The Central Meteorological Observatory issued a blue warning of cold wave, strong cooling, strong winds and dust.

  Cctv newsThe Central Meteorological Observatory issued a blue warning of cold wave on the morning of March 10th. Due to the influence of cold wave, it is estimated that the temperature in most areas of central and eastern China will drop by 6 ~ 10℃ from 10th to 12th, and the temperature in Inner Mongolia, North China, Huanghuai and eastern Jianghuai will drop by 12℃, partially exceeding 16℃. There are 4 ~ 6 winds and 7 ~ 9 gusts in the above areas, and 6 ~ 8 winds and 9~11 gusts in most offshore areas of China.

  The live monitoring shows that the temperature in North China and Huanghuai has risen rapidly in the daytime recently. Yesterday, the highest temperature in Shahe, Hebei Province reached 32.1℃, ranking first in the national meteorological observatory. At the same time, Zhengzhou (30.8℃) and Shijiazhuang (30.3℃) are also the first northern capital cities to break through 30℃ this year.

  Meteorologists reminded that before the arrival of the cold wave, the effect of "warming before the front" in the central and eastern regions was very obvious. Today, during the day, the temperature in some areas of Hebei, Shandong and Henan may still exceed the 30 C mark, but with the arrival of the weekend, the strong cooling will quickly cover most areas north of South China, especially the maximum temperature will drop sharply; The lowest temperature in this cold wave occurred on the morning of 13th, and the lowest temperature line of 0℃ will be located in the south of Shaanxi, the west of Henan, the south of Hebei and Tianjin, and the lowest temperature in the east of Shandong and the northeast of Jiangsu will also reach about 0℃. Please ask the public to add clothes in time and take good measures to prevent cold and keep warm.

  In addition to strong winds and cooling, there will be dusty weather in the northwest and north China today and tomorrow. The Central Meteorological Observatory continued to issue a blue warning of sandstorms on the morning of the 10th. Today, from day to night, some areas in eastern and southern Xinjiang, western Gansu, most of Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, north-central Shaanxi, Shanxi, north-central Hebei, Beijing and other places have sand or floating dust weather, and some areas in central Inner Mongolia have sandstorms.

  In addition, there will be obvious snowfall and local blizzard in the northwest of Heilongjiang and northeast of Inner Mongolia; There is rainy weather in most parts of the south, and the cumulative rainfall in some parts of the south of the Yangtze River can exceed 50 mm. Please pay close attention to the weather forecast and early warning information released by the local meteorological department, and pay attention to prevent the adverse effects of slippery roads and icing caused by rain and snow on traffic.

Wang Chen: My heart is still China’s heart.


  "The change of a paper’s nationality will never change the strong flavor of Beijing in me, or the fact that I was cultivated by China. My heart is still China’s. The Beijing Olympics is the pride of Chinese people all over the world. I wish Beijing well and cheer for the Olympics. " -Wang Chen


  BEIJING, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) According to the American Overseas Chinese Weekly, the American Olympic Committee recently announced a list of events to participate in the Beijing Olympic Games. In the list, five Chinese athletes were selected, including China-born table tennis player Wang Chen, which attracted the attention of many table tennis fans and people familiar with Wang Chen.


  Anyone familiar with table tennis knows Wang Chen’s position in China’s national women’s table tennis team in the last few years of the last century. Wang Chen has won nearly 30 women’s singles titles in her career, including professional tour, Asian Cup and World Table Tennis Championships. Among them, in 1997, Wang Chen won the women’s team championship for three consecutive times in cooperation with Deng Yaping, Wang Nan, Li Ju and Yang Ying at the 44th World Table Tennis Championships held in Manchester, England. Wang Chen, who became famous in the early 1990s, was once regarded as the most potential newcomer of China team after Deng Yaping and Qiao Hong. She is one of the few tall players in the China team. She has defeated all the first-team players such as Deng Yaping and Qiao Hong, and has maintained a technical advantage over the younger generation of players Wang Nan, Li Ju and Yang Ying for a long time.


  Now, as a Chinese athlete, a former world champion, a former main member of China’s national table tennis team and now a main member of the American women’s table tennis team, Wang Chen has been selected as the American Olympic delegation and will soon participate in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.


  At present, Wang Chen runs a table tennis club named after himself in the Upper West Side of Manhattan, new york. I have obtained the qualification to represent the United States in the Olympic Games held in Beijing. Wang Chen said indifferently that he was lucky to realize his Olympic dream at the age of 34. For the 34-year-old Wang Chen, this will be her last fight in the international table tennis competition, and it will also be a perfect curtain call for her personal career. With many questions about the former national player’s naturalization in the United States and curiosity about the eight-year struggle history of the United States and the story of Beijing’s Olympic dream, the reporter came to the table tennis club in Wang Chen as promised.


  At 1 o’clock in the afternoon, it was the time for lunch and lunch break, and he came to a small office of the table tennis club named after him. At this time, Wang Chen was being interviewed by local news media in new york. After our interview was delayed for about 15 minutes, Wang Chen appeared in the reporter’s field of vision.


  Olympic dream of Beijing


  Talking about the Beijing Olympic Games, Wang Chen seemed very excited and excited. "It is a rare opportunity for every athlete to get tickets for the Olympic Games, and this Olympic Games is held in Beijing, so I will take part in whatever I say," Wang Chen told reporters with a smile.


  In order to compete for the Olympic qualification, Wang Chen traveled around the world nonstop to participate in various tournaments to collect points. According to the regulations of ITTF, the top 20 athletes in the world will automatically get seats in the Olympic Games. Wang Chen is currently ranked 29th in the world, but Wang Chen can be ranked 14th because of the rule that only two players can be submitted by one country. From this, Wang Chen automatically won the seat of the Olympic Games.


  Regarding getting a seat in the Olympic Games, Wang Chen said that he has been an athlete for most of his life and has never let go of his love for table tennis. It is his first time to participate in the Olympic Games and he is really excited to return to his hometown. At the same time, Wang Chen also feels lucky.


  During Wang Chen’s eight years in the United States, Wang Chen not only didn’t give up table tennis, but also worked harder than before. She changed her raw rubber playing method to two-sided anti-rubber attack to give full play to her height and arm length. Tactics have obviously become more flexible than before, and the murderous look has also increased. She has won the women’s singles championship in the North American Championship for the United States many times.


  From 1993, 19-year-old Wang Chen made a blockbuster in the women’s singles final at the Seventh National Games, competing with Deng Yaping, who was in full swing at that time, to now representing the United States in the Beijing Olympic Games. After 15 years of table tennis career, Wang Chen finally realized his life wish and participated in the Olympic Games this summer.


  My heart is still China’s heart


  When it comes to the "Overseas Corps", which is controversial by Chinese people, as one of them, Wang Chen didn’t feel embarrassed. Wang Chen said that it was only his love of table tennis that kept him going. At present, the women’s team in China has particularly advanced technology, so it can’t pose a threat to the women’s team in China in the Olympic Games to switch to other national teams after retiring from China. In fact, in recent years, the "Overseas Corps" has never posed a direct threat to the China table tennis team’s gold medal, and the Chinese people have lost a lot of criticism.


  What will happen when the reporter puts forward the assumption that he will meet China athletes at the Beijing Olympic Games? Wang Chen said that table tennis has already transcended national boundaries, and in recent years, he has returned to China from time to time to compete, learn from each other and practice with China team members. Everyone has a deep friendship with each other. Ask again, if you meet China athletes during the Olympic Games, will your heart change? She said, "After all, this year’s Olympic Games will be held in Beijing, and the atmosphere will naturally be very warm. However, every time I meet a player from China, my hands are tight and I am easily influenced and distracted by the audience. It is possible that my heart is still because of China’s heart. "


  When it comes to the prospect of Olympic achievements, Wang Chen seems very calm. Wang Chen said that in the United States, unlike China, there is systematic training and preparation for war, and it can only be self-reliant. She now represents the Dutch club in the European League and warms up for the Olympics through the competition. Speaking of the event, Wang Chen said that the Olympic women’s table tennis singles competition is a strong dialogue, without high expectations, and it is a fight. As for the women’s team, the US team is still promising to compete for medals. After all, there are two people, Gao Jun and me. Except for China, no team can guarantee to win both of us.


  Wang Chen is very excited about returning to Beijing. She said that Beijing now is very different from Beijing where she used to live, and every time she returns to Beijing, she is very novel and excited. The change of my own nationality will never change the strong smell of Beijing in me, or the fact that I was cultivated by China. My heart is still China’s. Beijing Olympic Games is the pride of Chinese people all over the world. Bless Beijing and cheer for the Olympic Games.


  Sweet and sour, eight-year trip to America


  In 1999, Wang Chen, who was only 25 years old, chose to retire because there was no more room for promotion and development in the women’s table tennis team in China. In the year after retiring, she has not found a suitable way out for various reasons. At that time, my sister was running a fur business in New Jersey, USA. With her sister’s help, she applied for special talents to immigrate to the United States. Now Wang Chen’s sister has returned to China to settle down, while Wang Chen has stayed in the United States to develop. 


  Wang Chen said frankly that when he first came to the United States, he wanted to give up the cause of table tennis completely, engage in a brand-new job and create a new future. Later, it was found that there are many die-hard fans and fans of table tennis in the United States, many of whom are Americans and many immigrants. One of the die-hard fans is Jerry, the owner of her current club? Jerry Wartski. Jerry also completely changed the fate of Wang Chen.


  Jerry, 77, is a big fan of table tennis. Engaged in real estate work in new york in his early years. In 2002, when Wang Chen began to teach Jerry, Jerry already owned a table tennis club on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, new york, and later named it after Wang Chen.


  Knowing Jerry can be said to be a turning point in Wang Chen’s life in America. When I first arrived in new york, Wang Chen once offered to work as a temporary worker for Jerry, with an income. Jerry sternly refused. He said, "No, you are a China champion, an American champion or a world champion. I can’t let you be a temporary worker. You must stay in the arena." To this, Wang Chen is very emotional. She said that Jerry gave me a platform to continue my favorite table tennis career in the United States.


  Through several years’ hard work, Wang Chen Table Tennis Club has become more and more famous in Manhattan, and many celebrities include Keanu, the hero of The Matrix. Reeves and mcenroe, the "bad boy" in tennis, are frequent visitors to Wang Chen Table Tennis Club. For the present results, Wang Chen did not show pride. She said that I have learned a lot from eight years of living in the United States, which is my greatest gain.


  Love in the swimming pool


  Zhou Yue, Wang Chen’s husband, is a native of Xi ‘an. He studied in Xi ‘an Institute of Architecture and Engineering, and now he is studying for a master’s degree in environmental engineering at Columbia University, and has passed the examination of a professional certified real estate appraiser in the United States.


  She met her husband Zhou Yue in the swimming pool of Columbia University. At that time, I often went to Columbia swimming pool to practice because I couldn’t swim. One day, I felt that I could never teach myself. I had to ask someone else. I found a man who was very proud of breaking waves in the water. I thought, why don’t you ask him? So I swam over, and the first thing I asked him was, "Do you speak Mandarin?" He stood in the water and said, "I’m from mainland China and Xi ‘an. I also taught myself from teaching CDs." Then we started talking. Slowly, our contact will be more, and the circle of Columbia University is very small, so we will get familiar with each other when we get together frequently.


  In July, 2004, at the US Open, Zhou Yue rushed to watch the game in Wang Chen, and Wang Chen lived up to expectations and won the women’s doubles championship with Liu Jia, the former sister of the Beijing team. A few months later, Zhou Yue took out a carefully selected Tiffany diamond ring worth more than 6,000 US dollars and formally proposed to Wang Chen. Both parents were quite satisfied with the background and personality of the two young people. Soon after, Wang Chen and Zhou Yue registered to get married in new york.


  After eight years of ups and downs, Wang Chen has gone through years with great difficulties. Besides Wang Chen’s own hard work. In the United States, Wang Chen is lucky. With table tennis as a link, she has been helped by good people from different classes. (Zou Bin)

Editor: Lu Wei

The price of cherries has been halved, and the "traffic star" has begun to be close to the people?

  Dajiang Net/Dajiang News Client News All-Media ReporterXie Mengli, internZhang Pingting, Zhang YingReport: With the coming of winter, "cherry freedom" has once again appeared in people’s field of vision, and cherries and strawberries known as "high-end fruits" have become the "signature fruits" of many fruit shops. In particular, the terms "the price of cherries was halved" and "the price of cherries finally began to fall" were once rushed to the hot search, causing widespread discussion among netizens.

  Have Nanchang people really achieved fruit freedom this winter? What is the price of cherries in Nanchang market? In this regard, the reporter visited.

  The price of cherries varies from store to store.

The cherries sold by Shangchao

  On January 8, the reporter went to a large supermarket chain on Zhongshan Road and saw that people came and went in the fruit area, and many customers bought all kinds of fruits. As a popular fruit in the season, cherries are filled with two stalls, from one J to four J’s, from 500 grams to exquisite gift boxes, all kinds and dazzling. As can be seen from the price tag, two J cherries imported from the supermarket are priced at 69.9 yuan per catty, while three J cherries from Chile are 79 yuan per catty. "This cherry is still quite expensive. If I buy it in Pinduoduo, it is about 5 kg, which is about 150 yuan, but the imported one is more expensive." Grandma Yang, who is shopping, told reporters.

  Compared with the price of large supermarkets, the cost performance of street fruit shops and farmers’ markets seems to be higher. During a visit to a fruit shop in donghu district, the reporter found that two J cherries were 58 yuan per catty and three J cherries were 68 yuan per catty. According to the owner, Mr. Huang, compared with the end of last year, cherries of different qualities have dropped by 10 yuan to 20 yuan per catty. "It’s cheaper to buy cherries with three J’s like this pure Bing3 together, as long as it’s 298 yuan a box, and it tastes like a stone, so crisp and sweet, and there is more water." The owner enthusiastically introduced.

  At the farmer’s market not far away, Mr. Liu, the stall owner, told reporters that two J cherries were in 120 yuan at the end of last year, and this year, as long as they are 63 yuan per catty, they are nearly half cheaper.

  There is little difference between online and offline prices.

The cherries sold in boxes.

  Subsequently, the reporter saw on the major e-commerce platforms that all online shopping of cherries can be reached the next day, and the price is distinguished by J number, which is not far from the price of offline fruit shops. The more you buy, the more favorable the price is, usually starting from 2 kg.

  On another e-commerce APP, the discount is even stronger. The price of three J imported cherries is 198 yuan per catty, and each person is limited to 2 pieces, which is still in the replenishment state.

  Overall pricewhyDescending?

  Compared with the average price of cherries in 120 yuan per catty at the end of last year, supermarkets, fruit supermarkets and farmers’ markets all showed a certain downward trend. Just listed for about a month, the price was greatly reduced. What makes the value of "traffic star" half off?

  "This is of course related to everyone’s needs. When cherries first came out, more people bought them. Most of the domestic cherries have not yet reached the season. Although imported cherries are fast but costly, they are naturally more expensive." A boss who has been doing fruit wholesale all the year round tells the reason. It said that the quality and price of cherries are different due to different places of origin. "Every time cherries are popular in winter, imported cherries with high cost and fast air transportation are more circulating in the market, while the time to market for domestic cherries in China is often spring and summer, so at the end of the year, demand is often in short supply and the market selling price is generally high. With the recent large-scale listing of cherries by sea, the transportation price is lower, and a larger number of cherries flow into the market, and the relationship between supply and demand changes accordingly. It is not surprising that there is a phenomenon of’ price cuts’. "

  Although the price of cherries has gradually become popular with the people, there are certain differences in the selling price of cherries of different sizes, grades and places of origin in the market, and the price difference between each grade is quite large. Many fruit shops also remind them to be vigilant and cautious when buying, in order to prevent merchants from shoddy, filling small with large, and buying rationally.

As the New Year approaches, these important new regulations will be implemented on New Year’s Day.

    Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, December 31st Question: When the New Year arrives, these important new regulations will be implemented on New Year’s Day.

    Xinhua News Agency reporter Bai Yang

    With the New Year’s bell ringing, a number of important new regulations have been implemented since New Year’s Day. Promote patriotic education with the power of the rule of law, comprehensive legislation for the protection of minors’ network will help teenagers grow up healthily, and new regulations for drug management and use will protect your life and health … A brand-new year of 2024 will usher in a new atmosphere of the rule of law.

   Guarantee and promote patriotism education to be widely, deeply, persistently and effectively carried out.

    The Law of People’s Republic of China (PRC) on Patriotism Education came into force on January 1, 2024, ensuring and promoting the extensive, in-depth and sustained and effective development of patriotism education.

    According to this law, the main contents of patriotism education cover ideological and political education, history and culture, national symbols, the magnificent rivers and mountains and historical and cultural heritage of the motherland, the Constitution and laws, national unity and national unity, national security and national defense, heroism and deeds of exemplary figures, etc. While providing patriotic education for all citizens, we should give prominence to the education of teenagers and children in schools and families.

    This Law requires making full use of all kinds of resources and various forms to carry out patriotic education, including red resources, cultural relics and historical sites, patriotic education bases and various cultural venues, commendation and awards for meritorious service, various commemorative celebrations, folk cultural activities, ceremonial ceremonies such as hanging the national flag, singing the national anthem and taking the oath of the Constitution, and literary and artistic works, news media and information network platform carriers.

   Create a clear network space for minors

    The Regulations on Network Protection for Minors came into effect on January 1, 2024, which is the first comprehensive legislation on network protection for minors in China.

    The regulations put forward the requirements for personal information processors to strictly set the access rights of minors’ personal information and carry out compliance audits of personal information; Internet products and service providers should establish and improve the early warning, prevention, identification, monitoring and disposal mechanisms of cyberbullying, and set up functions and channels to facilitate minors and their guardians to keep records of cyberbullying and exercise their right to notify.  

   Strengthen the supervision of the whole process of drug management and use.

    The Measures for the Supervision and Administration of the Quality of Drug Trading and Use shall come into force on January 1, 2024.

    Methods Strengthen the supervision of the whole process of drug management and use, further clarify the division of responsibilities of drug supervision departments at all levels, clarify the responsibilities of cross-regional supervision, enrich administrative measures, and clarify the requirements of the connection between execution and discipline.

    The measures stipulate the quality management departments and personnel, storage and maintenance, handling and recall of drug quality problems and drug traceability of medical institutions. Medical institutions and other drug users are required to establish a drug quality management system, which is responsible for the drug quality management in the whole process of drug purchase, storage and use.

   Measures to increase the convenience of administrative reconsideration

    The revised Administrative Reconsideration Law of People’s Republic of China (PRC) shall come into force on January 1, 2024.

    The revised Administrative Reconsideration Law has added a number of convenience measures to provide convenience for the parties to apply for and participate in administrative reconsideration, and to protect the rights of the parties in administrative reconsideration.

    Where an administrative organ serves a written decision on administrative act through Internet channels, it shall also provide an Internet channel for submitting an application for administrative reconsideration. If an applicant refuses to accept the decision on administrative punishment made on the spot or based on the illegal facts recorded by electronic technology monitoring equipment, he may submit an application for administrative reconsideration through the administrative organ that made the decision on administrative punishment.

   Focus on solving the "difficult service" of foreign-related civil litigation cases

    The NPC Standing Committee’s decision on amending the Civil Procedure Law of People’s Republic of China (PRC) shall come into force on January 1, 2024.

    In recent years, the number of foreign-related civil disputes tried by people’s courts has risen rapidly, and the number of cases in which foreign parties voluntarily choose the jurisdiction of our courts is increasing. The revised Civil Procedure Law further improves the relevant provisions on foreign-related service, makes efforts to solve the problem of "difficult service" in foreign-related cases, improves the efficiency of service, and earnestly safeguards the legitimate rights and interests of the parties involved in foreign-related cases; We will improve the judicial assistance system for foreign-related civil cases and add relevant provisions for overseas investigation and evidence collection.  

   Promote the construction of marine environmental supervision and management system

    The revised Marine Environmental Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China shall come into force on January 1, 2024.

    The revised Marine Environmental Protection Law requires that the coastal local people’s governments should be responsible for the quality of the marine environment in the sea areas under their management, implement the target responsibility system and evaluation system for marine environmental protection, and promote the capacity building of marine environmental supervision and management.

    In addition, the system of ecological environment zoning control, comprehensive management of key sea areas, interview and rectification, information sharing, credit evaluation, seizure and detention will be added. Improve the planning, standards, monitoring, early warning, investigation, environmental assessment, emergency and other systems.

"Print+Music" Suzhou people’s nightlife has a new way to open.

  Zhongxin. com, Jiangsu News, December 30 (Zhou Jianlin) On the evening of the 29 th, Suzhou Art Museum was full of youthful atmosphere. When the lights gradually dim, musicians slowly step onto the stage and pluck the strings, and an encounter between printmaking and music opens a beautiful journey.

The concert scene. Zhang Jian photo
The concert scene. Zhang Jian photo

  Recently, the first China Youth Printmaking Biennale is on display in Suzhou Art Museum. More than 230 prints with different styles and different themes fully reflect the diversity and diversity of contemporary youth printmaking art and their enthusiasm and pursuit of artistic creation. In the night, printmaking has become a dazzling stage background for the concert.

  This "Parallel Universe-Classical Chamber Music and Jazz Cross-border Fusion Concert" was specially invited by composer and jazz guitarist Xu Zhihan, jazz pianist and composer, and percussion player Rong Chenchu played in the daytime. This is a young jazz group active on the world stage.

The concert scene. Zhang Jian photo
The concert scene. Zhang Jian photo

  A song "Into To Rivers" brings people peace and reverie. With the progress of the concert, songs such as "Last day All Day", "Journey of Blessing" and "Dust" are constantly touching everyone’s heartstrings.

  "China ancient prints have a long history and reached its peak in Ming and Qing Dynasties. Regardless of printmaking or music, art is often connected. With the changes of the times, art will change from one style to multiple elements, thus making cross-border creation. " Xu Zhihan said that the print works on the spot also added a lot of inspiration to their creation.

  Yuan Xin, who listened to the concert in the art museum for the second time, is a "post-90 s", and Suzhou Art Museum has become her new punching place. "Whether it’s music or painting, it’s all about expressing young people’s truest self-feelings in the present life. It can resonate and cause the greatest interaction. " Yuan Xinxiao said that musical resonance is a new standard for young people to choose a spouse.

  "Art has no boundaries. The Voice-over Series of Philharmonic is an attempt to cross-border and integrate art in Suzhou Art Museum this year. This year, different kinds of concerts such as folk music and western music have been planned one after another." Yang Yi, deputy director of Suzhou Public Cultural Center and deputy director of Suzhou Art Museum, said that it is expected that more and more visitors will enter the art museum to watch art exhibitions and experience concerts, and feel the beautiful life in Suzhou, which will become a new way for them to open up Suzhou nightlife. (End)

Receive relief, be homeless

The United States is not only the largest economy in the world, but also a western country with the most serious polarization between the rich and the poor. For a long time, it can’t get out of the dilemma that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.
Christmas bells and homeless people
A few days before Christmas, it was cold in new york, USA. On the morning of 23rd, residents went to St. michaels’s Episcopal Church on the west side of Central Park in northern Manhattan. Instead of worshipping, they gathered outside the back door of the church with bags in their hands or shopping carts, waiting for free food and warm gloves, shoes and clothes taken out of the church. Whenever the staff took out some items, the people present rushed to get them into their hands, and the staff had to say loudly, "Learn to share".
The picture shows that on December 24th, in new york, USA, the staff of "new york Public Food Storage Room" distributed free food to the public. Xinhua news agency
On the east side of Central Park, new york Public Food Store, a non-governmental organization there, did not arrange to distribute free food that day, but "regular customers" still came to find out from time to time. After hearing the disappointing news, some people left disappointed, while others kept ringing the doorbell and expected a response.
On the afternoon of 23rd, Jose Aristeo, who was about sixty years old, came here with an empty shopping cart. He told reporters that he had been here once this morning.
The picture shows that on December 24th, in new york, USA, people lined up in the "new york Public Food Storage Room" to receive free food. Xinhua news agency
"I’ve been here twice, I’m tired, and I have asthma." Aristeo showed reporters the medicines he carried with him, and he still kept a certificate in his hand that he could get vegetables from this NGO. On the same day, Aristeo was told that vegetables would not be distributed on this day.
Jose gonzalez, a staff member of new york Public Food Storage Room, told reporters,The number of people who come to receive free food has increased sharply this year, and a new shelter has been opened nearby.Stephen grimaldi, executive director of the organization, said earlier that before the epidemic, the "new york Public Food Storage Room" provided about 6.3 million meals a year, and the supply is expected to exceed 11 million this year.
According to the 2023 annual report released by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development this month,At present, the number of homeless people in the United States exceeds 650 thousand.The year-on-year growth rate was 12%, a record high since statistics began in 2007.
The picture shows that on December 24th, in new york, USA, the staff of "new york Public Food Storage Room" distributed free food to the public. Xinhua news agency
Multiple factors boost the polarization between the rich and the poor in the United States
This is not the first time that such a scene has appeared. In the past 100 years, the gap between the rich and the poor in the United States has shown a "positive U-shaped" trend of change.
The polarization between the rich and the poor in the United States is caused by many factors, including capital monopoly, electoral politics, government policies, the weakening of trade unions and racial discrimination.
A camp for the homeless in San Francisco, USA. Source: China Newsweek
Polarization and unfair distribution of wealth are the normal and inevitable trend of capitalism., leading to the accumulation of wealth and poverty in the United States at the same time. Since the 1970s, American conservatism and liberalism have risen, and the concepts of marketization and internationalization have replaced the values of equality. The American economic system has turned to advocating privatization, giving up imposing progressive taxes, weakening trade unions and relaxing financial control. These policy choices have made the problem of polarization between the rich and the poor even more hopeless.
The weak strength of trade unions intensifies the polarization between the rich and the poor.In the 1950s, about one-third of American workers belonged to trade unions. In 1978, the membership rate of trade unions was still 23.8%, which dropped to 11.3% in 2011 and 10.3% in 2021. The proportion of black workers joining trade unions is higher than that of other races, and the decline of unionization has a particularly serious impact on black workers, aggravating the poverty of black ethnic groups.
The gap between the rich and the poor is closely related to race.The average income of American black, Hispanic or Latino families is about half that of white families, and their net wealth is only 15% to 20% of that of white families. Federal Reserve data show that this gap has widened significantly in the past few decades. Since 1989, the median wealth of white families has tripled, while the wealth of black, Hispanic and Latino families has hardly increased. According to a survey conducted by the Federal Reserve in 2019, the net assets of the median white family in the United States are 10 times that of the median black family, and the total wealth of the 400 richest American billionaires exceeds the total wealth of 10 million black American families.
Racial discrimination in the job market is serious.For a long time, the unemployment rate of blacks in the United States is about twice that of whites. Before the COVID-19 outbreak, the unemployment rate in the United States reached a historical low of 3.5%, but the unemployment rate of black and Hispanic workers was still much higher than this. Black Americans are poorly represented in high-paying positions in enterprises. In 2020, there were only four black CEOs in Fortune 500 companies.
The adverse consequences of the widening gap between rich and poor in the United States
More and more evidence shows that high wealth inequality is not conducive to economic and social development.
First of all, with the widening gap between the rich and the poor, demonstrations broke out in the United States in recent years.From the "Occupy Wall Street Movement" that originated in the United States in 2011 to the "Black Lives Matters" parade that opposed the violent law enforcement by American police in 2020, some demonstrations even turned into violent incidents. Behind the large-scale demonstrations are the dissatisfaction and struggle of the bottom people in the United States against racial discrimination, class solidification and wealth differentiation. In the case of constant social conflicts, the economic and social development of the United States will be affected to varying degrees.
Secondly,The polarization between the rich and the poor intensifies social injustice in the United States.In the United States, higher education resources are always disproportionately inclined to the rich, and low-income people lose equal opportunities for education. According to a statistic, among the 38 elite American universities, the number of students from the top 1% American families is more than that from the bottom 60% American families. According to a research report in Journal of American Medical Association, the average life expectancy gap between the poorest class and the richest class in California has widened to 15.51 years due to the COVID-19 epidemic. The deepening of racial conflicts, frequent urban riots and serious violent crimes … The chaos in American society is closely related to the widening gap between the rich and the poor.
Finally, high wealth inequality will breed more rent-seeking behaviors and bring social injustice.Joseph stiglitz, an economist, defines rent-seeking as "the act of trying to get more share of the cake without making a big cake". In American society, politicians generally need private financial support to carry out election campaigns. Moreover, compared with the poor, the rich often have more social influence and discourse power, and economic inequality will aggravate political inequality at this time. On the one hand, the rich tend to support tax relief policies, resist public welfare expenditure items and redistribution policies; On the other hand, the rich will persuade the government to deregulate their interest groups, thus gaining monopoly market and excess income. When the rich have more dominance in political decision-making, while the political participation of low-income people or the working class continues to decline, the division and opposition of American society will become more serious.
Source: China Newsweek
Xiong Yihan, a professor at Fudan University, once said:The measure of a society’s material civilization depends on how its poor people live; A measure of a society’s spiritual civilization depends on how well its rich people do.When the United States moves forward as the world’s number one capitalist country, it may be time to lift the glamorous veil and face up to the cold reality of its polarization between the rich and the poor.
Source: Comprehensive from Xinhua News Agency, Xinhuanet, China News Weekly and People’s Daily International Report.Guangzhou Daily Xinhua City Editor: Liu Chengyu
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