Stage 3
Opinions on issues
1. What is your opinion of the one child-policy?
A I agree with China's one-child policy. I think that China needs to control its population right now. How else can we make China strong and provide enough food and education for all the people? Perhaps in the future when our country is more developed, we can allow people to have more children. But for now, the government's policy on family planning is necessary.
B I disagree with the one-child policy. I think people should be allowed to have as many children as they want. There are a lot of families who need more than one child in order to take care of their farmlands. The peasants are the ones who are suffering the most, because in the past, they used to be able to have more than one child to help with the work. In the city, many families only want to have one child anyways. I do hope that this policy will change very soon, because it's not a fair policy.
2. Do you think smoking is a problem that needs special attention?
Does smoking need special attention? That's an interesting question. I suppose it does. A lot of people in China aren't aware of the health consequences of smoking. They just smoke because it's socially acceptable to do so. If more people knew they could get cancer from smoking, they'd probably stop, or at least smoke less. I know that the tobacco industry is big business, and if we tried to get rid of smoking, we'd also be getting rid of jobs, but at the very least, people should be told about the potential dangers of smoking. That way they can make an informed choice about whether to smoke or not.
3. Do you think China's membership in the WTO will benefit China?
Well, it's a big issue and a lot of people are thinking about it. I'm quite sure it'll benefit China and other WTO members as well if China becomes a member of the WTO. The common Chinese consumer will benefit most from it because prices of imported products will go down. Also, the quality and after-sales services of national products will be improved. I guess the main danger we have to face is the new competition to our national industries but I think they're up to the challenge.
4. What do you think of the unemployment problem in China?
I think the unemployment problem is getting more and more serious now. China's a country with a large population and there has always been more labour than required. It was not a big problem in the past under the- planned economy system, but now enterprises can not afford the burden of a surplus labour force and many workers in state owned enterprises are being laid off. Something must be done about it before more serious problems arise.
5. What do you think is the most serious social problem in China?
A The most serious? Well, I'm no expert to say for sure, but I'd probably say it's unemployment. There are a lot of people who have recently been laid off work. They have little income and many have a family to support. I think they should be given a chance to get another job-maybe by giving them more training or something like that. Perhaps if the government were to provide re-training to people who've been laid off...that might help the problem.
B That's difficult to say, but- I'd guess it's overpopulation, even though we've made a lot of progress. Although China has a strict family-planning policy with one family having only one child, the population is already over 1.2 billion and it's still growing. It not only causes a shortage of food and shelter but it causes a lot of other problems like unemployment and crime. We can be flexible with this policy, but I think, in general, we need to enforce this policy quite strictly.
6. What do you think about the environmental problems in China?
 . The environment is getting more and more serious as a problem. Well, as far as I'm concerned, I think these problems are solvable if we work together. I think also that people should be more vocal to press for change and I think that people should try to set good examples. The process is beginning to occur but the problem is that we have only scratched the surface of the problem. If we don't pay more attention to it then we will have an unbearable quality of life.
7. What do you think of using science in food production?
A I know many people think it's bad because it's not natural but I think it's probably quite necessary because our population is growing fast. If we just depend on regular crops we're going to have a difficult time feeding everyone. We need to use such technology to take care of our needs or otherwise we will be consuming an unfair percentage of the world's resources, while the underdeveloped countries are left to starve.
B While some argue that it's necessary, I think it's dangerous. We need natural crops to regenerate the soil and when we start playing around with nature we may run into trouble. I think we are getting to a state where we will be dependent totally on our unnatural food processes, and when we have no ability to even use artificial ways to produce food then we will face starvation.
8. What do you think of advertising in sports and entertainment events?
Well there are two sides to this issue. On the one hand people say that to have sports you must allow them to find ways to make money. After all, we can't have every athlete only sponsored by the government. On the other hand, when we let advertisements into sports we are allowing big companies to control events.
9. What do you think of violence on TV and in films?
A The number of violent TV programs is rising, even here in China. But I think it's quite natural to watch shows with a bit of violence because it makes it more exciting. Usually the violence in Chinese movies involves Gong Fu, except when they come from Hong Kong or Taiwan. Our violence is more just hand to hand fighting. I mean, look at all the societies with no violence on TV and they are just as violent. I don't think there is much of a relationship between violence on TV and violence in society.
B I'm very concerned about the violence on TV. It's pretty bad now and I think it affects the
way people think. Children get more aggressive and they use these characters as models. I think the worst thing it teaches people is that justice can only come by force. In that case, how can we ever trust the processes of negotiation and diplomacy?
10. What do you think of the problem of piracy?
A I think it's a serious issue that we'd better start addressing because a lot of companies are hurt by it and it affects our foreign investment. I still see a lot of it going on in the streets and sometimes they can get quite pushy. I mean if! were involved in the clothing industry or music or film industry I wouldn't want to sell my things in a place where the danger of having my stuff copied is too high. So we'd better tackle this problem before we get countries complaining about us to the WTO.
B I think the issue is not very important and has been over-exaggerated. A lot of companies are trying to sell their products at too high a price here in China and that only invites people to copy it. For example, a video in America is worth about 12 US dollars. That's about a hundred RMB in China. Why should we pay that much for a video? Also the authorities are doing a good job trying to stop it from occurring, but since it's really just a petty crime, why should we pay as much attention to it as more serious crimes?
Opinions on various institutions and policies
11. What do you think of the media in your home country?
A I think it does a good job of giving us the up to date news and providing us with entertainment. It's certainly improved over the years and its getting more and more sophisticated. For example, there are now a greater range of programs like talk shows, documentaries, comedies and even movies on them. There are even now a lot of investigative journalism programs that expose the wrongdoings of companies or developers. I think the best improvements have come in the television area. Newspapers are probably pretty similar to how they've been operating for some time but they are also now offering a better range of services.
B I think the media needs more improvements. It needs to have more services and start getting more specialized because I know many people are bored with what they currently offer. Also, people would like 1:0 see more in-depth coverage of issues and more feedback from a wide section of society. Also, I know many people who think there should be more coverage of events that occur outside of China in the newspapers. Also, I think there should be more channels. For example, I've heard that in some cities in North America there are over a hundred channels with many specialized channels. I think we should have that kind of situation.
12. What do you think of the transportation system in your hometown?
A I think the transportation system in my hometown is quite good. Compared to many other cities, the bus system is quite cheap and clean and because there are enough lines they are usually not too crowded. The roads are well designed and they are wide enough for people to pass through without any major jams. Another thing I think is good are the bicycle lanes, which are just wide enough for people to get through. I think the main reason our transportation system is so good is because we have good city management. They seem to know exactly what we need and want.
B I think the transportation in my hometown is terrible. The buses are just too old and need to be upgraded. For example, it's not that unusual to see a lot of buses broken down on the roads. As for the road system, it's obvious that the roads are not well planned. They make the roads wide enough but don't give enough room to let cars exit the main roads. The side lanes are always congested and sometimes you can get stuck in a traffic jam for over 40 minutes.
13. What do you think of the education system in your hometown?
A In my opinion, it does a wonderful job. I say this because it produces some very successful people. You know there are lots of people who have become successful in business, government and the sciences. Also, when I compare the quality of my English to people who took English courses in other places, I find my level is not too bad. I think the best thing about the education in my hometown is that the teachers are all very honest and they really emphasize a lot of personal development rather than just trying to get us to pass tests.
B In China, going to university can help me get a good job. But, many courses are too old and not very useful. The professors often have just recently graduated or are very new in their field, or they are older and not very up to date with new developments. Also, we have to take all sorts of courses that are not directly related to our field. This, I feel, is a complete waste of time. We could be learning much more in our own field, instead of spending time learning courses that have no use for our future.
14. What do you think of key schools in China?
A I think it's a good system because it helps the brighter students receive the educational challenges they need. When the students are streamed by ability level, it allows the schools to pick up the pace of instruction and the bright students never feel bored in school.
B I think it's an old system that needs changing. Not every intelligent student is accepted to a key school, even if they are academically able. Also, intelligent students shouldn't be segregated. They need to learn to deal with all kinds of other students. Segregating bright students doesn't provide them with the skills they need to communicate and interact with others, which is what they'll need to do once they start working.
15. What do you think of fast food restaurants in your country?
A As far as I'm concerned, the fast food restaurants are doing our country a favour because they help us learn the service techniques that are very successful. I mean take McDonalds for example. They _e such a huge success and their success has a reason. I mean, it's fast and efficient and clean. Also, the marketing techniques of these kinds of restaurants are quite sophisticated. I think we can learn form these restaurants even if we don't like fast food. If we were to stop them from being in our country, we might miss out learning from some of the most successful corporations in the history of the world.
B Personally I can't stand them and think there are now too many in our country. I mean take Beijing now. There are currently over a hundred of them and I think we don't need that many. The food is not very nutritious and to be frank it's expensive as well.