July 5, 2005 Program

Our speaker today was Dr. William H. "Bill" Rabel, former visiting professor at Peoples' University in Beijing, China, retired executive from Loma, and a faithful member of Kiwanis Club of Peachtree Atlanta. In sharing with us about China, Dr. Rabel's remarks included the following points:

1. The Shang dynasty (1523-1027 B.C.) was the first one in documented Chinese history and the Ching dynasty (1644-1912) was the last one.
2. China consisted of six kingdoms and five great walls for protection during its early history. The kingdoms were unified during the Chin dynasty (221-207 B.C.) The word "China" is derived from "Chin."
3. China is the most populous country in the world (1.3 billion inhabitants) and the second largest geographical area after Russia. To limit population growth, men may not marry before age 22 and women before age 20. Families are expected to have no more than two children per family.
4. The Opium War (1839-1942) between China and Great Britain occurred when Britain attacked China for prohibiting the importing of opium. Britain won the war which opened up China to further exploitation by other European countries.
5. The Chinese Communist Party was founded in 1921. Chiang Kai-shek lost power over mainland China to Communist Leader Mao Tse-Tung in 1950 who reigned until 1959 and was succeeded by Liu Shao-Chi. The current President and General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party is Hu Jintao who came to power in 2002.
6. Even though agriculture is by far the leading occupation in China which is 60 percent rural, China is increasingly becoming a major competitor of the United States. China had a GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of nine percent during 2004 and has a doubling of the standard of living practically every five years.
7. Chinese students work hard for admission to one of the 2000 universities and vocational schools while others seek to enroll in the 3000 plus higher educational institutions in the United States, as well as schools in other countries. China graduates four times as many engineers per year as the United States.
8. China's future and that of the United States are intimately linked and their relations with each other are stronger than ever.

Visitors

We were delighted to have present with us Michael Mitchell and Downtown Interclubbers Laura McCarty, Hank Fellows, Jack McFarland, and Bob Wiggins.

Future Speakers

Recognition

President Ray presented Missi who introduced Sgt. Briggs and Officer Smith from Zone Five of the Atlanta Police Department in celebration of the Officer of the Month Program. Sgt. Briggs noted the heroic actions of Officer Smith who captured a second burglar during a foot chase of another burglar who was also caught and arrested. President Ray commended Officer Smith and presented him a Kiwanis Cup for a job well done. President Ray said that Sherry wants us to continue to invite prospective members to our meetings.

Pin Violation

Even during his absence, Our Compassionate Mel gets the job done.

Kiwanis Education

Voting by absentee ballot - and by proxy - is not an acceptable procedure in Kiwanis.

President Ray's Quote

"You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try."
-- Beverly Sills

Announcements

1. The Georgia District Convention is scheduled for Athens during August 5-7, 2005.
2. Dusty and George say now is the time to join the Annual Kiwanis Travel to China and enjoy places such as Beijing, the Great Wall/Ming Tombs, the Yangtze River Cruise, and Suzhou during October 17-30, 2005.

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