China Daily

Wow, what commotion the recent 100-day visa-check campaign has created! Granted, it’s unnerving to be spot-checked for the legality of living here (I haven’t endured it yet myself, this time around). If you’re here legitimately and have proof, there is nothing to worry about. But it’s that overall somewhat slimy feeling of being looked at as a foreigner that can be so unsettling. 

There have been a lot of postings online about the current Beijing Municipal PSB (Public Security Bureau) campaign that began on Tuesday. In an attempt to sift out any foreigners who have come here illegally, or who are living and/or working here without proper visas, police will randomly check foreigners’ credentials. Popular areas for expats including Sanlitun and university neighborhoods are expected to be targeted for random checks. Housing compounds may also be affected with police officers asking for paperwork door-to-door.

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According to a China Daily report, the average annual salary for a Chinese kindergarten teacher ranges from RMB 9,600 to RMB 36,000. However, one foreign teacher from the Etonkids Huizhi Bilingual Kindergarten’s Datunli campus (which opened in 2010 and now has 100 pupils in total ranging from ages 2-6) claimed that a teacher at the school could earn between RMB 120,000 and RMB 156,000 a year “depending on experience and qualifications."

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China's "Little Emperors/Empresses" may be a hackneyed topic, but it's very much grounded in reality - you don't need a degree in sociology to understand how news stories of spoiled rich kids behaving badly underscore the huge social dilemma posed by China's single-child policy and skyrocketing prosperity.

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Next time you reach for some vinegar in which to dip that dumpling, consider this: The China Radio International (via China Daily) recently reported that "industry insiders" are raising concerns "that some businesses make vinegar by using excessive chemicals, even including a form of glacial acetic acid meant only for industrial use."

China has a national standard for blended vinegar that sets a maximum of 50 percent glacial acetic acid. However, both insiders contacted by China Daily said that it is virtually impossible to detect whether producers have added industrial acetic acid, and how much, creating a loophole for lawbreakers.

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Common sense dictates that as Beijing continues to grow city authorities should be doing everything in their power to expand its infrastructure, as has been the case with our much-improved subway system and on the flip-side, the high-end housing glut.

But there are other areas where efforts, much less the supply, seemingly cannot keep pace with the demand. Beijing's beleaguered healthcare system, a woeful lack of roads and the dwindling water supply are at the top this list; but for the city's growing population of parents, perhaps most alarming is the Capital's school situation.

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