• Short on Babies, China Wants People to Live and Work Longer

    From Byker@21:1/5 to All on Fri Mar 12 13:24:20 2021
    XPost: soc.culture.china, soc.culture.indonesia, aus.politics
    XPost: talk.politics.misc

    On Wednesday, March 10, 2021 at 11:33:46 PM UTC-5, wakal...@yahoo.com.sg
    wrote:

    Doesn't every country in the west want people to live and work longer?

    Wakalukong

    What happens all too often when the "West" tries to "lift people out of poverty": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lF3mnuxjPCw

    Example: Now that Indonesians have a "higher" standard of living and have
    more money to spend thanks to tourism, they can now afford to fly across the Indonesian archipelago instead of enduring overcrowded ferryboats. Trouble
    is, the demand is now so great that they can't find enough qualified pilots
    for their myriad low-cost airlines, with abysmal numbers of crashes as a
    result (all Indonesian airlines save for Garuda are banned from EU airspace, and Western tourists are urged by their governments not to fly on "domestic" carriers). As for the Indonesians themselves, when told they're boarding untrustworthy airlines, being mostly Muslim, they generally shrug their shoulders and say in effect, "I put my life in the hands of Allah..."

    The latest "prang": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oTf54SGv5qM --------------------------------------------------------------------
    "Bali’s natural beauty and rich culture have made it a tourist magnet but since COVID19, the island is struggling to stay afloat. Locals are
    questioning their dependence on tourism and the over-development it has unleashed.

    "Marcello and the lifeguards of Kuta Beach rise bright and early for their morning meeting and surf sprints. But they know it’s going to be a quiet
    day. While the iconic beach normally attracts 50 000 visitors a day from
    around the world, today the head lifeguard expects only 50 people.

    "'Nobody makes a life on the beach', says Marcello. 'People who sell
    massage, or merchandise on the beach…I heard they all go back home to their village. It’s a very sad situation.'"

    "It’s a common story across the island, even in its remotest corners.

    "Off Bali’s east coast on the small island of Ceningan, Wayan lost his job
    at a hotel, and had to return to farming seaweed with his family. It’s the same story across Ceningan.

    "'Before we had 100 per cent tourism. Now 80 or 90 percent they are doing seaweed farms', says Wayan who’s had to cop a 75% pay cut. 'We had no choice but to return to nature.'

    "But some Balinese see the crisis as an opportunity.

    “'This is a wake-up call for all of us”, says Christia, a young businesswoman. 'We realized that we cannot just depend on one industry.'

    "In this visually stunning story, reporter and cameraman Matt Davis travels around Bali and discovers an island in the midst of some serious soul searching.

    "He meets locals who are questioning the unhinged development that’s accompanied the tourist boom and who want to chart a different course for
    the future.

    “'Bali tourism industry is based on two things, nature and culture", says rock star Robi Gede, 'and we cannot sacrifice them'.

    "Politicians and businesspeople want to fix the congestion, pollution and rubbish problems and encourage a different type of tourism. One that’s sustainable and benefits locals more.

    "'I think it's a good time for reflection this year', says Christia, 'Go
    back to loving our island and make sure that people don't abuse our island
    as well.

    "'We hope that when the tourists come back, they are coming with a good
    energy, they are not littering, with more respect for the local rules', says Marcello. 'Come with a good vibe.'"

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