OELP Taiwan - Day 4

28th May 2014

-After breakfast, proceed to Taichung by coach.

-National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts

-Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village

-Fengjia Night Market

Yijun: At the amusement park, we had a lot of fun . We first took cable cars up the mountain and the view was awesome. We went all the way up the mountain and down again. Between we alighted at a station to watch a performance put up by the tribe that lived in the mountain range. The performance was wonderful and we all greatly enjoyed it, it was also much enjoyed with the pineapple ice cream that we bought which was delicious.

Next we went on to play in the amusement park. It was a lot of fun playing the pirate ship, balloon race and more. It was a bit disappointing that we did not get to try the free fall due to malfunction. We then went on to watch a performance put up by the tribe again. This time we join in to dance and it was a great experience trying out the dance moves as well as watch the tribe put up a wonderful performance

Next is when the fun part begins, we then move to a night market and we had our dinner there. We had bought a lot of stuff like 臭豆腐，肉串，鸡排and more. It was just thrilling to be able to try out all the food that we liked all at once and I hope to be able to visit a night market again.

Finally, the night approached and we had to proceed to our new hotel, we got our hotel keys and went to rest. It sure was an wonderful day. 

Sharlene: This is already the fourth day of our seven day trip! Time passes so fast when you're having fun. We travelled from Hsinchu to Tai Chung today. This morning, we went to the Fine Arts Museum. It was the most intriguing and deep museum I've ever visited. The different artists used different ways to express their opinion and feelings through the art pieces they crafted. 

The one that shocked me the most is "The Wind Remembers: January the 3rd of lunar calender 2004" by Chen Shun-Chu. It uses the black and white family photo from the olden times. Then it is formed by smaller photo frames that when placed together, make the whole family photo. Then parts of the picture are removed and placed on the floor, together with some colored photos of soft toys. When I first looked at it, I did not know what the artist wanted to express. After knowing the meaning behind this art work, I was extremely shocked at how creative the artist was. The meaning was very deep and I felt that artists are the coolest people. The meaning was that when a person grows old, he forgets where the memories in his life happened. So he can't place back the pieces to where it should be, like putting the photo frame with the father's face to the mother's one. Something close to dementia. There were many other exhibits that had very deep meaning and it was unfortunate we had so little time for this museum. It has 4 levels but we only saw the first level due to packed schedule ): But this museum is the best museum ever! 

We went to the Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village next and it was thrilling and fun. The cable car ride was amazing. The view from such height was beautiful, however when we were taking the cable car for the second time, it started to rain and the view was clouded but the wind was cold and it felt relaxing too. We then watched the performance put up by the Ami aboriginal group, and the dance was complicated and sophisticated. I was too afraid to sit the free fall but I did sit for some of the other rides such as the Viking! We also participated in learning how to dance one of the aboriginal culture dance and it was actually quite easy. I feel that aboriginal village should be really cherished and preserved because I can't bear to know that the cultures of these people will be gone with advancement of technology and the modern world. I hope everyone will make an effort in keeping traditions as they are the history of us. Even in Singapore, we have taken measures to preserve the past, such as Chinatown and the olden buildings built by the 红头巾. I really hope more people will  want to learn about these cultures and traditions! 

SELFIE WITH FIONA AND 徐老师!

Day 4 ended with a blast at the Fengjia night market! Although I did not buy anything clothes, I tried many delicacies and they were all delicious and amazing. One thing I observed from the night market is that customers are mostly teenagers. I think that it's because the small snacks can be eaten while walking, allowing teenagers to chit-chat with friends, shop and eat at the same time. The clothes were fashionable and most of all, everything sold was affordable. To cater to different crowds, the most important thing is the products sold at the night market. Such as when targeting tourists, maybe more local food, souvenirs for tourists to bring back home and also the different specialities from the town. Also, why Taiwan night market can become so successful as a tourist attraction is probably because they keep their ways the same. They continue to sell their freshly-cooked food from small cute and attractive shops, continue their way of cooking and keep their prices low. They do not change their style, like the air-conditioned shopping malls with big outlets. This is why the night market is unique and special, attracting tourists to want to make a visit!

A store at the night market!

Shaun: Day 4 in Taiwan! First off, we went to the National Museum of Fine Arts, where we got to see many famous paintings and understand the meaning behind them and the progress of art over the years. Secondly, we went to the Formosan Aboriginal Village. I enjoyed the cable car ride mostly because of the cool weather up in the mountains. I really wanted to take the free fall but did not have enough time. However, I really enjoyed myself and did not regret using the time taking kiddy rides with my classmates. It turns out that it's bit the exciting rides that you enjoy most but those that you laugh over silly things with our friends. The visit ended off great when we danced the aboriginal dance as a class. Lastly, we went to the Fengjia night market. I was glad to have tried many Taiwan delicacies such as the stinky tofu, fried sotong and bubble tea. Overall, I think this is one of the most eventful and fun day so far.

Fiona: Today, we left Hsinchu for Taichung to start on another part of our trip. I was intrigued but yet a bit disturbed by the pieces displayed there. While some paintings were meaningful and beautiful, others were creepy and  peculiar. We learned a lot about art, like how artists paint the main part of their painting at the bottom right corner. At the Formosan Aboriginal Village, we got to learn about the different cultures of the aboriginal people in Taiwan. For example, in the Ami (阿美族), the girls chase the boys, instead of the boys chasing the girls. When a girl is fond of a guy, she would put a fruit into the guy's bag, to express her interest in him. This is interesting as usually it is the guy who chases the girl. Also, the aboriginal village, there was a theme park. We all had lots of fun at the theme park, trying different rides and pulling our timid friends to come with us. Next, we visited the Fengjia Night Market for dinner. There was a wide variety of street food sold, and we enjoyed trying the different kinds of Taiwanese street food available. Today was a fruitful day and I hope to learn more tomorrow.

YI JUN GOT CUT OFF BUT NICE SHOUDLER OF HIS AT THE RIGHT

Esther: Today was the fourth day of our trip. In the morning, we first went to the national museum of fine arts, where we toured around the museum and saw many arts that were drawn by taiwan artists (sadly, no pictures were allowed so... :-(( ) there were also other exhibits that were very interesting and there were also modern art. After lunch, we went to the formosa aboriginal village where we learnt about the different kinds of aboriginal tribes and their culture. We first rode the cable car where we saw the sun moon lake and the whole park. Through the village and the performances, i learnt about how they lived, their traditional costumes, and their houses. The educational component was built near the amusement aisle, so by going to the amusement park, you would have to pass through that first and more people would pay attention, instead of just wanting to play the rides. The performance that was put up was very interesting and we tried some food that we bought from them, which was pineapple and ice cream and it was delicious while we watched the performance, i think that the government did a good job in preserving the culture of the tribes. 

Lastly, we went to the famous fengjia night market where we were given free time  to roam around and eat dinner. I tried many kinds of food that is not common in singapore or not as nice in singapore such as the fried squid, papaya milk, chicken cutlet and much more... The night market was filled with young adults from the university nearby and i think that fengjia or all of the night markets in taiwan targets a bigger audience than singapore, where only older people buy things from the pasa malam (night market). There are more varieties of food sold, and there is also more things to buy whereas there are very limited choices in singapore. I think that this is one of the best days that we had in taiwan so far as the educational component and the fun component is mixed together.

OELP Taiwan - Day 3

27th May 2014

-School immersion programme

-Glass Museum

Yi Jun: This is a sad day for our class as it was the day that we departed from the National Experimental High School(NEHS). We had to wake up early in the morning to have our breakfast and make our way to the school on bus. When we had arrive the secretary of the principal showed us our way about the school and we visited the lake nearby as well as the library. What I enjoyed most would be the visit to the library, we had seen many good drawings from the student as well as get to see many of the student's handicrafts. It was an exciting experience and there was a picture that left me with a good impression

The picture would be a mountain drawn with many details like the human and cows towing the ground as well as the crops. It was as if I was going to that place.

We were anticipating the new badge of students that we have met today, I had expected the humanities lesson to be a bit boring. However, their teacher had me impressed, their teacher first ask the class to introduce themselves and made a couple jokes for us to break the ice between me and my buddy. Afterwards he had us introducing ourselves to the class and I had received a nick name, “Liu 2”. It seems that there was another student in the class that have their surname pronounced 'Leo' too. Afterwards we begin with our English lesson instead of what I was expecting, history lessons, we had begin doing adjectives and the whole lesson was like a revision to us. Afterwards during the 10minute break we visited the school's minimart that no one told me about the previous lesson, my new buddy sure was caring. I boughts some snacks for the hotel as well as a isotonic drink.

We rushed back hurriedly to the classroom after the break and begun with our next English lesson, we played a game in which we had to write down an answer for the questions given with only the beginning alphabet provided by the teacher. It was fun competing with each other even though we did not win any matches. Well it is not about winning but about the fun and educational component that we had. It was the end of that lesson that we proceeded to a open area to perform our end ceremony. It was a bit messy though as our trip IC, Brian did a bad job at locating us. It was very troublesome, nevertheless, the ceremony was fun and we get to enjoy some fun activities afterwards. We get to learn some magic from our instructed and had a visit by our previous day buddies as well as take a final photo of ourselves together with the students of  NEHS. I also learnt that the students from the class we visited today could not bear us leaving and actually prepared some speech topics.

It was indeed a reluctance to part with our new found friends however we had to move on. We later took a visit to the National Glass museum and learned a lot about glass sculpturing 

Some glass sculptures that left a good impression to me would be the giraffes from the “南非一回忆” the giraffe was very life like and I could see the effort put in by the designer from the multiple Colours as well as specific carvings. Other glass design would include the “飞龙在天” and the “动植物世界”. It was a bit depressing that we could not take any photos though. We had dinner after this and it was beef noodles, one of the more famous dishes of Taiwan. That's it for our third day.

Sharlene: Today we went to visit the Bilingual department of National Experimental High school. It is the second time we are visiting the campus. Most of the students at the Bilingual department can speak fluent English and Chinese, some with accents too. There were differences between 7B, the class we visited today, and our own class in Singapore. 

The enthusiasm in answering questions is definitely notable. When Mr. Morrison, the English teacher of 7B, asked for volunteers to write their answer on the blackboard, hands shot up quickly begging to be picked. In Singapore, most of the times there are only a few students constantly raising their hands. I think that we should learn from the students there, not fearing to answer the question wrongly and should participate in the class. Also, the lessons are relaxed and fun, not only using textbook types to teach certain goals to meet. For example, in English class, we were split into groups then given a list of category like "Reasons to call" and "Hobbies". Then using the given alphabet by the teacher, pen down a word starting with the given alphabet in each category in 2 minutes. There were 12 categories in each list. When one group has the same word as another group in that category, then they do not receive points. When there is two words starting with the given alphabet such as "Crying Cat", then two points is awarded. I think that this is a creative way to allow students to test their vocabulary in an short amount time. However, I feel that the students in 7B were not as friendly as the Experimental high students. 

Also, I felt really excited for today! I looked forward to see the friends I made yesterday. We had prepared a performance and gifts for our buddies in M202. It was a relief most of them came to take pictures with us and spend the last moments together. The memorable experience will always be remembered :) 

Here is a picture of the delicious 牛肉面 <3 

Shaun: Day 3 in Taiwan! We visited the bilingual department of the school instead. Although the students were much quieter and not as active, they were still very friendly towards us. During debrief, we discussed the differences in the education systems, what we can learn from the Taiwan education system and what we should appreciate about Singapore's. These include the pros and cons of having stricter school rules and whether it is better to have a carefree school life with less stress. I think that some of the initiatives they have are really good, for example, clearing the take away boxes. One thing I remember very clearly is that they have 10 minutes buffer time before each period. This will reduce being late for class and also provide a short recharging time for the students.

Fiona: Today, we visited the bilingual department of NEHS. The students there were all very bilingual and I was amazed that they were able to switch from perfect English to perfect Mandarin and vice versa at any time. After interacting with the IBSH students, we put up a performance for the students and teachers of NEHS. Although it seemed like the audience enjoyed our song & dance, I felt that we were quite disorganised and there was little preparation done. We could have done better and I hope that we will start preparation earlier for future events. After leaving NEHS and giving our gifts to our buddies, we left for the Glass Museum. At the Glass Museum, we saw many of the exhibitions and different artworks by various artists all around the world. We were all very fascinated by the artwork and bought souvenirs to bring home. To conclude, today was fun and exciting, and DINNER (牛肉面) WAS GREAT!!

Esther:  Heyyyyy so today is the third day of our immersion trip to taiwan, also the last day where we would stay in hsinchu, and hainchu experimental high school. We started the morning with exploring the park(?) beside the campus, and it was really beautiful. We also went on to explore the two stories library, which consists of 16000 books of chinese, english and other languages. The library had a huge variety of books, ranging from fiction to no fiction and chinese to english. After that, we went to have class with the bilingual people :-)))). The class was relatively quieter compared to m202 yesterday, but they were still friendly and welcomed us with warm smiles. I had a lot of fun in class during english where we played a game. Then..... The time came for us to perform what we had been practicing for a long time. Sad to say, i did not think that it was a very good performance as the song stopped abruptly and it was a very short dance. We weren't that synchronized and it was kind of awkward. The singing was a bit better but i thought that we could have done better. We could have practised more as a class in order to improve our singing. After lunch, we had AP biology and an enrichment class(?) where our group went to learn some magic tricks from the teacher hehe.

After that, we went to the glass museum where we saw many beautiful glass sculptures and we got some souvenirs for ourselves and our family. the glass museum was really beautiful as there were all kinds of objects, from the glass jail, to the vase and the painting. I had a lot of fun looking at the different sculptures and the souvenirs. 

GROUP SELFIE! (HI WEE HUNG)

OELP Taiwan - Day 2

26th May 2014

-School immersion programme

-Tour Hsinchu Science Park Campus

Yijun: This is the 26th of May, today is when we go to the National Experimental High School, also known as NHES, for a visit to learn and experience more about taiwan's culture. It was a very grilling day for all of us as we anticipated our buddy, the moment we arrive at the school we was given a warm welcome by the teachers as well as the secretary of the principal. It was very nice listening to the briefing by the teachers about the school, they even provided wife biscuits for us!!! When we get to meet out buddy, I was suprised that they looked so mature, when we got to the science lab, I was shocked, the class was in chaos. There was pandemonium everywhere and I was suprised that the teacher did not even care. When we begin our experiment I was alarmed that the level of chemistry that they have learned was so high leveled and feel tiny amongst all the people. Fortunately, the classmates was kind enough even though they are naughty to explain to me about what is going on. 

After I had got to know more about my buddies, I enjoyed the time afterwards from PE, history and Chinese. My table mate was even nice enough to share the textbook with me! However, the last lesson was very sad as we had to leave the school, my buddies and teacher also can't bear me leaving. I bid farewell after taking a final class photo together. It was sad leaving even though I know that I will get to meet them again tomorrow. 

We then proceeded to the science park via our bus, it was a very interesting experience, we get to experience all sorts of toys, electrical appliances and other hardwares. It was indeed very fun using the advanced technology. Afterwards we proceeded back to the hotel. It sure was a very nice and interesting day.

Sharlene: The long waited day has arrived with the bright morning sun already risen at 6:00am. 

We've finally met the students in National Experimental High School and interated with them. I was extremely nervous because social skills are needed (stress!) and thinking about the different types of embarrassing events that might happen. But fortunately, the students in class M202 were really hyped up and welcoming to us. I am grateful and touched for their warmth and friendliness towards us, the foreign students, the noisy and playful side of them during lessons and also their consideration towards us. I've seen many differences between the people and education of Taiwan and Singapore. The education system is more relaxed in Taiwan. I feel this way because, firstly, they have a 25 minutes nap time and eat in class during break time. I think that the 25 minute nap for the students is very important because it allows time for you to re-energized and to learn better. Secondly, I personally think that the 10 minutes break in between lessons is very important for better learning. It allows teachers to be able to extend their lessons by a few minutes if there is a need, without affecting the lesson afterwards and also time for the students to get to the next venue for the class. The break time can also mentally prepare the students for the next lesson. For example, taking out their books or worksheets related to the lesson. With a relaxed environment, students need to learn self-control and know what is best for themselves. However, I think we should learn to appreciate our Singapore education system as well. Singapore has strict rules and packed lesson schedules for discipline and for learning as much as we can each day. Rules to follow can keep us on the right track too. Another observation is the difference in language is a challenge when communicating and interacting with the Taiwanese students. Although they spoke Chinese language, which is the same language as us, there was a difference in slang and the way we wrote the Chinese characters. The Chinese lesson we had was of a really high standard and I couldn't even catch up. But talking to them was still manageable. The people are more bonded together as a class and school. Also, the campus was huge!! All in all, this experience was really meaningful and I'm glad we had this opportunity to experience a school day of a Taiwan student. 

After the lessons ended, we went to the Science Industrial Park. The inventions that were exhibited are very creative and innovative! The "DockingS'can Pro", which is a printer, does not require the big machine connected to a computer for the document to be printed. But instead, place the iPad device on this product and it will be printed out. So convenient! Also, most of the electronic factories are located around this area, so they can save for transportation cost. The cool flooring:

After this whole day, I hope the Taiwanese friends made today will be still in contact as the days goes by and I will remember the knowledge, lessons and skills learnt today.

Shaun: Today is our second day in Taiwan! It was much more fun as we visited National Experimental High School and the Science Industrial Park. I enjoyed the rice during dinner as Taiwan rice is really fragrant. It was cool looking at all the inventions but what really left a great impression on me today is the visit to the school. Although the students were a bit rowdy, they exhibited a lot of class spirit and enthusiasm during every lesson. One thing that I was very surprised to see was that there was no gender segregation during the splitting of groups and I think this is definitely one point we should learn from them. However, as it was quite awkward at the start, I did not interact much with the students and ended up making very few friends. I really really really regret it and I really hope to improve this tomorrow. 

Fiona: Today, we got to meet the students of Hsinchu National Experimental High School. They were from the Experimental Section of the school and they mostly spoke Chinese. Although I did not fully understand everything that they were saying, it was fun chatting with them. I was surprised by how much freedom they have in class, and how they can just play, shout and leave the class whenever they wanted, without the teacher telling them off. They were all very nice and cheerful, and it was funny how they could be so noisy but still understand their lessons at the same time. Overall, it was fun interacting with them and getting to know their school system better. At the industrial park, we learned about different mechanics and gadgets they had invented, and a lot more about the industrial park. It was an enriching experience and it was fun getting to try out some of the speakers. As today's Day IC, I felt that there was improvement in the overall behaviour of the class, and everyone was more attentive when the tour guide was speaking. I am glad that I am given the chance to be the IC of the day, even though it required much responsibility and leadership skills. I am excited to be meeting the students of the bilingual section tomorrow, and I hope that tomorrow's performance will be a success!! (And good luck to gabbie for being Day 3 IC ;))

Esther: Today was the second day of our immersion trip and we were going to hsinchu experimental high school to learn about their ways of studying. They welcomed us warmly which made us feel more comfortable with them. For first period, we had chemistry practical, PE, history and lastly chinese. While i was socializing with the students, i realised that they do not pay much attention to their lessons and are quite noisy. However, they were also very bonded without much gender segregation which made them do things much faster, such as picking their team mates for volleyball. Some of the guys had picked girls first to be in their team, but no one commented like it was a normal thing. If it was our class, it would have been a huge deal and that shows that we are not as mature as them when it comes to boys and girls. That was one point that we could learn from them, and another point was how environmentally friendly they were. They had different dustbins for different purposes, such as recyclables, trash and food waste. However, in singapore, we would not think to do that as we would only donate newspapers and plastic bottles for recycling. 

After leaving the school, we went to the industrial park where we learnt many of the latest inventions that were either imported or made in taiwan. There were many types of products, such as biomedical products, and also electronic products. It was similar to singapore's jurong island, where there are also similar industries located there.  

Dinner challenge to ourselves: Finish this big bowl of rice! 

ACCOMPLISHED!

Credits to: Mr Chua, Yi Xiang & Kai Ming.

OELP Taiwan - Day 1

25th May 2014 

-Assemble at Changi Airport to board our flight to Taipei.

-Upon Arrival, proceed to Hsinchu by high speed train.

Yijun: Today is the day that we have been anticipating, it's the day that our trip to Taiwan begins. It's been a very nervous day before the flight and I could hardly get any sleep, during the check-in at the airport, I was so excited that i could hardly control myself. During the flight it was indeed quite boring, I wasted some time by playing games and chatting with my friends about this trip, it was so very intense. Upon our arrival in Taiwan until the bus trip to the restaurant, I was so hyper that i could not stop talking with my friends, it was quite rude after I had realise that I had not been listening to the teachers and tour guide's instruction, I feel ashamed of my actions and hope not to do it again. Nevertheless, it had been a fun day, I have greatly enjoyed it and I hope that the following days would be just the same :) Finally, we arrive at Taiwan! 

Sharlene: Finally Day 1 of Taiwan!!! I was so excited for this day that I woke up three times in the middle of the night and went back to sleep, dissapointed that it isn't morning yet. It's a surprise that I could even wake up naturally! So first off, I was late to reach the airport at 8am sharp because my family made the wrong turn and were lost on the way. Oops! ): After checking in, I watched "那些年, 我们一起追的女孩” on the plane and it was great YAY. Here's a view out of the window: 

 

The whole day has been of travelling, the high speed train from Tao Yuan to Hsinchu was the first experience for me. The picturesque view was relaxing and beautiful. It surprised me that commuters can eat and drink on the train because in Singapore, we are not allowed to eat of drink on public transports. Even though the locals could eat and drink on the train, they were considerate by keeping the train clean. 

The tour guide seems very friendly and experienced, I hope to learn more about Taiwan from him throughout this trip. Also, our behaviour as a class was not very favorable today. I think it is because we were overly excited and because it's the first day on this trip. After the briefing, I think that we will make changes to improve tomorrow. The three important things to take note is:

1. Awareness to surrounding

2. Respect others

3. To be considerate

All in all, today was fun and there's more to look forward in the next 6 days! :) And all the best to Fiona for being the Day IC tomorrow!

Shaun: Today is our first day in Taiwan! I was really excited at first, but it turned out that most of the day was spent on traveling, which was exhausting. It was my first time in Taiwan and also the first time I took a high speed train and it was really cool traveling at 273km/h. The fun started when we were taking dinner. We really enjoyed the food especially the meatball soup and had lots of fun laughing around. However, we did not think about the other customers and were making a lot of noise even on the train and at the airport. We must remember at all times that we are representing our school. I think that this is one area we should definitely try to improve on from tomorrow onwards. Secondly, we should always listen attentively to the tour guide as this is a form of respect. It is also because we can only learn more about the history, geography and culture of Taiwan. Other than that, we should learn to cooperate with the IC of the day so that our trip will be more enjoyable. 

Fiona: Today was finally the day!!!! We were all very excited for oelp. I felt that our behaviour was very bad and that we were very rowdy. I could also tell that the tour guide was quite annoyed with us when many people were talking when he was speaking. We can definitely improve in our behaviour tomorrow and I will try my best to manage the class tomorrow, when it is ny turn to be the IC. We should always keep in mind that we are not only representing ourselves when we are here, but also representing RV and Singapore. Our behaviour was unacceptable and we should definitely reflect on this. I hope that we can improve tomorrow when we visit the Hsinchu Experimental High School. Overall, we still had fun and we are very satisfied with our rooms!! ;) hope that tomorrow will be a success!!!

Esther: Today is the 25th of may, which is the first day of our highly-anticipated taiwan oelp trip. I was very excited as this is only my second time going overseas with the school. Everyone else was also equally excited just like me and discussed about it in groups. Even though we did not manage to go to any famous landmarks today except riding the highspeed train, we still had a lot of fun and we also learnt about some of the history of taiwan from our friendly tourguide. We also went to some convience stores like 7-11 and i found out that they were very different compared to those we had in singapore. There were more choices of food available and they issued different receipts. I hope to learn more and visit more in hsinchu tomorrow where we would go to a school first and then the industrial park :). However, i do think that there were more things that we could have improved on as a class, such as the noise level and sensitivity to our surroundings. We should learn to be more quiet and remember that we are representing river valley high, and not on a casual vacation with our friends. 

SORT OF A GROUP PICTURE (HI WEE HUNG)

China- Economy

Reflect on China's dilemma between pursuing higher economic growth and escalating pollution due to industrialization.

Pudong in Shanghai, China

Yi Jun: China is greatly increasing their economy by increasing their industrialization which can lead to more and more factories releasing more waste that leads to pollution.The majority of the air pollution in China is generated by the burning of coal to generate electric power. They do not have that much hydropower to help with demand, and they rely on burning coal which releases large amount of toxic gases that can lead to health problems. Their cars also burn coal quality of fuel that leads to more and more health problems like cancer. Their factories also releases large amount of toxic wastes that pollutes rivers and streams that are supplies of many villages. People in the villages die of cancer and other rare diseases and they also have a shortage of clean water due to most of the reservoirs being already polluted. As seen, China government do not care for its people's health and just continue with their goal of achieving high economy. This would show how selfish they are in only caring for money and abandoning the sake of its people. I think that the Chinese government should begin measures of how to reduce pollution that could lead to a global crisis.

Wee Hung: To improve China's economy, factories and industries have been built. These actions do have positive impacts, but more harm is done to the environment. Building of factories, industries, production of goods, all of these actions not only causes air pollution, but also noise and water.  pollution if waste is not disposed of properly. Factories also produce high amounts of greenhouse gases and these gases are the causes of global warming. Global warming not only affects china, it affects the whole world. Low lying coastal areas get submerged, frequency of bush fires and floods increase, all these disasters have been caused due to the greenhouse gases produced, and china has been the largest contributing country of greenhouse gases. Economic growth in China will benefit the Chinese living in China, but the harm done to everyone else in the whole world greatly outweighs the benefits. Health is more important than money. If earning money will make turn you into sick person with many illness, why would you want to risk it? Sacrificing a little of bit of china for the health of the citizens, and all people living on earth is surely worth it, so I think that China should not continue to pursue economic growth if it is detrimental to everyone else's health.

Sharlene: China is currently the world's second largest economy. China is also the largest exporter and second largest importer of goods in the world. China has many factories to manufacture products and goods and to serve as job opportunities for the large population that it has. However, I feel that China should not build so many factories as it causes many types of pollution to the environment. Although factories are good for the economy of China, the negative effects of global warming will last for a long time on Earth. There are escalating pollution due to industrialization. Pollution such as air pollution, water pollution, industrial pollution, electronic waste, waste, river exploitation, deforestation and many more. Health issues and environmental threats will be present with these pollution caused by industrialization. It will also affect the economy. In 2006, Chinese green growth domestic product estimated stated that pollution in 2004 cost 3.05% of China's economy. This implies that although pursuing higher economic growth for the country, please do think about the escalating pollution by building factories that will not only affect China themselves, but also the rest of the world. While pursuing higher economy, countries can be more environmentally friendly so as to not badly affect the environment. Such as investing in green technology or systems such as the Bicycle Sharing in South Korea. The bicycle rental system allows (without additional charges) someone to take a bicycle in one point and to return it in a different one, where the bicycle can be rented by another user. Importance of environment and health over economic growth does not only applies to China but also, the rest of the world. I strongly believe that every country should consider about the environment when making major decisions for the country.

Shaun: Although still a developing country, China is the world's second largest economy. This is due to its rapid industrialization during the pursuit of higher economic growth. However, this also causes escalating pollution as the factories built emit large amounts of greenhouse gases which leads to pollution. Once China has achieved a higher standard of living, people become more affluent and start owning cars and consuming more electricity. The burning of fossil fuels in the process of obtaining these powers will cause an even greater increase in the amount of pollution and this will continue for the next few decades unless something is done to stop it. Personally, I feel that things will change for the better if the people can keep the environment in mind despite the improvement in their country's economy. This will likely help China's dilemma between pursuing higher economic growth and escalating pollution due to industrialization.

Esther: China's economic growth has been increasing rapidly and because of that, many factories and industries are being built in order to earn money. China is now the 2nd largest economy, behind the united states of america. However, they are also causing pollution to the environment,such as waste gases from the factories. China should be more environmentally friendly so that they can have a cleaner country. It is one of the countries that contribute mosts to the global warming. I think that china should invest in more alternative energy, such as solar panels and wind energy. This would decrease the amount of carbon emissions. That would benefit the population of china even though the economy will be less as there would be less pollution. 

Fiona: I do think that it is important for China to aim for higher economic growth and it is understandable that they are building many factories and industries to improve their economy. However, due to too much industrialization, China has seen escalated pollution and has thus contributed a lot to global warming. Since we can already see improvement in China's economy, I think it should be about time China considers greener and more environmentally friendly ways of improving their economy. Yes, economy is important in a country's growth, but the rate of the amount of greenhouse gases released by China as a result of industrialization is just too much. I believe that China does have the ability to approach more environmentally friendly technology instead of endlessly polluting our Earth's atmosphere. Global Warming is currently a very big problem to us, and pollution and the excuse of still being a developing country is not going to help it now. There is also the factor of China's ever-growing population, with over 1.3 billion citizens currently. It is understandable that they are building industries in order to provide job opportunities for as many of their citizens as they can. However, I believe that it is still possible for China to invest in green technology and provide jobs for their people at the same time, and stop contributing greatly to pollution in our air. They are a part of our world, and a big part of it too, so they should at least make an attempt to do their part in saving this world.