Home » Opinion » Foreign Views
Shanghai should improve roads, stop illegal burning, fix visas
By Dennis Reich |
January 11, 2011, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
HELLO editor,
I am 25 years old, from Germany and have been living in Shanghai since 2001.
I have three major concerns I would like to share, even though I could probably write a book filled with all my suggestions on how to improve the city.
1. Drastically improve the quality of roads.
I have been driving my own car for two years now. During these two years I had five broken wheels (tire and rim), countless flat tires and two broken suspension dampers. Also I have to reset the alignment of the wheels every two months.
All this was mainly caused by the terrible condition of the A30 (G1501 Urban Ring Road) as well as some potholes downtown. I have spent thousands of yuan on repairs and I always have to wait for a couple of days until the repair is done.
Besides the inconvenience all this causes, it is extremely dangerous. A tire burst at 100 kilometers an hour can cause the car to go out of control and spin over the express way. I have seen it a couple of times and it happened to me once. Luckily the roads were not busy then and the people behind me reacted properly.
2. Illegal and uncontrolled burning of waste.
Due to my job I have to drive around quite a lot. During the evening hours I can see fires along the expressways.
Apparently people are burning waste there. Also near my house (in Anting New Town) they burn waste, including industrial waste like rubber foam for car seats, frequently. I can smell the rubbery smoke even in my bedroom if the wind is blowing from a certain angle.
We have called the police, the urban management office and the firefighters about this problem very often. While sometimes somebody comes to put the fire out, most of the times nothing happens and nobody reacts.
3. Better support for children of expats who grow up in Shanghai.
My family lives here. I feel at home here and I have no intentions of going back to Germany in the future. However, between the time of graduating from high school and joining university, I didn't even get a visa!
The visa policy for young people who have a background in China needs to change. Sometimes we just do not (yet) want to marry, do not have a job in higher management or attend a certified university, but we still have good reasons to stay in China.
I am 25 years old, from Germany and have been living in Shanghai since 2001.
I have three major concerns I would like to share, even though I could probably write a book filled with all my suggestions on how to improve the city.
1. Drastically improve the quality of roads.
I have been driving my own car for two years now. During these two years I had five broken wheels (tire and rim), countless flat tires and two broken suspension dampers. Also I have to reset the alignment of the wheels every two months.
All this was mainly caused by the terrible condition of the A30 (G1501 Urban Ring Road) as well as some potholes downtown. I have spent thousands of yuan on repairs and I always have to wait for a couple of days until the repair is done.
Besides the inconvenience all this causes, it is extremely dangerous. A tire burst at 100 kilometers an hour can cause the car to go out of control and spin over the express way. I have seen it a couple of times and it happened to me once. Luckily the roads were not busy then and the people behind me reacted properly.
2. Illegal and uncontrolled burning of waste.
Due to my job I have to drive around quite a lot. During the evening hours I can see fires along the expressways.
Apparently people are burning waste there. Also near my house (in Anting New Town) they burn waste, including industrial waste like rubber foam for car seats, frequently. I can smell the rubbery smoke even in my bedroom if the wind is blowing from a certain angle.
We have called the police, the urban management office and the firefighters about this problem very often. While sometimes somebody comes to put the fire out, most of the times nothing happens and nobody reacts.
3. Better support for children of expats who grow up in Shanghai.
My family lives here. I feel at home here and I have no intentions of going back to Germany in the future. However, between the time of graduating from high school and joining university, I didn't even get a visa!
The visa policy for young people who have a background in China needs to change. Sometimes we just do not (yet) want to marry, do not have a job in higher management or attend a certified university, but we still have good reasons to stay in China.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
