A role of China in the global world
Aira Bekerytė, Lithuania
The USA has this dream, the so called „American dream“. The idea of it is that you can become from an absoliute reprobate to something spectacular. Well, as far as know, the current status of China could be called „fulfilling the American dream“. Take a closer look : once an outsider, now this country has become one of the fastest growing and most economically essential countries in the world.
I wouldn‘t call myself an expert on the Chinese history, but as far as my knowledge gets i do know for sure, that China, since the beggining has been the most economically prosperous country. I do not concern the first mythical dynasty Xia, I am talking more about the fact that this Eastern beauty has the biggest supplies of cheap labour.
What would the world be like without the low-cost things from China? I might be wrong, but i think that our houses would be pretty empty, our kids wouldn‘t have toys to play with and the appliances would be a lot more expencive. Is it just me, or is China really makes the most contribution to making our lives as comfortable as possible to a minimum possible price. We are a consumer society with the addiction of buying things that are dispensable. If not for China we wouldn‘t be able to so greedy, but don‘t get me wrong, i am not blaiming China for anything, i am only saying that it makes hard to resist the tempation to buy things we can afford, despite wether we need them or no. Our wellbeing depends on China.
Anyone who’s long followed the Middle East knows that the six most dangerous words after any cataclysmic event in this region are: “Things will never be the same.” After all, this region absorbed the fall of the Berlin Wall and the rise of Google without a ripple. But traveling through the Middle East you will see the forces that were upholding the status quo here for so long — oil, autocracy, and a fear of the chaos that could come with change — have finally met an engine of change that is even more powerful: China, Twitter and 20-year-olds. Years ago we have been looking at China with a sort of pitty and regrter, that their people don‘t have the rights that we do, that their government puts so many restrictions that even „Google“ couldn‘t take it anymore and left. Yet, seeing how fast the economy of China is growing the Western liberal countries have suddenly forgot that once it was a country judged and condemned for its lack of freedoms and rights. It might seem a bit hypocritical, but it isn’t a shock that morals are put aside when the issue concerns economy. Our countries start thinking “ we can’t tolerate the unnecessary evil, but China is the one evil that’s essential”. If human rights is our main goal aside from the prosperity of economy, we are going towards the right direction. We let China to be the host country of the Olympics - probably the biggest ant the most important sports competition there is. And it was a hospitable baas. If you are concerned about the degradation of the morals of the Wetern liberal countries - don’t be, just think about it in this way: keep your friends close, and your enemies even closer. In order to have influence on a country asking to change something inside, first you have to have strong economic relationship with it.
All doors to prosper were once shut to China, but together with the increasing rates of economy the window for technological growth opened up. Not many of us know that in 2003 China's first astronaut Yang Liwei was conferred the title of "Space Hero", celebrating the country's first manned space flight. China became only the third nation after the United States and Russia to independently put a man in space. In 2008 an operation was broadcasted live on national TV, when fighter pilot Zhai Zhigang emerged from the capsule orbiting the Earth to wave a Chinese flag. Mr Zhai, 42, stayed outside the capsule for 15 minutes while his two fellow astronauts stayed in the spacecraft. Neil Armstrong has said: “That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” The exercise is seen as key to China's ambition to build an orbiting station in the next few years.
Appearently, when Barack Obama said :“ yes, we can“ he ment not only the USA, but also China. Some people still think that China is the country where you are allowed to have only one child by law and where you could be prosecuted for your sexuality. But this Eastern beauty is growing in front of our eyes and we can no longer deny it: China is to become one of the most powerful countries worldwide. This country is on a highway to heaven, as it has all the tools to surpass even the USA. It is said, that life is a stage and we‘re all actors, well than in my opinion China is one of the main actress .
How to fight against climate change?
Klaipėdos ,,Ąžuolyno” gimnazijos mokinė Rasa Kuisyt
I remember one magnificent spring morning. When I woke up from the brightness of the dawning sky, everything seemed overwhelmingly beautiful. The never ending churping of birds, which reminded me of a dewy morning in the woods, the simplistically blue sky with puffy little white clouds floating around and tree tops so effulgently glowing from the morning dew have never seemed as mind liberating as it did that morning. Suddenly, I found myself back in bed, struggling to open my eyes. The perception of this immaculate morning being just a dream quickly crossed my mind. This time, when I finally stood up firmly on the ground, I faced reality in it's 'finest'. Instead of hearing cheerful birds twittering, I heard massive amounts of cars honking their horns with agression. Instead of seeing blue skies through my window, I saw a grey layer of smog above the city. Instead of seeing tree tops flickering in the sun, I saw only cheeply built buildings surrounding my home like a giant fence made of barbed wire. The only cause of my dream never becoming reality are humans, yet the only creatures which can clean up the mess they made is also none other than the human race.
No matter how many charities, conservation groups and natural reservations are created in order to open the eyes of skeptics, they still seem to see this crisis as an unrealistic joke. Well, there's an old saying that is perfect for this situation: 'It's all fun and games till someone gets hurt'. Unfortunately, most skeptics believe that there haven't been any victims in this war against climate change, yet that is completely not the case. The World Health Organization estimates that 150,000 lives are already being lost each year due to the catastrophes caused by significant climate change. 3 species of animals go extinct every hour, because they cannot keep up with released toxins in their natural habitats and weather abnormalities also caused by none other than climate change. Once the sugar coating is gone and we are exposed to simple yet excruciatingly cold facts and numbers, which represent so many dead people and animals, it doesn't seem like such a joke anymore, does it?
If raising awareness is the key point to fighting this war, then it only seems logical for awareness to be raised in traditional as well as experimental ways. Since laws are the new morals of today’s people, world leaders should take immediate actions by preventing or at least limiting and charging the release of toxic waste into the air, water, etc. All funds should be dedicated to studies that would find new ways of preserving our Earth. Hopefully, this would be the start of a global recovery system which would lead to participation of each and every country in the world in order to be respected and financially supported by one another. By following simple laws which would be completely beneficial and eye-opening, we could stop the main source of environmental damage.
Ignorant people call climate change a worthless propaganda, which is spread like wild fire in order to collect money from hard working people and devote it all to pointless causes that don't really succeed in anything. Yet, is it better to spend that money on another TV for your living room, more new and expensive clothes and a car that has the same affect on the environment as cancer has on a human body? If donations were taken seriously and not only as a trend of some sort, they would be accepted as a vital action in order to live a fulfilling life.
Even if you don't see the point in giving your money to a stranger so he could build an environmentally friendly factory which would recycle your own trash, you can always invest in yourself, yet in a eco-friendlier way. Firstly, if buying a car is a necessity, get one with a hybrid engine! A well known Japanese company 'Toyota' created revolutionary hybrid cars which run partially on electricity. The sales of these cars went through the roof as soon as they were brought to the United States and now most of the eco-friendly drivers couldn't even imagine their cars being gasoline gobbling monsters that they were a few years back. It only shows that people will undoubtedly get out of their comfort zones, as long as they're presented with reasonable and environmentally beneficial products and services. Also, from an economical point of view, these cars would save you thousands of dollars each yeah, so being 'green' actually pays off better than polluting the environment unconsciously and promoting climate change.
In conclusion, ignorance is the key point of why people don’t look for ways of helping to preserve Earth and if human beings of the right amount of importance step up to do the things they are obliged to do by the law as well as common human decency, climate change will only be left in the past as a tough period through which people got over and will never have to face again.
