My observations of Chinese grandparents' child raising is more on the negative side. Certainly they can help with infants and toddlers, but the problems start at older age. Teenagers, you know.
Given a city-dwelling couple today that decides to have 3 children, would be looking at possible 9 grandchildren by their retirement age. Not much time for mahjong or traveling.
I would continue this thought exercise by suggesting that Confucian principles such as filial piety could become challenged when child counts within families increase.
What may have worked once upon a time when China was a poorer country with more rural surroundings, may not work now.
Having to raise 2 or 3 princes/princesses instead of just one may hit fabrics of Chinese society in unexpected ways, and force developments that for the powers-that-be may offset the economic benefits of maintaining population.
Reading about latest developments in China's childbirth regulations (now going to 3 children per family), I started to think about the role that religions and related social organizations in western countries (maybe elsewhere too) have played in increasing (maintaining anyway) and supporting child count of families.
For example in my home country most of families with 5+ children are either cases of remarrying with bonus children, or followers of certain (usually Christian) disciplines. Furthermore many church related organizations provide assistance that makes raising children a little bit easier.
I would speculate that if not for religious activities, birth rates in western countries would have dropped much sooner and faster.
In this context, what China has to offer in place of religions, is in my opinion perhaps not sufficient to create equal factor to increase/maintain birth count.
@Mario007:
It looks particularly backward considering that according to latest official data, Yunnan has more foreign residents than Shanghai and Beijing combined.
About same as from a prayer to a revolution?
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Letter from the editor: Kunming community spirit in times of Corona
Posted by"support the website by making an account, asking questions in the forum, leaving reviews and using the classifieds section to find a job, sell your stuff or rent an apartment."
This (or rather what is not included in that list of to-dos) sums the criticism that I personally have toward the whole ordeal, and how GoKunming (out of no choice I understand) had to respond to it with rest of the nation.
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Ask questions and increase revenue, but feel free to avoid discussing and, heaven forbid, debating anything.
Editorial: Kunming 2020 biological diversity conference should be based on Paris Agreement
Posted byWouldn't you say a new kind of virus adds to biodiversity though? Also in relation to biodiversity, I suppose there is some poetic justice in the virus killing humans.
European visa centers open to Chinese citizens in Kunming
Posted byNot sure if this applies to Italy visas, but for many other European countries:
The Joint Visa Application Center that used to be in Beichen, is now relocated to an office building at intersection of .Shibo Road and Bojin Avenue.
New address:
1501D, Building A, Low Carbon Business Center, No. 12 Shibo Road, Kunming City, Yunnan Province 650000 China
www.vfsglobal.cn/finland/china/contact_us.html#14
Video: Zen and the art of patisserie with chef Igor Nataf
Posted byI'm not a big fan of croissants anyway, and donuts I have not found in either of the establishments you mentioned.
@Dolphin: "savouring the croissant helps to cultivate appreciation. ie appreciating simple things rather than always feeling discontent that you don't have enough"
Perhaps, but it equally helps to cultivate ignorance of all the labor that has been put into creating that experience for you. At least I would allow you to feel discontent on behalf all the people who don't have enough, whether they had part in creating the croissant or not.
I't shouldn't anymore be about what you have or don't have, but what the other 7.7 billion (minus 1) people have or don't have. That's where the musings of Buddha (as quoted above) go wrong in this day and age.
Video: Zen and the art of patisserie with chef Igor Nataf
Posted byThere perhaps was a time, when embracing reality same way you would savour the croissant, could have been beneficial to achieving an enlightened state of mind.
But today, many would call such view on life quite the opposite of enlightened - it could be called ignorance or covering your eyes from all that is wrong. Perhaps that's suitable in Chinese context.
There, I connected the croissant to politics.