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Is aborting girls really still so common?

Tonyaod (824 posts) • 0

Actually, I should probably clarify my previous statement as in hindsight it does seem rash. What I meant was that from a broader governmental perspective, the value of human life is only an after thought. So what if tens of thousands of people, what matters is that the political objectives are achieved and/or the government isn't inconvenienced.

Take for example of the 5.21 earthquake in Sichuan. The reason for the large casualty is because *unofficially* of shoddy construction practices. After the earthquake the government paid lip service to improving safety but has construction practices improved?

Another example. Some time ago due to the deaths of some students in Shanghai due to a dormitory fire, the government started promoting fire safety, including at Yunnan University where I work. Two weeks later, due to a rash of thefts, they decide to put up cages around the first and second floor staircase when in essence sealed off the only *safe* means of escape in case of fire and the main entrance is blocked. Obviously the safety of the people is rarely present in policy decisions. I *personally* believe that such attitude is pervasive throughout Chinese society and hence why there is no uproar over these things.

I'm rushing though this post right before my classes so I'm probably rambling incoherently a little bit. I'll clarify after class.

Cheers~

Quester (233 posts) • 0

I take your point that currently it seems the government does not put much value on individual lives of citizens in China.
However in our discussion, if we were emperor for a day, what ideally would we do?

Tonyaod (824 posts) • 0

Just a day? There's only enough time to screw around with the concubines and palace girls. Serious though, the way the Imperial system is setup, although in theory the Emperor holds all the power, the real power is in the hands of the eunuchs and local officials. The Emperor can dictate all the edicts he wants but unless he has the ability to enforce it, he is at the mercy of the local official.

Such is the case in today's government. Take the rise in housing cost for example. While the central government is aggressively attacking the problem, the local officials are less so because their main source of income (both official and corrupt) comes from leasing the land to developers. The developers will only continue to gobble up the land if they can sell the houses at an insane price. And so, there is a conflict between obeying orders or lining their pockets...most chose the latter.

Quester (233 posts) • 0

Some people just like to digress, don't they?
"Emperor for a day" is of course just a phrase.

Does the life of a Chinese person have value?
If such life has been de-valued, how to address that?

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