Vocabulary

 

 
 
 
 
 

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Transcript

 

The Chinese call it a “tofu dregs project” or “buildings made out of tofu”. It means a badly constructed building or shoddy workmanship — and there are examples of it all over social media.

Tofu dregs projects could also be a symbol of China today; it might look impressive on the outside but underneath it’s falling apart.

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Experts told us that this would be the Chinese Century — however Xi Jinping’s China dream is dying, thanks to a series of setbacks on almost every front.

2023 was a bad year for the Chinese government in just about every way . . . and 2024 does not promise to be much better.

Last year was China’s worst economically since 1976: a study that the government tried to suppress found that almost 1 billion Chinese may be living in poverty.

Josh Birenbaum, Foundation for Defense of Democracies: “There are a lot of things that are going wrong that are fixable. But fundamentally, there are more things going wrong that aren’t fixable.”

Josh Birenbaum at the Foundation for Defense of Democracy says international businesses and capital are continuing to flee China because staying has become too risky.

Josh Birenbaum, Foundation for Defense of Democracies: “Companies are increasingly seeing the writing on the wall in China. The environment is no longer conducive to open business — going from a hundred billion in foreign direct investment to negative 11 billion over the last seven quarters is is just remarkable.”

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Youth unemployment is so high the government has stopped reporting it. Increasing numbers of youth have given up on the future and are lying flat —which means to be unemployed and unmarried — basically dropping out.

China expert Gordon Chang.

Gordon Chang, China Expert: “China is right now in a state of turmoil: there’s a sense of gloom which has pervaded Chinese society. People are saying this society no longer is what I want to live in.”

China’s demographics are in free-fall: last year for the first time since the 1960s, more Chinese died than were born. By 2040 China is expected to have more elderly than the entire US population: 400 million.

Gordon Chang, China Expert: “You’re having a revolution among young women who are turning their backs on society.

And so they’re saying, ‘Look, I’m not getting married. I’m not having kids. I’m just opting out.”

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China’s stock markets lost more than $6 trillion in value in 3 years. China his construction and real estate sector is continuing to crater.

On the foreign policy front China’s attempt to intimidate Taiwan before the recent presidential election backfired. Beijing had ramped up incursions into Taiwan’s airspace — and even launched a missile with a satellite toward Taiwan right before election day.

The Taiwanese people responded by electing a new president firmly opposed to reunification with the mainland.

Gordon Chang, China Expert: “And this means that Taiwan is moving away from China.”

Purges in the party leadership in the military suggest Xi fears opposition.

Chang believes she’s only way out is to win a big war. Birenbaum says without a massive political pivot China, faces a grim future.

Josh Birenbaum, Foundation for Defense of Democracies: “I would think that in the short term in the next uh two to four years, they will muddle and after that they will implode.”

Kind of like pieces of Chinese building materials. Dale Herd, CBN News.

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Questions

Politics, Government. This report was about traditional Chinese cuisine. True or false?

Economics. Is the quality of modern Chinese craftsmanship, workmanship and engineering he same as in ancient and medieval times?

Sociology. Have scholars, academics, writers, philosophers all said that the Twenty-First Century would be the American and Western Century?

Psychology. The only crisis China faces is the real estate market. Is this right or wrong?

History. Do international corporations and investors see China as a vast market with unlimited potential for business and profit? Has this view changed over the years?

Philosophy. The Chinese, especially young people, are full of hope, eagerness and optimism. Is this correct or incorrect? Will China’s population eventually reach two billion, from its current 1.4 billion?

Literature. Have China and Taiwan been moving toward peace bilateral cooperation? Is this just a slow business cycle for China?
 
 
 
Trade, Tariffs, Quotas. Describe China’s image for the past 40 years. What have you been hearing about China for the past five, ten, twenty, thirty or forty years?

Athletics, Sports, Olympics. Napoleon said that China was a sleeping dragon or sleeping giant. Elaborate on this.

Diplomacy. What sort of economic, cultural and political ties (relationship) has your nation had with China?

Media, Journalism. What are the causes of China’s woes (crises, problems, troubles)?

Military, Army. What might happen in the future?

Law Enforcement, Judiciary, Justice System. What could or should China and the rest of the world do?