The spring rains are here, and many people's noses echo the sound of falling rain: drip, drip, drip. . . . Although not every-where has the same "It always pours on Tomb-Sweeping Day" forecast, arise in breathing problems is the global trend.
It has already been proven that there is a connection between the rise of breathing difficulties and air pollution. But pollution sources are not only the black smoke belched by factories or the exhausts wheezed out by cars, but include everyday products which are olfactorily annoying--like bleach or bug spray. Closed living environments with poor circulation of air are methodical killers. Carpets, wallpaper, and couches are ideal repositories for household dust. Even pressure can bring on symptoms--students at "star schools" for brighter students have a higher rate of asthma, and some find it difficult to breath whenever a test approaches.
As mankind enjoys all the accoutrements of modern civilization, our bodies nevertheless are quietly paying the bill. Pulmonary illnesses are just one of the "Syndromes of Modern Civilization." Have you noticed that the rate of birth defects gets higher the more advanced the nation? Or that cancer continues to sit at the top of the causes of death? Or that stomach ailments attack urbanites with their fast track lives? And in Japan they have karou, or death by overwork. . . . These are all related to pollution brought by industrial society, to the entry of manmade compound materials into our daily lives, and to the high-pressured pace of life.
Besides physical ailments, the development of industry and material civilization have also brought the specter of a decline of spiritual civilization.
How to maintain the health of both our minds and bodies and to harmonize physical and spiritual needs, is a question that should be reflected upon whenever necessary as we move along the road of economic growth.
Much of the content of this issue revolves around this theme. The cover story "Syndromes of Modern Civilization" analyzes the causes and types of such maladies and consults with our local physicians. There are special treatments of four common problems: psychosomatic illnesses, asthma, infertility, and baldness. On the other hand, "A Cultural Renaissance at the Grassroots" reports on how the intellectuals of a small township--amidst the winds of industrial civilization and urban luxury--moved to bring together local residents to draw in artistic activities, preserve traditional local opera, and build a local library, to infuse some fresh blood into the culturally deprived rural areas. "Is There a Future in Business Catering Exclusively to the Elderly?" Nowhere is the pace of change greater than in the extension of life and the increase in economic power of the elderly. As the ROC comes ever closer to joining the ranks of the advanced nations, these articles are all worth close scruting.
Even with the countless stories of Overseas Chinese which have seen the pages of Sinorama, the two this month are really special.
"Starting from nothing, after strenuous effort Chinese have achieved some degree of economic power. Yet rarely have they become involved in politics." This is the stereotype of Overseas Chinese across the globe. However, in Panama in central America, over the past twenty years residents of Chinese ancestry have broken the "iron law" of Chinese communities, and have made a mark for themselves in politics.
Counting from the first lady and the daughter-in-law of the president, no less than ten Chinese-Panamanians have served as ministers, vice-minister, legislator, or high court judge. What is the story that lies between the early Chinese contract laborers, who "sold their bodies" for work on railroads and the Panama Canal, to the high standing of young Panamanians of Chinese descent today? And what might other Overseas Chinese communities learn from this experience?
In contrast to the high and mighty in Panama, Los Angles' Kuan Lin is an ordinary man who has been, in his own way, just as "successful" an immigrant. The eighty-one-year-old Kuan, like many early immigrants of his generation, made a living for himself with a vegetable knife and a wok. What's different about him is that he gradually penetrated American society. Now, his "Formosa Cafe," which he established in Hollywood, is facing the wrecking ball because the landlord wishes to reclaim the land. This has prompted local concern, and four lawyers have offered to represent him in a lawsuit pro bono, and four thousand people have signed a petition supporting him.
The stories of Panamanian officials and Kuan Lin are just grains of sand in a sea change for Chinese abroad. And bringing these stories back to you is what we do!
[Picture Caption]
Chinese Panamanians have reaped rich fruits in the political arena. The picture shows senior editor Laura Li interviewing Javier E. Yap Siu, special assistant to the president of Panama.