China Bright

The French Connections...

2009-01-22T10:05:00.000-08:00

Today's news reports claim that China is ready to make amends with France over their pre-Olympic, anti-China stance on Tibet.

China ready to mend ties with France: govt
AFP - 58 minutes ago
BEIJING (AFP) - China said Thursday it was ready to mend ties with France following a deep row over Tibet, in its first conciliatory move since tensions flared last year.
China Premier Wen's Europe Trip To Focus On Econ Cooperation Wall Street Journal
China says Wen offers Europe "journey of confidence" Reuters
Xinhua - International Herald Tribune - Bloomberg - EasyBourse.com
all 198 news articles »

While the headlines mention this as the "first conciliatory move," it seems they might have overlooked what has been going on in Harbin for the past several months. Each year one of the coldest regions of China celebrates its notoriety by immersing itself in the beauty and magic of the ice and cold season in a tradition that dates back more than a thousand years.

This year the theme is France... and it had to be planned somewhat in advance. Clever these Chinese, in so many ways. The Harbin Ice Festival was officially proclaimed in 1985 following the Cultural Revolution in China, but dates back to ancient times when villagers would partially freeze a bucket of water, remove the outer shell, put a candle inside and make an ice lantern. Be sure to click that link above to see a bunch of amazing photos and some videos depicting what an incredible event this has become.

While Bush Bails Out Detroit... China's BYD Snatches the Brass Ring

2008-12-20T11:16:00.000-08:00

A Car in Every Port
BYD Auto: China's first mass-produced hybrid car goes on sale

BEIJING, Dec. 15, 2008 (AFP) -- China's first mass-produced hybrid electric car hit the market on Monday, its manufacturer said, in a move aimed at driving the nation to the cutting edge of the world's green auto industry.

The car is made by BYD Auto, a Chinese company backed by American Warren Buffett, one of the world's most successful investors who owns 9.9 percent of the firm.

The F3DM is also the world's first mass-produced plug-in hybrid car, meaning owners can charge it from powerpoints at home for the first time, as well as in specialised electric car charging stations, according to BYD.

BYD president Wang Chuanfu was quoted by Chinese media as saying that his firm and China were on their way to being world leaders in the fuel-efficient auto industry.

"Through the F3DM dual-mode electric vehicle, BYD will grab a head-start in the new energy automobile market," he said at the launch in the southern city of Shenzhen, according to Auto 18, an online platform for China's auto industry.

A spokeswoman for the company confirmed the launch took place on Monday, but gave no other details.

BYD, which also specialises in making rechargeable batteries, only started making cars in 2003 when it bought a bankrupt state-owned auto company.

Its hybrid car is planned to first go on the market in 14 Chinese cities, and the firm is initially focusing on striking deals for company fleets rather than individuals, mycar168.com, another auto website, quoted Wang as saying.

The United States, meanwhile, is currently examining the F3DM to see if it meets the necessary standards for its domestic market, a spokesperson for the firm was quoted as saying by pcauto.com.cn, another car-focused web portal.

Exports to the United States could begin from 2010, according to the report.

The Prius hybrid electric car, made by Japan's Toyota, is currently sold in China, but the F3DM is the first locally made hybrid vehicle to hit the market.

Other carmakers in China have also manufactured these types of hybrid cars but never released them for public sale, said Duan Chengwu, a Shanghai-based technical analyst with international market research firm Global Insight.

The F3DM, meanwhile, has beaten Toyota and General Motors in the plug-in area, as the two companies only plan to launch hybrid cars that can be charged from home in 2009 and 2010 respectively, Duan said.

BYD's hybrid car, which can run 100 kilometres (62 miles) on a full battery, will cost just under 150,000 yuan (22,000 dollars).

Duan expressed doubt that the F3DM would initially be successful with Chinese customers because of the high price.

"In the initial stage, I don't think Chinese customers will buy a lot of these cars, but BYD wants to use them to test the waters," he said.

"Ultimately, though, this kind of car has a big potential in the Chinese market, and in the world market, because we all know we need new energy cars to solve the environmental and oil crisis problems."

Duan said Chinese automakers still lagged behind Western companies in conventional car technologies, but were at a similar level when it came to hybrids.

"The Chinese manufacturers have the opportunity to leapfrog the traditional technologies and to gain a leading position in terms of new energy cars," he said.

Copyright 2008 -- Agence France-Presse

Discovering Yi-Fu Tuan

2008-12-06T18:01:00.000-08:00

While teaching as a professor at the University of Minnesota in 1968 Yi-Fu Tuan began developing and espousing his philosophy of systematic humanistic geography. Of the two branches of systematic geography (physical and human) that exist, human geography employs many of the techniques used in the humanities such as source analysis and the use of text and literature to make findings.

Here's the abstract from an article Yi-Fu Tuan published in The Annals of the Association of American Geographers, February 2005 edition that explains it best:

The focus of humanistic geography is on people and their condition. Humanistic geography is thus not primarily an earth science, yet it is a branch of geography because it reflects upon kinds of evidence that interest other branches of the discipline. The following topics are briefly noted from the humanistic perspective: geographical knowledge, territory and place, crowding and privacy, livelihood and economics, and religion. The basic approach to these topics is by way of human experience, awareness, and knowledge. Humanistic geography contributes to science by drawing attention to facts hitherto beyond the scientific purview. It differs from historical geography in emphasizing that people create their own historical myths. A humanist geographer should have training in systematic thought, or philosophy. His work serves society essentially by raising its level of consciousness.

Tuan was born in 1930 in Tientsin, China. He studied at Oxford and earned a Phd at Berkeley. After fourteen years teaching at the University of Minnesota, he then moved to Madison, Wisconsin, citing the impending doom of a mid-life crisis that turned out to be mild. Tuan concluded his professional career at University of Wisconsin-Madison, in 1998.

Today Yi-Fu Tuan is a retired professor-emeritus of the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He gives many lectures and has recently published a book entitled Place, Art and Self.

Space and Place: The Perspective of Experience, published by Tuan more than 25 years ago, established the discipline of human geography, but it has proven influential in such diverse fields as theatre, literature, anthropology, psychology, and theology. Yi-Fu Tuan considers the ways in which people feel and think about space, how they form attachments to home, neighborhood, and nation, and how feelings about space and place are affected by the sense of time. He suggests that place is security and space is freedom: we are attached to the one and long for the other. Whether he is considering sacred versus "biased" space, mythical space and place, time in experiential space, or cultural attachments to space, Tuan's analysis is thoughtful and insightful throughout.

He currently resides in Wisconsin and I plan to meet him. Here's a great story about the young Yi-Fu... Lost in Place; Yi-Fu Tuan may be the most influential scholar you've never heard of.

Saving a lost art... Chinese Street Food

2008-11-27T20:34:00.000-08:00

During the Maoist years street chefs were banned from providing their distinctive cuisine. Despite the invasion of McDonald's and KFC there are some people who are working to revive the diversity of foods and cooking styles provided in Chinese street food. Some of these vendors trace their lineage in the culinary arts back over 200 years and through 7 generations. Here's a clip on Beijing's Street Food...

And here's part 2...

Verite to Host 10th Symposium on Social Responsibility in China

2008-11-05T15:42:00.000-08:00

Verite', a 2007 Skoll award recipient, is hosting its 10th annual symposium on Social Responsibility in China on November 19 - 20, 2008 in Dongguan, China. This year's symposium will explore current trends and innovations in social responsibility programming in China. Over one and a half days are devoted to hearing from leaders in the field who are charting new approaches to solving common social compliance problems. The format will be in interactive, facilitating sharing and learning among participants.

Topics will include:

The role of civil society and workers in supporting sustainable change in working conditions in China
The new Contract Labor Law, its application and impact on the workplace
Worker engagement and other best practices for long-term sustainability in sourcing
Transparency as the starting place for change

Sponsors include Macy's, New Balance Foundation and Target. Read about last year's symposium for a glimpse of what they accomplished in 2007.

The Virtual Gugong

2008-10-10T14:14:00.000-07:00

The Forbidden City: Beyond Space and Time is a new Web site created under a partnership between The Palace Museum and IBM. The site provides visitors with access to an immersive 3-dimensional virtual world where you can celebrate and explore aspects of Chinese culture and history.

In late 2006 I visited the Forbidden City with my friend Yang Pei. We spent the day hiking deeper and deeper into the core, touring scores of niche museums that archived various time frames along the path of Chinese history. It was both physically and intellectually overwhelming.

The virtual Gugong site encompasses the latest Web 2.0 dynamics, encouraging visitors to join in the site community in order to share in discussion and gain access to a greater number of features. I am downloading the 204MB application that will permit me to enter the virtual world. A half hour later I am installing the application. And, click to run... little wheel turns and turns, nothing happens. Stay tuned... there must be an answer.

Return to a bicycling Beijing...

2008-10-02T07:11:00.000-07:00

Today the Washington Post reported, "The government began taking 30 percent of its cars in the capital off the roads Wednesday in an attempt to make permanent some of the traffic restrictions imposed during the Olympic Games, officials and media reports said."

This brings to mind black and white photos I saw of Beijing streets "clogged" with bicycles, and very few cars. Yes, the days of chairman Mao have their bright spots.

WAPO says, "Beginning Oct. 11, Chinese motorists will also stop driving one workday a week, based on the final number on their license plates. In addition to the recent traffic changes, businesses will begin staggering their hours, with large department stores opening at 10 a.m. and other offices beginning work between 8:30 and 9:30 a.m.."

There are many ways to apply these examples of Chinese "green thinking" that western cities might consider adopting, as we all work to lower carbon emissions.

The China connection(s)

2008-09-06T06:53:00.000-07:00

Thomas Crampton is one of my many China connections...

Crampton writes about Obama’s Sun Yat Sen Connection, revealing that Obama and "the father of modern China, attended the same prep school in Hawaii" - even though they were students at Punaho School almost a hundred years apart. Most Americans probably wonder why any of this is important.

A hundred years in a culture over 7,000 years old is, much less significant than it might appear to be in a culture that is slightly more than 200 years old. The Chinese know and respect Sun Yat Sen - very much like Americans know and respect George Washington - because like Washington, Sun Yat Sen led a revolt against the monarchy, toppling the last emperor to rule China under the Qing Dynasty in 1911.

Did you know Sun Yat Sen was also an American citizen?

One of his most famous works is a publication known as the Three Principles of the People - including the principle of nationalism (minzu, 民族), democracy (minquan, 民權) and the People's Livelihood (minsheng, 民生).

TC says, there's other Obama China connection: that Obama's half-brother runs a dotcom out of Shenzhen and is married to a Chinese woman.

Mao Zedong, Madame Mao and Hua Guofeng

2008-08-20T07:14:00.000-07:00

One of the first things I realized when I arrived in Beijing in November of 2006 was that my historical knowledge of a country that traces its own origins back for more than 4,000 years, was simply missing. After spending a day walking through the Forbidden City with my friend Yang Pei, I quickly came to realize that the mountain I originally perceived was merely the tip of a gigantic iceberg, submerged with more than 9/10ths invisible to my western eyes.

I went back to my hutong and started building a graphic animation, a timeline that I could use to visually take me from the here-and-now, back through the dynasties to the beginnings of recorded time. Today, the announcement of the death of China's Hua Guofeng reminds me that I still have lots of Asian history homework to do. Digging through the Wikipedia like an archeologist... I assemble another detailed segment in my timeline of transition.

Born to a poor family of Shanxi province in 1921, Hua Guofeng was originally named Su Zhu (蘇鑄). In 1936, at the age of 15, he joined the Long March. Like many young revolutionaries in those times, he took on a long and patriotic name: Zhonghua kangri jiuguo xianfengdui (中華抗日救國先鋒隊), which means "Chinese, Resisting-the-Japanese, Nation-saving, Vanguard. Later he shortened it to Hua Guofeng. In 1938 he joined the Communist Party of China and in 1969 and was named to the Central Committee, where he eventually succeeded Zhou Enlai as prime minister. On his deathbed in 1976, Mao Zedong selected Hua Guofeng as his successor.

During a relatively short term of leadership, Hua is credited for quickly ousting the Gang of Four, a group led by Mao's widow - his last wife of 38 years - Jiang Qing and her three close associates, Zhang Chunqiao, Wang Hongwen and Yao Wenyuan. The Gang of Four effectively controlled the power organs of the Communist Party of China through the latter stages of the Cultural Revolution, although it remains unclear which major decisions were made through Mao Zedong and carried out by the Gang, and which were the result of the Gang of Four's own planning. Jiang Qing's explanation is remembered as her most familiar quote: "I was Chairman Mao's dog. When Chairman Mao asked me to bite, I bit!"

Near the end of Mao's life, a power struggle occurred between the Gang of Four and the alliance of Deng Xiaoping, Zhou Enlai, and Ye Jianying. The "Gang" hoped that key military leaders, Wang Dongxing and Chen Xilian would support them, but it seems that Hua won the Army over to his side. Their downfall in a coup d'état on October 6, 1976, merely a month after Mao's death, brought about major celebrations on the streets of Beijing, and marked the end of a turbulent political era in China.

The Gang of Four, along with disgraced Communist general Lin Biao, were labeled as the two major "counter-revolutionary forces" of the Cultural Revolution, and officially blamed for the worst excesses of the societal chaos that ensued during the ten years of turmoil from 1966-76.

Hua Guofeng became the leader whose emergence marked the end of the Cultural Revolution. However, Deng Xiaoping was already maneuvering to replace him. Hua was effectively stripped of his powers by 1978 and formally lost the chairmanship in 1981. Hua Guofeng, died today in Beijing at the age of 87.

East meets West... on the sands of time

2008-08-19T06:33:00.000-07:00

Wang Jie and Tian Jia outperformed their Chinese teammates, Xue Chen and Zhang Xi to represent China in the finals of women's beach volleyball on Thursday. They will face the American defending champions, Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor - who remain unbeaten for more than a year.

May-Treanor says they won't allow the mass of patriotic Chinese fans to disrupt their concentration... "We'll just focus on the match, we will not be disturbed by the audience."

There are several things that come to mind all at once as I ponder this situation. I will try to focus, despite the discovery that not only are the Chinese using ancient, mystical and occult powers to sweep up the gold, but they are using western methods of mind control to do so.

Here's the inside story. It appears that the clever Chinese have discovered how to adapt the most ancient of Daoist philosophies, that of the Vulcan mind-meld, to unify and motivate an entire nation of supportive fans to bond with and thus empower, all of their Chinese Olympic competitors to the level of super-heroes.

This didn't come easily, however. Certain long-held traditions were casually sacrificed in order to employ these proven western tactics as a complement to the existing hive-mind tactics of Daoist harmony. Informed sources reveal that Chinese girls were selected for their physical features including "having great smiles and thin legs." Then it appears that they were forced to get suntans and placed into gangs where traditional taiji movement and Tibetan chanting was merged with other western influences to create the ultimate weapon of mass distraction: the Chinese women's beach volleyball Cheerleaders!

I cannot wait to get back to Beijing... to work for their liberation. These girls naturally provide lots of cheeky support as the British might say. See the scandalous evidence provided in agent BSR-12's photo report "Beijing - Day 6 (8/17)," somehow smuggled past China's strict media censors.

Lang Lang

2008-08-13T11:17:00.000-07:00

Lang Lang just turned 26. He's an amazing classical pianist and kind of a nut. What kind of nut? You decide...

According to Wikipedia, "Lang Lang was two years old when he saw Tom playing piano in "The Cat Concerto," a Tom and Jerry cartoon on TV (Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C-sharp minor composed by Franz Liszt). According to Lang Lang, this first contact with Western music was what motivated him to learn the piano."

He is both loved and hated, with some critics calling him "Bang Bang." No matter, he is an exciting and captivating artist, one that breaks the rules and has fun. I love Lang Lang!

Dr. Ho Feng Shan, honored as a Righteous Gentile

2008-08-10T22:24:00.000-07:00

Dr. Ho Feng Shan served as the Chinese Consul-General in Vienna in 1938-39. He was honored as a "Righteous Gentile" whose efforts saved thousands of Jews during the Holocaust. Boys Town Jerusalem, embodied the concept of Hakarat Hatov - acknowledgment and gratefulness - in adding a memorial for Dr. Ho to their commemorative garden in Jerusalem in 2004.

"He used his position to provide visas for Austrian Jews fleeing the Nazis - one of the first diplomats to do so," they explain. "The title of 'Righteous Among the Nations' was bestowed upon him in October, 2000 for his humanitarian courage in issuing Chinese visas to Jews. Nazi policy at the time was not to deport Jews who could show they had visas to foreign countries, and Dr. Ho, disregarding instructions from his superior, the Chinese Ambassador in Berlin, issued visas to Shanghai to all who Jews requesting them. At the time, the Viennese consulates of England, France, Switzerland and others refused to do so."

The Shanghaiist.com has an article and a video interview with Israeli photojournalist and documentary film maker Dvir Bar-Gal all about Shanghai's Jewish history and the story of Dr. Ho Feng Shan who died in San Francisco in 1997 at the age of 96.

Olympics links... Happy 8-08-008

2008-08-08T12:11:00.000-07:00

Wired Magazine says, "The 2008 Beijing Olympics will happen while most Americans are sleeping. While NBC, the games' official media outlet in the United States, will be providing thousands of hours of content on the web, the only way to truly ensure you won't miss too many record-breaking moments is to spread yourself across the web and take advantage of the many video outlets online." So, they launched a Wiki article: Watch the Olympics Online.

The Summer Games Channel on YouTube will provide a burgeoning collection of professional video content produced by the Associated Press, The New York Times, Getty Images, Reuters, France 24, The Travel Channel, GroundReport, Euronews, and Paralympic Sport TV. The Summer Games channel has the official backing of some of the top sources around.

Here's another collection of 25 Sites to Experience the Beijing Summer Olympics.

SUMM3R provides a place for posting and finding news, photos and videos from the Summer Olympics in China. Create a profile to track your reading history and comments throughout the games. Want to follow a particular athlete, sport or country?.

This official screensaver from the International Olympic Committee celebrates the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. The screensaver offers a variety of photos showcasing the people and culture of Beijing, China. It also includes a persistent RSS feed of IOC Olympic-focused news.

What's in my China bag?

2008-08-04T02:44:00.000-07:00

Last week I stumbled upon the writings of Derrick Story, a reporter assigned to Beijing, who wants to remain light, mobile and yet well-equipped. He shares the details of his collection of must-have electronic gadgetry in Assignment Olympics: What's in the Bag. Combing through his narrative after just taking a (very short) walk in the Wisconsin woods about an hour before sunrise, reminds of what is missing from his list.

I am walking down a fresh cut, made into the forest by a road-making crew. It is absolutely dark and I discover a large, unexpected rock in the middle of what I expected to be a smooth bulldozer-graded pathway. I immediately remember my winter in China and slow down, heighten my senses and begin to choose each step with conscious intent and focus. Pay attention! A few more steps and I discover an ankle-breaking hole, but because I am alert and moving much like a person without sight, I sense the hole with my foot and avoid stepping into it.

This is how you learn to walk in China. Assume that nothing is safe when it comes to sidewalks, stairs, streets and pathways. You will soon learn to take each step with a heightened sense of awareness... or accidents may happen.

In Shanghai I was delighted to see so many people riding silent, electric, two-wheeled scooters. At night, the frugal Chinese save battery power by turning off their headlights as they whisk down the narrow crowded streets at more than 25kph. You quickly learn to pay attention to each and every step you take. There are occasional holes in the sidewalks and pipes sticking out here and there.

In Dali, a small and ancient city where I lived at the base of a range of mountains, there are streams that run alongside most of the streets, downhill from west to east. There are no fences or guard railings to keep you from stepping off the edge, falling 1 - 4 feet into the gurgling waters. That would make it harder for people to wash their clothes or vegetables.
China has been working at a blistering pace to prepare Beijing for an influx of foreigners. Many of the old public toilets in the hutongs of the city have been torn down and replaced with new modern facilities. Within a few months all of the prostitutes on my street disappeared, the pirate music shops put away their catalogs of bootleg CDs and the street vendors, selling the latest Hollywood blockbuster DVDs for less than a buck, are gone.

I still wonder how many foreigners, coming from the "developed" world, where fear of law suits insures a high level of attention paid to public safety, will discover how much they take for granted. What's in my China bag? A wind-up powered, LED flashlight and a small, thin pocket knife are two of the things I never left home without.

The air in Beijing never bothered me but those who are concerned can now check the Daily Air Quality Monitoring Map. Richard Spencer explains the pollution tracking methods used to create the map.

Here's another useful set of maps for those seeking to comprehend the new building layout in Beijings Olympic center: BBC Sport's Olympic Map.

Anyang City and the Oracle Bone Script

2008-07-27T10:47:00.000-07:00

Anyang City in Hénán Province is known for its proximity to one of the oldest and largest historical sites in China with ruins that date back to the Shang Dynasty (16-11 centuries B.C.). Historically the site was known as Yinxu (Yin City), one of the seven ancient capitals. In 2006 the site was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List as one of the earliest centers of Chinese civilization.

The ruins, which span 24 square kilometers, are open to the public as the Garden Museum of Yinxu. Their antiquity was validated with the discovery of a large number of oracle bones inscribed with oracle bone script, the earliest recorded form of Chinese writing, traceable back to the Bronze Age.

The oracle bones, also known as Dragon bones were made of turtle shell, burned and inscribed in a process of divination known as pyromancy. Due to the fundamental importance of fire in society, it is quite likely that this was one of the earliest forms of divination.

The ritual of consulting the oracle bones included marking them with the date of the consultation using the Sexagenary Cycle, known as 10 Heavenly Stems and 12 Earthly Branches, a means of numbering days and years. This is the same system, still in use today, that designates 2008 the year of the Yang Earth Rat.

WTO "G-7" includes China

2008-07-23T08:25:00.000-07:00

China gets seat at the World Trade Organization's top trade talks table

GENEVA — China took a seat for the first time in the World Trade Organization's most select negotiating group when seven commercial powers met Wednesday.

The meeting behind closed doors at the WTO's headquarters in Geneva aims to break a stalemate between rich and poor countries over liberalizing trade in agriculture and manufacturing.

China joined the United States, European Union, Brazil, India, Japan and Australia in a "G-7" meeting hosted by WTO chief Pascal Lamy.

"Of course it's important," Sun Zhenyu, China's WTO ambassador told The Associated Press as he made his way to the negotiating room. "We will do our best to help conclude the trade round."

The meeting comes a day after a contentious, seven-hour gathering of over 30 top negotiators ended with Lamy postponing a similar, large-group meeting scheduled for Wednesday.

Officials said the smaller group of seven powers - which account for most of global trade - would look for ways to advance this week's crucial talks on a new global trade pact by examining issues such as U.S. farm subsidy limits and industrial tariffs in emerging markets.

The so-called Doha free trade round has dragged on since its inception in Qatar's capital in 2001. Developing nations want agricultural tariffs and subsidies in rich countries to come down so they can sell more of their produce, while the U.S., 27-nation EU and others seek better conditions in emerging economies for their manufacturers, banks, insurers and telecommunications companies.

Beijing joined the WTO in 2001. Despite rapid trade growth in recent years, it has often taken a back seat in negotiations and allowed Brazil and India to assume leadership roles.

It has never met in such a select group of negotiators, even though its ability to export cheap goods has been a major - if often unspoken - factor in the refusal of allies such as Brazil and India to open up their industrial markets.

The United States made the first significant concession of the week on Tuesday, slicing US$1.4 billion from any previous offer to limit contentious, trade-distorting subsidies to American farmers.

U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab told a news conference that Washington was prepared to rewrite elements of its recently passed farm bill to ensure that U.S. subsidies deemed to unfairly enhance the competitiveness of American farmers are limited to $15 billion annually.

While Congress may view the move skeptically, the move shifted pressure to Brazil, India and other emerging economies to come up with a commensurate move. They refused, arguing the U.S. offer did not cut subsidies enough.

"I hope this is not the last offer," said Foreign Minister Celso Amorim of Brazil, which along with India leads a broad coalition of developing countries. "It's a very low level of ambition."

Emerging countries have demanded a subsidy cap closer to $12 billion for the United States, noting that U.S. subsidies have fallen to around $9 billion annually amid higher prices for basic commodities.

The poorer countries charge the payments with providing rich-world farmers an unfair competitive advantage that hinders Third World development. But the Bush administration - and the U.S. Congress - have sought flexibility in case crop prices fall and American farmers need greater support.

Congress recently overrode President Bush's veto to pass a new, five-year farm bill worth $300 billion that maintains and in some cases extends subsidies for American farmers. It could also derail any global trade deal by picking it apart line-by-line, as Bush has lost the power to send Congress a deal for simple yes or no vote.

Negotiators are hoping for agreement this week on a deal that would liberalize world agriculture and manufacturing, setting the stage for an overall trade accord by the end of the year. After years of negotiations and missed deadlines, there is widespread skepticism.

China issues 8 Yuan Note!

2008-07-07T05:56:00.001-07:00

Scrapbookin'...
The following stuff just needs to get pasted into my China scrapbook. Six million of these new 10 yuan banknotes are being released to commemorate the Beijing Olympics. I wonder if there was any discussion about the possibility of issuing a special 8 yuan note in harmony with the 8:08pm opening of the games on 8/8/2008. The note features the Beijing National Stadium, known as the "Bird's Nest."

Some of the many famous Chinese actors who came together to create this earthquake victim tribute include: Jacky Cheung, Karen Mok, Andy Hui, Shirley Kwan and Wong Ka Keung.

Mainstream Media blogs on China...

2008-07-03T23:06:00.000-07:00

As is typically the way with the Internet, one thing leads to another. It was this headline in Google News that led to a number of other discoveries:

Best of the China Blogs: July 4
Wall Street Journal Blogs - 2 hours ago
But in China, there are only about 15000 players. This post considers some of the cross-cultural implications of the “alternate reality game” in China. [Virtual China] –Freedom of information has been a hot topic among the Chinese media since a new law ...

Perhaps it's time to pay more attention to the mainstream, despite the churnalism. The WSJ and Newsweek have both created specific China blogs so, now I am on a mission to find the rest and continue to update this post as I find the links and resources.

China Journal tracks the changes taking place in the world's most populous country, drawing on the insights of the Journal's award-winning team of nearly 20 journalists covering China to explain developments in the country's business world, economy, and culture. Sky Canaves is the lead writer for China Journal. You can write to the blog authors at chinajournal@wsj.com.

Newsweek's China blog, Countdown to Beijing is currently dedicated to the Olympics, but hopefully it will continue afterward with a new focus. They feature some outstanding journalists like Melinda Liu, and spice up their articles with hypertext - like I said, one thing leads to another.

China's State-run Telecom and Banking News...

2008-06-27T16:34:00.000-07:00

Great iPhone Wall of China crumbling, could tumble this year says Chris Foresman at Ars Technica. "According to statements from China Mobile executives today, talks are again on with Apple to bring the iPhone to China.

Reuters confirms: China Mobile says iPhone talks scale biggest hurdle

In China We Trust
Posted by Rick Carew –With Victoria Ruan

Foreign banks are scouring China for opportunities to break into the trust industry. The latest: Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). RBS received approval Friday from China’s banking regulator to buy 20% in eastern China’s Suzhou Trust, a person familiar with the situation tells Dow Jones Newswires.

The bank already holds a stake in one of China’s four biggest banks, Bank of China, so why mess with a little trust company in Suzhou? (Besides the famed beauty of Suzhou’s gardens). Buying into a Chinese trust company offers two potential paths to profits: wealth management and private equity.

Trust companies in China are allowed to buy stakes in companies that are mostly off-limits to commercial banks or securities firms. The trust firm then repackages those assets into products that it can sell to wealthy individuals. That’s the wealth management bit.

People in the industry are expecting that government regulators will also eventually allow trust companies to keep those investments on their books, allowing them to act similarly to private equity firms. It’s still too early to tell which of the two types of business will come to dominate the industry as a government push to consolidate and weed out smaller players is under way.

Channel Asia Bloggers...

2008-06-25T05:54:00.001-07:00

www.channelnewsasia.com, in English, and www.cnachinese.com and www.xin.sg, in Chinese, are premier sources of real time news, videos, information and entertainment features for Asian professionals and executives working, living and investing in Asia. Updated throughout the day, the websites provide a truly interactive experience.

Eight news staff bloggers highlight the service with that certain personal, off-the-cuff touch like that of Yee Fong: "Having spent five years in China has taught me the importance of xian li hou bing or to be polite first before you engage in a battle."

The 12th annual World Wealth Report...

2008-06-24T12:07:00.000-07:00

China led the way in attracting net private capital inflows, taking in about 55 billion dollars in 2007. Assets held overall by the world's millionaires soared to 40.7 trillion dollars last year from 2006, with the average exceeding 4.0 million dollars for the first time.

"This year's report found that the number of high net worth individuals (with net assets, excluding primary residences, of at least 1.0 million dollars), and the amount of wealth they control, continued to increase in 2007, with the greatest wealth being created in the emerging markets of India, China and Brazil," says Robert McCann, president of Global Wealth Management at Merrill Lynch.

The number of millionaires jumped 22.7 percent in India last year, 20.3 percent in China and 19.1 percent in Brazil.

During last year, the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index of the largest US stocks rose 3.7%, the UK’s FTSE 100 Index gained 2.4% and the Morgan Stanley Capital International Emerging Markets Index climbed 37%.

Growth in the number of millionaires slowed to about 4% in the US and 2.1% in the UK. That was outpaced by an 8.7% rise in the Asia-Pacific region and 16% jump in West Asia. The International Monetary Fund predicts advanced economies this year will suffer their fastest price gains since 1995 and their weakest expansion in seven years.

415,000... the number of millionaires in China.

Smashing Propaganda

2008-06-21T08:25:00.000-07:00

Who at ABC news is responsible for taking this quote: "We will certainly be able to totally smash the splittist schemes of the Dalai Lama clique" ...and making this headline: "China vows to 'smash' Dalai Lama" ???

As a journalist, I understand that there is a division between those who report the news and those who write the headlines and captions for that same news as published. ABC China correspondent Stephen McDonell may never know why his visa gets canceled one day. Maybe this post will eventually come up as a reminder when you Google China bashing.

Li Ao, a Chinese historian living in Taiwan, has been doing a lot of research on the Tibet issue and presents his findings in a video. On October 24, 2006, Li sprayed tear gas and wielded a stun gun during a Legislative Yuan National Defense Committee meeting, forcing several members of Taiwan's parliament to flee. He was attempting to stop debate on purchasing attack submarines and patriot anti-aircraft missiles for $16 billion dollars from the US. He was also wearing the mask from V for Vendetta. Here's part one of his video essay:

You should never trust this kind of obvious Chinese propaganda... Shadow Circus, The CIA in Tibet presents the truth in a documentary with rare archival footage and interviews including former US Army, Tibetan resistance fighters and CIA agents including: Don Cesare, Frank Holober, Sam Halpern, John Greaney and others. Shadow Circus Part 1:

8-8-2008 Superstitions East vs West

2008-06-21T04:34:00.000-07:00

Looking at each other like two fish, swimming in separate bowls, each thinking that the other one looks a bit odd... "I read the news today oh boy." The first story describes the "superstitious" Chinese who are blogging and texting about the curse of the Fuwa mascots.

The 5 "good luck dolls" patterned after 4 of China's favorite animals (Jingjing, a panda, native to Sichuan; Yingying, a Tibetan antelope; Nini, a swallow that looks like a kite; Beibei, the fish-shaped Fuwa) and a fifth, Huanhuan, who represents the Olympic flame, have each been paired up with one of the recent string of deadly tragedies that befell the country.

Britain's Telegraph reporter, David Eimer in Beijing explains ...

For all its shiny new buildings and rampant modernisation, China remains a deeply superstitious country. Fortune tellers continue to thrive. And last year hundreds of thousands of couples rushed to have children in the year of the Golden Pig, thought to be an especially lucky year to be born in.

Here in the west we look upon such superstitious thinking as a sure sign of ignorance. A recent poll says that 55% of Americans, including Senator John McCain, take great pride in the fact that we are a nation founded on christian principles. The motto "In God we trust" has been continuously stamped on the penny since 1909 and on the dime since 1916. That's not superstitious. Neither is wearing a cross... Right?

The second news story is about an Ohio public schoolteacher who burned a cross on the arm of one of his students. John Freshwater, a fervent, christian, anti-gay, science teacher who feels compelled to teach creationism, keeps a bible on his classroom desk and occasionally puts the fiery brand of his god on someone else's skin. And he's still teaching while his school board decides what to do.

Perhaps Freshwater will find refuge in Florida where brother Jeb, "has engineered onto the November ballot two initiatives that would eliminate the state constitution’s strict church-state separation provisions, mandate funding of religion and water down language requiring a quality public school system."

Perhaps one day, as China becomes more prosperous, we will be saved by plane loads of Buddhists "on a mission from God" knocking on America's doors and handing out sutras in shopping centers. Until then I can't wait to get back to Beijing.

Booming, China Faults U.S. Policy on the Economy

2008-06-17T10:51:00.000-07:00

From the New York Times

June 17, 2008
By EDWARD WONG

BEIJING — Not long ago, Chinese officials sat across conference tables from American officials and got an earful.

The Americans scolded the Chinese on mismanaging their economy, from state subsidies to foreign investment regulations to the valuation of their currency. Your economic system, the Americans strongly implied, should look a lot more like ours.

But in recent weeks, the fingers have been wagging in the other direction. Senior Chinese officials are publicly and loudly rebuking the Americans on their handling of the economy and defending their own more assertive style of regulation.

Chinese officials seem to be galled by the apparent hypocrisy of Americans telling them what to do while the American economy is at best stagnant. China, on the other hand, has maintained its feverish growth.

Some officials are promoting a Chinese style of economic management that they suggest serves developing countries better than the American model, in much the same way they argue that they are in no hurry to copy American-style multiparty democracy.

In the last six weeks alone, a senior banking regulator blamed Washington’s “warped conception” of market regulation for the subprime mortgage crisis that is rattling the world economy; the Chinese envoy to the World Trade Organization called on the United States to halt the dollar’s unchecked depreciation before the slide further worsens soaring oil and food prices; and Chinese agencies denounced a federal committee charged with vetting foreign investments in the United States, saying the Americans were showing “hostility” and a “discriminatory attitude,” not least toward the Chinese.

All this reflects a brash new sense of self-confidence on the part of the Chinese. China seems to feel unusually bold before the Summer Olympics, seen here as a curtain raiser for the nation’s ascent to pre-eminence in the world. The devastating earthquake last month helped by turning world sympathy toward China and dampening criticism of its handling of Tibet.

The Chinese attitude is no doubt bolstered by the lame-duck status of the Bush administration and by the fact that the United States is widely seen as having squandered its political and military leadership during the war in Iraq, which China opposed. Likewise, Chinese officials and state news media have suggested that the relatively quick mobilization of the Chinese Army during the recent earthquake in Sichuan Province contrasts favorably with the Bush administration’s reaction to Hurricane Katrina.

The aggressive stand comes at an inopportune moment for the White House. Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. and other cabinet members are to meet with Chinese officials in Annapolis, Md., on Tuesday in the latest round of semiannual economic talks. The Americans have a laundry list of complaints, among them that the Chinese use regulations to favor domestic companies over foreign rivals and that Beijing does too little to police the theft of copyrights and patents held by Western companies.

The United States is also pressing China to address concerns about the safety of food and drugs it exports.

But China has its own list of grievances, topped by management of the dollar and restrictions on foreign investment in the United States. And the Americans could find themselves with little negotiating leverage.

“U.S. credibility and the credibility of U.S. financial markets is zero everywhere in the world,” said Joseph E. Stiglitz, a professor of economics at Columbia University who has sharply criticized the Bush administration and praised China’s economic management in the past. “Anybody looking at this from the outside says, ‘There’s been a lot of hot air coming out of the U.S., so why should we listen to these guys when they didn’t know how to manage risk?’ ”

Here in China, economic observers are noting that the Chinese posture toward the Americans has decidedly shifted.

“This time, the Chinese side is trying to change its attitude to be more active, to be more aggressive, to balance the two sides,” said Song Hongbing, author of “The Currency War,” a best-selling if conspiratorial book on the American economy. “They just started to change their attitude for the future.”

Chinese officials are expressing their disdain in forums around the world. Last month, Liu Mingkang, the chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, delivered a lecture at the British Museum in London in which he blamed the American government for the subprime mortgage crisis that came close to freezing Western debt markets and required extensive intervention by the Federal Reserve. The turmoil, he said, was “counteracting the course of global civilization.”

“Does moneymaking or doing business justify the regulators in ignoring their duty for prudential supervision and their job of preventing misbehavior?” he said.

One of Mr. Liu’s colleagues, Liao Min, told the newspaper The Financial Times in late May that the “Western consensus on the relation between the market and the government should be reviewed.”

“In practice, they tend to overestimate the power of the market and overlook the regulatory role of the government, and this warped conception is at the root of the subprime crisis,” said Mr. Liao, director general of the commission.

China is grappling with its share of economic problems, including high inflation. But it has reasons to feel optimistic.

Some economists say it has improved its state-owned banking system by writing off bad debt and overhauling management even as it rejected American pressure to privatize banks and allow unfettered competition in the financial sector. Its financial system is more tightly regulated and less dynamic than the American one, but also more stable, Chinese economists argue.

On currency management, China has been under heavy pressure to raise the value of the renminbi, which foreign critics say is maintained at an artificially low level to make Chinese exports less expensive. So far, China has managed to walk a tightrope. It has allowed the renminbi to increase in value against the dollar in tiny increments, for a total of 20 percent since 2005, a less dramatic change than the Bush administration and Congress demanded.

The gradual approach has allowed the export sector to adjust while preventing a currency shock that might derail growth.

Meanwhile, the Americans allowed the dollar to plunge in value. That angered the Chinese, which keeps most of its $1.76 trillion in foreign reserves in dollars. Chinese officials have accused the Americans of mismanaging the dollar at a time when Washington is still pressing China to appreciate the renminbi to narrow the trade deficit.

This month, the Chinese envoy to the World Trade Organization said in Geneva that the United States had failed to safeguard the value of its currency, worsening the pain for people around the world who pay high oil and food prices in dollars.

The envoy, Sun Zhenyu, also said the United States was engaging in protectionism by imposing unfair duties on Chinese goods and subsidizing American products.

Also this month, several Chinese institutions submitted sharp critiques to the Treasury Department of proposed new regulations relating to foreign investment in the United States. Some of the remarks were scathing.

“The regulations still include some sections and procedures which reflect the enshrouded protectionism, an obvious contradiction to the spirit of free competition the U.S. has championed since long time ago,” wrote the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

The commission said the proposed regulations reflected a “self-evident hostility” and “discriminatory attitude” to certain types of foreign investments and “will ultimately hurt enthusiasm of foreign investment in the U.S.”

China was particularly stung in 2005 by opposition in Congress to a bid by its third largest national oil company to buy the Unocal Corporation, an American oil company, for $18.5 billion.

Mr. Paulson, the Treasury secretary, said Monday that he agreed that there had been a “general trend” of China’s becoming increasingly vocal in its criticism of American policies, but that this was not a cause for concern.

“We’ve had a relationship where both sides have been pretty frank privately and pretty frank publicly,” Mr. Paulson said in a telephone interview in Washington. He said China’s criticism of American policies grew out of its rise as an economic power, with greater voice in global discussions on trade, currency and the flow of capital.

Nicholas R. Lardy, a China expert at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, said in an interview that “the Chinese are reacting adversely, and I think with some justification.”

He added, though, that he interpreted China’s recent aggression more as a reaction to specific events or policies involving the American economy than as a result of a new surge in national confidence.

If that is the case, China might be able to avoid the pitfall of hubris. Japan attacked the American government’s economic management in the 1980s, only to find itself tumbling into recession and stagnation ever since. Some economic experts here warn that China’s economy could soon feel the full brunt of the downturn in the world economy, and that the American economy, in the long run, could stay on top.

“The U.S. has always considered its economy powerful and is reluctant to listen to other countries,” said Lin Jiang, the head of the economics department at the China Youth College for Political Sciences in Beijing. “Of course China now is more confident than before and Chinese people are more proud of China’s economy, but we can’t be blind. It’s still hard to challenge the U.S.”

Huang Yuanxi contributed research from Beijing. Keith Bradsher contributed reporting from Hong Kong, and Steven R. Weisman from Washington.

On a spiritual note...

2008-06-08T03:41:00.000-07:00

James C. Ogden spent 20 years in Batang, in eastern Tibet as a Christian missionary and photographer. You can see a collection of his salvaged photos taken from 1905 - 1925 at Blue Spark Fine Art. The narrative incorrectly describes photos of the destruction of Lamaseries "due to pre-1905 Chinese invasions." The destruction was actually at the hands of the British in 1904.

But the battle for who gets to write the history goes on:

The Thaindian News reports little hope for exiles to come to agreement with China...

Samdhong Rinpoche, prime minister (Kalon Tripa) of the Tibetan government-in-exile based in the Indian town of Dharamsala, told IANS here in an exclusive interview, “We have serious differences with China over two core issues - history (of Tibet) and the population. We are ready to acknowledge that Tibet is now part of China. But we will not say that it was historically part of China. That is what China wants the Dalai Lama to say. We will not do it, as it will legitimise their occupation of Tibet.”

The exiled Tibetan leadership also disputes China’s division of Tibetan territory into 11 parts. “We want all these parts to be united and that region to be given full autonomy,” he added.
The next round of talks between the envoys of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and Chinese leaders are to be held in the last week of June after a gap of one year.

China has agreed to commit 70 million dollars to an international fund for the preservation of culture in Tibet. The Louise Blouin Foundation, a global non-profit group which is part of the agreement says, the money will be used to refurbish and preserve cultural relics and monasteries in the Tibet autonomous region.

Beijing has also agreed to allow Tibet's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in exile to participate and "provide oversight" in the cultural preservation projects.

The agreement to set up the fund was reached recently between the foundation, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, a top political advisory group, and China's ministry of Culture.

The Malaysian Star e-paper reports (below) on a meeting of the spiritual minds in China led by the Most Venerable Master Chin Kung.

Walking with the monks

ART OF HEALING
By DR AMIR FARID ISAHAK

This week, we take a break from health matters to look at a study tour of China.

RECENTLY, I was invited to join a group of monks on a study tour of the different cultures and religions in China. We were led by the Most Venerable Master Chin Kung, the Honorary Adviser to the Cheng Ho Multi Culture Education Trust (CHMCET), which sponsored the trip. The aim was to promote religious harmony and world peace.

Apart from the six Buddhist monks, their assistants, and the organising committee members, advisers and staff, the entourage included leaders of the other major faiths in Malaysia (Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism).

I was invited as an interfaith leader. There were 35 of us, from Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, and China.

The Grand Bazaar marks the commercial centre of the very busy city of Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The programme was very tight and we went straight from the airport to the first event even before we could check-in the hotel or rest. We visited the Diaoyutai State Guest House, which is an ornate building used as a resort palace by ancient emperors. Thereafter, we were treated to a grand reception.

In Beijing, we visited and had dialogues with the Buddhist Association of China, the China Taoist Association and the Islamic Association of China.

We also visited the China State Bureau of Religious Affairs. There we were given a thorough briefing on the relationship between the government and the various religions.

The Malaysian religious leaders were given ample opportunity to ask questions and I was impressed by the openness of the bureau’s director in responding to our queries. They also hosted a dinner in our honour.

China is anxious to convince the world that she is now very tolerant of all religions, provided that there is no political activism, especially any hint of independence or secession, among the adherents.

This is particularly so in the light of the recent events in Tibet, and the sporadic reports of separatist movements in some of the Muslim-majority regions.

Adventure on the Silk Road

From Beijing, we flew to Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Urumqi was one of the main trading cities on the ancient Silk Road, and remains a very busy trading centre today. Goods and people from the former Soviet republics, Eastern Europe, Mongolia and the rest of China converge here. It is also turning into an industrial city.

Here we visited the old Shanxi Mosque, famous for its unique Chinese architecture.

Another highlight was the International Grand Bazaar, which marks the commercial centre of this very busy city. We were guests of a local Muslim businessman who proudly showed us his collection of old handwritten copies of the Qur’an. We also visited the Xinjiang College for Qur’an Study.

The beauty and enigma of Urumqi and Xinjiang are familiar to those who have read the classic story Journey to the West.

Xinjiang is larger than Malaysia, but has fewer people. There are 47 “minority” ethnic groups, the largest of which are the Uygurs. The people were once Buddhists, as evidenced by the ruins of Baizikeli Cheonbuldong (Thousand Buddhas Grottos) and the ancient Buddhist city of Gaochang.

Now the majority are Muslims, something not surprising seeing its close proximity to Khorasan (central Asian Muslim countries, which include the former Soviet republics) and the transmigration of Muslims since the 7th century CE.

Both the Buddhist historical sites were near Turpan, another trading city on the Silk Road, about three hours by bus from Urumqi. The highway to Turpan traversed the arid, barren and windy Gobi Desert. It forms part of the vast Turpan Basin, which is surrounded by the snow-topped Tian Shan mountains. Here is a display of nature’s bizarre contrasts.

The flaming mountain

The Gobi Desert is searing hot. The worst is the region near the Flaming Mountain. The flaming red mountain and the red soil surrounding it give it its apt name.

The surface ground temperature can reach 80°C and the ambient temperature can reach 50°C. At the Gaochang ruins, we walked with the monks under the scorching sun with only our cowboy hats as protection. Some did apply sun-block, but most of us were unprepared for the heat. Thus many of us did not complete the tour of the ruins.

If not for the strong winds that help cool the body, one can get cooked to death if stranded in the desert at noontime, which was what scared me when our bus broke down.

Fortunately, the driver was able to fix it within half an hour, while we were busy taking snapshots of ourselves in the blazing sun. In any case, we could easily summon help because our mobile phone signals were full even in the middle of the desert!

Being so far from the sea, the Turpan Basin is the lowest, driest and hottest place in China. At night, the cold winds can freeze you. The changing seasons also bring exquisite beauty to the different terrains and regions of Xinjiang. Even the Flaming Mountain becomes calm and charming in winter.

Despite the predominance of arid land, Xinjiang is able to supply power and an abundance of fruits and agricultural products to the whole of China. Its Grape Valley produces many varieties of grapes, and its raisins are exported to far away lands.

The strong winds of the desert are being harnessed for electricity. The highway is flanked by thousands of giant modern windmills. Turpan now has the world’s largest wind-powered power generation station.

There is also a salt lake that we passed by that is big enough to supply the needs of the two billion Chinese for the next 50 years.

But what is most remarkable is how this desert-land has been turned into an oasis that supplies the world with among the best and most nutritious grapes and raisins.

The valley of grapes

The answer lies in an ingenious well and canal system established by its inhabitants more than 2,600 years ago, which makes it the third Wonder of Ancient China after the Great Wall and the Grand Canal.

The system involves digging over a thousand wells on the mountains slopes right down to the valley to tap the underground canals and rivers that are fed by the melting snow on the mountain tops.

The canals altogether are over 5,000km long!

In the olden days, the wells were dug using buckets and pulleys. Later, modern methods were used, and the same underground canal system sustains the people, the orchards and the grapevines until now.

It is this clean mountain water and the abundant sunlight that make the grapes thrive in Xinjiang. The pears and peaches are also plentiful and exceedingly sweet. Many varieties of nuts are also marketed in the bazaars and roadside, with almonds being the favourite.

We visited an Uygur family who had been well-diggers for many generations and had switched to growing grapes when modern methods made their skills obsolete.

Our host was an expert on grapes and raisins and gave us a lesson on the goodness of the different varieties of raisins. Some raisins are good for the heart, for the urinary system, for diabetics and so on. We were also shown how some unscrupulous traders actually put dangerous dyes and additives to make their raisins look good or appear like the expensive varieties.

The way of health

Back in Beijing on our way home, the farewell lunch was at a Buddhist-themed vegetarian restaurant. On its menu is this caption: “The True Way of Health is to boost the body’s energy in all its forms”.

I couldn’t agree more. I have been trying to educate the public about the various forms of energy that we thrive on, and hence influence our health, and qi or life force is just one of them.

Although this entire trip was about understanding the different cultures and religions, and forging peace and harmony among us, there is at least this wise quotation for me to share about health.

The way of peace

Since this was an interfaith study tour, during the long bus journeys, we took turns explaining about our respective religions to the others. When we got tired of religious talks, we switched to singing and jokes.

This trip was under the supervision and guidance of the Most Venerable Master Chin Kung, possibly the most successful interfaith peacemaker in this region. He is respected for his work in China, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Australia and many other countries. He has established the Pure Land College in Australia, and the Centre of Chinese Cultural Education in Lujiang, China.

Through his work, he has transformed many lives, and even entire communities. At 82 years of age, he is still working hard for religious harmony and world peace.

He is humble, soft-spoken and ever smiling. During this trip he carried his personal fold-out fan everywhere. On it is written the fundamental teachings of Islam. Yet he is among the most famous Buddhist monks in the world today. I truly respect his wisdom and open-mindedness.

Throughout the trip we were given five-star accommodation and first class meals and treatment. I must thank Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew, the President of CHMCET, for his generosity in making the trip possible, and Datuk Tan Chai Ho, Chief Adviser of our study tour, and his team, for making it a memorable and enriching experience.

Dr Amir Farid Isahak is a medical specialist who practises holistic, aesthetic and anti-ageing medicine. He is a qigong master and founder of SuperQigong. For further information, e-mail starhealth@thestar.com.my.

The views expressed are those of the writer and readers are advised to always consult expert advice before undertaking any changes to their lifestyles. The Star does not give any warranty on accuracy, completeness, functionality, usefulness or other assurances as to the content appearing in this column. The Star disclaims all responsibility for any losses, damage to property or personal injury suffered directly or indirectly from reliance on such information.

From The Shanghai Diaries...

2008-06-05T23:00:00.000-07:00

About 40 more episodes at: http://current.com/topics/88806683_shanghai_diaries

Jonathan Spence on Confucius - a great thinker

2008-06-04T03:37:00.000-07:00

This week on the BBC's Interview podcast you can learn about Chinese history from an expert, the man slated to give the 2008 BBC Reith Lectures which will also be broadcast on the BBC's World Service. "Professor Jonathan Spence is an acclaimed American scholar who specialises in Chinese history and his lecture series is designed to present a different perspective of a country which is very much in the international focus this year. He talks to Owen Bennett-Jones about his choice for his first lecture - Confucius - a great thinker whose ideas still resonate today and who is being rehabilitated by the Chinese government. And he tells us his favourite Confucian joke." - BBC.

On China, Tibet, the Olympics and Hollywood Celebrities

2008-05-28T21:38:00.000-07:00

"It's so much easier to suggest solutions when you don't know too much about the problem." - Malcolm Forbes

Sorry my well-meaning friends but, I have no sympathy for the Dalai Lama (DL). After reading The Wisdom of Forgiveness, a 2004 release by "His Holiness" and Victor Chan, I nominate the DL as a master of passive-agressivity. This book is peppered with blame, cloaked as forgiveness. Following his lead, I too am ready to forgive the DL, his monks and the aristocracy that ruled in Tibet before 1949.

I forgive you for dominating and suppressing the Chinese Tibetan people under a social order that was far more cruel and reactionary than serfdom in Europe in the Middle Ages.
I forgive you and your cadre for failing to provide the people of Tibet with any system of public schools or universities.
I forgive you for taking young boys away from their families to enlist them in your religious order. I am sure they were much better off living in cloistered seclusion with a bunch of men in orange robes.
I forgive you for being especially dismissive of the women and girls of Tibet who were considered second class citizens and had no opportunity for education.
I forgive you DL for living in Portola, a 1,000-room palace while your serfs struggled to fend off the weather in mud huts.
I forgive you and your monks for living like parasites, doing no work, and demanding tithes from the masses you ruled over in Tibet.

The DL pretends complete innocence in perpetrating the quite timely outbreak of global protests and violence aimed at shaming China in its moment of pride and glory in Beijing on 08-08-2008. You succeeded in destroying the possibility of spreading a pervasive sense of global unity with the Olympic Torch relay. But I forgive you.

We Americans who live in a glass house (Gitmo, torture, corporate war profiteering, domestic spying, corporate death squads and the criminal invasion of Iraq) have NO business throwing stones at ANY other nation. Whenever the western media reflects on Tibet, the only invasion they ever mention is 1949, when Mao reclaimed the region as part of China, but no mention is EVER made of the brutal invasion of Tibetan China by the British in 1904. Armed with machine guns and cannons the British imperialists "liberated Tibet" by murdering the Tibetan army as they bravely tried to defend themselves with swords and flintlock rifles.

We Americans need to become global citizens once again, finding ways to open communications and increase our historical and cultural knowledge of other nations... and what better time than during the Olympic Games in 2008. Instead, we have the DL and his mindless Hollywood followers grabbing for the spotlight.

Today, under China, all Tibetan children, both boys and girls, have equal rights to a free and compulsory public school education. Increased tourism in part due to the completion of a modern railway connection and ongoing improvements in the infrastructure underway throughout Tibet have eased the former sense of isolation. Better health care and a wide array of environmental improvements have made Tibet a much healthier place to live.

It's time for Americans, especially those in Hollywood, to crack a book and do their homework before deciding to speak out loud. I also suggest taking a field trip to China.

China Overtakes United States In Georgia Tech's Global High-Tech Competitiveness Index

2008-05-27T16:55:00.000-07:00

No 'Sputnik' Moment To Reassess U.S. Capabilities

By Richard McCormack
richard@manufacturingnews.com

China has surpassed the United States in a key measure of high tech competitiveness. The Georgia Institute of Technology's bi-annual "High-Tech Indicators" finds that China improved its "technological standing" by 9 points over the period of 2005 to 2007, with the United States and Japan suffering declines of 6.8 and 7.1 respectively. In Georgia Tech's scale of one to 100, China's technological standing now rests at 82.8, compared to the U.S. at 76.1. The United States peaked at 95.4 in 1999. China has increased from 22.5 in 1996 to 82.8 in 2007.

"The message speaks out pretty loudly," says Alan Porter, co-director of Georgia Tech's Technology Policy and Assessment Center, which produces the benchmark. "I think the prospects are pretty scary."

The Georgia Tech center has been measuring high-tech competitiveness of 33 nations for the past 20 years. It has watched as China has zoomed up to the leading global position in technology. But other nations are showing gains as well including South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Brazil, India and Chile. "If the increasingly integrated European Union were considered one entity instead of 27 separate countries, it would surpass the United States," says the Georgia Tech indicator report.

Researchers and technologists in developing countries all have access to the latest computing and networking technologies. They are engaged in leading-edge research and know where that research is taking place globally. "So what is our big advantage?' Porter asks.

The Georgia Tech "High-Tech Indicator" does not measure how active countries are in research, "but in areas like nanotechnology, China now leads the United States in published articles, but what scares me is China is getting better at marrying that research to their low-cost productive processes," says Porter. "When you put those together with our buzzword of innovation, China is big, they're tough and cheap. Again, where is our edge?"

Adds Nils Newman, a Georgia Tech co-author of the indicator study: "We have a situation in which technology products are going to be appearing in the marketplace that were not developed or commercialized here. We won't have had any involvement in them and may not even know they are coming."

The surge of China past the United States as the global technology powerhouse should be a "Sputnik" moment, but it isn't proving to be. For the most part, federal officials and politicians have been silent. As the economy heads into a downturn, both political parties "are jumping all over each other for the instant fix -- the tax rebate," Porter observes. " 'Problem is all solved. Congratulations!' Wow. I think long term there are things that are not amenable to that solution."

The High-Tech Indicator tells a consistent story over the past 15 years of China's authoritarian government setting its mind on achieving global technology and industrial dominance. "China's entire orientation is toward competing," says Porter. "We frown on planning and don't do much, but they have set their mind on it."

China's gains have been dramatic. The country has not stumbled once in 15 years. "There is no real sense that any kind of leveling off is occurring," says Newman. "Most industrialized countries reach a kind of equilibrium, but the study shows no interruptions in China's advance."

China is training more scientists and engineers and is generously funding their research endeavors. The United States is headed in the opposite direction. "The training of scientists and engineers has lagged, and post 9-11 immigration barriers have kept out international scholars who could help fill the gap," says the Georgia Tech indicator study.

The Georgia Tech "technology standing" measure of 33 countries is based upon four factors: national orientation toward technological competitiveness, socioeconomic infrastructure, technological infrastructure and productive capacity. Each of the indicators is based on a combination of statistical data and expert opinions.

China's ascendancy over 33 nations has "changed the world economic landscape in technology," says Porter. Its continued growth and dominance "won't leave much room for other countries."

Adds Newman: "It's like being 40 years old and playing basketball against a competitor who's only 12 years old -- but is already at your height. You are a little better right now and have more experience, but you're not going to squeeze much more performance out. The future clearly doesn't look good for the United States."

The study is located at http://tpac.gatech.edu/.

China Sacks Plastic Bags

2008-05-25T18:03:00.000-07:00

Ban could save 37 million barrels of oil and alleviate "white pollution"
By David Biello for Scientific American

SHANGHAI—Thin plastic bags are used for everything in China and the Chinese use up to three billion of them a day--an environmentally costly habit picked up by shopkeepers and consumers in the late 1980s for convenience over traditional cloth bags. Fruit mongers weigh produce in them, tailors stuff shirts into them, even street food vendors plunk their piping hot wares directly into see-through plastic bags that do nothing to protect one's hands from being burned or coated in hot grease. They even have a special name for the plastic bags found blowing, hanging and floating everywhere from trees to rivers: bai si wu le, or "white pollution," for the bags' most common color.

Yet, the Chinese government is set to ban the manufacture and force shopkeepers to charge for the distribution of bags thinner than .025 millimeters thick as of June 1—and no one seems prepared. "I don't know what we'll do," Zhang Gui Lin, a tailor at Shanghai's famous fabric market, tells me through a translator. "I guess our shopping complex will figure it out and tell us what to buy to use as bags."

His wife adds: "Maybe it will be like this," tugging a thicker mesh orange plastic bag she is using to carry some shoes. Such thicker bags may prove one replacement for the ubiquitous thinner versions.

The clothes makers are not alone. "I don't know actually," says a vendor of Chinese tamales, known as zong si, who declined to give her name. "I'm sure the government will come up with a solution. Maybe people will just eat it [the zong si directly.]"

The Chinese government is banning production and distribution of the thinnest plastic bags in a bid to curb the white pollution that is taking over the countryside. The bags are also banned from all forms of public transportation and "scenic locations." The move may save as much as 37 million barrels of oil currently used to produce the plastic totes, according to China Trade News. Already, the nation's largest producer of such thin plastic bags, Huaqiang, has shut down its operations.

The effort comes amid growing environmental awareness among the Chinese people and mimics similar efforts in countries like Bangladesh and Ireland as well as the city of San Francisco, though efforts to replicate that ban in other U.S. municipalities have foundered in the face of opposition from plastic manufacturers.

More than one million reusable cloth bags have already been sold on various Chinese merchandising Web sites, according to Taobao.com, and local environmental groups, such as Shanghai Roots & Shoots, are promoting and giving away cloth bags in schools.

"Too many plastic bags is a great waste of natural resources," retired Communist Party cadre Liu Zhidong says through a translator. "When burnt, they produce poisoning smoke, and if buried underneath the ground they need more than 300 years to be degraded."

But it remains to be seen how strong enforcement will be. Specific penalties have not been set but will include fines. Other environmental efforts—such as a similar ban on disposable wooden chopsticks (a waster of trees) and so-called "green GDP," or gross domestic product, an effort to account for environmental costs when calculating overall economic development— fell by the wayside because they proved too difficult to implement and created significant opposition at the local level. It also remains to be seen whether some of the possible replacements—thicker or biodegradable plastic bags—will be any better.

"This is a very good measure to protect the environment. However, whether it can last long is still very doubting," chemistry graduate student Oliver says. "And another problem is [that] the so-called biodegradable plastic bags, it seems, cannot be totally degraded. Whether or not they are really good for environment protection in the long run remains unknown."

Yet, the ban enjoys enthusiastic support from many residents here, particularly students, who may not even recall the more traditional practice of cloth bags or baskets. "I will just carry the things by my hands," one young man told me on the campus of Shanghai International Studies University. "I will never use the plastic bags supplied in supermarkets and I'll ask my friends not to use them, too."

For global citizens who wish to respond...

2008-05-20T04:51:00.000-07:00

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao consoles families in Beichuan.
Photo: AFP

'Grandpa' Wen weeps amid quake victims

With 5 million homeless and the death toll surpassing 40,000, Hong Kong leads in providing global relief to China's quake victims offering 38 million dollars (24.5 million euros), the lion's share of the 46.5 million dollars pledged worldwide. Japan is sending 500 million yen (4.8 million dollars) worth of blankets, tents and cash aid. Norway has pledged $4 million in aid, Three cheers for Google... for donating $2 million, including $1.7 million from Google.org, to help assist in relief and rebuilding efforts. The Canadian government is matching private donations. And, the Bush administration's initial aid package for Chinese earthquake relief... $500,000.

Are you surprised or embarrassed by the White House response?

You want to help... but what organization(s) can you trust to use your donations most effectively? Some people criticize the US Red Cross for extracting "processing fees" from the contributions. Donations to aid China's earthquake victims can safely be sent to the following organizations:

MercyCorps
is mounting an emergency response for survivors through its local partner, China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA). Together, they are procuring food, water, clothing and shelter supplies for affected families.

onefoundation, is the charity organization founded by movie star Jet Li. The foundation provides full public disclosure in annual finance reports.

Tzu Chi has been working in China providing disaster relief efforts since 1991. They don't pass donations on to the Chinese Red Cross. Instead they have their own workers in China and purchase clothing and food themselves to guarantee that 100% of collected donations are directly provided to the earthquake victims. They also have an office in Seattle:

Tzu-Chi Seattle Office
12639 NE 85th St.,
Kirkland, WA 98033
(425)8227678

Tzu Chi US is a 501(c)3 organization. Your donation to Tzu Chi is tax deductible (Tax ID No. 94-2952782). Tzu Chi has opened a special account to accept your donation for Sichuan earthquake.

For credit card donation, please call: 1-888.989.8244 1.888.9TZUCHI

For check donation: Please make check payable to Tzu Chi
Mailing address: Taiwan Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, U.S.A.
1100 S. Valley Center Ave., San Dimas, CA 91773
Tel: (909) 447-7799
For direct deposit or wire transfer:
Cathay Bank (777 N. Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90012)
ABA: 122203950
Account No: 01-130005

Unicef

World Vision

Here's a story on one American organization that has managed to take an active role...
Kansas group helps get relief to China quake zone

By TINI TRAN

MIANYANG, China (AP) — Donated vans came from another Chinese province. American students arranged extra warehouse space for donated food, water and medicine. A Canadian couple offered free medical expertise.

Linking them all is Heart to Heart, an Olathe, Kan.-based humanitarian group that is putting foreign volunteers and Chinese together to get help to survivors of China's worst earthquake in decades.

"We pay our own way to come here and help. People say, 'Why do you do that?' I say to the Chinese: 'One day we'll have this need. We will need to have the world help us,'" said Dr. Gary Morsch, founder of Heart to Heart.

Largely powered by volunteers, the disaster-aid group is a rarity in China, which has long been suspicious of non-governmental organizations and foreign influences.

China initially refused all offers to have foreign aid workers involved in disaster relief, saying it would accept emergency supplies but didn't have the capacity to accommodate foreign aid teams.

But the horrifying devastation across a wide swath of central Sichuan province quickly convinced Beijing it needed specialized help.

Search and rescue teams from Japan, Russia, Singapore and South Korea were allowed in, fanning out to extract survivors, and increasingly bodies, from unstable mounds of rubble. But China inexplicably refused entry to teams from Britain, Australia and several other nations.

Still, China's ability to respond using its own resources and manpower has been impressive, Morsch said.

"I think the response here has been as great and quick and fast as anywhere I've seen," he said.

Heart to Heart's unusual access is due to its long-standing presence in Chengdu, where it set up offices 11 years ago to work a variety of projects, including specialized medical training and disaster management.

Partnering with local Chinese groups and the provincial health bureau, the group slowly built up the trust that has allowed it to work unhampered during the earthquake crisis.

In the last week, an average of 100 volunteers a day has streamed through the group's main Chengdu office, some dropping off carloads of supplies, others offering to be part of relief teams. About half are foreigners, including Americans, Koreans and Germans, and the rest are Chinese.

"We live here in Mianyang," said one volunteer, Aaron Cyboron, 27, of Norfolk, Neb., who has been studying Chinese at a local university for three years. "When the quake happened, we were desperately looking for ways to help.

Two days after the quake, he and fellow student Aric Berger of Auburn, Wash., joined a group of Heart to Heart volunteers in hiking into the badly hit town of Beichuan, carrying supplies in their backpacks.

"It was surreal, the destruction there. I didn't recognize the place anymore," said Berger, 23. "The major residential area was probably 50 to 60 six-story buildings. Now it's virtually one pile."

The two students quickly became ad hoc organizers, finding a storage space — an empty garage in the apartment complex where Berger lived — where medical supplies and basic aid could be stockpiled. They scouted out four houses to hold volunteers

"Everyone I know has been completely willing to jump in on this, from big things to little stuff," Berger said.

The response from the Chinese people has been even more astounding, said Morsch, 56, a family practice physician.

"What we're seeing is a massive outpouring of support by Chinese, which is part of the long-term growth of a society. It's wonderful to see this happen," he said.

He attributes it in part to the increased economic success of a growing middle class: "They have the means to say, 'Let's go and do it ourselves.'"

Among the most impressive donations came from the Jiang Huai automotive company, based in Anhui Province, which loaned 200 vehicles — passengers cars, minivans and trucks — to the relief effort.

"We sent out cars on the first day of the quake," said Nick Xiong, 39, an employee who volunteered to make the 35-hour drive from Anhui to Sichuan to deliver a van. "We just want to help our people."

The chance to be a part of a bigger effort is part of the motivation for many of the volunteers.

Watching the devastation on TV in Beijing, three American friends decided to buy one-way tickets to Chengdu and showed up on the doorstep of Heart to Heart.

They initially planned to join a small team that backpacks supplies into the remotest of areas. But then they were told there was a need to work with children.

"We were open for anything," said Gabriel Mellan, 25, of Maui in Hawaii. "I had packed a pair of underwear, a couple pairs of socks, and my kazoo."

So Mellan, along with friends Doug McGee, 32, of Hilo, Hawaii, and Josh Kidwell, 26, of San Jose, Calif., went to a refugee camp outside Mianyang that is housing 20,000 people.

The three pulled out a guitar and the kazoo and put on an impromptu song and dance show for dozens of children. Shouts of laughter rang out from the giant circle as the kids giggled and chased their new friends.

As Morsch watched the dozens of children form a ring around the three, a wide grin stretched across his face.

"You don't have to be a brain surgeon. If you have a good heart, you can contribute. This is about ordinary people helping each other out," he said. "They are my heroes."

Opening China

2008-05-17T11:11:00.000-07:00

by Peter M. Herford
Washington Post
Saturday, May 17, 2008; A17

SHANTOU, China - A small group of doctors and nurses just left for Chengdu loaded down with medicines to help in the aftermath of Monday's earthquake. This scene of homegrown assistance has been repeated all over China, because every Chinese knows the agonizing details of the story. Shantou is nearly 1,200 miles from the earthquake's epicenter. The ground here did not shake. But people feel the aftermath. This was a national event like no other in Chinese history because this one is on TV, in newspapers, on radio, and in the minds and hearts of every Chinese.

All media in China are owned by the government, and news coverage has long been controlled by the Communist Party. News is chosen by the propaganda ministry for what the ministry considers to be the benefit of society.

This time, the news flow is different. It is following the natural contours of the tragedy.

Traditionally in China, information about disasters has been suppressed, or the disasters have been played down. Five years ago, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) was not a concern until the World Health Organization convinced new President Hu Jintao that he could not hide a pandemic that threatened the world. As recently as last month, the site of a train wreck with heavy loss of life was sealed off from foreign reporters, and coverage of the event was tempered in the domestic media.

But when the earthquake struck on Monday, we were instantly informed. We soon knew that Premier Wen Jiabao, the national consoler and go-to man during emergencies, headed for Sichuan province immediately, that he was directing the rescue efforts and cheering workers on with a bullhorn. We watched as tens of thousands of People's Liberation Army troops were mobilized. All of that might have been reported under the old rules -- but this time the national and foreign press corps followed rescuers to Chengdu and began an unprecedented stream of reporting. CCTV, the national network, has been broadcasting nonstop, often live from the disaster area. The images are horrific, as are many stories. Foreign reporters, usually barred from such events, have moved entire bureau staffs to Sichuan. Xinhua, the national news agency, has been pouring forth more reports than the Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse combined. All have reporters in the field, working around the clock.

What made China decide to give the world an inside view of this tragedy and, more important, give the Chinese people the details of a story that would have been controlled in the past?

Theories abound. Coverage of the riots that began in Tibet this spring was carefully managed in Chinese media. The demonstrations that followed the Olympic torch around the world were invisible in Chinese media, and the country's image suffered. That experience may have prompted national leaders to show a compassionate face and move quickly to help after the earthquake.

The Burmese junta that continues to stonewall assistance for that country's even greater natural disaster is a lesson in international shame not lost on the Chinese leadership.

China's traditional reluctance to admit foreign aid workers has shifted. The government is accepting expert help from its Asian neighbors, including Japan.

The earth is shifting in China in more ways than geologic.

The Internet has opened the flow of information here. The same technology the government has promoted as a way to bring education and intellectual resources to an undereducated population has also been a vehicle for challenging censorship. Today, there are far fewer secrets than in the past. News appears on the Internet within minutes of breaking, and state media are often forced to follow.

Consider the 2005 case of a tainted water supply. The city of Harbin's 5 million inhabitants were told to drink only bottled water but were not told why. The news that a chemical factory had exploded upstream from the city was suppressed in the local media. Internet messages revealed the pollution in the region's main river, and, soon, municipal and provincially controlled media outlets had to tell the story.

These shifts have produced a tug of war in the propaganda ministry between traditionalists, who want to maintain control and suppress bad news, and reformers, who -- while not advocating unrestricted media -- see the need to accept the new realities of the Internet and the blogosphere. The government maintains as much control as it can by blocking the sites from which it fears direct attacks on the government and leadership.

When I came to China five years ago, I could not read The Post online during the annual National People's Congress. News of the many coal mine accidents that make mining in China the world's most perilous occupation went unreported by state media. Gradually, those veils have been lifted. I now read about the National People's Congresses during the meetings. Increasingly, when it comes to such events as the riots in Tibet or the earthquake in Chengdu, the flow of news is at least a trickle. A bright spot in this tragedy is the free flow of information about the disaster. It's been hard to get here, but I hope it's harder to turn back.

The writer teaches journalism at Shantou University.

The Man Who Loved China

2008-05-14T01:47:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, while Jean Feraca is out, "west for a romp in the California wine country..." Veronica Rueckert presented another great Here On Earth broadcast featuring Simon Winchester, author of "The Man Who Loved China: The Fantastic Story of the Eccentric Scientist Who Unlocked the Mysteries of the Middle Kingdom."

Click to listen to the show.

Many of Winchester's previous titles have been New York Times bestsellers, including:

His latest work brings to life the extraordinary tale of Joseph Needham, the brilliant Cambridge scientist who unlocked the most closely held secrets of China, its long and astonishing history of invention and technology. Amazon provides the following details:

No cloistered don, this tall, married Englishman was a freethinking intellectual, who practiced nudism and was devoted to a quirky brand of folk dancing. In 1937, while working as a biochemist at Cambridge University, he instantly fell in love with a visiting Chinese student, with whom he began a lifelong affair.

He soon became fascinated with China, and his mistress swiftly persuaded the ever-enthusiastic Needham to travel to her home country, where he embarked on a series of extraordinary expeditions to the farthest frontiers of this ancient empire. He searched everywhere for evidence to bolster his conviction that the Chinese were responsible for hundreds of mankind's most familiar innovations—including printing, the compass, explosives, suspension bridges, even toilet paper—often centuries before the rest of the world. His thrilling and dangerous journeys, vividly recreated by Winchester, took him across war-torn China to far-flung outposts, consolidating his deep admiration for the Chinese people.

After the war, Needham was determined to tell the world what he had discovered, and began writing his majestic Science and Civilisation in China, describing the country's long and astonishing history of invention and technology. By the time he died, he had produced, essentially single-handedly, seventeen immense volumes, marking him as the greatest one-man encyclopedist ever.

Both epic and intimate, The Man Who Loved China tells the sweeping story of China through Needham's remarkable life. Here is an unforgettable tale of what makes men, nations, and, indeed, mankind itself great—related by one of the world's inimitable storytellers.

The Needham Research Institute remains the home of the Science and Civilisation in China Project, and houses the East Asian History of Science Library. As a recognized global center of study, the NRI offers a unique collection of books and other published materials on the history of science, technology and medicine in East Asia, and welcomes scholars from all over the world.

Check out Jean Fereca's blog to see what else is on her agenda.

China becomes 3rd largest export market in 2007 - buys $65 billion in US goods

2008-05-13T06:58:00.000-07:00

(Michigan) Firms cash in on China
By Chris Gautz
Originally published in MLive.com - Michigan Business, International and Local Small Business News on Economics & Finance

Much has been said about the United States' trading relationship with China - and much of it negative - but a new report shows American companies are finding China has a wealth of opportunities.

The United States-China Business Council Inc. recently released a study showing a 300 percent increase in exports to China from across the country from 2000 to 2007.

Locally, the numbers are even more dramatic.

In Michigan's 7th Congressional District, which includes all or portions of Jackson, Branch, Calhoun, Eaton, Hillsdale, Lenawee and Washtenaw counties, exports to China are estimated to have increased by 516 percent during the same time period. Most of that comes from the exporting of transportation equipment and electronics.

Exports from the district to China amounted to $97 million in 2007.

David Dent, president of Melling Engine Parts, was surprised by the numbers, even though his company adds to them.

"It's kind of the reverse of everything you hear," he said.

Erin Ennis, vice president of the United States-China Business Council, said her group's report helps tell the other side of the story.

"While there are some very significant concerns the U.S. has with China, at the same time there are some (U.S.) companies that are benefiting from the trading relationships," she said.

One of those concerns, said U.S. Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Tipton, is the trade imbalance with China. While last year's U.S. exports to China topped $65 billion, Chinese imports amounted to about $321 billion, he said.

"That is certainly something we need to address," Walberg said. "China also has to respect our intellectual property rights."

But the growth of Chinese funds coming into the region is worth noting, he said.
"That's real money that's helping our businesses," Walberg said.

The United States-China Business Council is a private, nonprofit group of more than 250 American corporations that do business with China. The council provides guidance and market research to members.

According to the study's results, of the 435 congressional districts in the country, only 29 did not record triple-digit export growth to China between 2000 and 2007.
"Given the state of the U.S economy, a lot of companies are finding where the growth is, in terms of sales, is international markets," Ennis said.

Michigan ranked 13th in the country in 2007 in exports to China, which amounted to about $1.3 billion. But that figure was dwarfed by the state's $25.6 billion in exports to Canada. (Wisconsin's 2007 China exports totaled $1.2 billion. Canada was top at $5.9 billion with Mexico 2nd at $1.9 billion.)

After overtaking Germany and Japan, China is America's third-largest export market, behind Canada and Mexico - rankings that mirror Michigan's (and Wisconsin's.)

"China's growth is driving that growth," said Kellie Holloway, project manager for the China Business Information Center of the U.S. Commercial Service.

As China's already expansive middle class continues to grow, demand for American products rise.

Holloway said most experts don't see China's economy slowing down anytime soon. "It does continue to present opportunities for U.S. companies," she said.

Mike Wall, auto analyst at CSM Worldwide, a global automotive market analysis group, said the numbers aren't surprising.

"It's still a boom market," he said. "There is a lot of growth still to be had."

While there is a question of sustainability, as Chinese companies will undoubtedly strive to supply their local companies, it does give U.S. suppliers a chance to get in on the ground floor Wall said.

"The U.S. excels in its innovation," Holloway said. "We're never going to be the low-cost producer."

Holloway said U.S. firms are aided by the fact that Chinese companies know that quality standards in China aren't as high as in the United States.

"The perception of U.S quality isn't going away," she said.

Holloway said one way local economic development groups can aid businesses is to help create the bridge to the Chinese market.

That's already happening in Jackson (Michigan.)

In early April, a handful of Jackson manufacturers met with several Chinese business representatives touring the state looking for potential partners in the automotive business.

"There's been a lot of conversations back and forth between the companies since then," said Bill Rayl, executive director of the Jackson Area Manufacturers Association. "Corporate friendships are being built there."

Rayl said this can be a new revenue stream for local companies looking to sell their products.

Frank Ferro, special liaison with Michigan China office, said he often gets calls from Michigan companies inquiring about China and calls from Chinese companies looking for partners in the state.

"There's a tremendous interest in China for Michigan companies," he said.

At Melling's Blackman Township plant, workers once a month load a shipment of oil pumps bound for a General Motors Corp. plant in Shanghai. The pumps will be used in the HV V6 engine, which is used in several GM vehicle models.

Melling's exports to China are relatively small, Dent said, because most of the growth in China's automobile market is for smaller engines.

To expand what it offers into the Chinese market, Dent said GM wants his company to set up operations there. But Dent said he prefers to keep the work in Jackson.

"Certainly that's what they want," Dent said. "A weak dollar does help our position." Dent said he would recommend other Jackson suppliers look at the Chinese market, but only if they have a niche or a technical specialty.

"I think there's opportunity for companies that make a relatively sophisticated product," he said. "The simplest things are going to be built over there."

Why China Bright?

2008-05-12T05:38:00.000-07:00

In many ways America is like an island. The once confident residents of that island are now a bit confused. Manufacturing jobs are slipping away. The economy is stumbling. Credit card debt and the national debt both spiral out of control. The value of the dollar is sinking along with the rise in IOUs held by China and Japan. Endless war coupled with the failure to provide a system for national health care and the incapacity to support a crumbling infrastructure have Americans wondering who to blame and how we got in such bad shape.

Rather than take responsibility for problems here on the "island," some people prefer to ship the blame offshore as well. China-bashing has become a means to avoid looking inward at our own problems. It's easy for millions of Americans to rally behind the Dalai Lama over issues regarding Tibet while ignoring the crimes and ongoing injustice experienced by Native Americans and prisoners held without trial in Guantanamo. It seems schizophrenic to rage against the repressive government of China while Congress debates the ethics of water-boarding and the FBI issues over 200,000 letters demanding private information on citizens from our nation's libraries.

We live in a glass house on this island and should not throw stones.

While I launch this publishing effort coming from the dark side, this blog intends to alert people to the Bright side of China. It is a nation emerging from poverty. It is an ancient nation that can trace its history back more than 4,000 years. It is ruled by a one-party system in a different manner than most Americans know or understand. We have much to learn from and to share with China... if we can learn respect and listen to voices other than our own.