sock-puppets would not be a problem.
If the barrier lake had filled, and then dam collapsed, the impact would have been much greater. An interesting follow up would be about formation of development of this barrier lake, and what led to the decision to act.
A thought on the aging population in China. We should not forget the economic changes that have occurred in the last two generations.
The people of retiring age over the next 10 years (50-65 now) are the generation who made the big money. What will they do with the money when they have time on their hands? One of the things they will likely do is travel.
This generation of middle class retirees is not the poor, financially dependent, aged who rely on their children for support. In fact many of them are supporting their children financially.
These people are mobile and rich enough to travel in a way that their parents could only have dreamed of. There are millions of them.
I would guess that the number of people who will be able to afford to travel by air will continue to increase, even if the population declines.
As for there being not a lot to do in Kunming, it has always been the springboard to other places in Yunnan. I just see more people using the springboard.
A reasonable choice of lumber that has improved over time. Fancy hardwoods like walnut, and mahogany are in abundance. There are some plywood and rubber-wood boards available. There are also some kiln dried imported softwoods and merbao available. Some of the lumber is very green, so look for the kiln dried if you need stable timbers.
Echo everything said by others.
Breakfast great and the serve from 8am. Most other places say 9am and they still are not ready.
Sandwiches are cheap 22-32, and really packed full of filling. We got some sandwiches for a day out, the only mistake I made was ordering two, as this was too much. These are seriously good sangars, and they are wrapped in alu foil.
In fairness to Metro, they are a wholesalers, and not really a supermarket. Hence the need for a card, which can be got around.
They have improved in the year I have been away. They now carry a more consistent range of imported foodstuffs and they also seem to have sorted out the mported milk supply.
They have a wider range of electrical appliances now, there is a coice of more than one toast. There is also a better range of seasonal non foods, like clothes, shoes, garden furniture and camping gear.
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Six-day visa-free transit on offer in Kunming, other cities, beginning January 1
发布者The only potential sticking point that I could see is if the visitor needs to show a hotel evidence of a hotel stay.
Lijiang China's number one tourist hotspot
发布者Great. More tourists.
Sichuan water release devastates parts of northwest Yunnan
发布者If the barrier lake had filled, and then dam collapsed, the impact would have been much greater. An interesting follow up would be about formation of development of this barrier lake, and what led to the decision to act.
Beijing approves massive Changshui International Airport expansion
发布者A thought on the aging population in China. We should not forget the economic changes that have occurred in the last two generations.
The people of retiring age over the next 10 years (50-65 now) are the generation who made the big money. What will they do with the money when they have time on their hands? One of the things they will likely do is travel.
This generation of middle class retirees is not the poor, financially dependent, aged who rely on their children for support. In fact many of them are supporting their children financially.
These people are mobile and rich enough to travel in a way that their parents could only have dreamed of. There are millions of them.
Beijing approves massive Changshui International Airport expansion
发布者I would guess that the number of people who will be able to afford to travel by air will continue to increase, even if the population declines.
As for there being not a lot to do in Kunming, it has always been the springboard to other places in Yunnan. I just see more people using the springboard.