Feed 
Have something to add? Join the discussion! Click here to leave a comment. No registration required!
You are Here: Home>> The Vance Report >>Corruption and Beer Dominate the Weekly China Roundup
Click Here to Subsribe to the 'The Vance Report' Feed
Corruption and Beer Dominate the Weekly China Roundup
Written by Robert Vance on June 28, 2008 – 9:57 amThe Weekly China Roundup fromSino News on TeachAbroadChina.com
- China Takes a Whack at Corruption — It appears that the CCP is becoming more serious about fighting corruption in China. In a post entitled China Declares War on an Old Nemesis, I discuss the firing of 12 local officials in the aftermath of the Sichuan earthquake as well as some new anti-corruption laws established last week by Beijing. Read all about it here…
- Beers for ALL in China — My students tell me that alcohol can be consumed by all ages in China as there is no minimum age requirement on the books in China. What does this mean? “I had my first beer when I was 8,” explains a friend. “It is really up to the parents to decide when their kids first get to drink.” Apparently, a lot of Chinese parents do not care.
- A Couple of Rainy Days in Southern China — Friends in Southern China tell me about the arrival of Typhoon Fengsheng earlier this week. Rain that fell sideways and streets that turned into rivers were common sights for a few days. The typhoon, which left hundreds of people missing in the Philippines, did not wreak nearly as much havoc in China. Reports indicate just one injury and one missing person in the aftermath of the typhoon.
- The Importance of a Cover Letter — Finally, if you are applying for a job in China, creating a good cover letter is very important. This week, I shared a copy of the cover letter that I have often used when expressing interest in an ESL teaching job. You can see a copy of it here…
See you next week!
Other Recent Posts in The Vance Report
Don't miss...
- Do You Still Use the Lonely Planet Guides?
- Is it OK to Talk about Politics in My China ESL Class?
- Why the Train Collision in Shandong is not Big News
- Weaning Myself Off China Travel Guidebooks
- Searching for the Olympic Spirit in China
- What if I Get in Trouble While I am in China?
- China’s Love Affair with Richard Nixon
““It is really up to the parents to decide when their kids first get to drink.” Apparently, a lot of Chinese parents do not care. ”
@Robert,
I have to correct you about this. There is indeed no law about when you could drink. But actually most parents don’t allow their children to drink and smoke until they graduate at least from junior high school.
Your friends said he drank at the age of 8, I wished to know in which case. Normally drink happens in the fest like wedding or friends party. Most of Chinese are not accustomed to drink in the normal time. During fest in the country side, Children is not allowed to sit with male adults. Normally they sit with their mother or with other children. Only soft drink is provided to them. So it’s impossible for a child to drink beer in the open area. If he is allowed to drink at home at age of 8, their parents will be strongly criticized by their neighbors as irresponsible parents. Grassroot cadre will come to find their parents to talk about this issue. So your friend is mostly likely to drink behind the scene. Otherwise he is from minority which drink at childhood is the tradition. Your friend likely boasted himself to you how earlier he drank.
Once the boy growing up look like as a adult, he may occasionally be invited to adult desk and beer is allowed for him too. But still it depends on the parents if they allow this to happen. So when you said, the parents didn’t care about it is totally wrong.
I have a suggest to you. If you want to make a story like this, please talk with more people to make your story more accurate. Most of readers here are not familiar with China and you may mislead their understanding of China. That’s only my suggestion. If you like your style to convey the message, let it be.
@Jason,
Believe me. I have talked to plenty of people in China who had their first drink long before they hit their teenage years. Eight years old might be an extreme case but it does happen more than you think.
As far as your assertion that children are never offered alchohol during Chinese holidays, I would have to respectfully disagree. I have personally witnessed children being offered alcohol (albeit in small amounts) during Spring Festival. And, this kind of thing probably happens in America as well so I am not condemning Chinese parents…
Here is the main point my friend…but correct me if I’m wrong…
A child or teenager can legally walk into a supermarket and buy alcohol in China. Is that correct? I have also personally witnessed plenty of ‘children’ (10-18) smoking cigarettes.
Look, if parents in China REALLY cared so much then why isn’t there a law on the books prohibiting minors from consuming alcohol?
“Look, if parents in China REALLY cared so much then why isn’t there a law on the books prohibiting minors from consuming alcohol?”
@Robert,
Actually in China this is not problem at all. No children in China selects beer as his drink although it’s open. It’s no necessary to have a law to control that. But China has the law to forbid Children to enter the internet bar because this really caused the problem.
There are some bad boys on the street to smoking earlier, that happens everywhere. It doesn’t mean that their parents allow them smoking. If they are caught by their parents, most probabily they will be heavily punished. Of course in this world there are some irresponsible parents who let that happen.
My point is the parent really care about this issue instead of “does not care a lot”.