Assignment3 Part2 Article4

College Students Drowned to Save Two Kids
What We Have Learnt from This?

Three 19-year-old college students drowned when trying to save two kids near Baota Bay in Changsha around 3pm on 24^th October 2009.

More than ten students from Changjiang University were enjoying picnic on the river bank before two kids not far away suddenly fell into the Changjiang River. After realising most of them couldn't swim, the students decided to build a bridge by holding hands together so that they could reach the struggling kids in the water (see Picture 1). However, one of the students loosened his grip out of exhaustion after a short while and six students then fell into the river. The winter swimmers who reached there later managed to save the kids and three students, but three other students drowned in the end unfortunately.

Picture 1

Picture by CCTV

According to some reports, the three students drowned could have been saved by local fishers who refused to carry out any rescue action but chose to look on with folded arms. After ensuring the students were sure to be drowned, the fishers asked the other students and the college teachers (who arrived there later) for 36,000 RMB (around US$5,000) in total to salvage the bodies out of the river (see Picture 2). The desperate students and teachers had to went back home to collect or borrow money in order to take back the bodies of the three students. Eventually, the fishers agreed to return the bodies for 33,000 RMB (more than US$4,800) after the kneeling and begging from the students and teachers who couldn’t come out with more money.

Picture 2

Picture by Xianming, Liu

According to the further investigations carried out by the local government, the fishers who asked for money to salvage the bodies actually rely on such business to earn a living. The water around that bay is extremely dangerous for unprofessional swimmers, and many people have drowned over decades because of the strong undercurrent and eddy current in the area. Thus a small group of local fishers decided fishing dead bodies was a much more profitable business than fishing fish.

The incident has evoked strong criticism and intense debate within hinese society recently. Many people said the fishers’ inhuman behaviour was inexcusable and unforgivable. And it is definitely difficult to believe such horrible thing can happen in today’s civilised society. Moreover, some people said the college students shouldn’t try to save others if they didn’t know how to swim themselves.

But apart from feeling sorrow and angry, what should we actually learn from such tragedy? How do we make sure such thing won’t happen again in future?

First, there is a huge sign on the bank saying it’s a dangerous area and swimming is strictly prohibited (see Picture 3), then why the kids were still swimming there? Why the college students were having picnic so near to the water? Shouldn’t they be taught to follow the instructions on the sign? Also, why the kids were there by themselves without adults supervising them?

Picture 3

Picture by JZnews

Second, it’s very worrying that most students did not even know how to swim when the tragedy happened. Swimming is such a basic survival skill but usually it is not a compulsory subject in Chinese high schools. Instead, new students in high school or college are required to take basic military trainings. But aren’t swimming much more important than learning goose steps, particularly in cities near river and sea?

Third, all schools do not teach self-rescue or resuscitation measures in China. Consequently, students don’t have any clue about how to deal with emergencies. Chinese government should realise this as soon as possible, and make swimming and self-rescue compulsory subjects for kids.

Fourth, there was no river guard appointed by the local authority near the river bank. The local government didn’t even seem to have a protocol to deal with such cases. When emergency happens, people had no one to turn to. Probably this was exactly why the fishers could earn huge money from such a dreadful way—no one has been there to stop them at all.

Assignment3 Part2 Article3

iPhone Finally Welcomed by China, but Apple’s Not So Optimistic

Apple is busy preparing to enter the enormous Chinese market by introducing iPhone in cooperation with the second biggest Chinese telecom company—China Unicom. Although China’s approximately seven-hundred-million mobile user base seems like an inexhaustible profit source, many people doubt Apple will encounter the same predicament it faced when trying to launch iPhone in India.

In August 2008, Apple tried to sell iPhone to Indian mobile users but failed to create a market buzz. Some reports said journalists even outnumbered customers in iPhone’s launch parties in eight cities in India. There were two major factors that caused the lack-of-excitement situation. First, there was no effective marketing strategy. Second, the price was higher than what Indian users were willing to pay.

Apple definitely has learnt its lessen in India and will be more cautious with the Chinese market this time. First of all, it will abandon its traditional revenue-sharing model and earn money through wholesaling iPhones to China Unicom. Secondly, Apple and China Unicom will put more emphasis on marketing. According to Philip M. Nichols, an Associate Professor of Legal Studies and Business Ethics from Wharton Business School, the hype had already started to build when he visited China in August. “You cannot go into Carrefour in Beijing right now without getting iPhone advertising right in your face. They are really advertising the heck out of it,” He said.

Another reason for China Unicom to stay optimistic about the potential sales is that there is immense demand for iPhone in China currently. More than one million iPhones are smuggled into the country and are sold in the black market every year. Clearly Chinese users have already shown great interest in using iPhone. If Apple does not make the same pricing mistake it made in India, the official introduction of iPhone by Apple and China Unicom can be exactly what Chinese users have been craving for.

Speaking of pricing, many Chinese media and users have been criticising China Unicom’s calling rate plans will just not work out. One of the major reasons is that most people who can actually afford the relatively expensive iPhone are using China Mobile—the biggest Chinese telecom company. China Unicom’s users are mostly younger people with lower allowance. Furthermore, users think the handsets introduced this time are crippled without WiFi, which was not allowed under Chinese governmental policy when Apple and China Unicom sealed the deal. Many Chinese users feel like they are “second-class users” to Apple when their iPhones are lack of such important function. On the contrary, iPhones sold in the black market not only keep WiFi, but are also more than a thousand yuans cheaper. For example, China Unicom is selling iPhone 3G 8GB for 4999 RMB (around US$732); while the black market price is only 3600 RMB (around US$527).

However, China Unicom claimed the subsidised price will be cheaper and even affordable for students if users sign a two-year subscription contract with the company. Users can receive an iPhone for free by choosing one of the two-year subscription agreements. The problem is to receive a free iPhone, a user has to pay 586 RMB (around US$86)every month, which is a far more expensive price than most ordinary users in China would like to pay.

Clearly it is unwise to assume iPhone can be popular everywhere. The journey of introducing iPhone to the biggest mobile market in the world will be rugged and rough and will require a lot more effort from Apple and China Unicom.

Here’s a news clip about the launch of iPhone in China.