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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Hoa Hao who wrote (63947)	12/31/2002 7:06:34 PM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 281500

When I read this story, my reaction was, "China is on a real Bubble. When will it burst?" London Times China unveils first superfast magnet train By Oliver August in Beijing Nothing is too fast or too expensive for the reborn city of Shanghai. The metropolis once known as the Paris of the East is spending £1 billion on the world's first magnetic levitation train in commercial use. At a top speed of 267 miles an hour, the German-built Transrapid will take a mere eight minutes to deliver passengers from the new international airport into a valley of gleaming skyscrapers - without ever touching the ground. Zhu Rongji, China's Prime Minister, and Gerhard Schröder, the German Chancellor, today took an inaugural ride ahead of the start of regular service some time next year. The German government delegation was visibly amazed by the speed with which one of its abiding technological dreams had been realised by the Chinese. Germany had spent 30 years developing the train, spending billions of pounds of public money, only to decide that the planned superfast and environmentally friendly rail network was too expensive, even for the wealthy Federal Republic. Then, along came officials from the People's Republic who declared that not only could China afford the train, but it would build it in just over a year. German engineers who watched the construction work grumbled that the Chinese weren't following proper procedures. But today's inauguration reaffirmed Shanghai's exuberant self-confidence. The train to the airport was ready, even if it cost more than most airports. Entire towns and factories had been moved in the last year to make room for what seems like hubris to many western observers. But many Chinese see it as yet another welcome sign of China's rising status in the world. Asked whether a subway line might not have worked just as well and at much lower cost, Xu Kuangdi, the former mayor of Shanghai, said: "Oh no. We need something chic." Today's pilot run represented the first ever application of "maglev" technology, in which the train literally floats above the track. While other global business centres will be tightening belts for yet another year, Shanghai, the commercial capital of the booming Middle Kingdom, is still lavishing money on prestige projects. The city of 14 million people is keen to be regarded as an equal to New York, Tokyo and London. Shanghai businessmen involved in the project insist that despite its cost it will be profitable. They expect up to 10 million passengers a year, a fifth of whom will be non-airport visitors along just for the ride, costing £5. But the real business logic is anchored in a plan to expand the rail line to neighbouring Hangzhou more than 100 miles south, passing Jiaxing, the birthplace of the Communist Party. There are even plans to lay 800 miles of track all the way to Beijing to rival airlines and give China the mobility its expanding economy demands, or, alternatively, the flair its vanity cries out for. According to insiders, Beijing is intending to lift much of the technology expensively developed in Germany. The new rolling stock and track will be engineered and built in China. The Germans, led by Thyssen and Siemens, are still fighting back, buying advertising on Chinese television, but when it comes to government spending they are currently no match for China, the second biggest holder of foreign reserves after Japan. However, the speedy planning and execution displayed in Shanghai has struck some observers as hasty and erratic. The city government decided to buy the new train to cover up an earlier mistake, namely it forgot to provide public transport to its new airport. Hence the ecstatic celebration of the train's inauguration in China's official media. The Xinhua news agency reported: "A train which travels at 119 meters per second? Incredible, but true. Taking a panoramic view from above, the maglev line looks very much like a swiftly-moving white fish. The dazzling and dizzying speed, nevertheless, causes passengers no discomfort, and even seatbelts are unnecessary." Wu Yu, a passenger, was quoted as saying: "It is like riding in a plane flying just above ground-level. It took only about 2 minutes and 15 seconds for the train to reach 300 kilometres per hour. The train accelerates to 430 kilometres per hour, its maximum, at some 3 minutes and 55 seconds from departure."

To: Hoa Hao who wrote (63947)	12/31/2002 7:14:55 PM
From: michael97123	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

HH, We never attacked Chinese nuke facilities when we could have destroyed their infant program. We have survived. By the way i am sure i am older than you. Please document what we attacked in 1964--sure i would recall if it were major. North koreans would certainly be destroyed in any war but there would be numerous casualties in both seoul and among american trip wire troops. As far as saving face goes, i have heard that paper tiger nonsense over and over again. To prove we are not a paper tiger does not mean we need to act irrationally and we have active strongly around the world in the past two years, so nobody believes we will not be fierce when engaged. All i was saying is that each case among the axis of evil is unique and calls for well thought out policy. Goal#1 now is to take out iraq. 2 front wars are not desirable. There are other powers in the Far East who can deal with this one for awhile. Mike