December 17, 2004

From the papers...27

ST Dec 16, 2004 - Dutch doctors support infant euthanasia

THE HAGUE - DOCTORS in the Netherlands are calling for laws allowing them to end the lives of newborns with intolerable and incurable illnesses.

Doctors from the country's eight university hospitals have asked that a committee of experts be set up to consider the issue, a BBC report said yesterday.The Dutch government will give its opinion over the next few months.

The proposed committee of experts would define the criteria that would apply to infant euthanasia in children born with extreme malformations, for instance they may have no brain.

It would relate to only about 600 infants in the world and between 10 and 15 in The Netherlands, the BBC report said.

The move has revived the debate on the controversial issue of euthanasia.Doctors here say paediatricians worldwide are in favour of ending the lives of newborns in certain circumstances.

The Atomic Princess thinks out loud...
Euthanasia was one of the most debatable topics that we were engaged in as a class during JC's General Paper lessons. There can never be a conclusion to this. This article has unleashed many related thoughts. For instance, if the brain defines an important part of consciousness and a child is born without a brain, then, how would we consider that kind of life? Is that enough reason to advocate euthanasia in this case? I'm still thinking about it.
Next...


Today 17 Dec - The call of advanced Chinese (extract, summarised)

Chinese Language Elective Programme (Clep) sees a record number of applicants. The Clep is a two-year course that includes the study of classical and modern Chinese literature and Chinese culture.

Students sit for the A-level Higher Chinese paper and can opt for special paper. There are also enrichment activities like creative writing camps, project work and immersion programme in either Taiwan or China.

The Atomic Princess thinks out loud...
Last Saturday, I had this short chat with Wenn about the classical literature that we used to do for Chinese at A level. It turned out quite hilarious. We were trying significantly hard to recall some of the verses that we used to memorise by heart, the characters of the many plays we had to learn and the even more themes and ideas from each play. We uttered fragments of poems and verses and in between were a lot of 'something, something' and 'dunno what, dunno what'.
It all started with my rhetorical statement 'bu4 neng2 zai4 zhou3 zhe4 tiao2 lu4', which was the title of one of the plays that we had to do.
I have a lot of respect for all languages. And definitely utmost respect and love for Chinese language. For that, I think I have my JC teachers to thank. If anything at all, NYJC has shown me a new track in deciding my learning trajectory. A track that I am only beginning to appreciate and am still very amateur in. So, the learning continues...

Posted by 杏 cy （Jancy） at 13:30