Harry Chen Thinks Aloud

A key to maintain a country’s competitiveness is to invest heavily in research and development. The U.S. is a good example. Scientific advances and entrepreneurship have helped this country to be a dominant force in the global market.

According to OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), by the end of 2006, China will become the second-highest investor in R&D.

The burgeoning economic powerhouse has rapidly increased the money and manpower being invested in R & D, and spending by government and businesses will reach more than $136 billion in 2006, the OECD said Monday.

For comparison, Japan, formerly the nation with the second-highest investment in research and development, will dole out $130 billion this year, and the EU nations (including France, Germany and the U.K.) together will allocate $230 billion.

An interesting fact is that the growth rate of China’s R&D surpasses the growth rate of the country’s GPD.

Its R&D went from 0.6 percent of its GDP (gross domestic product) in 1995 to more than 1.2 percent in 2004. That doubling growth rate is faster than the rate of growth for China’s entire economy.

Source: China rising rapid in R&D, report says, CNET.com

Not too long ago, the world is buzzing about the strengthen tight between China and African countries. Now everyone is focused on a different relationship, the strengthen financial tight between China and the Middle East.

According to The New York Times, instead of seeking foreign investments from the Western countries, Chinese have been seeking more investments from Saudis and other Middle Eastern investors. At the same time, investors from those countries are shifting their money into the Chinese red-hot IPO market. Read the rest of this entry »

The truth behind the Iraq war may never be told, but the bravery and heroism of the U.S. troops must be told. For the New York Times, reporter C.J. Chivers and photographer Joao Silva compiled two excellent presentations that tell stories about the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines in Iraq — a life-and-death situation in which they faced random sniper attacks.

After watching the presentations, I’m even more frustrated by the Iraq situation. Given everything we know today, it was mistake for the U.S. troops to be in Iraq. However, It was not the fault of the troops. They are the innocent ones who got caught in a complicated situation. I’m sadden to see troops fighting for their lives in Iraq for a cause that we don’t really understand.

I don’t claim myself knows the answer to the Iraq problem, but I do know that the current approach of the Bush administration is not working. Not only it’s causing more pain to the Iraqi people, but also bringing about unnecessary casualties to the U.S. troops. We need options and we need change.

Source: Sniper Attacks Adding to Peril of U.S. Troops

On Oct. 9th, 2006, North Korea went with its first-ever nuclear test. North Korea hoped to use this test to threaten the US and other countries that want tougher foreign policies against the North Korea government. Given the current situation, I think North Korea has miscalculated the response from the global community.

• Rather than increasing North Korea’s advantage, its test may united opposition. China and South Korea who were somewhat less aggressive than the Western countries are now very angry at North Korea’s nuclear test.
• Countries (e.g., Australia) that previously didn’t voice strong opinions about North Korea now advocate tougher UN sanctions.
• If no countries want to play soft with North Korea this time — less international aids and tougher UN sanctions, who suffer the most is the poor North Korean people. This may eventually lead to instability within the country.

Source: North Korea blasts away hopes of engagement, Economist.com

Since the last missile test, while all key countries (China, the US, Russia, Japan and Sourth Korea) want North Korea to stop its testing and end its nuclear program, but not all agree on what strategy should be used to deal with North Korea (Who Stands Where on N Korea, BBC).

Economic sanction was an idea brought up by the US and Japan. China, Russia and South Korea are somewhere disagree with this “hardball” approach. Why?

Read the rest of this entry »

On June 5th, 2005, the Howard County Council voted to eliminate tobacco smoke in restaurants and bars, a measure that would make the county part of a five-jurisdiction smoke-free zone stretching from the White House almost to Baltimore.

As a resident of the Howard County, I’m very happy to hear about this.

This Monday’s On Point has an excellent piece on the surging crude oil price and its impact on the US economy and foreign policies. The show host had a talk with New York Time columnist Tom Friedman who has a strong belief about what the US government should do in order to combat the increasing US demand for oil.

1. Let the market do its thing. Friedman believes that a higher oil price will encourage the development of alternative energy sources and bring social awareness to energy conservation.
2. Don’t solve a long-term problem with a short-term solution. There are talks about the US Government will give each taxpayer $100 this summer to help to combat the rising gas price. Friedman believes that this is the worst thing that the Government can do. Not only this short-term solution can’t solve our long-term problem (addiction to foreign oil), but it encourages people to use more gas, driving up more demand for oil.
3. Green is the new Red, White and Blue. Friedman believes that the only way to drive down the gas price is to use less of it. It’s time for more people to become aware of energy saving and drive gas efficient vehicles. If you love you country’s color, begin to love the color green.

I very much agree with Friedman’s point of view. Though in the show, some of his arguments maybe a bit too extreme, but all of which are worthy of some serious discussion. While I don’t believe we can change things over night, but I do believe it’s time for people be serious about energy conservation.

Resource: Crude Reality, On Point with Tom Ashbrook, May 01, 2006, Podcast by WBUR.ORG.

Down the street, the cheapest gas at my local gas station is $3.07 per gallon. This is expensive comparing to $1.50 per gallon that I was paying few year backs. Given the ongoing geopolitical uncertainty in many oil production countries, I don’t expect the price of gasoline is going to fall anytime soon.

Meanwhile, I ask myself what can I do to reduce my spending on gasoline? And, what can I do as a consumer to help to drive the down the high gas price?
Read the rest of this entry »