Author Archives: dontai

Eating Healthily: Not as Easy as You Think

We all want to eat healthily. After all, you are what you eat. If you eat bad food you feel sick, and who wants to feel sick? What if you found out that companies have tricked you into eating their foods, these companies have co-opted the government, and convinced society their foods are healthy, when in fact, they are not. In fact, they have used your human psychology and physiology to trick you. We are all part of our society, but this does not mean we all need to conform to this trickery. I am old fashioned when it comes to food. If my grandmother would not eat it, then perhaps I should not as well.

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POTUS Trump and China Relations: Attitude without Strategy

2019 Jan 15 Assessing U.S.-China relations 2 years into the Trump presidency by David Dollar, Ryan Hass, and Jeffrey A. Bader

-attitude without strategy
-common complaints against China:

discriminatory trade barriers, forced technology transfer, militarization of outposts in the South China Sea, pressure on Taiwan, human rights and religious freedom, government-sponsored cyber-enabled economic espionage, and Chinese interference in other countries’ political systems.

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China Issues Tit-for-Tat Travel Advisory Against Canada

Very odd, it is, that a day after Canada issues a travel advisory against China for arbitrary arrest, and the possibility of a death sentence for drug-related crimes, that China would issue a tit-for-tat government advisory as well. This has occurred due to the arrest of Huawei’s CFO Meng Wanzhou due to an extradition request from the US. Her extradition hearing is scheduled for 2019 Feb 05.

Here is the Chinese travel advisory, with Google translation:

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Government of Canada Changes Travel Advisory to China

After close to a month, where two Canadians were arbitrarily arrested in China, the Government of Canada has updated their travel advisory. Better late than never.

Latest updates: Risk level(s) – risk of arbitrary enforcement of local laws; Laws and culture – death penalty, penalties for drug-related offences

Government of Canada issues new travel advisory to China for arbitrary arrest, death penalty, 2019-jan-14

The US had issued a similar advisory:

Exercise increased caution in China due to arbitrary enforcement of local laws as well as special restrictions on dual U.S.-Chinese nationals.

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Why You Should Lift Weights at the Gym: Sarcopenia

Sarcopenia, a decline in skeletal muscle with age, is inevitable. I have experienced symptoms of this and have then taken measures, which includes weight lifting. It has helped a lot.

Preventing Muscle Loss Among the Elderly

2010 Aug 31 Doctors Seek Way to Treat Muscle Loss

Causes of the loss of muscle mass or strength might include hormonal changes, sedentary lifestyles, oxidative damage, infiltration of fat into muscles, inflammation and resistance to insulin. Some problems stem from the brain and nervous system, which activate the muscles.

Experts say the best approach to restoring or maintaining muscle mass and strength is exercise, particularly resistance training.

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Wei and Wuwei: Concise English-Chinese Chinese-English Dictionary, Commercial Press, Oxford university Press

These entries are from the “Concise English-Chinese Chinese-English Dictionary”, 3ed, 2004 from Commercial Press and Oxford University Press， for David

为（為）Wei4： pp520 (介词, preposition) 1. [indicating the object of one’s act of service]: ~ 人民服务 ~ ren2min2fu2wu4， serve the people, 2. [indicating an objective]: ~ 方便起见 ~ fang1bian4 qi3jian4 for the sake of convenience. see also wei2

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Within China, Dissenting Views: Xiang Songzuo talk 2018 Dec 16

Xiang Songzuo 向松祚, professor, Renmin University, School of Finance, former chief economist of China Agricultural Bank

2018 Dec 16 speech to CEO class at Renmin Business School
-recordings, transcripts banned within China
Thanks for the translation

Aside: 2018 Jul 24 Tsinghua law professor Xu Zhangrun’s (许章润) broadside “Imminent Fears, Immediate Hopes”,
translation

Summary: the Chinese economy is going to be in for long-term and very difficult times.

-Within year, private business investment dropped
-politically XJP supports SOE and not private business

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CHOC and ilovechoc Towel: A Hong Kong Fashion brand

ilovechock logo

This towel was purchased in China in 2016. I thought the design was a chemistry compound, but could not find anything in a Google search. I sent it to a Chinese chemist, who said it was not chemistry, but found it on Baidu Search! As did I. There are things on Baidu that you cannot find on Google Search. My towel is probably fake.

CHOC or ilovechoc towel, purchased in China in 2016. This is a street fashion brand from Hong Kong.

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Chinese Calendar on Ubuntu 16.04

Friend David is messing around with the I-Ching 易经， and was asking me about calendar month names. I usually only use the number and then the month, but there are more formal Chinese names.

Chinese calendar for Ubuntu 16.04, from Kylin, today is 冬月 dongyue, 11th month 20th day year of the Dog 狗年 by the Chinese agricultural calendar, or 2018 Dec 26 using the Gregorian calendar.

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China’s Economics: Trying to Understand

China’s economy and its challenges are complex. Let me jot down some notes:

Overall Trends

Xi Jinping assumes office 2013
Economic reform started 2014-15, but Chinese equity markets crash Aug 2015, so reforms stop

-harsh capital controls: strict control of foreign exchange transfers, especially for purchase of int’l shares, real estate
-provincial, city gov’ts borrowed huge amounts, now deleveraging campaign
-anti-corruption campaign, increased importance of CCP -> slowed growth
-stock market down 30%
-real estate bubble
-trade war and tariffs with US
-aging of labour force
-pharmaceutical scandals
-XJP wants total allegiance to CPP for all people, companies
-yuan devalues 9% to just over 7:1 US

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