• Home
  • Posts RSS
  • Comments RSS
  • Edit
Blue Orange Green Pink Purple

U.S. Foreign Service Officer headed to Wuhan, China

The mission of a U.S. diplomat in the Foreign Service is to promote peace, support prosperity, and protect American citizens while advancing the interests of the U.S. abroad. The work that diplomats do has an impact on the world as they serve at one of any of the more than 270 embassies, consulates and other diplomatic missions in The Americas, Africa, Europe and Eurasia, East Asia and Pacific, Middle East and North Africa, and South Asia.

The duties of a Consular Officer include to provide emergency and non-emergency services to American citizens and protect our borders through the proper adjudication of visas to foreign nationals and passports to American citizens. We adjudicate immigrant and non-immigrant visas, facilitate adoptions, help evacuate Americans, combat fraud, and fight human trafficking. Consular Officers touch people’s lives in important ways, often reassuring families in crisis. They face many situations which require quick thinking under stress and develop and use a wide range of skills, from managing resources and conducting public outreach to assisting Americans in distress.

Chinese truck strike


Last Wednesday Qin Chen, my roomie, came home complaining of a bad day at work. I asked her what happened and she said that some kind of strike with workers at a busy port of entry in Shanghai prevented one of her company's shipping containers to make it through, thus delaying orders to other international clients. She and other employees at the company had followed what was going on at the harbor using news updates and micro-blogs until all of the sites suddenly were blocked on the Chinese internet. She came home curious as to what was happening so she used my uncensored internet to check it out.

The headlines didn't make it to my inbox until today, Sunday, when I saw the article "Chinese Truck Drivers Block Port Over Gas Prices." Turns out the drivers are angry at the rising cost of fuel in China as well as the extra fees warehouses have started to charge them during their shipping routes. Because of all of these added costs they aren't able to make enough money to afford the expenses in their own lives.


There's a lot of chatter about inflation and rising prices of goods here in China. I don't hear about if from my students at the university, but for the adults and young professionals at my second job it's a hot topic. Everyone is complaining about how things are becoming really expensive while salaries and wages aren't being increased. Another issue is the housing bubble; prices of houses and apartments are outlandishly expensive and people are speculating if and when this bubble will "pop." One of my students this week actually works as a censor for the Changzhou forums. Her job is to remove anything inappropriate about the Party or the government from the websites open to chatting and networking specifically related to our city. She says the number of complaints that she has to remove are rising every day.

While everybody is up in arms about rising costs my older students don't seem particularly concerned with anything related to politics or human rights. Take the recent example of man named Ai Weiwei. Ken (previous teacher here) mentioned this story to me the other day and since then I keep seeing his name pop up in news articles. Ai Weiwei is well-known because he was one of the architects behind the building known as the "Bird's Nest." In China, he uncovered some government corruption related to inferior school buildings which led to the death of thousands of children in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. The Chinese government recently arrested Ai Weiwei and is not saying where he is or what's going on.


But it's not people like Ai Weiwei that the Chinese government really has to worry about right now - it's keeping the 1.3 billion or so Chinese people happy and unable to network about their complaints. If more and more Chinese turn to the un-blocked blogs and social-networking sites to vent about rising prices or unsustainable living conditions, protests like the latest truck drivers strike will become more and more common and the PRC is going to have to deal with a huge number of unhappy citizens with the ability and the potential to organize - kind of a frightening thought, to say the least.

As for my roommate, she just hopes that the strikes blow over soon so that her shipping container can get through and she can stop having angry phone conversations with business owners from the U.S. and U.K. who just want their golf trolleys delivered on time.
Read More 1 Comment | Posted by Sarah Sanderson edit post

1 Comment

  1. Ken F on April 24, 2011 at 6:41 PM

    Or they could just let the yuan rise, and boom, everyone in China is way richer and imports (read: gasoline) are much cheaper!!! What a great short term solution!

     


Post a Comment

Newer Post Older Post Home

Wanderlust

  • In Mandarin: 旅遊癮 (lǚyóu yǐn)
      According to my Mandarin teacher, the term 'wanderlust' can best be translated as 'a travel addiction or craving'. In the above translation, 'yǐn' has several meanings such as 'a strong impulse', 'a longing', or 'a desire'.
  • About Me

    My Photo
    Sarah Sanderson
    I am currently in Mandarin language training as a new diplomat in the U.S. Foreign Service. Sean and I depart for Wuhan, China in November 2019 for my first tour in consular affairs.
    View my complete profile

    Sarah and Sean

    Sarah and Sean
    Grateful for my very tolerant, supportive and easygoing husband who's always game for a new adventure

    On Language Learning

    On Language Learning

    Disclaimer


    This website is not an official U.S. Department of State website. The views and information presented are the officer's own and do not represent the Foreign Service or the U.S. Department of State.

    Blogs I follow

    • I Should Probably Be Doing Something Else
      2 days ago
    • Dani Francuz Rose
      1 week ago
    • Buckets of Joy
      3 years ago
    • thesolesearch
      6 years ago
    • About | Travel Unraveled: Brazil
      7 years ago
    • Ken's Blog
      7 years ago
    • 7500 miles
      7 years ago
    • Just the Three of Us
      7 years ago
    • La Vida Eterna
      9 years ago
    • Give and Take: Oh darling, let's be adventurers
      9 years ago
    • From Minnesota to Minas | They don't sound that different, do they?
      9 years ago
    • ONE + 2
      9 years ago
    • Mike and Anna's Blog
      9 years ago

    Wanderlust

    Wanderlust

    Blog Archive

    • ►  2020 ( 4 )
      • ►  April ( 4 )
    • ►  2019 ( 1 )
      • ►  January ( 1 )
    • ►  2018 ( 6 )
      • ►  September ( 1 )
      • ►  June ( 1 )
      • ►  April ( 1 )
      • ►  March ( 2 )
      • ►  January ( 1 )
    • ►  2017 ( 29 )
      • ►  November ( 2 )
      • ►  October ( 9 )
      • ►  September ( 1 )
      • ►  June ( 4 )
      • ►  May ( 2 )
      • ►  April ( 6 )
      • ►  February ( 4 )
      • ►  January ( 1 )
    • ►  2016 ( 68 )
      • ►  December ( 1 )
      • ►  November ( 8 )
      • ►  October ( 13 )
      • ►  September ( 2 )
      • ►  August ( 5 )
      • ►  July ( 6 )
      • ►  June ( 2 )
      • ►  May ( 4 )
      • ►  April ( 8 )
      • ►  March ( 3 )
      • ►  February ( 2 )
      • ►  January ( 14 )
    • ►  2015 ( 75 )
      • ►  December ( 9 )
      • ►  November ( 4 )
      • ►  October ( 9 )
      • ►  September ( 5 )
      • ►  August ( 15 )
      • ►  July ( 7 )
      • ►  June ( 5 )
      • ►  May ( 8 )
      • ►  April ( 5 )
      • ►  March ( 3 )
      • ►  February ( 1 )
      • ►  January ( 4 )
    • ►  2014 ( 62 )
      • ►  December ( 3 )
      • ►  November ( 4 )
      • ►  October ( 3 )
      • ►  September ( 11 )
      • ►  August ( 6 )
      • ►  July ( 3 )
      • ►  June ( 6 )
      • ►  May ( 5 )
      • ►  April ( 6 )
      • ►  March ( 9 )
      • ►  February ( 6 )
    • ►  2013 ( 134 )
      • ►  December ( 6 )
      • ►  November ( 8 )
      • ►  October ( 14 )
      • ►  September ( 8 )
      • ►  August ( 14 )
      • ►  July ( 3 )
      • ►  June ( 8 )
      • ►  May ( 12 )
      • ►  April ( 12 )
      • ►  March ( 19 )
      • ►  February ( 17 )
      • ►  January ( 13 )
    • ►  2012 ( 158 )
      • ►  December ( 11 )
      • ►  November ( 14 )
      • ►  October ( 15 )
      • ►  September ( 12 )
      • ►  August ( 10 )
      • ►  July ( 15 )
      • ►  June ( 6 )
      • ►  May ( 12 )
      • ►  April ( 16 )
      • ►  March ( 19 )
      • ►  February ( 17 )
      • ►  January ( 11 )
    • ▼  2011 ( 128 )
      • ►  December ( 5 )
      • ►  November ( 4 )
      • ►  October ( 5 )
      • ►  September ( 2 )
      • ►  August ( 7 )
      • ►  July ( 7 )
      • ►  June ( 12 )
      • ►  May ( 17 )
      • ▼  April ( 16 )
        • Ultimate frisbee in Nanjing
        • Rizal Park
        • An Egg-citing class
        • Chinese truck strike
        • Manila
        • Second day on the island
        • Rent your own island for a day
        • El NIdo
        • Palawan Island
        • Bohol Island
        • Cebu
        • Swimming with whale sharks
        • The Philippines
        • Qing Ming Festival
        • April Fool's Day
        • Expat's Eye Surprise
      • ►  March ( 17 )
      • ►  February ( 16 )
      • ►  January ( 20 )
    • ►  2010 ( 175 )
      • ►  December ( 18 )
      • ►  November ( 18 )
      • ►  October ( 15 )
      • ►  September ( 17 )
      • ►  August ( 13 )
      • ►  July ( 12 )
      • ►  June ( 13 )
      • ►  May ( 14 )
      • ►  April ( 14 )
      • ►  March ( 13 )
      • ►  February ( 12 )
      • ►  January ( 16 )
    • ►  2009 ( 71 )
      • ►  December ( 20 )
      • ►  November ( 20 )
      • ►  October ( 18 )
      • ►  September ( 10 )
      • ►  July ( 1 )
      • ►  April ( 1 )
      • ►  February ( 1 )
    • ►  2006 ( 23 )
      • ►  June ( 4 )
      • ►  May ( 6 )
      • ►  April ( 6 )
      • ►  March ( 4 )
      • ►  February ( 3 )

    Followers

    Popular Posts

    • Matching Couples' T-shirts
      One of the first things that caught my attention upon arriving in China was the amount of couples wearing matching shirts - they were ever...
    • Room Service
      What does Sean do? Room service at the Hilton, that's what. Except that at the Hilton you can't call it Room Service but rather ...
    • Happy Dragon Boat Festival!
      Today (Monday) is a national holiday in China and as I write this, fireworks are going off and everyone is happy (including me) that we don...
    • Turn-down service
      Somewhere along the orientation process I missed the fact that for one day a week I have to work a double shift. This is because this hotel...
    • Khao San Road (winter break)
      Before heading to Cambodia the next day, Sean and I spent one last night exploring Khao San Road in Bangkok. While we had been staying in t...
    • Blepharoplasty
      Yesterday, when I was teaching at my part-time job, a girl walked in to my class wearing sunglasses even though it was 8:00 in the evening. ...
    • Flight of the Conchords
      If you read the title of this post and thought, "What's a Conchord?" you would not be alone - I had similar questions when I f...
    • Countryside of Cambodia (winter break)
      Our first full day in Siem Reap we decided to take it easy and explore some of the surrounding area before we tackled the main tourist draw,...
    • Angkor Wat (winter break)
      When I first told people that Sean and I were going to try and make it to Cambodia during winter break, many of them said that we absolutely...
    • Culture Class: East meets West
      I must admit, I am having a blast working with these culture classes. It is especially fun because David, the new teacher has taken over m...

    Total Pageviews


    View My Stats
  • Search






    • Home
    • Posts RSS
    • Comments RSS
    • Edit

    © Copyright Wanderlust . All rights reserved.
    Designed by FTL Wordpress Themes | Bloggerized by FalconHive.com
    brought to you by Smashing Magazine

    Back to Top