Chinese vocabulary notes (October 2022)

In this month’s edition: Chinese health expert explains China zero-covid policy, Xi’ great power diplomacy, China’s demographic trap and the Chinese immigrant experience in Germany.

Chinese immigrants in Germany: 我们为什么要留在德国?赚大钱?享受生活?学姐和黑黑心得分享

How do Chinese people end up in Germany and decide to stay there? Most Chinese people I know in Germany come as students. After they finish their studies, they typically go on job hunt as long as their visa allows them. Some return to China, some settle down and start families. As a rule they’re highly qualified immigrants. These two Chinese YouTubers living in Germany explain why they decided to stay.

安稳的生活 Ānwěn de shēnghuó safe and stable life
走一步看一步 zǒu yībù kàn yībù step by step
30天假期 30 tiān jiàqī 30 days vacation
父母养老的问题 fùmǔ yǎnglǎo de wèntí parental care issues
对于这个方面你是怎么考虑的? duìyú zhège fāngmiàn nǐ shì zěnme kǎolǜ de? How do you think about this?

BBC interview with Chinese health expert Liang Wannian:

Will China’s zero-covid policy last forever? BBC interviews Liang Wannian who advises the Chinese government on dealing with the pandemic. The reporter asks the right questions, for example what 动态清理 means and how it works, if this approach may have negative side effects. If I understand Liang Wannian correctly, he says so much as that the pandemic has positive effects on the economy, people’s health and mental state. An Orwellian statement? He goes on to explain that any problems that arise on the ground are not due to bad policy making, but rather “management” issues.

动态清理 dòngtài qīnglǐ “dynamic cleanup”
不是零感染 bùshì líng gǎnrǎn not zero infection
零容忍 líng róngrěn zero tolerance
防控疫情 fáng kòng yìqíng epidemic prevention and control
是一个管理问题 shì yīgè guǎnlǐ wèntí is a management issue
不是政策问题 bùshì zhèngcè wèntí not a policy issue
加强针 jiāqiáng zhēn booster shot
疫苗对防死亡还是有效的 yìmiáo duì fáng sǐwáng háishì yǒuxiào de vaccines are still effective in preventing death
防感染 fáng gǎnrǎn to prevent infection
抵抗力 dǐkàng lì resistance, immunity
脆弱人群 cuìruò rénqún vulnerable population
再坚持一下 zài jiānchí yīxià hold on, keep holding on

BBC report on Xi’s “great power diplomacy”

And up comes the next BBC news item in Chinese that looks into China’s “great power diplomacy” and its increasingly assertive behavior on the world stage. Rather difficult stuff and the traditional characters don’t make it easier, at least for me.

大国外交 Dàguó wàijiāo Great Power Diplomacy
在国际舞台上 zài guójì wǔtái shàng on the international stage
丝绸之路 sīchóu zhī lù Silk Road
债务陷阱 zhàiwù xiànjǐng debt trap
新殖民手段 xīn zhímín shǒuduàn neocolonial tactics
中美关系 zhōng měi guānxì Sino-US relations

China’s low birth rate

Why do we keep talking about China’s low birth rate? Well, if China’s wants to be the number one nation in the world, they need more children. Li Can provides some background on the problem and delves deeper into the reasons why young people in present-day China “fail to produce” more children. He mentions that there’s kind of urgency and even crisis awareness surrounding this topic and the Chinese government is implementing new policies to raise the birth rate. Will it be enough to reverse the current trend?

低出生率 dī chūshēnglǜ low birth rate
灭国 miè guó to destroy the country
危机意识 wéijī yìshí crisis awareness
自身的角度 zìshēn de jiǎodù personal perspective
计划生育政策 jìhuà shēngyù zhèngcè birth planning policy
跑题了 pǎotíle to digress
嫖娼 piáochāng to go whoring
被封杀了 bèi fēngshāle to be shut out

China’s demographic situation be in twenty years

王志安 is a popular Chinese journalist and former TV-host who was banned from all major platforms in China in 2019. In one of the most popular videos from his channel 王志安 gives his take on China’s demographic development and its impact on Chinese society. He states that all industries that currently exist due to cheap labor like the express delivery and takeaway industry will disappear in the future. Housing prices will fall in most areas due to a declining population. He predicts a development similar to Japan. Sounds like it’s time to invest in retirement homes.

生育率 shēngyù lǜ fertility rate
人口结构 rénkǒu jiégòu population structure
劳动力的急剧减少 láodònglì de jíjù jiǎnshǎo Sharp decline in the workforce
社会资源 shèhuì zīyuán social resources
世界工厂 shìjiè gōngchǎng world factory
制造业 zhìzào yè manufacturing
资产价格 zīchǎn jiàgé asset price
社会保障制度 shèhuì bǎozhàng zhìdù Social security system
社会稳定 shèhuì wěndìng social stability
银发族 yínfà zú silver hair workers
大幅下跌 dàfú xiàdié to fall sharply
社会矛盾 shèhuì máodùn social conflicts

The Chinese React To New 3-Child Policy | Street Interview

That reminded me of this Asian Boss video from about a year ago. Young people in Shanghai share their thoughts about the new 3-child policy that aims at raising the birth rate. Their reactions are very telling, many of them bluntly speak out that they thought the new policy was a joke, that they have no clue how to actually raise two children, let alone three. I’m not sure if more details about this new policy have been shared in the meantime, information about financial support for women (and men) during parental leave and child benefits for example. Because that might truly change something for the better. I’m also not sure how representative the Shanghai situation (maybe the most expensive city in China) is for the rest of China, especially the second- and third-tier cities and the rural areas.

一胎 yī tāi one child
二胎 èr tāi second child
三胎政策 sān tāi zhèngcè three-child policy
不想要第二胎 bùxiǎng yào dì èr tāi (I) don’t want a second child
老龄化 lǎolíng huà aging (population)
退休年龄 tuìxiū niánlíng retirement age
带不过来 dài bùguò lái can’t take proper care (of the children)
养孩子的成本 yǎng háizi de chéngběn the cost of raising children

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