Alcohol Consumption in Taiwan, China etc.

choi

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文化鸿沟：是什么人喝什么酒. BBC Chinese, Oct. 23, 2009.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/uk/2009/10/091023_culturegap_binge_drinking.shtml

Quote:

" 按照世界卫生组织（WHO）的统计，英国人的酒量在世界将近200个国家中排行18。老大是乌干达，老二是卢森堡，再往下是捷克、爱尔兰和摩尔多瓦。 * * * 在2003年，这些国家15岁以上人口一年里人均喝下去的酒按照纯酒精含量来算，卢森堡是17.5公升，捷克是16.2公升，爱尔兰14.5公升，摩尔多瓦13.9公升。与这样的数字相比，英国人的10.4公升显得还算收敛，尽管这比中国人的4.5公升高出一倍多。

My comment:
(a) The latest statistics from World Health Organization (WHO) is

WHO Global Status Report on Alcohol 2004
http://www.who.int/substance_abuse/publications/global_status_report_2004_overview.pdf

, whose Table 3 was titled "Total recorded alcohol per capita consumption (15+), in litres of pure alcohol" and cited "FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations) and World Drink Trends 2003" as "sources" (the text explained the data had been collected "for the year of 2000 or 2001"):

India 0.82
Japan 7.38
Republic of Korea (S Korea) 7.71
US 8.51
Italy 9.14
Russia 10.58
Germany 12.89
France 13.54
(Neither Taiwan or Hong Kong is identified in the table--or the entire report.)

Please note it is PURE alcohol. Generally speaking, beer has 4-6% alcohol by volume (ABV), wine 9-16% and vodka 40% ABV.

(b) Assuming that the only alcohol Americans consume is beer and that all beer has 5% ABV, according to the above WHO table (where US ranked 33rd in alcohol consumption), every day average Americans (15+) drink a little more than 12 fluid ounces (equivalent to ~360 ml) of beer. (In US, there is a beer bottle of such volume, that is why I select this benchmark.)

Incidentally "beer is the most popular alcoholic beverage in America and accounts for 85% of volume of alcoholic beverages sold in the United States each year."
Stats on Tap: Annual Beer Consumption by State
http://www.sloshspot.com/photos/blog/full/photo_1246056700.png  

(c) Other perspectives of alcohol consumption in US:

(i) Annual Alcohol Consumption in One Day in America. Time, 2007.
http://www.time.com/time/2007/america_numbers/alcohol.html

(ii) Zhang Y et al, Secular trends in alcohol consumption over 50 years: the Framingham Study. Am J Med., 2008 121: 695-701.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18691483?ordinalpos=5&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum   
("Among drinkers, there was a decrease across succeeding birth cohorts in average alcohol intake: among individuals between ages 30 and 59 years, age-adjusted mean intake was 30.6, 25.5, and 21.0 g/day for those born in 1900-1919, 1920-1939, and 1940-1959, respectively, in men (P<.001), and 14.2, 12.3, and 10.4 g/day, respectively, in women")

(d) 衛生統計 - 保健類. Department of Health, Taiwan.
http://www.doh.gov.tw/lane/statist/84/84stat6-1idx.html
(平均每人每年酒消費量(公升): increasing from 29.68 in 1986 to 39.44 in 1995)

To my surprise, few data can be found about alcohol consumption in Taiwan.


---------Separately
(1) 美国华人辩论是否应该有台湾光复节. VOA Chinese, Oct. 25, 2009
http://www1.voanews.com/chinese/news/china/TAIWAN-20091025-65934142.html
("1945年10月25日，在台北中山堂有一场接受日本投降交还台湾的仪式，以后这天被订定为台湾光复节。不过，64年后却有了争议，谁光复了台湾以及中华民国是否拥有台湾的主权都成为争议的焦点。")

Quote:

"蔡明法 * * * 拿出当年的旧相片，指出当日会场悬挂的是美俄英和中华民国的国旗，显示日本是向盟军投降，不是向中华民国投降。蔡明法说，是麦克阿塞发出第一号命令，并派军舰把国民党军队接到台湾接受日本投降，美国只是委托中华民国管理台湾而已。

"蔡明法并引用蒋经国日记1949年6月的记载，指出当时美国担心台湾陷入中共之手甚至想要国民党把台湾交还给美国，显然台湾的主权在美国手上。

My comment: The last paragraph states, "1954年美国与中华民国签订共同防御协定，也承认中华民国对台湾的领土主权." This is wrong, That treaty did not talk about sovereignty. Here it is:

Mutual Defense Treaty Between the United States and the Republic of China, December 2, 1954.
http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/chin001.asp

(2) 金门战役六十载马英九吁让杀戮走入历史. VOA Chinese, Oct. 25, 2009.
http://www1.voanews.com/chinese/news/taiwan/tw60thAnniversary-20091025-65936537.html
("史称'金门战役'或'古宁头战役'，两岸分治就此开始")

My comment: The report states
(a) 解放军"出动1万5千多人渡海登陆突袭金门." For a decade since I paid attention to zh.wikipedia.org, it has consistently said "9,086" PLA troops landed. The same report later said "解放军被俘、伤亡各7千多人." What happened to the other half of the landing force?
(b) 金门防卫司令部上校胡泽群"说：'当时共军以为一天之内就能够拿下金门，他们还约好了要在金门城内吃午饭，所以他们的部队只带了一天的干粮，但是当时驻守的国军(国民党军队)已经做好了万全的准备，而且情报上也知道共军准备利用25日凌晨两点的高潮登陆."

How could PLA fought for three days then? Likely many died in the days--even hours--and the survivors ate their food.

I did not know Taiwan knew the landing in advance!

(3) Amber Wang, Concerns over Taiwan press freedom amid China thaw. AFP, Oct. 25, 2009.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091025/lf_afp/taiwanchinapressfreedom_20091025182011
("The precipitous drop [in the Reporters Without Borders report] has left Taiwan trailing behind the Chinese territory of Hong Kong, which comes in at 48, as well as some African nations such as Ghana, Mali and Burkina Faso.")

My comment: There is no need to read the rest.

(4) Mark MacKinnon, A portrait with pearls tells China-Taiwan tale; Cultural exchange demonstrates warming relations between old foes. Globe and Mail (Toronto), Oct. 23, 2009.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/a-portrait-with-pearls-tells-china-taiwan-tale/article1336645/

(5) Amy Stone, A tale of two cities -- Beijing and Taipei; First you'll want to see the Forbidden City itself, then head to Taiwan, where its finest treasures now reside. Miami Herald, Oct. 25, 2009.
http://www.miamiherald.com/living/travel/story/1292811.html


There are three interesting reports that has nothing to do with Taiwna or China.
(1) 艾伦∙利特尔, 记者来鸿：波黑难以抚平的创伤. BBC Chinese, Oct. 22, 2009.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/simp/world/2009/10/091022_fooc_bosnia.shtml

My comment: The English version of the report:

Allan Little, Bosnia, a 'world of parallel truths.' BBC Chinese, Oct. 17, 2009.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/8311452.stm

(2) 昔日战旗 今日国宝. BBC Chinese, Oct. 23, 2009.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ukchina/simp/uk_life/2009/10/091023_life_flag.shtml

(3) Hua Ying 华英, 太阳变蓝的启示. BBC Chinese (blog), Oct. 25, 2009.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/zhongwen/
(贵在选择)

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