People’s Daily recently reported on a Gallup poll, which showed that 54% of those responding were dissatisfied with Obama. The poll also showed that Obama’s job approval rating was at 39%, which is a record low for a U.S. President. The report suggested that the poll result was related to S&P recently dropping the U.S. rating to AA+ for the first time in history. The report also referred to a recent Reuters’ poll which indicated that over 70% of U.S. people believe the country is heading the wrong direction. The report mentioned a few other numbers to prove its point: In July, the U.S. unemployment rate remained above 9% and the second quarter economic growth rate was merely 1.3%. Although Obama just started his bus tour in the Midwest to sell his new plan, the report hinted that might just be “a show for his reelection.”

Source: People’s Daily, August 20, 2011
http://paper.people.com.cn/rmrbhwb/html/2011-08/20/content_902415.htm

Huaqiao University and Social Sciences Academic Press recently published the first “Blue Book on Overseas Chinese.” According to People’s Daily Oversea’s Edition, the Blue Book highlighted the development in recent decades of Chinese language and cultural education outside of China, along with the challenges it faces. According to the statistics in the Blue Book, there are currently over 5,000 Chinese language schools and 20,000 Chinese language teachers overseas, including 3,000 Chinese schools in Asian countries alone, and 500 Chinese schools and 68,000 students in the U.S.

The Blue Book highlighted the challenges oversea’s Chinese educational development faces. "There is an imbalance in the allocation of resources; the quality of teaching is inconsistent in different regions; effective coordination can be improved; and communication between foreign Chinese language promotional agencies and education entities is lacking. … The challenges have affected the branding of ‘China’s image’ … and diminished China’s ‘Cultural soft power’" The Blue Book suggested there is a need to increase the efforts and resources devoted to the development of Chinese language education and to the development of a global Chinese language education system.

Zhao Yang, the Deputy Director of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the State Council disclosed that China will increase its investment in training oversea’s Chinese language teachers and will support the development of a Chinese language education system. According to the article, currently there is a training class held in Kunming University for Chinese language teachers from Burma. Another will be held in Wuhu City of Anhui Province in December to train teachers from Indonesia.

Source: Xinhua, August 19, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/overseas/2011-08/19/c_121882177.htm

Guangming Daily published an article analyzing four areas in which the US debt crisis caused damage to the world’s politics and its economy. 1) The downgrade of the U.S. credit rating significantly harmed its reputation and the trust in U.S. treasury bonds around the world. Moreover, the economic crisis also reflects its political crisis: both parties as well as the administration and Congress have shown they are incapable of solving the problems themselves. 2) As the U.S. is the most influential country, the debt crisis had a deep impact on the rest of the world. The downgrade of the U.S. credit rating caused the world market to fluctuate drastically. The recovery of the world economy has stalled, thus greatly affecting U.S. global influence and resulting in other countries having less trust in and reliance on the U.S. 3) As the world’s top superpower, the U.S. carries the responsibility for the rest of the world. However the way the U.S. handled the debt crisis shows it has been extremely irresponsible. The U.S. solution was to use the superior status of the U.S. dollar, transfer the risk to other countries, and let other countries carry the burden. 4) Coordination is needed in facing the crisis. No doubt the U.S. should take the main responsibility. However, in order to pull through the crisis, the rest of the countries such as the G20 Finance Ministers and the Governors of Central Banks should also work together.

Source: Xinhua, August 10, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2011-08/19/c_121881258.htm

Xinhua carried an article originally from Jiefang Daily that analyzed the increased military cooperation between India and Vietnam, stating their joint efforts in the China Sea would create challenges for China, diminish China’s economic influence on Vietnam, and would not help solve the South China Sea conflict. Moreover, the formation of the “Mekong-Ganga Cooperative,” which includes India and Vietnam, is an indication that they are trying to compete with China.

The article commented on how India and Vietnam have recently stepped up their military ties. On July 19, Vietnam invited the Indian Naval warship “Ins Airavat” to visit the Nha Trang port in southern Vietnam. Nha Trang, close to the South China Sea, was an important U.S. military base during the Vietnam War, and is fully equipped militarily. The article added, “It is a clear indication that Vietnam is attempting to include a third country in the South Sea dispute.”

India’s response to Vietnam included a promise to build a large naval warship, to export missiles, and to provide technical assistant to help the Vietnamese military forces. "India’s move shows that it hopes to have a presence in the Asia pacific region." The article ended by stating, “The impact of the strategic cooperation between India and Vietnam will be very limited due to their geographic location and their limited (military) power; … however we cannot take it for granted.”

Source: Xinhua, August 18, 2011
http://news.xinhuanet.com/world/2011-08/18/c_121876287_2.htm