What's in the News

It's silly to stop the program.  They should have just jacked up the minimum amount of cash and minimum time of required investment in a Canadian business.

Maybe Canada doesn't need millionaires, but what country would ever want to turn down billionaires.

The amount of money they have is really not a huge factor. What benefit will they bring? Billionaires are fine, but how much of that will stay in Canada?

Are they going to start a company and hire locals? No, they already have this in place somewhere other than Canada, that's why they are rich

Are they going to spend a lot of it in Canada? Maybe, and just a little more than Joe Average

Are they going to blend in? Probably not, these people tend to be older, family already done yaddayaddayadda

The 25-35 year olds have job skills we need adding to the standard of living. They will raise kids, pay taxes (hopefully) contribute to society.  I don't know what the ratio is between a millionaire, billionaire, and average person but for me, I'd rather have 100 people spread across the board (not just doctors and lawyers) than 1 millionaire. This has nothing to do with someone being Chinese even though the vast majority of the applicants are from China. The good news is that most of them won't be sponging off of social welfare. However, why do we need a 60 year old rich guy instead of a guy who is 30 and his wife and kids. Over the course of their lives, the 30 year old guy will leave behind much more money in Canada than the rich older guy

Ah, I just read the article more closely - I had a misinterpretation based on a less-accurate article I'd previously read about this issue stuck in my head.  I thought the cancelled plan was closer to the St Kitts investment for citizenship plan (mirrored in more countries than many people think^*).

This program wasn't for investors, it was for people making an interest-free loan to the government.  Obviously, that does save the government money, but it still would be far less useful than a 30 year old working another 30 years in country (unless we are talking about some MASSIVE loans).

Under what I thought it was, an investment to citizenship requires a substantial amount of cash to be put into a local company (pre-existing company accepting investor as a partner or else a new one owned by the investor).  Said company needs to hire employees, rent office space, etc., etc.  Done correctly this can generate a lot more tax revenue from a single investor in 3-5 years than allowing a 30 year old with a master's degree and some work experience to come over for a skilled job for 30-40 years.  It's all a matter of crunching the numbers and setting the investment bar high enough.



^*Not to name any names, but there's another country very close to Canada where politicians scoff at other countries that "sell" citizenship to investors, all while selling that country's citizenship to investors who have enough cash.

Airplanes and elevators (not at the same time or together) are still the two safest modes of transportation. And I know a commode       mode when I see one.  

I dunno about that!

Well if it's on the internet it must be true

More from the internet:

In all of China, an average of 40 elevator accidents occur every year, killing 30 people on average. Eighty percent of the accidents resulted from disrepair, said He Danyang, a researcher into the elevator industry from the Shenzhen-based Qianzhan Research Institute.

On Sept 13, 19 workers were killed at a construction site in Wuhan, Hubei province, after an elevator they were in plummeted hundreds of meters.

Three days before, a 37-year-old mother and her 18-month-old son stepped into an empty elevator shaft on the sixth floor of a building in Rui'an, Zhejiang province. The mother died soon after being sent to a hospital and the toddler suffered a severe skull fracture.

A day before that, an elevator dropped from the 19th floor of a shopping mall in Dongguan, Guangdong province, leaving 20 people injured.

http://www.china.org.cn/china/2012-09/24/content_26610452.htm 

I took an interest in the topic after getting stuck between floors in a lift last month. It was only for 10 minutes, but it seemed much longer.

I don't want to make light of innocent people dying, however comparing the incidents with the "mileage":

http://www.ask.com/question/elevator-accidents

There are only about 30 to 40 fatal elevator accidents per year. Only 1 in 12 million elevator rides will result in any kind of mechanical failure and elevators are considered to be the safest form of transportation for human. There have been instances where an elevator suffered a serious malfunction and lead to the death of the people inside. One of the biggest tragedies is when someone falls down the elevator shaft. Most accidents in elevators are not fatal.

And any "Made In China" product is as safe and worth about the paper it's stamped on




/end of paranoia

I am terrified of being stuck in an elevator (lift). If there is even the slightest delay, my heart starts pounding. I always say and mean, that I would rather face a person with a weapon, than have problems in a lift. That would have been the longest 10 minutes of my life xwarrior, but I'm not sure that my heart would have coped.

Just read this rather disturbing article
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2014/03/dead-tourists-and-a-dangerous-pesticide/

Now how would one avoid that in South East Asia?

Another reason to always wear protection.

Another reason to always wear protection.

Make sure what you swallow is wrapped in some sort of digestion proof package you say?

And the braying fades into the evening...

International study explores growing appeal of "The Chinese Dream"

The "Chinese Dream" enjoys a higher level of awareness than the "American Dream," and a growing number of Chinese will see China as the world's "ideal country" in the coming 10 years, a new study released by Britain-based advertising giant WPP has revealed.

Entitled "The Power and Potential of The Chinese Dream," the 89-page report explores the significance of the Chinese Dream in a larger context of the American Dream and the British Dream.

The report said personal dreams were similar in China, the United States and Britain, with surveys showing people in all three countries want to be healthy, happy and have a good life for their families.

However, the Chinese Dream was different from its American and British equivalents because China's personal and national dreams were "interdependent," with the Chinese expecting to realize their personal dreams by achieving the national dream, the report found.

"The Chinese Dream is different from other large visions that preceded it in China's 5,000-year history. It's a national agenda that incorporates the personal dreams of individual Chinese people," the report said.

Meanwhile, the report discovered the Chinese Dream enjoyed a much higher level of awareness than the American Dream or British Dream thanks to government promotion and social media coverage.

The study said 92 percent of Chinese had heard of the Chinese Dream and 80 percent heard about it on the Internet. In contrast, 81 percent of Americans had heard of the American Dream and only 10 percent of Britons had heard of the British Dream.

The surveys found a growing proportion of Chinese believe China can become one of the world's ideal places to live in 10 years, indicating the increasing appeal of the Chinese Dream among Chinese nationals.

More than one third of the Chinese respondents consider the United States as today's "ideal country", but perceptions change dramatically as 42 percent believe China will also be ideal in the coming 10 years, according to the surveys.

In contrast, Americans and Britons expect little change over the next 10 years. Roughly half of Americans say the United States is the ideal country today and will be tomorrow.

In the study, Chinese, Americans and Britons agree the United States is the world's most powerful nation, with 80 percent of Chinese respondents holding the belief. Only 12 percent of the Chinese today see China as the most powerful country.

By comparison, 44 percent of the surveyed Chinese believe China will equal the United States in power in the coming 10 years, compared to the 45 percent of Chinese who still expect the United States to remain most powerful.

More than two-thirds of Chinese say having a Chinese brand accepted overseas is a manifestation of China's increased global influence. To fulfill the vision of the Chinese Dream, younger Chinese want to transform "Made in China" to "Created in China", the report said.

The report said its findings were based on original research and surveys conducted by market research company Millward Brown, and brought together research and insight from some of the world's largest brand equity databases.


Both hilarious and stupid.


On the other hand, cheap copies made by China of international "products" (even intangible products, such as "dreams") may--*may*, for the love of God, MAY--be where they start on the making of actual "products"....

God, I hope not. If China were ever to grow up, the other aspect of the message above, the overbearing win-lose vibration... would a mature China abandon that?

Surveys: amusing and deceiving simultaneously.

Remember, just because the majority/everyone believes something, doesn't make it true

Both hilarious and stupid.

Truer words never spoken

Remember, just because the majority/everyone believes something, doesn't make it true

This explains much about how the electoral process works. I personally would like to see the votes on modifying the law of gravity so that everyone could flap their arms and fly.

Technology helps build ties across continents

France has consistently been one of China's most important sources of technology, and with common goals, the partnership will continue to develop in a comprehensive way, said an expert on the China-France relationship.

The article goes on to explain that China invented the Renaissance and freed Europe from religious intolerance by inspiring the Enlightenment. Thanks, China!