A population is the number of things, usually people when it is not otherwise obvious or

defined, in a defined location. That location can be a physical place or a virtual construct
such as a club or a medical study etc.

What is the population of the Earth? Would be answered by how many people are currently
on this planet. While, what is the population of 1535 baker st.? Is how many people live at
that address.

Conversely, of you asked what is the population of the kennel on Divercy Ave? Then it
would be assumed you are asking how many dogs there are in the kennel.
As a citizen of the world's most populous country, I definitely have something to rant on
this topic.

As an old Chinese saying goes, the rarer a species is, the more precious it becomes. I used
to envy the peoples of the exquisite tiny countries in Europe like Malta or Luxembourg, but
as soon as I realize the importance of a big population to my country, I begin to feel very
lucky and proud to have so many countrymen as well as distant cousins across the world.

When thinking about the circumstances of China, I often compare it to Iran or Israel,
especially Iran.

China and Iran have very similar histories. We are both ancient civilizations. They have
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, we have Chiang Kai Shek. They have Khomeini, we have Mao
Zedong. They have the Islamic Revolution, we have the Communist Revolution. We are both
aliens in this US-dominated world despised by freedom fighters and Democratic lovers.

Still we can see, the circumstances of China have been much better than those of Iran,
because Iran is small, China is big, Iran has a population of eighty million, China has 1.4
billion.

Because we have 1.4 billion, we produce world's most factory workers, engineers, scientists,
military officers, etc. We are able to build a solid economy and a strong national military
defence. We are naturally a big market that even most righteous Democracies choose not to
ignore. We have a big, loud voice to state different opinions and assert our national
interests, and you have to listen to, however annoyed you are.

Thanks to our population, we have a big GDP, we have a large presence on earth, we won't
have to be bullied or demonized like Iran. I enjoyed our bigness, very much.