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Strategies & Market Trends : Trader J's Inner Circle -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LTK007 who wrote (41976)	4/3/2001 7:59:10 AM
From: ajtj99	Read Replies (4) \| Respond to of 56535

Max, Taiwan markets always over-react to China issues. Most people there under 40 acknowledge the two countries will eventually be one, but it may take another one or two generations. As for the people from the countryside coming to the cities, this has been happening for 2-decades. They provide much of the labor for the exports of consumer goods. However, this flight to the coastline from the inner countryside is causing a disparity in income, which is further aggravating the differences between the haves and the have-nots. The problem with the inner parts of China are infrastructure limitations and speed to market. I can save a week or more getting goods from a factory near Shanghai rather than one in Sichuan. The government is trying to incentivize to locate foreign ventures in the interior of China, but it is a tough sell. I think they need to re-distribute some of the income from the coastline to the interior. It is against Chinese tradition to pay taxes, so this is difficult. They collect most of their revenues through a 17% VAT, which is even applied to exports. As for forced labor, I have been to hundreds of factories in China and have not ever witnessed this. It is pretty isolated. Besides, if you looked at what the prisoners make in the USA when they work (less than $1.00/day sometimes) you could make a case that the pay as a percentage of the pay outside jail is lower here than in China. Unlike the US, most Chinese prisoners are rehabilitated and returned to society to lead productive lives. The Buddhist culture has something to do with this. There is mis-treatment of political prisoners, but I can name several western countries and US allies that also practice similar policies. Anyway, I'm just trying to provide some balance and insight into China. My sister lived in Shanghai for 2-years, and I've spent a total of a year there on various business trips. Just last fall alone I traveled 2,000 miles inside China. The people there don't care about politics, they just care about making money and improving their lives. They are the most capitalistic people on this earth, even under a communist regime, and their government knows it and uses their enterprising nature to nurture the country's growth and improve the standard of living. Anyway, Bush will probably agree to cut back the surveilence flights in order to get the crew back quickly. Too late for this morning's open. Futures down 28 already.