It was interesting to read this book knowing that now the project has progressed quite a lot. It is sad that they are forcing all of these people to move and it is also sad to know that there are carvings and other aspects of history that are being covered. Unfortunately, the Chinese government seems to be unconcerned about this. I think Naomi may be correct about the groupthink taking over. I also agree with Brandi’s thoughts on China’s desire to impress, which has become more and more apparent as we get closer to the Olympics. Hopefully this project won’t go too wrong and in the end will have some benefits.

The second thing I would like to take a stab at, is Kyle’s comments about the costs of economic prosperity. As extreme as it seems, I do agree that in order to keep moving forward there are times we need to lose sight of the past. I’m not meaning to say I agree with the methods the government took, but I can not condemn them for trying to push forward. If we were constantly looking at the past and trying to preserve it fully, we simply would not be where we are today. There are always going to be unforeseen costs to any new developments, but it is the responsibility of those in charge to minimize them or arrange an alternative solution in which both parties can benefit.

The question you asked about why our own citizens don’t criticize our own government like we do the Chinese government sums up the main problem we have with our “democracy”. We’re too worried about other countries and what they’re doing and we don’t concentrate on our own. We have more problems internally that need our own attention. We waste energy worrying about what other countries think of us, and if we can help them when our own is falling apart. We’re flooding our own ethics rivers with dam’s of deceit and we ignore them because we’re too focused on pop culture and other people/countries problems.

The US citizens need to stand up and look at our own country and start to question it. We need to get back to what makes the US so great: the constitution. China can be that catalyst as they pass us both economically and militarily. They can spur some enthusiasm by the American public to start caring and looking at our own Hoover dam’s and ask the question, “Why?”

http://www.youtube.com/v/DW-srRx7co4&rel=1

Buying American does not automatically mean that the product will be safer. It can be argued, as seen in the video, that when safety problems like these arise – China at times has the ability to react faster to fix the problem. In the US, the FDA can take considerable time in recalling drugs while in the mean time people continue using them. Even in the case of Avandia, GlaxoSmithKline’s top selling diabetes drug, the drug maker made an effort to hide concerns from the public.

According to the Wall Street Journal, “Over a period of several years, drug maker GlaxoSmithKline PLC was so concerned about a prominent physician’s negative views of its diabetes drug that it engaged in a concerted effort to intimidate him and stifle his opinion, a report by the U.S. Senate Finance Committee found.”

While GlaxoSmithKline has recently agreed to the FDA’s request to conduct a new trial of Avandia, the results won’t be available until 2014.

If China had the same policy as the FDA for leaving products on the market until issues resolved themselves in court or in clinical trails – I believe America would be in an uproar. While here in the US, we give the benefit of the doubt to the good ‘ol drug companies.

Considering the Chinese economy, is the hydroelectricity and the break from coal balanced by the millions displaced? It depends what side of the story you are on. The new emerging class of leaders may view it as valuable, seeing how America is dependent on oil. Maybe hydroelectricity will be their answer too.

Rob — I am optimistic this new generation of leaders in China will be an improvement over the previous lots. They have their hands full. I would not want their job, even if I had all the power that went along with it. Time will tell.

Given your age and that of your classmates, you are all much more likely to see the answer to this question and how the story unfolds than me. You can tell your kids, “I went there and saw how the early part of this story developed from the ground up. Now let me tell you about the way it really was ….”

Dr. Carr - I read the WSJ article about up and coming leaders in China. Some interesting ramifications there in relation to your Dec. 17th post.

If foreign educated leaders rise to power in China perhaps we will see real change in policy. The WSJ article did not seem to think so, but I don’t see how someone could live abroad, then come back to China and not see the negative aspects of communism with a different eye. Education can be a powerful change agent.

It could be interesting to look at the future costs that will be associated with the Three Gorges Dam. There are the obvious costs such as the loss of historical items, and the displacement of families. So what effect will that have on the economy? Will the displaced families move to the cities and join a workforce related to a big industry or will they move to a different part of the countryside. If they move to the cities , then what cost will be associated with that move. Will the government have to commission more housing projects to accommodate those people. In addition, what will happen if they have to decommission the dam due to poor engineering? Three Gorges is another example of nationalism.