China's Economic Growth (Yue San)

China's socialist market economy is the world's second largest economy by nominal GDP, and the world's largest economy according to purchasing parity according to the IMF; the accuracy of the IMF's report on China's purchasing power parity has since been questioned. It is the world's fastest growing major economy, with growth rates averaging 10% over the past 30 years but has been overtaken by India recently due to slowdown in its export driven economy. Due to historical and political facts of China's developing economy, China's public sector accounts for more share in the national economy with the burgeoning private sector. 

China is a global hub for manufacturing, and is the largest manufacturing economy in the world as well as the largest exporter of goods in the world. China is also the world's fastest growing consumer market and second largest importer of goods. Services Account Balance from 2007 -2011 of China's economy has always been in slight deficit, and China is a net importer of Services products. 

Golden Age of Singapore (Yue San)

Before Lee Kuan Yew rose to prominence in Singapore, Singapore was a peaceful fishing village, which slowly became famous by the efforts of Sir Stamford Raffles and the unique geographical location of Singapore. However, before LKY became a popular political figure, Singapore had not reached the Golden Age of the country, just like China which reached the Golden Age during the Tang dynasty.

During the 1950s, LKY rose to prominence as he fought for Asians having some rights in the say towards leading Singapore that was then controlled by the British. He succeeded, and Singaporeans then finally had a measure of control towards how the country was going to be run. However, LKY was not satisfied. He was bent on total independence from the British, even though the British officials cast aspersions on their ability to rule. The British refused his request over and over again, but he persisted until the British gave a compromise- They would free Malaysia from British rule too, and Singapore was to merge with Malaysia for the safety of Singapore.

LKY supported the decision fully, but it was not meant to be. In 9th August 1964, Singapore broke its merger with Malaysia as the countries disagreed with the policies, their morals, etc. which eventually brought about riots between Singapore and Malaysia. LKY was determined to bring Singapore from an uncertain future to great prominence, and implemented many policies, like the building of MRTs, HDBs, and many more which would enhance the quality of life in Singapore greatly.

Currently, Singapore is one of the richest countries, with one of the busiest ports, and we owe it all to Mr. Lee Kuan Yew. Without him, Singapore would not be led towards the Golden Age it currently is in. Thank you, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew, for everyhing you have done and sacrificed for Singapore.

Chinese Fashion (Yue San)

From walkway to street fashion, China's fashion sense has grown and changed dramatically in the last decade.  From post Mao era to current day China, there has been many influences on Chinese fashion.

Chinese adolescents want to be more individualized, stand out, and have their own fashion sense rather than blend in with the crowd.  This has given rise to two of many types of Chinese street fashion today. They are called the "Xiao Qinxin" style and "Zhong Kouwei" style.  "Xiao Qinxin" stands for "little freshness" and was used to describe a kind of indie pop music genre. Now it is used to describe fashion, movies, photography and objects.  This type of fashion features light colors, canvas shoes, along with cotton and linen material, and images with vintage effects.  "Xiao Qinxin" style represents a fresh and angelic type of fashion in comparison to "Zhong Kouwei." Zhong Kouwei stands for "heavy flavor" and was first used to describe food with heavy flavors such as salt, garlic, pepper, curry etc.  This developed into the fashion now described in books, manga, and movies.  "Zhong Kouwei" also represents anything that stimulates the senses occasionally with violence, sexuality, or blood. This type of fashion features dark bold colors, rivets, metal, black and white and angry poses. It also can be used to describe fashion that ties along with the themes of dramatic, sexy, and evil. 

Group Work Articles

Festivals in China (WeiNing)

Chinese Dragon Boat Festival (端午节):
dragon boat festival, also known as Duanwu festival (端午节), is a traditional and statutory holiday in China. The main customs of the celebration include eating rice dumplings and dragon boat racing.

Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节):
The 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese calender is the traditional Mid-Autumn Festival in China, also known as Mooncake Festival, Chinese people will have a three-day holiday. Every year, when the festival comes people go home from every corner of the country and the world to meet their family and have dinner with them, admire the full moon and eat mooncakes.

Hungry Ghost Festival:
People are worshipping ancestors. Like people all over the world, the Chinese have special customs regarding dead people and their ghosts that are thousands of years old.

The Double Ninth Festival:
Enjoying chrysanthemum is a kind of custom in the Double Ninth Festival. The Double Ninth Festival, also known as Chongyang Festival, is held on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month.

The Double Seventh Festival:
The qixi Festival, also known as the Double Seventh Festival or Chinese Valentine's Day. It falls on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month. It is also named the Qiqiao Festival, Young Women's Day.

Qing Ming Festival:
Qingming Festival, also called the Tomb Sweeping Day or Pure Brightness in English, usually falls around April 4 or 5, the beginning of one of the 24 solar terms on the traditional Chinese calendar.

Chinese Lantern Festival:
The Lantern Festival is celebrated on the 15th day of the first Chinese lunar month, and traditonally enda the Chinese New Year period. In 2015 it falls on March. There is no public holiday for this festival.

Winter Solstice:
In Winter Solstice, eating dumplings is a kind of custom in the north part of China. In the Gregorian calendar, the Winter Solstice usually falls around December 21 and more often refers in particular to the day when the sun is exactly at the celestial longtitude of 270°. It marks the longest night and the shortest day in the northern hemisphere. In China, the Winter Solstice was originally celebrated as an end of harvest festival. Today, it is observed witha  family reunion over the long night, and pink and white tangyuan are eaten in sweet broth to symbolize family unity and prosperity.

The 24 Solar Terms:
The 24 solar terms, based on the sun's position in the zodiac, were created by farners in ancient China to guide the agricultural affairs and farming affairs. The 24 solar terms reflect the changes in climate, natural phenomna, agricultural production, and other aspects of human life, including clothing, food, housing, and transportation. The 24 solar terms play important roles and have greatly influenced people's basic needs in life, and they still have an important function nowadays. 

Folks of Hefei (Yinn Yi)

The most popular religions are the Chinese ethnic religion, Chinese Buddhism and Taoism. Zhenfeng Pagoda is in Anqing, Dabeilou Temple and Huacheng Temple are on Mount Jiuhua, a sacred mountain of Buddhism. Hefei has the Temple of Lord Bao. There are Muslim minorities and one of the largest Christian populations of East Asia.

Buddhism

Buddhism spread from India to China some 2,000 years ago. Chinese Buddhism may be classified according to languages into three communities: Mandarin, Tibetan and Bali. Most of the Mandarin Buddhist believers are Han Chinese while Tibetan Buddhist (generally called Lamaist) believers are people of the Tibetan, Mongolian, Yugur, Lhoba, Moinba and Tujia nationalities, and Bali Buddhist believers are people of the Dai and Bulang ethnic groups that mainly live in Yunnan Province. The Buddhist communities are the largest religious communities in China. However, since quite a few of Han believers are not always steadfast followers of Buddhism, it is hard to count their exact numbers.

Taoism 

Taoism is native and has a history of more than 1,700 years. Its founder was Lao tzu and its doctrines are based on his writings, the tao teaching. Taoism, a polytheistic religion, is still quite influential in rural areas inhabited by Han Chinese. 

Islam 

Islam spread from the Arab Countries to China more than 1,300 years ago. It now has more than 14 million believers among the Hui, Yugur, Kazak, Ozbek, Tajik, Tatar, Kirgiz, Dongxiang Sala and Banan ethnic groups. The Islamic followers mainly live in Provinces of Xinjiang, Ningxia, Ganxu and Qinghai in northwest China. There are also Islamic communities scattered in almost every city. The Muslims do not not eat pork, dogs, horses, donkeys or mules. Read more on: History of Islam in China, Mosques in China, Halal food in China and Islamic holidays.

Christianity

Catholicism and other forms of Christianity began to make their way into China very early. In 635, a missionary of the Nestorian sect came to China from Persia, the then called JING. The religion withered long before gaining a strong foothold in China. It was after the Sino-British Opium War in 1840 that the Christian developed rapidly in China. After the founding of New China, Chinese Catholic and Christian communities took the path of independence and self administration. Now there are more than 3.3 million catholic and nearly 5 million protestants in the country. 

Effect of married women's beliefs about gender equity on their use of prenatal and delivery care in rural China.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of married women's beliefs regarding gender equity on their use of prenatal and delivery care in China's rural Xinjiang and Anhui provinces.

METHODS: In this survey, 1029 women aged from 15 to 69 years, living in rural Xinjiang and Anhui provinces, and married, answered a questionnaire designed to collect information on their demographic characteristics, reproductive history (number of pregnancies, level of prenatal care, and mode and place of delivery), and beliefs regarding gender equity. We quantified "belief in gender equity" based on responses to 7 specific statements and graded the responses according to a system scoring the strength of the overall belief (a total score ≥19, strong; 15-18, moderate; and ≤14, weak).

RESULTS: Only 34.3% of the women demonstrated strong convictions about gender equity. Even after adjusting for education and ethnicity, the percentage of women who received consistent prenatal care and were delivered at a maternity facility was highest among those scoring 19 or higher, and the reverse was true for women scoring 14 or less.

CONCLUSION: Overall, women in China's rural Xinjiang and Anhui provinces do not hold strong convictions about gender equity. There was a positive correlation between belief in gender equity and use of prenatal and delivery care.

Is Merlion the most suitable icon of Singapore? (WeiNing)

No, I do not think  that the Melion is the most suitable icon of a singapore. It is true that the Merlion was founded due to the fact that Sang Nila Utamaro first saw a lion when he stepped foot in Singapore and since Singaproe was still a fishing village then, Merlion was then introduced as the icon of Singapore.

However,, in my perspective, I do not think that the Merlion is the most suitable icon of a Singapore. The most suitable icon should be referred as one thing which makes everyone in the world know who we are. But the thing is, most foreigners in other countries do not recognise Singapore by the Merlion, they recognise us by our unique language of Singlish. People know we are Singaporeans, just by hearing how we communicate with others.

The Merlion is a perfect despiction of our past, however, not our present and future. The Merlion situated in Singapore is just a famous tourist attraction which is visited by many people. However, that just makes the Merlion the 'most famous tourist attraction in Singapore', but not the best icon for us.

Thus, I do not think that the Merlion is the most suitable icon of Singapore as it only is a famous tourist attraction, a landmark for tourists to visit.

Merlion best icon for Singapore? (Keefe)

Merlion consists of " mer " which means sea and " lion " . It's fish body represents Singapore as a fishing village back then and the lion head represents what Singapore was originally called " Singapura " meaning lion city. The merlion is a suitable representative icon of Singapore because it strictly represents Singapore for what it was and is right now, a fishing village and a lion city.

 The merlion has its own roots in our Singapore history as well, there is a famous take on how the " lion " of merlion came about. It was a story about how a prince from Palembang, Sang Nila Utama, encountered a lion on the shores of Singapore. He then named Singapore, Singapura ( " lion city " in Sanskrit ) 

Although many might say that the merlion is not something unique to Singapore so therefore it should not take the status of a national icon. But in my own point of view, a national icon does not have to be unique to the world, it just has to be unique to its country where it can be recognized as a national icon. 

What is the use of a national icon? National icons are used to invoke patriotism, unity by portraying the Nation's goals and history. The merlion is perfect in a sense that it does what it is supposed to do. It invokes patriotism and unity by portraying one of Singapore's goals which is to be adaptable to the World's ever changing economics because the merlion adapts to both land and water, and it reminds Singaporeans of their history as a fishing village which is now a city roaring with success.

Is the Merlion the best icon for Singapore? (Yue San)

No, I do not think that the Merlion is the best icon for Singapore. Firstly, the purpose should be that the Merlion is strictly representative of Singapore, which it is not. The Merlion icon is used in other countries too, so it does not just represent Singapore, but also other countries too. Most people think that the Merlion is a unique part of Singapore, but they are wrong. More unique parts of Singapore could possibly be Singlish, which is clearly uniquely Singaporean just by listening to the name. The Merlion, while it is a famous tourist attraction, is not necessarily a good represent ion of Singapore. While some may assume that the Merlion is the best known tourist attraction, and will come to the front of their minds when they think about Singapore, others may think about Singapore food, the Singapore Flyer or the like. We should not take such things for granted, as other people may assume differently.

If people do not think carefully about using the Merlion as a icon of Singapore, they could use it and cause quite a bit of controversy over the true importance of the Merlion to Singapore. Objectively, the Merlion is just representative of Singapore's history, not what Singapore is right now, so it is not a current and accurate representation of Singapore. Therefore, I do not think that the Merlion is the best I on for Singapore.

Merlion as best singapore icon (Yinn Yi)

The choice of the Merlion as a symbol for Singapore has its roots in history. The Merlion commemorates the ancient name and the legend taken from the "Malay Annals" (literary and historical work from the 15th or 16th century) explaining how Singapore received its present name.

In ancient times, Singapore was known as Temasek, which is Javanese for the sea. It was then as it is today, a centre of trade.

At the end of the 4th century A.D., Temasek was destroyed by the Siamese, according to some historians, but by the Javanese, according to others. As recorded in the legend in the "Malay Annals," Prince Nila Utama of the Sri Vijaya empire rediscovered the island later in the 11th century A.D. On seeing a strange beast (which he later learnt was a lion) upon his landing he named the island Singapura which is a Sanskrit word for Lion (Singa) City (Pura).

The Merlion, with its fish-like body riding the waves of the sea, is symbolic of the ancient city of Temasek. At the same time, its majestic head recalls the legend of the discovery of the Singapore by Prince Nila Utama in the 11th century, when Singapore received its present name.

the merlion is important as it is singapore's national icon, also the tourism board's emblem.

I feel that the merlion can be replaced by samsui women. The term Samsui women broadly refers to a group of Chinese immigrants who came to Singapore between the 1920s and the 1940s in search of construction and industrial jobs. Their hard work contributed to Singapore's development, both as a colony and as a nation. About 200,000 Samsui women were believed to have come to Singapore from China between 1934 and 1938, and this continued until 1949 when emigration from China was declared illegal here. Coming to Singapore as cheap labourers, Samsui women worked mainly in the construction industry and other industries that required hard labour. They also worked asdomestic servants. They had a reputation of rejecting jobs involving drug (particularly opium) peddling, prostitution, or other vices, even if that meant they sometimes had to live in poverty. They made a lot of contribution to Singapore's early development mostly by building houses and some of them worked at hawker centres mending the stalls there too.



They have helped to build singapore’s foundation bit by bit, one at a time, with their bare hands. They have built singapore’s infrastructure and helped to build Singapore at the same time. their hardwork and deteermintaion in building buildings despite the hot sun and receiving low pay makes me look up to them. They work hard despite pay being low and the sun beating down on their backs. I think that this would be a good icon as it accurately shows how singapore’s bases are being built up and how we improved in technology.

Singapore's Golden Age (Yinn Yi)

Based on what we learnt on the Golden Age the previous lesson, i realised that Singapore has somewhat gone through a "golden age" from 1965 to 2015. We may not be what we are today, if it wasn't for Lee Kuan Yew's contributions and effort. Lee Kuan Yew passed away on 23 March 2015, 3.18am peacefully, at the age of 91.


In the 1950-1980s, Singapore was a small fishing village, with no resources, nothing. moreover, we have just separated from Malaysia, leaving us with no one to lean on.

Lee Kuan Yew helped us to solve different problems. He encouraged Singaporeans to take up Chinese, and English as well. it greatly helped us, as English allowed us to communicate with the Eurasians and Chinese with the Chinese in china. Now, students like us use English as our main subject, while most of us have Chinese as a second language.

He initiated the Housing Development Board, or more commonly known as HDB. He gave every Singaporean a home, where we would feel safe. his actions also helped to clear poverty, and at the same time ensuring that Singapore was a clean place.

Singapore river was also cleared during this period, and the stench that was once smelt everywhere was taken care of, and a clean river has overtook its place. Singapore soon prospered and more ports were built, technology was advanced to take care of the minimal resources we had.

We have prospered from a small fishing village, to a metropolis. from a third world country to a first. from a dirty slum, to a garden city, in the past 50 years.

this year marks the 50th year since Singapore gained Independence. The golden age in the Tang dynasty lasted from AD 618-907, a total of 289 years. But i believe that Singapore has achieved much more in these past 50 years as compared to the golden age as the tang dynasty, and we will continue to advance and achieve much more in the future.

Golden Age of Singapore (WeiNing)

If behind every successful man stands a woman, behind every successful man ha a great leader. Mr Lee Kuan Yew is the great leader of our small yet successful nation, Singapore. Without Mr Lee, there wouldn't be the Singapore we all are proud of now. 

Mr Lee is the founding father of our tiny nation, he led Singapore through all the obstacles she has to go through to where she is today. Everyone is deeply saddened by the news of Mr Lee Kuan Yew's passing on Monday, 23 March 2015. He has passed away peacefully in Singapore General Hospital at the age of 91. 

Throughout the one week of mourning for Mr Lee, every Singaporean and even foreigners were saddened, many people queued up at the parliament house to pay our last respects for this great man.
Everyone who queued knew that the wait would only end in 2-12 hours, depending on the day and time of those who queued. However, many still came forward to pay their last respects. He was a man, worthy of 12 hours of wait. He was a man, worthy of an off day at work. He was a man, worthy of every other leader in the world's time to come down personally to pay their respects to him. He was a noble leader.

Mr Lee spent the time of his entire life, to build on Singapore. We were just a red dot on the big map of the world with no natural resources, but, under his leadership, we rose into a first-world nation from a small fishing village in less than 40 years. From the time he stepped up as the Prime Minister to lead Singapore in 1959, he never gave up. There were times when we met with many difficulties, like the separation from Malaysia in 1963, but even after we were separated from Malaysia, as our very own Singapore, he did not give up. With all he can, he led Singapore into the world. He was determined in building Singapore into a clean and green city. Mr Lee initiated the cleaning campaign to clean up the Singapore River, which was a dirty sewage at that time. Mr Lee also wanted to encourage the idea of a green city and to bond Singaporeans, he personally planted a tree, and did this without fail every year even after he retired as the Senior Prime Minister until recent years when his health was deteriorating. 

Mr Lee was the future of Singapore, he was a man with great foresight. He was worried that Singapore would not succeed without a strong military force, thus he set down a rule where all boys, Singaporeans and Permanent Residents 18 of age were to enlist as a military soldier in the army. Also, Mr Lee also worked on the efficiency of transport in Singapore, the MRT system and bus services.With HDB flats all over Singapore , poverty is greatly reduced with everyone having a cosy house to live in , and different ways to increase water supply ensured enough clean drinking water for everyone.Other than working hard domestically, Mr Lee also ventured out into the world and improved relations of Singapore with other countries. This could not have been achieved without MR Lee.

Without the hard work of Mr Lee throughout the years, Singapore would not have been able to achieve what she is today. "The Golden Age of Singapore" is now. This golden age was built up and created by Mr Lee, without him, there wouldn't be a first-world Singapore, The education system here in Singapore i one of the best in the world, because Mr Lee stresses that every child in Singapore has the rights to be educated. Singapore is at her peak now that we are approaching our 50th year, there would not be a "golden age" for us without him. He is the founding father of our nation. 

However, we all know that without the hard work of the future generations to come, Singapore would not rise anymore. We have to keep the legacy of Mr Lee living even though he has left us. As the future generations of Singapore, we need to take the responsibility into our own hands and push the limits of the developments of Singapore. The only way to not disappoint Mr Lee is to live up to Singapore's reputation and live the legacy he created. 

"What have I gotten at the end of the day?
A Successful Singapore. 
What have I given up?
My Life"

-Mr Lee Kuan Yew

Lee Kuan Yew (Keefe)

A golden age can be simplified to simpler terms where it can be understood as a period of time where a certain independent country reaches its peak of economy and has a great development. Behind every successful country there is a great leader, where for Singapore, the leader would be, Mr Lee Kuan Yew.

Singapore can be its own version of a golden age as well, when Singapore was separated, it was nothing but a small fishing village. But in a short matter of years, Singapore being a third world country in the past, jumped the second world country status and achieved the first world status, arguably under the leadership of Mr Lee Kuan Yew.

Even though many countries stated that they would surpass Singapore in terms of their national funds, or economy. For example Malaysia said that they would surpass Singapore by 2020, yet they are at a negative number of -400+billion, where Singapore has a positive number of a few hundred billion. Most likely, Malaysia would not be able to surpass Singapore in a matter of 5 short years, and this just shows how much Singapore has developed under arguably Mr Lee Kuan Yew's leadership.