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 you mean and international trade centre for SW China, I think Yunnan has missed the boat. Chongqing was on a par with KMG 6 or 7 years ago. It is now streets ahead. With the global recession, and even China's economic downturn, there are few opportunities to develop a new trading centre in SW China.
I know KMG and YN govt. want it, but I don't think they will get it. For Vietnam/Thailand/Etc. the extra flight time to Chongqing does not add a lot to the total door to door time. And when you get there all the main financial services are needed are already well developed, unlike KMG.
The other issue is how do you staff institutions from a work pool of people with a poor work ethic. Yunnan has never been known to be industrious. Chongqing is a cut-throat business environment, like Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Shanghai. In Yunnan people want easy money, and then kick back and play Mah-jong.
Perhaps words like 'tomorrow' should not be used in editorial that will be read at a later date. At the time of me writing this, tomorrow was already yesterday ;-)
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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Chinese man kills ostrich in bizarre suicide attempt
Posted byLike the links to Youku.
Great enhancement.
Manufacturer addresses Kunming metro safety, comfort concerns
Posted byHa
Just de-railed, no signal needed.
Can Kunming become a real international city?
Posted byDefine international city.
If you mean and international trade centre for SW China, I think Yunnan has missed the boat. Chongqing was on a par with KMG 6 or 7 years ago. It is now streets ahead. With the global recession, and even China's economic downturn, there are few opportunities to develop a new trading centre in SW China.
I know KMG and YN govt. want it, but I don't think they will get it. For Vietnam/Thailand/Etc. the extra flight time to Chongqing does not add a lot to the total door to door time. And when you get there all the main financial services are needed are already well developed, unlike KMG.
The other issue is how do you staff institutions from a work pool of people with a poor work ethic. Yunnan has never been known to be industrious. Chongqing is a cut-throat business environment, like Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Shanghai. In Yunnan people want easy money, and then kick back and play Mah-jong.
Bronze Age relics unearthed in Baoshan
Posted by@voltaire
Thank you for a very informative and interesting post, explaining more of the relevance of this find.
Flying Tigers memorial opening tomorrow
Posted byPerhaps words like 'tomorrow' should not be used in editorial that will be read at a later date. At the time of me writing this, tomorrow was already yesterday ;-)