The district office handling my work permit sent a group WeChat message today.
The message mentioned calling "Anti-epidemic Headquarters Office" to ask about situation of foreigners' vaccination, and citing response "foreigners should be able to get vaccine after July 1st", and that "foreigners in prefectures can get it now, but in Kunming city cannot".
Anything new about vaccinating foreigners in Kunming?
On hearsay I'd share that last week my wife's Chinese colleague saw a foreigner getting the vaccine at a clinic in Kunming. She apparently asked about it, and was told that it was possible because the foreigner was enrolled in China's (medical) social insurance scheme.
English schedule for the Euros and more: www.sinoepg.net/
CCTV-5 will be showing the matches live at least for the first weekend, with Chinese commentary of course.
If there are concurrent matches, then 5+ would be showing the other overlapping one. That's a common use for the 5+ channel, used for example with UEFA Champions League broadcasts.
5+ used to go with suffix "live events" in past, supposedly focusing more on live broadcasts/replays of events of lesser/no domestic importance, in order to reserve the main channel for Chinese sports or international sports of bigger domestic interest.
Nowadays it seems to be showing more live ice hockey and tennis than the main channel. Varies by season though.
Yes, minorities were excluded from family planning. Still my wife, who is Yi and the youngest of 3 siblings, always jokes how her parents had to "buy" her. There was some kind of fee/fine for having her in the 80s.
I have little experience of rural China outside Yunnan, but it is my understanding that it's rougher up here than in many other provinces.
From what I have seen here, I cannot imagine lot of rural families wanting to have more children without intent and possibility to send them to study, work and live in cities. Even sending them to Yiwu to make sneakers may not be a viable option in coming decades.
In the mountains you simply don't have enough flat land to farm. Maybe somewhere else there is justification to raise more farmers, but also in those places farming machinery works better.
Mind you these are places that should be also high on China's poverty reduction agenda, and having more babies in already impoverished villages would be quite counter-productive.
China doesn't currently depend on income tax of its workers the same way western countries do.
In particular rural residents, most of them, never in their lives go above the current 5000 RMB per month limit to pay taxes. Even in cities like Kunming lot of jobs are below that.
The problem of shrinking workforce is slightly different problem here than elsewhere. Despite all the talk of AI and robotics, China still needs hands to make things, and above all consumers to drive the economy.
No results found.
Urban re-greening effort to include 37 new Kunming parks
Posted byDazzer: ""suggest that provision also includes adequate car parking"
I would assume it does, but what constitutus adequate is debatable.
For example in housing developments I would assume that they do it by some assumption of how many resident households own a car on average and then some extra for visitors. But at least in our relatively new development (though still old enough to have "matured"), it seems to be somewhat of a challenge to find parking space by the road.
I would also argue that limiting parking space would deter more cars hitting the roads (which is never a bad thing), if it is accompanied by meaningful penalties for illegal parking.
This would especially reduce meaningless car ownership, ie. for city dwellers who only buy it for status symbol.
Urban re-greening effort to include 37 new Kunming parks
Posted bySure these parks are better than nothing. But I would hope the city would also step up on construction supervision in middle of urban developments.
From what I have learned, is that developers are required to allocate certain amount of green space for every square meter they are building.
What happens, is that especially outside the complexes they initially do that, but then after the authorities have checked and confirmed this, they tear it apart and replace with parking space or just empty concrete for damas to dance at.
Interview: Tracking Kunming's trash with Adam Liebman
Posted byThis was interesting indeed.
I would also link this to another topic recently covered on this site, which is a central government team's visit to check whether Kunming now could be considered a "civilized city".
Lot of posts about this have appeared around the city in recent weeks, apparently trying to sell the idea to the general public.
Couple of weeks ago in our neihbourhood we spotted a group of people, who we suspected part of this investigation group, and one thing that they did outside our house was looking in the rubbish bins.
I noted that they pointed out how both "recyclable" and "non-recyclable" bins contained mixed waste. Also when they left the scene, one of the sanitation workers grumped, as if the group had just messed up her work.
So even if rubbish in both of the bins ends up to same place when collected (according to this article anyway), it seemed to be a factor in determining Kunming's "civilized" status that residents should sort their waste properly to correct bins.
Yunnan's capital scrambles as 'Civilized Kunming' audit looms
Posted byAmong other things, I'm guessing this explains why they revamped the previously lively bazaar and street food strip of a road behind Carrefour at Longquen Lu / Baiyun Lu intersection.
All pop-up establishments were removed, making the road more accessible to cars, and leaving only those shops and restaurants which have presence in the houses by the road.
It's a shame, in my opinion.
Chinese student apologizes after Maryland graduation speech sparks firestorm
Posted byAbout her interpretation of Kunming air - I don't think Kunming air is that bad in comparison to many cities in China, but if she never did (which I don't know) experience smoggy winter day in Beijing or other super polluted city, perhaps Kunming does not compare that well to her experience in US.
Kunming might be all about spring, flowers. and blue skies for someone coming from Beijing, but perhaps not for someone hailing from Maryland?
It's quite subjective matter really.
And when she extends the fresh air to civil liberties, my arguments on that matter with Chinese usually proceed to them saying how they are content and satisfied without them - so why all the hate if someone happens to enjoy those.
The nation just has low self-esteem, and she forgot to consider that.