User Comments - davidfong

Posted on: Fasten that Safety Belt

My apologies bodawei, the statistics I read compared a few different countries and was sourced from the Australian newspaper. On reflection, that article was perhaps 'car industry-sourced' and so concentrated on countries like USA, India, China and European countries who are purchasing lots of vehicles, rather than countries in Africa.

As I recall, the stats were similar to the article quoted by RJBerki, and that article also explains why I think riders of heavier electric two-wheel vehicles are (or think they can afford to be) more reckless than riders of (relatively light) pushbikes.

For more authoritative statistics, there is always WHO's Western Pacific road safety report...

As paulinurus suggests, Chinese statistics might be more difficult to interpret as page 94 suggests that the 'real figure' for traffic accident deaths is perhaps twice the official figure.

Comparison with other countries in the region shows that South Korea has more pedestrian fatalities as a percentage of traffic accident fatalities and Singapore has a similar ratio to China, so my apologies. Apparently many African countries have a much higher ratio than China. However, South Korea and Singapore have a lower rate of traffic accident fatalities (per head of population) than China.

Posted on: Fasten that Safety Belt

Of fatalities resulting from motor-vehicle accidents, China has one of the highest rates of pedestrian deaths. This is no doubt in part due to the crowded nature of Chinese cities and roads, but unfortunately is perhaps also because people in their cars have a 'castle/fortress' mentality, simply by being in a heavy and solid metal vehicle (seatbelt or not).

I think the easiest way to see an example of this behaviour is not with cars, but with two-wheel vehicles. In my observation, people on pedal-bicycles cycle much more carefully in pedestrian areas than people riding those 50 kg electric vehicles. Why? Cyclists usually know that an accident with a pedestrian can easily result in multiple fractures and injuries to the cyclist. Just as the heavy-electric vehicle drivers know that they can 'drive right through' a pedestrian with much lower risk of major injury to themselves.

Posted on: Fasten that Safety Belt

All very good reasons, rcorner! This all seems like so much 'common sense' to us, and very much part of the culture of car-drivers and passengers in many of the countries of our upbringing (in my case, Australia). But it is not yet part of the culture in China.

In Australia, if I am slow to put on my seat-belt as a passenger, many drivers will say "Put on your seat-belt!" In other words, they don't want the guilt of my death on their hands.

In China, if I put on my seat-belt, I will quite often be told "There's no need, I am a safe driver!" In other words, putting on a seat-belt is an insult to the driver's skills.

I wasn't even alive in the 1960s, but more senior doctors have told me of their horror weekends in the casualty departments of medium-size country hospitals, where they would multiple dead and dying motor-car accident victims. So something changed in the Australian culture as well. And I don't think it is because of traffic police (whose eyesight is only good enough to read the speed-radar, not to see whether a driver travelling at 100 kph is wearing a seatbelt or not).

At least part of the cultural change in Australia is attributed to the graphic television advertisements mentioned previously. I think Australia's TAC advertisements were world-leading in this respect!TAC - 40 years of seatbelt campaigns (thankfully, i don't think you need access to youtube for those videos. The most recent footballer videos look like arthouse productions with a very vague message. However Bend Your Knees Kate is an absolute classic)

Graphic posters on the side-walk don't really make the mark, I think. Television advertisements showing a boy's head go through the windscreen, and being left in a state requiring 'maximum-care' afterwards would be much better.

Interesting that the accident in 'Bend Your Knees Kate' shows the car-driver avoiding the pedestrian. Perhaps that might need to be changed for the 'king-of-the-road' Chinese drivers ...

By the way, those seat-belt advertisements were not produced and shown on TV just because some-one thought it was a good idea. The TAC, which made those advertisements, is the compulsory insurance company responsible for paying the full medical, rehabilitation and compensation costs of all traffic-accident victims in Victoria. (The joke is that if you have a heart attack, make sure you are run over by a car at the same time). So, these advertisements are 'cost-effective' for TAC.

Posted on: NGOs in China and an Anniversary

Thanks for this program. It has given me a little more insight into the difficulties of transitioning non-profit organisations from overseas-based to local NGO status. Interesting for someone like me, who tries really hard to avoid the organisational nitty-gritty! One great thing about the Beijing Olympics was the way it had partly normalized the thought that sometimes people (maybe only some crazy and irresponsible university students) can do things without payment or at some personal cost.

Posted on: Medicine Doses

A metric teaspoon is 5 mL, so perhaps ericadoc was actually asking "How do I say 5 mL?" and "How do I say one-and-a-half teaspoons?"

Of course, that depends on how big your teaspoon is. Though, to the best of my knowledge, the Chinese are not as big on baking cookies as the Americans are, and so might not have a metric teaspoon!

Often, it doesn't matter. On the other hand, in China, oral theophylline is a lot cheaper than inhaled corticosteroids.

Posted on: Medicine Doses

I might be wrong, but to avoid confusion a metric teaspoon is 5 mL, so perhaps ericadoc meant to ask "How do I say 5 mL?" and "How do I say 1.5 teaspoons?"

Of course, this very much depends how big your teaspoon is. Sometimes it doesn't matter. On the other hand, in China, oral theophylline is a lot cheaper than inhaled corticosteroids inhalers...

Posted on: Medicine Doses

I wouldn't mind if you magnified the name of the ingredients!

I wonder which 'local Chinese' grocery store you purchased this product from, because if it was in Australia, I am pretty sure it is an illegal import. I think the active ingredient is the well known medicine hydrocortisone 氢化可的松 [qīng huà kě dì sōng]. The same medicine is also used in such well-known brands as Egocort/Sigmacort/Dermaid, and can only legally be sold by pharmacists....although fairly safe, don't use it indiscriminately on your face....

Posted on: To Tip or Not to Tip

In some countries, like Australia, we expect our waiters to be paid at least the minimum wage, which is a survivable amount. Although a waiter's wage is presumably a lot lower in China, I guess Chinese diners assume the same.

As for Chinese restaurants in Melbourne, here are some possible guides as to whether a tip should be paid...

1. Did they charge for tea? (Sadly, free tea is a disappearing practice)

2. Did they give complimentary dessert (fruit, or soup)? (Admittedly, this is more likely to be given AFTER a tip is paid)

3. Did I pay at the counter, or at the table?

4. Was the service that good?

5. Where is the tip going? Does this restaurant pay their employees the minimum wage?

I was sure annoyed to see a 'service charge' at a restaurant in China once. It was in a 'five-star hotel' on Huangshan 黄山. And the food was already expensive, and not that good...

Posted on: Lao Wang's Office 11: Wang in the Doghouse

bababardwan & raygo

When I was in an English language bookstore (in Xi'an) I saw a 'parallel translation' of Alice in Wonderland, but sadly no 'Through the Looking Glass'. The languages used was both English and simplified Chinese. It is obviously intended to help Chinese speakers learn English, but might suit you as well!

ISBN 7-5068-1205-3

The list price was 18 kuai. None of the Tenniel illustrations are included. They didn't typeset the 'long tale' into the appropriate shape.

I can vouch for raygo's comment that 'The Annotated Alice' is an essential read for anyone who realizes that the Alice books is more enjoyable to read when after we have become adults!

And if anyone has 'Through the Looking Glass' in Chinese...how did the Chinese translators handle 'Jabberwocky'? Did they print a 'looking glass (mirror-image)' version?

Posted on: Karaoke

Is there a particular reason that all the video karaoke examples provided above (by jenny, matt and cassie) use traditional, rather than simplified, characters in the sing-a-long lyrics/subtitles? Are all these performers from Taiwan, Hong Kong or the Malaysian peninsula? If they were singing in Cantonese, I wouldn't be surprised if the subtitles were in traditional characters. It looks as if karaoke will be a good way for me to learn traditional characters...!