This is Bill Tsutsui with another Postcard from Asia from the Center for East Asian Studies.

Back in the 20th Century, when the USSR launched Sputnik and catapulted us into the Space Age, Chairman Mao lamented “China is a country that cannot even launch a potato into space.” Well, the China of the 21st Century has launched something a good deal larger than a potato: Chang ‘e (CHAHNG UH) 1, a moon probe named for the Chinese goddess of the moon. At a cost of 1.4 billion Yuan – or $175 million dollars – it seems lunacy to spend this sum on this celestial body. What with skies dim with soot, rivers orange with effluent, red algae blooms wiping out marine life and safe drinking water almost non-existent, China might be wiser to invest a little money into Earth first.

With thanks to Randi Hacker for this text, from the Center for East Asian Studies, I’m Bill Tsutsui. Wish you were here.