On May 13, 2007, the World Journal (世界日報 www.worldjournal.com), a leading Chinese newspaper publishing in the United States (U.S.), reports that three Chinese people are being suited by four leading book publishers because of selling international edition’s U.S. books in the U.S. The four leading book publishers included Pearson Education, Inc., John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Thomson Learning Inc., and The McGraw-Hill. The three people bought cheaper version of U.S. books from China then resell in U.S. through www.abebooks.com, an online marketplace for books. International edition’s books usually was stated that cannot be sold in U.S., and under the protection from Copyright Act, and Trademark Act, it is illegal to sell international edition of U.S. books in U.S. Companies, Inc. Read the rest of this entry »

April 2, 2007, about 200 some Chinese immigrants and their supporters held their third rallied in front of TV Channel CW 11 headquarters, chanting “Racism no! Defamation no!”, “Report the news. Not make up the news!” and “Boycott CW11!” The first two rallies were Feb 4 and Feb 26 respectively. The second rally had gathered more than a thousand people.

The protest was ignited by a news reported from CW 11 which claimed that a customer allegedly found a order from New Food King restaurant in Canarsie, Brooklyn contained meat resembling “rat meat.” Statements such as “disgusting find,” “sickening surprise,” “nasty dining experience,” and “rodent slathered in garlic sauce” were used in the report. Though, the Chinese restaurant insisted that they did not use rodent, and questioned the report did not have any scientific evidence. Read the rest of this entry »

April 02, the United States and the South Korea reached a free trade agreement which lifts tariffs on wide range of products except rice. The agreement is waiting to be approved by both countries’ legislature. This is the United States’ biggest trade deal since the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1993 and is the first trade deal with major Asian economy.

What products are included in the Agreement?

About 90 percent of both countries’ tariffs on industrial goods will be eliminated immediately and will be expanded to the remainder in three to 15 years. Two of the most notable goods in the agreement would be auto and beef.

In 2005, the United States trade deficit with the South Korea was about 16 billion dollars. Auto trade accounts more than 80 percent of it. Some 4,000 U.S. made vehicles were sold in the South Korean compare to 800,000 Korean made vehicle sold in the United States. In the agreement, Seoul promised to change its tax system on autos which will make U.S. cars less expensive to sell in Korea. Read the rest of this entry »

Plastic bag is commonly used when you are grocery shopping, and is usually cheap enough that the stores will not charge for that. Since it is cheap and is free for the customers that people may not caution about how many to use. Thus, it leads to a problem of overusing. In Hong Kong, the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) is going to propose a bill to the Legislative Council this month which suggests imposing taxes on using plastic bags in supermarkets and convenience stores.

There are two plans for the bill. The first one is charging HKD $ 0.50 (USD $ 0.064) on each plastic bag that customers used, and the second is charging manufacturers and importer HKD $ 12.50 (USD $ 1.60) for each kilogram of plastic bag. If the stores violated the law by giving the customers free plastic bag, there would be a penalty fee from a few thousand to few hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars. Read the rest of this entry »

What kind of souvenirs would you like to buy after visiting China? What about a notebooks or booklets made by Panda poop? Not a joke! Researchers at a giant panda reserve in southern China Szechwan are planning to produce papers and other souvenirs by giant panda excrement. The research claimed that giant panda excrement is fiber-rich which is excellent to process into high quality paper.

This is not a new idea. The idea was taken from Thailand which produces paper out of elephant dung. Also, if you may remember, China sent two giant pandas to live Thailand in 2003 for ten years. The Zoo in Thailand is already using the two giant pandas’ excrement to produce souvenirs, such as notebook, booklet, and folding fans. The zoo made more than US$7,000 in profit by doing so. Read the rest of this entry »

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) released a report titled “Wok Carefully” which pointed out that many Chinese Dishes are fatty and high in sodium. In the report it also gave some suggestions on how to eat Chinese Food healthily. Here, I try to explain further how to eat Chinese Foods healthily based upon their suggestions.

1. Dishes that feature vegetables are recommended. CSPI also recommended avoiding noodles and meat. However, avoid them at all is fairly impossible. Some of the plate like General Tso’s Chicken which heavily in meat usually come with broccoli. You may ask if they can substitute some of the meat with broccoli. If you order noodles, you may better not to order another meat because a plate of noodle should serve enough calories. Read the rest of this entry »

On March 21, 2007, a report titled “Wok Carefully” released by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) shows many Chinese dishes are high in fat and sodium. However, the report draws criticisms from some of the readers. “If Chinese dishes are fatty, why Chinese people on average are slimmer than Americans?”

Americanized Chinese Food vs. Oriental Chinese foods

The Chinese foods that you buy in most Chinese take-out restaurants in the United States are actually different from what many Chinese people eat at home or back in their country. Some of the popular items selling in United States can hardly be found in China. For example, I had never heard of General Chicken or Sesame Chicken before I came to United States. Also, only Spring Rolls are available in China but not Egg Rolls. You may ask why the restaurants would serve different kind of foods to Westerners. A similar question was asked when I was in Hong Kong. “Why French dishes in Hong Kong are different from French?” The answer is that the chefs modified the receipts to match the preferences of local customers. Most of them are much stronger flavored which is either much sweeter or saltier than original recipes appeal the customers. Read the rest of this entry »

By H.W.C.

Oct 17, 2005

It Is Time to Save Gas

On September 1^st, three days after Hurricane Katrina came across the United States, I received calls from my friends, and they all asked me to fill up the gas of my car as soon as possible. They claimed that there would be a shortage of gasoline in the United State. That day, unfortunately, I had to wait thirty minutes in the gas station and pay one dollar more for each gallon of gasoline. The people in the gas station not only filled up the tanks but also the gas cans which they just bought from Home Depot. What was going on with the gasoline supply and demand in the United States? According to The New York Times, on September 1^st, the gas price hit as high as $5.85 per gallon in Atlanta and averaged more than $3 per gallon over the nation (Ramirez 3). Shortly after Hurricane Katrina came, Hurricane Rita came to the United States. Hurricane Rita gave another threat to gas prices in the United States. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports that the retail price of mid-grade conventional gasoline stayed between $2.83 to $3.13 per Read the rest of this entry »