Learning Chinese for Kids Blog
10% Off - Join our E-Mail List!
Subscribe so you get a weekly, fun to read Learning Chinese E-Mail newsletter including sales, tips, events, and new product announcements. Unsubscribe at any time safely! A 10% off one time coupon ($25 minimum purchase) will be sent to you with your E-Mail subscription.




Monday, October 29, 2012

Wen’s Wealth - $3 Billion?

$3 Billlion!  Wen’s Wealth Weakens, Worries Party Core - Via Media
  
In comparison, the net wealth of:

Labels: , ,

Friday, October 26, 2012

Learning Chinese since age 5

Good article - if I understand correctly, he is saying China is a civilization state, verses the traditional Nation State that hs emerged in Europe.

A Point Of View: Making sense of China - BBC

China's growing importance on the world stage means that the West needs to start speaking its language, says economist Martin Jacques.

Labels: ,

Slow Parenting

The amount of Asian's at UC's and the Ivy League make me question this idea.

Why pushy parents fail to make the grade in education - The Telegraph

Tiger Mums hold children back, says the Eton master behind a 'slow’ approach to learning

Labels:

Number of Chinese Students in US Dramatically Expands

Per a friend of a friend with a daughter at UCLA, there is a huge amount of Chinese at UCLA. Every room of her friends has a Chinese student, with each room having 3 students in it. UCLA and UC Berkeley are giving a priority to out of state and foreign students, since they pay more.

Number of Chinese Students in US Dramatically Expands - Voice Of America

It's hard to figure out the percentage of Chinese at UCLA, but this gives a clue:

2010 UCLA total was 24% out of state and international.  A previous blog post - http://blog.childbook.com/2011/04/ucla-and-uc-berkeley-admissions-by.html

And this article just came out:
“Independent Study” Shows UCLA is Cheating on Admissions - Ricochet.com

Labels:

California Colleges' Funding Hangs on a Ballot Measure

Tuition has doubled in the past few years. I view lack of support by the CA Government for colleges as extremely short sighted. My guess is the ballot measure will fail. I am afraid this may make my daughter's time in college longer, as may not be able to get the classses she needs.

California Colleges' Funding Hangs on a Ballot Measure - The Wall Street Journal

Labels:

China Retailer CRE Adopts Rivals' Western Ways


As one of my marketing teachers said, all marketing is local.

China Retailer CRE Adopts Rivals' Western Ways - The Wall Street Journal

I am sure this also helps :-)
China Resources Enterprise is an arm of state-controlled China Resources Holdings, and has roots as the food-supply division of what is now China's Ministry of Commerce.

Labels:

Jeep Made in China?

Chrysler is thinking about moving ALL jeep production to China.

Wow! And Stupid! Even considering the idea shows a lack of understanding of the Jeep brand. The emotional promise of buying a Jeep, verses a Toyota Land Cruiser or a Nissan Pathfinder.

That would be like moving production of the Corvette to China.

Jeep, an Obama favorite, looks to shift production to China - Washington Examiner

Labels:

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

College Admissions & Claiming Asian

I feel the current system is often tilted against Asian's for college admissions. And yes, even 2 years later, my daughter's college acceptances are still a sore point with me. It felt like more of a lottery.

One writer I read wrote about college admissions in California, and in counting the amount of minorities in CA they counted Asians, yet the same author ignored them when counting the amount of minorities admitted to colleges.

I'm Not Asian- Jesse Washington Associated Press National Writer, Race and Ethnicity

Asian-American students perceive bias in university admissions and counselors want clarification | Inside Higher

Labels: ,

Kindle sold at Cost

What amazes me is Kindle users buy 4X as many books, as they did previously.

BBC News - Kindle Fire HD and Paperwhite sales make Amazon no profit

Labels:

What German Automakers Have To Learn From The Chinese

My take away was design the truck for twice the load that the truck is legally allowed to carry...

What German Automakers Have To Learn From The Chinese  - World Crunch

Labels:

Monday, October 22, 2012

39th Congressional District race gets nasty

Good write up, it's the congressional district where I live, and the mailings have gone negative on both sides. The incumbent has been playing up his pro-Taiwan policies, and has done mailings in Chinese to my home. My bet would be on the incumbant Royce, since Jay Chen is being outspent 4 to 1. Jay Chen's focus has been on the ethnic Chinese vote from what I can see.

39th Congressional District race gets nasty - OC Register

Labels:

Friday Night Nightmare Traffic in Rowland Heights

There was an accident on the 60 Freeway in Diamond Bar, the city next to where I live that closed down the freeway. Boy was traffic bad going home. The surface streets were packed going both ways. It's the worst I have ever seen it in Rowland Heights.

60 Freeway partially reopens after fatal crash, closure - latimes.com

Labels:

Friday, October 19, 2012

85 Degree C - Unusual Chinese Bakery

Any guesses on what I found unusual at 85 Degrees C in Hacienda Heights??

These would be good guesses:
  • It's the busiest Chinese bakery I have seen.
  • It's 3X the size of a typical Chinese Bakery
  • The Website has a Typo in their title - 85。C‧COFFEE‧CAKE‧SPECIATLTY STORE
  • Buns are probably average 50% more costly than a typical Chinese Bakery, but their items are also larger. They have a lot of items for $2.50, where other bakeries are around $1.50
  • 137 Locations in Taiwan. More locations in China and Australia, and now the US. I believe they have over 500 world wide.
  • Over 676 reviews on Yelp for their Hacienda Heights location.
What I found unusual, was many of the counter staff was non-Chinese! This was a first for any Chinese bakery I have ever been too.

Labels:

RIP American Supermarkets in Rowland Heights?

The history of American Supermarkets in Rowland Heights

Vons that was Colima near Fullerton is a Chinese supermarket - Hawaii Supermarket I think.

Vons that on Azusa and Colima is now a 99 Market.

Albertson's on Azusa and Colima is closing.

Gemco became a 99 Market

The Alpha Beta that was on Nogales and Colima is now a Green Supermarket.

There is another Korean market at Brea Canyon and Colima, I don't remember what it was.

The Albertson's at Colima and Fairway is closing.

The Stater Brothers that was at Nogales across from Nogales High School is now a Food Mart.

The only American supermarket left in the area is Stater Brothers at Colima and Fairway.

What is causing this? My guess a combination of Costco, Target, and WalMart getting into the grocery business, along with the huge growth of Chinese markets in the area, and changing demographics.

Labels:

Thursday, October 18, 2012

China now eats twice as much meat as the United States - Telegraph


The average Chinese only eats half as much meat as the American or European consumer, but as China gets richer more meat will be eaten.China is now eating 25% of all meat in the world.

So what does this mean? Unless vat grown meat becomes economically feasible, Meat is going to become more expensive, and this will also drive up the cost of other food items. Since Cattle and Pigs eat grains, which will also increase in demand, and price.

China now eats twice as much meat as the United States - Telegraph

Labels:

Half the Moon Fundraiser in Rowland Heights

Second Annual Southern California Half the Sky Fundraiser
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
City of Industry - STC Center off on Gale, between Fullerton and Nogales. Across from where CompUSA was.

Half the Sky is a group that helps orphans in China.

I know, it says City of Industry. I still think of it as Rowland Heights. City of Industry is this thin strip of land that is 12 square miles, but only has 220 residents. Its a narrow strip that runs along the 60 freeway and Valley Blvd.

Labels:

Is Admission to an Ivy League School Worth $2 Million?

Wow! Shows what money can do.

Basically a couple gave $2 Million to a College Coach, and their sons ended up at a Ivy League College. Not Harvard, but still Ivy League. I have not figured out which one yet.

A friend of my wife spent a couple of Thousand on Michelle Hernandez for coaching, and I guess it was worth it since her daughter got into Stanford (I just read her book, it was very good). Another friend of my wife did not, and her son got into CMC with a full scholarship.

Is Admission to an Ivy League School Worth $2 Million? - Businessweek

Quest for admission to Harvard ends in $2 million tangle - Metro - The Boston Globe

Labels:

American Restaurants in Rowland Heights

First it was Mimi's, then Claim Jumper, Acapulco, and now Carrows have closed. Two Del Taco's in the area have also closed. One became a Real Estate office. Mimi's became a lawyer's office.

On the plus side, a lot of great Chinese restaurants have opened.

Labels: ,

China’s High-Speed Rail Boom Has Echoes of Great Leap Forward | Via Meadia

Good article to re-read - it's disturbing.

I love trains and a hobby of mine is riding them, but I wonder is it safe to ride the bullet trains in China? I have ridden high speed trains in France and Japan, and they are amazing.

China’s High-Speed Rail Boom Has Echoes of Great Leap Forward | Via Meadia

The blog Via Media is a great read if you like the Economist.

Labels:

Texting while Driving

I just came back on the 60 Freeway in Hacienda Heights, about 2:30PM.  90 minutes ago, and there was a matt black Toyota Pick Up truck swerving in his lane.

I figured he was drunk, so I quickly passed him to get into a safer position. As I passed him, I noticed he had his head down, and his hand was going up and down.  My guess was texting!

Labels:

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Learning Chinese Tip with Photos

Great activities for using photos as a way to get students to focus more on learning a language, by showing what they know. The article is about ELL (English Language Learners, formerly known as ESL), but you can use the same idea for Learning Chinese.

Using Photos With English Language Learners - Edutopia

Labels:

Danny Chen Anniversary

Sad in so many ways.

Danny Chen, soldier who committed suicide after hazing by superiors, remembered a year after death - NY Daily News

Five superiors charged with beating Chen and calling him names like "fortune cookie" have been convicted in military court.

Labels: ,

China's Charitable Organizations

The title does not make sense, but a good read. I have the same issue with some charities in the US, where I wonder how much money goes to overhead, verses to actualy being used to help those in need.

Helping China Learn How Not to Run a Charity Organization - WSJ Blog

Labels:

CSU President's Pay under fire

Wow on the amounts! I do see College salaries as being part of the college bubble, the only question is when is it going to pop?

As CSU campus budgets drop, university presidents' pay under fire - SG Tribune

Labels:

Monday, October 8, 2012

Hong Kong Identity


Must read.

I found this insigtful:

A symptom of the malaise afflicting relations between Hong Kong and the rest of China is the voracious appetite of mainland mothers for Hong Kong’s supplies of baby formula. Thanks to the rule of law and the scrutiny of a free press, Hong Kong shops almost never allow doctored food products on their shelves, in contrast to the mainland, which — due to endemic corruption and a near-total breakdown of trust — has seen a rash of sometimes fatal food scams.

Shops across the border stock the same brands of baby formula as Hong Kong, but many Chinese mothers assume they are fake and possibly dangerous. The resulting surge in demand for products smuggled in from Hong Kong has delighted Hong Kong merchants 

Hong Kong and China: Former British colony clings to its separate identity - Washington Post

Labels: , ,

Blue Model in China

Good read, basically the one child model has made the current social model of taking care of the elderly questionable. The question is what changes will happen? In the US you are seeing a real debate with the Presidential election.

Blue Model Failing in China Too | Via Meadia

Labels:

China’s Solar Woes Make Solyndra Look Like Small Potatoes


$1 loss for every $3 of sales. The joke at a previous company I worked for, was the strategy was make it up with volume. This same company's hr department got an award for RIF'ing - laying off - an entire building in a day.

One one hand, it's amazing how much prices have fallen for solar, 75% since 2008. And 2/3rd's of the Solar cell manufacturing capacity is in China.

China’s Solar Woes Make Solyndra Look Like Small Potatoes - Via Meadia

And the US also claimed anti-dumping against Chinese Solar Manufacturers.  And subsidies across the world are being reduced for solar.

Labels:

Right to Resell comes under Scrutiny

This is major, I hope the US Supreme Court decides well.

Basically a US Court ruled that books published overseas do not have the right in the US of second hand resale. How I have seen companies keep control of media, is throurgh use of copyright and that is a bit of a grey area - grey market.

right to resell comes under scrutiny - The Register

Labels:

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Cyber Attack Hits White House Military Office

Wow!

Cyber Attack Hits White House Military Office  - World Affairs

Two views, I hope it was an unclassified network:

The Military Office is responsible for, among other things, the “football,” the suitcase device that permits the president to transmit commands to the country’s strategic nuclear forces. “This is the most sensitive office in the US government,” a former American intelligence official, speaking to the Free Beacon, said.

The White House has tried to minimize the incident. “This was a spear phishing attack against an unclassified network,” said White House spokesman Jay Carney. “In this instance the attack was identified, the system was isolated, and there is no indication whatsoever that any exfiltration of data took place.”

Labels: ,

The Culture of Cheating at Stuyvesant

Troubling article - The Culture of Cheating by Acculturated.

80% of students at the school siad they had cheated.

Labels:

Monday, October 1, 2012

Chinese Investors in Afghanistan

I am a bit surprised by this, Chinese investment in a huge mine in Afghanistan has basically been paused.

And there are two obvious reasons for this, but are they the real reasons?

Investors Shying Away From Afghan Mines

Labels: ,

Outlet Mall at Morongo and Chinese

There is a huge outlet Mall near Palm Springs, on the Indian Reservation of Morongo. Tourist buses full of Chinese stop by here. And the Chinese tourists leave with bags full of high end luxury items.

Some observations:
  • Announcements were done in English and Mandarin
  • Huge amounts of Chinese there
  • Lots of tour buses in the parking lot
  • The most bags I saw a person carry was 5
  • Food was fast food, unless you went over to the Casino Buffet or Ruby's.
  • Right next to the Morongo Casino
  • Two stores had Chinese speaking sales persons

Labels:

Resume Building in China


Good article that helps explaining what it takes to get to the top in China.

This quote captures it:

"China’s leadership still pays heed to its heritage as a party of peasants, and it has tended to promote officials who can claim to be deeply rooted in the rural struggle. But it has also tended to favor “princelings,” the privileged offspring of former leaders who had ties to the party’s revolutionary history"       

Elite and Deft, Xi Aimed High Early in China - NY Times

Labels:

Future of Chinatowns

Are the traditional down town Chinatowns becoming extinct? Does a Chinatown lose it's reason for existence, with the mass migration of Chinese to suburbs with excellent schools, leaving the traditional Chinatowns to become a place for tourists, and no longer a vibrant community? With the spread of excellent Chinese restaurants, bakeries, and markets to the Chinese suburbs a trip to Chinatown for my family, has become rare. Chinese strip malls and shopping centers in the suburbs, often anchored by a Chinese super market, provide most of what traditionally a person would go to Chinatown for my family.

Article about Vancouver's Chinatown.

Can condo-zones save Vancouver’s beleaguered Chinatown? - National Post

Labels: ,

Justice in China?

I have no idea if this is true, but I have heard of similar stories of US Citizens being jailed due to business disputes, and the US government doing nothing. 

Harrowing tale of near death in China - SF Gate

The quote I heard "it's a business dispute", for a somebody I know whom spent time in a Chinese jail, and their family asked for help from the US government. Other related blog posts:

Labels:

Company Info
Account Info
Customer Service
News & Info
Resources
Location