Comments by "Peter Jacobsen" (@pjacobsen1000) on "CCTV Video News Agency" channel.

  1. Increasing speed from 350 to 1000 km/h on, for example, the Beijing-Shanghai route will increase ticket prices by around RMB 400/ticket just in added power consumption.
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  2.  @Kiyoone  "make a normal maglev". Even with a maglev, such high speeds will mean 8 times the wind resistance (compared to 350 km/h), thus the increase in power consumption.
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  3. China had 64 launches in 2022, 62 of which were successful. It's a lot. SpaceX launched 61 rockets in 2022, all of which were successful, also a lot. SpaceX and China combined launched 70% of all successful rockets in 2022. Russia 22. EU 4. India 4.
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  4.  @annatsai7631  Well, it's a good question. The extra RMB 400 is just to cover electricity cost. There's also construction to consider. Now the price is abut RMB 550, I think, so it would go to RMB 1200 at least, probably more. I think I'd still take the slower night train, which I have always preferred. Get on at 8 PM, arrive at 6 AM. No time wasted.
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  5. SpaceX booster is released high above the atmosphere. If it was allowed to just fall back to earth with a parachute, it would burn up. The Chinese boosters are released at quite low altitude, so they won't burn up.
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  6. I've been on one of those ferries. Quick little trip to Jinmen from Xiamen, and back again. Seeing Jinmen was a great experience. There's something different about Taiwan.
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  7. "The Panamanian ship". With the name 'Fuping' it's more likely to be a Chinese ship that is just registered in Panama. Around 16 per cent of the global shipping fleet is sailing under the Panamanian flag, more than the combined merchant fleets of the US and China.
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  8. Japan is currently building a maglev line, the Chuo Shinkansen from Tokyo to Nagoya, a distance of 286 km. Planned speed: 500 km/h. Estimated cost: 50-65 billion USD, or $175-230 million/km. It seems very expensive. Will they ever get a return on that investment?
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  9. This could potentially work, as long as the boosters are released at low altitude. If they're released above 90km they will almost certainly burn up on re-entering the atmosphere.
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  10. I'll believe it when I see it. Yes, it's technically possible, but far too expensive to do. Ticket prices would be prohibitive.
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  11.  @wallacekatini3424  "Ever heard of Shanghai maglev"? That was the example he gave, so yes, he heard of it.
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  12. Does anybody know when the expected launch date is?
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  13. What does the US get out of joining UNESCO? Just a big bill? There doesn't seem to be any benefits.
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  14. They used to, but fewer are coming now.
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  15. With that nice satellite dish on the station, they should be able to get both HBO and ESPN.
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  16. You mean eating dumplings outside in the winter? Why do you wish that life for anyone?
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  17. If China becomes a little more liberal with their visa policy, I think even more people will come. For example, 3-month tourist visas used to be easy to get, but now it's almost impossible. So, 3-month, or even 6-month tourist visas, double-entry visas would all be very welcome. I think foreign tourists are willing to pay good money for those types of visas. Secondly, make it easier to apply for visas, online application would be great, drop the fingerprinting at application and only fingerprint when arriving at the border. There are many potential tourists who look at the complicated process and just choose another country to visit.
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  18.  @agathalorenzo4224  Please explain this 'lazy tax'. How do you pay it? How much is it? Where does the money come from?
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  19.  @johnwayne-zy5cz  That only affects production, not running costs. I'm questioning running costs. To give a simple example: You may be able to make and sell a great pair of running shoes at a cheap price, but they wear down just as quickly through use.
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  20.  @johnwayne-zy5cz  That's not going to change the price of electricity. Tripling the speed means 7 times the wind resistance and 7 times the electricity consumption. Electricity already accounts for a fair part of the ticket price.
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  21.  @johnwayne-zy5cz  Yes, well, let's wait and see if it gets built at all.
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  22.  @johnwayne-zy5cz  If high-speed maglev trains are really so beneficial, one can only wonder why China decided NOT to extend the Shanghai line, and instead went for regular high-speed rail. They could have built a nation-wide maglev network, but they chose not to.
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  23.  @johnwayne-zy5cz  I know, I live here and have taken the maglev several times. But that doesn't answer the question: If the maglev is so good for the economy and the country, why didn't they expand it outside Shanghai. It was planned to expand it to Hangzhou for many years, but in the end, the plans were cancelled.
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  24.  @johnwayne-zy5cz  So why standard railways and not maglev?
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  25.  @johnwayne-zy5cz  You're still not addressing the issue of Maglev. Why did China choose standard rail when they could have chosen maglev?
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  26.  @johnwayne-zy5cz  " technology needs time to fully mature". That is true. The Shanghai maglev was fully mature technology in 2003, so that can't be the reason.
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  27. If the technology is all Chinese, there is nothing to sanction. America can only sanction if the technology of this train comes from America. If it doesn't, there is nothing to be afraid of.
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  28.  @alungalung1896  Thanks
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  29. Hundreds, haha.
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  30. "China-U.S. people-to-people exchanges". If only that meant lots of Chinese and American people engaged in a hot free-for-all orgy during the event, that would be pretty awesome.
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  31. It's just like Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, USA. One big family.
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  32.  @yeungnanami9100  How is it different?
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  33.  @Zakaius  What's UM?
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  34. The area controlled by US Forces is in the south, bordering Jordan. That area is pure desert, no agriculture, no oil, no gas, no mines, no resources of any kind. Almost all of Syria's oil and gas fields are controlled by either the Syrian government or Kurdish dominated forces. A small part is controlled by Turkey. USA does not import products of any kind from Syria.
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  35.  @JMA4206  That's not an argument.
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  36. Nice looking bridge. What are those two narrow central lanes for? Please tell me they are exclusive bicycle lanes!
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  37.  @AndrewManook  From where? Traditionally, Korean students have made up about 30% of all foreign students, Japanese an additional 30%, and the rest from around the world (mostly Europe and North America).
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  38.  @AndrewManook  Well, China has provided scholarships for African students for several decades now. When I was a student in Shanghai, we had a good handful of students from a variety of sub-Saharan countries, esp. Equatorial Guinea, Ghana and Angola. But are their numbers going to increase significantly? I guess it's too early to say. As for Asian students, I already wrote that Koreans and Japanese made up 60% of all foreign students in the past. But I think there's a risk that the 'magic' of studying in China is wearing off. Young people go where there is excitement. Is there still excitement in China?
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  39.  @namelesswarrior4760  That's not what we do down here in Shanghai. Our lives are better than up in HeiHe, and we don't have to eat our dumplings in the freezing cold. We're civilized.
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  40.  @namelesswarrior4760  Ok, the lifestyle may be great at the border, but then I'd prefer the border with Laos or with Hong Kong. Better weather, better food. Nevertheless, as long as you enjoy your life up in the far north-east, everything is good.
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  41.  @colleen2671  And yet, we see a constant stream of North-Easterners moving to Hainan, XiShuangBanNa, Shenzhen; not exactly places known for their cold weather.
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  42.  @Whatisnottaken  If you ever come to Shanghai, you will quickly see how much better it is. And regarding eating dumpling in the cold, why would anybody sit outside in the winter if they didn't have to? If sitting in the cold is so great, why don't people just turn off their heating inside?
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