User profile: JanJal

User info
  • Registered
  • VerifiedYes

Forum posts

0
Forums > Living in Kunming > New Coronavirus

To that end, you should consider putting the link to the two official articles permanently sticky under latest articles - rather than advertising a cooking book for example.

I don't believe this thread with its 20 pages is good as relevant priority service to casual visitors - even the original poster was banned already.

0
Forums > Living in Kunming > New Coronavirus

Yeah, but the two are quite interlinked I believe. Emotional responses are often constrained or guided by governmental policies - in some countries more than others. Of course, elsewhere other guiding mechanisms may take precedence.

0
Forums > Living in Kunming > New Coronavirus

China may be different than many countries in this situation, but regardless here the state can give certain orders that all residents are expected to follow.

For example, in many western countries general public is told to not bother wearing face masks unless they are ill themselves, work in the medical frontline or otherwise deal with infected individuals.

But in China the state (local if not national) has ordered that for example in subways and taxis everyone MUST fear a facemask.

Now if people go hoarding face masks, what can you do? In my opinion you cannot really put this under "unsubstantiated hearsay". They are effectively told to do so.

If a thousand buildings collapsed in Beijing, I for one would be checking flights out of China regardless of it being caused by act of war, geology, or widespread lack of construction quality oversight.

Personally, as a Kunming resident, I would be less concerned of a couple of buildings collapsing in Kunming, than a thousand buldings collapsing in Beijing. Even if those collapses occurred in this very neihbourhood, I'd probably just move to different neighbourhood, rather than leaving the country.

0
Forums > Living in Kunming > New Coronavirus

"what has objectively changed? How many people you personally know, got infected"

None, but I know a few dozen who could not return to their jobs or even hobbies on schedule. Even the leadership mentioned above by CindyLi saw the economic consequences creeping up.

Those consequences are cause for fear or jubilations for many more than having or avoiding the infection is.

Classifieds

No results found.

Comments

@aliennew: "the important thing here is to give the kids of the poor an even break, which is hard to do when the kids of the rich have"

Naturally so. My argument is that the poor should have to pay taxes too (even if very marginal amounts), so that they would learn to ask for better services in exchange for that, and this would work towards breaks their kids get. They would learn to ask for them.

The current 3500 RMB tax break in monthly income, defined in national level, means huge number of rural residents never having to pay income taxes, and I would like to see the tax system reformed so that every person feels contributing to the common good, and in that everyone would be on the same line.

Then people in rural Yunnan and elsewhere could slowly learn to ask for same services as those in Kunming or Shanghai, since they would be contributing to the system on same terms..

Perhaps the money just isn't there, but at least more of the little there is would be directed to be spent properly.

@alienew: "Why "in China more than anywhere"?"

Because political system in China is naturally demotivating people from taking part in public interests and discussions for political reasons. They are also arguably quite restricted from pursuing the same goals for religious or spiritual reasons.

Since Deng, Chinese are however allowed and even urged to acquire financial wealth and prosperity. Social participation and activation of the public should therefore piggyback on money here.

The poor shouldn't have to pay taxes to finance the system, but to activate themselves to follow up on those tax contributions.

Specifically on OP, this means motivating to send your children to school, and to certain degree also making you interested to know whether your neighbour does that. And that once they do attend the school, they get the money's worth.of education.

"as for the poor caring where the tax goes, many are too ignorant of how governmt works anyhow"

Agreed, but I''d say that it is partly a chicken and egg problem. For better or worse, it is money that makes the world go around, and money can just as well stop it going around. Populism could be one realization of it stop going around.

I believe that in China more than anywhere this nature of money (or exchange of goods in wider context) should be utilized to mobilize the interest of the common people for their common causes.

But it may still be too early for the Chinese government to allow that. Too many skeletons still in open.

And on the note of 1%ers, if they would be made to pay 1% more tax, the question is whether they would pay it or move to a tax haven somewhere else. Worst case scenario is that instead of them paying 1% more, they would be paying zero.

It is (or should be) a fine balance.

@Dazzer: I don't mean the difference being in significantly bigger tax revenue, but the impact for individual families when they recognize that they have to pay their children's education and other state costs (via taxes) out of their very little income anyway, so why not use it..

For a person that makes, for example, a mere 100 RMB a month, 1 RMB or 1% tax taken out would go towards activating them to care how that 1 RMB gets used.

If the local government builds a new school house, they'd feel that they contributed to finance it and that they should use it.

Reviews

No reviews yet