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The Fat Years
''The Fat Years'' is a 2009 Chinese science fiction novel written by Chan Koonchung. First published in traditional Chinese versions in 2009 in both Hong Kong by Oxford University Press and also in Taiwan by the Rye Field Publishing Company under the title 'Prosperous Age: China in the year 2013' (盛世—中國2013年), to date it has never been published in mainland China. Plot The novel is set in the near future of 2013, where China has entered a ''shengshi'', a historical epoch of prosperity and peace, while Western nations have stagnated after a second financial crisis in early 2011. Lao Chen, a Hong Kong expatriate and writer living in Beijing, finds himself enjoying the atmosphere of prosperity and contentment. Though suffering from writer's block, he makes a modest living off renting apartments and attends monthly film screenings held at a restaurant owned by his friend Jian Lin (and attended by an insomniac Politburo member named He Dongsheng). Lao gradually finds him ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinese Science Fiction
Chinese science fiction (traditional Chinese: , simplified Chinese: , pinyin: ''kēxué huànxiǎng'', commonly abbreviated to ''kēhuàn'', literally ''scientific fantasy'') is genre of literature that concerns itself with hypothetical future social and technological developments in the Sinosphere. History by country or region Mainland China Late-Qing Dynasty Science fiction in China was initially popularized through translations of Western authors during the late-Qing dynasty by proponents of Western-style modernization such as Liang Qichao and Kang Youwei as a tool to spur technological innovation and scientific progress. With his translation of Jules Verne's 1888 novel '' Two Years' Vacation'' into Classical Chinese (as ''Fifteen Little Heroes''), Liang Qichao became one of the first and most influential advocates of science fiction in Chinese. In 1903, Lu Xun, who later became famous for his darkly satirical essays and short stories, translated Jules Verne's ''From th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Communist Party Of China
The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil War against the Kuomintang and Proclamation of the People's Republic of China, proclaimed the establishment of the PRC under the leadership of Mao Zedong in October 1949. Since then, the CCP has governed China and has had sole control over the People's Liberation Army (PLA). , the CCP has more than 99 million members, making it the List of largest political parties, second largest political party by membership in the world. In 1921, Chen Duxiu and Li Dazhao led the founding of the CCP with the help of the Far Eastern Bureau of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) and Far Eastern Bureau of the Communist International. Although the CCP aligned with the Kuomintang (KMT) during its initia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Non-interventionism
Non-interventionism or non-intervention is commonly understood as "a foreign policy of political or military non-involvement in foreign relations or in other countries' internal affairs". This is based on the grounds that a state should not interfere in the internal politics of another state as well as the principles of state sovereignty and self-determination. A similar phrase is "strategic independence". Non-interventionism became a norm in international relations before World War I. During the Cold War, it was often violated in order to instigate revolutions, prevent revolutions, or protect international security. Many countries have since adopted their own interpretation of non-interventionism or modified it according to the responsibility to protect any population from egregious crimes. Terminology In political science lexicon, the term " isolationism" is sometimes improperly used in place of "non-interventionism". "Isolationism" should be interpreted as a broader foreig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monroe Doctrine
The Monroe Doctrine is a foreign policy of the United States, United States foreign policy position that opposes European colonialism in the Western Hemisphere. It holds that any intervention in the political affairs of the Americas by foreign powers is a potentially hostile act against the United States. The doctrine was central to American grand strategy in the 20th century. President Presidency of James Monroe, James Monroe first articulated the doctrine on December 2, 1823, during his seventh annual State of the Union, State of the Union Address to United States Congress, Congress (though it would not be named after him until 1850). At the time, nearly all Spanish colonies in the Americas had either achieved or were close to Spanish American wars of independence, independence. Monroe asserted that the New World and the Old World were to remain distinctly separate Sphere of influence, spheres of influence, and thus further efforts by European powers to control or influence s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Home Front During World War II
The United States home front during World War II supported the war effort in many ways, including a wide range of volunteer efforts and submitting to government-managed rationing and price controls. There was a general feeling of agreement that the sacrifices were for the national good during the war. The labor market changed radically. Peacetime conflicts concerning race and labor took on a special dimension because of the pressure for national unity. The Hollywood film industry was important for propaganda. Every aspect of life from politics to personal savings changed when put on a wartime footing. This was achieved by tens of millions of workers moving from low to high productivity jobs in industrial centers. Millions of students, retirees, housewives, and unemployed moved into the active labor force. The hours they had to work increased dramatically as the time for leisure activities declined sharply. Gasoline, meat, clothing, and footwear were tightly rationed. Most fami ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
History Of Germany During World War I
During World War I, the German Empire was one of the Central Powers. It began participation in the conflict after the declaration of war against Serbia by its ally, Austria-Hungary. German forces fought the Allies on both the eastern and western fronts, although German territory itself remained relatively safe from widespread invasion for most of the war, except for a brief period in 1914 when East Prussia was invaded. A tight blockade imposed by the Royal Navy caused severe food shortages in the cities, especially in the winter of 1916–17, known as the Turnip Winter. At the end of the war, Germany's defeat and widespread popular discontent triggered the German Revolution of 1918–1919 which overthrew the monarchy and established the Weimar Republic. Overview Germany's population had already responded to the outbreak of war in 1914 with a complex mix of emotions, in a similar way to the emotions of the population in the United Kingdom; notions of universal enthusiasm known ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walther Rathenau
Walther Rathenau (; 29 September 1867 – 24 June 1922) was a German industrialist, writer and politician who served as foreign minister of Germany from February 1922 until his assassination in June 1922. Rathenau was one of Germany's leading industrialists in the late German Empire. During World War I, he played a key role in the organisation of the German war economy and headed the War Raw Materials Department from August 1914 to March 1915. After the war, Rathenau was an influential figure in the politics of the Weimar Republic. In 1921 he was appointed minister of reconstruction and a year later became foreign minister. Rathenau negotiated the 1922 Treaty of Rapallo, which normalised relations and strengthened economic ties between Germany and Soviet Russia. The agreement, along with Rathenau's insistence that Germany fulfil its obligations under the Treaty of Versailles, led right-wing nationalist groups (including a nascent Nazi Party) to brand him part of a Jewish-c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Microblogging In China
Weibo () is a general term for ''microblogging'', but normally understood as Chinese-based mini-blogging services, including social chat sites and platform sharing. Weibo services make it possible for internet users to set up real-time information sharing communities individually, and upload and update information. Weibo services use a format similar to the American-based Twitter-service, but are used almost exclusively by Chinese language speakers. The format of specific features is not exactly identical, such as, for example, hashtags on Sina Weibo and Tencent Weibo, which both employ a double-hashtag "#HashName#" method, since the lack of spacing between Chinese characters necessitates a closing tag. A major difference – also in this digital arena – is that Character (symbol), characters in idiom-based scripts, such as Written Chinese, Chinese and Japanese writing system, Japanese can use fewer characters to convey information, as, for example witnessed by the 280 (formerly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Counterfeit Consumer Goods
Counterfeit consumer goods are goods illegally made or sold without the brand owner's authorization, often violating trademarks. Counterfeit goods can be found in nearly every industry, from luxury products like designer handbags and watches to everyday goods like electronics and medications. Typically of lower quality, counterfeit goods may pose health and safety risks. Various organizations have attempted to estimate the size of the global counterfeit market. According to the OECD, counterfeit goods made up approximately 2.5% of global trade in 2019, with an estimated value of $464 billion. Sales of counterfeit and pirated goods are projected to reach €1.67 trillion (approximately $1.89 trillion USD) by 2030. Despite the illegality of counterfeit items, many counterfeit items, especially fashion items such as handbags, watches, shoes and sports jerseys, are widely sold in many regions and are purchased by both locals and tourists, typically at markets in Africa, Asia, Lati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Corruption In The People's Republic Of China
Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities like bribery, influence peddling, and embezzlement, as well as practices that are legal in many countries, such as lobbying. Political corruption occurs when an office-holder or other governmental employee acts in an official capacity for personal gain. Historically, "corruption" had a broader meaning concerned with an activity's impact on morals and societal well-being: for example, the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates was condemned to death in part for "corrupting the young". Contemporary corruption is perceived as most common in kleptocracies, oligarchies, narco-states, authoritarian states, and mafia states, however, more recent research and policy statements acknowledge that it also exists in wealthy capitalist economies. In ''H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Property Rights
The right to property, or the right to own property (cf. ownership), is often classified as a human right for natural persons regarding their Possession (law), possessions. A general recognition of a right to private property is found more rarely and is typically heavily constrained insofar as property is owned by legal persons (i.e. corporations) and where it is used for Production (economics), production rather than Consumption (economics), consumption. Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution is credited as a significant precedent for the legal protection of individual property rights. A right to property is specified in Article 17 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, but it is not recognised in the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights or in the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The 1950 European Convention on Human Rights acknowledges a right ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deregulation
Deregulation is the process of removing or reducing state regulations, typically in the economic sphere. It is the repeal of governmental regulation of the economy. It became common in advanced industrial economies in the 1970s and 1980s, as a result of new trends in economic thinking about the inefficiencies of government regulation, and the risk that regulatory agencies would be controlled by the regulated industry to its benefit, and thereby hurt consumers and the wider economy. Economic regulations were promoted during the Gilded Age, in which progressive reforms were claimed as necessary to limit externalities like corporate abuse, unsafe child labor, monopolization, and pollution, and to mitigate boom and bust cycles. Around the late 1970s, such reforms were deemed burdensome on economic growth and many politicians espousing neoliberalism started promoting deregulation. The stated rationale for deregulation is often that fewer and simpler regulations will lead to raise ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
