The first story, featured in Monday’s New York Times, captures the attitude of young Japanese professionals who no longer have the stability of a long-term corporate job that provides a paycheck adequate enough to cover Japan’s astronomical cost of living. Gone are the days of the post-World War II salaryman and a guaranteed permanent gig upon graduation; in this new era, just one job no longer seems to be enough. Journalist Gearoid Reidy writes:

For decades, the standard career path in Japan was to graduate from college, join a company, and to stay there until retirement—one job for life. But with salaries down more than 12 percent over the last decade amid an uncertain labor market, young, mostly single Japanese are increasingly making ends meet by working second or even third jobs. Some deliver leaflets or work in convenience stores. Some trade foreign currencies online. Others sell items on Internet auction sites. A survey in January by the Internet market research company Ishare found that almost 17 percent of workers ages 20 to 50 had a side job.
Source: “Young Japanese Seek Second, and Third, Jobs” NYT, Sept. 6, 2010

The second story, which has gained a lot of attention from both China’s netizens and mainstream media outlets but has thus far been overlooked by Western journalists is the apparent change in attitude about white collar jobs in China. According to Xinhua news agency:

Back in the early years of reform and opening up, large numbers of foreign-funded corporations came into view and employees at these companies carried with them a certain kind of glamour in the eyes of the nation because of their elegant attire, high incomes, and great quality of life. The public called them “white collar workers,” a word that came from the West. Now, to mention a white-collar worker conjures an image of dressing well on a crowded bus or subway and struggling to hardly afford a house. The term “white collar” has lost its appeal and become an embarrassing existence.
Source: “Red Collar Jobs Most Sought After in China” Xinhua Sept. 4, 2010

China’s media promotes another career, civil servant positions- or, “red collar jobs”- as being most in demand these days for their comparative stability in terms of job security, income and work-life balance. Unfortunately, for those coveting a hot red collar job in China, they’re quite difficult to come by. Chinese Entrepreneurs Network reports that, in 2009, 104 million people competed for 15,000 of these positions, with an examination ratio of 69:1.

So, what does this all mean to the changing landscape of work and how could it potentially impact Western companies doing business in China? Here’s my take…

• On a global level, white collar jobs are starting to get a bad rap. Wages for the bulk of white collar positions have remained stagnant while those at the very top are perceived to now make far more money than they are actually worth. Job security is no longer what it used to be, and fewer people are willing to work sixty hours a week at one company just to make ends meet. Finally, there are so few open positions available to begin with. Whether in the US, the UK, China or Japan, educated professionals are seeking alternatives either because they have to or because they don’t wish to give their lives away to a business that is not their own for a product that they don’t really believe in. This may be particularly true for the Millennial Generation, who seek more creativity, autonomy and opportunity to strike it rich while simultaneously doing some good in the world.
• Best of luck to hiring managers. While you may still get resumes from the top of the crop in terms of a college degree, you’re far less likely to encounter the truly innovative folks who bring game-changing ideas to the table- and that’s just what you’ll need in this economy. Additionally, because entry- and mid-level wages are no longer enough to pay the bills (particularly in big cities like Shanghai and Tokyo), you’ll likely have a lot of tired employees on your hands who are more dedicated to their second jobs or to building skill sets beyond those utilized in the work place- activities that offer a sense of promise over the long-term, which is more than you are giving them.
• In regard to Western companies doing business in China, having many of the major Chinese media outlets state that the Western white-collar model is “now an embarrassment” and that “red collar jobs” are favored is probably not a good sign for a few reasons. First, statements like these are, in my view, a direct rejection of the Western management style and corporate structure. What it says is, “we no longer look up to the way you do things. We’re going to do things our own way.” That would be China politely pointing to the exit sign. Second, the increasing popularity of a civil servant position indirectly points to a rise in state capitalism and the promotion of Chinese state-owned enterprises, which includes a stronger hand by China’s government in innovation, research and development. Economists and political scientists argue that government and innovation do not mix well together, but those observations often come from a Western lens. China’s different, I think, and it’s very possible that a state-owned Chinese company may very well bring us the next big universe-changing invention. Third, “red-collar fever” points to a rise in China’s nationalism, which has a tendency to intimidate both from afar and on-the-ground. Expat professionals who cannot communicate in Mandarin, who do not adhere to China’s ways and customs, and who do not have a strong circle of Chinese friends and associates may find it increasingly difficult to live and work in China. But, that’s just a guess.

My advice to white-collar workers- especially entry and mid-level employees- no matter what country you’re in or from? Become really, really good at something. Become so good at something that if you’re forced to go out on your own, you’ll still be in demand. Better yet, make alliances and venture out with them. Go beyond raising the bar; build a new one. Don’t be afraid to experiment with new forms and concepts of work. But hey, if you just want a comfortable gig with lifetime job security, I’ve heard that the ends of rainbows have pots of gold…

Have your say: Do you think that the global concept of white-collar work is undergoing a massive shift? If so, what does this mean for traditional corporations? What significance does the rising popularity of red-collar positions have in China? Is being a white-collar worker these days a shameful occupation or are these positions more coveted than ever before? What have you observed in your neck of the woods?

Now imagine the same initial scenario, except this time, you ignore the blisters on your feet, walking a bit further until you come upon a nice sixty-seat, air-conditioned restaurant. A uniformed waitress hands you a menu printed in English and Chinese and for some strange reason (Out of habit? Because it’s safe? Because you recognize it? Because it’s easy?) you order Kung Pao Chicken.  She scrawls your order on a piece of paper and heads back to the kitchen. Your meal arrives fifteen minutes later, minus the slaughterfest of scenario A.

The first chicken, the “free-bird,” the chicken that pecked my bum at a roadside stand before becoming someone’s dinner, was the last chicken I’d seen in China.

The second chicken is more of a mystery.

For a while now, I have been doing a lot of thinking about how what we put in our bodies affects both our individual lives and society as a whole. In my search for answers about food, I recently picked Jonathan Safran Foer’s incredible book, “Eating Animals,” a memoir that explores the history, philosophy, and folklore of how we justify the way we eat. Safran Foer’s stated intention in writing the book was not to turn his audience into a bunch of die-hard vegans and animal-right activists- nor is mine- but rather an inquiry into what it means to “eat animals” in an age where family farms are nearing extinction. If you read any one book this year, I urge you to consider picking up this one because hey, what’s more important to your life than what you put in your mouth?

But, let’s get back to the second chicken, the “mystery chicken,” the chicken in the fancy restaurant. What if it was like the type of chicken that Safran Foer describes in his book, the US “factory farmed chicken”?” What if this fancy restaurant chicken lived in a cramped, filthy, feces-encrusted room with other dead/dying/diseased chickens for the entirety of its forty-two day life (in the name of “science”, this chicken only gets to live for forty-two days)? That this “fancy” chicken, although drug-stuffed, was likely infected with a nasty virus like E. Coli, and that this chicken had been dipped in a chlorine bath, plumped up with “fecal soup,” and then injected with a salty solution to make it taste good before it traveled thousands of miles to get to the restaurant that you’re sitting in, starving, with chopsticks (or fork and knife) in hand?

Which chicken would you rather have for dinner- chicken A or chicken B?

While “Eating Animals” focuses mainly on US agribusiness, I could not help but wonder how much the American model of “efficient farming” and next-generation chickens has impacted the way that China, the world’s biggest consumer of agricultural products, eats today. According to the Institute for Food and Development Policy, a California-based NGO, meat consumption in China has quadrupled since 1980, at approximately 119 pounds per person each year (USA averages about 185 pounds per capita), with more than 50,000 factory farms in operation. But, who cares, right? We all have to eat and China has 1.3 billion people to feed. Well, beyond the evidence that consuming factory-farmed animal products may not be so healthy for us after all, there are a few other reasons to be concerned, like the negative impact that factory farming has on the environment and the possible link between factory farming, food-borne illnesses and pandemics. In other words, take what we already know about the not-so-pretty side of factory farming in the US and extrapolate it. What will it mean when a nation as large as China consumes as much meat as the US does per capita? Why are we consuming so much meat in the first place? What does it mean when factory farms become the global norm? How is China’s chicken industry changing to keep up with rapid development and shifts in consumption? Additionally, what does it mean when US companies, like Goldman Sachs, invest in Chinese chicken farms?

I don’t have the answers, nor can I claim that Safran-Foer’s description of factory-farmed chickens is entirely accurate- after all, I’m not a chicken expert nor have I ever seen the inside of a chicken factory farm- but I think, at the least, it’s worth talking about.

Just a little food for thought.

Be sure to check out Jonathan Safran Foer’s book, “Eating Animals.” What do you think about this issue? Should we be concerned about the growth of factory farming in the US, China and the rest of the world? Any insight into today’s chickens (or pigs or cows) in China?

So, it is now official… after two years of attempting to head back to the Eastern hemisphere on a long-term basis with the goal of forging Asia-focused careers, we have made the leap. We arrived in Singapore at 2am this morning with cat in tow and are now searching for a place to call “home” while acclimating ourselves to this new environment. The moving process itself has been cathartic. My hope is back. The smog that lingered over my own career path is lifting as hiring inquiries have begun once again to trickle in; related frustration and inertia that had enveloped my last few months in New York have all but disappeared. Donating ninety percent of our possessions has served to remind us that our “stuff” has no bearing on our worth. Forgotten Mandarin translations are recollected and applied again. I feel more confident that when I do eventually return to my own country, I’ll have something more to offer it. And, my husband- the optimist- is still smiling despite his jet lag.

While New York will always be my true home, my experiences as an expatriate have had a major impact in shaping my life. My time as a child in Trinidad brought a sense of wonder about cultural difference while quickly toughening me up. I became the token white girl; our home was robbed on a regular basis; my parents embarked on their version of “The War of the Roses.” In China as a young adult, I fell head over heels with a nation and its language while finding myself simultaneously overwhelmed by what I’d deemed personal failure. I discovered who I wanted to be in China and yet I left the country broken. It is impossible to predict the effects that Singapore will have on my life, but I come armed with the knowledge of two useful truths: 1) the concept of “a fresh start” is relative and, 2) the concept of “immersion” is also relative. That said, I feel a bit wiser, more grounded this time around and I can’t wait to see what unfolds in the months ahead. After all, third time’s a charm, right?

It should come as no surprise that the bid made by China based-Southern Media Group and Chengdu B-Ray Media was quickly rejected, despite Newsweek’s mounting financial losses and apparent readiness to sell. Continued distrust of the Chinese coupled with growing economic insecurity would make the sale of an American media brand to China more than unpalatable to the public. While no specific reason has been given, the timing and circumstances are just not right at this stage of the game and The Washington Post Company, owners of Newsweek, were likely well aware of that. But, analyzing the finer points is far beyond my scope of knowledge, so I’d like to get back to daydreaming while leaving in-depth commentary to the experts…

One of the wonderful things about losing oneself to the imagination is that it allows little room for laws or politics or impossibilities. So, as I was reading about the failed bid, I couldn’t help but tease myself with a big “WHAT IF” that I’d like to share with you. In a nutshell, China’s thwarted attempt to plant its editorial flag on a US-branded publication highlights dissimilar, but not incompatible, needs among two camps. The first- traditional American media companies- are tripping and tumbling over the breakneck pace of change. They need increased readership, more advertising dollars and, in my opinion, a more globally-minded voice to win back some of the audience that they’ve lost. The second- Chinese media buyers- are desperate to get their foot in America’s door. They want to learn more while bolstering their own reputation under the umbrella of a brand with prestige. However, it is doubtful that either party will get exactly what they want- at least not in the short-term.

So, given the fact that China is going to have a very difficult time acquiring a US media brand like Newsweek outright, why hasn’t the possibility for a Sino-US news media joint-venture been publicly explored (and if it has, why don’t I know about it)? Are we still that far off from being able to conceptualize an influential shared voice that bypasses political bantering and instead focuses on offering dynamic business, economic and cultural news? Consider, for instance, if Newsweek had taken the JV route instead. A few of the potentially positive outcomes may include:
- a transformation in the way we perceive media (we live in a globalized world, after all)
- a potentially broader audience on both sides of the fence
- more diverse, balanced commentary
- greater access to sources, advertising partners
- much needed capital-infusion
- a Chinese presence in US-media (which China is intent on gaining, like it or not)
- reputation as a risk-taker, innovator

There are also major considerations to make and hurdles to overcome in an arrangement like this, for example:
-What does the management structure look like?
-Who would be appointed as editor? Which side gets the final say?
-How do you address the issue of censorship and potentially warring ideologies?
-Which existing companies could handle the complexities inherent in an arrangement like this?
-Would a newly-established JV have a chance, given the challenges existing media brands now face?
-How do you position a new Sino-US media brand or transform an already established brand?

As I stated in the beginning of the post, I’ve been daydreaming, paying little attention to tradition or rules. Any family fortune that may have existed is long gone, the media maven of my ancestry has been dead for hundreds of years, and Michael Bloomberg hasn’t mailed me a check yet. The reality is, in between contemplating the “what if’s” I’m now looking for a job. So, I have resigned myself to accepting the fact that the media company of my dreams may just be that- a dream. But, as an American CEO or Chinese buyer in this world of pretend, possibility reads a bit like promise.

Have your say: Is a balanced Sino-US media company a good idea or an impossibility? Will China acquire a major US media brand in the near future and if so, how will the American public react? Would you read a Sino-US joint-managed newspaper or magazine? What am I missing here?

On Mass Media

In recent years, the American media have been plagued with all sorts of problems including sliding profits, scandals about manipulation, plagiarism, falling readership, “dumbing down” and so on. For example, CNN apologized for Jack Cafferty’s insulting remarks against the Chinese…
Media omissions, distortion, inaccuracy and bias in the US is something acknowledged by many outside the USA, and is slowly realized more and more inside the US. However, due to those very same omissions, distortion, inaccuracy and bias in the mainstream media, it is difficult for the average American citizen to obtain an open, objective view of many of the issues that involve the United States.

Does this remind anyone else of American media coverage on Chinese censorship?

On Ivy League Institutions

Ivy certainly looks nice, but you wouldn’t want to stroll through it. Americans gradually realize that much of what they don’t like about American politics- namely, American politicians- can be traced back to Ivy League schools. It can’t just be a coincidence that four or five universities keep spitting out presidential candidates and their spouses with the sort of regularity that Notre Dame used to turn out All American football players… Considering the politicians the schools have let loose on Americans, someone would like to rename it the Poison Ivy League. Americans and their universities also take delight in ridiculing their presidents. A university of not much prestige attracted applicants by making George W. Bush its advertising representative. It put in its website a black and white picture with Bush claiming that “graduating from an Ivy League university doesn’t necessarily mean you’re smart.”

An exportable lesson?

On Cheerleading

Cheerleading is a sport in crisis. There’s furious debate as to whether it is actually a sport at all. There’s a blazing row about just how appropriate it is to have schoolgirls in short skirts perform dirty dancing moves. Some also argue that cheerleading reinforces gender roles. The fact is that for the last five years America has been ripped apart by a maelstrom of cheerleader sex, substance abuse and violence. It seems that Americans are telling teenagers not to have sex, but are teaching them how to do it on the football field and applauding them when they do it. It is just too sexually oriented. Some suggest that drug dealers should have their fingers snipped off. Others claim that cheerleading leads to teen pregnancies, school dropouts and other problems. Cheerleading simultaneously represents “youthful prestige, wholesome attractiveness, peer leadership, and popularity” as well as “mindless enthusiasm, shallow boosterism, objectified sexuality and promiscuous availability.” Cheerleading gives us a snapshot of the American culture.”

If you’re not laughing at least a little bit, perhaps it’s time to update your vision…

I will soon be back to blogging regularly as I prepare for a move back to Asia and look forward to sharing what I learn with you throughout this new experience. Thanks for reading!

Yes, that’s right. The Chinese will be playing a starring role as enemy of Anytown, USA with their buddies the Russians and once again, the heroes are teen heartthrobs (Chris Hemsworth,  Josh Peck and Josh Hutcherson). In a recent MTV interview, Hutcherson explains that:

“we’ve changed quite a bit of the story, but the heart of the story is there. The American, patriotic feel of the original, rising up against the invaders, is still definitely there. The Chinese are invading now, so we’re switching that up just to stay with the times a little bit. It was really exciting; just blowing up things and shooting guns all day was quite an amazing experience.”
Source: MTV Movies Blog

As described on the internet movie database IMDB:

A group of teenagers look to save their town from an invasion of Chinese and Russian soldiers…

With the town completely overrun by the enemy, Matt and Jed watch helplessly as their father gives up his life to protect his family, allowing his sons to escape into the Cascade mountains. Determined to fight for their community and rescue what’s left of their hometown, the brothers assemble a ragtag group of high school students and begin to fight back. Being a war hero, Jed is able to train this unlikely group of heroes the same way that he was trained. Soon they are transformed into sharp shooting, camouflaged, freedom fighters. Known as the “Wolverines” (after Matt’s football team), the group soon becomes a national symbol for the resistance and the hope of Americans everywhere. What this enemy didn’t realize is that what makes the U.S. great is not the size of its military, but rather the men and women who wear the uniform and the communities they come from.
Source: IMDB.com

As you might imagine, I was a bit upset after learning about China’s leading role in “Red Dawn 2010.” But it’s just a movie, right? Not really. With our economy in the tank, our jobs being shipped overseas, and a barrage of news reports on Chinese tainted drywall, starving tigers and cyber-spies, you can bet that a significant number of Americans are not keen on China these days. However, America’s ties to China bear no resemblance to the Russian-US relationship during the Cold War era. China is creditor to American debt and Walmart’s biggest trading partner. China holds both US treasury securities and American dreams (because if you can’t get a job in America, why not try China?) And, in an age of globalization and unparalleled interdependency, can we even afford to use the word “enemy” when referring to nations? According to the writers and producers of “Red Dawn 2010,” we can.

(This short video shot during filming in Pontiac, Michigan is set to the tune, “Know Your Enemy” and was originally posted on the “unofficial website,” www.reddawn2010.com.)

In my opinion, “Red Dawn 2010” is not just a movie. It is reckless propaganda, outdated and uninformed, which serves to undermine the already fragile US-China relationship and positive diplomatic efforts made over the past few years. It shouts, “to heck with moving forward. Screw the future. Let’s resurrect the past instead.” It’s not art, it’s xenophobia. Most of all, it is one more piece in an assemblage of the modern American “face,”- the face we show to the rest of the world. It’s shameful.

But, what does China have to say about Red Dawn’s (赤色黎明) upcoming release? Here’s a translation of one take:

The remake of Red Dawn indicates that China has caused anxiety. Because of the strong yuan, China is becoming a larger part of American awareness. It shall strengthen this viewpoint of the  people: for the United States, China is not merely a future opponent, but also China’s economic and military strength is now quickly catching up with the United States.

There is an English expression: “be careful what you ask for” and in Chinese the same applies.

I, for one, will skip this film. I do wonder, however, how many US dollars were spent on Chinese products for the set.

What do you think about the re-release of “Red Dawn?” What effect will it have on US-China relations? On American sentiment about the Chinese? Have your say in the comments section.

Be sure to jump over to the excellent bilingual website, edge.neocha.com for more. And, if you’ve seen an American take on US-China relations in art, please tip me off in the comments section.

But, truth be told, my preteen life was showing signs of hope. I’d moved up in the world, no longer confined to the “retard room” with a thick stack of gray tracing paper, a gum-slapping aide and a hydroencephalitic boy who drooled constantly. In fact, I’d been placed into a gifted program, where I was instead encouraged to dream up inventions, classify rocks, and attempt socializing with a few other “special” youngsters. I was also scribbling poems, reams of them, for in-class recitation. Still, I was a gangly, left-handed thumb-sucker and a behavioral nightmare from a broken, chaotic home in an isolated town. I was also attempting to compensate, in the worst ways possible, for a learning hurdle which was initially known as “she can’t write” and much later revealed to me as “a form of dyslexia.” No way would I ever go to college. No way would I learn Chinese.

In 2010, most of us hopefully know that those who are labeled learning-disabled or behaviorally challenged- whether it be autism, ADHD, dyslexia, OCD, etc.- aren’t necessarily “dummies” or “disabled” at all. In many cases, it’s just the opposite. For instance, one family relative of mine has Aspergers, and while he may not be able to hold down a good job or lengthy conversation at this point in his life (although I believe otherwise), he can take apart your entire computer and put it back together again with incredible speed. He is, by some measures, a genius. So, it is 2010, and we are evolved, aware human beings now, right? Back in the late 1980s, not so much.

High school, as the saying goes, was torture. By eleventh grade I was batting straight Fs, earned the most in-school suspensions in my class, and had already enjoyed a vacation at a boot camp for troubled youth. Things quickly went from bad to worse. By senior year, I’d been kicked out of my father’s house and was informed quite directly that I would likely not graduate with my class- or at all…
It took one random person to believe otherwise- a retired teacher who single-handedly pulled me toward that diploma- and my life began to turn around. Under his tutelage, I developed new systems of learning in the quiet of a library while being encouraged to focus less on my shortcomings and more on my strengths. Against the odds, I graduated with my high school class while living independent of my parents and working full-time. Still, college was definitely not happening. And Chinese? I’d probably have better luck digging a hole to Beijing.

As life would have it, I made it to college- albeit a few years later than some of my peers and not without bumps along the way- excelling across the board while working as a bartender and writing tutor in Manhattan. The irony. It was in college, at a public university, that I decided to give the “Ivy-league only” Mandarin Chinese a try- a language that had appealed to me as kaleidoscopic symphony, an opera of angles and lines. And, much like the poetry I had grown up reading and reciting, Mandarin felt instantly right. It calmed anxieties, fueled curiosity and, within my personal framework of learning, made perfect sense. Sure, Mandarin was very difficult for me- I’m still struggling to learn it. But, I could never say the same about French. French was impossible. Eventually, I made the move to China and then, to grad school. In Mandarin, as in poetry, I had finally found my own path through memory, cadence and tone. Through the rhythm of a character.

Much like other common learning disabilities, dyslexics are visual thinkers who have a unique relationship to sound and an ability to perceive using all of the senses. Right-brained people in general are known to be visual-spatial learners- unfortunately, they are also the ones who most frequently live with negative labels attached to their minds. It is also often said that dyslexics have great difficulty processing language. But, if you consider it another way, that assumption would have to depend solely on the context in which “language” is defined. For instance, if language is conveyed in rhythm and metaphor- like it is in Dickinson’s “Hope is a Thing of Feathers,”- a dyslexic or other learning-disabled person may come away with a very rich and uncommon understanding of the poem itself. I would also argue that the same applies with Chinese- a language revealed in a series of logographs, delivered like a poem or a song.

If it wasn’t for that retired high-school teacher who had encouraged the exploration of possibility instead of insisting that I be and do like everyone else, I probably never would have made it to college. Come to think of it, I probably wouldn’t have made it to thirty. And, if it wasn’t for gravitating toward two unlikely subjects- Mandarin and poetry- I certainly wouldn’t have continued on to China, to grad school and… at some point in the future… hopefully…a doctorate. I love learning now. Lately, I’ve been thinking about this narrative a lot- it is one that has managed to define my life before, now, and after. In doing so, I often find myself considering the kids out there today who, even in 2010, may find themselves living under names like “learning disabled” or “special” or “dumb” or “crazy” or “hopeless.” Where will they end up? Will they all be as fortunate as I have been?

It is more than apparent that we need to boost our Mandarin programs in this country. But, who are the BEST candidates to actually grasp the language and stick with it? Is it the so-called Ivy League-bound Einsteins hidden away at $40,000 a year prep schools? Or, the overachieving math whizzes in Sucktown, USA? Or, could it be the kid with Aspergers or dyslexia or autism- the kid who thinks in pictures and remembers in pitch? I don’t have the answer, nor could I find a single study examining the correlation between right-brained, so-called learning disabled individuals and their ability to comprehend Mandarin or at least, their ability to like studying it (the second point- to like Mandarin- is very important). What if we threw those kids a few Chinese characters instead of simplifying their options both in school and in life? What if we gave it a shot, the old college try? What if we’re confusing ineptitude with aptitude?

Who knows what’s possible?

__________________________________________
Update 2/2/10

There appears to be some promise to my tentative conclusion. Check out this study from 1971, “American Children with Reading Problems Can Easily Learn to Read English Represented by Chinese Characters”. It is, however, the only concrete research that I’ve been able to find so far. Dissertation, anyone?

A Few Things I Did With My Time Offline
1. I read voraciously. I’ve always had a heart for fiction. Unfortunately, graduate school broke the spell, leading me to spend the past three years of my reading life collecting notes from books on economics, global business, transnational politics, and international security. Sure, it’s riveting stuff, but I really began to miss the art of storytelling. So, over the past month, I tore my way through a pile of novels that I’d once wanted to read a long time ago but didn’t: The Portrait of a Lady, U.S.A Trilogy, and In the Pond, to name a few. I also revisited one of my favorite fiction books of all time, If On a Winter’s Night a Traveler.
2. I picked up another book. Several years ago, I wrote a young and reckless book that quickly died. This was largely due to my own shortcomings- I wasn’t ready to tackle the subject matter and gave up on it after a handful of rejections from publishers. The experience turned me off from writing for a while (actually, it paralyzed me), but I began to revisit the prospect of writing longer works again. I started penning a narrative non-fiction book over a year ago, yet couldn’t seem to find the rhythm I needed to move forward. Well, the rhythm has returned and now I’m just enjoying the process.
3. I ran. Shortly before putting this blog on hold in November, I started taking fitness seriously again. I’ve always been one of those people that doesn’t operate well without a daily sweat, but the necessary discipline is difficult to maintain. So, I began running again. Hard. I set my alarm clock for 5:30am, signed up for NYRR membership and entered the lottery for the New York City marathon (fingers crossed). On Saturday, I finally hit ten consecutive miles at a 6.0MPH pace- progress. Painful. If you’re battling anxiety about your future (like me) or are dealing with a personal problem or bad habits or just want to raise your energy level, run! And, if you’re in New York, come running with me.

What I Learned From My Time Offline
1. The internet isn’t the best place for promoting diplomacy between the US and China. At least, it’s not the best place given current modes of usage. But, maybe that will change.
2. While artistry and invention can be shared online easily, it is better cultivated offline. Inspiration is the byproduct of experience.
3. For the most part, 140 character tweets and short blog posts don’t stick. Memory gravitates toward storytelling, not content. This may have been the most important lesson of all.
4. Horn tooting is not a good business model. Nor is inaccessibility. In fact, it’s dull. It’s talent compromised by ego. And yes, I tweeted this today.
5. Headline news very rarely changes, and it’s rarely positive or actionable. So, what value does it have, really? I learned that, while it’s certainly important to stay informed, it is even more important to uncover news stories that a) you can do something about or b) have a tangible impact. Check out Tonic News- good stuff.
6. Long-distance running is the perfect metaphor-in-action for anything else worthwhile in life.

Where I’m Going With This
1. Yes, I’m tweeting again and eventually I’ll blog again, but I’m going to be spending much less time with it than I used to. Additionally, I’d like every tweet and blog entry to have some larger value for whoever reads it- beyond content. A helpful tip or idea, a good resource, a news story that was buried but shouldn’t have been, or another person’s experience. I’d like them to have more sticking power.
2. The blog will change eventually. I haven’t been back to China in over a year now, and I don’t foresee going back for at least another six months. So, it seems less reasonable to write solely on China (though China will always be in the picture for me). I’d like to incorporate topics like development economics, corruption and transparency, art in politics, and sustainable business. I’d like to do more interviews. I’d like to hit the streets of New York a bit more. What do you think?

Finally, A Few Notes For Editors and Journalists
Disclaimer: I once worked on new media strategies for a global publishing/content company. And then I resigned. I’ve been marginally employed ever since, largely because I’m operating on long-range thinking and a calculated gamble. So, do with the following what you will:
1. Unplug. Find a week, or even a month to entirely unplug. Sounds impossible, right? It’s not. No Twitter, no blogs, no online research, no email. Step away from the computer. I am officially convinced that media professionals are so mired in finding the best possible solution to counterbalance the decline of print that they’re grabbing for any visible hope. Just look at the number of uninspired blogs started by editors and journalists (yes, there are a few good ones) or the technologies that publishing companies believe will save their hides. Another portable reading device, anyone? How about a digital magazine? What about paid subscriptions or advertising through tweets? Sigh. Unplug and get out into the world. Play. Think deeply. Come up with a unique product, solution or angle that does not yet exist. You can’t do this by searching for it online.
2. We’re in the middle of a “ME” crisis but the truth is, it’s not all about you. It’s about your audience, your readers. It’s about engagement. It’s about sharing and storytelling and bringing value to multidimensional conversations. If you’re going to launch a blog or a media company, make sure that self-importance is not a theme. And, make an attempt to remove the iron shield between you and your audience. If you’re looking to become a reality star or a talking head, then ego is great. Otherwise, tone it down. Gone are the days of The Bell Jar where you are the glory of Madison Ave.
3. Please don’t jump on the “next hot thing!” Sure, China’s smokin’ and everyone wants a piece of the action. But, that doesn’t mean that you should launch a media outlet focused on China (or anything else that might seem lucrative). Write what you know. And, if you don’t know about something but are curious to learn, ask others to share what they know. Attempting to trick your audience is never a bright idea.
4. Speak to memory. Commit to stories that have staying power. Don’t become another “content company.” We are buried in content already. Give us something that we will remember, that expands our own possibilities. Humanity can be injected into technology and if you do it properly, the revenue you need to survive will surface. Did you become an editor or a journalist (or any media professional) for the money? No, you likely came into it for the art and for the chase. What’s changed?

Thanks for reading. Now get offline for a bit!

Blogging- and social media generally- are amazing pathways for exploration and discovery, but sometimes it’s necessary to turn off the faucet of information in order to let the mind quench its thirst. Someone I very much admire once wrote that “technology has made our perspective more global and tolerant, our access to information easier, our self-definitions less confining. But, the more complex and sophisticated our systems of lateral access, the more we sacrifice in the way of depth.” Based on my own experience, I think he makes a very good point- one which is difficult to swallow in an age that has largely forfeited contemplation and privacy for urgency and 24/7 engagement. Where’s the balance? I hope that my time away from blogging (and Twitter and Facebook and LinkedIn and…) will give me greater perspective on that question as well. And, who knows, maybe I’ll blog about it next year…

On that note, I want to extend a big *THANK YOU* to all who have dropped by over the past year; your thoughtful comments and emails have always fueled this blog, as many of my posts originated from your questions and suggestions. Blogging has forged friendships, conversations over coffee, and even the occasional argument… Blogging has opened the doors to a new US-China community bridge, a community that I believe will lead the future of US-China relations. Simply put, I am very thankful to have had the opportunity to engage with you and I look forward to more dialogue in the future! And, of course, many thanks to all who participated in the interviews and collaborative posts… I think it’s most appropriate to wrap this up with some wisdom from those who are on-the-ground and in-the-know…

On Business and Investment…
Chinese Brands In America: A Conversation with Scott Markman, President of The Monogram Group
“The scale of this opportunity and the amount of companies in China that have the means to consider this would dwarf anything that we have seen from Japan and Korea combined. Many Chinese companies are actively considering the prospect [to build their own brands in the US] but because of cultural issues, very few have taken the leap to put into place the infrastructure and investment. They are looking for other models to follow. Companies like Lenovo and Haier were among the earliest to do this, and other Chinese companies are now sitting back and waiting to see how successful Lenovo and Haier are before they take the leap into the US market. Today is more about potential than reality.”

Head West, China: An Interview with Private Equity Consultant, Song Jin
“There is one major challenge for every Chinese company and it is that they don’t have enough talent to manage cross-border transactions, not to mention managing a US company. In terms of China’s private sector, I would say that they have a slight advantage over the SOEs. One reason is because these privatized enterprises are market driven, and another is because their decision-making process is much faster than the SOEs. However, a state owned enterprise has a huge advantage: they are backed by the government and government-supported banks, which means that their resources are much larger than in the private sector. But, whether state-owned or private, the biggest challenge all of these companies face is lack of management talent.”

China-US Insights on the Future of the Auto Industry: An Interview with Automotive Experts An Qingheng and Bill Russo (Part 1)
Chairman An: “What will power future automobiles is still a difficult question. Will it rely on clean diesel, hybrid technologies or something totally different? Different specialists have different viewpoints. In fact, with traditional energy resources decreasing day by day, all parties have reached the same understanding: that new energy should be developed to power future automobiles. Concerning which technology should take the priority in different points of time, every solution has a reasonable rationale. History will tell us who is right.”
Bill Russo: “The Chinese automotive market is still very young, and in many cases the producers of vehicles that are sold in China are also fairly early in their development stage. What has happened over time is that, as the market has grown, more and more technology providers have taken note and looked at China as a place where they can localize their product. So, for technologies such as clean diesel, hybrid and electric vehicles – you will find that China does not lead the technological development. In fact, Chinese companies are not leaders in the development of any major new automotive technology.”

China-US Insights on the Future of the Auto Industry: An Interview with Automotive Experts An Qingheng and Bill Russo (Part 2)
Chairman An: “The American market is massive and free. It’s reasonable that Chinese OEMs would like to enter this market as soon as possible. It’s rather a question of whether this can be achieved after 4, 5 or 10 years. Rather than forecast when can we make the entry, I think that it’s more appropriate to talk about how to make this happen. Chinese always say that: “The practices of precedent are the lessons of descendent.”
Bill Russo: “While Chinese firms have learned very quickly how to assemble cars and source parts, they are very inexperienced in the vehicle development and synthesis process. An automobile is a complex engineered system that requires advanced technology and know-how in testing and validation in order to achieve a world-class standard of performance, fuel economy, safety, and quality. You need to achieve a certain level of world-class benchmark targets in all of those areas. Quite frankly, a company that’s only built cars for maybe a little more than a decade probably lacks the skills to optimize the finished product.”

Interview with Sam Goodman, China Entrepreneur and Author of “Where East Eats West: The Street Smarts Guide to Business in China
“I jumped in head first. At the time, I was 25 years old; I was overflowing with confidence and brimming with ignorance. My advice is, do your homework and find a mentor. There’s many people who have already done it- find out directly from them what they did right and what they did wrong. Learn from people who have done it before. I’m not really the corporate type and I can’t say that I’ve seen many corporate types take the plunge outside of the corporate world. The skills that you need as an entrepreneur are quite a bit more varied than what you will find in a corporate setting. It’s not the nature of corporate design to give you all the tools you will need as an entrepreneur.”

Q&A with Serial Entrepreneur, Richard Robinson
“I was working my way around Europe for a few years in the early 90’s and I became enamored with the idea of overland travel and read most of Paul Theroux’s train travel books (Paul happens to also be from my hometown of Medford, MA). I got excited at the prospect of an overland trip from Europe to Asia via train so in late 1993 I hitchhiked from Switzerland to Prague and then went by train from there through the Ukraine to Moscow through Siberia and Mongolia to Beijing. I had a ‘China epiphany’ upon my arrival and I’ve been hooked by the Middle Kingdom ever since.”

Go West, China! (Includes an Interview with International Lawyer, Dan Harris)
“The biggest mistake I see is that the Chinese company thinks that because its Chinese employee lived in the United States for ten years, that person knows everything he or she needs to know about doing business in the US. That person is an international lawyer, a labor lawyer, a real estate lawyer, a litigator, a corporate lawyer, an accountant, a chief financial officer, a human relations specialist, a marketer, a publicist… I am working with a Chinese company who has an extremely bright, capable person at the helm, but this person gets grief whenever he tries to bring in outside experts for assistance. [The attitude is] “why do we have you if you need help?” So, what are the drawbacks? They are too numerous to mention, but all you need do is assume that the legal work, the accounting work, the tax work, the marketing work, the human relations work, and the PR work are all being done by someone who doesn’t really know what he or she is doing.”

Interview with David Mair, COO of China Connection Global Healthcare and China Healthcare Fitness and Culture Experience
“It’s really a combination of diet, exercise and traditional Chinese medicine that Aimin Hospital draws on. The calorie-controlled meals they serve are strong in terms of volume, but without the heavy oils and sauces that you often get in China. At the same time, the participants each have their own personal trainer; each participant receives two rigorous training sessions per day and traditional Chinese medicine, including acupuncture and herbal treatments. This approach is designed to create and maintain a higher than normal metabolic rate while staying within a healthy range.”

Interview with Bill Russo, Automotive Industry Expert (Part 1)
“The forecasts on China have always been wrong. If the forecasts say “the middle of the next decade,” I’d move that up to within the next 3 years. One of the barometers that economists typically follow is GDP growth per capita – also known as purchasing power parity. The number that signals when a market has reached a level where domestic consumption can sustain an industry on an ongoing basis is US $6,000. If I go back a few years, China’s GDP per capita in 2001 was US $1,000. In 2008, it was US $5,943. This increase signals that China has arrived as a sustainable domestic consumer market. You have enough citizens and enough wealth that people can afford big ticket items like cars which can sustain growth for a long period of time.”

Interview with Bill Russo, Automotive Industry Expert (Part 2)
“The value proposition for new market entrants usually starts with affordability and evolves over time after the brand is accepted by consumers. The fact of the matter is, much of the content in our cars increasingly comes from China. Because a greater percentage of the total cost of a car is in the manufactured components, there has already been a significant movement of the production of supplied parts to China. A lot of the components used in cars today either are or can quickly be manufactured in China. This is purely driven by the efficiencies gained from sourcing in China. So, people are all waiting for the Chinese car to arrive. What they don’t realize is that a great deal of the Chinese car they’re waiting for is already inside the one they are currently driving.”

Interview with Alistair Nicholas, Founder, President and CEO of AC Capital Strategic Public Relations
“The question – will we see a rise in China’s risk profile because of the economic crisis?  Absolutely. If a company has a factory in a small town that is likely to see social unrest, it has a potential exposure. If a company is about to close down a factory somewhere, which will entail redundancies, it has a bigger exposure. A few years ago I worked with an American company that was shutting down a factory and was surprised when local townspeople surrounded the factory and held its foreign management hostage and the local government was doing very little to help. The problem was partly caused by the fact that they had neglected to communicate effectively with their workers or the local government prior to the announcement to close. It was resolved in the end – but some thinking about communications beforehand would have helped a lot. Foreign companies that may need to rationalize in the market because of the current recession need to give proper thought to how they communicate with government officials, the media and internally. Failure to do so could see them punished in China for a long time to come.”

Interview with Sam Lee, Entrepreneur and Recruiter
“I am a Singaporean Chinese.  I know the language and celebrate many Chinese festivals.  Yet, I am not a ‘Chinese’.  It’s very different doing businesses in these two countries.  To list some: -Singapore thrives on transparency in doing businesses; China thrives on Guan Xi (relationships).
- We follow rules and regulations.  China has all the rules & regulations but little enforcement.
- In Singapore, business is like 100 people with professional fishing gear fishing simultaneously in a small pond.  In China it is like 100 people with enthusiasm and devil-may-care attitudes fishing in a big lake.
I am still learning about China.  The good news is, my dear partner is using this statement less frequently on me now: “Sam…you don’t understand how the Chinese think…..””

Interview with Edward Zhong, Project Chief of Changshu Economic Development Group
“We have encountered some cultural gaps with expats, but those were not significant problems- mostly they were communication problems.  Gradually, in our experience, [effective communication skills] have increased with expats, we now understand their way of thinking and doing things, and we don’t see any problems anymore in working with them.”

On Policy and Politics…
Interview with Greg Anderson, Finance/China Specialist and Ph.D. Candidate at UCLA
“Aside from the obvious, which would be typical business analysis with competent management at the top of the list, clearly there is a role for government in China. Unlike in the West, there’s not a whole lot of distinction between state-owned and privately-owned companies, in terms of government influence. Now that GM is an SOE, it’s understandable that the White House taskforce is going to have influence on how that company is run. People may question the viability and rationality behind this, but no one questions that this is the way it’s going to work. In China, being a private company doesn’t mean that you can completely ignore the government or that the government is not going to have any influence. I’m finding that the leaders of both SOEs and private companies in China must have the skills to manage political relationships. I’m working on a couple of stories along those lines that [highlight] examples of how leaders of auto companies in China didn’t value their relationship with the government and ended up paying the price.”

Interview with International Lawyer and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Specialist, Richard L. Cassin
“I’m always somewhat skeptical with official statistics coming from China. The bureaucrats have a tendency to report figures that support the government/communist party. And, because there’s been an anti-corruption drive on for a few years now, lower-level officials may be producing statistics to show positive results. That said, however, corruption is still a huge challenge in China. Outright bribery is still common across all industries. But it’s not clear how much impact it’s having on development. Western investors have compliance programs and usually believe (sometimes incorrectly) that they can deal with the risks.”

Interview with Malcolm Moore, Shanghai Correspondent For Telegraph
“You have to ask why people talk to journalists. In some cases, normal people speak to journalists because they have a grievance and they want to get it off their chest and they’re hoping that a little bit of coverage will ease their way in the future. Companies and government officials speak to journalists because they have something to sell. We are a medium for people to transmit their ideas across. In China, nobody has anything to gain from speaking with the foreign media. If you are a peasant and you’re pissed off, speaking with the foreign media could get you severely beaten or imprisoned. If you are a government official, speaking with the foreign media could cost you your job and if you are a company, speaking with the foreign media could severely hamper your prospects in the business world. So, I can understand why people are reluctant to speak to me.”

Interview with Ted Naganawa, US-China Strategist
“Many people are concerned with China’s rapid ascent, but not really as an economic threat.  The term, economic threat, was probably coined to describe Japan in the 1970-80s, which practically posed no security threat to the United States.  Today many people are concerned because China is potentially an overall threat to the United States.  A good example would be the ongoing currency controversy.  In 1985, the United States pressured Japan to let the yen appreciate considerably thereafter, the result of which perversely affected Japan’s export sector and created the bedrock for the subsequent burst of asset bubbles and decades of stagnation in the Japanese economy.
The United States could afford to pressure Japan that way, because Japan was only an economic threat.  If the United States employs the same measure against China, and, as the result, China’s economy stagnates for decades, sending hundreds of millions of Chinese people back into poverty, I doubt it will be contained in the realm of economic policy.”

On Culture and Education…
A Life Transformed by China: A Conversation with Saul Gitlin (Part 1)
“I can’t even begin to describe to you how different it was in China overall in 1982 and how we were treated as foreigners, as compared with today…Imagine standing at the end of Nanjing Lu on the Bund in Shanghai and looking at Pudong. As far as the eye could see, there was farmland- there was nothing on the other side of the river. Today, Shanghai residents themselves don’t pay any attention to foreigners, and anyone in Shanghai who does is immediately recognized as a domestic tourist.”
A Life Transformed by China: A Conversation with Saul Gitlin (Part 2)
“Maybe most people define their career in terms of, “I’m a banker,” or “I’m an insurance agent,” or “I’m a telecom guy.” I define my career another way. My career is defined by China, by Chinese, by Asia.”

A Conversation with Andrew Hupert, Professor on International Negotiation and Founder of US-China Forum
“Part of my inspiration came from Chinese bulletin boards and chat groups where Chinese students are talking to one another about these topics, but there’s no Western participation at all. They tend to just go around in circles and aren’t really improving. Then, the American students entering China tend to come in with their own preconceived notions about culture. They think that they are being very open-minded but [in reality], they are just patiently waiting for the Chinese students to act exactly the way that they do. These two groups really do want to engage in a cross-cultural dialogue, but there is a structural impediment. With US-China Forum, I’m trying to create a structured environment where they can at least get a look at how the other side sees the world.”

Interview with Jenny Bai, Founder and CEO of The Red Connect
“In terms of crossing over and exporting China’s “coolness factor,” I think someone in the middle is needed. China could be “cool” in the U.S. tomorrow, but that depends on what happens with branding. In China, I feel like the idea of branding is synonymous with the idea of face, both of which represent a reaction to an emotional trigger. China is obsessed with luxury brands because it equals status, but what China doesn’t have yet is the history behind its branding, like the U.S. does. Take kaixin001.com, for example: a fiercely popular online community for young people and a great project overall. How do you introduce it to the U.S. and translate it into an American-friendly product? You need someone who understands how to cross such a product or concept over, without losing the Chinese element, which oftentimes means keeping the Chinese people who are associated with it.”

Interview with Xujun Eberlein, Author of “Apologies Forthcoming”
“History is the joined consequence of individual actions. If we could dissect history like an organism, we would see a huge diversity in individual behavior and motives. Yet when we look at the history of different cultures, there is a tendency to focus on commonality rather than diversity within people. Such a tendency is most pronounced when there is any discussion of “good” and “evil.” Those actions that seem to us to be wrong, or abhorrent, are thus attributed to people with evil hearts. People do things for a very wide variety of reasons growing out of strongly distinct cultural upbringings. Individual personal accounts are one of the best means to counter stereotypical thinking.”

Interview with Jason Walker, Tea Maven
“After living in a foreign culture for an extended period, it becomes harder to distinguish between the cultures. You intuitively adapt to the situation and people, not always consciously aware of the changes you’ve made. I adapt my behavior to be with my Chinese in-laws and my Tennessee family.
One of the biggest lessons I learned was the notion of being “in relationship” with the people around us, and what that means within the two cultures. Both greeting a stranger on the street and responding to a colleague’s subtle change in mood are means of acknowledging inter-connectedness to the people around us. Awareness of differing sets of values for relational transaction better enables a person to connect to others, build trust, and collaborate more effectively.”

Interview with Toffler Niemuth, Owner of Shop My Shanghai
“Overall, I’d say there are fewer misconceptions about China now than there were a few years ago.  Many people don’t expect the level of development, and all the sky scrapers they see when they arrive.  That’s quite a big shock.  They also don’t expect the cities to be as clean as they are.  More specifically related to shopping, some people think *everything* is cheap here, but it’s not.  Not only is Shanghai in general getting more expensive, but there’s a huge duty on luxury goods, and on some non-luxury foreign brands as well.  China is not the place to buy real LV bags or Omega watches. Even Nike clothing can seem overpriced here depending on the strength of your home currency.
On a brief trip to China, you only get a taste of the country, nowhere enough to unravel its mysteries.  China is such a complex society, with a rich multilayered history that a short trip to China isn’t going to make clear.”

Interview with Yi Lu, Linguistic Consultant at Handsome Translations
“If you can afford the time, I would say a good command of your business counterpart’s native language would always put you in an advantage over your rivals because that knowledge naturally draws you and your Chinese partner closer. It is a universal human reaction in interpersonal relationships. Even if good proficiency is not possible, on the other hand, some survival Chinese would save you a lot of trouble in private life when you are in the country. Cantonese as a dialect is gradually losing the kind of prominence it enjoyed say 20+ years ago. In addition, the catching up of the mainland economy, closer ties and more frequent travel between the SAR and the mainland have given rise to a popularity of Mandarin study among Hong Kong natives. I should say the Mandarin proficiency of Hong Kong intellectuals has picked up significantly in comparison to Guangdong mainlanders, who read and write Mandarin fluently but still habitually shun it in speech in favor of Cantonese.”

Collaborative Post: What Makes China Uniquely Cool?
Robert Aiudi: “I would hope that China’s coolness and uniqueness stays in China. It makes for fun, fascinating and wondrous travel. That said, China’s coolness is already available around the world in several places. In NYC, I love to go to Chinatown and see old and new China, buy food, see new fangled products, see the newest cell phones, hair styles and hear some funky music alongside family associations, incensed temples, and Chinese lion dances.
All that said, I have a feeling that as Chinese marketers, PR professionals, among others get more savvy about penetrating Western markets, we will begin to see more mainstream Chinese “cool’ things. I think it’s going to follow a similar path to Japanese goods. I remember when “Made in Japan” meant junk, low quality products. Now Sony, Fujitsu, etc etc are world class brands.”
John Yang: “Lifestyle goes with value system, China will start to export its value as it grows stronger and more and more foreigner learning Chinese, and then export lifestyle brands. People have tattoo of Chinese characters. Its characters and styles have also been used in design. HP Mini 1000 Vivienne Tam edition series is one of the latest one.
Chinese food, silk, tea, art-works all have great potential. They need a company to commercialize it abroad.”

On Social Responsibility and Our Global Future…
China’s Energy, China’s Power: An Interview with China Energy Specialists, Elizabeth Balkan and Chris Brown
Elizabeth: “I would characterize the US-China position on climate change not as being at odds, but as perhaps differing in terms of their perception of responsibility. While I think China and the US are equally committed to being responsible and active players in combating climate change, there’s a difference between the United States position on how China should address climate change, and China’s position on what it should do. It’s been repeated many times, but the controversy surrounding historical vs. current emissions and gross vs. per capita emissions remains. Depending on how you read the numbers, China can either look really good or really bad.”
Chris: “Jim Rogers from Duke Energy recently talked about how much they’ve done with carbon capture and sequestration, which holds huge potential for China. I think it gets more difficult with some of the renewables. Having said that, First Solar in Inner Mongolia is involved in this massive utility-level solar project and has brought in its own engineers while incorporating knowledge from the Chinese side.
I’ve been very impressed with how smooth the technological exchange process has been on this First Solar project- so far. But, they’re at the very beginning stages so of course, policy vs. implementation problems could still occur.”

Interview with Joel B. Eisen, Professor of Law and Fulbright Lecturer in China
“Looking back at the start of my trip, I had many preconceptions about China that were too simplistic or otherwise just downright wrong. For example, I had tended to think of China as an unrepentant polluter, but that does not square with the earnest efforts I observed to try to reconcile growth and environmental concerns.
I found myself thinking a lot about the Western-centric lens through which I’d previously viewed China. There’s a lot that’s been written about China by Westerners and I think much of it suffers from the same uninformed approach I’d had before spending time there. China is a place where you need to spend a lot of time before really understanding it, and the biggest surprise to me is just how little I know after five months there.”

Interview with Mihela Hladin, Founder of Greennovate
“First of all, basic awareness moved a step ahead with all of the “green” talk around the Olympics. But, in general, Chinese people think that a lot of these challenges are so huge and that individual participation is not worth it. When we are talking about the carbon footprint or green technologies- these are all very big terms. Without providing basic information, it’s very hard for them to see how they can be a part of the solution. We took the principle that, if you communicate about the environment in a simple and positive way, you get a lot of people on board. Also, as everyone knows, government has great power in China. For example, last year when they banned the plastic bags, it happened immediately. They announced this plan in April and in June they banned them. Nobody thought this would happen; it’s not even happening in the Western countries yet.”

The Fifth Annual Clinton Global Initiative Meeting, Calvin Chin and Qifang’s New Commitment: A Collaborative Interview
“There will be a natural gravitation towards looking for sustainable business models. [In China], I anticipate a lot of social innovation because of this added pressure- we can’t go for the typical non-profit models. The analogy that comes to mind is the way that video games in China faced a constraint, which was the inability to sell physical copies or cartridges because console games were illegal, or CDs/DVDs because people would just pirate them. So, there was a lot of creativity. It’s hard to do a non-profit in China, but socially-minded entrepreneurs and philanthropists will look for models elsewhere, as we did. We looked at Kiva and Grameen for inspiration, but to make it work in China requires fitting into [the country’s] constraints.”

Interview with Casey Wilson, Co-Founder of Wokai
“In a lot ways, there are two different Chinas. There’s a China of the cities that is growing at a very quick rate and then there is a China of the countryside. When you look at the current situation, the average income of individuals in the cities is at about US$6 a day, but in the countryside it’s less than US$2 a day. The urban development rate is at 9.6% a year while in the countryside it’s growing at about 6% a year. If we zoom that out in twenty years, we could have a situation where people in urban areas are averaging a salary of US$12,000 a year whereas in rural areas, they are earning less than one-sixth that amount and essentially existing in poverty. They get stuck in that cycle where they don’t have the funds to send their children to high school or college and their children [repeat the pattern]. When you look at the world, China still has the second largest population of people living under the poverty line and if that issue will not be addressed through the natural process of economic development, there really needs to be new models put in place to support the other side.”

Until next time… And thanks again for reading!