Chindia Alert: You’ll be Living in their World Very Soon
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Indonesian finance minister working on loan structure and criteria
Indonesian President Joko Widodo asked Chinese President Xi Jinping for a special belt and road fund at the G20 summit in Osaka last week. Photo: Reuters
Indonesia has asked China to set up a special fund within its Belt and Road Initiative for investment in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy, after offering China projects worth US$91 billion, Indonesian government officials said on Wednesday.
Indonesia has not been among the biggest beneficiaries of China’s trillion-dollar push to create a modern-day Silk Road.
Indonesia says this is because it has insisted that any loan within the initiative’s framework is done on a business-to-business basis to avoid exposing the government in case of default.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo made the request for a special fund during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sideline of the Group of 20 summit in Japan last week, Indonesia’s Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said.
Japan still leads in Southeast Asia infrastructure race, even as China ramps up belt and road investments: report
Indrawati said she had been given the responsibility of coming up with the fund’s structure, including a proposal to China on the size of the fund and the criteria for loans from it.
“I am currently doing a study about its form, its mechanism, the size of it and of course the consequences of its costs,” she said.
Luhut Pandjaitan, coordinating minister for maritime affairs, said separately the fund should provide loans “with low interest in regards to investment in Indonesia, in partnership with Indonesian companies”.
Pandjaitan, who oversees belt and road projects in Indonesia, previously said the Indonesian government had offered China involvement in about 30 projects, worth US$91 billion, during the second Belt and Road Forum in April.
The most high-profile belt and road venture in Indonesia is a US$6 billion high-speed rail project connecting the capital, Jakarta, to the textile hub of Bandung, awarded to a consortium of Chinese and Indonesian state firms in 2015.
China expert lays out trillion yuan nuclear path for belt and road plan
The project has faced land ownership issues.
Another controversial project is a US$1.5 billion hydropower plant, funded by Chinese banks and being built by the Chinese state firm Sinohydro, in the heart of the Batang Toru rainforest on the island of Sumatra, which is home to the endangered Tapanuli orangutans.
Agus Djoko Ismanto, an executive of the power plant developer PT North Sumatra Hydro Energy, on Wednesday denied disrupting the orangutan habitat. He said 11 per cent of the construction had been completed and it was due to begin operation by 2022.
Court revokes licence for coal-fired power plant in Kenyan town whose Unesco World Heritage status is at stake
Beijing’s efforts to cut emissions domestically coincide with coal-financing ventures overseas
A proposed coal-fired power plant in Kenya involving four Chinese companies has provoked protests. Photo: Handout
This article is part of a series in which the South China Morning Post examines the local impact of Chinese investment and infrastructure projects in Africa.
There are a few places in the world that have held onto their traditions. One is the island of Lamu, close to Kenya’s northern coast, which is an epicentre of Swahili culture in East Africa and home to its oldest and best-preserved history.
Nowhere combines the culture’s architecture and heritage like Lamu Old Town, where there are two streets, few cars and dozens of mosques and churches. Donkeys and wooden carts are the main modes of transport.
The town is a Unesco World Heritage Site with multibillion-dollar tourism and fishing industries. But it risks losing its global allure after Unesco’s World Heritage Committee warned that a US$2 billion coal-fired power plant planned in the area threatened its heritage site status.
Four Chinese companies are involved in the project. The United States also supported it, with its envoy to Kenya, Kyle McCarter, saying the country needed cheaper power and American energy firm GE promising to inject US$400 million for a 20 per cent stake in Amu Power, the operating company. The Kenyan government has said the plant would enable the country to have a diversified source of electricity.
Lamu Old Town’s Unesco status helps to support its tourism and fishing industries. Photo: Handout
However, the project’s future is uncertain after a Kenyan court, the National Environment Tribunal, ordered on June 26 that a fresh environmental impact assessment be carried out. The tribunal, which oversees decisions made by the National Environment Management Authority, also revoked the licence issued by the authority to Amu Power.
A lack of public consultation to date, as well as the environmental risks, were cited by the court, whose ruling is binding on the government. Unesco has urged Amu Power to proceed with the impact assessment, which in turn could have an impact on perceptions of Beijing’s signature transcontinental infrastructure strategy, the
Two days after the court’s verdict, Wu Peng, the Chinese ambassador to Kenya, met groups opposed to the building of the coal plant, days after they had been dispersed by police when they tried to protest at the embassy. Wu acknowledged the need to develop a different approach to hear the public’s views.
Anti-coal campaigners have been demanding China back out. Of the plant’s estimated US$2 billion cost, US$1.2 billion is coming from the Industrial Commercial Bank of China.
The three Chinese companies – Sichuan Electric Power Design and Consulting, China Huadian, and Sichuan No 3 Power Construction – teamed up with Kenya’s Centum Investments and Gulf Energy in a venture to form Amu Power. Another Chinese firm, Power Construction (PowerChina), was contracted to build the plant, which is expected to generate 1,050 megawatts of electricity.
The Chinese embassy in Nairobi said it had asked the Chinese investors to wait for Kenya’s decision on whether it should go ahead.
“Our position is that the Kenyan people are the final decision makers in this project and the Chinese government respects that,” embassy spokeswoman Huang Xueqing said.
Despite committing to cutting China’s reliance on coal, Beijing is still funding several coal-powered plants around the world. Both China and Kenya signed the
on climate change in 2016, promising to cut carbon emissions.
China may be providing a market for its coal by outsourcing its fossil fuel use to other countries, according to 350.org, which campaigns to prevent climate change and works to end use of fossil fuels.
Yossi Cadan, a senior campaigner for the organisation, said many people looked to China to be the new world leader in addressing climate change, given its government’s ambitious initiative to reduce emissions domestically. US President Donald Trump, by contrast, made the controversial decision to
Activists and Lamu residents have protested about the coal plant. Photo: Handout
“While China seems determined to meet its Paris climate agreement targets at home, it undermines those efforts to reduce global emissions by simultaneously investing in coal projects across the world,” Cadan said.
According to Cadan, cancellations and delays of coal projects in China left a desperate Chinese coal industry looking elsewhere, assisted by Chinese financial institutions.
He argued that if China was serious about being a global leader in reducing emissions and tackling the climate crisis, it must apply the same restrictions it was
Analysts said that if the Lamu coal project were to be abandoned, other Chinese-funded coal power projects in Africa would come under the spotlight.
China is funding eight coal-powered projects in Africa, including Egypt’s Hamrawein plant, which has an estimated cost of US$4.2 billion and is expected to generate six gigawatts of power.
Omar Elmawi, campaign coordinator at deCOALonize, was among the campaigners who met ambassador Wu two weeks ago.
“Other African countries could take a cue from [the Kenyan situation],” he said. “Already key financial institutions are coming up with policies that are either cutting back on or refusing to fund new coal plant projects. This will add to the pressure on China to abandon coal projects.”
Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst at Greenpeace’s air pollution unit, said the Lamu case could spur the Chinese government to adapt its criteria for supporting overseas energy projects. This could include requiring coal-fired power projects overseas to meet more stringent emissions standards.
“Currently, essentially all of the overseas coal-fired power projects with involvement from Chinese banks and firms plan to use much weaker emissions control technology than is allowed in China, leading to much worse air quality impacts and public health impacts – which was the case in Lamu,” Myllyvirta said.
“It’s hard to see how [a weaker emissions standard] fits with the Chinese leadership’s objectives of greening the belt and road, and projecting a positive, technologically advanced image of China overseas.”
GUWAHATI, India (Reuters) – Heavy monsoon rains in India’s northeast Assam state displaced more than a million people from their homes and flash floods killed at least 10 in the past 72 hours, state authorities said on Saturday, warning the situation could worsen in coming days.
The Brahmaputra river, which flows from the Himalayas into India and then through Bangladesh, has burst its banks, swamping more than 1,800 villages in the state.
“10 people have died in separate incidents of drowning in the past three days and more than one million people (have been) affected, with the flood situation turning grave,” a state government flood bulletin said.
Torrential rains have affected at least 25 of Assam’s 32 districts and the federal water resources body said water levels in the Brahmaputra were expected to rise, with more rains forecast over the next three days.
“The flood situation remains extremely critical,” Assam’s Water Resources Minister Keshab Mahanta told Reuters.
Assam, known for its fine quality teas, has for several years battled floods and heavy rains that have claimed dozens of lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
Assam was on a maximum alert due to heavy rains forecast over the next few days, government officials said.
People in the state were also at threat from Japanese encephalitis, a mosquito-borne viral infection, government officials said. More than 160 people have been killed since January by the infection.
The federal government said it had met on Saturday to review flooding across different parts of the country, and emergency teams had rescued 750 people in Assam and nearby Bihar state, where the Kosi River had risen above the danger mark.
Flash floods and landslides in Nepal also triggered by monsoon rains killed 15 people and injured 12 overnight.
BEIJING, July 12 (Xinhua) — China has signed cooperation documents on jointly building the Belt and Road with 18 Arabian countries, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Friday.
China-Arab joint efforts to push forward cooperation on the Belt and Road has reached notable achievements, showing great potential and broad prospect, Vice Minister of Commerce Qian Keming told a press conference of the fourth China-Arab States Expo.
In 2018, bilateral trade volume between China and Arabian countries reached 244.3 billion U.S. dollars, jumping 28 percent year on year.
Chinese enterprises signed 35.6 billion dollars of new project contracts in Arabian countries, with a yearly increase of 9 percent, while direct investment from Chinese companies in Arabian countries totaled 1.2 billion dollars, involving sectors such as energy, infrastructure and manufacturing.
Qian said China will further strengthen connections of development strategies with Arabian countries so as to jointly build the Belt and Road.
Chinese enterprises and financial institutions are encouraged to deepen cooperation with the Arabian side in sectors of port, railway, electricity and telecommunications, said Qian.
More efforts should be made to promote cooperation between the two sides in fields of low-carbon energy, finance and high technologies, he added.
The fourth China-Arab States Expo will be held in Yinchuan city, northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, from Sept. 5 to 8.
The expo will focus on fields including cross-border e-commerce, infrastructure as well as trade and investment, aiming to promote mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Arabian countries in these areas.
Visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi (L) shakes hands with Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto prior to their talks in Budapest, Hungary, July 12, 2019. (Xinhua/Attila Volgyi)
BUDAPEST, July 12 (Xinhua) — Visiting Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto held talks on Friday, pledging closer exchanges and more cooperation.
Noting this year marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of China-Hungary diplomatic relations, Wang said the two countries have always respected and supported each other, showing mutual trust over the past seven decades. And in 2017, bilateral relations entered a new historical stage when a comprehensive strategic partnership was established by the leaders of two nations.
In face of increasingly unstable and uncertain international situation, Hungary, Wang said, has taken a clear-cut stance to develop friendly relations with China, firmly support the building of the Belt and Road and participate in the China and Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) cooperation.
Calling Hungary a reliable and trustworthy partner, the Chinese top diplomat said China will continue to back Hungary’s development path in line with its own national conditions, and support it to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests and to play a more important role in the European Union (EU) and the world.
The two sides should seize the opportunity of the 70th anniversary of establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations, maintaining, consolidating and developing the China-Hungary comprehensive strategic partnership, as well as deepening exchanges at all levels, said Wang.
The two sides should enhance all-around cooperation based on the principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, he said, while also calling on the two sides to strengthen strategic coordination to safeguard their common rights and interests as well as international fairness and justice.
On his part, Szijjarto said Hungary-China bilateral relations are at their best in history.
Hungary is the first European country to sign the Belt and Road cooperation agreement with China, which aligns well with Hungary’s “Opening to the East” policy, corresponds to the China-EU cooperation, and is conducive to promote the Eurasian interconnection, he said.
Hungary is willing to work with China to maintain closer high-level exchanges, expand cooperation in areas like trade, investment, finance, and education, and closely coordinate and cooperate in multilateral affairs, so as to promote bilateral relations to make new progress, said Szijjarto.
On Thursday, the Chinese top diplomat also attended the opening ceremony of a photo exhibition marking the 70th anniversary of the establishment of China-Hungary diplomatic relations here in the Hungarian capital.
Image copyright GETTY IMAGESImage caption (File photo) They were arrested in the city of Xuzhou in Jiangsu province
Four Britons have been arrested in China’s Jiangsu province over drug-related offences.
They are among 16 foreigners – seven teachers and nine students – who were detained last week after testing positive for drug use.
At least some of those being held are from an international language school, Education First.
Police did not specify the type of drugs involved and it is not clear where the other foreigners are from.
There are extremely severe penalties for drug offences in China.
“We are in contact with the Chinese authorities following the arrest of four British people in Jiangsu province, and are providing consular assistance,” said the British embassy in Beijing.
On Tuesday, the Xuzhou Public Security Bureau, located in Jiangsu province, posted a statement on Chinese social media site Weibo saying police had successfully cracked a drug-related case.
It said 19 people had been arrested, including 16 foreigners.
According to police, 18 people had been placed under administrative detention, which carries a maximum detention period of 15 days. One person was placed in criminal detention – a procedure that usually leads to a formal arrest and an indictment.
Police did not name the school involved, but state news agency Xinhua later reported that some of the teachers were from the Switzerland-based Education First (EF) Centre.
The EF centre told Xinhua it had a “zero tolerance” policy towards drugs, adding that it was deeply regretful that some of its teachers were involved.
It said the drug-related incident had taken place during “non-work” hours.
EF first entered China in 1998 and has around 2,000 English teachers now based in the country.
Li Zhanshu (R), chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China, holds talks with visiting Chairwoman of the National Assembly of Vietnam Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, in Beijing, capital of China, July 11, 2019. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling)
BEIJING, July 12 (Xinhua) — Top Chinese legislator Li Zhanshu held talks with visiting Chairwoman of the National Assembly of Vietnam Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan on Thursday, agreeing to enhance exchanges and cooperation between the two countries’ legislative bodies.
Li, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China, told Ngan that China stands ready to work with Vietnam to comprehensively implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two parties and the two states.
Li called on the two sides to accelerate cooperation on jointly building the “Belt and Road” and the “Two Corridors, One Economic Circle,” jointly safeguard peace and stability at sea, as well as constantly improve the friendship between their people.
On the ties between the two legislative bodies, the National People’s Congress of China and the National Assembly of Vietnam, Li said they could provide legal support for bilateral cooperation. He called on both sides to learn from each other through increased communication, promote people-to-people, local and youth exchanges, and strengthen coordination within multilateral mechanisms.
Ngan said Vietnam is willing to work with China to fully implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two parties and the two states, to enhance mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields and promote friendship between the two peoples.
The National Assembly of Vietnam is looking forward to stronger ties with the National People’s Congress of China so as to make greater contributions to the growth of relations between the two countries, she said.
At the invitation of Li, Ngan visited China from Monday to Friday.
Image copyright AFPImage caption Much of the air pollution is caused by factory emissions
Air pollution contributed to the deaths of at least 1.2 million Indians in 2017 – but a unique pilot scheme to combat air pollution in the western state of Gujarat could prove to be a model for the rest of the country. The BBC spoke to experts to find out more about the world’s first ever such experiment.
The concentration of tiny particulate matter (known as PM2.5) in India is eight times the World Health Organization’s standard.
These particles are so tiny that they can enter deep into the lungs and make people susceptible to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, making them extremely deadly.
Air pollution in India is caused by fumes from cooking on wood or dung indoors in villages, and a combination of traffic exhaust, soot and construction dust and factory emissions in the cities.
Now Gujarat has launched the world’s first “cap and trading” programme to curb particulate air pollution.
Image copyright AFPImage caption Surat is a dense industrial city where textile and dye factories are a major source of pollution
Put simply, the government sets a cap on emissions and allows factories to buy and sell permits to stay below the cap.
It is being launched in the dense, industrial city of Surat, where textile and dye factories are a major source of pollution. Since 2011, local pollution control authorities have been working on the impact of emissions trading in Surat, along with the University of Chicago and Harvard University.
How will this programme work?
The basic commodity in the emissions trading system is particulate matter, which is emitted by industries through their smoke stacks.
Under the emissions trading system, industries must hold a permit for each unit of particulate that they emit, and must comply with the prescribed standard of 150 milligrams per cubic metre of particulate matter released in the atmosphere.
Although industries can trade permits among themselves, the total quantity of these permits are fixed, so that air pollution standards are met.
For example, an industry that finds it inexpensive to decrease emissions is likely to over-comply with the standards – this would allow them to sell its excess permits to another industry that finds it more expensive to decrease emissions.
Both industries benefit by reducing their total costs of compliance, while the total emissions are held constant.
Importantly, this trading system gives firms an incentive to find ways to reduce emissions because they are able to sell any extra reductions to other firms.
These incentives have been shown to prompt firms to innovate so that they find new and inexpensive ways to reduce their emissions.
This standard will be used to set the overall emissions from all the industries that are participating in the pilot programme.
Image copyright AFPImage caption Smoggy skies over the Sabarmati river in Gujarat
Why is this programme being implemented in Surat?
Michael Greenstone, economist and director of the Energy Policy Institute at Chicago (EPIC), says the programme in Surat is a result of a multi-year process that his institute has been working on with the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) over the last four years.
In 2015, the environment ministry ordered 17 highly polluting industries – such as pulp and paper, distillery, sugar, tanneries, power plants, and iron and steel – to mandatorily install continuous emission monitoring system (CEMS) devices. They are a network of sensors installed in factories that send live readings of pollution emitted through their smoke stacks.
In the first phase of experiment, some 170 industries installed the devices, which cost anywhere between $2,500 and $7,000 (£2,000-£5,600).
“We worked with GPCB and the industries extensively on how to understand and use this data for regulation,” Dr Greenstone says.
Image copyright AFPImage caption Highly polluting industries in India have been asked to install emission control systems
“In the Gujarat experiment, we are working with textile, paper and sugar manufacturing industries.”
Can this programme be scaled up in a country as vast as India?
The state’s pollution board set this up as a pilot so that whatever is learnt here can be applied to help the operation of the market, says Dr Greenstone.
If successful, there will be a strong case for expanding this regulatory approach to other parts of Gujarat and other states in India.
“Particulate air pollution is shortening lives in India, so if the pilot is successful there is a terrific opportunity for a win-win by scaling up emissions trading in order to reduce industries’ compliance costs and to improve air quality which would ultimately [improve] people’s health,” he adds.
Will this ambitious programme work?
Siddharth Singh, energy expert and author of The Great Smog of India, says the emissions trading scheme has the potential to work.
“Firstly, unlike in other countries, emission trading schemes are not a politically sensitive topic, so it could quietly be tested and scaled up if it proves to be successful. Secondly, India has some experience in running a similar scheme.”
India’s Bureau of Energy Efficiency has been running a programme to improve industrial energy efficiency. It targets some 500 large users of energy across India and encourages trade in energy efficiency certificates. This has led to decreased energy use and emissions, as well as cost savings.
Media caption A hair-raising drive through the Delhi smog
“India is only testing the trading programme at the state level,” he adds.
“There is nothing to lose here, even if the pilot fails. But if it succeeds, it could be scaled up and prove to be a great policy tool to address particulate air pollution in India.”
With unusually severe rainfall in India’s financial capital Mumbai over the past few weeks, and severe drought conditions elsewhere in the country, questions are being raised about whether these extreme events are becoming more common.
Reality Check has had a look at the available data for floods and drought over time to see if any patterns are emerging.
First, the rainfall
India relies on the heavy rains of the annual monsoon season for most of its water needs.
The rains arrive in different parts of the country at different times and, if they are early or late, with devastating consequences for farmers. If they are unusually heavy, built-up areas can face severe disruption.
In recent days, Mumbai has been particularly badly affected, with at least 30 flood-related deaths, and the city’s top civic official says its infrastructure has not been able to cope with the erratic rainfall patterns.
Media caption Deadly floods has brought India’s financial capital to a standstill
But is there a longer-term pattern?
Looking at the annual data from the 36 weather stations that monitor monsoon rainfall across the country, no clear pattern emerges.
Yes, the rainfall levels are unpredictable and erratic, but figures since 2002 show no indication of an increase in the extremes of monsoon rainfall.
Mumbai is a good example of the problems faced by urban planners in dealing with the annual monsoon rains.
When, in 2005, at least 900 died in floods in Mumbai, a decision was made to build eight stations to pump out water. Two of them are yet to be built.
Large parts of the city are built on land reclaimed from the sea and many blame poor planning and rapid construction for the annual rain chaos.
Mumbai’s centuries-old storm drains discharge rainwater through outfalls into the sea and the city’s Mithi river, but these outfalls get blocked when high tides coincide with heavy rain.
Their capacity is also affected by silting and dumping of solid waste.
A plan to revamp the city’s drains began back in 1993, but critics say not enough has been done.
Chinese and Indian ethnic group workers have higher average earnings than their white British counterparts, the first detailed official figures show.
But the data on the ethnicity pay gap, showed all other ethnic groups have lower wages than white British workers.
The Office for National Statistics said employees in the Bangladeshi ethnic group have the largest pay gap, earning 20% less than white British employees.
On average, ethnic minorities earn 3.8% less than white ethnic groups.
The categories are the official ones used by ONS.
In 2018, employees from the Chinese ethnic group earned 30.9% more than white British employees.
Hugh Stickland, senior ONS analyst, said: “Overall, employees from certain ethnic groups such as Indian and Chinese, have higher average earnings than their white British counterparts.
“However, all other ethnic groups have average wages lower than for white British employees, with employees from the Bangladeshi ethnic group having the largest pay gap.
“However, once characteristics such as education and occupation are taken into account, the pay gap between white British and most other ethnic groups becomes narrower, though significant differences still remain.”
Bangladeshis are the UK’s lowest earners
The data – based on median gross hourly earnings between 2012 and 2018 – shows that the Chinese ethnicity group is the highest paid, receiving £15.75 an hour in 2018.
That group is followed by the Indian ethnic group – which earns £13.47 an hour – and mixed/multiple ethnicity group, with a £12.33 hourly pay rate.
The median pay of the white British group was £12.03. The Bangladeshi group had the lowest median hourly pay of £9.60 with the second-lowest paid group being of Pakistani origin at £10 an hour.
“The harsh reality is that even today race still plays a real role in determining pay,” said Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the TUC.
“Ministers must take bold action to confront inequality and racism in the labour market. The obvious first step is to introduce mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting without delay,” she said.
The government has already introduced mandatory reporting on the gender pay gap – which stands at 9.6% in favour of men – and the ONS data also shows discrepancies in male and female earnings in the ethnic groups.
The Chinese and Indian groups, which both have the highest rate of hourly pay, were among those with the biggest gender gaps.
Chinese men on average earned 19.1% more than women and Indian men earned 23.2% more than women.
But women in the Bangladeshi ethnic group earn more than their male counterparts – with a 10.5% gap.
The ONS said, though, that the sample size for the Bangladeshi group was smaller and susceptible to inaccuracy compared with other ethnic groups.
London’s gap
London, which has the highest proportion of its population classified as an ethnic minority group, also has the largest pay gap of 21.7%.
The ONS found this gap was reversed in other parts of Britain. In the north-east of England, for instance, employees from an ethnic minority group had average earnings that were 6.5% more than the average earnings of white employees.
Birth-place divide
The ONS says that where someone is born can have an influence on how much they are paid.
“By comparing those who were born in the UK and those who were not, it may give us an idea of what sort of effect having a UK education and the higher likelihood of speaking English as a first language may have on those from an ethnic minority background,” the ONS said.
It found those in the Bangladeshi ethnic group – who had been born in the UK – earned 8% less than white British employees. But for Bangladeshi employees born outside the UK the gap was 26.8%.
When taking other factors into account, such as education, UK-born employees in the Indian and Chinese ethnic groups do not have pay gaps that are “statistically different” from the UK-born white British employees, the ONS found.
For example, almost a third of workers in the Indian ethnic group work in professional roles which means they tend to be higher-paid.
CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon 