2009 top ten news

Top 10 questions for 2010

By Qi Xiao (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-01-01 08:40

Editor's Note: This is a time to look back at and say goodbye to the year past and embrace the year that's dawning on us. It is a time for resolutions and predictions. So, we at China Daily website invite you to gaze into the crystal ball and predict how the year 2010 will bode for you and for many of us. [The Top 10 Everything of 2009]

Take our survey and share your thoughts with us.

1. Which team will win the 2010 World Cup?

2. Will Tiger Woods play golf in 2010?

3. Will Guo Jingjing, China's diving queen, get married in 2010?

4. Will a post-Copenhagen deal be struck in 2010?

5. Will China's migrant workers get permanent urban residence in 2010?

6. Will China's one-child policy change in 2010?

7. Will China's housing prices peak in 2010?

8. Will we witness another global epidemic in 2010?

9. Will China's stock market climb back to 6,000 points?

10. Will inflation emerge in China in 2010?

1. Which team will win the 2010 World Cup?

Some fans are already pondering who the 2010 World Cup winner will be. In June 2006, the Italians earned the Jules Rimet Trophy at Berlin's Olympic Stadium.

As the most popular event in sports, the World Cup only comes to us once every four years. Thus, it is no surprise that fans have been talking about their predictions for 2010 since the World Cup draw was revealed on Dec 5, 2009. Spain, Brazil and England are the bookmakers' favorites to win, although fans and media from other countries tend to think otherwise.

However, as players and managers like to say, no team that competes in the World Cup finals can be considered a pushover. Who knows what kind of surprises are in store for us.

2. Will Tiger Woods play golf in 2010?

Tiger Woods's campaign in 2009 seemed to be on the right track after he claimed six wins and bagged more than $1 billion before a freakish car crash happened in late November.

Suddenly all of the rumors were let loose about allegations of domestic violence, and mistresses and lovers. After making public apologies and admitting to his infidelity, Woods said he would "take an indefinite break from professional golf".

Indefinitely? Will the Professional Golfers Association, or PGA, and those pragmatic business executives wait that long? Average television ratings fell by nearly 50 percent for a host of 2008 tournaments that Woods missed following his injury. More important, people love comeback stories, and they tend to be forgiving or forgetful after all the finger-pointing.

Whether Woods will play in 2010 is still up for question. But one thing is almost certain. When he does play again, he likely will not use the golf club that his wife reportedly used in the car accident.

3. Will Guo Jingjing, China's diving queen, get married in 2010?

Guo Jingjing's alleged romance with Kenneth Fok, the grandson of late Hong Kong tycoon Henry Fok, has captured the imagination of a country that seems to have become as interested in the private lives of its athletes as in their athletic performances.

Guo happens to offer the ideal combination of talent and a gossip-worthy private life, juggling her Olympic gold medals and her personal relationship with Kenneth Fok with ease. She has often teased a celebrity-crazed media with the progress of her relationship with Fok.

Although Guo has not given any timetable for her retirement, her announcement at December's East Asian Games about a possible one-year hiatus is a clear enough signal. From all evidence, her relationship with Fok seems to have entered another stage. Unless they truly believe that the Chinese lunar calendar warns against a "widow's year" in 2010, we might well see Miss Guo become Mrs Fok.

4. Will a post-Copenhagen deal be struck in 2010?

Billed as the most important summit to save the earth from global warming before the Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012, the Copenhagen Climate Conference carried high expectations when delegates convened in Bella Center on Dec 7, 2009.

However, after 13 days of intense negotiations, the outcome is, at best, mixed. On the bright side, the developed countries did pledge $30 billion to help developing countries combat climate change over the next three years, and then $100 billion every year after that until 2020. On the down side, developed and developing nations are still deadlocked over the amount of CO2 emissions cuts that should be made in coming years.

Despite years of scientific research, developed and developing nations are only capable of coming to one agreement: Global warming is real, and it is affecting the earth.

5. Will China's migrant workers get permanent urban residence in 2010?

According to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China's migrant workers account for around 50 percent of the labor force in industrial and related sectors. They comprise almost 70 percent of the manufacturing labor force and 80 percent of China's construction labor force. Yet they don't enjoy equal rights as city dwellers because of household registration requirements. In other words, they work in and contribute to the cities where they live, but they essentially do not belong to the city.

China's household registration system has categorized citizens as urbanites or non-urbanites, which not only draws an artificial line between urban and rural residents, but also prevents the latter from migrating freely to cities. Critics say the restrictions will severely limit China's urbanization and domestic consumption if they are not changed.

Fortunately, the rules are changing. The proposal of China's Central Economic Conference in early December to give rural residents permanent urban residency sent a strong signal. Premier Wen Jiabao's call in late December for the reform of the household registration system will surely speed up the process.

In recognition of their contributions to cities, Time magazine named Chinese migrant workers runners-up for its Person of Year award in 2009. Will they be on the cover in 2010?

Migrants dream of rich city life
They deserve a city house as the new decade's gift
Migrant worker finds better life at home
Premier: China to advance reform on household system

6. Will China's one-child policy change in 2010?

Chinese population experts have become increasingly concerned about China's 30-year-old family planning policy, and some suggest it’s time to encourage people to have more than one child.

Many believe the population is no longer a major threat to China's resources and environment. Instead, China's population challenges have shifted to low birth rates, an aging society (without enough offspring to care for older parents) and a widening gender imbalance. China has already experienced a shortage of skilled workers in places like the Pearl River Delta, so it might not be long before we see major reforms.

However, China might only fine-tune family planning policy, making adjustments such as the encouragement of urban couples who are only-children themselves to have a second child, and the abolition of the four-year interval between births in the countryside. Still, China remains the country with the world's largest population, and the government traditionally prefers a gradual approach to change.

7. Will China's housing prices peak in 2010?

The story of the strong V-shaped recovery of the Chinese economy this year was followed by reports of soaring housing prices in many cities

Statistics show that real estate prices in 70 major cities increased by an average 5.7 percent year-on-year last month, the fastest pace since July 2008. It has been reported that prices for commercially built new residential units in major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen have exceeded 50 percent so far this year, more than five times the rate of growth of local economies.

The central government is aware of the danger of a property bubble that can inflate the national economy or even burst, derailing the ongoing economic recovery. Several policy measures have been announced to cool the red-hot real estate market. Premier Wen Jiabao publicly stated that the government would maintain order in China's property market. How much trust do you place in government policies to control housing prices in 2010?

8. Will we witness another global epidemic in 2010?

When the deadly H1N1 flu first struck Mexico in mid-April, it caused a stir in other parts of the world and panic in Mexico City, which was then at the heart of the outbreak. With the 2003 SARS epidemic still fresh in our memory, we were about to fall into the grip of another global epidemic.

The World Health Organization this year declared H1N1 a global epidemic. Fortunately, it is much less threatening than people previously believed, and newly introduced vaccines seem to have quelled lingering fears. But the question remains: Why have we already experienced three major outbreaks of epidemics in the first decade of the 21st century?

First there was SARS, then the global spread of H5N1 flu and now the H1N1 flu. We human beings pride ourselves on being the most intelligent animals and the most sophisticated species, but hygiene-wise, we seem to fare miserably. Globalization is not helping, either. The earth now is truly a village, making it easy for a virus to travel from Beijing to Boston in a matter of hours. Will another epidemic arrive in 2010?

9. Will China's stock market climb back to 6,000 points?

Will China's stock market climb back to the 6,000-point mark it reached two years ago? The stock market was at its most bullish back then, but if you ask the same question now, some would cite a global economy still reeling from a recession.

However, there are plentiful signs China's economy is recovering. China's massive stimulus package and fiscal and monetary policies have greatly improved market liquidity and boosted investor confidence. Premier Wen Jiabao announced that China will maintain its pro-active fiscal policy and moderately loose monetary policy to buoy the economy in 2010, so more rebounds in the stock market seem to be in the offing.

But be cautious. There is always the risk of getting burned by a hot market.

SOEs advised against investment in stock, property
IPOs likely to raise 320 bn yuan in 2010
Asian stock markets open 2010 with modest gains
Chinese shares end slightly lower

10. Will inflation emerge in China in 2010?

China's consumer price index (CPI), a measure of inflation, rose by 0.6 percent in November, the first year-on-year rise in consumer prices since January 2009. The release of those numbers spurred talk about possible inflation, but opinions differ as to whether inflation is on the immediate horizon.

Most residents will tell you that they are already feeling the "pinch" of rising prices, especially for food and housing, which are well above the three percent mark of inflation. Government officials often dismiss the possibility of "serious" inflation, saying that it is not a big threat and that price increases can be controlled. Outside experts are divided.

The government is certainly aware of inflationary pressures, and they have already taken steps to prevent inflation in the real estate market. Some call for more measures such as steps to increase the purchasing power of consumers.