The Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress and the city's political advisory body, the CPPCC Shanghai Committee, are having their annual meetings this week. The city legislators and political advisors will discuss important issues during the weeklong sessions.
While the meeting is ongoing, we have picked 13 hot issues and interviewed people from all walks of life to find out what they care about the most. Below are the results.
Mattie Wilson
US
Student
“Last night, when we were walking around, we had to wear masks. But in Beijing, we couldn’t go outside at all without a mask. It’s much worse in Beijing. You cannot even see the top of buildings in Beijing. It’s better here.”
Lawrent Fischer
France
Fudan University Student
“The air pollution is one of the main issues in China. I smoke, so the air pollution doesn’t matter to me, but not for people with children. I have friends who wear masks every day.”
Joseph Kitzwegen
Austria
Tourist
“In Europe, there are strict rules by the authorities. If the companies don’t follow the rules, they will be closed. Here, the rules are also strict, but the industries have to be made to follow the rules. Maybe there are too many industries and too less inspectors in China…Moreover, I find it difficult to buy masks that are tight enough to cover up the face.”
Guillaume Gimonet
France
Operations Director at Siveco China
“People here are following the air quality index every day. Actually it (the air quality) has improved a lot in the past five or ten years. This year (2016) has been the best year in Shanghai over the past ten years. People are complaining about the air quality because they’ve become more sensitive to it.”
Lucas Ruminski
Poland
English Teacher
“There are no rules on the roads of China. Cars go whichever way they’d like to go. People can get run over by cars all the time. It’s extremely dangerous here. Drivers in China never pay attention to rules, not just in Shanghai, but everywhere. I think the traffic police are not doing their job right.”
Gabriel Novaes
Brazil
Student
“They (the drivers) don’t respect the signals, the lights. I saw a lady getting hit by a car that just ignored the traffic lights.”
Yohan Ouzan
Holland
Software Engineer
“As for traffic, I’ve been to far worse countries, like Vietnam and Cambodia. It’s safer here than there. Traffic in other Asian countries is worse than China, except Japan. ”
Alban Charis
Jamaica
JiuJiang University Student
“The culture is a little bit strict and conservative. It’s hard for foreigners to fit into the Chinese culture, especially for Africans. People in Shanghai maybe more open to foreigners than people in small cities. I want Chinese culture to be more inclusive, especially to Africans.”
Sewwandi Perera
Sri Lanka
Airline Company Staff
“The food here is ok, except that there aren’t enough vegetarian restaurants in China. My colleagues often bring food from Sri Lanka because it’s hard for them to find vegetarian food here.”
Joshua Weinstein
US
U.C. Berkeley Staff
“It feels safer to dine in hotels and shopping center restaurants, because they look cleaner. But I wouldn’t trust ones that are just on the streets. Or in some alleys.”
Joanne Warrin
Australia
Asia-Pacific Growth Markets Brand, Marketing and Communications Leader of EY
"Having the right talent is important to China's continued development and progress. It's an economy that is very sophisticated. Any rules or reforms that make it easier for people to come here and work and add value to the economy is going to be of benefit to China."
Anne Marion-Bouchacourt
France
Group Chief Country Officer of China at Societe Generale Group
"Innovation and supply side reform are key to the sustainable growth of china. After two decades of rapid development, china is poised to move up to the value chain with innovation in technology, and key products area as stated in China 2025 plan . But this walks hand in hand with supply side reform to ensure non productive players will not drag down the growth with a not efficient allocation of resources, in particular financial."
Roger Liu
China
PwC China and Hong Kong Deals PE Leader
"Sharing economy improves utilization of idle resources, it is cool and really eco."
Chen Yang
China
Engineer at SIASUN Robot and Automation Co, China's biggest maker of industrial robots
"I was proud to join Siasun last year as it is among the most advanced companies in China to break technology monopoly from foreign countries. I helped to develop the applications of the seven-axes robot beside me, which runs smoothly to prevent the water from splashing beyond the glass. It ensures safer working environment in mills, while previously China relied on imports to realize it."
Yang Luo
China
Vice president of Siasun
"Chinese manufactuers are 'cutting corners' on industrial upgrading with efforts on smart manufacturing. In June we will open a production site in Lingang Industrial Area, where we use robots on production lines to produce robots for industrial, service and military uses."
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