The "Greater China" as an Emerging Economic and Political Power of the 21st Century
There is more and more talk in the various Chinese territories, with their different international statuses, and in the Chinese Diaspora about the possibility and expediency of a Greater China economic community or integration framework, a system of Chinese economic co-operation, or a Chinese Commonmarket. There are doubts as to whether or not the Greater Chinese Economic Area (GCEA) can be included in the category of regional economic co-operation systems, but considering its possible impact on the region, the GCEA should be examined. The activities of the GCEA can be divided into two specific areas. One, on a regional level, is to strengthen the economic ties between China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and the other, on the global level, is to combine all Chinese economic powers. The GCEA is not yet completely developed, but if realized, it will lead to change in the East Asian international order.
The allergic society
Allergies represent most probably the greatest social and healthcare challenges in the next decades. All determining factors reponsible for the development and persistence of their pathogenic processes are more powerful by now:
- seasonal pollen counts are unchanged at best, yet the length of pollination periods increase, and the antigenity becomes enhanced by interactions with environmental physico-chemical pollutants;
- education of allergy-prone families on the avoidance of early antigen- and trigger contacts (breast feeding, low-antigen infant formulas, no maternal smoking etc) has limited effectiveness;
- nation-wide preventive programmes do not exist;
- and finally, allergic patients, their care takers and health providers, their patient organizations are not successful communicators of individual problems, or more importantly, of the increasing dangers of allergies - towards society and its political decision makers.