Analysis of Indian smartphone market from the point of view of Chinese smartphone manufacturers.

  I am glad to publish my first "analysis of Indian smartphone market from the point of view of Chinese smartphone manufacturers: examining present condition and future prospects". It is written in Mandarin Chinese, but should the need arise I am ready to translate my work into English. 

   It is not common practice to dedicate works of non-fiction and especially economic analyses to potential readers, but I want to dedicate this short piece to all the people who incessantly struggle to improve their lifes despite all the contradictions and personal hardships. Change for the better is always within your arms reach.

中国智能手机制造企业在印度市场的状况

1.印度智能手机的现状

  2013 年到现在中国手机制造公司在印度市场发展的速度相当快。 2013年他们的总      市场份额不超过10%。 2017年的第三季度小米在印度市场的份额大是23.5%，跟三星      一起，成为印度市场最大的手机公司。同时，所有中国手机的市场份额占印度手机市场份额的51%[1]。

  现在印度在经历智能手机革命。智能手机的使用数量从2015年的两亿部增长到2017年的三亿部。考虑到中国智能手机市场已经饱和，这为中国企业在印度投资创造了更多的激励机制。

[2]

2.中国手机在印度市场快速发展的要素和理论分析：

·         中国手机的性价比很高。近几年中国手机的价格明显提高了，此外他们手机的价格覆盖了市场的不同部分，比如说魅族2500元的手机的功能跟三星7千元的手机一样。

·         印度移动互联网价格降低（2016年移动数据价格比前一年下降了96％[3]），                         这个变化让更多的客户开始使用智能手机。

·         中国手机在中国市场已经成功了，所以他们已经得到了技术知识和丰富的投资，   相反，印度手机制造商缺乏这两个因素, 另外根据国际排名做生意，中国的经济环境比印度对商业更有帮助。

·         10年之前中国手机市场的情况跟现在的印度一样，所以中国手机制造者了解 印度消费者的需求，在印度市场也可以使用他们在中国用过的经济模式。

·         印度国内生产总值发展速度稳定，所以更多印度人有购买智能手机的机会。

                                                        

·         由于稳定的发展，智能手机跟电脑的功能一样，但是智能手机的价格比电脑低得多。2016年全球移动互联网使用量超过计算机互联网使用量[4] ；此外，大部分印度人住在农村（70%的人[5]），印度的农村除了移动网络以外没有其他网络可以使用。

 [6]

      

                           中国手机在印度市场情况的SWOT 分析：

       S (优势）

•         许多中国公司（如华为）的专业化程度很高，除了制造手机外，他们还生产平板   电脑和IT系统等。即使手机部门放缓，他们也有其他的机会。

•         中国的制造成本仍然低于西方，这使得中国企业比西方竞争对手更具优势。

•         中国手机制造商可以满足印度社会各界的需求，因为他们的产品范围也各不相同，魅族、小米、联想生产相对便宜的手机，OPPO和VIVO提供功能接近最先进的三星和苹果的模型 ，但价格要低得多。

•         很明显，中国企业知道如何适应印度市场，OPPO已经成为印度板球队的官方赞      助商。

W (劣势)

•         缺乏创新性（除了小米，大部分中国制造的智能手机都采用Android操作系统）。

•         由于在中国无法使用某些网站，中国企业无法测试西方流行的许多平台。

O (机会)

•         印度政府“在印度制造” （Make in India） 的政策让中国公司降低生产他们产品的   成本。

•         中国政府对高科技发展的重视使得中国产品的复杂程度在过去几年中将会提高。

•         印度经济正在稳步发展，所以智能手机市场也有可能会增长 。

T (威胁)

•         随着时间的推移印度公司将能够复制中国公司所使用的技术（技术传播）。

•         因为印度文化和当地的习惯很特别，所以中国公司很难理解印度消费者的需求。

•         随着印度的发展，很明显，更多的印度生产商将进入市场，这可能会增加竞争。

•         中国制造业成本上升将使中国企业失去部分价格优势。

印度手机市场的PEST 分析：

Political/政治

ü  一般来说印度和中国政治方面存在不少的争议，但是经济方面的关系密切, 2016年总交易价值达到700亿美元。

ü  金砖四国的贸易关系越来越密切。

ü  中国和印度都高度重视经济发展，中国要强调以技术为导向的增长，而印度把重点放在以劳动为导向的增长上。

ü  印度是南亚最大的国家和主要潮流，在印度市场的成功可以为中国企业带来在       尼泊尔，巴基斯坦和孟加拉国成功的机会。

Economic/经济

ü  印度经济的发展比较快 (2016年是大概7%[7]）。

ü  印度和中国之间的贸易总额达700亿美元，同时印度在贸易方面的贸易赤字接近450亿美元[8]。

Social/社会

ü   因为历史的原因，印度社会有一部分人对中国和中国公司有比较消极的态度，          到现在他们对印度政府的政策影响不太大。[9]

ü  人际接触的方面下中国和印度之间的交流相比数量还是很少（比如说学生交流），结果国家之间的相互理解程度低。[10]

Technological/技术

ü  一般来说中国公司的技术水平比印度公司高得多, 现在几乎没有在全球购买他们      商品的印度智能手机公司。

ü  除了制造智能手机公司以外中国新技术发展速度也相当快。

ü  智能手机革命在印度正在兴起，但是在中国已经发展了一段时间。

波特的钻石模型

1.     要素条件:

熟练的资源和技术基础：

• 按照世界大学学术排名[11]在世界100所最好的理工大学之中有16所是亚洲国家的大学  （中国7所，日本6所，新加坡2所，韩国1所）。
• 
  
•  超级计算机数量[12] 中国 202, 美国 143, 日本 35, 印度 4。
• 
  
•  研究人员在每百万人口中的数量[13](按照世界银行2016年的分析)：                                          韩国 7千  ，日本   5.2 千， 中国  1.2千， 印度  216 。
• 
  
• 专利申请数量（按照世界知识产权组织2015的数据[14]，占总申请） 中国40％，美国20%，日本11%，韩国7%, 欧盟6% 。

根据以上数据中国连续40多年快速增长给中国高级企业造成相当好的发展的情况，          由此可见，现在中国是世界上最有科学潜力的国家。这种情况给进入印度市场的中国企业一些竞争的优势。

·         中国市场最大的劣势是智能手机的成本低，已经有很多国内智能手机的制造者（3C商务的平台中，京东jingdong.com, 至少有25家国内智能手机的制造者）[15]，结果智能手机的价格比大部分西方的手机低。

2.     需求条件 :

·        现在中国是全世界最大的智能手机市场（大概14亿的手机[16]）。

·         因为中国市场的规模很大，有许多外国和国内公司的竞争，                                                       这个对商品复杂性有好的影响，中国智能手机市场的初始条件跟  现代印度市场的情况很像，所以中国的公司在印度市场有竞争优势。

3.     产业群（相关与支持性产业）:

·         近几年中国新技术和智能手机公司的发展速度一样快，比如说微信，淘宝，    京东，优酷;  印度在很大程度上依赖于Youtube，Twitter，Google，Whatsapp等            外国服务，因此一些本地公司的发展不尽如人意。从长远来看，印度比中国更依赖外国技术。

·         虽然在现代的情况下，大部分中国新技术公司的发展仅限于东亚，但是中国不少的智能手机，比如说：华为，小米，联想已经获得了在海外市场的占有率。

4.     企业的战略，结构和竞争:

·        中国企业文化分级严重[17] ，此外在中国的情况下民营企业和国有企业的关系比较亲密, 中国政府控制的公司也参与了研究新技术的人脸识别系统，后来可以被私人公司使用；在推广方面[18]大多数中国企业依靠广告和现场店铺，尽管小米这样的一些企业避而不谈，甚至在中国的销售大幅下滑的时候，也开始打破现有店铺打破旧有战略的店铺; 由于印度农村的许多人无法上网，因此开设现场店铺的策略也可以在这个市场上运作。

·         中国手机市场竞争激烈，这可能会迫使市场整合并进一步提高效率，这将进一步增加中国智能手机在国外的吸引力[19]。

  

 [20]

3.结论 /未来发展的前途

反对刻板印象。印度经常用英语的人只有大概2亿（大概15%印度社会的人, 所以未来中国的公司必须更好的了解印度各种语言用户的需要。

[21]

印度经济和印度中产阶级的稳定增长率使得印度成为全球投资最有希望的市场之一。

中国智能手机制造企业最大促进自己产品的机会 (除了手机的功能和价格以外) 位于他们和中国高技术企业 比如说腾讯的合作，所以在印度的市场也可以提供特殊的功能，包括电子支付。

印度政府“在印度制造” (Make in India) 的政策可以为中国公司提供优惠的制造环境。因为    印度需要发展本地的制造业和提高本地企业的知识，同时中国的企业需要获得新的市场和降低生产成本。这个是双赢的情况。未来两个国家更好经济方面的关系能让他们享受更好政治方面的关系。

现在无法预计未来中国智能手机在印度市场的份额是否会进一步增加，但是由于智能手机需求在印度市场稳定的增加，中国在印度销售的智能手机的数量很可能会增加。[22]

[23]

4.资料:

BBC:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-41264072

CNBC:

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/12/apple-india-smartphone-market-upgrades.html

THE HINDU:

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/info-tech/chinese-smartphone-players-squeeze-out-indian-mobile-manufacturers/article9732247.ece

CNN:

http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/26/technology/india-mobile-congress-market-numbers/index.html

THE ECONOMIST:

https://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2016/10/economist-explains-18

LIVE MINT:

http://www.livemint.com/Politics/Ag4wktkZODwjHtESc1l7WO/Indias-trade-deficit-with-China-mounts-to-4656-billion.html

STATISTA:

https://www.statista.com/statistics/269487/top-5-india-smartphone-vendors/

https://www.statista.com/statistics/257048/smartphone-user-penetration-in-india/

https://www.statista.com/statistics/467163/forecast-of-smartphone-users-in-india/

THE WORLD BANK:

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG

WIPO:

http://www.wipo.int/publications/en/details.jsp?id=4157&plang=EN

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[1] http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/26/technology/india-mobile-congress-market-numbers/index.html

[2] https://www.statista.com/statistics/269487/top-5-india-smartphone-vendors/

[3] http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/26/technology/india-mobile-congress-market-numbers/index.html

[4] http://gs.statcounter.com/platform-market-share/desktop-mobile-tablet

[5] http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-41264072

[6] https://www.statista.com/statistics/467163/forecast-of-smartphone-users-in-india/

[7] https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG

[8] http://www.livemint.com/Politics/Ag4wktkZODwjHtESc1l7WO/Indias-trade-deficit-with-China-mounts-to-4656-billion.html

[9] https://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2016/10/economist-explains-18

[10] https://www.statista.com/statistics/430717/china-foreign-students-by-country-of-origin/       

[11] http://www.shanghairanking.com/FieldSCI2016.html

[12] https://www.geek.com/tech/china-top-us-in-global-supercomputing-power-1722698/

[13] https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.SCIE.RD.P6

[14] http://www.wipo.int/publications/en/details.jsp?id=4157&plang=EN

[15] https://search.jd.com/Search?keyword=%E6%99%BA%E8%83%BD%E6%89%8B%E6%9C%BA&enc=utf-8&wq=zhinengshouji&pvid=aa51ae31443246f88ffa943f5882814f

[16] https://www.statista.com/statistics/278204/china-mobile-users-by-month/

[17] http://quarterly.insigniam.com/corporate-culture/tapping-chinas-talent-pool-importance-corporate-culture/

[18] https://qz.com/758955/xiaomis-once-admired-strategy-for-winning-chinas-smartphone-market-has-backfired/

[19] http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/26/technology/india-mobile-congress-market-numbers/index.html

^[20] https://www.statista.com/statistics/257048/smartphone-user-penetration-in-india/

 [21] http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/26/technology/india-mobile-congress-market-numbers/index.html

[22] http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/26/technology/india-mobile-congress-market-numbers/index.html

 [23] http://money.cnn.com/2017/09/26/technology/india-mobile-congress-market-numbers/index.html

摔跤爸爸

 我想讲的故事是一部印度电影的情节。这部电影叫Dangal (中文叫摔跤爸爸)。这部电影 的主人公是个普通的印度人,叫 Mahavir Singh。他从小的时候就对摔跤很兴趣，可是他很贫穷，因此不能实现自己的目标：为自己的国家拿到国际比赛的金牌。

 他很希望能有儿子，所以儿子也能变成很出色的摔跤选手。结果呢？他生了三个女孩子。刚开始他感到很失望，觉得必须抛弃自己的梦，不过有一天他发现他的女儿把欺负她们的男孩子打败了。从这个时候开始，他开始培训她们摔跤。

   Mahavir 住在印度既传统又贫穷的地方叫Haryana。他所有的邻居（包括他妻子）都觉得他疯了，他收到很多的白眼儿。可是他相信自己女儿的能力，所以他全力以赴地坚持下去。因为他是个农民，没有钱让他的女儿参加女性摔跤比赛，所以只好让他的女儿参加本地男生的比赛。她们赢了很多比赛后被印度国家摔跤队选中了。

 吃过不少的苦，克服过各种各样的困难，最后他的两个女儿终于拿到了国际比赛的金牌。

When love is truly unconditional

I remember that unassuming and cool evening as well as if it happened yesterday. Another all-day long shift, taking charge of different rides of the amusement park where I was employed during my summer vacations, only to get a chance to visit the United States again. Only to breathe that air again. Only to experience more of the world and people sharing it with me.  

Source: https://qwrad.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/nt1a0949.jpg

It was almost the closing time and a fireworks display was well underway nearby and as a result the attraction I was in charge of operating was deserted. At some point, seemingly stepping directly out from the darkness, a black father came up to me asking if his disabled daughter could take a ride. After making sure that it wouldn’t be harmful to her I agreed and helped him to put the girl on the ride. Little did I know that meeting him would leave a firm imprint on my personality.

Almost mechanically, I pressed the red button and with the first movements of the sluggish machinery something more beautiful than the greatest movie scene imaginable began unfolding just in front of my eyes. The girl’s mother was standing peacefully in the background, while the father was shouting his daughter’s name all the time not being able to take his eyes of her, in a state reminiscent of a deep trance. You could tell that if a bomb suddenly exploded next to him, he certainly wouldn’t have noticed that.

In the meantime, his physically and possibly also mentally impaired daughter was smiling and laughing her heart out loud hearing her name repeatedly shouted by her father, but her happiness was nothing compared to the ecstasy that was experienced by that man. He was seeming to have been going through the best moment of his life, literally-the world’s happiest, most optimistic, satisfied and fortunate man. Despite the tragedy of his daughter, he didn’t show that anything could pull him down or that he was in any way less lucky than any other person around him.

Being a witness to such a mighty display of unconditional love, this whole situation was almost too much for me to bear and I was close to getting too emotional myself and only with the greatest of efforts was I able to maintain my composure.

When the ride was over, and the father came to pick his daughter up I wanted to let him know that unwillingly he has provided me with one of the most precious lessons of my life, but I was so emotional that the words got stuck up halfway my throat, but I don’t regret that, because people like him don’t do anything to attract the attention of bystanders or support of onlookers. They are the people who bring the light to the world.

Nowadays, we are constantly bombarded with cheap emotionality of TV series and movies, but the ordinary, harsh life often happening far away from the spotlight of the media, while all the others are “busy watching the fireworks” offers more true emotions than any artificial scene of love.       

Where love of gardens heals the scars of war

  "The gardeners of Kabul" represents BBC's Documentary series at its absolute best. Following the stories of the brave Afghan people putting their lives at peril to maintain their beloved gardens - the very symbols of their resolve to lead existence free from fear is undoubtedly one of the most inspiring stories about Afghanistan I have ever seen. It’s one of those documentaries that make you believe that there is still a flicker of hope for this world, when there are individuals ready to persevere even in face of the biggest adversities conceivable.The world would have been a much better place if more people could only believe that their perseverance can change lives of their own and of people around them.

  “I’ll never forget that feeling. We didn’t care about the rockets. We drew the water up and put it on the vines and the flowers. I’ll never forget how happy we felt”.

For the impatient: start at 11:30

WHERE THE GODS STATUES DO ACTUALLY DRINK MILK

Followers of different religions all over the world often allege to witness various supernatural occurrences, which are afterwards interpreted as signs of divine interventions and used to justify the “righteousness” of the religious doctrines.

The Hindu Milk Miracle has started in Delhi’s Hindu Lord Ganesha temple on the night of 21 September 1995. The temple’s head priest Radha Krishna Bharadwai was woken at night by one of his neighbors who claimed that the statue of the god Ganesha actually drank the milk, which was offered to it as part of customary Hindu religious ritual.

It has soon unleashed veritable explosion of religious fervor among the India’s Hindu majority population. To the extent that in some parts of the country it became difficult to obtain milk for consumption, since everybody wanted to rush to his nearby temple in order to offer it to the god’s statue and receive much needed blessings in exchange. Interestingly, Indian communities spread all over the world also partook in the Ganesha milk miracle craze.

POSSIBLE EXPLANATION:

The event caused understandable stir in India and soon some of the leading scientists were asked by the government to investigate the matter. It took some time to shed more light on the phenomenon. The scientists claimed that since most of the statues were carved out of stone the natural occurrence called caterpillar effect actually took place[1]. It is characterized by liquids flowing in narrow spaces without the assistance or even in opposition to the forces of gravity[2], It is a common occurrence in everyday life and paint brush absorbing the water is one of its most common examples. Renowned psychologists also asserted that the so called miracle was an example of a mass hysteria.

Not surprisingly, the scientifical proof didn’t convince the most ardent believers. Especially, since the phenomenon ended almost simultaneously in most of the temples just few days later, which was seen by some Hindus as a proof of the superranatural character of the phenomena.

The article was inspired by the BBC World’s Podcast, which can be accessed here:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p04kfxxt 

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[1] http://expressindia.indianexpress.com/news/fullstory.php?newsid=72699

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capillary_action

WHY THE WORLD IS BECOMING A BETTER PLACE TO LIVE IN

  With terrorist attacks a daily occurrence, other atrocities no less in evidence and the phantom of the war looming over many parts of the word it may not seem likely that the overall living conditions in the world at large have become anything but better. However, millions of people who have finally become literate or were lifted from poverty in the last two decades will doubtlessly reap the benefits of social progress, which may transform their lives. Certainly, the UN is not solely responsible for these substantial improvements, but as the world’s only genuinely international forum with every country represented there, it deserves significant share of praise for these spectacular achievements. Let’s examine some of the humanity’s biggest successes in the past 28 years.

LITERACY:

The literacy rate among youth aged 15 to 24 has increased globally from 83 per cent to 91 per cent between 1990 and 2015. Number of children out of school has been reduced; 1995-120 million; 2015 56 million.

 

What is the most important the biggest changes occurred in the regions most affected by the low literacy, i.e. Sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East and South Asia. Despite these changes the world still needs more efforts to achieve the universal literacy, which is defined by the UN as condition when  96 percent of members of a respective population are literate.

POVERTY:

Global number of extreme poor has been significantly reduced from some 1.9 bln in 1990 to less than half that number in 2015 (830 mln).

Source: http://povertydata.worldbank.org/poverty/home/

Two countries accounting for the preponderant share of that stunning uplifting of millions are China and India. In 1990 China had 756 million people living below the poverty line, while India had 338 million. Twenty-five years later China had only 25 million people living below the poverty line, while India 218 million.

Source: http://povertydata.worldbank.org/poverty/home/

Some  other major gains in combating extreme destitution were mostly achieved in other Asian developing countries like Indonesia (change from 100 mln in 1990-25 mln in 2015 ) , Vietnam (39 mln in 1990-3 mln in 2015), Pakistan (62 mln in 1990-12 mln in 2015) or Bangladesh (45 mln in 1990-18 mln in 2015).

Unfortunately, simultaneously the extreme poverty has progressed in some Sub-Saharan African countries: in Nigeria the number of people subsisting below the level of poverty line has skyrocketed from 51 million to 86 million, while in DRC it increased from 24 to 55 million people. This can partly be attributed to the demographic explosion currently taking place in many parts of Africa. For instance, in the time span of the last 26 years Nigeria’s population has increased by 57 million, while that of DR Congo by 46 million. As a rule impoverished people are more likely to have more children as they often constitute the only safeguard for their parents future.

GLOBAL FIGHT WITH HIV/AIDS:

Global fight with HIV/AIDS is one of the fields where results are most tangible. In 1990, close to 3.5 mln people living in developing countries contracted the deadly disease, while in 2015 this number has been significantly reduced to close to 2 mln new infections annually. Unfortunately in the similar period the number of new HIV infections in developed countries has slightly risen from some 170.000 new cases in 1990 to 190.000 new infections in 2015. What is equally important the antiretroviral therapy outreach has been dramatically increased from mere 800.000 in 2003 to almost 14 million people enjoying the treatment by June of 2014.

MALARIA PREVENTION:

The areas highlighted in red still report malaria cases, the ones highlighted in blue have eradicated malaria; Source: http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2015/10/daily-chart-7?fsrc=scn/fb/te/bl/ed/theshrinkingmalariamap

Similarly to global fight with many other widespread diseases, global fight with malaria is ripe with significant (although often unreported) achievements. Since 2000, the incidence of malaria has been cut in almost half to 90 million new cases per year in 2015. It is partly a result of increased consciousness of the disease and handing over of millions of anti-mosquito nets in Africa that allow members of local populations to enjoy healthy sleep, while contributing to the decreased occurrence of the disease. It is projected by the scientists that malaria can be totally wiped out by 2040. On the other hand, we are witnessing rise of various drug resistant types of malaria, which must be combated in a more efficient manner.

ACCESS TO CLEAN DRINKING WATER :

What deserves attention is the fact of close to 1.9 bln people gaining access to piped drinking water during the recent years and the overall figure of humans enjoying access to clean, piped drinking water presently stands at 4.2 bln. Moreover, 91 percent of people are now using water of better quality.

Alarmingly, if no new actions are to be undertaken, by 2040 the world’s water scarcity may be further enlarged by some 40 percent and the brunt of that will be especially borne by the most vulnerable communities of Western Asia, Northern Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia.

EQUAL  ACCESS TO EDUCATION FOR WOMEN:

Although equal access to education for girls is still a distant dream in many parts of the world (mostly least developed countries), however the situation has improved dramatically over the past years and now 64 percent of developing countries have achieved parity of boys and girls at the level of primary schools. The prospects of reaching equality at the level of secondary education are still relatively dim (only 3 percent of the countries managed to achieve it).  

One of the biggest success stories in improving equal access to education took place in South Asia where in 1990 primary school enrolment ratio for women was close to 74 (for 100 boys), in 2015 reaching ratio of 103 girls for 100 boys.

What is interesting, in 2015 women in many regions have not only achieved equal access to education, but in some parts of the globe number of female students has by far exceeded that of males; for instance Eastern Asia, Latin America, Northern Africa, South-Eastern Asia all have more female than male students at a university level. It has tipped the scales in imbalance yet again with boys now being severely underrepresented at the university level (close to 120 women for 100 men), especially in Northern Africa and Latin America.

SOME OF LARGELY UNRESOLVED WORLD-WIDE ISSUES INCLUDE:

• International Terrorism, the rise of international terrorism is mostly visible in Western Europe, but in fact countries mostly affected by it lie in Africa and South Asia
• Refugees related problems, including both external refugees and internally displaced persons (Palestine, Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, South Sudan, DRC, CAR, Somalia,Ukraine), due to numerous ongoing conflicts the number of refugees has decidedly risen in the past 5 years to the levels not witnessed since the times of WW2. Contrary to common belief the bulk of the refugees reside in Northern Africa.
• Climate Change- a question which threatens the very existence of human race  
• Gender equality-women earn on average 25 percent less than their male counterparts doing the same work and their promotion prospects are often limited
• Lack of sustainable development model in many countries- this includes lack of access to electricity in many parts of Africa, reliance on fossil fuels in the production of electricity,  or lack of commitment to combat the negative effects of climate change from many developing and developed countries alike

CONCLUSION

Appreciating numerous successes witnessed by the last quarter of a century doesn’t necessarily indicate that the world as we know it today has been miraculously transformed into the Garden of Eden. Seemingly never ending conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Palestine, South Sudan, people dying on an almost daily basis in terrorist attacks, refugees desperately trying to save their lives and to search for opportunities of a dignified life elsewhere, this is also the present reality. But in the boundless ocean of human misery and sorrow the UN is still one of the brightest beacons of hope and light in these tumultuous times we happen to live in.

SOURCES/FURTHER READING; unless stated otherwise all the numerical data in this articles is based on the below sources:

The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015

http://datatopics.worldbank.org/sdgatlas/SDG-01-no-poverty.html

http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/

Other sources:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-27921938 

德里打车记

  Dear friends, this blog is mainly written in English, but I have decided to provide at least part of the content in Mandarin Chinese, which is one of the languages I am fluent in. In order to view below post in English (or for that matter any other language), please use the Google Translate add-on available on the right side of this website. The post, concerns my experiences in using autorickshaws in India's capital Delhi. I really hope you can enjoy it. 

Photo's source: https://www.rentautobus.com/upload/images/tinymce/12669/Delhi-181AutoRickshaw.jpg

    我在印度学习的一段时间很有可能是我生活中最重要的经历之一。我想写一下我在印度打车的三段经历。介绍印度给我的印象。

    我大概3点到达德里。没有人来接我，所以我只好坐出租车去我在印度的大学。那是我第一次去亚洲，只会说三句印地语。我从机场出来以后找到了出租车站。幸亏司机认识我的大学，我坐上了他的车。这个时候我还不知道在印度坐车之前应该跟司机讲价。我们到了我的大学以后，我问他价格的时候他说30美元。他说：“价格那么低，是因为你是我的朋友。”老实说，我到印度之前听说过印度的出租司机经常骗老外。我给了他14美元。后来我知道这段路的价格应该是3美元左右。

    德里人对坐三轮车很感兴趣。可以说三轮车是德里文化的一个重要部分。有一次我晚上10点坐三轮车回大学的宿舍。这次已经知道该提前跟师傅讲价。他同意了40卢比的价格。我预先给了他100卢比，等他找给我60卢比，可是他拒绝把我的钱找给我。他让我感到十分生气。我再三地对他说：“你把我的钱还给我。”他最终给了我30卢比。我们到了大学，我下车以后去看他车的后面，在德里每个三轮车的后面有一个提意见的电话号码。我打算假装要给他的公司打电话。不是因为我真的需要30卢比（3块钱左右），而是我不喜欢被欺骗。这个时候我听到他从他三轮车的袋子里拿了一个东西，然后对我说：“我错了，快来拿你的30卢比”，不过他的表现给了我不好的感觉。我不知道为什么，可是我下意识地感到要出事，所以赶快离开了那里。到宿舍就意识到了：有可能他拿的东西是刀。这个时候我流出了冷汗。

    第三个故事也是晚上时发生的。我在德里的时候对这个城市很有感情，所以经常去看名胜古迹。有一次下午我没太注意时间，所以晚上的时候还没回到大学。另外我在陌生的地区迷路了。这个地方是德里的郊区，所以很难找到三轮车。很长时间不能找到三轮车我感到很失望。不想终于来了一辆三轮车。我对司机直接说：“大哥，我迷路了，价格不是问题，只要能到达我的大学。” 他说：“别着急，你是我们国家的客人，让你安全到达宿舍是我的责任。”我们到了我的大学他不想收我的钱说：“帮助遇到困难的人是每个人的职责。”说完 这句话他走了，我感到很惊奇。

    我们经常比较注意以前遇到过的倒霉事。说实话我不知道世界上善人多还是坏人多，可是我的深夜经历让我发现了人性的亮点。