

# Too Busy to Spit

## An irreverent 30 year journey among

## the Chinese people

## by

## Scott Kelly

Opening of CIS - 1986

Publisher:

Horizon East Books

657 Kings Road, 5F

Hong Kong

Copyright © Scott Kelly 2010

Sixth Edition January 2019

horizoneastbooks@gmail.com

Scott Kelly asserts the moral right to be identified with this work

Note: some of the names in this book are fictitious at the request of those mentioned

ISBN 978-988-19093-1-2

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publishers prior consent in any form or binding in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
Table of Contents

China and Adam & Eve 7

China & history 9

Ignorance is bliss 12

Communist China 20

The Chinese People 23

The Chinese Family 26

The Chinese Character 28

Becoming Chinese 36

The Overseas Chinese 38

The Chinese in America 44

Hong Kong Stories 46

Chinese History 53

Barbarians at the Gate 62

Mao and Madness 66

China Stories 69

One Size Fits All – China 99

Chinese Food 104

Comrades, Crooks and Conmen 109

China as a victim or victor 111

Chinese vs. Chinese 115

Perceptions 119

Racial Stereotypes 121

Identity in Asia 128

Doing Business 131

China & The Borg 141

Chinese are Everywhere 146

The Yellow Peril 150

Nationalism 157

The Aggressive Nation 163

Everything happening at once 173

Contradictions 179

The Columbus Era – 1492 to 2008 185

Can China Lead the World? 191

The Future of China 195

Preface

October 27th 1980 (from my diary)

### As I look out the window of my Singapore Airlines jumbo jet I have tears in my eyes. For some reason, I realize that this may be my last look at Hong Kong and I may never see my friends here again. I may never smell and taste this society – a place that has struck me to the core. What a great adventure! What great people that I have met over these last seven months. I can't believe I'm really going. But at least I have new places ahead and new adventures to look forward to. There is no turning back even if I never get here again.

### Over thirty years have passed and I am still around Hong Kong and the Chinese. Heck, I am even married to an ethnic Chinese woman, and that place I thought I would never see again – Hong Kong, turned out to be the place I could never leave.

### Someone once said, "Unlearn anything you know about China and the Chinese when you get here". What is being implied is - you must strip your prejudices and perceptions to the bone and start anew. I also believe this, so please have an open mind as you peruse these pages.

### The result is I hope, an educational trip through 'Chinese-ness'. It is this primal element that flows through the blood of Chinese whether in Shanghai, San Francisco, or Singapore. This is the force that binds as well as irritates members of this race, and which has contributed to Chinese cultural survival for over 4,000 years.

### As far as the title – "Too Busy to Spit", the title came to me when I was in a Hong Kong restaurant with a few friends. The service was poor despite the huge number of employees. One in our group, an elderly Hong Kong man was complaining vehemently to one of the waitresses, and one friend mentioned she may just return to our table with the Mango pudding topped off by a bit of her spit.

### I thought "Naw, she's too busy with other customers". I said something to the effect that the Cantonese people are always running around, always very busy– maybe even 'Too busy to spit". My friend immediately said that should be the title of my book, and thus this book began.

# Too Busy to Spit

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# China and Adam & Eve

In the beginning God created earth. Then God created man in his own image - Adam who was created from dust. But Adam was lonely, so God created Eve from one of Adam's ribs. They were the original happy couple. But God said "Do not eat the fruit of this tree". Adam and Eve hear God and dutifully nod their heads. God goes off somewhere leaving the serpent to entice Eve to take a bite of the forbidden fruit.

Meanwhile, on a hill overlooking the Garden of Eden, Commander Wang Wei of the Chinese Imperial militia surveys the scene below. "Looks like some barbarians in the valley" said Wang. "Yes, I see them" says Zhu Ming - his trusty aide. Wang and Zhu then proceed down the hill towards the garden, careful not to betray their presence.

" _They are in the garden that contains our apple trees, and the snakes that are of such fine taste. What should we do?" asks Zhu. "Nothing, you know the drill, if you come into contact with barbarians, maintain your distance and report to the Emperor."_

" _Was that a stirring in the bush, could anyone be there?" asks Eve. "No, must be another serpent." Adam replies "But I heard voices." insists Eve. "Impossible. After all, we are the only people on earth." says Adam reassuringly._

Wang and Zhu retreat silently back to their base to report. The barbarians have arrived, but - thank the heavens, there are only two of them and the apple harvest still looks pretty good this year.

Culture Clash

If ever there was a culture clash, it has always seemed to be between China and the rest of the world.

China has stood alone, a seemingly self-contained society with little inclination or interest in foreigners. It has been a 'parallel universe' unique among itself, with almost everything that occurs in the world also occurring in China.

For the Chinese the outside world was a place of poor and backward 'barbarians'. The barbarians offered China little that they didn't have, so why should they bother with discourse? And why not?

For most of history China has been a prosperous and well-ordered country. When the foreigners threatened them, they built barriers to keep them out. The most famous - the Great Wall, was a tremendous human achievement. Yet despite being built at a cost of many lives and treasure, like the Maginot Line, it didn't work. Unless of the walls' intention was to keep the Chinese in, which it achieved rather successfully.

Yet the foreigners, including the Manchurians and Mongols, ultimately came and sometimes conquered. In time, most were enticed by Chinese culture and eventually assumed Chinese characteristics themselves. As once they were in the "Middle Kingdom" (the center of the world as far as the Chinese were concerned) these barbarians could not resist the charms of a superior civilization and way of life.

And China, despite being ruled by sporadically by barbarians, could remain China forever - as they had since the beginning of time. The Chinese were contemporaries to the Egyptians, Babylonians, Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Mayans, and Ottomans. They were there, and they are still 'there'.

They also like to characterize themselves that way - timeless, constant and never-ending. Therefore, due to the remarkable longevity and resilience of Chinese culture it must inherently be the best. It has always been so, and will always be that way. The world's longest lasting, most refined, most admired, continuous, 24 hours per day, an efficient non-stop culture. Or so they not only reason, but truly believe.

The premise for all this is that Chinese culture is unique. That there is no other race of people and no other country that can make the same historical or cultural claims. There can be only one leader, only one winner-take-all in the race to be the best.

Chinese know that they have been the best since well, forever. It is not just in their minds but in their blood. Actually, they have a very strong argument to support this, and Chinese people are quite adept at spreading the message.

Despite past failures and the turbulence in China in recent centuries, this message is obediently passed from generation to generation without modification. And, Chinese people don't need to exaggerate or embellish their history, as there is no question it has been and still is one of the most remarkable civilizations in the world.

Thus, they have never lost hope, never lost the vision of China re-asserting itself in the world – in its rightful place as number one.

# China & history

When looking at history over time, it is impossible to exclude China.

The trade routes between China and the rest of the 'known world' were already established over two thousand years ago. Chinese silk and other manufactures were being sold on the streets of Rome, Cairo, and Damascus, while the barbarians sent such items as wool, gold and silver east. Caesar himself wore silk on special occasions as it was the mark of a wealthy and sophisticated man.

Some Chinese adventurers and merchants traveled far and wide along the ancient routes to India, Afghanistan, Persia and Bactria - a remote Greek colony. Alexander the Great and his army traveled as far east as the Himalayas, and Persian vessels called on ports from the Mediterranean to China itself. It is not inconceivable that the Roman mercenaries and Chinese armies even met or fought at places straddling their huge empires. There is even a town in China that claims they are descendants of Roman soldiers.

Over a thousand years later when Marco Polo visited China in the 13th century, Europe was just awakening from their dark ages, while China was a large and well-managed state, with social stability and huge internal trade.

Polo marveled at China's technical and social achievements and witnessed prosperous cities and wealth that Europeans could only dream about. China was a world of paper money, suspension bridges, gunpowder, and restaurants. It is believed that at the time over 30% of the world's economic activity was in China,

When Polo returned home, Italians thought his stories outlandish and unbelievable. He told them that China was more advanced and prosperous than any European state at the time. They made use of such technology as windmills, natural gas, and extensive flood control. China's cities were connected by extensive transport networks of roads, bridges, and canals.

Chinese people read the same books, obeyed the same laws, and worshiped the same Emperor. They were the largest and most populous country in the world. Kaifeng, with more than a million inhabitants was the biggest city in the world while the largest city in Europe was Constantinople with maybe 300,000 people.

But Europe was on the move and when the Jesuit monk Matteo Ricci came to China in 1583 (only 300 years after Polo) it was apparent that China's technology and science had already been eclipsed by Europe. Ricci became a great teacher and scholar in China and was known as 'Li of the far west'. Ricci impressed the Chinese so much with his knowledge that he was among an elite of technical advisers to the Emperor.

In 1793 His Majesties government sent Lord Macartney on a trade mission to China with an array of modern goods and trinkets – including mechanical clocks and a hot air balloon. They were certain the Chinese Emperor would be impressed but it turned out the Emperor had little use for the rest of the world and their curious gadgets.

The reply to Lord Macartney had been written in advance of their visit, so the Chinese had never intended to acknowledge that the goods the British brought were of any value. China still felt that they were in a league of one and wanted to stay that way.

Yet, China had always recognized that there was much to learn from the 'barbarians'. In fact, it has always been that way as Buddhism was imported from India and much knowledge and goods from the silk road. But China wanted to trade on their terms and with the arrival of the powerful European colonizers that option was no longer available.

China resisted the challenge from the west for another fifty years or so but eventually succumbed. They had to confront what was now a newly defined world with modern technology and weaponry. Now China was destined to trade on unequal terms and that led to the eventual downfall and breakup of the Chinese Empire.

However, it is this glorious past that blinded China to the rapid changes over the last few hundred years. Safe and secure for so long they were unprepared for the dynamics thrust upon them by aggressive European powers. They were incapable and even unwilling at first to acknowledge a changing world, and for many centuries China had tried and failed to cope with the new world order.

Japan meanwhile, was able to cope with this change and was the first non-European country to industrialize. However, if we went back four hundred years it was China, not Japan, that looked to be the most promising candidate for modernization. Even during their "closed years" China did have contact with the outside world and had access to much of the same technology that was used to vanquish them.

Despite this, China was never able to capitalize on new inventions or social systems that could be imported from afar. Their xenophobic social fabric was better at maintaining the internal status quo rather than adapt to external forces.

In fact, it was just only in the twentieth century that China was able to make the transformation from a closed imperial society to an open, pro-western one, and then back to a closed communist society. Now they are somewhere in between.

The China of today has no choice but to engage the outside world as there are not any entirely self-sufficient societies, either economically or culturally. And, although the Chinese still like to think of themselves as unique, they have more in common with the west than they would like to admit, or we would like to acknowledge.

Sadly, much of the communist doctrine in China today puts far more emphasis on reinforcing their worst biases and xenophobic tendencies. They do so by conflating the peoples' love for China with love for the Communist Party. By doing so they strike a chord at the root of every Chinese, which helps to maintain their grip on power.

Yet, if Commander Wang Wei looked upon the new China from afar, he might be forgiven for believing he had gazed upon a country of 'barbarians' as the Chinese now also wear suits and ties.

However, for most Chinese there is no need to dwell on these details. China is China, and being Chinese is just that, something that is etched in stone and has little to do with the rest of the world.

# Ignorance is bliss

I have to face up to the fact I am not Chinese at all. I am a white man from the suburbs of America. Growing up I knew little about Asian Americans and even less about Asia. I didn't have a clue about the world at large, and China was no exception.

I carried many stereotypes including that everyone 'Asian' were pretty much the same to me. I could recognize chopsticks and fortune cookies to be Chinese. The Koreans, well, they had a war. The Japanese had sumo wrestling and sushi bars. As far as the rest of Asia, Siamese Cats, the Vietnam War, and Taiwanese factories, and that was about it. I was not inquisitive enough to find out what markers there were for other races in Asia.

There was a reason for this. Over the last few hundred years, Asians, and the Chinese have been stereotyped sometimes unfairly, by many in the west. Growing up, I didn't know what to think. I was always conditioned to believe that China was like a parallel universe, we were right, and they were left.

"Chinese can't drive very well for their eyes are set back and they have no peripheral vision. That is why you see them in so many car accidents." - wisdom from my elder brother, circa 1965.

So the Chinese can't drive very well, this is one of many observations that I heard growing up. The Chinese were different. I also remember "Life is cheap" - I heard that at least one hundred times prior to coming to Asia. It seemed anyone with slanted eyes and black hair just didn't value life in the same way as 'we' did.

Many of my white friends, all who had never been to Asia, still had many strong opinions about Asia that they stated as fact as their only knowledge was second hand, such as from brothers who were shot at and killed people in Vietnam. They were certain that the 'gooks' were much different than we were. It was almost a politically correct view, without the stigma associated with making disparaging comments about blacks or other minorities.

Almost everything they said turned out to be misguided. After all, how could anybody generalize about such a diverse place without having actually have been there?

I carried a lot of these stereotypes with me on my arrival in Hong Kong. I had no excuse really, as I had gone to school with many Asians - a few in high school, and a lot in college.

At the diverse University of California at Berkeley, I had Asian study partners and friends. I dated ethnic Chinese, Japanese, and Phillipina Americans, so in the scheme of things I was already exposed to Asia, sort of. I thought they were like different ingredients in a cake mix, yet I could only perceive the cake as the final product that had been presented to me. The insides were a blur, the details of such a diverse place as Asia eluded me.

Thus even at UC Berkeley with its large Asian population, there were many instances of Asians being degraded and harassed. There was even institutional racism as expressed by many fraternities. In one case, three white male students were specifically asked to 'moon' Asian girls in broad daylight. While taking their pants down, others noticed their prank, so as a result they were mildly chastised by school authorities. But I am certain they felt no shame in their actions.

Meanwhile, the Chinese in California seemed to be mainly in Chinatowns, speaking their unintelligible language and living in squalor. For my father, any visitor from out of town had to be taken to Chinatown to see the live poultry, the women dressed in traditional Cheongsams, and the men playing Mah Jong. It was like China – just plopped down in the middle of San Francisco.

I knew then that the Chinese kids had to go to after school lessons to learn Chinese, and unique among other races, they seemed to want to remain who they were. Strange, wouldn't they want to be Americans too – what's wrong with these people?

So when I left for Asia in 1980, my views were really written on a blank slate. I was a recent college graduate with a pretty open mind who had lived among many types of people in California, so why not add Chinese to the mix. However, I had a goal - I wanted to prove all my friends wrong.

One of my first tasks was to disabuse myself of the notion that the Chinese were as tricky as I was led to believe. I remember distinctly that I had quite a few perceptions of the Chinese, two of which 'hard working' and 'smart' were favorable, and two others 'cunning' and 'compulsive gamblers' were not.

Certainly, Hong Kong would be a good place for me to find out about the Chinese, and as a backstop there was always Singapore.

One Way Ticket to Hong Kong

A few weeks before my graduation from college in 1980 I asked my mother to buy me a one-way ticket from San Francisco to Singapore. My stops would be in Honolulu, Hong Kong, and Bangkok. Reluctantly, my mother bought me the ticket.

However, as the date approached to leave, I remember my former college roommate asked me if I was nervous. I sure was! After all, I didn't know anyone where I was going and had no real plan. He was right of course. I should be nervous, and soon the shock set in. The 48 hours prior to leaving I had indigestion. What if everyone was right?

Once on board the Singapore Airlines flight with their lovely stewardesses, I settled into my new adventure. It was off to Asia, come what may!

My first arrival to Hong Kong was quite exciting. At the time, Kai Tak airport in Kowloon was located among one of the most densely populated urban areas in the world. The Jets would seem to skim over the rooftops as they landed, and the single runway would just appear out of nowhere. Somehow every flight arrived safely.

After customs and immigration I soon caught a bus from the airport to Tsim Sha Tsui the area with most of the cheap hotels.

On the bus I met an American in his late 20's who was working as a musician for the Hong Kong Philharmonic. He got me up to speed on a few things, such that Chung King Mansion is the cheapest place to stay, and that Hong Kong does have jobs for foreigners, particularly if you are British (you don't need a visa) or if like me you have a university degree.

So within ten minutes I had a new friend and was contemplating finding a job. I got off the bus and my new friend Randy said goodbye. I had his telephone number and a bit of hope.

Chung King Mansion was (and is) a large rundown building on Nathan Road with at least 100 guest houses. The lower floors were retailers who appeared to have been flown in from Bombay or Calcutta to ensure that everything remained filthy and chaotic. I was able to find 'Travelers Hostel' on the top floor and get a bunk for about $3 US. I had arrived and was in one piece. No hassles so far.

My first meal was in a Korean restaurant across the street, and my first drink was tea in a clear glass. This seemed odd to me, as back in California all tea was served in tea cups or insulated cups. Also at the end of the meal there was no fortune cookie.

No fortune cookie? Was I being ripped-off? I was very aware that these people could take me for a ride. I was a tourist, and they knew it. I didn't know at the time that fortune cookies (an American invention) were not available in Hong Kong.

Yet after my first hours in Hong Kong I was smitten. It was such an interesting and vibrant place. It had a vibrant life with smells, textures, and commotions that I had never witnessed before. The name Hong Kong means "Fragrant Harbor", yet it was obvious that it had been many years ago since that description should apply.

In 1980, Hong Kong was still very much a British colony, but also a part of China. They had British administrators, but the place was then, and even more so now, a Chinese place. What does that mean? Well, it means you are in China and you know it. Everyone was Chinese, all the signs were in Chinese, and the streets were just like Chinatown back home, only busier.

My first thoughts were that I had been living my life up to that point as if I was in a black and white movie. Now I was to be transformed into a world of color that teased all my senses. The streets were full of people, all in a hurry. Life was on display as if the world was a stage, and it was all new to me.

I connected with Hong Kong within days. Why? In the first few nights drinking at pubs I met young Hong Kongers who had been educated overseas. At the time that meant usually the UK, and of course - they spoke English.

In reality they were not too representative of Hong Kong as they were from wealthier families, and had spent time overseas. Thus they were comfortable when dealing with someone like me. I got to meet and converse with the cream of society, and at the time felt that I was dealing with the real Hong Kong. Well, it was real enough for me.

So, during my first weeks in Hong Kong I was surprised to find that unlike the model minority students in California, the Chinese in Hong Kong were a bit rough around the edges. They drank and smoked heavily, and swore more than any group of people I had ever seen. They didn't seem much of a model for anyone at all.

Yet, these young guys were so confident and comfortable moving among two different societies - the English language world of the British and by extension the west - and the Chinese language world (Cantonese) and the motherland of China.

I soon found out that the glue that holds China and now Greater China together is the idea of 'being Chinese'. Even back then, my Hong Kong friends were looking forward to the day when the British colonial master was gone, and China had re-asserted itself. At the time, China had just started its re-opening, and although still poor and weak, at least there was stability and none of the chaos of previous years.

But I didn't know what China meant, or even who was really Chinese. I was vaguely aware that Taiwan and China were at odds politically, and that China was communist and a potential enemy, but was unsure how this would this would play out with people on the ground.

I was a total neophyte, and I couldn't tell the difference between spoken Cantonese and Mandarin. I didn't know then that in China they used simplified Chinese characters, while in Taiwan and Hong Kong they continued to use the complex traditional characters. I thought that the Taiwanese didn't like people in Hong Kong as I assumed there would be some political divide as Hong Kong had such close relations with China.

At the time Hong Kong was considered a developing country, while America, Europe, and Japan were rich and developed. I felt that I came from a superior system (the USA), which was reaffirmed by the fact that most wealthy people in Hong Kong would send their kids for an education in the west, primarily to the UK and USA. This surely means that they acknowledged the advantages of a western education as well as exposure to our society.

China had yet to enter the equation as it was a closed, xenophobic society. China had its own problems and was just ending a period of tremendous unrest, social upheaval, and endemic poverty. However, it was clear that Hong Kong was the most important barnacle on China's ass. An inconvenient historical legacy, yes, but soon to be corrected in 1997.

Everyone in Hong Kong was a refugee from China at one point, but few wanted any association with it. Hong Kong was semi-affluent, and they still had their high rise factories producing radios, watches, and garments. People looked to Japan for local inspiration, or America and Europe for clues on how to run a successful society.

To look at China was to confront failure head-on, so better to ignore it. Yet, there were stirrings at the time, and Deng Xiao Ping had already started the reforms that would transform his ossified society.

The big question at the time was why did China fail? After all, overseas Chinese communities in Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia were flourishing, as well as other places overseas. This big picture didn't concern me, as I wanted to dive head first into Hong Kong, get wet, and live to tell my story.

Turns out, from the very first week until now, Hong Kong and the Chinese people in general have always treated me well. For whatever reason, I found them to be among the most ethical and honorable people I have ever met.

When I arrived, I was young, enthusiastic, and for the first ten in Hong Kong I spent more time socializing with Chinese and doing business with them than with my own people from America or Europe. This wasn't the best economic choice, as the big money was elsewhere, but it just seemed more fun to be around them. After all I was in Hong Kong, and when in Rome..

# Communist China

The day had finally arrived when I would be going to China. For the previous five months I had been ready and waiting in Hong Kong, always anticipating the day I could actually visit the 'motherland'. Of course, it was not my motherland, yet after having heard so much about China, both good and bad, a chance to see the place that 'Mao built' could not be missed.

Until now I had only seen China from the northern tip of the New Territories in Hong Kong. There was a popular tourist destination – at Lok Ma Chau where from the top of a small hill you could see China just across the Shenzhen River. As it was 1980 it was the only easily available small glimpse of a closed society.

Everyday there would be bus loads of tourists going to this spot. In the distance you could view a 'Red Chinese' flag and a border post, and miles of rice fields. The town of Shenzhen was just a village without the appearance of modernity. The border guards on the Chinese side were there to keep people from leaving China, while the guards in Hong Kong were there to keep people from China out.

At the time in Hong Kong, there was a policy called 'touch base'. This meant that anyone from China who could sneak across the border and then make it into the urban areas of Hong Kong could automatically become a Hong Kong resident.

This was a path to freedom and prosperity that many would take the risk for. I saw this first hand from a rooftop in Sai Kung. As we drank our beer, we counted the lorries (trucks) full of illegal migrants being returned to an uncertain fate in China. Those that could not make it were quickly repatriated back to overflowing labor camps and possible starvation. They kept coming though. It was worth the risk for many and in less than three years more than 300,000 mainlanders had been successful in getting residency in Hong Kong.

My first trip to the mainland would leave from Macao on a one day tour. I boarded a 19 passenger tour bus with a Macanese guide, a young girl of mixed Chinese-Portuguese descent. She would guide us through the mysteries of China during our short day trip.

The border between Macao and China was at the time not very busy. As soon as we drove out of Macao we were presented with a small shack to go through customs and immigration. The guards were not as dour as I expected, but their loose fitting military uniforms made them look as if they were part of the cast of a Charlie Chaplin movie.

The shack was surrounded by rice fields for as far as you could see. The one road heading north was paved, and for the first twenty minutes, we passed only one private car and that was another vehicle from Macao. Peasants walked on the road or occasionally rode a bicycle. There seemed to be no movement of goods or people except some vegetables carried on the peasants' backs.

There was not one sign of construction or economic development. People generally wore Mao suits - baggy blue or brown pants, with a loose-fitting jacket. There was a total lack of color and diversity of clothing.

Our first major stop was the Sun Yat Sen memorial. It was here that Sun Yat Sen was born. Revered by both the communists and the Kuomingtang (Taiwanese political party), he is generally acknowledged to be the the founder of modern China. Sort of akin to being the 'George Washington' of the country.

We were the only tour bus visiting the house, but we were soon accosted by scores of food sellers and hawkers. They all sold the same merchandise, oranges, crummy Chinese beer, and Mao badges or books. I purchased two oranges and then ventured about 30 meters from the house. Alone, I was soon physically assaulted by a desperately hungry man. He tried to knock me down with a kick to my ankles and then grab my oranges. He failed on both counts.

I was taken aback as I had heard that no one goes hungry, that everyone has an iron rice bowl. Well, tell that to my aggressive comrade. As I outweighed him by maybe 2 to 1, he soon resorted to pleading with me to feed him an orange. He was deranged and desperate, so I relented and gave him both oranges. He simply retreated into the bushes.

Now I had become a bit paranoid, and those people we came close to would stare at us with the most vacant of expressions. Many were carrying their own weight of cargo on their backs, usually stalks or agricultural goods.

Our next stop was Zhongshan City. A major market town about 30 km north of Macao. Almost every building in town had the look of being built by European colonizers. Not all the retail space was occupied, and those that were, were state-run shops, with almost nothing but agricultural implements for sale. I went into one store and attempted to purchase an old style camera. But they refused to sell it to me. It was only for display.

Most of the buildings had not been maintained well and looked as if the last time anything was painted was in 1948 just prior to the communists coming to power. Everyone on the streets appeared to be interchangeable in form and appearance. A public bus made its way through the streets trying to avoid pedicabs, bicycles, and pedestrians.

Our tour group was taken to the fourth floor of a large restaurant for lunch. A special room had been made up to segregate tourists from the general population. Most people were eating simple noodle or rice dishes, but as special tourists, we were provided with the best feast they could offer. No one in our group ate anything. The rice was coarse, the plates dirty and oily, and even the tea had oil floating in the cup. They went ahead and served the whole meal, with the staff thankful in the knowledge that we would eat little if any, and they would eat well that day.

Our tour guide had been operating this tour since it was initiated in April 1980. She had a wealth of statistics that had been provided to her by the Chinese government. But when she recited statements such as "people in Guangdong eat well, with more calories than required by WHO standards", it was obvious that the state was more efficient at distributing propaganda than food.

I was disappointed, for although I had heard from people in Hong Kong that China was poor, I had always believed as many young people in the west, that the descriptions of poverty were exaggerated by capitalist bias. The capitalist propaganda was however quite accurate as China was simply dirt poor. There was nothing to do, and nothing to buy, unless you needed farm tools.

On our return we saw the high rise buildings of Macao on the horizon. For us, it looked like the Emerald City - a happy return to Oz. We knew that within moments we would be in the land of Coca Cola and Mercedes Benz.

If China was on the verge of great change, I certainly didn't know it. China was just China, a land unfathomable and impenetrable. I just felt lucky that I'd had this little glimpse and was in no hurry to return.

# The Chinese People

It seems no matter whom you talk with, just about everyone has a predisposed image in their mind of China and the Chinese people. For most of the world, just about anyone who is Asian is assumed to be Chinese, including Korean, Japanese, Thai, and even Indonesian. They will all be grouped as part of that huge amorphous and dominant mass of people.

In reality however, an Indonesian would consider themselves to have about as much in common with a Chinese person as your average Turk might feel a kinship with a Swede.

We all have our ethnic identities, and perceptions. For most Asians they would be upset to be identified as Chinese. This is more pronounced now as the bad behaving mainlanders overrun every tourist site in Asia, and ultimately they behave badly. So it looks like this 'ethnic' view of the world is most unlikely to change. So we will always have people with ethnic identities and associations.

I remember that Paul Newman, who is half Jewish, was asked why he adopted the Jewish faith and customs. He replied that "Being Jewish requires more discipline," and he felt that this was a good basis for how he would lead his life.

Any Chinese person would understand the context of that statement. Yet, unlike Mr.. Newman, they did not opt-in to be Chinese, they were born Chinese. And for the rest of us, no matter how much effort you put in, or how long you try, you cannot somehow become Chinese. You have to be born Chinese. So for Paul Newman and me, becoming Chinese is not an option.

It is this racial identity that separates China and Chinese from say America and Americans. One is an immigrant society where, with a bit of time you become 'American', regardless of racial or ethnic background. The other is a place where you just can't become Chinese no matter what.

Most Chinese believe that there are so many timeless elements about Chinese culture, that a modern Chinese man from Hong Kong would certainly recognize another Chinese time traveler from just about any time in the past two thousand years.

In this regard they do have a point. For much of what is important to most Chinese today, particularly those in Hong Kong or Taiwan is based squarely on the foundations of ancient Chinese history.

Your average Chinese would be able to recognize any of the Eight Immortals – and other historical deities, whose origins are in Chinese mythology. They would also be vaguely familiar with the Warring States period and the foundations of China during the Chin.

As for me I can hardly remember the names of Greek Gods and certainly couldn't recognize one. I certainly don't know much about Rome or Byzantium, as ancient history does not seem to have much relevance. On the bright side, I consider myself to be a bit more rational and less superstitious because of it.

But, Chinese mythology is alive and well, as well as other deeply rooted religious concepts. They also thrive on superstition, which it seems is fuel for their obsession with gambling and risk-taking.

Yet, China and the Chinese have certainly changed, and have become quite 'modern'. And despite what they might think, it is also almost certain that the Chinese traveler from the past wouldn't recognize anyone from Hong Kong to be 'Chinese' now.

Years ago when I was having trouble financially while trying to start my business in China, I had to silently suffer the consequences. I remember standing in line at the border with my cart full of boxes on my way to Shenzhen. Everyone was Chinese, except me, or so it seemed. We were all trudging like coolies with large boxes, and squirming through massive crowds of people in the summer heat. I was one of them. It was then that I felt I was most 'Chinese'.

Yet my Chinese friends had little sympathy for my plight, it was no big deal. For you see, suffering was good. I seemingly had the ability to suffer silently, just like a Chinese would, yet so what?

You might say I suffered with a "stiff upper lip". This is why the British who arrived in China in the 19th century got along so famously with the Chinese. They both wanted to get on with practical things like business and making money even if a lot of suffering was required.

Of course by now the British have lost the qualities that enabled them to conquer the world. And as the writings of Jane Austen attest, they don't have the same proper manners anymore either.

While the Chinese seemed to have retained more of their past, and still relish it, many in the west seem to think that the past is irrelevant. Yet, it is this identification with the long ago, rather than the more recent, that keeps the Chinese feeling Chinese.

This is both a blessing and a curse. For the 'timeless elements' can also be looked at as 'historical baggage', neither relevant or useful in the modern world. The cultural foundations that have never changed are also the basis for much of China's recent stagnation. Even now the balance between the old and certain and the new and changing is a major challenge for not just your average Chinese, but for the country as a whole.

# The Chinese Family

The Chinese family – seems so impenetrable - like the Chinese themselves. Yet to understand the Chinese family goes a long way towards understanding China.

We have all heard how Chinese families stick together, through thick and thin, how they look out for their own kind and as generalizations go this is still fairly accurate. For the key to the longevity and strength of Chinese culture is based on the strengths of the Chinese family.

So, I take comfort in knowing Chinese people through their friends or family. If China is the great wall, then my friends, co-workers and family are the individual bricks that make up the wall. Each brick has its own story and plays its part in the amalgamation that we call China.

It is apparent that much of their success at home and abroad can be attributed to the strength of the extended Chinese family. Many of the largest Chinese-run companies in Asia are family run, with the son or grandson of the founder heading the firm. Meanwhile, cousins and extended family are employed throughout their far-flung businesses.

Much has been written about the west and the destruction of the family and a loss of traditional values, and this explains much of what ails the western world. Meanwhile, the Chinese family endures.

I remember my own grandmother talking about how life was before electricity. She was born in 1886 and lived to see the day when man landed on the moon. She never seemed that comfortable with the modern world, preferring to read a book rather than watch TV. She canned fruits and vegetables for the winter, rather than putting frozen vegetables in the fridge. But she was the core of our family, and all the good values and behavior of our ancestors seemed to be resident within her. With her death, we just weren't the same anymore. She was a beacon of common sense, and the anchor to our past.

If I go back just a bit further than my recent past, it was not so long ago that many generations of American or European families were living under one roof. For the majority, they were tilling the same land as their forefathers and were always looking out for their own. To survive the harsh realities of life your family or clan were paramount. The land, the language, it was the definition of who you were.

Those days are gone in most of the west, of course, and the main reason is that survival is no longer dependent on family and friends, or your immediate clan or village. The modern state ensures that you can survive on your own, and you can raise your kid as a single mother without help from family members or even the father of the child.

In America we have been enticed by the modern and convenient, and we will readily move to a new state for a better job. I see this in my generation, as all my friends my high school friends have left the place they grew up in.

But China had been different in the past. It was a land where people were tied to the land. People remained where they were born, primarily because of the dialect that they spoke and also the fact that they had no mobility or political rights. They landed gentry was always rich and the peasant was always poor.

However, during the time of the cultural revolution these past injustices were revenged. Thus, millions of city dwellers were forcibly moved to the countryside to learn from the peasants. The elite would not have done this of their own free will, and when they had a chance years later, almost all moved back to the cities and prospered when China was reforming.

It was only recently that the average Mr.. Wong in China was able to move to another town or village without permission from the state, so the sedentary lifestyle was the norm. That was when the state controlled almost everything, including what you ate, and where you lived and worked.

Many Chinese and other immigrants view their family and the associated family life as the core of their being. They enjoy the co-dependence and shared experiences, and see independence and mobility to be a modern curse.

One of my friends was part of a family business installing air conditioners in cars. His father would slave away day after day while his son was being educated in the UK. When Eric returned to Hong Kong, he was required to work at the shop, despite his university education. He didn't find this at all unusual, nor did he complain.

So, for now, the Chinese family still survives, thank god, much like the extended Italian or Mexican family. The state really can't replace family. Just ask Mao.

# The Chinese Character

Saving face refers to maintaining a good self-image. People who are involved in a conflict and secretly know they are wrong will often not acknowledge it, as they don't want to admit they made a mistake. They can therefore escalate a conflict, just to avoid the embarrassment of looking bad.

Face is also one of the few generalizations that is more true than false. Therefore, to avoid situations where others might lose face, it is common practice.

However, the Chinese are not unique in valuing face, and in many respects are not nearly as concerned about face as someone from Japan, Thailand or Korea, for instance. And when things are going well for China and thus the Chinese people, they can dismiss face saving concerns particularly if they feel they have the upper hand.

Of course, saving face is not unique to Asia. We all have our own version of this to the extent that we all may have trouble admitting we are wrong or apologizing for our actions. Also it is pretty much true that being humiliated is a truly universal human trait.

It could be that 'face' is what makes so much of Asia a safe place to live. If you look at crime statistics for example, the murder rate in Hong Kong is less than 5% of that of any major American city. People consider their own actions and behavior to be an accurate reflection of who they are and their family. To lose face within their circle is still important.

In the relatively homogeneous societies of Asia, to be part of the group is to maintain your face in the community. If you behave wrongly, you lose 'face', and with it your status in the society.

This 'face' is also part of the ties that bind families. Parents maintain their face (we sometimes call this the generation gap) with their children. The fact that in an Asian family there are fewer open discussions of such things as sex, doesn't mean they don't communicate. Most communication among humans is non-verbal, so you do get the message anyway. For Asians it simply means that sometimes things work out better when things are left unsaid.

What strikes me as quite remarkable is that in the west, face is sometimes seen as an obstacle or an indication of obstinate behavior during negotiations. In fact, from what I have experienced, I believe there is not too much face in Asia, but too little face in the west, particularly in places like America or Australia. We see this when no matter whatever you do wrong, whether it is an unwanted pregnancy or a criminal act, it is somehow never the individual's fault. It is society at large that made them do it, attributed to circumstances beyond their control. Hey, the dog ate my homework, or God told me to do it, or whatever.

America is a great example where face seems to have been phased out. I remember as a kid, what we call face was certainly present in my grandparents and people of that generation. They could be described as 'old school' or old as they believed in an implied social contract, which included self-reliance, but also a self-disciplined approach to life. They were firm believers that people had more responsibilities than rights, and that there were correct ways to behave. It was simply so. When my Grandmother watched the flower children on TV during the turbulent 60's, she saw a breakdown in proper behavior, regardless of its justification.

In modern liberal societies we have become conditioned to accept the idea that people are not responsible for their own actions, and thus it seems no one loses face anymore. During the Wall Street financial crisis, none of the bankers who caused such a meltdown felt compelled to resign. Maybe we need more 'face' in the west.

Being Chinese

My girlfriend in Hong Kong in the 80's didn't look "Chinese", even though she was. She had been told so on many occasions by many friends that she looked Japanese. In many instances she had been approached by Japanese tourists on the streets of Hong Kong who presumed to speak with her in Japanese.

For her, this was not at all flattering. I used to joke with her that maybe, just maybe, she really did have some Japanese blood. Maybe her grandmother may not have run fast enough to avoid horny Japanese soldiers, and 'voila' the bloodline was tainted. God forbid!

Her indignant answer was always "I am 100% Chinese". This wasn't just a statement of fact, but a reaffirmation of her ideology and character. To be any less "pure" would be unthinkable.

When I first arrived in Hong Kong the ideas of nationalism equated with ethnicity were not new to me. I was Scots/Irish, vaguely European, but mostly American. It seems I had confused national identity with racial identity, and in retrospect I had.

For a traditionalist, Chinese values and culture have been perfected over generations and don't need to be revised. Anything that is "5,000 years old" must be good.

Of course, enduring customs such as foot binding and female infanticide are the exception rather than the rule. So for the purist, they simply ignore the bad and revere the good. Much like the rest of us, I imagine.

Coming from a country where race seems to become less important by the generation, why are Chinese in Hong Kong and elsewhere clinging to their racial purity ideal?

Actually, what I had to do was to consider that their view of the world may be right. Not all things Chinese are bad, far from it. There is nothing wrong if the Chinese in Hong Kong or elsewhere want to maintain their culture and racial identity, it is who they are and who they will always be.

America's melting pot was and is an ideal that has never been achieved anyway. Many people are still congregating among their own ethnic groups, although this has changed somewhat. Meanwhile in Hong Kong the non-Chinese population has reached hundreds of thousands, and thankfully there are not too many racial incidents. It turns out the Chinese in Hong Kong are not so intolerant after all.

My first years in Asia were almost exclusively in contact with Chinese people. I identified with Chinese people because they were the easiest to relate to as they wear their personality on their sleeves. What I mean is, 'what you see is what you get'. Many of my non-Chinese friends didn't see it that way and in fact viewed they viewed the Chinese as a one dimensional race. Is that true? Look no further than Southeast Asia.

The Chinese have been all over Asia for many centuries. Their ancestors mainly left China out of desperation, and most thought they would return home to the 'motherland' one day. Yet, they left and settled, and their offspring were fortunate enough to not have to survive through the excesses of a feudal Chinese society. Then later they avoided the chaos of the Cultural Revolution and much of the internal strife.

Due to their distance from China and ignorance, the overseas Chinese can continue to view China with 'rose colored glasses' and see only the good. For the alternative would be to live in China among the reality of being just one of more than a billion Chinese on the mainland. Ouch! It is better to be a 'special' Chinese in Bangkok or Penang.

In Taiwan where the National Museum retains many of China's greatest treasures, there is no question that it is a traditional Chinese society. They, like Hong Kong, continue to use the complex traditional characters in their written language. They retain and celebrate festivals and cultural traditions that are no longer as common in China. In essence, they are like an island of Rip Van Winkles, who remain in a slumber, living in the China of the past without concern about new developments in their motherland.

So with Chinese all over the place, just what is it about being Chinese? Who qualifies as a true Chinese? If retaining Chinese tradition is the criteria, then it seems to me that the true Chinese are really no longer in China. The flag bearers are more likely to be found in Malacca or San Francisco as they conform to the ideals of being Chinese with more passion and reverence than those in China do.

The China of today is in some ways too fast to be Chinese and too superficial to care for the past.

Chinese is in your DNA

Date of Birth for "Peking Man" Gets Pushed Back 200,000 Years

A clever and painstaking new analysis has revealed that the famous Homo Erectus fossil known as Peking Man is 200,000 years older than previously thought. The fossil, discovered almost a century ago during excavations of the Zhoukoudian caves near Beijing, is now thought to be about 530,000 years old. The revised date could change the timeline and number of migrations of the Homo Erectus species out of Africa and into Asia [LiveScience].

Homo Erectus were the first hominids to leave the evolutionary cradle of Africa. The species had a distinctive barrel-shaped torso and stood [57 to 70 inches] tall, walking upright in a similar way to modern humans [Nature News]. Researchers had previously suggested that one wave of Homo Erectus wayfarers migrated out of Africa between 2 million and 1.6 million years ago, settling Indonesia and southern Asia first before moving northward.

But new fossil discoveries, coupled with the new dating of Peking Man, are forcing paleo-anthropologists to rethink this scenario.

There is the scientific method and then there is reality. The Chinese don't like to think they have any racial characteristics shared with others, particularly those from Europe, and definitely not those from Africa. They are a breed apart, a totally pure race. This passage would seem to confirm they became different 500,000 years ago, a long time, and I guess long enough for them to believe they have little in common with others on the planet.

Look at this passage from an eminent Dr. Tse from the University of Hong Kong. He obviously clings to the uniqueness of Chinese people.

Definition of a Totally Chinese person (May 1998)

' _Onion concept of culture: The core being our value systems, right and wrong, etc.., the outermost layer are the things and practices that are acquired. For example, if we look at the Chinese in Hong Kong, on the outside they are very western. However, when you look deeper and cut into the core, you find that inside is a totally Chinese person"._

Pure Chinese, what a concept! It almost seems to suggest that Chinese people are born with Chinese instincts and a basic value system in their DNA. Yet, through exposure they can acquire or be corrupted by non-Chinese practices. Being western only affects the outer layer, with no impact on his 'Chineseness'. This is great stuff. Everything that is good about the Chinese is the pure, natural element, and the 'bad' well, that is the non-Chinese stuff or influence, kinda of like the fly in the soup.

It can explain so much. Chinese at the core are 'pure'. They have all the elements in place to enable them to 'be Chinese' which is in fact an elevated state of being, an almost mystical racial consciousness. If utilized properly it can enable someone to reach a cultural nirvana, that of being 100% Chinese.

In reality, being 100% Chinese is not succeeding. Otherwise, we might see the return of the foot binding of women, or the sale of human slaves. The fact is Professor Tse must reluctantly acknowledge that there is no longer a 100% pure Chinese person – anywhere. Not only has the west taken care of that, but the Chinese themselves did so in the form of Mao's cultural revolution.

But in this case, the professor conflates western with modern. The average Chinese adult in Hong Kong is not so western at all, except to say he dresses and lives in a modern way, but only in the physical or economic realms. He is still Chinese and would have difficulties to integrate into western societies. He could try, but he would generally not be comfortable unless he went to Toronto or San Francisco, and could spend most of his time with other Chinese (Cantonese).

In effect you can become westernized without jeopardizing the 'pure' Chinese core. The best of both worlds. You may speak English, wear a coat and tie, conduct and business with written contracts but these elements are part of a veneer and do not impact your Chinese core.

What about China itself, just how pure is China now? Over the last few centuries China, reluctantly, has imported much from the west, and thus society has been changed dramatically. Take music for example. If you have ever heard a Chinese opera, you will understand why Chinese classical music has not taken over the world. It is something that takes a bit of getting used to.

Thus in China the Chinese national anthem is played with European instruments, in the western style. The military wakes up to a bugle call, and more Chinese children are learning western classical music than Chinese classical music by a large margin. The average Chinese businessman wears a suit and tie and shakes hands with other Chinese during introductions. As a foreigner, their behavior would be strangely familiar, because it is inspired by the British example.

Yet, in the 19th century, for Chinese to just acknowledge the relevancy of the west and it's systems was a big step, and only changed when forced at gunpoint by the British in the first Opium War.

At that time as far as many were concerned, China had reached a level of cultural perfection that could be retained only by inflexible institutions and unchanging culture. Sure, China was going nowhere fast, but there was no need to change. The problem is that most of what was inherently wrong with Chinese society is that it did not accommodate change well. Rather than bend it breaks. Rather than welcome change, it repels it.

However, in the modern world it appears that cultural mongrels are in the ascendancy. Even the English speaking British owe much of their culture to others. How boring would life be in Britain without a cup of tea, curry and chutney, or listening to a bit of Beethoven. Much of the English language is borrowed from others and the basis for the industrial revolution includes scientific knowledge whose foundations were based on previous Arab, Persian, Indian and Chinese discoveries.

China is not so different as they have now borrowed from others to develop into a modern society. The reality is that this is just a common theme on a more recent stage.

# Becoming Chinese

When coming to Hong Kong at 22 years old I soon had a goal - I wanted to be Chinese (sort of) it just seemed the right thing to do, after all, everyone was Chinese.

But after a few years I found out that I really could not become Chinese nor ever perceived as such then the whole idea soon fell by the wayside. This is not necessarily a bad thing as my goal was never achievable anyway and I was never very good at being Chinese anyway.

Fortunately, I don't have any conflicts with the modern world, as I grew up in it as a white male in America. Not a bad start.

I don't feel threatened by 'western' systems or culture, because I am a willing product of it. Whatever that is unique to my Irish/Scottish being has been superseded by the instant gratification culture of America. In essence I have been dumbed-down, de-cultured, and distributed among the masses. Not a very happy thought.

My wife is Chinese. No doubt about it – 100% pure. All her life my wife was told by her parents to answer that yes, she was from Vietnam, but... Chinese. This is akin to saying that "Yes, "I was born in Poland, but Jewish.."

Years ago we returned to the village where my wife's paternal grandfather was born. It was in China, so, there you have it, my wife is Chinese.

But is it really all that simple? Do you get to be Chinese only by DNA? Is there a stereotypical Chinese template to follow?

My wife is a bit more complicated. Sure her DNA may be authentic, but her mindset is a mix. Her first two languages were spoken Vietnamese and Cantonese. While growing up in Vietnam, her grandmother admonished her for speaking Vietnamese at home, in essence performing the role of 'purity police'. It may make you understand why the Vietnamese were not too fond of the Chinese at the time, or even now.

At eight years old she left Vietnam with her family to France. Then after one year in school she moved to America. So by the time she was ten she had been exposed to four languages and three continents.

But all through this, even to the time I met her in Hong Kong 15 years later my wife would still be seen to be Chinese. That is, until she came across the bureaucracies in Hong Kong and Vietnam.

In Hong Kong they have a two-tier system when it comes to permanent residents. The distinguishing factor is a (sam lap sing) '***' three stars marked on the ID card. What this means is according to the Hong Kong and Chinese government you are in fact a Chinese national.

The three stars don't apply to foreigners (non-Chinese) like me, even if we have full right of abode in Hong Kong and vote as I do. Of course, I will never be Chinese, and the governments of China and Hong Kong have made certain of that. So there are two types of permanent residents, those ethnic Chinese, and all the rest of us.

Yet my wife was denied three star status. Even though her birth certificate stated in Chinese characters that she was born of Chinese parents. She was certainly of Chinese race, but not of Chinese nationality, so her application was rejected.

So we tried Vietnam to save on visa costs. The Vietnamese Embassy states that all overseas Vietnamese can apply. The problem is that their information pamphlet makes it clear, 'overseas Vietnamese' are in fact ethnic Vietnamese (not Chinese), so unless my wife had a Vietnamese passport or id card before 1975, she is not considered Vietnamese.

So she is too Chinese for Vietnam, and not Chinese enough for China. Such are the complexities for ethnic Chinese in Asia.

# The Overseas Chinese

Hoi An (Vietnam) is a lovely old town about 25 km from Danang. This was once a thriving port and commercial center and in the 17th-century traders from all over Asia and even Europe made this a major port of call. The town hasn't changed much in the last few hundred years with the same old architecture, including a mix of Chinese, Islamic (from Malaysia) and western influences.

These days, most of the Chinese inhabitants who founded and built this town are dead and gone. It is said that there are only 1300 Chinese residents in the city now, but the numbers may just reflect on those that still have the courage to speak Chinese after the years of ethnic cleansing in Vietnam.

Hoi An is not alone as thousands of towns in Asia were founded and developed by the Chinese including such well known cities as Singapore, Jakarta, Manila, and Bangkok. In fact, almost all the big urban centers of Southeast Asia were populated primarily by Chinese who had escaped the horrors of China during the 19th and 20th centuries. The Chinese in Manila even arrived prior to the Spanish in the 15th century and were established in an Indonesian Hindu empire.

The first of these major Chinese migrations occurred during the Ming Dynasty (14th to 16th centuries). At this time many Chinese were living in the great trading port of Malacca, now part of Malaysia. They had their own district Bukit Cina (Chinatown) in the city and were quite well integrated into society. Other Chinese migrated to various locations throughout South East Asia, including Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

The next wave was encouraged during the establishment of the European colonial powers. After they exhausted the labor resources of indigenous populations, they found the Chinese (and Indians) to be well suited for the back-breaking work in plantations. Thus in the 19th century, many Chinese found themselves in North America and the Caribbean, as well as Australia, South Africa, and even Africa.

Sadly, the emigration from China didn't always have a happy ending. In the case of the aftermath of the Vietnam war, most of the original 'boat people' were ethnic Chinese who were essentially expelled from the country. They were an easy target and after years of suppressing their hostility the local Vietnamese made it clear who was welcome after the communists came to power. This was an opportunity to get rid of the Chinese, and it was either leave or be subjected to some ethnic cleansing.

My wife's family was among those who left. They had been a prosperous family originally from French Colonial North Vietnam, and then in the mid-seventies they were compelled to leave when the communists came to power. When my wife was born, the Tet Offensive had already changed the political landscape of South Vietnam. It appeared that the writing was on the wall – again. For her father, this was the second time he had been forced to leave, first in 1953, after the French abandoned the North, and later in 1976 following the American withdrawal.

My wife is a descendant of a long history of Chinese leaving China. Her grandfather had left Fujian (Fukien) province just after World War I to try his luck in Vietnam. He, like many others left despite the fact that for hundreds of years the Chinese, like the Japanese and Koreans, were breaking the law by leaving their country. These nations were concerned with foreign influence and also wanted to ensure that the fabric of society remained unchanged.

It is said that modern Asia (ex-Japan and Korea) was built with the capital and technology of the Europeans and on the backs of the Chinese. If you travel to Jakarta, Medan, Palembang, Manila, or Penang – you can see that the Chinese have made their presence felt with temples, cemeteries, and local architecture all attesting to their numbers. All this time they have never been really secure, and only in places like Thailand where they have assumed local names and no longer speak Chinese does their assimilation seem assured.

Six killed in Indonesia rioting

9 May 1998

A new wave of demonstrations and riots have erupted in several major cities across Indonesia in the last few days. They have been sparked by the slashing of government subsidies on food, fuel, electricity as part of the IMF bailout package agreement.

On Monday, May 4 three days of rioting started in Medan, the capital of North Sumatra. Medan is a trading center of the rubber and palm oil industries. Thousands of students and residents were angered by the price increases of fuel, transport, and electricity. The price of gasoline has gone up by 70 percent. Kerosene, which is used mainly for cooking, rose by 25 percent. The price of electricity is set to rise by up to 20 percent.

A local newspaper in Medan stated that six people died in the incident. Some 80 people were reported injured by the gunfire from the troops and police. Four hundred people have been arrested since Tuesday. Similar riots by the residents also broke out in other nearby towns of Tanjung Merawa, Siantar and Binjai.

The Suharto dictatorship and various local and national Muslim leaders have encouraged anti-Chinese racism in order to use the ethnic Chinese as scapegoats for the economic crisis. The anti-Chinese rioting, which has forced many ethnic Chinese to flee their homes, also provides a pretext for intensified repression by the military regime.

The ethnic Chinese minority, who make up about 30 percent of Medan's population of 2 million people, has again become the chief target in the turmoil. The rioters were throwing stones, looting and burning Chinese-owned stores. Ethnic Chinese comprise only five percent of the country's total population of 200 million, but they are concentrated in major cities like Medan, Jakarta, and Surabaya.

By the time I got to Medan three years later (2001) the city had yet to recover. The majority of shops in the city center remained closed or abandoned. Some noodle shops and a few restaurants were open, but they all had plastic furniture – nothing was permanent. The city had an air of decline, with little traffic and commerce. It is as if the Chinese population was ready to flee at any moment.

Yet, they persevere, and most do so in a way that helps their situation, while others behave in a manner that worsens their predicament. Many of the Chinese continue to flaunt their wealth, wearing garish gold chains or bracelets. My wife could only comment "typical Chinese – won't they ever learn" as she saw a new Mercedes Benz with tinted windows drive by. The Chinese owner might as well have had a sign painted on the back that advertised "I'm so rich, you should just shoot me"!

We were staying in the Novotel Hotel in the center of town and it seemed to be a haven for the remaining wealthy Chinese to eat, exercise and swim. I talked to one man swimming with his child and we conversed in a mix of Cantonese and English. Seems he was the last one still in town as the rest of his family had left. His business was as some type of contractor to palm oil plantations, which is one of the main crops in Sumatra. He said he would stay as long as he continued to make money, so that later he would have enough to buy his way into Australia or Singapore, and pursue a better life for his kids.

He was very matter of fact. Those are the cards that life dealt him, and he was dealing with it. He wasn't asking for pity or help, as Chinese had suffered here and survived in the past, and he would make the same journey himself. Medan is a city that just 30 years ago was comparable to Kuala Lumpur, but now it is just a shadow of its former self. Jakarta's policy of sending Javanese migrants to overwhelm areas with minority populations is much like China's policy with Tibet or XinJiang.

Wherever they settle in Asia, the Chinese are likely to get to the top of society and thus easy targets. It seems that they are at every street corner, in every factory, and every shop. Over 30 million ethnic Chinese live in Southeast Asia with significant minority Chinese populations in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

Regardless of this long history, the Chinese are tolerated in most places, accepted in others, and yet despised by some. Even in Thailand where most Chinese are integrated into Thai society, the road has been an arduous one. Due to fears of Chinese domination, the government restricted the use of the Chinese language and forced the mandatory adoption of a Thai name. There were anti-Chinese race riots as Chinese women were generally unavailable to Thai men, while Chinese men would take multiple wives, Thai included.

Pretty much everywhere else has the same story, only worse. The Chinese arrive, operate as a clan, and then start to dominate the local economy. Persecution against the Chinese in the aftermath of the Vietnam war led to most Chinese leaving Vietnam.

My wife's family were victims of this, and became part of the huge exodus of Chinese – then referred to as 'boat people' who left Vietnam in the latter half of the 70's. For my father-in-law, it was the second act in a long running play, as he was first forced out of Hanoi in the 50's, leaving a thriving business behind. As was the case for most, they left without any money or possessions. It is a tribute to the nature of the Chinese family that they were able to make a life for themselves in America.

Just what is it about the Chinese that garners such resentment? Why are they singled out when there are other ethnic groups such as Indian/Tamils, or white former colonialists who have also prospered as well? It may be due to the fact that the Chinese are in SE Asia in big numbers, and quite visible in any town. They cannot be ignored and are a convenient target.

Secondly, it has to do with their identity and their own self perceived uniqueness. Chinese are a race among themselves, without any common brethren. But unlike the Japanese who generally stayed at home, or the Jews of Europe who generally assimilated, the Chinese remained a race apart. They are not alone in this as ethnic East Indians have also struggled in Fiji and Trinidad, as well as parts of Asia.

The Chinese were particularly commercially astute during the time of colonial conquest, as they became the local enablers for their colonial masters. This led to mass migration from the China mainland to many countries in SE Asia, and in time, ethnic Chinese came to dominate industries throughout the region. They also tended to congregate in the new urban areas, while the natives remained in the countryside. This success has bred resentment.

In Vietnam the communists were ideologically disposed to be against the commercial classes and capitalism, and the Chinese were identified with both.

Luckily, life for most Chinese in Asia for the moment is relatively safe. But, if the world economy slows or unemployment rises, there may again be riots on the streets of Jakarta or Kuala Lumpur, and it will be the Chinese that will suffer again.

Chopsticks Society

I call these Chinese outposts the 'chopstick society'. When I travel the region on business, I seek out those who know how to use chopsticks. I like to find them, as for me, the Chinese wear their personalities on their sleeves and are easy to see, easy to read and also much easier to do business with.

But times are changing as multinational and multi-ethnic corporations are taking over where the Chinese left off. This means that a modern company in many locations in SE Asia will not be guaranteed to have a majority of staff being ethnic Chinese, and thus it must be managed in a 'non Chinese' manner.

Also, as the rural masses move to cities and the Chinese migrate to other countries, many cities are becoming more 'local', and losing their Chinese character. The Chinese signs are replaced by Thai or Bahasa, and businesses start to localize.

Yet, many of these Chinese shopkeepers lack marketable skills, and can't speak English. Many have never married, and have spent their whole life at the shop. These people are not the fat cats driving an expensive car or having multiple wives.

This means that emigration is not an option. So they remain in the cities and towns they were born in, in a society where they are the minority, and sometimes oppressed.

Meanwhile, their affluent children have neither the work ethic or affinity for Chinese language and culture and thus these businesses tend to close when the owner dies. So in most countries in SE Asia the chopstick societies are dying.

# The Chinese in America

The Overseas Chinese have succeeded in pretty much any environment that they have been in, despite extreme prejudices against them - including in America.

During the time of the gold rush in California in 1849 and for the next 30 years, Chinese men arrived in California in great numbers from an impoverished China. They were known as hard workers as their contribution to the transcontinental railroad can attest.

In some commercial pursuits such as mining, farming, and fishing they flourished and in many cases were more proficient than the majority European population. Their ability to make do under any circumstance made them the target of extremely racist laws, including in California where they were not allowed to own land or vote for years, while even ex-slaves had more rights.

In San Francisco, laws were written to specifically target the Chinese and their businesses. This included the Cubic Air Law of 1870, which mandated that every lodging in the city have at least 500 cubic feet of air per occupant, punishable by a $10 to $500 fine or five days to three months in jail. This law could be interpreted as a way to enforce health standards, but was simply a way to harass and intimidate Chinese whenever needed.

Other laws were subsequently passed that ensured that the Chinese could not vote, or even testify in court. The most egregious was the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1881 that conferred on the Chinese second class citizenship for generations. One of its sponsors was the racist California Senator John Miller. He stated quite clearly that "why not discriminate, why aid in the increase over our dominion by a degraded and inferior race?. The bill was passed in 1882, despite a previous veto by President Arthur, but the intent was clear, it would keep Chinese out of America for at least 20 years.

Even as late as the middle of the 20th century the Chinese in California were discriminated against. It was not until the 1960's that the laws were changed to allow Chinese immigrants into the country again and to finally enjoy the same equal treatment under the law that was afforded to other immigrants.

Today when we think of ethnic Chinese in the west we most likely view them as being ambitious, intelligent, and resourceful. And, as evident in Ivy League universities, they are over-achievers in education. Thus, they continue to be a 'model minority' without full political rights, and maintain a low profile in the media.

We Americans seem to think that Silicon Valley is a truly American success, and it is. But we may not know that approximately 1/3rd of the brains are Asian (Indian, Chinese, others), with a large number of firms founded by ethnic Chinese. I have heard speeches in Hong Kong by the former head of Motorola Asia where he attributed Silicon Valley's success to Chinese technical talent, which, I must say is a bit over the top. But then he is ethnic Chinese himself and follows the tradition of antagonizing other races.

If we look at many of the inventions that we take for granted now in modern hi-tech America you'd be surprised to find out the contribution of foreigners, including Asians is helping to maintain our prosperity and technical supremacy.

Another way to predict who will affect the industries of the future is to see where there is a concentration of brainpower and skills. Silicon Valley still has an edge, but their lead is no longer assured as more Indians stay in Bangalore and more Chinese remain in Shenzhen.

Meanwhile, in America the Chinese or Asians in general still have an uphill road to follow. When US basketball star Shaquile O'Neil said "Tell Yao Ming, 'Ching-chong-yang-wah-ah-soh.' ", O'Neil was almost shocked that he would be required to apologize. O'Neil, like many others, have yet to see Asians as truly being Americans.

# Hong Kong Stories

Sai Wan Ho Stabbing

There are times in Hong Kong when as a foreigner you feel you have a bit too high a profile, while at other times when you are almost invisible, and nobody takes any notice of you. However, there are also neighborhoods where gweilos (foreigners) don't normally go, which can lead to misunderstandings.

I was walking in a small shopping center in Sai Wan Ho, when a woman had just exited a small shop nearby. Unknown to me, she was carrying three newly bought knives and the blades were not pointed totally towards the floor. As the woman rounded the corner she did not see me and one of the knives tore through my pants and subsequently stabbed me. The blood started to flow. Although not seriously hurt, I thought some sort of apology might be forthcoming.

The woman, now too shocked to know what to do, took the most instinctual course of action for a Cantonese; she took the offensive.

Her shouted words could be translated as "Fuck, what the hell are YOU doing here?," followed by, "you should have seen me". Essentially she was blaming me for just being there. The fact that I was a foreigner made things a bit worse, as at that moment she did not know if I understood her. But as soon as I started to speak Cantonese she was at a loss for words. Of course, with a damaged pair of pants and a bloody leg, I was not too happy. But lacking the language skills to argue effectively, I was resigned to meekly protesting. Her only response was to leave as quickly as she could, making certain she didn't drop her knives.

Regardless, if I had spoken up more or not was really immaterial. The same instinctual behavior would have occurred. An apology is almost never available. As a stranger, I was deserving of little consideration and she also had no easy way to sort the problem out.

Obviously, I was wronged by her action, and although it was an accident, she was carrying her knives recklessly. Although my wounds were not serious, and my pants not expensive, this woman probably believed that as I was a foreigner it might be too costly for her to remedy the situation.

To confront the issue and talk to me in Chinese about compensation, or to apologize did not seem to be a feasible course of action. She just wanted to pretend it never happened and go away. So, this woman saved face, and I had lost a good pair of pants. Not a fair trade as far as I was concerned.

The Wedding of Au Loi

I had a friend from the New Territories of Hong Kong who was a mini-bus driver. Au Loi specialized in the Sheung Shui to Yuen Long route. To make ends meet he would work every day for twelve hour days, with only one day off. Au Loi had five kids, the oldest about 21 and the youngest about 10 years old. For many years he had been widowed and had been struggling to raise his family.

Au Loi's family were truly Hong Kong natives. They could trace their routes here prior to 1898 when the New Territories were leased to the British. That meant that Au Loi had the rights of inheritance and once his father passed away he had the option to redevelop the land into a larger three story 'village house'. The village house could be divided into three flats, each to be sold or rented. So although he was struggling now, as the New Territories developed his families' land would be worth quite a fortune in the years ahead.

I had met Au Loi's family on a number of occasions and had visited their house for barbecues. His family was very easy going and welcoming. Typical of many families, there were four generations under one roof, including Au Loi's grandmother, mother and father, and his own children. Soon there would be a new celebration, the marriage of Au Loi to his new wife - Amy.

Amy was about 15 years younger than Au Loi and had never married. Her family was also living in the New Territories, but her parents were recent immigrants from Shantou, a city about 300 km up the coast from Hong Kong. Amy had been given her English first name on her first day in school in Hong Kong, and like so many she continued to use it to adulthood.

Amy's parents were intent on a traditional Shantou wedding, which is not always possible. For how do you perform certain ceremonies in urban Hong Kong that were designed for a traditional rural village setting? Combine this with newly adopted western customs, like a white wedding dress, tuxedos for the men, even the throwing of a corsage and you end up with a pretty complicated ritual.

Fortunately, Amy's parents were willing to overlook some of the traditions. For instance, there was no need to carry her in a sedan chair from her village to the groom's house; a Mercedes Benz would do. Secondly, it was not necessary to provide five live pigs as a dowry, money or gold would do.

As ushers, five of us were designated as drivers. We drove over to Amy's parent's house and I got out of the car. Within seconds my Hong Kong companions had sad faces as something had happened - to do with me. I was asked to return to the car and wait.

I waited in the car a moment. All the men went inside and soon Rocky (who spoke excellent English) came out. He explained to me that I was not wanted in or near the bride's parent's house, as this may bring bad luck to the wedding. It was still being determined if I could attend any of the wedding ceremonies at all. Rocky scratched his head as no one had anticipated this. I stayed in the car for the entire wedding, but I was later able to go to the dinner.

Gun Jai's Funeral

After weddings, sometimes the rites and rituals of funerals can be even more demanding.

I have been to quite a few Chinese funerals and usually I am the only foreigner in attendance. Fortunately, as a gweilo, I am not expected to fathom the customs or to really fit it. So as long as I keep a low profile and maintain a sense of solemnity, the Gods usually tolerate my presence.

My friend Gun Jai was a good bloke. If 'typical Chinese' in Hong Kong meant a man of honor and integrity, then he was typical in the best sort of way. Gun Jai died when only 45 years old. From Yuen Long in the New Territories, he spoke little English, had minimal education and was known as someone with a big heart.

Although he operated his own business, an air conditioning maintenance and repair shop, his friends and advisers thought that he had no sense of the commercial realities of business. He was just a bit too generous. He did a good job and charged a minimal amount, and for this he was rewarded with loyal clientèle, and a small pocketbook.

His wife tended the retail shop and they lived a modest life in their living quarters above the shop. Their two children always seemed to have a smile on their face.

Gun Jai was well liked. I met him through my monthly visits to Yuen Long for dinner and the 'Joe Wui', a sort of private banking institution among friends. Mostly social, it combined a bit of money that was contributed by each member into a shared pot. There was always money for the dozen of us that participated, as we could borrow from the pot once a year. Gun Jai never needed the money, but on occasion I did.

Some years later Gun Jai died from some sort of internal complication in his digestive system. It really wasn't too unexpected as he had been in the hospital quite frequently the year before his death. But one never feels that someone so young should have to die.

His funeral, like the majority in Hong Kong was performed in a funeral parlor. In this case, the one in Hung Hom district in Kowloon. These multi-story buildings look like high rise factories for the dead. Concrete inside and out and with minimal decoration, they are not too welcoming, and as far as I am concerned they have about as much warmth as a slaughterhouse.

When I arrived downstairs at the funeral parlor it was difficult to find the right room. As there are at least five floors in the building, and maybe six rooms per floor, for someone who reads minimal Chinese (like me) just finding the right funeral can be tough. The surname is Cheung, but there were two, or maybe more with that surname.

I took the first 'Cheung' and headed to the third floor. As I poked my head into a funeral in progress, there was a large group of solemn Chinese people sitting on folding chairs. Their funeral had been a pretty mundane affair, until now. Hai ya! What the hell is this foreigner doing here? From their demeanor and suspicious stares, it was apparent they were not my friends, and also I didn't have the nerve to ask them where the correct dead Mr.. Cheung was.

Over the years I had become somewhat impervious to sideways glances, or dirty looks. It was as if I was Sidney Portier in "Guess Who's coming to Dinner" and I was coming to dinner every night. Eventually, I got used to it. We all played our part, as the Chinese acted shocked at my presence, and I acted, well, just indifferent.

Fortunately, on my visit to the fourth floor I hit the jackpot, and here they actually welcomed me. In the back of the room Gun Jai was lying prone in an open casket. Prominently portrayed were flowers and a large photo of Gun Jai on the back wall.

Upon arriving you are required to bow three times and then enter. There is a receiving line of the mourners, headed by the wife and kids. I didn't know what to say, as my Cantonese then was too direct to say something soothing, and my vocabulary too minimal to express the proper condolences. Only sorry could come to my mind. I was not in the mood to view the body, so I took my place among others in folding seats, not unlike a school assembly.

I had arrived at about 9 pm and was told that the proceedings would go on all night. The mourners were in white - the color for funerals, wearing something like a lightweight judo coat, with a burlap vest. To me, they looked like they were rehearsing for a Ku Klux Klan lynching. The attendees were in informal dress.

A monk arrived and took his place among the mourners. As most Hong Kongers worship a combination of their own ancestors and various Confucian gods, the proceedings can be somewhat confusing. Yet, the goal is to make sure that the deceased will live well in the afterlife. As Gun Jai had never been on an airplane, there was a large paper airplane being burned for him, sent to heaven for his use. Other items burned included furniture, a car, and a house.

The monk who headed the proceedings then drew a circle of chalk around the assembled gifts. As the fire burned - thank god these rooms are well ventilated - chants from other monks drowned out the sorrow. I asked my friend what was going on and he seemed no more informed than I was and just shrugged.

After an hour or so of this we were off to dinner. Upon our return, Gun Jai's widow was in a state of despair. It appears that something went wrong with the burning of paper gifts and money. Although she had burnt the correct amount of money at the correct time, and burnt the airplane, car, house, and furniture all according to practice, she was told by the monk that her husband did not receive all the money that was sent to him. It seems there was some mid-flight spiritual theft.

Theft in heaven? That was a new concept for me. Why would the monk even suggest this? He was getting paid pretty well, and how the hell did he know that Gun Jai didn't get the money anyway? Was this simply another callous money making scheme?

Well, it seems that when the monk drew a circle with chalk around the burning effigies, the circle was not complete, which meant that bad ghosts or spirits were able to enter the circle. One of the bad spirits happened to be the guy who was dead in the room next door. His funeral was attended by only a few people, and no one was burning any effigies of houses, and even worse, he was not being sent any money.

So this guy, I mean dead guy right next door, had the gall to steal Gun Jai's money on its way up to heaven. Gun Jai's wife was having trouble digesting this and was already in a state of shock.

But what to do now? Burn more money was my guess, and fortunately, there are shops that stay open for just such an emergency. So we spent real money to buy fake money. The expression 'money to burn' must be Chinese in origin.

It is hard to speculate on what happened to the dead thief next door. If he really did steal Gun Jai's money on the way to heaven, what then? Does that mean he was actually going to be spending his money in hell? My guess is that hell is more expensive and he will probably get robbed on the first day.

But then I thought what about me when I die? When I am lying down in my coffin what if no one burns anything for me? Does that mean I'll spend eternity without money, in a place where only the Chinese have money and cars? Actually that sounds pretty familiar, kinda like Hong Kong.

After another hour or so I paid my last respects to Gun Jai and headed out with two friends for a drink. Fortunately, in Hong Kong there is always a place to drink nearby. So when I die, I want people to know to not just burn not just money but also paper beer cans as well!

# Chinese History

The Silk Trade

The year is 220 A.D., and the Emperor of Rome enters the Roman Senate. His name is Elagabalus. He is known to pamper himself, and flaunt his natural good looks by wearing excessive make-up. On this day, as is customary, he is wearing only the finest garment of Chinese silk as he walks to his place near the lectern.

The first evidence of the silk trade was in the hair of an Egyptian mummy of the 21st dynasty, c.1070 BC, which means that trade between Egypt and China has gone on for over 3,000 years.

Silk was highly sought after in Rome in part due to its mysterious origins, but even more so because of its exceptional quality. It was the first massively traded commodity to travel from China to the west – and thus the term "The Silk Road".

At the time of the Roman Empire, China was a contemporary to the Persians, Greeks, Indians, Romans, Ottomans, and others. China also had the world's largest economy at the time, and some speculate remained so for over 1500 years - from the time of Christ to the time of Columbus.

The fascination with silk persisted in the west, but it was only in the 13th century that Europeans were able to produce this remarkable fabric on their own. In later centuries the Europeans were able to clone most Chinese inventions, including porcelain (china) and gunpowder. So it could be argued that the modern world was founded partly resting on the roots of China's technology, which was then used later to subdue a weak China during colonial times.

Francis Bacon (1561-1626) said that the three most important inventions to enable the scientific revolution in the west were printing, the compass, and gunpowder. Bacon had no idea where these things had come from, but historians now know that all three were invented in China.

China didn't invent everything of course, but surely it would be difficult to name another country with a bigger contribution to the world's technology prior to the industrial revolution. Joseph Needham (a British scholar and Sinophobe) wrote a series of books called Science and Civilization in China, which outlines the thousands of technical and industrial achievements of China prior to the industrial revolution.

China has always been one of the greatest nations of the world, and it wasn't just for its manufactured products. China even had what could be described as a mini industrial revolution hundreds of years before Europe, with such inventions as stainless steel, mechanical clocks, windmills, and the use of natural gas transported through bamboo pipelines. They had mine shafts that went down thousands of feet, and huge factories making porcelain and other consumer goods.

Chinese cultural and economic influence go way back and can be seen in most cultures of East Asia. Japan and Korea adopted Chinese writing over one thousand years ago. Vietnam was a vassal state of China for over 900 years, and it was only in the 18th century that they were able to break free of China's control. Javanese culture, architecture, and music still have a distinct Chinese influence.

China's Magellan

According to Ibn Battuta, during a visit to India in 1347

... _We stopped in the port of Calicut (India), in which there were at the time thirteen Chinese vessels, and disembarked. China Sea traveling is done in Chinese ships only, so we shall describe their arrangements. The Chinese vessels are of three kinds; large ships called chunks (junks), middle-sized ones called zaws (dhows) and the small ones kakams._

The large ships have anything from twelve down to three sails, which are made of bamboo rods plaited into mats. They are never lowered, but turned according to the direction of the wind; at anchor they are left floating in the wind. Three smaller ones, the "half", the "third" and the "quarter", accompany each large vessel. These vessels are built in the towns of Zaytun and Sin-Kalan. The vessel has four decks and contains rooms, cabins, and saloons for merchants; a cabin has chambers and a lavatory and can be locked by its occupants.

Ibn Battuta was the 'Marco Polo' of the Islamic world. He traveled farther and more extensively than even the Polo brothers and spent time in China as well. His description of the Chinese fleets was corroborated by others in the Middle-East and Africa. Even today Chinese style fishing nets remain in India as a testament to their visits.

Prior to the great explorations of the Portuguese, in the early 15th century the Chinese were the greatest explorers of the world. With huge ships under the guidance of Admiral Zheng He China explored the world. Zheng He was one of the greatest seafarers of all time, and he could rightly be characterized as the 'Chinese Magellan'.

From about 1405 to 1434 there were seven major expeditions of the Zheng He fleets. The first three were in Asia including India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, and Indonesia. The fourth and fifth voyages went all the way to the Middle East and East Africa, with stops in Kenya, Yemen and Oman. At the time in contemporary China there were paintings depicting elephants, Lions, and giraffes. Two giraffes were even brought back from Africa as gifts for the Emperor.

What made Zheng He's exhibitions so remarkable were the size of his ships and fleets. His first fleet was said to have 30,000 sailors on more than 200 ships. The largest of these ships are now estimated to be 200-300 feet long, and with six masts. Other 'Treasure Ships' were even larger but may have not made long sea voyages.

In his controversial book, 1421, Gavin Menzies claims that the Chinese went around the world almost one hundred years before Magellan. Menzies even claims that they visited America, both North and South, as well as rounding the Cape of Good Hope and even visiting Greenland. None of his most outlandish claims have been corroborated, but the fact remains that Chinese ships, navigation, and general seafaring technology equaled and in some ways exceeded that of Europe during the time of Columbus.

The records for the last two expeditions have been lost, but some speculate that they entered the straights of Hormuz and made direct contact with Persia. This is quite likely, as for over seven hundred years the Persians had been traveling in their own ships to Indonesia and Vietnam, and had direct contact with China. Some of the Chinese crew visited Mecca, and as Zheng was a Muslim he may have visited there too. Some Chinese remained and left a small contingent in Zanzibar, off the coast of Tanzania. They lived among the Arab traders and African slaves for many years.

Then within 50 years after their fleets had left the Portuguese arrived. Many locals thought it was a return of the Chinese. Yet these new foreigners were there for conquest, and rather than picking up a few animals and virgins, they fired their canon on the Arab trading community. It wasn't long before the locals realized they were dealing with another type of much more aggressive foreigner, and that this time they were here to stay.

So why didn't the Chinese return to Africa? After all they had extended the influence of China over large parts of the Indian Ocean, and set up permanent colonies in Indonesia, and Africa. At the end of his seventh voyage in 1433, the 62-year-old Zheng He died and was said to have been buried at sea. Due to political maneuvers in China, they soon returned to becoming inward looking and xenophobic.

Conservative Confucianist policies had the upper hand and enforced the dictum that Chinese people should remain within the country. It was also felt that the 'barbarian' nations had little to offer China and that China was already as prosperous as it could be. Also there were alternatives to the sea, as the huge Grand Canal was renovated in 1411 and enabled the transport of grain and other commodities through inland routes making ocean transport less viable.

The Grand Canal still exists and runs more than 1,500 km from Hangzhou to Beijing. It was the largest canal in the world for more than 1,200 years. Just for comparison the Erie Canal in the US is only 500 kilometers.

Thus by 1503 the Chinese Navy had shrunk to one-tenth of its former size. The final blow came in 1525 with the order to destroy all the larger classes of ships. China was now set on its centuries-long course of xenophobic isolation.

Historians can only speculate on how different world history might have turned out had the Ming emperors pursued a vigorous colonial policy. Yet China was not pre-disposed to exploit the world as European countries later did, as they did not have such religious fervor and did not attempt to make the world in their image.

Yet all this time China was never truly cut off from the world, and there continued to be trade and contact with other Asian nations. There even was contact between Europeans and Chinese at the time. In 1419 the Venetian nobleman Nicolò de Conti left Italy, lived for a time in Damascus, then traveled through Persia, India, Bangladesh, and Vietnam, returning home in 1444. He dictated an account to the papal secretary where he describes five-masted, triple-planked ships 'of two thousand tons' with watertight compartments. At the time he could have seen Chinese ships in Hormuz, Calicut, India, or Champa (Vietnam). It is thought that he even traveled for a time on a Chinese vessel.

Conversely, the rest of the world has known about China since the time of Egypt's dynasties. As China was so far away most contacts between East and West were through intermediaries, particularly, Central Asians, Indians, Arabs, and Persians. Some Chinese themselves traveled far and wide along the ancient routes to India, Afghanistan, and Bactria - a remote Greek colony.

The Parthians (Persians) straddled the trade routes separating Europe from East Asia. In 97 BC, the Han general Ban Chao formed direct military contacts with the Parthian Empire and establish military bases as far west as the Caspian Sea with his cavalry of 70,000 men. Trade flourished for hundreds of years, and the Parthians relished their role as intermediaries between East and west, with direct contact with the Emperors of China and Rome.

China has also learned from others, particularly India. Such major imports as Buddhism, wheat, and even the wheel, mean that China was not totally apart, and had to deal with the heathens on its borders as well as 'barbarians' from afar.

China's interaction with the rest of the old world was far more developed than is generally acknowledged. When the Chinese monk Fa Xian (or Fa-hsien) embarked on a voyage lasting over 20 years to India, he returned by sea in the year 411 AD by first taking a Persian ship to Indonesia, and then a Chinese vessel back home to Guangzhou.

Fa Xian proceeded to translate the classic Buddhist scriptures which then had a profound influence on Chinese culture and thought. During the 7th century AD and at other times in the last thirteen hundred years, the city of Guangzhou (Canton) was a prosperous and cosmopolitan city, with Persians, Jews, Javanese, Arabs, and Indians living there.

Conversely, many Chinese left the motherland to points across Southeast Asia. The first waves were in the 7-9th century with large communities settling in Vietnam and Indonesia. Later, during the time of European colonialism, Chinese laborers populated and helped develop the new urban centers of Bangkok, Penang, Jakarta, Phuket, Medan, Kuching These and other cities were at one time predominantly Chinese, and many ethnic Chinese remain there to this day.

The Humiliation

Despite such an illustrious history, until recently many Chinese viewed their country as a failure - a society and culture running on empty with no gas station in sight. For the last two hundred years have been a period when China was reduced to being a bit player, rather than the center of the world - as they were always told.

However, by the 17th century the barbarians had arrived on China's shores in mass, and this time they were technologically advanced. Soon China was being bullied and subjugated by the western powers. First the Portuguese, then the Dutch, the French, the British, and now the Americans. Each time China had been confronted with a bigger and stronger foe.

In the 19th century they also had to deal with a modern Japan.

Japan was an outlier for unlike other ancient Asian societies they were able to accommodate and integrate modern European technology into their society, so by the late 19th century they were able to become a colonial power themselves and subdue China themselves.

The Chinese have watched in disbelief as Japan joined the modern world and then became among the richest of nations, while they continued to reside in chaos and squalor. However, those days are gone – China is rich and powerful now – Japan beware.

The West vs. China

It was 1427, and the trade winds that year were favorable to cross the Pacific heading east, yet the Chinese Admiral Zheng He was nervous. Food and water supplies were running low and his fleet of over 20,000 sailors and 35 ships were in a state of anxiety.

He couldn't tell anyone except his most trusted confidants that he truly didn't know how far it was to New Fujian, and whether they could survive this voyage. This trip to the uncharted world was a great risk, and he now found himself in command of a reckless voyage, with the prospect of few returns for the Emperor. Surely, a great Chinese Admiral such as Zheng shouldn't have found himself in this predicament.

Finally, after 7 weeks since leaving China – land! They might be saved after all. Surely this was a place surely crawling with the lowest class of barbarian, but survive they will. Once ashore, Zheng proclaimed the land to be the territory of New Fujian, another outpost discovered for the Emperor. The Chinese had landed on what is now the coast of Oregon – 60 years before Columbus.

The above story is not so far fetched at all, yet, as far as we know it NEVER happened. However, we do know that the Chinese had been great seafarers for over 600 years prior to Columbus. So the fact they didn't discover America is almost an anomaly, as they surely had the technology and ability to do so.

Would the world have been better off if it was conquered by China? What would America be like now if it had been founded by the Chinese? What would the world be like? Without hesitation I feel I can say most likely worse, bu then I am biased.

China has always been a very brutal society, without the need for for self-reflection. Everything worked as it did due to an almost obsession with conformity and an unwillingness to accommodate change. Feudal conditions prevailed such that wealthy families controlled large areas of land and were entrenched for generations. The idea of individual rights or social mobility were unknown in China, and people generally accepted their fate, as that was just the way it was.

China was technically advanced and had a very developed economy, yet the benefits of the society were really only accruing mostly to the wealthy or the most educated.

The famous Imperial Examination system lasted for two thousand years without major changes. One way to look at that is they must have been pretty modern two thousand years ago, or conversely they stagnated using the same system since the time of Christ.

Yet China was not isolated and was itself a colonial power for centuries. Vietnam is an example of what the world might have been like. It was a colony of China on four different occasions. They adopted Chinese characters, law, and architecture. They paid tribute to China and were considered inferior to the motherland and operated as a vassal state.

Sounds familiar? I mean, who wants to be colonized anyway? Nobody. The history of Vietnam has always been quite tragic, even to this day. But China was actually no better or worse than most colonial powers, and if we look back to the time of the Han Dynasty, they behaved themselves in a manner that was in many ways less ruthless than their contemporaries in Rome or even more modern colonial powers.

However, the fact remains that China has never really developed into a modern pluralistic state with democratic institutions and the freedoms we take for granted in the west. China has had enough trouble in the past few centuries just attempting to govern itself and modernize. And, despite the successes of Zheng He, there was really no political ideology from China to be exported, except the idea of loyalty to the Emperor.

So despite its history and technology, China was easy prey for western imperialists and Japan. It is hard to believe in retrospect that such a huge country could be so weak and culturally inert for so many generations, but it did happen. China was basically a failed state for about 300 years, and was never able to cope with an ever changing world.

My opinion is that the enlightened ideas from the Magna Carta to the American revolution would not have been an indigenous creation in China or elsewhere in Asia. Many wonder why this is so. I believe it is due to the fact that Europe had so many competing powers and so much social upheaval that it meant that countries were also competing not just with armies but with ideas. Over the course of hundreds of years this competition led to huge technical and societal progress.

Also Asia has always been a top-down society with very staid social structures and social classes which didn't lend itself well to an evolution of the societal order. Revolution was always the norm as the institutions that could not bend were ultimately broken.

# Barbarians at the Gate

Genetic testing reveals awkward truth about Xinjiang's famous mummies (AFP)

URUMQI, China - 19 April 2005 (AFP) - After years of controversy and political intrigue, archaeologists using genetic testing have proven that Caucasians roamed China's Tarim Basin 1,000 years before East Asian people arrived.

The discoveries in the 1980s of the undisturbed 4,000-year-old "Beauty of Loulan" and the younger 3,000-year-old body of the "Charchan Man" are legendary in world archaeological circles for the fine state of their preservation and for the wealth of knowledge they bring to modern research.

In historic and scientific circles the discoveries along the ancient Silk Road were on a par with finding the Egyptian mummies. The desiccated corpses, which avoided natural decomposition due to the dry atmosphere and alkaline soils in the Tarim Basin, have not only given scientists a look into their physical biology, but their clothes, tools and burial rituals have given historians a glimpse into life in the Bronze Age.

The team led by Victor H. Mair, has played a pivotal role in bringing the discoveries to Western scholars in the 1990s, has worked tirelessly to get Chinese approval to take samples out of China for definitive genetic testing.

One expedition in recent years succeeded in collecting 52 samples with the aide of Chinese researchers, but later Mair's hosts had a change of heart and only let five of them out of the country, due to China's concern over its rule in restive Xinjiang. The research has appeared to have delayed being made public out of concerns of fueling Uighur Muslim separatism.

"My research has shown that in the second millennium BC, the oldest mummies, like the Loulan Beauty, were the earliest settlers in the Tarim Basin. From the evidence available, we have found that during the first 1,000 years after the Loulan Beauty, the only settlers in the Tarim Basin were Caucasoid."

Stop the Presses!! White people in China before the Chinese – really?

Let me call up the Pentagon and inform them that the Chinese have taken 'our' land. 'We' were there first, and now look what has happened - Chinese fast food shops and factories have overrun the place. The audacity of these inscrutable people - 'we' (white people) must do something.

This was a big story in Hong Kong in the mid-eighties when these mummies were first found. Some of the mummies even had on clothing with material resembling Scottish tweed. No, they were not Scottish, as it is now accepted that these people didn't come from Europe but Central Asia. So hey, aren't Turks or Kazakh's Caucasian? Sort of. Wait, I guess that means Scots are from China!

When the story first came out, the title of the South China Morning Post was similar to "Four thousand year old gweilo's found in China". At the time this was an inconvenient truth for the Chinese government, for the region where the mummies were found is in the far western part of the country in an area called Xinjiang literally "New Frontier". This name was given to the region in the last few hundred years as China asserted control over the area. To this day the majority of people are clearly not ethnic Chinese.

The Uyghurs who live there are a mix of European, Persian and Asian blood. Some even have brown hair and blue eyes, while others look clearly Chinese or Eurasian. Most trace their roots to Central Asia, and it is clear that the area has more in common with a central Asian society like Tajikistan or Kyrgyzstan. For some, the area should be called East Turkestan as their language has Turkic roots. Many in Turkey believe that this area is where ethnic Turks have resided for thousands of years.

China's claims to the area are quite complex as during different times in history they have lost control over the region. Yet, when compared to America's claims to Alaska or Hawaii they appear to have a more valid claim.

However, regardless of China's actions, or likely because of them, the Uyghurs have been fighting for autonomy and even independence for decades. Like Tibet, the character of society is much different, and for the casual visitor, it is like being in another country that happens to be under Chinese control.

So just what is China? Is it an ideal, or just a place based on borders? Or is it a place where Chinese people live? Is China the same as Chinese? Is being Chinese the same as being part of China?

China is the big idea. It is a collective vision of the huge mass of humanity who happen to be Chinese. Although in the past China was divided into distinct separate cultural and geographical entities (mostly ethnic Chinese) they are all part of China now.

Currently China is about 90% Han Chinese. The word 'Han' refers to a time over 2,000 years ago when China was unified during the Han Dynasty. When we think of 'Chinese' we are thinking of them. They are the dominant group within the country and occupy the best land in the country, control the Communist Party, and thus the country.

The communists take every opportunity to equate the party with the country, to equate racial identity (being Chinese) with collective endeavors (like the Olympics) and attribute this success to the guidance and leadership of the party.

When things go right it is because of the Communist Party, and when things go wrong, it is due to bad influences like foreigners, or feudal Chinese thought.

But China is not just a place on the map. It has always been occupied by the same people and its people are closely linked to the land. China is for Chinese, just as Italy is for Italians.

Contrast this with America whose largest and most dominant racial group (European) are all immigrants/invaders who arrived in North America only in the last few hundred years. The original inhabitants were either exterminated by disease and war, and they are now marginalized, living in areas away from their former homes. These native people hardly exist in American society and generally live in poverty. Can anyone name a famous contemporary American Indian?

A white American's claim to be American simply means that white people were the victor and native Americans the losers in a fight for land. We frame our history to start around the time of the Declaration of Independence as before that whoever lived in "America" was irrelevant.

In the case of China, the majority Han population has been in the Yellow River basin for tens of thousands of years. Huge areas of the what is now China were also under Han control. The result of that expansion is that over 120 million people in China don't consider themselves Chinese at all. They just happen to be within China's borders.

In years past China included vassal states in what is now North Vietnam and other areas under their control like Manchuria, Xinjiang, Tibet, and Inner Mongolia.

These areas include people who trace their roots to Turkey, Burma, Thailand, or Korea, and people who have less in common with China and Chinese culture than the average American Indian does with white America. For the majority Han population, these minority groups are not seen as part of the fabric of Chinese society and they generally have not assimilated into mainstream Chinese culture.

As for Tibet, which is a very public and emotive issue for many in the west – the consider Tibet to be as much a part of their country as Florida is of America.

# Mao and Madness

" _China's road to modernization will be built on the principles of diligence and frugality. Nor will it be legitimate to relax if, 50 years later, modernization is realized on a mass scale" From Mao's Little Red Book_

Mao was right about one thing, modernization did come fifty years later, mainly due to his and the communist's mismanagement of the economy. Thank the heavens that Mao finally died in 1976 after 27 years at the helm of the Peoples Republic of China. After Mao's death, most of his destructive policies would soon be reversed or jettisoned with the reformer - Deng Xiao Ping at the helm.

When I first arrived in Hong Kong it was clear that China was a poor country. Thousands of refugees were streaming into Hong Kong every week to establish a new life. If Mao had set out to destroy the economy, then he had surely succeeded.

On my first trip to Beijing in 1982, I visited the Great Wall and marveled at its size and construction. I was among only a handful of people there, as it had yet to be exploited as a tourist attraction. China had obviously had its day in the sun, but the sun appeared not to be shining on the Chinese people anymore.

It is important to remember that at the time, the country was just a few years along in the post-Mao reforms. There was a lot of excitement and anticipation in the air, as there were the beginnings of new contact with the world. Yet, people on the streets were still wary of foreigners, and shops and hotels were designed to segregate the spenders (foreigners) from the masses.

I knew that Mao had been a bit mad, and very powerful. He made everyone conform. They wore the same clothes and got paid similar abysmal wages - a dreary life of basic subsistence.

Mao's rise in China was during the first half of the 20th century, when internal conflict and a war with Japan caused chaos. Mao's victory first over the Japanese, and secondly over the nationalists brought stability and a vision of a unified China. Mao then presided over China's re-evaluation of itself as he considered old China to be a feudal and backward society. Mao tried to eliminate Chinese characters with an English alphabet. Nothing about China's past was relevant to Mao, and he made sure that so much that was good about China was destroyed.

He launched many numbered campaigns such as the "Let a hundred flowers bloom" which was a way for him to eliminate those who criticized his policies. He was a despot and personal freedoms were severely limited. Yet, during his reign China developed an atomic bomb and fought America to a standstill in Korea, but we must ask at what cost?

His 'Great Leap Forward' was a disaster leading to the senseless starvation of millions, while his cultural revolution led to the destruction of traditional Chinese culture and relics. Fortunately he failed in the total destruction of traditional Chinese society and culture too.

Meanwhile, the ethnic Chinese enclaves of Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore were becoming rich, and their businesses and industries were thriving.

From the point of view of the west, during the 50's and 60's there was a real fear that the dominoes would fall throughout S.E. Asia and that the Chinese in Indonesia were in a communist fifth column ready to take orders from their masters in Beijing. They were said to be laying low like a Trojan Horse, waiting for the day when the communists took over.

However, many of Mao's public statements of solidarity with overseas ethnic Chinese were counter productive as he proclaimed that ethnic Chinese were always 'Chinese' and could not assimilate. Their allegiance was to the mainland and not their adopted land. This meant that the overseas Chinese in many countries suffered from his policies as well, including Vietnam (boat people) and Indonesia (riots).

Mao's reign was a bloody one. Mao's legacy was tragic as during the Great Leap Forward from 1959 to 1961 it is estimated that between 20 million to 40 million died of disease and starvation. Not that anyone discusses this or seems to care anymore. The youth are more interested in making money or watching movies on their smartphone, than to be concerned with this distant past.

Then there were those that died as a result of persecution and communist policies. Some have said that it was government policy to kill at least one person in every Chinese village to assert their authority.

During the cultural revolution, it is estimated that over 40 million people were banished to the already impoverished countryside, and of these a large number died. China's communist experiment could be seen as one of the most destructive genocidal episodes of the 20th century.

There was even more suffering in the 30's when the Japanese invaded. Such well-known horrors such as the Rape of Nanking will remain infamous in all Chinese's memories. After the Second World War, another 5 million more died with the communists emerging as the victor. After the communists came to power, Chiang Kai Shek and the Nationalist fled to Taiwan in 1949 only to commit their own atrocities, and maintain a police state until the 1970's.

So much of China's past was thrown out with the bathwater, including much of their entrepreneurial class, that it was fortunate that there were outposts of Chinese society in Taiwan and Hong Kong unaffected. Traditions remain in both places more than in China itself.

Mao's portrait remains at the entrance to the Forbidden City off the main square (Tiananmen) in Beijing. He is an icon of days gone by, and his legacies seem far removed from peoples' daily lives. Although he is still revered at some levels, much as the founding fathers of America, his policies simply meant that China had to sacrifice two more generations prior entering the world stage.

# China Stories

Consulting for the PLA

One of my most memorable trips in China was when I was invited to be a 'consultant' for a Hong Kong friend who had good contacts in the military. Dennis was a late 20's Hong Kong man and his contact in the PLA (People's Liberation Army) was his uncle. Our trip in 1984 would turn out to be more memorable than I would have imagined.

Dennis asked me to do the work as I was a consultant in industrial automation. It seems there was a group of factories that needed to be converted from 'military use' to 'civilian use', and that I could make recommendations to do just that.

At the time I was 26 years old, didn't know much about anything, and was certainly not an expert in factory automation. I didn't speak Mandarin, nor know anything about the PLA, or where the hell I was going. But I was the best that my friend Dennis could find on such short notice, and also someone cheap enough for the job.

Our trip started in Guangzhou, but first I had to do my hosts a little favor. They wanted an IBM PC smuggled into the country, and who better to do it than their exalted foreign guest. It was not so difficult as I crossed the border all the time and knew that customs officials rarely if ever bothered a respectable looking businessman like me.

The problem was that an IBM PC was actually a pretty large item. When I filled out the customs forms at the Hong Kong - China border in Shenzhen, I wrote down 'calculator' in the section on imported items.

Back in old China you were supposed to declare any foreign bought item down to the last inch of dental floss, in theory anyway. In practice they usually let me fly through as I was a young American (white) lad, who looked pretty innocuous. I also made sure to speak English and act like I didn't know what the heck I was doing. That always made them feel more comfortable and was the truth anyway.

However, this time it took me a while to explain that the PC was indeed a very large calculator, and since these customs officials had probably not seen too many computers, it only took about ten minutes to get through. This saved about $2,000 in import duties.

From here Dennis and I took a taxi for the four hour ride to Guangzhou's airport to catch a flight to Xian. In 1984 there were few flights from Hong Kong to the mainland, so we had no option but to fly with CAAC - the state-run airline. This was one of the worst airlines that was ever invented, with the possible exception of Air Somalia or Albanian Airlines.

At the airport we met Uncle O'Li (dressed in his Army uniform) for the first time. He was a rotund and gentlemanly fellow, with a warm smile, and he betrayed no hint of the obvious suffering he had been through in China the previous twenty years. The plane was some Russian craft with a large old refrigerator next to the main cabin door.

When we boarded the plane there were not any seats available, and O'Li would have none of this. His opinion was that we had tickets and it was urgent that we get to Xian. There were about 60 people on board, so the stewardess starting asking for volunteers - to get off the plane - without compensation of course.

There was a bit of a commotion, but still no volunteers. So O'Li simply requisitioned the closest three seats for military use. I know the three unlucky passengers who were booted out were not pleased, and even worse, I sensed that everyone on the airplane turned around and scowled at me. After all, the only reason the General had to do this was because a foreigner was involved - so at least they had me to blame.

Although our flight started in temperate weather in Guangzhou, the 1,500 km flight would take us to a climate similar to Montana in winter. After two hours in the air we were told that due to bad weather we could not land in Xian as planned. So were re-routed through to Lanzhou. Immediately on the ground there was a scramble to find accommodation at the guest house near the airport. Fortunately, Dennis and O'Li did the scrambling and we obtained a heated room in the guest house.

The next morning we took another smaller airplane to Xian. The plane had seats for 24, and I think it was a Yak7, or Rat12. It also had canvas seats that folded like lawn chairs used for picnicking. The air turbulence was severe and the plane flew through the sky like a kayak through rapids. A few of the less experienced passengers threw up on the floor. I just held my nose.

Upon arrival at Xian we were met by two vehicles, an Army jeep and a General's limousine adorned with a red flag with three stars. The three us got into the General's car and went to our first stop, a hotel in the outskirts of Xian. Xian is one of China's most charming cities, but you wouldn't notice it with all the snow on the ground and terrible weather. That night was the first of many 'piss ups' where the booze flowed freely.

On our next day we headed on the road in the direction of the city of Bao Ji. It was explained to me that it would take a few days to get there as we would be stopping at fertilizer factories en-route.

As we exited the outskirts of Xian our car lost traction on the ice and slid towards the curb and in the process knocked a bicyclist over. The bike rider had been hit pretty hard, yet we continued driving. As no one said anything I asked Dennis to ask the driver about the accident and he did so. The car slowed to a stop and the driver got out. Upon returning to his seat he assured O'Li and us that the car wasn't damaged. As we drove off I looked back to see if the cyclist was OK but I couldn't see him.

I thought at the time that this was a disgraceful disregard for human life. Dennis gave me a knowing look and shrug, as if to say 'this is China'. It was then a place of teeming masses, almost all uniformly dressed. These nameless, impoverished people were everywhere and nowhere at once, and to this day I cannot relate to their plight.

So here we were in what was for me the middle of nowhere, driving in a PLA limousine, in the cold of winter, through what looked to be the middle ages in Europe. Villages without electricity, running water, or drainage. People living in caves on sides of the road. Not even a gas station in sight.

I was told we had about an hour or so to visit each factory, the largest of which had 17,000 employees.

After a cursory look at the factory, we (Dennis and I) were asked for our recommendations. Well, they were asking the wrong guys. Until then, neither of us had seen a fertilizer factory, but at least I had done some work in industrial controls. As Dennis could speak Mandarin it took him some time to translate for me as many of the words and concepts were alien to both of us in either language.

It turns out this was an army-owned fertilizer factory. I asked Dennis, "what is the difference between military fertilizer and civilian fertilizer"? he didn't know the answer. So what were we doing here? We entered a large room of about 500 women who sat on the floor, hand sewing the bags that would hold the finished product, the ammonia-based fertilizer granules. They were sewing by hand without machines. It was certainly possible to recommend some improvements here – how about a sewing machine! We took notes and looked studious.

This was the fourth day of our trip. So far, we had accomplished nothing. Not that we didn't try. But after endless visits and meetings in stuffy rooms sitting on stuffy chairs eating over-ripe oranges and drinking tea, we didn't have any results to show for it. But that really didn't seem to matter much. Visiting foreign consultants are a cause for celebration, and a chance to spend some not-so-hard-earned money on food and booze. I learned to spit in the spittoons next to my chair.

Our drive from the large factory was uneventful until I got out of the car. We had curtains on the windows, and no one could see into the car. But in the small towns a sea of Chinese zombies would appear and just stare at me as soon as I stepped out of the car.

It was obvious that I was the main attraction. Like a one man circus coming to town, whatever move I made was a new as yet unseen magic trick. Every so often they would ask something like "Are you Italian, Czech, or Russian?" After a few encounters such as this the whole routine got old for me.

The countryside was populated by peasants and no matter how barren or foreboding the landscape there was always someone on the side of the road, eating, walking, defecating, carrying loads, or working the fields. Dennis told me that growing up here you would never be alone, there would always be someone to answer if you screamed out "Is anyone there?"

Most of the fields were fallow, although even with snow on the ground there appeared to be crops actually growing. Many houses had large stocks of corn just hanging from the rafters. This would be the food to supplement their meager diet through the winter.

Many of the people wore ragged clothing. I found it hard to believe they could brave the winter cold, but obviously they were heartier souls than I. Although I had been to India, Peru, and other poor countries, I had never seen such poverty. I had never seen such subsistence living in such a bland landscape.

The farther away from main towns the more basic the housing. Most were built with mud or brick with thatched roofs. There were also huge numbers of caves built into the small hills that dotted the landscape. The caves were maybe five meters deep and carved out like a small quonset hut, with doors sometimes brightly decorated.

At night in some of the main towns we would see scores of people carrying chairs over their heads, as they trudged along the road. They were going to the local version of a cinema, which was a 15 inch black and white television at a shop, and they would all place their chairs in rows to create an impromptu theater. Sometimes we would see hundreds of people watching just one television set while the snow fell to the ground.

Cave Dwellings

While we were passing near a small village of cave dwellings, I asked the General to stop the car. He did so and we approached one small cave house. The door was open and the woman froze as soon as she saw us approaching. Not sure whether to run or hide, she just stood there mouth agape. I asked to go inside, and with a General in uniform accompanying me, she seemed ever so eager to show me around her humble abode. It had a mud floor with no furniture to speak of, just some blankets and something like a tatami mat. The cooking stove was made of dried mud and allowed wood or charcoal fire to burn below a wok. The heat from cooking also provided heat for the dwelling. On the wall of the house the only photo was of Chairman Mao. There were few personal effects.

The family had one child about four years old He was dressed in rags and had a dirty face with snot coming out of his nose. He looked emaciated and unhealthy but managed a curious smile when seeing me. After thanking them for the opportunity to see her house I left a small packet of biscuits as a gift. I'm not sure if she knew what it was, but she was determined not to accept it. I think she was a bit frightened and paranoid that being visited by a General and a foreigner may have unforeseen implications. Try as I may to give it to her, she continued to reject my appeal. I left the box just outside the door as I left.

As we approached our car, she ran to return the box of biscuits to me. Dennis urged me to take it back and I did so, reluctantly. Out here it was still Mao's China and you had to toe the line.

Strange Food - Strange Meals

Picture a poor village in Honduras with run-down buildings and dirt roads, and people without clean clothes, and nothing for sale in the stores. Then make it poorer, place it in the middle of China (Shaanxi, Province) during a winter snow storm, and fill it up with peasants who haven't seen a foreigner in years. The town was about halfway from Xian to Lanzhou, somewhere near the city of BaoJie.

I'd just stepped out of my car, and was immediately surrounded. I don't know where these people came from, they just appeared out of the decrepit landscape around me. Almost everyone dressed the same in bland blue jackets and had the same perplexed and curious look on their faces.

One intrepid villager approached me and immediately started to speak to me in Russian. He carried on for a minute until it was obvious that I did not comprehend what he was saying. He retreated, baffled and embarrassed. I am sure that his friends were now able to confirm without doubt that he really couldn't speak Russian and that he had only been boasting. The crowd continued to move closer and I was certain I would be trampled by the force of humanity within seconds. Fortunately, my 'handlers' dispersed the crowd without incident as we entered the restaurant.

The 'restaurant' was in an aging single story brick building, with a hard packed dirt floor and dirty concrete walls. As the weather outside was a raging snowstorm, they burned small cylindrical pieces of pressed coal to heat the room. This was good for warming us up, but not too good for the air quality as the smoke from the burning coal could be asphyxiating.

There were ten of us at the table. Dennis, O'Li and myself as guests, and seven communist officials, all male and looking as if they were utilizing compatible and interchangeable body parts. Their haircuts were identical as were the cigarettes in their mouths. Although we met with senior women at the factory, none were invited to the dinner.

The whole conversation was in Mandarin, with Dennis occasionally translating things for me between the numerous toasts that I had to endure. "Better Chinese US relations," or "Prosperity to our factory and your business," all made with about as much sincerity as a bar girl hustling for drinks. I had to drink three types of alcohol, the first was a small glass of rice wine (maybe Maotai), some plum wine and beer. It was one against seven; I was really outnumbered. It wouldn't be long before I was suitably drunk, as each comrade took turns toasting me.

All through the night I was offered a special dish of prepared meat. I said no many times, but I guess I didn't say No enough, as I somehow managed to eat quite a bit of the stuff. Chinese people on these of occasions are unfailingly polite, and being a foreigner they went overboard in their hospitality. The dish in question looked like chicken liver, a common Cantonese dish, but these were larger.

Towards the end of the meal, after eating such delicacies as camel foot soup, and some version of sea cucumber, I inquired about the 'liver'. Dennis a bit reticently related to me that the local delicacy was in fact Donkey Penis, and I had eaten about 25% of the factories' yearly quota, sort of like eating 25% of their caviar. Oops!

If I was truly immersed in Chinese culture, I would have known how often and for how long to say 'no'. The protocol is for someone to offer you something three times, and then, only then will you accept. I accepted too readily. The term in Cantonese is 'hak hey', which loosely means being over-polite. The donkey penis wasn't bad, but clearly despite having lived in Hong Kong for two years I was still not 'hak hey' enough, and sadly for many in the factory they would have to wait a year for their new allocation of donkey penis.

I knew that with the exception of Dennis and myself, these people had experienced untold suffering and deprivation, and the promise of the 'new China' just had never seemed to arrive, so I was not pleased with my behavior.

As for any future business after this trip, well you guessed it, none transpired. Dennis would continue to travel there as he realized he could do just as well without the expense of the 'foreign expert'.

Also there were many who knew what they were doing in the Chinese factories. In one of the factories, in a small and grungy building, a 'genius' had designed a control system using a fake Apple II computer from Hong Kong to monitor pressure and the flow of fluids in the factory with the most rudimentary of instruments. If this guy had been in Hong Kong he would have been working for a major company and with high pay. I saw then that China was on the move, and that within a generation there would be millions of people like him.

Embassy Job

Beijing in the early 1980's was a wonderful place to be if you happened to be a foreigner. I arrived in May 1982 when the first luxury hotels were opening up and most of the trappings of the modern world had yet to arrive. Traffic was mostly limited to bicycles or buses, and cars were few.

The people were a bland lot in their Mao jackets of green or blue, and the women were just as blandly outfitted as the men. The most common pastime on a comfortable summer night was to play Chinese checkers on the sidewalk with a street light overhead.

From the first moment of my arrival, Beijing felt like a different country compared to the south and east. In contrast to Guangzhou, the city had no soul, hardly any commerce or color. Taxis were not generally available, and as a foreigner I had to order my taxi 24 hours in advance - which wasn't too flexible. You had to prepay and also state your destination. This was great for the public security bureau, who needed to know one day in advance where every foreigner was headed, yet not too convenient for the passenger. If you decided to change your destination on the day that you got the taxi, there would be quite a fuss, but fortunately, they would relent and take you anyway.

There were few private retailers or restaurants, and the locals were obliged to take your FEC (foreign exchange certificate). But as this was a new concept, many of the local stores would not accept it and ask for regular currency. The FEC was issued to foreigners and was not at the time available to locals. Beijing still felt like it was on a 100% pure diet of communism, both economically and politically.

I was staying at the newly opened luxury Jiang Guo Hotel. It was a low rise building with a nice breakfast buffet, and a bar with relatively cheap beer. It was here that I would stay for ten days on a contract for the American embassy renovation.

At the time Beijing was off the map of usual commerce and akin to such business destinations as Kampala or Tehran. Foreigners seemed to be trying to emulate some of the characters in "Casablanca", and although there was no Rick's Cafe, it would have made a great locale for a Graham Greene novel.

The foreign community at the time was tiny, numbering just in the hundreds. The in place to hang out was the ornamental Peking Hotel and the rooftop cafe was frequented by an eclectic mix of foreigners including diplomats, and a few enterprising businessmen from Hong Kong.

The main topic of discussion was whether China was really going to open up and join the world or remain a closed communist society. Other discussions centered on the hassles for foreigners in day to day life as we were clearly segregated from all local life.

My contact at the Embassy, Roger, was the guy who was in charge of maintenance and equipment. An amiable fellow who had come to China from a recent posting in Burma, his temperament was perfect for such places as Beijing and Rangoon. He was patient, never in a hurry, and forgiving, nothing would phase him. He said that I would be getting some assistance from the Foreign Ministry, who would be assigning me two aides. A good idea as having some local electricians would be of great help to me as I did my survey.

The next day I arrived at the embassy and was introduced to two unassuming Chinese men, both wearing blue pants and white, long sleeve shirts - nothing unusual here. They spoke English quite well -which was quite a surprise as I wasn't expecting two English speaking assistants. I had a need for technical staff that could read electrical drawings and I was wary that these two would not have those skills.

In order to do the job, we would survey the buildings and look at the existing electrical loading. This was not difficult and I had brought a multi-meter and ammeter for this. I gave one instrument to Mr.. Wang and the other to Mr.. Hu who both stared at the instruments and went silent. We then left the main Embassy compound for the short walk to the Pakistani Complex.

As we started to do the work, I was informed by Mr.. Wang that he didn't know how to use the meter I had given him. In fact, he had to confess he was not even an electrician, nor was his comrade Mr.. Hu. Well, they would be useless to me except as translators. So we returned to see Roger back at the embassy and he explained that although we had asked for trained electricians, it was out of his control. They were assigned by the ministry of foreign affairs and I was to accept whoever they sent.

I mentioned to Roger that I thought they were spies. He shrugged and noted that as far as they were concerned anyone from the government was a spy and they made sure there was nothing of too much value for them to observe.

If that was the case, then I guess I must accept my aides with good humor. They were nice enough and although incompetent, I imagine they were far more proficient in their job working as spies than electricians and this was a great opportunity for them to have pretty much unrestricted access to the newly acquired embassy buildings as we did our survey.

Africans in Beijing

During my multiple stays in Beijing I had a chance to meet many of the tiny foreign community based there. At the time there were only a handful of foreign companies with offices, and the largest group of people came from the diplomatic corps.

As the larger countries expanded their diplomatic presence, they would take over some of the spectacular old buildings in the consular district that were in disrepair, either having been abandoned or neglected. Some of the largest buildings were temporarily occupied by such countries as Togo, Sierra Leone, and Malawi.

This was a remnant of when China had 'friends all over the world' as Mao would boast. Communist China mostly then made friends with impoverished African countries who needed China's help after independence and subsequent impoverishment. They were the most numerous of the foreign community including a large contingent of African students studying at local universities.

The International Club was one of the favorite hangouts of expatriates. Although a bit run down, it did have a good selection of sandwiches and beer. A large number of the patrons were African diplomats and they were usually drinking gallons of beer during lunch and they stumbled out quite drunk every day. If you looked closely you might see the barefoot Ambassador from Uganda with his arm around his shirtless counterpart from Burundi. This was diplomacy at its lowest levels and the local Chinese viewed these African diplomats with contempt.

Sadly, this contempt was also applied to the thousands of African students who were studying in Beijing. On almost any night in the major foreign hotels, there would be a few students who would provide a story about their miserable existence in exchange for a drink.

Most of these students were men, and in most cases they could speak fluent English and Mandarin. In a rational world they should have been sought after by foreigners and Chinese alike. But being from Africa put them at a severe disadvantage and racism was definitely at play.

The Chinese viewed these students as unworthy of the welcome the Chinese government had provided them. Most African students lived better than their Chinese counterparts, and I heard from many Chinese that these 'Africans' were undeserving of university places, which should have been given to Chinese students. Then there was the matter of cost. Why should poor China pay for Africans when many came from rich families?

In my hotel bar I listened to their stories of anguish, racism, loneliness, and dismay. African men were beaten if they tried to date or socialize with Chinese girls. They were never invited to anyone's home, or to any party. They were outcasts and unwanted. Most wanted to go home, or at least to Hong Kong. Many had a chip on their shoulder that would never heal. After a few days, I was no longer willing to buy more drinks as I had heard the same sad story many times by now.

China's attitudes towards Africans has loosened up a bit. There is even a 'Chocolate Town' in Guangzhou where they say there are thousands of Africans living and even working there. Some have married local girls and have families. This bit of cultural tolerance surprises me and makes me think that China will somehow be able to navigate through a more complex and interconnected world in the future.

" _If you stay here much longer you'll all be slitty-eyed" Prince Philip, to Edinburgh University students in Beijing 1986_

The Chinese certainly don't have a monopoly on racism.

However if you were from the west and white, you would be treated with respect. We whites had created a modern world from which China could learn from and we had money and technology to offer. So, if we took a university space and a nice dormitory room at least we would pay for it.

Asleep in Guangzhou

In the mid-80's friend Mr.. Ng (an elderly Chinese man) took me to visit a factory opening on the banks of the Pearl River in Guangzhou. It was a massive state-run complex making ceramic ware for consumers and industrial use. They were now expanding into consumer electronics and had built a new factory. It was clear when I arrived that they needed another chair filled by a warm-blooded white foreigner, and I was available. Unknown to me at the time I was to be part of the official opening ceremony.

Things were not going well for me and I was dead broke. My showroom in China was losing money, and I had rent to pay in Hong Kong, salaries to pay in Hong Kong and China, and no significant income. Yet, I was always looking for new business and Mr. Ng was a reliable and sincere source of contacts, so I headed on the train to Guangzhou.

The 600 room Garden Hotel had just opened and at the time was the largest joint venture hotel in the country. Managed by the New World Group from Hong Kong, it set new standards in management, comfort and good food. I was picked up from the hotel by car and driven to the ribbon cutting ceremony. On my way there they put a small red ribbon on my lapel.

Upon arrival at the factory, I was soon in numerous photos. Like the groom at a wedding, everyone wanted a piece of me. The ribbon cutting ceremony was attended by some other foreigners and after a few toasts and picture taking we were all herded off to one of Guangzhou's most exclusive restaurants. Set in a Tang Dynasty garden setting, this restaurant had survived the cultural revolution. After all, you still needed a place for communist big wigs to congregate no matter what the state of the economy.

I was seated at a head table along with nine other men. Two of the other men were foreigners, one most likely Japanese, the other either from the UK or America. But since the entire table spoke Mandarin, in deference to the General Secretary of the Guangdong Provincial government, I was at a loss for words. Fortunately, the man next to me spoke some Cantonese and on occasion would provide me with some conversational leftovers.

As the night before had been a long drinking night, I was really not in the mood for niceties anyway, and wondered just what the hell I was doing here. The meal was elaborate and the food excellent by the standards of China then, but soon I had fallen asleep. When I awoke the bright lights of a TV camera were filming our table. I tried to put on my best business face and took another sip of my beer.

I had contributed nothing to the conversation around me and was relieved when the meal ended. I wondered why I was invited as there was already a token 'white man' there and I felt redundant. As we left the room the other westerner spoke to me and it transpired that he was the American Consul General of Guangzhou. The other foreigner was the Japanese Consul General. Looks as if I should have paid a bit more attention to what was going on.

Upon retrieving my key at hotel reception I was informed that my credit card had been rejected and that maybe I could provide them with another card to put through the machine. I told them there was one in my room and went upstairs.

At the room I could not find more money or another card, so I would have to make a go with my existing credit card. I returned to the front desk and they were able to make two credit card vouchers, both dated two months in the future. I was off the hook.

When back to the room I turned on the local TV station and watched the news and they were reporting from a restaurant that looked quite familiar. The camera panned among the dignitaries and one man looked very familiar – a foreigner who was asleep with his head resting on the table. How embarrassing - then I realized it was me. I guess if I was going to embarrass myself, I had done so with maximum exposure.

Even an idiot like me could get invited to a big party, yet those days are gone. Now you will still be treated well, but they know now that we foreigners don't have all the answers.

As recently as ten years ago I could still travel into China as a consultant and provide advice on technical matters in my industry. But it soon became apparent that our practices in Hong Kong were soon lagging those of China, and that by now the Chinese should be the ones consulting us.

This has much to do with the fact that China started later and with a clean sheet of paper. So they took the most recent technology and adapted it with and their abundant human resources and technical skills; first in Shenzhen and then other large cities. Larger firms in Shenzhen such as Huawei are world beaters and among the biggest multinationals in the world. The days of China being second-rate are over.

CIS - China International Showrooms

In the mid-80's the mood in Hong Kong at the time was far from celebratory. Negotiations between Britain and China over Hong Kong's post-1997 future were not going well, and although both sides continued to talk, the people of Hong Kong had real fears of what their future would be like without British protection and rule of law.

They had reason to be pessimistic as China was cracking down on foreign influences, including anyone with a TV antenna aimed towards Hong Kong. The authorities would fine or imprison those with the temerity to watch Hong Kong TV.

Criminals in Guangdong province were still being paraded through the streets with cangues around their necks, a practice that had not much changed since the Qing dynasty. It was rumored that over 100 people were executed in one day by a bullet to the head in Dong Guan in December 1986, but I have never been able to corroborate that.

Hong Kong businessmen were being detained in China without trial and some disappeared. Fisherman continued to go missing at sea and despite Deng Xiao Ping's musings about "One country - two systems" China's system appeared to be very harsh and inflexible. Whenever I told people in Hong Kong that I was going to China, they felt sorry for me.

A majority of Hong Kong's population had only recently emigrated from Southern China and the reason they didn't want to return is that their distant relatives would demand food, refrigerators, and anything of value from their 'rich brothers' in Hong Kong.

But it was clear that things were on the move as there was a sense of anticipation that China was finally breaking out of its long slumber. It was happening first in Shenzhen where China took its first tentative steps with a market economy and welcomed investment from its Hong Kong brethren.

When I first laid eyes on China's tallest building I thought I must be dreaming. A 53 story skyscraper in China - it sounded preposterous. Just five years before in 1980 the tallest building in Shenzhen was 7 stories, and the city was surrounded by rice fields. Now in 1985 they had topped out this colossal structure that would have been more at home in Manhattan or Hong Kong.

My business as a consultant in Hong Kong was going well, and I was also a Director in another company. At the time I had just sold my shares in another company so I had a bit of money and reliable income. I thought why not take a go in China? I was not deterred by the fact I was a foreigner with limited Chinese language capability who was not only naive to China, but quite ignorant of the world at large. In other words I didn't know that I was so naive and inexperienced.

A former client provided some money, and China International Showrooms was born. It would be a one-stop catalog showroom with some product displays. We would locate on the ground floor of China's tallest building. From here, my empire in China would flourish as I would be selling foreign products into China that had an insatiable demand.

Of course, I was not the first foreigner to get blinded by the numbers. The British in the 19th century had also felt the same way. Yet in all their trading history with China, the China market has never taken more than 1.5% of British exports.

This time I felt it was different. There was bound to be big money to be made, at least in the first few years when China needed just about everything. To me it seemed certain that China would awake to become one of the great economies of the world as how could such an energetic and intelligent people continue to fail?

Our showroom services were initially marketed to British companies, as my partner was from England. But after two trips to the U.K. trying to sell people on the idea of China as a market it was clear the idea was not working. Meanwhile, my partner went ahead and decorated the showroom while I was gone.

I worked hard for six months signing up over 100 companies to participate in our showroom. Meanwhile, during this time we still could not cover costs. I was now out of all my money and had borrowed money from my family to pay bills.

My landlord was quite understanding and even though my rent was US$6,600 per month, I was never able to pay anything in the first two years. I had developed a relationship with Mr. Wang, who represented the International Trade Center building as I learned more Cantonese and he started to learn English.

Soon I got another friend involved in the project, as my British partner left back to the UK. Rocky, my close friend and partner in a HK business felt sorry for me, but also sensed that there was a great opportunity to pursue business in China through our showroom and he invested.

We did more and more marketing but had trouble convincing anyone anywhere that China was opening up and in fact was a viable market. Only Taiwanese and Hong Kong businessmen could see the light, but ultimately they found little use for our services.

Although I wasn't being pushed heavily for rent from my landlord, the local government was another story. Month after month I would be presented with a tax bill which I couldn't read and couldn't comprehend. Finally, someone from the Shenzhen City Government came to the showroom and threatened to revoke my operating license. I took this threat to Mr. Wang for evaluation and he said that it may be true, and that they could not protect me.

A week later I headed with the tax bill towards the city hall. I went alone, without a translator. All I knew was that the tax bill was $10,000 US and was to be levied because I had decorated the interior of the showroom. So it was a municipal decoration tax that I thought it was a load of crap and I was going to tell them.

But I also saw this as a way out of my predicament and a way to escape the shame of failing in China. Just blame someone else, especially a communist-run governments. Rather than becoming confrontational and angry I resigned myself to closing the business down.

When I entered the correct office there was an official behind a desk. He spoke no Cantonese and replied to me in Mandarin. Soon he found another official who spoke Cantonese. So we started the negotiations, at a language level akin to a kindergarten so finally they found a translator.

It was obvious they wanted to close the file and just collect a reasonable amount of tax from me. They figured their threat to close me down would bring me here on my knees and with checkbook at the ready. They were wrong. After they had unilaterally agreed that I would have to pay only $5,000 US, a 50% discount, they were stunned that I would not pay. They again threatened to close my business.

They were beside themselves. The larger of the two men stood up and lectured me. I then placed the keys to my showroom on the large table in front of them. "Here, take the keys. I'm going back to California. You think I want to live here and lose all my money?"

Was I bluffing? Only partially. I would have felt relieved to be done with this burden. The calmer of the two men then offered me the option of paying only $2,500, and again I said I didn't have the money. Then I was told that I could pay $1,000 US now and 1,500 next month. Again I refused.

They had a bit of a pow wow. I was quite relaxed as my worst case scenario was living in California - which in reality then and is still now a much nicer place to live. The larger man got up and stormed out of the room. The other man and the translator remained stony faced. My keys remained on the table, and despite their insistence that I take my keys back, I wouldn't budge.

I realized at the time I could never have remained so tough throughout the months of stonewalling and the subsequent negotiations if I had some money. If I could have met their demands, even half way, I would have done so. Of course, the decoration tax may have only been dreamed up just for me, but the fact was I was in a position not to pay it, as I didn't give a damn and they didn't know if I was bluffing or was really so stupid and poor.

It was also clear to me that in China they will break the rules for a foreigner if they feel it is in their interest to do so. Nothing is really written in stone, so this represents both an opportunity and a cause for confusion. Even to this day, what rules you must conform to, and under whose jurisdiction can still be unclear, and the laws are not always applied equally.

New Supermarket

By the early 90's Hong Kong companies were rushing into China setting up factories just about anywhere in Cantonese speaking China – Guangdong. They would combine Hong Kong's management and marketing expertise, with cheap labor from China's interior. It was a win-win for both parties, as China had large scale unemployment and little knowledge of the outside world, and the Hong Kong companies would save on costs.

Within a few years, a consumer society was developing on the mainland. This happened initially in the Pearl River delta where all the factories had been placed and people actually had some money to spend.

So it was only natural that Hong Kong retailers also moved into that market. Park'N Shop supermarkets was one of them. It had saturated its home market in Hong Kong, so they embarked on an ambitious expansion plan in Guangdong province. They had plans to open more than 50 stores.

At the time I was their consultant for electrical and mechanical matters in Hong Kong, and it was determined that I would travel to China to help there.

Although superficially it would appear that Southern China is similar to Hong Kong, it was an entirely different country. Although it sounds like a cliche, nothing is as it seems. At the time I had been coming to China on business for a decade, and yet I continued to feel less secure by the moment. China was becoming a new China, and the more it did so the less it felt like Hong Kong.

One store I worked on was near Shekou, located about one hour northwest of Hong Kong. The store had had trouble connecting to the electrical grid (a permit is required) and thus construction was delayed. So just prior to the store opening, many of us worked through the night for many days and I attended the store opening ceremonies. The Managing Director would be coming from Hong Kong and I stayed.

At about 8:30 am, the rolling shutters in the front of the store opened to reveal about five poorly dressed itinerant laborers who used the area as sleeping space. These people were destitute, probably having spent their life savings to travel from a remote province to Shekou only to find they are among thousands of other unskilled workers vainly seeking a job.

Without a sponsor, they were considered 'illegal immigrants' in the province as a residence permit is required from any municipality in which they wish to work. The store opening would be attended by the town mayor, so these bums were really not welcome. Within 10 minutes or so, some members of the Public Security Bureau showed up in a truck and rousted the men up.

When they were told them to get into a police van they resisted - not a wise course of action as the men were beaten up right in front of us and then thrown into the truck like a few pig carcasses. The PSB personnel acted as if neither myself nor the store staff even existed.

All of us from Hong Kong were a bit shaken up and I asked if this has happened before, and they said, yes, but not with such a degree of violence, as usually the migrants can be rustled off without trouble.

When the Mayor arrived the sidewalks were clear and clean. He alighted from his new Mercedes Benz and met the British Managing Director of Park'N Shop. The two of them took part in the ribbon cutting ceremony and a dragon dance was performed. Everything went off without a hitch.

Soon a swarm of customers descended on the store. Most were well dressed - these were China's newly affluent. They were the beneficiaries of the business boom in the south, and they followed Hong Kong's preference for conspicuous consumption.

One of the top selling items in the store was Donald Duck's chicken dinners from America costing 28 yuan. A typical laborer would make that in a day and a good meal in a simple restaurant would cost about 4 yuan. The store manager commented that "this is just another way for them to show off their wealth. They actually don't like the food."

What had happened in the Pearl River Delta would spread to the rest of China over the next 15 years. Not only were supermarkets and malls appearing all over the place, but the migrants were appearing everywhere and on the move, and not just in the affluent south.

China was soon booming all over the country. After the Pearl River Delta it was Shanghai's turn to re-establish itself as the commercial center of the country. Although a latecomer to the reformist scene, in the mid-90's Shanghai was the world's largest construction site. It was estimated that 30% of all high rise construction cranes were being leased in the cities' mad rush to catch up to Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

Tang Village, Fukien Province

In 1997, the year that Hong Kong was handed over to China, I took a trip with my wife and father-in-law to visit his fathers' birthplace in Fujian province. It was an emotional visit as he would be the first descendant to visit the village since his father left just after World War I.

Our first stop was Xiamen, now already connected to the wider world, with its American fast food and automobile traffic. Xiamen is a town with a checkered past and is also the place where the first waves of Chinese emigrated from the country. s.

Our destination was just an hour or so from Xiamen and our minibus dropped us off where a dirt road snaked its way towards the coast. Tang Village was somewhere down that road, and as we entered the town, it was obvious that the modern world had yet to find its way here. Sure there was electricity, but the main shop in town didn't even have its refrigerator plugged in, and like many rural villages, the vast majority were still concerned about survival and were dirt poor. The main industries were farming, fishing and tending to the salt ponds as it had been for centuries.

After a few minutes walk down the main street, we soon arrived at a temple with a festival going on. It had been over 30 years since my father-in-law's father had died, and we were not sure we were in the right town. Within minutes, we found my wife's grandfathers' name engraved on a granite plaque on a temple wall when he had made a donation here in 1921.

My father-in-law struggled with Mandarin first, and then within 30 minutes he was speaking the local dialect. I marveled at his linguistic flexibility. Here was a man born near Hanoi in Vietnam and through the course of his life he had spoken Vietnamese, Fukinese, Cantonese, French, Mandarin, and English. All of a sudden he was one of them, a local boy who had made good and now returned home.

He gave a donation to the temple, as it was now being restored. I am sure my wife's grandfather - if alive, would have recognized his birthplace as being pretty much the same as he left it, but maybe the gods were happy someone had finally come home.

Throughout the whole visit I never felt uncomfortable, for at most times it seemed I was invisible. Usually, when I come into a rural southern Chinese village on my own, the first reaction of people is to shut their doors – but not here, it was a wonderful trip for us all.

I imagine if I returned to Tang Village now, the refrigerator would certainly be plugged in as they would have to compete with a 7-11 style store nearby. Most people would still be farming but also all of them would also be yapping on their new mobile phones.

Booming Shanghai

In September 1997 I was approached by my Hong Kong Chinese friend – Albert who suggested that I contact a property company in Shanghai about doing some consulting work. The fact that I spoke very little Mandarin and had limited business experience in Northern China didn't seem to matter. I was told they were looking for a new approach to doing business. I immediately surmised that things were probably going so poorly for them that in desperation, my friend convinced them that a foreigner might provide the new ideas and structure to succeed.

The work in question was related to a fairly large commercial development under construction in Shanghai - a 28 story office block and 5 floors of retail podium. But as there were other existing unfinished buildings on the site, they wanted to create a new concept to fill the space. The previous year they had come up with the "Shanghai International Children's Plaza." A one-stop retail, commercial, and recreational facility for Shanghai's children.

I went to Shanghai at my expense to meet with these people. My friend would come to the first meetings as a translator and facilitator. My initial meeting was lunch with Mr. Wang, the Managing Director and five others. We were in a spectacular theater – restaurant, decorated in a traditional Chinese style and we were treated to an hour of live music and dancers from different ethnic groups within China. The food was good and the show excellent. I remarked that there was nothing like this in Hong Kong, and as always they liked to hear Shanghai compared favorably to Hong Kong.

During lunch they related to me that they were looking for new ideas on how they could do business with foreign companies. From my conversations with Albert, it was clear they were looking to foreign companies and foreign money to bail them out. So, it made sense for them to look for a foreigner to assist them in going after this market.

The easiest approach would have been for me to promise them that yes, I could find some American companies who might be willing to be tenants or partners. But this was not true. I had come here with very good credentials - basically a recommendation from an existing business partner, and an introduction which would normally be conferred only to other Chinese. So I found it unnecessary to push too hard.

Instead, I admitted that I have never done a project like theirs before and that they maybe they should find someone else to do the work. They answered that they are also doing a project like this for the first time and they believed it was the first project of its kind in China. They want to hear my ideas.

My advice to them was to first come up with a strictly defined concept and secondly, I asked them to tell me what model, if any existed overseas. 'Lotte World' in Seoul was the reply. Soon they were telling me that basically, they want to be China's version of an indoor Disneyland. Quite a lofty goal for a property developer, but sillier things have happened in China.

One thing that is always the case in China, no matter what the level of management, they don't take notes. They rarely conduct a meeting in a formal setting and rely instead on their superior memory. Without a structure things don't always get done and are usually awaiting the decision from the boss. In this company Mr. Wang was king and no one could make a decision without his perusal and approval.

When it was my turn to talk, I drew a diagram with circles and squares that was an attempt to visually represent their goals. I also wrote down a small PERT chart to confirm the schedule of activities from today's date to their scheduled opening. Thirdly I highlighted the tasks that I felt I could contribute to, and asked them if this was acceptable. Mr. Wang was impressed.

The discussions moved on to other subjects not related to me, and they started to drink some beers. Now I was being totally ignored, and they had 'let their hair down.' I knew that this informality meant that I had made a good impression and would most likely be offered the work. Whenever you get involved in situations that seem more social than business, and when you are not treated with any special deference, then you know that you have arrived.

The next day they asked me to quote for my services. Upon returning to Hong Kong I wrote up a proposal which I faxed to them. Three months later after having forgot about the whole affair, I received a signed copy of the contract and an advance payment for services to be performed. Now that I was obligated to do the work my role would be to write a general concept for the Plaza, a description of facilities and also prepare marketing materials to be used to help them enter into strategic relationships with multinational firms.

Upon my subsequent return to Shanghai they had arranged meetings with me and their staff. I was assisted by Shenny a very capable graduate from Fudian University. She was provided by another of their joint venture companies and did not work for their state-run firm. This trip was to be my fact-finding mission. I met in numerous meetings with the boss of the Children's Plaza, the construction manager, the advertising firm and others. Their offices were unheated and also hives of non-activity. At least half the people would take afternoon naps, and there was no urgency in any activity.

It was clear that although much of the information was relevant they intimated to me that anything could change at any time as Mr. Wang was notorious for changing his mind. Little did I know that state run firms had not changed. Meetings in hotel rooms drinking beer that last until late, such was the management style in the 1990's.

One of their projects in the Pu Tuo district was a group of over a dozen high rise residential buildings. Each block was about 25 stories with at least 200 units per building. It was around the time of my sisters birthday on November 14th, and on my way to work I noticed that many lorries (flatbed trucks) full of furniture were just outside the gates. I did not witness what happened but was told by the staff there was a big crisis.

These families had waited for days in the cold to move in. Their numbers grew by the day. The problem was that the paperwork for the fire permit had not been received, and the developer could not legally let these people in. But, it turns out that these families had a contracted purchase date that had already passed. So from their standpoint, they had the right to move in or to be compensated.

By the third day, there were 17 agitated families to the point that the confrontation was no longer handled by security guards – now the police. If I was one of those families I would have been fuming, which I am sure they were. Unfortunately, there are really no avenues to lodge your complaints. They would be told, that if you could afford a private flat in this development then you could afford a hotel.

In situations like this there is usually a lot of shouting and theatrics and then some face saving compromise is found. Usually a nebulous promise from a state official that is used to defuse the situation.

But in this instance, the police moved in and forcibly moved the lorries and the families to places unknown. The developer had never offered them compensation, and as the company was state-run and politically connected, they got the police to act on their behalf. The development did open until weeks later and I never found out what happened to those families. I assume they did get to move in and more than a few would have been beaten up in the process. China was then a pretty tough place and in reality there are millions of disputes like this every year, even to the current day.

If you are out on the streets in China it usually means you are estranged from your family, and family is the key to survival. For the older generation who lose their jobs there is no safety net. So they must rely on the relatively well paid younger generation who have found jobs in booming Shanghai or Shenzhen. Usually, these are young girls in factories who send a large portion of their income to support their parents and grandparents in their home village.

Thus, as has been the case throughout Chinese history, the only protection from the not so benevolent state and sometimes violent society was a strong family unit. Those families that were not strong did not survive. It was that simple.

Hainan Cruise

In the 1990's the Star Pisces - a 40,000 ton cruise ship registered in Singapore, began cruising out of Hong Kong. In the past cruise ships in Hong Kong were usually full of transiting Europeans or Japanese, or were simply overnight cruises on floating casinos. But this ship would be different. It would rely on the Hong Kong market, and fill its ships with Cantonese speaking locals who would actually travel for a few days to other ports of call.

We had a small holiday coming and both my wife and I had never been to China's largest island - Hainan - China's version of Hawaii. The ship was new and although inexpensive quite comfortable. The overnight trip to Hainan was in calm waters, a few months prior to typhoon season.

Just about everyone on board was from Hong Kong and Cantonese speaking. They were loud and a bit rough, but these were the people I'd come to feel comfortable with after so many years. Although I wouldn't describe myself as being a Hongkonger, neither being Chinese or native Cantonese speaking, I was from Hong Kong too, and was looking forward to the trip.

Upon docking in Haikou we would partake in a one day tour of the local area and return to the ship that night. Our tour bus left the dock about two in the afternoon. I was the only non-Chinese person on a Cantonese speaking tour. The tour guide spoke Cantonese with a strong accent and looked to me like the many hustlers whose only goal in life is to take tourists for a ride.

Hainan Island was one of the most corrupt locales in China. It was here that the local government was able to look the other way as hundreds of thousands of illegal vehicles were imported. It was also the first place in China to have a massive construction boom and then an even more massive bust. So, hundreds upon hundreds of spanking new and empty high-rise apartment buildings were vacant.

Our first stop was a new shopping center in the center of Haikou that both my wife and I were not interested in as we were essentially on a shopping tour. During the course of our 'tour' our tour guide was keen on telling us the price of every property in Haikou, and surprise - if we were interested in purchasing one he had a friend who could get us a good deal.

As Hainan has little to see but beaches, our next stop was another shopping center and then a large restaurant. I took this opportunity to speak Cantonese for the first time with our fellow tourists. Once I open my mouth, Hong Kong people stop smiling for a moment and then it takes about 5 seconds for them to regain their composure, as rarely do they meet a foreigner who speaks their dialect.

We got into a discussion about China and how sad the life had been in the past, and yet now China was developing.

Most of our fellow tourists had been to China a few times, and did not do business there. Being from Hong Kong they had no need to ask me what I thought of China, just speaking their language was confirmation that I 'loved the motherland' in my own special way.

After our inedible dinner, it was back on the bus. Our tour guide now made his first attempt to describe something of interest to us and this lasted for about 1 minute. He also asked us to guess where he was from. In Cantonese this question is posed in such a way that it could also mean 'guess who I am'. While others on the bus conjectured that he was from Guangdong, or Zhejiang, I spoke up and said - "he was from conman" in Cantonese. He took this in stride and continued with his dribble. Those on the bus did laugh, at least a little.

It was now after dark, and the bus stopped at the side of the road and something akin to a non-violent hijacking took place. The tour guide explained that he and the driver were actually unpaid staff, and that any money they earn came from tips. Last week a group from Taiwan was willing to pay $100 each for his services, but he felt that was too much and would ask for only the equivalent of $5 US from each of us.

He brazenly walked up the aisle and collected money. As he came to me and my wife he paused, I had a look on my face that said 'no way'. All the others in the bus would not lose face by being unwilling to part with such a trifle sum. Everyone paid, but not me. That's the advantage of being a foreigner, I can not pay and not lose face. The buses engines roared to life and it was only a short drive back to the ship.

Back at the ship I immediately contacted the Purser and asked him if such coercive behavior by the tour guide was usual practice. He assured me it was not, and in fact, he would like us to tell him the bus number. Within ten minutes our bus was found by the ship's crew and our tour guide was being given the third degree by them.

My wife and I felt a degree of satisfaction by getting this guy into trouble. However, one of our fellow passengers was not so pleased and From his standpoint we had meddled in an internal Chinese affair. Our discussion switched to English and he told me that the tour was normal and 'just the way it is in China'. He also wanted to know what I hoped to accomplish by turning the driver in. I said maybe they will slowly learn and that would be good for tourism in China in the long term. He was not impressed and was actually quite bothered by my actions.

He was right as despite the fact I had been in China almost continuously for a decade, and had seen 'the usual Chinese practice' for years. I was a foreigner and really had no right to interfere in this incident, and in reality 'forget it' would be the same attitude of the Chinese themselves. As they say, you can't change China, so why bother trying?

# One Size Fits All – China

Mohammed Ashraf was late for prayer and this always made him anxious. As a devout Pakistani Muslim, he took his five daily prayers seriously, and this meant getting to the mosque nearby. He was a cobbler - a simple man, yet he gained strength from the certainty of his faith and knowledge that there was order in this world.

His son was a different story. That boy seemed to have money even when he wasn't working, and had recently bought a mobile phone. Now he comes home with the newest craze, some device for playing music that hangs off his neck like some ornament. He'd ask Amin many times to come to prayer with him, but alas, he now always declines. 'Oh, the pains of fatherhood'.

China is not alone in trying to cope with our modern, frenetic world. And, like the Islamic world, they have only recently come out of a long period of cultural decline to embark into an unknown future. China has a saying which describes how the will enter the modern world - "Socialism with Chinese characteristics". In reality that means capitalism for the many, and profits and power for the few.

One thing for sure, as in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, or Oman, there is only one game in town. You are either in the system or out of it. For someone who wants to opt out of Islam in Afghanistan it is something to be killed for – blasphemy! George Bush stated it best when he said "you are either with us or against us", there is no middle ground. This line I am sure has been used many times by the Ayatollahs in Iran, or the Generals' in Burma.

In the Islamic world, religion truly has more control over people's daily lives than in China. Religion controls politics, social conventions, debate, and even many aspects of their private life. In Saudi Arabia for instance, woman can't drive or work in certain jobs.

Yet, compared to Islam, the communists of today are actually lightweights. But it was not for lack of trying, it is just the Chinese people are actually still wary of state control and just want to get on with their lives. When Mao tried to be the all-encompassing state in the past, China experienced the same economic stagnation and lack of intellectual discourse of modern day Pakistan. So, after years of cultural upheaval, poverty, and general failure, Deng Xiao Ping came to power, and the noose around the Chinese peoples' neck was loosened.

Results then became paramount and ideology took a backseat. He said, "It doesn't matter if a cat is black or white, so long as it catches mice". China has been on a meteoric rise ever since.

Meanwhile, in the Islamic world the saying might still be "It doesn't matter if a cat is black or white, so long as it is Muslim".

This emphasis on concrete results in society as opposed to strict doctrinaire ideology was the turning point for China to unleash its potential. And, unlike many one-party systems, the communists in China now are quite aware of what parts of society they don't need to control and what parts they do.

China really has two major ideologies, one political, and one racial. The communists simply want to be recognized as the only legitimate political authority in the country. Thus, they control the media, the legal system, the purse strings, the social discourse, essentially the limits of acceptable political behavior. Thus they have some things in common with Christians, something akin to 'if you accept that Jesus is your Saviour, then we can talk'. The communists would say "accept that the Communist Party is paramount in society and we can talk". It is a fundamental given, beyond dispute.

Regarding race, the idea of being Chinese is the far more potent and long-lasting. Over one billion people share the same racial identity, read the same written language, and view themselves as an extended clan. This also leads to extreme nationalism as the communists are comfortable with equating love for China with love for the government.

Nowadays in the west it is considered politically incorrect to define the country in racial terms or to promote policies that enable the dominant race to dictate to minorities. Trump's border wall is said to be racist for instance. Yet, in China or most Asian countries they would ask "what is wrong with that?"

In America and Europe we have what is called a pluralistic society. This is the case for almost all western countries, they are multi-cultural, with many nodes of power, and have a complex and diverse discourse. So, even if we were constrained by our own upbringing or ethnicity, we could choose to be a member of any church. We could also interpret the bible in our own individual manner, and still find acceptance.

China is much the same now even if not so pluralistic. Whether to agree with the communists and their followers is a choice that can now be made. You can live your daily life without much political intrusion. Sure, at work you must observe some routines to display your allegiance to the party, or communist god. Usually it is the individual behavior of your boss that is more intrusive and annoying than the party.

I remember that in Xian around the year 2002 I was doing consulting for an IT company that distributed computer printers, and PC's. They were a mainly private organization with some local city government investment, the typical comrade/capitalist mix common in many cities.

Every Wednesday evening everyone was supposed to attend the routine political indoctrination where the most recent irrelevant thoughts of the Communist Party were presented. All staff showed up - for I guess you couldn't skip it. The meeting was just after work, so they just waited for their 'leader' to show up. He took his position at the front of the class and started to lecture, even drawing a few things on the whiteboard. Yet, after a few minutes of blah, blah, blah, all the staff were soon at their PC's or playing video games. So the new China had arrived, but the old was still clinging along – tenuously.

The reality is that most people in China are apathetic about politics. They are more concerned with day to day matters like paying their mortgage and what happens in Beijing does not concern them. There is a saying in Chinese : 'The mountains and the Emperor are far away'.

So even if contentious comments or websites about China's oppression in Tibet were allowed, the vast majority would either disagree or be disbelieving. I always remind people about the US government and their illegal claim to Hawaii, but nobody is interested, so the average person of each country has much in common.

In the China of today there are plenty of opportunities to improve your life through work or study, and you can now choose to live almost anywhere in the country without restriction. You can get a passport and travel the world, and most of the segregation in the country is more economic based, than political. Much like in the rich world of the west and Japan.

The communist party is not all knowing or all-encompassing as a lot can get through the cracks. To really see what restrains or drives the behavior of the people, you just have to understand a bit about their racial and cultural identity. They are Chinese. The sense of 'being Chinese' constrains the behavior of most people far more than the state. This is the all-encompassing blanket or mist that engulfs China 24/7, and it is generally a positive influence.

The combination of communist doctrine, with Chinese societal norms, means that China continues to pursue a one-size fits all society. Can you imagine if all the following institutions were associated and aligned in America, and that there were no alternative institutions to oppose their orthodoxy.

The media would all be different versions of CNN, all controlled by corporate media and members of an elite Politburo. There would be only one accepted political party (the Democrats) and every 'election' over the last 60 years would return them to power - unopposed.

There would be only one valid racial identity – mainstream white people (TV in the 50's in America). Also, only one valid cultural and religious view – then you would have a glimpse of China today.

#

# Chinese Food

In 1982 Shenzhen was a small town with about 30,000 people. It's main claim to fame was that Hong Kong could easily travel there to a local market that sold live animals such as dog, pangolin, and snakes. These animals could be chosen from a cage and then immediately served in an adjoining restaurant. On weekends, many adventurous Hong Kongers would come here to eat animals that were illegal to buy at home.

The Cantonese are known for their eccentric culinary behavior, and it is said that they will eat anything with four legs, except a table. There were cats, dogs, rats, civet cats, armadillo, a type of bear, snakes, and other creatures on display in cages. For most people it was a good place to take photo's, for others a great place to spend a lot of money.

I was into adventurous cuisine, and on this night I was eating something called "wah wah yue" a sea amphibian that cries like a baby, and thus the name. After a few beers, I was looking for the toilet, and walked to a small thatched hut building on stilts. It was dark and dingy, and as I squatted I was startled to see a pigs' snout right below me with his mouth wide open – arghh... he was waiting for a fresh meal. So shocked, I didn't provide as I and made a hasty exit.

Shenzhen is not like that anymore, of course, but the quest for strange dishes still brings people from Hong Kong to China. In China the Cantonese are still famous for eating anything. The quote -

" _Chinese eat anything whose back is facing heaven", is usually attributed to the Cantonese rather than China as a whole._

Chinese food varies from region to region, and encompasses a variety that may only be matched by the total selection of European food from Norway to Spain and Ireland to the Ukraine. In the north they eat eels just like in Scandinavia, in the south coconut and sticky rice as in Thailand. In the west they eat goat and flatbread, like in the middle east, and in the east, rice, just like China.

The Chinese love to eat and is an essential part of daily life and culture. Taking a meal is quite often a group event, and also a time of great socializing. The food is designed to be shared, and in many instances is already pre-cut so that it can be eaten with chopsticks. All food is served in what we call 'family style' in America. Everyone shares the food from the same serving dishes or bowls.

Some exotic dishes are relatively commonplace, such as snake soup which is popular during the winter and is said to have some therapeutic value. The snake meat is cut into small slivers and mixed in a soup base similar to that in sweet and sour soup. Then you sprinkle some herbs and short pieces of fried noodle.

Other exotic fare is still readily available in Hong Kong, such as chicken testicles, which looks like a dish with fifty small eggs about the size of large vitamin pills. Another favorite is duck tongue, which although it has a nice taste, takes some effort to eat.

Very common is coagulated pigs blood, sort of a dark purple colored piece of Jell-O. This can be fried, put in soups and generally added to just about any dish as a filler.

Other dishes are a bit more exotic. In a town north of Jiangmen (Guangdong province) I stopped at a roadside diner (Dai Pai Dong - the Cantonese term for street stall). In this stall, like so many others they had hanging cha-siu (bbq pork), duck and chicken. But they also had an interesting small animal that had been dried and waxed. It turns out one of the local delicacies was bat. I did not partake as I imagine that there was not much meat, but there certainly was a market for it there. Rat is also commonly eaten in Guangdong province.

I have also eaten my share of possibly endangered species. In Zhuhai I had a nice fish dish and asked what it was - it was a dolphin. I hope it wasn't one of the Pink Dolphin's that are going extinct. In Shenzhen, I have eaten civet cat, which looks like a cross between a large cat and a fox.

Dog, which is commonly available and the meat is put into a hot pot - (da bin lo) and mixed with spring onions and other green vegetables. I've eaten this on many occasions, and it wasn't the dog that bothered me, it was the cost. Dog is more expensive than beef or pork and not as tasty.

As always there is a reason for everything they eat – as it must be good for something, and I am always amazed at my friend's ability to conjure up a justification for any food - however suspect.

There are also strange things in traditional Chinese pharmacies. I remember years ago I had been throwing up for at least a day and was very nauseous. One of my staff suggested I go with him to the traditional medicine shop. I soon saw the medical practitioner take various herbs and dried animals and place them on wax paper. I saw turtle bone, one seahorse, some white bark, some dried leaves, and other herbal looking things. The concoction was ground in a pestle, and then given to me to boil and then drink.

At the office, I dutifully boiled the mixture to drink and it was the most vile thing I have ever attempted to ingest in my life. I joked to Peter (my workmate) that since it tasted so bad it would discourage me from ever getting sick again. Well, it worked.

Yet, China is not alone when it comes to strange food. The most extreme examples of culinary perversion were practiced in Taipei, Taiwan. For years a popular street there named 'snake street' was the scene of good eating and good sex. You see, the two are intertwined.

Such fare as snake blood and snake bile were available from many vendors, and less common turtle and possibly bear paw were also available. But the most extreme example of culinary behavior is the eating of live monkey brain. I consider myself to not be squeamish at all when it comes to food. But on this visit to Taipei in 1983 my stomach would surely be challenged, as well as my ethics.

You see, I was at a famous restaurant where they serve live monkeys. The monkeys sit in cages and wait their turn, anxiously, no doubt. The patrons who order this must have a lot of money, for on this night I saw only one monkey leave the cage, and as he did so he was screaming bloody murder. And, why not? Surely he had seen another of his kind killed before.

Anyway I saw the monkey first shackled and then carried to the table which had a collar built into it. The monkey was placed in the center and his head was visible in the middle of the table. They make sure he can't move, because when somebody starts to hack into your head with a chisel, well... The screams made my stomach turn. My Taiwanese friend was non-plussed, but I couldn't bear to see the monkey killed in such a fashion and then watch his brain eaten while his heart was still beating.

My friend later told me what happened after I left. They chip away his cranium and expose the brain. Then with chopsticks, the brain matter is dipped in either hot oil, or spicy sauce, and then eaten raw, or for some they boil it in water. Oh those barbaric Chinese!

The Posh Restaurant

About 15 years ago I was taken to a new posh restaurant in Beijing. This restaurant shed new light on the word 'extravagant'. It was a seafood restaurant in the basement of the Asia Hotel. As you enter you see only five 'tables', actually sampans (boats) in an artificial pond. The decor is such to invoke a wharf where Chinese hawkers come to sell their catch of the day. The waiters and staff were dressed like 'Hakka' fisher-folk, and the sampans were actually floating while moored to the dock.

I was accompanied by Don, an American businessman who had been coming to China for over 15 years, and our agent Mr.. Li. Our host was Mr. Hwang, the second in command of one of China's larger petroleum products companies and also a member of the Communist elite.

Mr. Hwang had a gruff manner, and at first glance seemed somewhat unapproachable. He had large hands which may indicate that he too may have suffered the indignities of the cultural revolution. He was also a Korean War veteran.

The waiters came over to our boat carrying live seafood and advertising their wares as if in a dirty local market. It was all a bit surreal as if we were traveling in 'Pirates of the Caribbean' in Disneyland, but with real actors and food. We ordered fine red wine, lobster and anything that we fancied. Next to the boat we were serenaded by a traditional Chinese musician playing something akin to a mandolin.

As the course of the dinner progressed, we continued to enjoy the wine. Mr.. Li had to do most of the translating, although I would try to make myself understood with my basic Mandarin. Mr. Hwang was amused with my efforts and our discussions became more and more relaxed and soon we were discussing politics. Mr. Hwang made the comment that the Japanese have never apologized sufficiently for the suffering they have caused the Chinese people. My response was that the Chinese people have been treated badly not just by outsiders but by their own people and government and they have never received a proper apology from anyone.

Mr.. Li translated this while Don looked at me and said "Don't go there" - in effect warning me not to get into a political discussion with such a high ranking and committed Communist. My implication was that the Communist Party had yet to sufficiently apology to the people for all the pain and suffering they have been responsible for.

Since I had had a few drinks, and also because I had minimal respect for communism or its ideology, I really didn't care if I was too loose with my tongue. Besides, I knew that in Guangdong where I could speak more freely, the 'idealists' were certainly in the minority and that the Communist Party was surviving more on handouts and political favors to its followers than any moral authority.

Mr. Hwang paused and gave me a hard look. He simply said 'Yes, you have a point' and we left it at that. Later in the dinner he invited me up to his company headquarters town, so my faux paux had not done me too much harm. When the bill came Mr. Hwang graciously paid and the cost for four was $1,200 USD, many times the monthly salaries of his staff. The frugality that characterized the communists has certainly gone by the wayside.

# Comrades, Crooks and Conmen

For many of us, China is a place to romanticize. The spiritual and cultural treasures of China and her people have always been fascinating to the west. Since Marco Polo wrote of the wonders of China during the Tang Dynasty, to images of China in such TV 'classics' as 'Charlie Chan" and 'Kung Fu', the answers to many age-old questions seemed accessible and desirable when approached through a Chinese context.

Kung Fu, Tai Chi, acupuncture, and Confucius seem to be gaining ground as we look to them to help solve the problems inherent in a decadent western society. Just recently I saw a book entitled: 'I Ching for business', and another 'Sun Tzu & Business' referring to the famous book on the art of war. Yet in China they are reading 'What they don't teach you in the Harvard Business School'.

The reality of China is that despite years of economic progress, doing business there is always difficult. The main reason now is not the red tape, but the fact that China's market place is the fastest moving and in many ways the most competitive on earth.

In the early years when I opened up a showroom in Shenzhen business was difficult mainly due to the fact China had no money. Anything I was trying to sell from America or even Taiwan seemed pricey on their local terms. They seemed to only buy what they had to, or wanted to copy, and soon China was a land of fake products.

Just about anything fake could be bought, including Marlboro cigarettes, Kodak film, Louis Vuitton bags, and even Snickers candy bars. I have seen instances of this many times but in recent years there appears to be far fewer of these products on display.

I remember meeting a German businessman who in the late 1990's had set up a submersible pump factory near Suzhou. When they went into production, it was only a matter of weeks before they were receiving factory returns (broken products returned under warranty). Upon close inspection they realized that the designs of their product had been copied, and that there was another factory somewhere selling identical, yet fake products. These fake products were being returned for repair to their factory as the products were labeled exactly as the real ones. The most amazing thing for him was that the fake factory went into production before he did.

Just a few years ago we were selling an access control panel in Hong Kong and China, but soon found that we could buy it cheaper in China than from the manufacturer in the USA. How could this be? As we were able to buy at the best possible price from the US manufacturer.

The reason for this is what is called "gray market products". There were to ways that this could happen, the first and most common is that products are purchased in the US and then shipped through the non-traditional channels into China or elsewhere without the manufacturer's knowledge.

The second and soon more common route is products leaking out of the back door of the China factory. Say that Wal-Mart has bought 10,000 dozen Levi branded shirts and that the factory has made 5% more than needed as they have to allow for defective goods and returns. In many cases the factory staff will purposely produce even more than is required and sell the goods to shady wholesalers right out of the factory door.

So a shirt selling for $20 retail in the US, might have a factory price of $4 in Guangdong. It could end up with a street seller for sale for $6 twenty miles from the factory - a real factory outlet!

The pace of business in China is such that change is faster than many people can cope. New businesses are born and others fail faster than probably anywhere on earth. This churn enables huge innovations but also has its social consequences. In the recent downturn in 2009, it is said that 20 million people lost their jobs. This is the equivalent of all US manufacturing employment disappearing overnight.

Yet, China muddles through this crisis by doing what was done elsewhere, they just printed money out of thin air!

# China as a victim or victor

" _If you bow at all bow low" - an old Chinese proverb_

One question that Chinese people as is whether being from mainland China commands respect or pity 'Are they on the top of the world order, or closer to the bottom?' Until recently it was clear they were more towards the bottom as China was poor and didn't control Asia, let alone the world. However, China's huge economic footprint should confer elevated status to mainlander's as they go around the world.

But these perceptions about Chinese must be tempered with ethnic Chinese who have lived for generations elsewhere in the world. Historically they were treated poorly in places like Mexico, Peru, Hawaii, Jamaica, and California as well. The Chinese were in many ways an invisible race, like worker bees, who toiled without recognition.

In the 19th century in America, laws were made that taxed only Chinese business, and the Chinese could not vote or become citizens. During this same time as they were striving for equal treatment, they were also appealing to the 'motherland' to assist them. The Six Companies (Chinese Group in San Francisco) also issued a letter to the seemingly unaware Chinese government: "We ask for help. We ask for justice. We ask that our Government protect its children."

So in order to gain the rights of citizenship in America they were appealing to their own government as citizens. It is understandable that white American's felt that the Chinese did not have an allegiance to their new country. It may be that the Chinese thought they could never assimilate in America and would never be treated fairly – a reasonable view.

The largest groups of overseas Chinese are in SE Asia in Thailand, Burma, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Laos. But they continue to face some discrimination and hostility in these countries, while at the same time they dominate the business world and commerce. On the one hand they are a victim and on the other they are in control.

In many countries, even when the Chinese assimilate they are at times still assumed to be 'Chinese' and all the obligations that that confers to the mainland. Of course nobody likes mainland China, and thus this national identity makes the Chinese appear to be untrustworthy and causes others to question their commitment to their adopted country.

They are accused of having dual loyalties, much like Israeli/American or Mexican/American dual citizens, who may be suspected of being more loyal to a foreign country than their country of birth.

In China, where the world is portrayed in black and white, good and bad, Chinese and barbarian, it is difficult for overseas Chinese to find their way. To please the motherland while being welcomed as an overseas Chinese national, is a dichotomy that is hard to resolve.

China contributes to this problem as well for when they have visitors from Thailand for instance, they treat overseas Thai Chinese much differently than they would treat the ethnic Thai.

This dual treatment begs the question, that if China can treat people differently based on their race, why can't others treat Chinese differently due to their race?

Even now, China can behave as an immature and reactionary country. Every year the state organizes anti-Japanese protests to commemorate when Imperial Japan occupied large parts of China, including their infamous 'Rape of Nanking'. They have spent years trying to convince the Japanese government to issue a formal apology but are never satisfied with the Japanese response and anti-Japanese sentiments continue.

However, it wasn't only the Japanese and others who destroyed China, but the reactionary forces of Mao as well. We will never know how many people died as a result of his policies, with estimates ranging from 20-60 million. One thing is for certain, there will never be an apology from the communists in China to their own people.

Japan reacted differently in its relations with the west. As they opened up to the world (forced at gunpoint) around the mid-19th century, it was obvious to the Japanese that the west had superior strength and technology. So just as they learned from China in the past they found themselves a new mentor.

China, for its part, continued to try to deal with the west on their own terms, but the western powers were not easily manipulated. They would impose their will on China regardless of their wondrous past and great inventions. China was even vanquished by many of its own inventions, like gunpowder and the compass. Many ask why, and I don't have an easy answer for that.

For China, it is much easier to be a victim of the actions of foreigners, than of their own people. In many instances they continue to see themselves as victims - even now, despite China's wealth.

They have a point as the colonial powers didn't act in any way to help China's interests, and such events as the burning down of the Summer Palace or the Opium Wars attest to that. In fact, the British were intent on making China a country of drug addicts in order to finance their trade deficit.

So Chinese are certainly right that the west is still acting in their own self-interest now. So, what else is new? Yet, China feels surrounded and America's recent courting of Vietnam and the Philippines to re-establish military bases. There is the anti-missile defense system in Korea, and it is something that they object to vehemently. They are not fooled by any fancy label such as "the Asian pivot".

Of course, China also acts in their own self-interest and in many instances pursues them clumsily. It is not certain that their One Belt One Road initiative will succeed. But one thing that is certain is that China is trying a win-win approach, while the west is still pursuing gunboat diplomacy that almost all the world now rejects.

However it intrigues me that when Chinese students overseas protest against American policies, they don't fail to see the irony that they cannot protest openly against their own government at home? It seems they find the freedoms in the west to be self-evident - just part of the landscape. However, somehow they such freedoms are not necessarily suitable or relevant to their homeland.

Just recently Jackie Chan - one of Hong Kong's most famous actors had this to say while attending a conference in China.

" _chaotic conditions in Hong Kong and Taiwan showed that unless Chinese people were controlled, they would do whatever they wanted"._

He certainly didn't mean this as a compliment, and for some it meant he was condoning China's own lack of democracy. Is there something inherently wrong with Chinese people doing what they want? It may be that Jackie has Chinese higher expectations of foreigners than they do of themselves. Is that fair?

This emphasis of fairness is actually rarely applied within China itself. Life is just as it is - if you are poor and can't improve your life, that is just the way it is, nothing unfair in that. If the government wants to take your land for a highway, it is good for the country, right? If you want to argue about compensation – you should first remember your station in life. It is what it is.

# Chinese vs. Chinese

Nanjing Road, Shanghai. It is a busy Friday evening in Shanghai's busiest shopping district. There is a mad rush to shop and get home for a well deserved weekend rest. Many of the shopping centers include trendy clothing shops, Japanese department stores, and American fast food.

One not so busy shopper is Frank Lin - an overseas Chinese from Singapore. He is on his first trip to China with his wife Mabel and he can afford much of the luxury on display. At first glance he looks a lot like all the other ethnic Chinese around him. Yet, ten years ago that would not have been the case, as the mainlanders would have looked a bit ramshackle and he and his wife would stand out with their appearance.

Frank is determined to return a sweater that he bought in the store. Yesterday, after returning to their hotel room Mabel noticed the stitching was irregular, and instructed Frank to get a refund. Here he is now on a busy Friday night doing just that, with receipt in hand he was arguing in passable Mandarin, and was getting nowhere.

This was not like Singapore as there was no service with a smile. Just indifference despite being inside Shanghai Sincere, a Hong Kong owned company. After ten minutes of fruitless negotiations, Frank asked for the Manager. This request was met with a scowl, and the three young shop assistants had the look on their faces that implied this uppity Chinese had maybe gone too far. Frank was determined to resolve this as the product was defective.

After another five minutes passed the Manager had not arrived, and the stony faces of the shop girls had not retracted. While waiting, Frank had noticed that a white foreigner, most likely British or American, was at the adjacent counter to return some shoes. It seems the Manager had come to resolve her request without a fuss. The white lady was instructed politely in English that she could either find another pair of shoes to her liking or get a full refund.

If there was anything that drove Frank mad, it was his perception that 'whites' were treated better than Chinese, even here in China. When the Manager came over to Frank, there was no way this was going to be resolved peacefully, Frank had already lost his cool.

This is not an isolated incident. As a rule white foreigners are treated better in most Chinese societies than the Chinese themselves. We are generally perceived to be a bit civilized along with having some money as well. Also there is the novelty of meeting a white foreigner in China, and the chance to speak English and make a friend.

I have been in so many situations where if I request something in English it will go over much better than if my wife makes the same request in Chinese. Even many of my Hong Kong Chinese friends would find it convenient for me to take the lead in certain situations to get better results in China than they could.

I have been told by many English and Irish people that when they are in America they feel that they are treated better than they would be at home, so this is not necessarily a unique occurrence. Sometimes being a foreigner is a charm.

In Hong Kong the only time I have got into trouble with the police or locals has been when I have been conversing in Cantonese. One late night I had a dispute with a taxi for a $10 HK surcharge for the cross harbor tunnel. As I was a bit drunk, I always believed that I spoke Cantonese very well. The taxi driver drove me to the Wanchai Police station and the first cop to come around became our mediator. Telling my side of the story in Cantonese was a big disadvantage and after hearing me I not only had to pay the $10 for the tunnel fee, but another $20 for the drivers' inconvenience.

This is much like the experience for overseas Chinese who mistakenly believe they are somehow 'local' but in reality they are not. The problem for Frank and other overseas Chinese, is that they have been oversold by their parents about how great China is, or how wonderful the Chinese people are. The reality in China is much different as they soon find out.

Thus, for much of the 20th century the call of the motherland has brought hundreds of thousands of ethnic Chinese back 'home'. For many this has been a bitter pill to swallow - they cannot be Chinese in China and they can't be local and remain Chinese back home in say Indonesia.

My wife found this out in Beijing in 1990. She became infuriated when she was treated differently in restaurants and shops than the white students who accompanied her. She also witnessed first hand the treatment of African students and the blatant racism that was directed against them.

Within a few weeks of her arrival she was questioning all that her parents had told her. The Chinese she saw were more impolite, racist, and generally low class than she could imagine. She experienced the dog-eat-dog mentality first hand and decided that maybe being Chinese in North Carolina was better than being Chinese in China.

There is a double standard. I've been treated both ways myself, and I can tell you speaking English and acting ignorant is usually the best course of action. It works particularly well if you are European or American. But it even works if you are Singaporean or Canadian of Chinese descent. After all, even if you are Chinese you are also capable of being ignorant and foolish such as a white person.

I remember years ago in Guangzhou my Chinese girlfriend and I were attempting to rent a boat for an afternoon to take us down the Pearl River. She attempted to hire a boat and boatman for about three minutes while speaking in Mandarin. They simply ignored her, probably to disguise the fact that they couldn't speak the language. But as soon as I started to speak in Cantonese they spoke up and we were able to get a boat within minutes. Sometimes being local can work to your advantage, at least when ignorance fails.

For the Chinese in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and overseas, they carry an immense pride about being Chinese. This is a bit easier, as they don't have to deal with the downsides of living in China itself. Like proud expatriates from an ideal world, they can point out all that is great about China without mentioning all that is still wrong.

There are still hundreds of millions of people living on a few dollars a day who have yet to see any benefits from China's boom and they experience nothing but extreme hardship in day- to-day life. This vast population is always simmering beneath the surface of Chinese society, as for them, being Chinese is not such a gift, but a curse. Yet, for most life has improved dramatically and there is still a chance to improve your life when living the 'Chinese dream'.

Nationalism in China is intrinsically linked to Chinese chauvinism and Chinese notions of racial and cultural superiority. Seemingly not being able to distinguish between the two, Chinese leaders appeal to a vein of common belief among their population – Chinese people are unique, China is strong, and the communist party is to thank. They also consider an ethnic Chinese person to be 'Chinese' regardless of where they live.

This belief has its perils particularly to overseas Chinese around the world. The fact that China can appeal to their successful overseas brethren to invest and return to the motherland, means that the cultural link is still real and it is entirely framed in racial terms.

Thus, if Chinese overseas are viewed from within China as also being Chinese, then they imply that any cultural traits from these other countries are not relevant and that ethnicity trumps nationality.

For those in Malaysia or Indonesia, their mostly incorrect perception that the Chinese in their countries have dual loyalties and are a threat. This is also a justification for further oppression against the Chinese community.

As long as China plays the 'race card' and considers all of Chinese race to be 'of China', then Chinese will never be truly accepted or assimilated anywhere else in the world. This is despite the fact that most if not all overseas have no affiliation or contact with China, and with many Chinese having been established in their adopted country for generations.

# Perceptions

Inscrutable - (în-skr¡¹te-bel) adjective

Difficult to fathom or understand; impenetrable

One thing about the people of China is they are survivors. Doesn't matter what system you throw at them, they just keep going. They are the 'Energizer Bunnies' of the human race.

Over the last 40 years they have made the transition from impoverished and scary communists, to aggressive capitalists on their own. But has the media caught up with this reality? The coverage during the Olympics indicated a sense of wonderment at how China could put on such a spectacular and well organized show?

The media didn't answer the questions about just who are these people? What makes them tick? Are they such a threat to us and our way of life?

Instead it seems we are stuck with, oh those tricky Chinese! It seems they are just incapable of thinking or acting like us. What is wrong with these guys! Why can't they understand how to do things our way? They seem to congregate among themselves, with no real inclination to join the international community.

Actually, the Chinese are among the most straightforward people on earth. Particularly when dealing with each other. Can you imagine over 1 billion people living in an area about as big as Europe just getting along? They just do.

Or another way to say this is they just make do. I like this expression as it conveys their ability to do things, double-time. If you are looking for people with tremendous energy, ability, and fortitude, then look no further than a Chinese.

This is not to say that other races of people are not in the same league – there are many. It is just that the modern Chinese have a lot more in common with our previous generations than they do with us. We have not lived through the trials and travails of our ancestors and it shows.

The people that survived the depression and the Second World War were different than the people of today. Americans of today have a sense of entitlement, and seem to think they should be rich and that the Chinese who make their iPhones should be poor. That's just the way it is even though the westerners don't make their own clothes, TV's, or computers anymore.

Think about your grandmother – was she a straightforward person? Did she spend all her time worrying or just doing? Was she a giver or a taker? My grandmother expected nothing from government. If there were any rewards in life she would pursue them with her own ability and work ethic.

She was a tireless lady who mowed the lawn with a hand mower at 83 years old. She didn't trust the government or doctors, and just wanted to be left alone. In a word she was like many of my Chinese friends who are alive today.

America in the past was a world-beating society. They built the Empire State building in 14 months. Even now in China they'd have trouble doing it so fast. But we in America for instance are no longer the same people. The independence and self reliance so celebrated in old western movies reflect a way of life that is long gone. The westerner now live in societies that coddles the population and provides instant gratification, regardless of the outcome.

In some respects the lives of many Chinese in China and Asia are similar to the pioneering spirit of our ancestors. The Chinese I know in Hong Kong and China survived war and revolution within their lifetimes. For those in China who are my age or older (50+) many grew up among intensely difficult circumstances, amid poverty and political upheaval. Given a chance later in life they have now started to grab the bull by the horns.

I am sure my grandmother would feel comfortable among my Chinese friends, or my wife's mother. They would share many values and be able to have a mutual respect. So much of what Asians or East Europeans for that matter don't want to emulate is simply a result of a generational gap – their lives include a memory of hardship.

When an elderly American shakes his head and sees what he perceives as a society going to hell, well, he looks at America and compares it to what it was like when he was younger. My father is the same way. For years he couldn't understand that America was still prosperous simply by living on borrowed money. He saw his children and grandchildren buying new cars on credit, and homes without a deposit and remarked, "this is all a house of cards". He sold much of his property years ago.

Therefore, to understand the Chinese mentality, you have to transpose at least one generation to the past, thus comparing your grandparents who grew up in the 30's with Chinese who grew up in the 60's. Then you can have a better understanding of their world view.

# Racial Stereotypes

Fox Movie Channel Bans Charlie Chan Movies

July 01, 2003

(CNSNews.com) - The Fox Movie Channel abruptly canceled its planned Charlie Chan film festival last week after complaints from an Asian American group that the character was "one of the most offensive Asian caricatures of America's cinematic past."

The Fox Movie Channel announced on June 27 on its website that it was canceling its several-months-long "Charlie Chan's Mystery Tour" because the "films may contain situations or depictions that are sensitive to some viewers.

The note to viewers said, "Fox Movie Channel realizes that these historic films were produced at a time where racial sensitivities were not as they are today. As a result of the public response to the airing of these films, Fox Movie Channel will remove them from the schedule." The detective series featured the Asian character Charlie Chan in more than 40 movies beginning in the silent era of the 1920s and continuing into the late 1940s.

The pressure to cancel the movie broadcasts came from Asian groups, including the National Asian American Telecommunications Association (NAATA), which called Chan "a hoary stereotype that has dogged Asian Americans for decades."

In a letter to the Fox Movie Channel, Eddie Wong, executive director of NAATA, wrote that growing up in 1950s Los Angeles,...Charlie Chan's shuffling, subservient manner and exaggerated accent and fortune-cookie chatter did not resemble my parents, friends or any Chinese person I knew.

"By running the Chan movies, the Fox Movie Channel (is) reviving hurtful stereotypes instead of helping our society move toward harmony," Wong added.

You may have sensed that Charlie didn't really look Chinese, as the character was played by a white American actor Sidney Toler. He spoke with a contrived Chinese accent and rattled off 'ole Chinese sayings' about as fast as Confucius on steroids. At least his cinematic "number one son" was really Chinese – Key Luke. Luke played many roles over the years including Charlie Chan himself.

Asians - Chinese and Japanese in particular, have never fared well in Hollywood.. Remember such forgettable roles as John Wayne in Genghis Khan, or Yul Brynner as the King in The King and I. This simply re-affirmed the fact that Asians can't act, and that white people can do a better job of being Asian than even Asians themselves! Even a recent film (2007) about Marco Polo featured Brian Dennehy as the great Kublai Khan.

Can you imagine this – Billy Crystal as Nelson Mandela in "Mandela". Or Morgan Freeman as General Tojo in "Tora Tora Tora 2". How about Chuck Norris in the lead role of the "The Bruce Lee Story".

We don't seem to be offended when Asians are portrayed this way and I say - Hello? Where have you been these last hundred years? How many films have you seen that depict Asians in a positive light? Even now most Asians (Chinese) are depicted as people who can't speak English well, and many are Kung Fu fighting villains, or sex mad vixens.

Recently the move – 'Crazy Rich Asians' was celebrated as the first movie in years with an all Asian cast. It was well received in America, and yet for many in Asia they felt it again portrayed Asians in a stereotypical light.

But then Europeans are not always portrayed very well in Asian cinema. I have an American friend who has been in over 40 local Hong Kong movies, and his main role has been to act mean and nasty and then get murdered.

But, sometimes stereotypes do contain elements of truth, so I will take a look at some of these stereotypes and debunk them, if necessary.

_The Chinese are family oriented_ – this is certainly so, but really not more so than say Mexicans or Italians. It is just that so much of American society is not family oriented, particularly in the Anglo world, that recent arrivals from China or Hong Kong tend to value their family much more highly than people who have been in America for generations.

I imagine that even WASP America was at one-time family oriented. However, after a few generations of affluence, and economic mobility, people are less vulnerable and more independent. Also, with the appearance of the TV and automobile, we are more mobile, and less social as well. I am sure that our great grandparents wouldn't get along with 'us' at all.

In fact, most of the world is still family oriented - a choice made out of necessity. In the absence of welfare or social security, economic uncertainty makes it imperative that we lived our life among our family. Thus most poorer communities are still family oriented.

_The Chinese are the same everywhere_ \- are the Chinese people like one big family that extends all over the world? – yes, and no. Certainly the Chinese are more comfortable with their own kind. We all are. But the Chinese are a diverse lot. Almost every community in Southeast Asia has their share of Chinese, but they are not painted with the same brush.

Wherever I go to in Southeast Asia I seek out those who speak Cantonese like me. They are the predominant Chinese expatriate group but not the only one. There are Fukinese, Chao Chow, Hakka, and Mandarin speakers to name a few. They don't view themselves as part of any collective, and like us choose to associate with those they have the most in common with. But inter-ethnic rivalry has been at play throughout all the overseas Chinese communities.

_They are unscrupulous in business_ – the fact is they survived in business all over the world by not being scrupulous, but by being generally honest and hardworking. These traits were at times lacking among the Thai's, Javanese, Vietnamese and others in the region.

The Chinese have an acumen for doing business. But their politics might be described as NIMN (not in my neighborhood). They really just want to be left alone to get on with making money. This has served them well – to a point. Being successful minorities they have to tread lightly among the local population, and unfortunately, many of them don't do so, and at times the whole of the ethnic Chinese community then is persecuted.

In Thailand I know of a small retail store that has survived for over 80 years and still gets supplied its goods not based on invoices, but purely on trust. Of course - with other Chinese from Bangkok.

_They are clannish and closed to the outside world_ \- again, this may have been true a few generations ago, but Chinese around the world have done a pretty good job assimilating into other cultures. In the US, intermarriage rates among ethnic Chinese approach one third of the population, so the purity of the race is now being diminished, as with so many others. When given a chance, or compelled to do so, the Chinese have assimilated into their host countries in Asia. But not always.

_Their primary loyalty is to China_ \- this depends on what we define as China. Certainly those in Hong Kong or Taiwan know that they are part of China and identify with it as well. For the long term, despite current political problems, their allegiance to the motherland will hold firm.

Also, it matters just who we define as Chinese. In Thailand the Chinese are assimilated, and would never even consider to be loyal to China. They are Thai.

_They love their vices_ \- they are involved in secret societies that perpetuate the vices of gambling, drugs, and prostitution. You see the Chinese are not all choir boys, and unlike the puritanical west, Chinese societies have a more fluid view of ethical and moral behavior with far fewer constraints than in a Christian nation.

_The Chinese are not aggressive_ – well that one is partly true as they seem better at choosing their battles, and thus can be restrained at a time of tension, and then get their comeuppance later.

_Chinese Girls are Sexy_ – not sure where this one came from, but they certainly can look very sexy. In the scheme of things they are not much different than anyone else, and in reality, Chinese societies are more sexually inhibited than western ones.

_The Chinese are superstitious_ – that is certainly so, particularly when it comes to gambling when good luck plays such a role. For most though, superstitions are waning, and play less of a role in day to day life than religion does in the west. For many they will be superstition at times, particularly when times are tough. Just like many Christians who turn to God when they feel a need for help.

_Chinese are dull and uninteresting_ – maybe from a distance it looks this way, but the Chinese are a complex, vocal, and argumentative lot and they can socialize and fun with the best of them.

Always the 'Other'

It seems that the most egregious perpetrators of racial stereotypes are governments. Just recently, the west and the US in particular, have done a good job of spreading propaganda about Arabs and Muslims - behind every camel there must be a terrorist. This characterization had led people to support the invasion of Iraq.

There was a curious parallel to this transformation in World War II. Before Pearl Harbor, American experts had considered the Japanese - as historian John Dower so vividly documented in his book 'War Without Mercy' - bucktoothed, near-sighted military incompetents whose warplanes were barely capable of flight. On December 7th 1941, they suddenly became a race of invincible supermen in the American imagination, without having to ever pass through a human incarnation.

Growing up in the west it is common for us to associate such words as inscrutable and sinister to people from Asia. These impressions may be somewhat responsible for the 'glass ceiling' that many Asians feel is imposed on them when it comes to management jobs. For Asians in general, the most practical course of action is to be good in school, take a technical job (value neutral) and succeed as a highly skilled worker.

However, many Asians - particularly those born in America, want to assimilate and have access to the same opportunities as others in the arts, sales, and government. So when we lament 'couldn't they be more like us', their behavior is partly a function of the opportunities available to them.

My suggestion to anyone who comes to China is to get to know the Chinese well. You may soon find that you have a lot in common with them. Many of your stereotypes will fade away, and maybe new ones will form. Yet, you will still be different than they are no matter how hard you try. Actually, everyone is happy with that, the Chinese are a practical race have no problem with foreigners being different as it validates that they are unique as Chinese.

# 

# Identity in Asia

When I first came to Hong Kong, people would ask me if I was British, or European, or even American. All of a sudden I was part of something bigger than my country, I was part of the foreigners world. In Cantonese I was called a 'gweilo' a somewhat derogatory used to refer to European raced people. Thus I had been labeled, but not willingly as a 'ghostly man'. I felt that surely didn't deserve the label as I wasn't as bad as all those colonialists or missionaries who came before me.

From the Chinese perspective, anyone who looks 'white' whether from Europe, America, or Australia is one and the same. Yet, just what is a 'white man', a Caucasian, if you know what I mean? The problem is this whole idea of 'Caucasian race is derived from one skull found in the Caucasus. One 19th century archaeologist found a skull in the mountains that he considered to be similar to a 'German' skull.

So one 'white man' decides to classify what it is to be White. Then he starts to classify a race of mongrels (lots of genes in the white gene pool) into one race. It seems the Germans have been keeping track of this for quite a while. So is someone from South Ossetia actually White?

I was brought up to try to look the other way when it came to race. However, for the Chinese, it seemed that race was the most prominent characteristic of anyone. It was the main indicator of cultural affiliation and behavior. I found out later that race was important in most of Asia. Most nations don't have abstract identities, if they are Korean or Vietnamese or Chinese, their racial, cultural, and physical landscape is one and the same.

China is actually far less an abstract than America and our concepts of continent, country, religion, and culture. We are a mongrel grouping in a racially complex society. We may have a good understanding of what it is to be American, but our nationalism is really an abstract, a political construct more grounded in contemporary life than ancient history.

For China, the land, the people, the blood, the nation, they are all wound up in the same cloth. Europeans can understand this, as someone in Italy or Denmark can relate to their sense of country and identify as being all and the same. The reason for so much resentment in Holland or Switzerland to such a large influx of foreigners is that they (the foreigners) could take away what is good and pure (the Dutchness, or Swissness) of their countries.

China is the same - it is just so much larger and potentially menacing. For the Chinese though, there can be only one China and it is really that simple. Both Taiwan and China for all their disagreements can agree on that. Only one place that has survived for thousands of years. Only one people who have had to endure through the thick and thin of its turbulent past. China is still just China.

Chinese stereotypes of the USA

_Americans don't care about their families very much_ \- the opposite is true. Almost every American will tell you that family is the most important thing in life – yet do they live it?

_Most Americans have AIDS and have sex in the streets_ \- I'm still laughing at this one. One of my friends told me that she thought this was true before coming to the US.

_Mixed ethnic background = intelligence -_ I was really surprised to hear this from virtually every Chinese I know. Almost all Americans have a diverse and mixed ethnic background - so we must all be geniuses, but the problem is, we aren't mixed with the Chinese.

_The crime rate is so high in the US_ \- that your life is always in danger. This is a vast exaggeration as if you take the crime rate in China which although less, the dangers of traffic accidents, poisoned food, and bad water, means that China is also a dangerous place. In reality the US is probably safer, as we don't have so many industrial accidents and pedestrians being run over.

_All Western countries are basically the same_ \- This stereotype is the mirror of the American stereotype that all "Eastern" countries (China, Japan, Korea, etc.) are basically the same. Both stereotypes are completely false and are purely based on the perception that "all foreigners look alike."

_Most American college students don't study, party all of the time, and are ignorant of the outside world_ \- Actually, this depends on the school, just as in China. It is said that in many universities in China that once you get in you've got it made. This is due to many schools being run on purely commercial terms and students are the revenue generators.

_Every American owns a gun_ \- roughly 35 per cent of American adults own a gun, which is extremely high compared to most other countries. At least not everyone uses a gun to shoot others.

_Blacks and Immigrants are the reasons for America's recent failures_ \- Many in America would agree with this, while others would conclude that it is the whites (and their bankers) who have created the most problems.

American government policy is hypocritical

Take the recent events in Turkey when Saudi Arabia killed one of their own – a high profile journalist. It turns out the US doesn't give a damn and will support the Saudi's regardless of what they do. We support whoever we can control and will continue to criticize China about everything they do.

We are also considered the aggressor in the Ukraine, and the Chinese have more sympathy for Russia and Putin than they do for us. Why? Mainly due to their perception that US government policy is just pursuing policies to maintain their control over the world.

In China they no longer buy into our charade. Seems they have their own version of reality that doesn't necessarily jive with the rest of the world. At least it is more familiar to us than the Indians or Middle-Easterners and all their crazy religions, cultures and behavior.

# Doing Business

Workplace of the world

Chan Wai Ping is a lucky girl. After the long bus ride from Henan province she has finally arrived in the imperial city - or not quite. She has made it to Dong Guan city, an industrial area about an hour drive north of the Hong Kong border. The toy factory is Hong Kong owned, about 80% of the workers are young woman such as herself in search of a better life.

The work is grueling, usually averaging 60 hours a week, but at least for the first time in her life she is eating good food regularly, and she already has new friends to live with in the company dormitory.

At 7 am, Ping, like the other 800 girls working for Ka Wah Toys, gathers in the factory parking lot for morning calisthenics. They line up like soldiers to take the orders of the day from their supervisors. There is usually no pep-talk, just sometimes a few instructions of company policy or practical work instructions. They then head for the assembly line. None of the girls like this regimentation.

Ping is not a robot and she finds the work to be mundane and boring. She usually sleeps at her workstation at lunch. Like others, she is only doing this work for the money. This is a good enough reason when jobs are scarce in her hometown.

Ping gets free housing and food, and If you take into consideration her plentiful overtime, she is paid the equivalent of $4.00 per hour. She will most likely work for 3-5 years, and then return home with a bit of cash. Despite these seemingly low wages, the Hong Kong owners now gripe about people like Ping, and always threaten the staff that they will move the factory farther inland or to Vietnam if wages continue to rise. There are still no unions in China for people like Ping.

But the story is not so simple as it seems. For example, the employees of Wal Mart in China are unionized, while those in America are not.

I remember my first visits to large factories in China back when it truly was a socialist country. They had state-run behemoths, like the fertilizer factory I visited in 1983. The factory had a very large hall, literally as big as a train station, where hundreds of woman were sewing bags that would be used to package the fertilizer. It was entirely manual work, with no automation or modern machines. It was the time of the iron rice bowl, and jobs for life. It wasn't truly a workers paradise, as pay was low, but at least survival was assured. It was no wonder that China then wasn't much of an exporter.

After the reforms started around 1986, one of my staff had a close friend who worked at a plywood factory nearby. She was 19 and had come to Shenzhen to work. I asked her how she liked her job, and she replied "Great! I get to eat meat twice a week".

I reflected on how difficult her life at home must have been, as meat was obviously an expensive luxury. Her expectations were quite low, but it certainly made it a bosses paradise, with an endless supply of young women who would work for peanuts (meat).

I was doing consulting work in Taiwan at the same time, and it was already a major manufacturing base for consumer electronics and high tech assemblies. The people in Taiwan and China were separated by politics, but not race. The same capabilities in Taiwan existed in China too, in plentiful, yet untapped supply. Gee! cheap Chinese workers in the hundreds of millions - this was a scary thought, as not only were they hungry, but potentially world-beaters in technology and industry.

With people such as this, it was only a matter of time that all of Hong Kong's and Taiwan's factories would move to the mainland. In the early 1980's factory workers in America made about $1200 per month and in Taiwan maybe $300, while in China it was as little as $35 per month. By now we see that China seems to be making all the products that dominate the shelves of WalMart and Carrefour, Circuit City, the Gap and Home Depot.

The numbers are quite remarkable. It is estimated that almost 20 million workers in China are employed by Hong Kong based companies, and another 10 million by other overseas Chinese and Asian firms. Add in the 15 million plus employed by foreign multinationals, and you can see that China has been assigned to make everything from iPhones to Christmas trees.

What is amazing is how some of the industries have congregated into certain cities. On a visit to Jiang Men in Guangdong province a few years ago, I was surprised to find that hundreds, maybe thousands of factories were making nothing but light fixtures, and now they have transitioned to more high-tech LED lighting and technologies.

While in Eastern Guangdong there are towns that focus only on ceramics, or in Humen they focus on the garment industry. This leads to economies of scale for the factories and their suppliers, as well as specialized concentrations of skills and materials.

However, times are changing - and fast. China's big competitive advantages may be short lived. The costs of labor and inputs are rising, while margins priced in dollars are squeezed. Chinese manufacturers will have to pass these new costs onto their buyers, and from what I understand from both the factories and buyers themselves, these increases will be huge.

Also, over the last few years the competition for skilled Chinese labor has meant that in order for a company to successfully hire and retain employees, they have to improve working conditions and benefits to staff. The average Chinese export factory is not the sweatshop it used to be and I know of factories in China now looking to import intermediate assemblies from Thailand, Vietnam and elsewhere where costs are now lower and then take advantage of China's more sophisticated mid-management infrastructure to assemble, test and market these products.

Can what has happened in China also happen elsewhere? After all, there are still untapped labor pools of Greater India (Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka) and Vietnam.

Yes, and no. China will move up the value chain to try to compete with Japan, Korea, or Germany. While the newcomers and India will most likely be settling for the work not taken by more established locales such as Mexico, Thailand, and Eastern Europe.

High-Tech in Shenzhen

China is moving up market and fast. One of its largest and most prestigious high tech firms - Huawei is a direct competitor to one of America's industrial jewels – Cisco.

In recent years in third world markets, Huawei has done very well. They have won major infrastructure contracts in the Middle East for networking equipment, and contracts in Latin America and Africa for cellular network infrastructure. They are one of the lead firms for the new 5G cellular networks and they are now the 2nd largest telecommunications company in the world.

Huawei is particularly well known and visible, but there are thousands of small high-tech firms in China with abundant people skills that are usually short on capital or management. When I think of the next Silicon Valley I think of Shenzhen, not Bangalore. For in Shenzhen there are literally hundreds of industrial parks, product-centered malls, and an environment that rewards risk.

In my former business - security products like CCTV cameras, security alarm panels, and DVR's, there are two large shopping malls devoted to displaying these items. Thousands of small vendors display their wares and 90% of the products come from China. Not all of these products are of innovative and modern design, of course, but they are moving upmarket fast.

Does China still have their sweatshops and labor abuse? Of course, and it will be years if ever when that practice is stopped. But just as in the west or Japan, when skills are valued more than labor alone, companies will have to compete for labor, and most of the boats will rise with the tide.

Except for those who can't swim that are left out. It is certainly better to be unemployed and unskilled in France than in China or Hong Kong for that matter. But that is what makes these places so competitive. For the manufacturer, they are primarily looking at costs associated with their business, rather than society at large.

For those in France manufacturing a product, they have indirect costs in welfare, pensions, environmental protection, medical care, and others that are disbursed through the government to those in need. That means that even when the actual factory worker is productive in the job, they still can't compete with places that don't apply these secondary overheads on a business, and thus French firms have fixed costs that make them less competitive.

Many remark about China's unfair competition and how government and industry collude to dump products on the market. This is true as local governments often invest or run factories without any real clue of their underlying costs. They waste taxpayer dollars and produce substandard goods for a time, and disrupt the pricing in the marketplace.

However, it is important to recognize that the Chinese are not so organized or sophisticated in rural areas. They might not even have proper company accounts, so when products are dumped it can be due to ignorance, rather than by design. Thus, at any given time there are prices that seem too good to be true or sustained.

Also, there is a lack of respect for intellectual property rights. This applies equally to foreign and Chinese firms alike. The problem for foreigners is that they still have the more valuable intellectual property, and when it is stolen, not only do they lose potential licensing revenues but their competitive advantage as well.

Yet, this is partly due to the mad rush by Western and Japanese companies to source their production to China. Many of their designs and technology are being emulated (copied), and are produced. These new manufacturers then ignore licensing, the payment of royalties, or patent law.

But this is only a small part of China's industrial capacity. If we look at the statistics of China's consumption of raw materials, and commodities, the numbers are quite amazing. They are now the largest market for mobile phones, cars, consumer electronics, machine tools, and PCs. China uses nearly half the world's cement, and one third of the world's iron and steel, as well as the largest consumer of electricity.

China is also the largest producer of televisions, computers, mobile phones, LCD displays, light fixtures, electric motors, furniture, watches, tires, ink jet printers, toys, and thousands of other products. They are the now largest producer of automobiles, steel, cement, and fertilizer.

Competition

Many people ask if China will move upmarket and start competing directly with Western firms? Actually it is happening now, but usually on an OEM basis. After all, Foxconn assembles the iPhone for Apple, but they also have big screen tv's, and other electronic assemblies.

As China becomes the largest consumer market in the world, it will also become the market for the most leading edge and high tech products as nobody can truly be global without being in China.

China also has some world beating companies already. Particularly in telecom and mobile phones, such as Huawei, ZTE and Xiaomi. They also are now the most proficient in high speed rail and are now exporting this around the world.

In Hong Kong now almost all major government civil engineering contracts are being awarded to mainland firms. Anyone who looks at Shenzhen, Beijing or Shanghai's skyline will surely note that China no longer needs much help when it comes to construction.

With existing trade flows, and future trends, it is obvious, that there is no way that Americans or Europeans can continue to be paid up 5 times the wages of someone in China for doing equivalent work with the same technology. That gap will narrow, just as it has with Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea, and despite all the trade negotiations and sometimes bullying by America China is on its way to becoming a rich country.

The Corporate Sellout

China would not be so rich now if not for the markets and technology of the west. No matter how smart and hard working, such a rapid success could not have been achieved on their own and this help clearly made China what it is now at least a generation sooner than if done by themselves.

Yet, despite a bad press, they didn't steal all the technology that made them the largest manufacturing economy in the world. They didn't have to for we basically fell over ourselves to give it to them.

By 'we' I am referring to two main drivers behind China's ascendancy. The most important were the factories from Hong Kong that relocated into China and jump started the economy in Guangdong province. The Cantonese from Hong Kong had their cousins nearby and in the 1980's and 1990's they started to move there.

The second wave was from Taiwan. They arrived a bit later, early 90's and settled in Fujian, Jiangsu and Shanghai. The result was that existing customers in the west still found the same products on the shelves of Walmart or Carrefour as they did before. This time the only difference being it said "Made in China" instead of "Made in Taiwan".

These were companies were export-oriented without much ambition to sell into the local mainland market. In order to operate these factories, highly skilled managers from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, and elsewhere were brought in. They didn't just bring in the machines, but also the production methods and management as well.

The third and most significant wave were the multinationals from Europe, America, and Japan. These were the big players who had finance, technology and global markets with which to sell Chinese made goods. They also had intellectual property that China coveted.

Large multinationals such as like Toyota, VW, and GM were falling over themselves to set up factories in China. The Chinese dangled their huge market as a carrot, and were able to get a far better deal when it came to technology transfer than was offered to smaller SE Asian countries.

Companies like Proctor and Gamble and Unilever came to China early and quickly took dominant market shares. Since labor in China is both cheap and productive, and the local market potentially lucrative, just about every large firm of the Fortune 500 is now in China, along with their technology and management practices.

Yet the Chinese were quick studies and by the early part of the 21st century all multinationals were confronted with well financed and nimble local competition. This competition was on many fronts including autos, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, consumer products, oil services, electronics, and engineering. In effect, China had leapfrogged other less developed nations in just a generation.

Why did this happen, considering that multinational companies are profit making enterprises and operate in most countries of the world. How did China essentially create companies on a par with them in less than 30 years? In a nutshell - greed, and the fact that all these large firms felt compelled to be in China – come what may.

The Japanese who may have been the most cognizant of what would happen were among the most reticent, and came a bit late to the table. But as they saw people like VW selling a million cars a year, they also bit the bullet and setup one of their most advanced factories in the country.

Was this rise of China inevitable? Of course. It reminds me of the saying in America back in the early 1950's - "who lost China?" referring to the fact the communists came to power. Even then America could not dictate events within China, and clearly can't do so now. The Chinese success is due to them, not us.

They have huge human resources and their people are now educated to an international level. Of course, years ago China looked backward, seemingly generations away from being a competitor. Also, the west also deluded themselves into thinking that by having China join the WTO (World Trade Organization) their multinationals would have an upper hand into the market.

What is done is done. China is now the world's most fearsome competitor, and the jobs lost in the west will never return.

The Chinese Market

The many multinationals in China actually had a different objective than their ethnic Chinese predecessors from Hong Kong and Taiwan. These large companies entered China primarily to take advantage of China as a marketplace of 1.3 billion people.

Implicit in most companies decision making processes is the presumption that China is a large and growing market. Secondly, they assume that their partners will see eye to eye on such basic principles of what constitutes ethical behavior or a mutual concept of fairness. In many cases these principles are not shared.

Then there are the problems of accounting standards, local government red tape, and corruption and you wonder why China is considered so attractive.

My advice to anyone is don't do it alone, and spend your time finding the right partner, rather than the right product. If you do make the plunge into China at least you should ride on the coattails of someone else's existing success. Time and experience can adjust your business strategy but having the wrong partner puts you at a huge disadvantage.

The good thing is now you can find partners who are Chinese state-run, Chinese private companies, Hong Kong or Taiwanese, or even American. The key is to find someone with a compatible business model and shared interests. When they say 'win win' this is based on a scenario to find a partner where the scenario is not just possible, but probable.

They say that there are two types of smart. First knowing what you do, and second, knowing who to do it with. The Chinese believe that westerners know what they are doing they just don't know how to do it in China.

So, despite the best efforts of Mao, Chinese people's business instincts have never been extinguished and have returned with a flourish. The China of today seems to have more of the excesses of capitalism than even freewheeling Hong Kong. Stock markets are volatile, laws capricious, and the quality of goods can vary from world class to shoddy.

Yet, the system seems to have legs. It is a strange combination of unrestrained capitalism and ruthless political control. I call this "comrade capitalism". A good example of this was the growth of chaebol (large conglomerates) in South Korea. These ultra-large companies continue to dominate the Korean economy with their tentacles in just about any significant business. Many of the senior management of these chaebol are in jail, yet the system survives.

China appears to be following a similar path. Already, large companies will soon be household names in the world. A few such as Huawei, Haier, and China Mobile are very active overseas, and within a few years you will see many, many more. Will Chinese multinationals one day control world business? The most predictable outcome is that China, like South Korea before it will have a large number of successful companies that operate all over the world.

# China & The Borg

The following is a scene from Star Trek, during a conflict between The Federation, and The Borg. The Borg Cube is a large warship approaching the Starship Enterprise.

INT. ENTERPRISE BRIDGE

The Borg huge size is conveyed on the main viewer as the

Enterprise rushes toward it.

TROI

Incoming transmission from the Borg.

PICARD

On screen.

DATA works and the viewer changes to a view of the INTERIOR of the BORG CUBE. A vast CHAMBER crammed with HUNDREDS of BORG DRONES standing upright in individual alcoves. They're everywhere -- on the ceiling, walls, floor. This is a BORG COLLECTIVE -- hundreds of Borg that form a gigantic "hive" mind. The Borg are half-man half machine. No individual personalities. No feelings. They have only one goal in life: to assimilate new races into their collective. When they speak, they speak as a collective \-- thousands of voices speaking as one. To become a Borg is to experience living death.

BORG

Your defense perimeter is useless - you will be assimilated.

PICARD

(to Borg)

Break off your attack. By now,

you must realize you can't win...

BORG

Your opinion is irrelevant. We

are the Borg. Resistance is futile.

PICARD

We'll see about that...

(to Worf)

Fire!!

END of segment

Resistance is futile - the Borg are sure to win, yet in every episode, the Star Trek crew finds a way to defeat them, or at least survive.

In years gone by the Borg could have been a metaphor for the USSR, after all the Soviets were people living without freedom and were forced to conform to the inhumane policies of a strict communist society. At other times the Japanese have been seen as demons, particularly during the second world war when they were seen as inhuman, capable of terrible savagery.

During the 60's the Chinese were also depicted negatively. Remember Mao's little red book? The newsreels and media portrayed China as a 'Red Threat' that would challenge us in Vietnam and beyond. They were a gigantic Asian horde, who, if they had their people walk into the sea to drown could do so continually and their population would still increase. I remember thinking, gee, if someone asked me to walk into the sea and drown, I wouldn't do it, I'd swim.

In addition to being this huge amalgamation, the Chinese were all viewed as part of the same flag waving, red book carrying members of the same collective. They all looked the same and acted as if they were robots, without any sense of individualism, they were in effect like the Borg's of Star Trek.

They were a scary sight, yet was that the reality? Just how many people in China bought into Mao and his communist vision? Quite a few it turns out, maybe even the majority. Most of them were peasants and had nothing to lose, at least they thought so. Also there was really no way to fight Mao's one size fits all society. You were either in the system or exiled. There was no middle ground.

For a vast number of Chinese they always did what was practical to survive, and if that meant waving a little red book, so be it. But being Chinese is different than 'China'. Just as being "white" is different than say being "Australian" as in some contexts they are one and the same, while in other times they mean different things. After all, aren't aborigines Australian?

There is a lot of confusion here, and it is not just confined to China. Yet, the reason that China is a mystery to most of us is that Chinese culture is not accessible to most us in the west. Sure, we have a few 'Chinatowns' and there are lots of Chinese restaurants, but the Chinese that we see in America and the west don't behave as they do in China or Hong Kong. They are a minority in a foreign land and as individuals they recognize that their day to day behavior reflects not just on themselves as individuals, but as Chinese or Asians would be perceived throughout their adopted society at large.

The result is that in America, Asians tend to be quite low key. They are less likely to be criminals and more likely to be honor students than any other race. And, when compared to Blacks for instance, they affirm that you can be a minority in America and still make it.

Whites feel good about this. Our little Asian brothers can be our engineers, scientists, and technicians, while we continue to pride ourselves in our knowledge of sports and TV shows. It is said that more people are familiar with the rules of American football than the Bill of Rights.

Even though we have positive associations with Asians in America, we also believe they are something of a threat. As their success in America or Australia obviously indicates, they can be successful in our society too. And as there are over one billion of them, any discussion of China can lead to a perception of a 'yellow threat'.

Many people still believe that the Chinese around the world are just waiting for China to send a secret signal and then, voilà, these docile people come to life, acting under the instructions from the mother-ship.

This had not been much of a threat in the past as China lurched from one crisis or upheaval to the next. Yet, quite unique among non-European peoples they have always been perceived as a competitor to the west. Napoleon recognized this when he said "here lies a sleeping giant, let him sleep, for when he wakes up he will shock the world".

There is no doubt that when Napoleon said this he had a high regard for the Chinese as a people. It was during the latter part of the 18th and early 19th century that many intellectuals in Europe were curious, almost infatuated with Asia. This was due to the Jesuit missionaries in the country, who reported back that China was an enlightened and civilized society.

Yet times have changed and even a generation ago when Japan was perceived to be taking jobs from Americans. There were many incidents of violence against Asians, and anyone who looked Japanese. Japan is now in our rear view mirror so the coming ascendancy of China is viewed with alarm, as they are competitors in almost every arena that America is now supreme in including technology, manufacturing, economics and politics.

Yet the reverse is also true as China has much to fear and loathe about the west. Most Chinese share the same pride and anxiety when dealing with the outside world as we do. And, since you cannot become Chinese the demarcations are clear. The 'us' is certainly the Chinese people, and the 'them' is everyone else.

My own opinion of this is that, on paper, China has the most of pretty much every human trait imaginable, including pride, intelligence, jealousy, compassion, selfishness, greed, love, hate, and stubbornness in excess supply. If we look at the entrepreneurial energy that is transforming China now, we can see it is bound to become the world's pre-eminent economic superpower, if not already.

Will China be an aggressive Borg, or a passive, very large chaotic, unmanageable country as in the past? That is still not resolved, but if history is any guide, China will not be as aggressive as any of the Western colonial powers or Japan and they may just get to a form of internal stability and unity that they had in the past. When that happens China is inviolable.

Chinese Primacy

My friends in Beijing are confident and say "Our kids will beat your kids". What they are expressing is that their own generation grew up with a competitive disadvantage versus America and the west. But their kids have iPhones, money, good food, access to the Internet, and a drive and intelligence that makes everyone else look second rate. At least that is what they believe.

Meanwhile, American kids ignore all economic incentives to become an engineer or scientist, letting Asians take the lead in schools like M.I.T., CalTech, or Berkeley. In this respect it is pretty obvious that America will be eclipsed by China within a generation, and already they, along with India, produce many times the engineers every year than America does in order to populate the future economy.

They can achieve this success despite the fact they are living within a communist system that has never been good for business. In reality all they are doing is catching up with their brethren in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan, who have for years succeeded in the global economy. For me though, I'm not concerned about China's onward march that is directed from the top down, rather it is this energy from the street and factory that generally translates into a win-win trade and interaction with the world.

Meanwhile, in the west we will then portray China as the new enemy, with the potential for many conflicts. So, even if the Borg aren't necessarily wired into the system, there will be a sizable minority whose reflex is to spit at the barbarians in their way.

Back in the halls of the Pentagon, Generals and neocons will take advantage of the "China threat" to stir up trouble in the hopes of some sort of military confrontation - which they believe they can win. This is a high stakes game with no certain outcome.

Is there a threat? Maybe, as clearly the top-down nature of Chinese politics means that China will continue to be directed from the Mandarins in the all knowing Communist Party. Meanwhile the people on the streets have the potential to revert to a nationalistic stance on a moments notice. This doctrine, although dismissed by most, still permeates in the halls of Tiananmen.

So, let us hope there will be some sort of accommodation between the west and China in the years to come; for China is on the march and it will change the world as Napoleon anticipated.

# Chinese are Everywhere

Maputo is Mozambique's capital city, a lazy place on a sleepy continent. After years of war, famine, flood, and disease, surely there must be a day coming soon when Mozambicans can start to live a normal life. Maybe that day has come as on the 26th of October 2007 Kentucky Fried Chicken is celebrating the grand opening of their first restaurant in the country. This is not just another fast food chain, this is a milestone as it means that foreign investors have faith in the future.

The crowds have lined up and the balloons are distributed. Despite the overwhelming poverty in the city, there are some folks who can afford a fried chicken meal. The foreigners working for aid agencies are quite rich and there are the remnants of the Portuguese colonial elite who still control the country.

Across town another leap of faith is also happening, but this time with a bit less fanfare. The Hubei provincial government and their associated contractors and laborers are putting the finishing touches on Maputo's largest new shopping center. Already the signage with the logos of Sony, Huawei, Haier, and Lenovo are being put up on the exterior in anticipation of smartphones, TV's and other consumer goods to soon be on sale. This is investment is being entirely financed by the Chinese themselves – we know that as it is being done the Chinese way.

Thus most of the laborers are Chinese as well as subcontractors and building materials. For clearly China is more efficient and cost effective than the locals and I imagine nothing local that could be put into the building, including something as basic as cement or floor tiles.

This wave of Chinese investment in retail, restaurants, mining, road building, electricity, and other industries is happening all over Africa. The Africans are happy for the moment to have a new player in town as the Chinese are a viable alternative to the business as usual from the west. Africans think they have not been well served by European colonialism, or their later World Bank surrogates.

Trade with Africa is not new to the Chinese, as their ships were there more than 1200 years ago - even predating the famous voyages of Zheng He. Chinese merchant ships were calling regularly at Sufala on the East African coast attempting to cut out Arab middlemen as far back as 805 AD. The monsoon winds brought trading vessels from the East, including Indian Arab and Chinese.

The fact is that China has had their people traveling the Eurasian land mass and into the Middle-East for over two thousand years. The perception in Europe that China was isolated and self contained is actually mistaken. What is true is that during the 'dark ages' it was Europe that was isolated from the Arab world, and thus had little contact with Asia.

The dark ages were a time of great prosperity in China and they had been accepting foreign embassies from their known world for at least a thousand years, but the Europeans were generally not part of the mix.

China is now back in Africa and the Middle East, and this time it seems they are planning to stay. But it doesn't always work out that well. The Chinese and the Africans are not natural allies or partners. The former is performing at the top of the worlds' league of nations, while the latter are at the bottom. There is little cultural affinity, and as any African in Beijing will attest to the Chinese are considered to be a bit gruff and racist.

Yet, the Chinese really don't have too tough and act to follow as during the colonial times the white man did not serve Africa that well either, with most investments in mining or plantation style agriculture. But now the competition for resources will heat up as China needs Africa, and for better or worse it looks as if Africa needs China too.

During Mao's time when China had few friends, they gave aid to Africa and in the 60's they even built a large railway with Chinese labor. It ran over 1,800 km and was called the Tanzania-Zambian (TanZam) railway. Of course, like most every good idea in Africa, the railway soon came into disrepair after the Chinese left.

But the Chinese have returned as an unnamed Chinese investor will put up money so that the TanZam railway will return to its former glory. China is back in Africa, and this time they may not make just friends, but money as well, and they are there for the long term.

Livingstone, Zambia

Africa has been receiving foreign aid for years. In the case of Livingstone, Canada helped finance and build a technical college (Livingstone Institute of Business and Engineering Studies) in the 1970's, while the British, Americans, Germans and Japanese have spent time and money there as well.

However the college built by Canada was sadly in disrepair by the time I was there in 2006. It seems that after everything was built and the foreigners left, there was nobody to maintain any of the buildings. So all the electrical, plumbing, drainage, and other services were not functional. This, despite the fact those disciplines were being taught at the college.

So it was time for another round of aid, and in this case it was the Danish who were going to rebuild the college. They put out all the construction contracts to tender, and this time there was someone with a low bid willing to take on the job - a Chinese contractor with Chinese labor. I talked to the Danish manager of the construction and he said he was amazed that their bid was 40% lower than all the other bids by the usual contractors (suspects?). The Europeans cried foul, as how could anyone take on this project at such low cost?

A lot of work had to be done, including rewiring, re-plumbing, re-tiling, in effect starting with the concrete shell of the several buildings and doing a complete overhaul. The Chinese laborers came from Hunan Province, one of China's most impoverished places and none of them, including the General Manager could read or speak English. Yet, they knew how to work and even lived on the construction site in modest huts, and grew their own vegetables.

Within a year the project was completed, and astonishingly the workmanship and materials were of a reasonable standard. The Danish government had saved some money and the people of Livingstone had their technical college operating again. If the work had been done by western contractors, much of the technology may have been superior, but not necessarily appropriate. The Chinese materials used were not just cheaper, but simpler, and with a bit of luck the African's could maintain it this time.

So, will the Chinese be any more successful here than others? Are they the new colonizers? Yes and No. China doesn't want to be an empire, with all the costs and obligations associated with it. They don't want to emulate the British or the Americans as they see win-win scenarios with trading with others all over the world, and feel they can benefit here without resorting to force.

They are also less judgmental for the primary reason that they don't want others to interfere in these other countries either. This explains their trade with Sudan or Iran which they do so on good terms. In Tehran the subway was built and is continuing to be built by the Chinese. In Sudan the Chinese are exploring for oil while trying not to upset any of the locals.

In Africa, it is not only their products that are valued, but their money as well. Over the last few months China has given aid to dozens of countries to replace the shortfall from the west and Japan. China is for real, and will continue to change the world – one brick at a time, and one modest person at a time, the main question of course is will Africa be able to benefit from this.

# The Yellow Peril

Remember that big blackout that hit the northeast United States back in the summer of 2003? The whole country was talking about what turned out to be the biggest power outage in U.S. history. Official explanations were all over the map, including overgrown trees and overtaxed utilities.

Now comes the latest explanation - Chinese hackers. According to this article just out in the National Journal, some U.S. intelligence analysts now believe that Chinese hackers have triggered two separate blackouts in this decade. Here are three paragraphs:

May 31, 2008

Chinese hackers and U.S. Blackouts

One prominent expert told National Journal he believes that China's People's Liberation Army played a role in the power outages. Tim Bennett, the former president of the Cyber Security Industry Alliance, a leading trade group, said that U.S. intelligence officials have told him that the PLA in 2003 gained access to a network that controlled electric power systems serving the northeastern United States. The intelligence officials said that forensic analysis had confirmed the source, Bennett said. "They said that, with confidence, it had been traced back to the PLA." These officials believe that the intrusion may have precipitated the largest blackout in North American history, which occurred in August of that year. A 9,300-square-mile area, touching Michigan, Ohio, New York, and parts of Canada, lost power; an estimated 50 million people were affected.

Officially, the blackout was attributed to a variety of factors, none of which involved foreign intervention. Investigators blamed "overgrown trees" that came into contact with strained high-voltage lines near facilities in Ohio owned by FirstEnergy Corp. More than 100 power plants were shut down during the cascading failure. A computer virus, then in wide circulation, disrupted the communications lines that utility companies use to manage the power grid, and this exacerbated the problem. The blackout prompted President Bush to address the nation the day it happened. Power was mostly restored within 24 hours.

There has never been an official U.S. government assertion of Chinese involvement in the outage, but intelligence and other government officials contacted for this story did not explicitly rule out a Chinese role. One security analyst in the private sector with close ties to the intelligence community said that some senior intelligence officials believe that China played a role in the 2003 blackout that is still not fully understood.

This is a propaganda piece worthy of the communists during the time of Mao Zedong. It is pretty clumsy though, and totally without basis in fact. The Chinese Army has no more motivation to disrupt the electrical grid of the US, than the US Army would in China. There is nothing to gain and a lot to lose if you are caught. This is total xenophobia, and I'm not sure who funds the National Journal, but they would make Mao or Stalin proud.

If you remember the 1980's you will recall that after the oil shock and Vietnam war, America was reeling. American preeminence was no longer secure, and Japan's conquest of American industry, particularly in the auto sector had GM and Ford under assault. Chrysler almost went bankrupt and Rockefeller Center and Pebble Beach were sold to deep-pocketed Japanese investors.

American business was in decline and jobs were being lost throughout the rust belt. It was said that these jobs were being lost due to unfair competition, and anti-Japanese sentiment was rampant. At least the Japanese were thought of as allies, and although they were taking us to lunch as far as business goes, they were still on our side against the evil Soviet Empire.

Yet, this time we have a new and even more formidable competitor – China. Although George W. Bush and now Barack Obama have both stated that China is in some ways a strategic ally, it is clear there are powerful interests who would like to see China's advance scaled down. However this is easier said than done. Currently the US may have the world's preeminent military, but as recent events in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya demonstrate there are limits to military power alone and with the Trump administration it is clear that maybe the Pentagon has not yet recognized this.

China is actually in a very strong position at the moment as they hold more than 1 trillion dollars of US treasuries and another trillion plus in other foreign reserves. In effect China has lent the US money to invade Iraq and Afghanistan, and still enable America to maintain low interest rates and lower taxes. Their purchases of treasuries, along with others in Asia and the Middle East meant that the US could have its cake and eat it too - for a time.

However, it is clear that soon Americans are going to have to wake up to the fact that as China continues to accumulate dollars, the most likely thing to do with their dollar holdings is to purchase assets around the world - including within the US itself. How much is the state of Nevada worth? Maybe if we sold it, we could pay back the Chinese debt in one big go. After all, we bought Alaska from the Russians.

In just the past few years, China has bought such high profile businesses as IBM's PC business - Lenovo. They have the capital and wherewithal to purchase more, if only we'd let them. Huawei tried but failed to purchase 3Com an American telecoms firm so China's main emphasis now is to garner reliable energy and raw material supplies. They have signed major contracts with Australia, Chile, and Brazil, and also do business with so-called 'rogue' regimes such as Iran, Sudan, and Burma.

How will America respond to China's checkbook? Most likely not too well. Like a wounded and cornered lion, a few others may get scratched in this conflict of two giants – see how Canada and Australia are always being asked to choose sides.

However, it is clear this situation is the west's own doing as China is playing by our rules. America and Europe pretty much forced China into the WTO (World Trade Organization) so that large corporations could gain access to China's market. China was initially concerned about foreigners controlling their economy, and has been pleasantly surprised to find out how well their local companies could compete. Now that we in the west know that China has companies that can take us on, all of sudden the WTO is a bad idea, as it gives China the same access and treatment in other third country markets.

But even with their WTO membership China doesn't always play by the rules. In certain key sectors such as telecoms, the government dictates much of the policy to what are nominally private corporations. They have dictated that both mobile phone operators delay the implementation of 4G networks until China has its own technology available which we now call 5G.

Now that the 5G technology has been perfected by Huawei we now see that the major players such as Qualcomm of the US, or Ericsson of Sweden find themselves catching up and therefore the US has lobbied many countries to not buy Huawei equipment as they consider it to be a security risk.

Also, the bonanza that western firms were looking to in such businesses as green technology have not materialized. Chinese firms are now the largest suppliers of hi-tech windmills within the country, and first in the world in solar panels and electric vehicles.

In China their opinion on all this is that America and Europe's decline has not been China's fault, and that they (the west) have shot themselves in the foot, with sanctions and weaponizing the dollar with a total disregard to any future consequences. This whole situation has happened so fast, my friends ask me "Could the American's really be so stupid?". Apparently so.

America is right to be scared. The Chinese seem to go from strength to strength. And, the fact is, that America will continue to be beaten in almost every newly emerging market in the world. In places from Botswana to Belarus, the Koreans, Chinese, Taiwanese, Turks, Israelis, Poles, Latvians, and others are much more aggressive than the traditional western firm. Europe will be taken down a notch as well, but they still have lots that the world wants to buy, such as German cars, London property, and French luxury products.

Since China is already economically a giant we will most likely tarnish China as an amalgam of Japan and the Soviet Union at the same time. It is a scary and large monster, ready to not only take us down economically, but financially, and maybe militarily as well.

People on the left fear China for its ability to take our good paying jobs. The right is concerned about China's military might. The problem is that neither of these presumptions are accurate. These jobs that have left America so far are primarily jobs to service American and European multinationals as China's main advantage until now has been cheaper labor costs.

Militarily, China has made a strategic decision to not take on America head on. Sure they have nuclear weapons and a few submarines but they are not itching for a fight they would surely lose. So they can wait us out and simply watch and wait as America's pisses away its money on a military industrial complex that is less relevant by the day.

Meanwhile, after the media gets tired of disparaging Russia, China is certain to have a rough time with America in the coming years. It is far easier to demonize the inscrutable Chinese, than a fellow white person. Many of my friends in Hong Kong see this coming and are now hesitating to send their kids to school in the US. As far as China, they now have more than double the number of students studying in Europe than the US, and that number is set to rise.

But not all is doom and gloom. One of my close friends in Shenzhen said to me "America will never be a third world country". Wow, thanks for the pep talk!

China's Neighborhood

On a recent trip to China invariably my discussions with friends include the observations that America is in decline. In fact, one guy said that "the only thing America exports now is chaos and hypocrisy". He most likely read that on a US website.

In China now there seems to be more censoring and obstruction on the Internet than before. Even Hong Kong TV is banned or a blank screen is displayed when the issue of human rights in China is reported, or if such topics as the melamine milk scandal come up.

For me, I don't really look forward to a time when China is both a wealthy and confident nation, as their footprint on Asia will be quite immense. And, as we have seen with a recent conflict with Japan (the fishing boat ramming into a Japanese coast guard vessel) the rest of Asia can become quite alarmed when China flexes its muscles.

For the leadership of China holed up in Beijing things are going well for the moment. The majority of people have confidence in their decisions and go along for the ride without much of a peep. And why not? The economy may be slowing but their industries are still world beating and most people are far richer than they were 20 years ago.

But as China continues to embrace the world they will not always be able to deal with willing partners, particularly in Asia. For unknown to most Chinese people there is a legacy of suspicion as Chinese behavior, both individually and collectively over the last few centuries in Southeast Asia is not something to be proud of.

An example of this is China's damming of the Mekong River. The headwaters of this huge river start in Tibet and are controlled by China as it heads down to the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. In the headwaters, China has built three dams and has plans for six more despite concerns from the tens of millions of people who rely on this water downstream.

In Thailand the government is asking for technical exchanges, transparency, and discussions to better manage the Mekong flow.

Below is the article from the Bangkok Post.

China denies hogging Mekong River water

Drought, not dams, to blame, says counsellor

Published: 12/03/2010

Claims that Chinese dams are causing severe drought along the Mekong River are groundless and inappropriate, Chinese government officials say.

Chen Dehai, a counselor at the Chinese embassy in Bangkok, denies Chinese dams had caused the Mekong River to dry up. The three Chinese dams built on the Mekong River had not affected river flows downstream, embassy counsellor Chen Dehai said in Bangkok yesterday.

China's Assistant Foreign Minister Hu Zhengyue told Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on Monday China's dams were not a major cause of problems along the river.

China's dams were blamed for unusual flooding along the Mekong two years ago and have been blamed for this year's severe drought, which has hit fishermen, farmers and tourism operators in lower Mekong countries, including Thailand.

"Changes in the Mekong River have nothing to do with our activities," Mr. Chen said.

Thus China is breeding suspicion by rejecting these seemingly reasonable requests out of hand, just as they would do at home. The problem of course, is that foreigners don't have the same blind trust of the central government, and are more prone to question anything they say.

Really Mr. Chen? Could anyone take at face value the claim that the dams in China have nothing to do with water flow in the Mekong?

So for those who are intimidated by China's rapid rise, you can take comfort in the fact that China mishandles its relations with its neighbors on a regular basis. Despite their best intentions, the high-handedness and hubris of many of its leaders cannot be disguised.

Therefore the day that China rules the world is still far off if ever.

Yet the potential for conflict remains yet most likely China will remain the same society it always has been, "The place of endless suffering and continued accomplishments of the Chinese people". The 'old world' that was made by Europe and America will not simply fade away or become irrelevant, but our leverage and influence on China and the rest of Asia will decline.

# Nationalism

China rages over attack on disabled torch bearer

Reuters North American News Service

Apr 11, 2008 04:45 EST

BEIJING, April 11 (Reuters) - A wheelchair-bound Chinese torch bearer has rocketed to national fame after fending off protesters in Paris, becoming a symbol of China's defiance of global demonstrations backing Tibet.

Jin Jing, a 27 year-old amputee and Paralympic fencer has been called the "angel in a wheelchair" and is being celebrated by television chat shows, newspapers and online musical videos after fiercely defending the Olympic torch during the Paris leg of the troubled international relay.

Protesters denouncing Chinese policy in Tibet threw themselves at Jin. Most were wrestled away by police but at least one reached her wheelchair and tried to wrench the torch away.

Jin clung tenaciously to what has become a controversial icon of the Beijing Olympic Games until her attacker was pulled off. Her look of fierce determination as she shielded the torch, captured in snapshots of the scene, has now spread throughout China, inflaming simmering public anger at the protests.

Even now, as China re-asserts herself into the world we see examples of extreme pride and nationalism. In this case there was outrage at the protests in Paris as the Olympic torch wound its way through the streets. The French really bit off more than they could chew, as most people of Chinese descent were appalled at the protester's behavior.

For most people whether in Hong Kong or China they see France's involvement here for what it clearly is - a busybody (France) trying to involve themselves in something that is really none of their business (human rights in China). After all, everyone has their own definition of human rights and China feels quite confident applying its own values and laws, for right or wrong.

However, China has a long way to go to be up to a world standard. They had 77 applications for legal protests in Beijing during the Olympics, and they did not see fit to allow even one protest. A few staged protests (by their own people of course) would have made quite a show of China' new openness and respect for freedom of speech but alas it never happened.

We have to remember that China today is a society of conformity, and that opposing thoughts to counterbalance the accepted wisdom of the communists and their enablers are not tolerated. The government controls the media, and determines what thought is considered to be acceptable. So, if there are no alternative narratives what is there to discuss anyway?

This is the orthodoxy that most youth are brought up with, and it leads to a huge amount of conformity of thought, and also a general disregard or respect for alternative views. This thought is enforced through schools, the media, and in daily practice.

Thus, although China is a group of 1.3 billion individuals, there are many issues with which they will unite. The communists in power understand this, and their number one most successful approach is to equate love for the motherland with love for the party.

This conformity of thought even extends to 'greater China' as well. But there is a difference. Racial pride was felt by all ethnic Chinese as they watched China's success in the Olympics. But ethnic Chinese abroad are a diverse lot, and rooting for the Chinese race, is different than rooting for China.

However, this doesn't mean that all Chinese are extreme. In fact, I believe that American's are far more militaristic (as opposed to racially aware in China) and that their jingoism leads to far more meddling abroad, such as Afghanistan. While China generally doesn't consider it their role to get into other peoples business, as a large power it is bound to do so and ruffle a lot of feathers in the process.

China's policy of trading - as opposed to conquering goes back thousands of years. They did of course conquer land that is within China' borders today and also had subservient vassal states, but this is a far cry from sending your military to another continent to control or subjugate people with which you have no cultural or historical links.

China' human rights standards when viewed in 'Western' terms are simply not good enough. But remarkably it is not a major issue among most Chinese – the majority Han ethnic group. They might regard any problems with human rights to be a natural state of human existence. There will always be the unfortunate or the suppressed, and never a perfect system to redress these issues. Since the vast majority of people in the country are no longer harassed or frightened, all is well according to the dominant Han.

I take this with a grain of salt. It reminds me of white Americans and their view of race and gender relations in the 1950's prior to the civil rights movement. Sure there were few black basketball players or women in politics, but who needed them? As far as white males were concerned all was fine.

The China Threat

By WILLIAM S. LIND

Published: April 1, 2009

BEIJING, April 1 (UPI) -- On March 8 a Chinese Navy survey ship, the Great Tide, was harassed by American boats in waters off Oahu Island. The US Navy operates a major submarine base on the island, and the newest classes of US nuclear submarines are based there. The Great Tide's obvious mission was to collect intelligence, including sonic and other "signatures," on the new US submarines.

Legally, there is no doubt or question the Great Tide was in the right and that the US was in the wrong. The survey ship was in international waters, where it had every right to be. America's claim that it was in her Exclusive Economic Zone is irrelevant. The Great Tide was fishing for information, not fish. An Exclusive Economic Zone is not the same thing as territorial waters. Beyond the 12-mile limit that is universally recognized in international law, every navy can legally spy on any other navy as much as it wishes.

However, to say the Chinese Navy's actions were legal is not the same as saying they were strategically wise. On the contrary, the incident looks like another case of elevating tactics over strategy, on the part of both the United States and China.

Is this the future? Where China is the aggressor? In fact, the article above is simply one where I replaced 'the United States' with 'China'. A similar event happened just recently off Hainan Island. There was an American spy ship near China's main submarine base.

China has the world's largest population, huge land area, and is statistically a giant by every measure. Every year their economy gets stronger, and at the same time they have less dependence on imported technology or knowledge.

So, with everything going its way now, why would China want the world to change? Like Avis, maybe it is better to be #2, maintain a lower profile, and let America take most of the slack for being the world's only superpower.

Now that we see the old world order breaking down, and much of the developed world imploding, what happens next? In much of the developing world many look to China to fill the void left by a bankrupted financial system of the UK and US.

However much people want China to become more assertive on the world stage, the fact is they are not prepared to do so now. They have no problems with a higher profile, but they don't have any ambitions to control the world, as the world is a messy place, full of foreigners (barbarians).

Still, the future looks pretty good, particularly if you are in Shanghai or Beijing at the moment. China is on the rise, and it's trajectory seems to indicate that the sky is the limit. At no time in history has any large group of people taken themselves from poverty to world beater so fast. Just one generation and China has joined the world elite, at least on some levels.

This has led to a lot of confidence in China, some might say arrogance. For most betting Chinese, they would bet on China and the Chinese people to re-assert themselves to the top of the world economic ladder. They believe that the future is theirs, but is this buster or reality?

China's success is not assured. The countries demographics are such that the population will age fast, as the one-child policy takes its course. And, as China is crowded already, it is hard to imagine immigration being considered in the future to rectify this. Also as the population has become more urban, and woman have fewer babies, China may find themselves soon like Singapore trying to encourage women to have children.

America on the other hand, has a demographic advantage. The population is aging, yes, but less than other industrial societies as birthrates remain relative high. America still has space to grow and will continue to have immigrants who bring skills and fresh ideas to the country. America will remain a vibrant country for the foreseeable future, even if they have to get used to being No. 2.

As America has to choose between empire and its own economy, it is China who will fill the void around the world. Even allies like South Korea and Japan may have to become junior partners to China instead of the US. This is not something that they look forward to at all and it is in Asia where China is already calling the shots.

Also, for the people of Taiwan, once America retreats Taiwan will be compelled to make a deal with China that enables them to have semi-independent status like Hong Kong. With China being the biggest power in Asia there will be many uncomfortable moments for everyone as China learns to deal with its new status.

Even to rule Asia, China still has a long way to go. For although they are the biggest player in Asia, they are not the most loved or respected.

There is suspicion from Mumbai to Sydney as to China's intentions, and to whether in fact the world would be better with the retreat of the tolerated and known western dominance. China's political system is still not transparent, and their dealings with minorities within their borders does not bode well for dealings with barbarians outside the country.

They strive as a conformist society and during the Olympics in 2008, not one of the senior Chinese officials had any gray hair. In fact, all of the ruling Politburo are men, with similar haircuts, and the same shade of hair color.

This is a metaphor for the unity of thought and conformity of action. Talk about acting monolithic! In fact, if we could see the inner workings of the government, we would see lots of strife and discourse so this is only a facade.

Yet, I imagine it will be years before they have a transparent government so maybe when we first see someone in a leadership role with gray hair, we will know that change is coming.

# The Aggressive Nation

" _Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak." - Sun Tzu, The Art of War_

A few years ago in Vietnam there were huge anti-Chinese riots that had been ostensibly triggered by the fact that China had moved an oil rig into disputed waters in the South China Sea. They were waters that Vietnam claimed for their own, and their government would steadfastly defend.

The rioters targeted Chinese factories and their owners. Many ethnic Chinese were pulled from their cars and beat up, while some factories burned to the ground.

Sadly for the Taiwanese who were technically not involved in this dispute, the locals did not differentiate between the mainland and their predatory practices and the more subtle version of Chinese power from Taiwan, so many Taiwanese factories were also burned down.

Being anti-Chinese clearly has resonance with the masses in Vietnam after the centuries of conflicts between Vietnam and China and the bitter memories of when Vietnam was a vassal state of China. My friends say it is like the rivalry between the British and the French, but in this case one party is ten times bigger than the other. This historical legacy has both a political and ethnic component.

As in the case of other colonial economies of SE Asia, much of the modern infrastructure in Vietnam was built with Chinese labor, and these laborers then became the dominant force in local businesses. After they gained control of most wholesale and retail business the Chinese were perceived by the locals to be interlopers in their country and stealing all the wealth. Thus the expulsion of hundreds of thousands ethnic Chinese after the Vietnam war was a way to return businesses to the ethnic Vietnamese.

The Vietnamese people still have an anti-Chinese bias that runs through their veins there is no way to remove it.

The reason I mention this is that it is also a way to explain how China feels about the 'west' and 'white people'. In this case, as above there are two components, the political and the ethnic.

China has fought many wars with western powers and Japan and lost. In many instances, all the foreign powers would gang up on China and invade it, as in the case of the second opium war in the 19th century. Due to minor skirmishes with China and the fact that the British were itching for a war, China was soon confronted with an Anglo-French navy at Tianjin in 1860 that invaded Beijing. There were huge casualties on the Chinese side after a major resistance. It took over 150 foreign ships to subdue the Taku forts that protected Beijing.

British and French troops then looted the Old Summer Palace and freed Western prisoners. Lord Elgin considered burning the Forbidden City as punishment for the Chinese practice of kidnapping and torture, but was talked into burning the Old Summer Palace instead by other diplomats.

This was not an isolated incident, just one of the more poignant reminders of when China was weak and bullied by the western powers. In later years, Russia, Japan, and America were all there to share the spoils. Everyone in China remembers these incidents and many feel that the west and white people need to be taught a lesson if they ever humiliate China again. From their perspective these wrongs have never been righted and one day their time will come to gain revenge.

Meanwhile, America is the superpower that continues to provoke China with their diplomacy, economic sanctions and reckless sailing past disputed Chinese (claimed by China) islands in the South China Sea. When the US Navy does this, it reminds the Chinese of the gunboat diplomacy the British used for over one hundred and fifty years.

Yet this time China is not only strong but unified in the belief that they will never be subject to foreign rule or control again. Never, ever. They would fight to the death to achieve this.

China is not innocent in their activities in Asia. They are certainly the aggressor when dealing with other weaker countries related to disputes in the South China Sea, and countries such as Vietnam and the Philippines watch as China builds artificial islands near their shores. The reality is they cannot confront China militarily and can only appeal to foreigners to help – and that foreigner is America.

Thus China is portrayed by western media as an aggressive nation that must be contained. This is the party line, the US and its allies must ensure that China plays by the rules and respects freedom of navigation.

Then there are China's activities in Africa. China is the largest investor, trader and infrastructure builder on the continent. They now dwarf any other power in economic influence. Chinese shopkeepers now dominate some cities such as Maputo and Gaborone, and their presence continues to grow. The Chinese build railroads, airports, and stadiums, while Europeans watch jealously.

Just recently the US Secretary of State warned Africans not to get into a 'debt trap' with China as they would be in debt forever and in control by Chinese financial interests. Gee - that sounds familiar.

France has boots on the ground in five African countries and when their economic interests are threatened they are quite happy to intervene militarily. The currency of French West Africa is still the CFA and controlled by Paris.

When I hear French, Americans or British people describe China as an aggressive nation that needs to be reigned in by the civilized world, I just have to laugh. What hypocrisy!

Currently the United States military has boots on the ground in at least 9 countries and just this year has dropped over 44,000 bombs on terrorists as well as civilians and countless children. Obama got a Noble Peace Prize for dropping 26,000 bombs, so I reckon Trump should get two prizes!

The reality is that China and the Chinese people are conquering the world with hard work and money. Many of them are corrupt, inscrutable, and sometimes shortsighted, but they are making an impact in almost every country on the globe. They are essentially the re-colonizers (without an army) trying to pursue win-win opportunities with the rest of the world.

If you look at Huawei for instance, they are the largest provider of cell phone infrastructure in Africa and South America and are soon to become the largest telecommunication equipment provider in the world. They do business in almost every country in the world and have staff from multiple nations and many ethnic groups. They pride themselves in not doing things the Chinese way and want to be respected as Siemens or IBM is.

Yet, just recently the founder's daughter – Meng Wanzhou who is also a Director of the company was arrested for violating US sanctions. She faces possible extradition from Canada to America. The charge is that Huawei broke US law. The problem here is that she did not break Chinese law, or international law when Huawei sold products to Iran and people rightfully ask can the US apply their laws to any jurisdiction in the world?

The Chinese view is this is akin to Bill Gates' daughter being arrested because Microsoft broke Chinese law when their Spanish subsidiary sold products to Russia. The whole premise is preposterous to them as they would never apply their laws overseas, so how could the US apply its laws worldwide?

I don't know if Ms. Meng actually broke any relevant laws, but it is clear that elements within the US government and the deep state wanted to ensure that any easing of tensions between the Trump administration and China would not happen. In fact they may want tensions to escalate.

At a G20 meeting as Trump and Xi Jinping were negotiating a truce on trade, some US aides who knew this arrest occurred had apparently said nothing to Trump.

So from the viewpoint of China and many other countries such as India, Russia, Turkey, Brazil and Korea, the United States is now the aggressive nation – even the rogue nation who cannot be negotiated with, nor keep their word.

Yet, things are not so simple. Ms. Weng from Huawei had been issued 7 passports - three Hong Kong passports, and four from Mainland China. Clearly this woman is someone out to game any system to her advantage and we can't rule out corruption. Thus, even a company such as Huawei with all their consultants cannot shield themselves from the Chinese propensity to take advantage of things to excess and their badly behaving CFO may just be one of those people.

As for the rest of the world, China understands that barbarians will always be barbarians – smelly and stupid at times. They would like to trade and maybe travel to these strange lands but in no way do they have any intent or even rationale to invade other countries. Sure they will flex their muscles and cause trouble at times, but there will be nobody to replace the American Empire and its global reach, China has seen that model fail before its eyes. America is the last militarily based colonial power.

But that doesn't mean that China will not become the preeminent economic power and flex their muscles that way. The world is justifiably concerned with China's rise, but the best way to confront them is with competence and patient negotiation.

While China may continue in the short term on a path to world economic dominance, that doesn't mean their success is assured, as we have seen they have a propensity to piss off foreigners and become disliked. But hey, by the time they are finished or give up we might all be traveling on bullet trains!

The Chinese Military

A Chinese submarine surfaces right in middle of U.S. Navy Carrier exercise, leaving military chiefs red-faced

Mathew Hickley – Daily Mail November 10, 2007

When the U.S. Navy deploys a battle fleet on exercises, it takes the security of its aircraft carriers very seriously indeed. At least a dozen warships provide a physical guard while the technical wizardry of the world's only military superpower offers an invisible shield to detect and deter any intruders.

That is the theory. Or, rather, was the theory. American military chiefs have been left dumbstruck by an undetected Chinese submarine popping up at the heart of a recent Pacific exercise and close to the vast U.S.S. Kitty Hawk - a 1,000ft supercarrier with 4,500 personnel on board.

By the time it surfaced the 160ft Song Class diesel-electric attack submarine is understood to have sailed within viable range for launching torpedoes or missiles at the carrier.

According to senior NATO officials the incident caused consternation in the U.S. Navy. The Americans had no idea China's fast-growing submarine fleet had reached such a level of sophistication, or that it posed such a threat.

One NATO figure said the effect was "as big a shock as the Russians launching Sputnik" - a reference to the Soviet Union's first orbiting satellite in 1957 which marked the start of the space age.

So what was going on here? Is China sending a veiled warning that they can infiltrate the US fleets defenses? Or is this the accident that China claimed it was. Most likely a mix of both, but it seems odd that China would want to telegraph its ability to so stealthily evade US radar.

China is not likely to provoke America, at least not any time soon. If you will recall, the relationship has been relatively smooth as both sides seem content to get along. But there are still some outstanding issues such as the fact that America continues to sell arms to Taiwan. Also, they remember the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade in 1999, and secondly the spy plane incident off the coast of China in Hainan Island in 2001.

As far as Taiwan goes, the status quo seems to be operating on autopilot by both sides. American politicians make bellicose statements about how they will protect Taiwan and come to their defense. While the White House simply reaffirms that they will abide by the Taiwan Relations Act. This act was put in place at a time when China was rejoining the world, and the United Nations. Thus consigning Taiwan to becoming a second class citizen of the world.

The act stipulates that the United States will "consider any effort to determine the future of Taiwan by other than peaceful means, including by boycotts or embargoes, a threat to the peace and security of the Western Pacific area and of grave concern to the United States" but does not mandate that the United States intervene in these situations.

As far as America goes, it is committed to sell ever fewer armaments to the Taiwanese and that the USA also continues to recognize that there is 'One China'. In practice this means that Taiwan gets some but not all on their shopping list and that Rockwell or Boeing gets an occasional order.

Despite Taiwan's diplomatic isolation their economy has thrived. So who needs the UN, the WTO, or World Bank anyway? The Taiwanese are proving that a lot of what these international organizations are really superfluous and just may be there to achieve a globalist agenda. Taiwan is better off because of it.

However, when push comes to shove China would fight to retake Taiwan. They waited a long time to return Hong Kong and Macao to the motherland, so they won't be invading Taiwan anytime soon. But they don't need to, as China is calling all the shots and has the economic and diplomatic muscle to totally isolate Taiwan if it chose to do so. Taiwan now exists because China allows it to.

Back in 1999, when NATO was bombing Yugoslavia indiscriminately an unfortunate target was hit in the city of Belgrade. Seems the US had bombed the Chinese Embassy by mistake and three Chinese nationals were killed. It is said that Chinese leaders would not accept Bill Clinton's apology when he phoned, and their state controlled media immediately claimed that this bombing was deliberate.

I remember after the event, I couldn't find one of my employees in Hong Kong who accepted America's version of events. They believed, and still do so to this day, that the US had intentionally targeted China. Their reasoning was how could the US be so incompetent?

The Chinese government quickly provided the usual bus loads of protesters to make their presence felt at the American Embassy in Beijing, and many threw rocks, damaged windows, and there were times that things could have gotten out of control.

After a few weeks of protests things started to quiet down. But it certainly reflected how quickly and deeply anti-American sentiments could be utilized by the Chinese regime for their benefit. The outrage was heartfelt and real, for Chinese feel not only that have they been humiliated by Western powers and Japan over the last centuries, they also feel that they are not given the respect they deserve by America even to this day.

This happened just over ten years after the Tiananmen square protests when America was still held in such high regard. Fortunately, the American and Chinese government were able to resolve the compensation issues quietly in the months after this event.

Then in April 2001, a US spy plane collided with a Chinese jet fighter just off the Chinese coast. America's version of the events were different than that of the Chinese. America maintained they were in international waters, and that the Chinese pilot's reckless actions precipitated the collision. The Chinese pilot and plane was never found, but the American spy plane was able to land at Hainan Island in China.

The crew was detained for 11 days, and America had to issue a letter of apology to the Chinese government, and eventually the airplane was returned. The plane was not allowed to leave on its own power, and was shipped in pieces. The crew was treated humanely, and it is not known just what information the Chinese gleaned from having access to the airplane for more than two months. My guess is that they learned some invaluable secrets, and will soon have their own spy planes with the same technology.

In a parallel world if the situations were reversed, how would America react to a Chinese spy plane off the coast of California that collided with one of our fighters? I leave that up to your imagination, but the fact is this incident occurred when China perceived itself as the lesser power, the victim.

Things might be handled differently today. For, unlike just ten years ago, the Chinese people recognize their country is again a great and powerful nation. They can see it in their shops and city streets. There have been many significant milestones since that date. China is now the world's largest manufacturing nation and also the world's largest trading nation. They no longer tolerate being treated as second class by the world.

This nationalism is generally benign, but there is a quiet confidence among the people. As in most countries, there is also a segment of society with extremely nationalistic tendencies, who take a hard-line stance in dealing with foreigners, and minorities within the country.

A few years ago, in 2005, a General in the PLA said that "China is prepared to destroy 'hundreds' of American cities if it is attacked by the U.S. during a confrontation over Taiwan. If the Americans draw their missiles and position-guided ammunition onto the target zone on China's territory, I think we will have to respond with nuclear weapons," said Gen. Zhu Chenghu at a meeting of foreign journalists.

I'm not sure if the General still has his job, but there are many who share his opinion. They see America as an enemy, but at the moment their voices are muted, for China is not in a position to confront the US head-on. They are too busy building roads and hospitals, while we in America continue to build weapons for the Pentagon and bomb countries as great expense.

Nobody, certainly not even China strives to compete with America on this front. Why should they? The world is working out in their favor now, and they don't even have to fire a shot. America can continue to spend its way into oblivion with borrowed money from China.

Sadly, there are many who see China and America as foes, and believe that when America realizes that they have been economically and diplomatically eclipsed by China, they will resort to force to try to manage the relationship. The recent 'kidnapping' of the Huawei executive tells us that that day may soon come, but I don't see that happening soon.

For, the consequences of a war between such giants, would be catastrophic for both sides. But what happens in the coming ten years will be interesting, as America copes with its economic decline. Its days of being the dominant and only superpower are numbered.

# Everything happening at once

Shenzhen: Cat meat restaurant closed

Xinhua.net Monday, June 19, 2006

Banner-wielding animal rights protesters swarmed into a restaurant on Lianhua Road in Buji Subdistrict in Shenzhen serving cat meat and forced it to shut down, Xinhua reported yesterday.

The 100 or so demonstrators, including women and children, held up banners reading "cats and dogs are friends of human beings" as they entered the Fangji Cat Meatball restaurant and demanded the owner free any live cats on the premises, Xinhua said.

There were none in the building as the owner had already moved them out, the report said. But some burst into tears upon finding a skinned cat in a fridge. "I cannot go on with my business and I will not sell cat meat anymore," the restaurant owner was quoted as saying, although he defended his trade by saying eating cat was a tradition in Guangdong Province.

The organizer of the protest, identified only as Isobel, the founder of a cat protection Web site, said the restaurant had been chosen because it killed cats in the street and it was "very bad for the students from nearby schools."

Gao Haiyun, Miss Shenzhen for the year 2005, also took part, calling on people to "stop eating cats and dogs and become civilized," Xinhua said.

I love this story as it has so many elements of the conflicts in modern China, traditional vs. modern, old vs. new as well as alien values being accepted into modern China. For me it is easy to forget that a story like this would have been hard to imagine just twenty years ago, even in fast paced Shenzhen.

I particularly like the owners response, that "Eating cat is a Chinese tradition". Gee, god forbid if China loses its traditions then what? In reality China has lost so many of their traditions, many of which could not find a place in modern society – such as slavery, foot binding, and feudal traditions.

Now modern China has simply become a 'dog eat dog' (cat eat cat?) world, where raw capitalism is practiced at its most extreme. So what to do with the cats? The typical response now is to let the guy keep serving cat - after all, if the market demands it why not? Cats are not going extinct, so what's the problem?

With all this focus on the economy and making money, it is easy to forget that Chinese society in the past was totally different than now. As recently as sixty years ago in many traditional villages, a woman was forbidden to speak with strangers or men outside the household, and had about as many rights as a woman in Saudi Arabia today. Much of China's value systems was founded on Confucian beliefs devoted to morality, justice, and ethical behavior. Most Chinese believed that society should not just be about making money, and merchants and traders were considered to be of a lower class.

Yet in modern China capitalism rules. It may be a communist political system, but it is capitalism on the street that defines change in the country now.

In the mid-80's there were protests in Shenzhen when they held their first beauty contests as girls who wore swimsuits vied for the title of Miss Communist Shenzhen. For many, these contests were considered frivolous and were an insult to those who were still starving in the country. For others, no self-respecting Chinese girl should show so much skin in such a manner.

Now there are huge disco's and massive entertainment complexes, where the faint of heart or religious would surely be offended. No shortage of visible and voluptuous flesh here.

Despite the communists continued propaganda and devotion to morality, they have created a society that has more in common with Las Vegas than with Salt Lake City or Madrid. After all, the cynical Chinese population knows enough about the Communist government when it comes to ethics or morality. That is akin to listening to President Bush as he tells people he is against torture.

The main driver of all these changes is the marketplace and the Chinese people themselves. Their attitudes are similar to what in America passes for 'if it sells it must be good'. These developments were aided by investments from Hong Kong and then Taiwan. The result is that China is the largest 'Asian Tiger' of them all with over 150 times the population of Hong Kong and over 50 times the population of Taiwan.

It is a place of such size and diversity, with a history stretching back thousands of years, that just about anything that has happened elsewhere may be happening there now. It is for this reason that just about anything that is said about China is probably true. In just the last three generations there have been civil wars, religious fanaticism, starvation, invasion, communism, and now a man in space.

If we were to take time travelers from different decades or centuries of recent Chinese history and bring them to China now, they all could find familiar signals from their own time period. They would find much to recognize and be familiar with – the middle ages, pre-industrial society, and the modern world. China may be best described as the place where "Everything is happening at once".

The Dissidents

Sichuan Earthquake

February 12, 2010

Chinese courts are cracking down on dissident activists. Tan Zuoren was sentenced to five years in prison after campaigning on behalf of thousands of parents whose children were killed when shabbily built schools collapsed in the massive Sichuan earthquake two years ago.

Although the Chinese government was initially praised for its response to the quake (especially in comparison to Myanmar's ruling military junta's blockade of aid during Cyclone Nargis), it then saw an erosion in confidence over the school construction scandal.

_The central government estimates that over 7,000 inadequately engineered schoolrooms collapsed in the earthquake. Chinese citizens have since invented a catchphrase: "tofu-dregs schoolhouses" (Chinese:_ 豆腐渣校舍 _), to mock both the quality and the quantity of these inferior constructions that killed so many school children. Due to China's one-child policy, many families lost their only child when schools in the region collapsed during the earthquake._

The Conmen

Melamine Milk Safety Scandal

By November 2008 an estimated 300,000 children were sick, and six infants died from kidney stones and other kidney damage, while a further 860 babies were hospitalized. The chemical appeared to have been added to milk to cause it to appear to have a higher protein content.

The scandal broke on 16 July, after sixteen infants in Gansu Province, who had been fed on milk powder produced by Shijiazhuang-based Sanlu Group, were diagnosed with kidney stones.

_Zhao Lianhai (_ 赵连海 _) a Chinese dissident and former Food Safety worker became an activist for parents of children harmed during the Chinese milk scandal. I Including his own son, Pengrui. Despite not having broken any laws, in 2010 he was sentenced to 2 1/2 years imprisonment for 'disturbing social order'._

There is no doubt that China is an economic success story, yet there have been many casualties along the way. The fact is the majority of people in the country are still second class citizens, who can be pushed around by local governments at a whim. And despite laws that guarantee the right to free speech, the reality is much different.

It is not just individuals who are at risk. If you are a small business that gets in the way of China's progress, well, you better get out of the way. I have heard many stories of people with small shops or businesses given two weeks notice to make way for a new road, and then spending years attempting to collect promised compensation for the move. Some never get compensated at all.

When Hong Kong fishing vessels get into disputes in mainland waters their boats can be seized at any time. It is not that they are necessarily at a disadvantage, it is just that in China "might makes right". Thus there are many times that Hong Kong compatriots find they are on the wrong side of local laws.

Meanwhile, they continue to develop their legal system, but for many there is no justice system to rely on. Those who appeal for justice as did Tan Zuoren, or Zhao Lianhai, are treated harshly by the authorities. It doesn't matter if you are right, what only matters is that you toe the party line and don't upset the status quo.

The reality is that China has a long way to go to becoming a just and fair society. And if history is any guide, they will treat foreigners worse than their own people. So get in the way of the Chinese juggernaut at your peril.

So the feeling of alarm that many in Asia now believe could be justified. China's ascendancy may not be so smooth or so peaceful after all.

The Half Full Glass

Yet despite China having a long path ahead, there are signs that they are headed in the right direction – not west but east – the China direction.

This is where people get confused, particularly those from Europe or America. They tend to think success in the world is defined entirely on their terms and when they see a society emulate what they consider to be 'their' values and cultural and economic norms the country is a success.

Yet China is succeeding on its own terms, and it is not doing so to emulate the west or to become a western or modern society as defined by Goldman Sachs or Doctors without Borders. China is not a democracy, but it is becoming a much more transparent society, and thus rulings that affect local people are done with much oversight.

An example of this is their legal system – this from a recent article:

A Shanghai Trial Spot provides defense lawyers for every criminal defendant (mandatory only for juveniles, the disabled and those facing life imprisonment or death) and wealthier provinces are following suit. Others are trialing neighborhood mediation committees. One jurisdiction found that locating mediation offices in courthouses dramatically reduced litigation costs and now Beijing wants all lawyers to take mediation training.

An Internet Trial Spot bundles free mediation, dispute settlement and legal aid on a platform that connects plaintiffs to thousands of lawyers, notaries, and judicial appraisers. Another uses facial and speech recognition technologies and electronic signatures so that all parties can participate in online legal proceedings. In another Trial Spot plaintiffs go all the way to trial using Weisu, an app that lets them join the courtroom from home while the program verifies their ID, submits their files and transcribes their testimonies using voice-to-text.

The government plans that, by 2020, everyone will be able to afford legal proceedings and, should they wish to appeal, the courts will have electronic records of their case.

So they are taking a different path and in many ways they have a cleaner sheet of paper with which to draw on. Thus they can utilize new technology and create new social interaction paradigms that fit their needs without reference to what is done in America or Europe.

# Contradictions

In the 1980's, we were all reformists. We criticized old-style Maoist goals and practices. We looked at our circumstances through the ideas and perceptions of the west. What we got was naive and abstract because we didn't really know what would happen to China once the market took off. We didn't know that the market would create rich and poor: we thought it would benefit everyone. And for a few years it did.

From What does China Think, Author Mark Leonard -

Oh! The joys of communism, at least socialism with Chinese characteristics. Many years ago, maybe in the 1930's, Eleanor Roosevelt commented that "don't be seduced by the material benefits of communism". I know now what she is talking about and it seems strange that I had to get to China to find this out.

I had always thought that capitalist economies were doing better than communist ones. That was before China modified communism as the principle tool to make money, which they call 'socialism with Chinese characteristics'. Hell, everything else had failed, so in desperation the communists tinkered with capitalism with the help of Overseas Chinese and modernized.

Deng's little experiment has worked so far – spectacularly. It is said that over 700 million people have been lifted out of poverty and that millions in the countryside have moved to better lives in the new urban areas. In the course of one generation China has lifted more people out of poverty more quickly than at any time in human history.

So what happens when exports to the west dry up? It seems as if we in the west are quite good at attributing China's success as the result of our appetite for their goods, and that if we stop buying they stop growing. The BBC and CNN like this story – we stop buying their stuff and China fails, but is it wishful thinking? Yes, I think so.

When factories that used to export find they are losing their traditional markets they simply move to sell elsewhere. For instance Asia is now by far China's largest market.

Secondly, domestic demand in China is getting huge as the Chinese middle class grows. Already the largest market for just about any manufactured goods this internal market will continue to grow.

Thirdly there is the OBOR (One Belt One Road) initiative that will connect China to Europe through Central Asia. This is a new silk road, and will connect 80% of the world's economies. China is a leader in this and will surely be busy the next twenty years building infrastructure from Beijing to Amsterdam.

Sure, the economy will slow and there may be an economic crash, but, but both economically and culturally China is now a much richer country. If there are five years of hard times in the future it will pale in comparison to the bad years of the cultural revolution and the chances of China keeping food on the table even in rural areas is almost assured. China will muddle along, and as long as people have food on the table, they will most likely not revolt.

Western Leadership

"In the 21st century nations don't invade other nations." George W. Bush, August 10th, 2008

This was said in response to Russia's counterattack against Georgian troops who invaded South Ossetia. It is hard to imagine any statement that could be more hypocritical and self serving. But hey, it is America's obligation to point out injustice. Home of the free (remember Guantanamo?) and the brave (what about Abu Ghraib?).

In order to understand how others might perceive us, I want to highlight American and British double standards when it comes to reporting and analyzing the news. From our perspective in the English speaking, and thus civilized world in both countries are beyond reproach. We are always doing things for the interests of the international community – it's in our blood, really. We are the keepers of the Western liberal flame, we are enlightened global citizens with a deep respect for mankind.

The problem is that nobody outside our respective democracies buys this anymore.

It wasn't always that way. Remember the first Gulf War and Peter Arnett of CNN reporting from Baghdad? CNN was considered to be a viable, fairly unbiased news source. The BBC wasn't bad then too.

For many in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Thailand, places that I am deeply familiar with, western leadership is a thing of the past. Sure they admire much of what we do and sometimes what we say. But no longer do people believe that we are the only credible framer of current events.

Even in the freewheeling former British colony of Hong Kong, many would now trust XinHua or AlJazeera or Channel News Asia (from Singapore) over much of the Western media. I have many friends who were long time subscribers to Time, Newsweek, and the Economist, who have now decided to stop their subscriptions. Our biased reporting as well as our ignoring our own excesses in places like Palestine, Lebanon, Iran, Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria, and Iraq means that surely the emperor has no clothes!

China is no better (worse actually) as the media is strictly controlled. At the moment their media vs. our media really isn't a contest. But within China, it wasn't too long ago that the BBC was considered to be credible and truthful, while their own media generally not trusted. But times are changing even with Chinese TV and print media. Sometimes I am quite shocked to discuss politics or recent events with someone in China and am pleased to find out they have access now to many different news sources, not just the state controlled media.

American vs Chinese Perceptions

US disappointed Olympics didn't open China more

By ROHAN SULLIVAN, Associated Press Writer Sun Aug 24, 5:03 PM

BEIJING - The United States said Sunday it was disappointed the Olympics had not brought more "openness and tolerance" in China as the games ended and eight American activists were deported during closing ceremonies.

The blunt U.S. criticism — and China's harsher treatment of foreign activists — came at the end of 17 days of Olympic competition that generally went smoothly for Chinese organizers who had been nervous about security and protests.

No rallies were held throughout the entire Olympics in three parks designated as protest zones after Chinese officials declined to issue permits to 77 applicants, and detained some of them. But mostly foreign activists staged a series of small illegal demonstrations near Olympic venues and at Beijing landmarks. The foreigners, for the most part, unveiled "Free Tibet" banners before being seized by security officials, hustled into cars and taken away to be put on flights out of China.

Almost every time I meet someone within China, one of the first things they ask is 'where are you from'? Heck, that seems to be one of the universal first lines anywhere. In the 1980's when I traveled to remote areas of the country they were generally surprised that I was not Russian - as they had been the dominant foreign racial group in the past.

Later in the 90's many young people in Guangzhou or Shanghai would come up to me and practice their English. They would many times ask me questions to establish whether I knew anything about Chinese history and culture. Of course they assume the more I know, the more I would appreciate their culture and accomplishments of the Chinese race. Sadly, that is not always the case, the more I would look at Chinese history sometimes I would see the warts too.

They have the Great Wall for example, of something that never served its purpose in keeping out invaders. Yet it is an example of what you can do when you have unlimited manpower and money to build something. It has been suggested that the wall(s) were built to keep Chinese in, which if true means that the wall did serve a purpose after all, and in this they were more successful.

When I am traveling to other countries with a less splendid past, they make no claim to being the most sophisticated people on earth and rarely promote their history with such exuberance. In Thailand for instance, their history is self-evident, as the culture still celebrates their past and their culture is alive and well.

They do not need pronouncements from a dictatorship to remind them of their glory and they don't generally require my acknowledgment that Thailand was the richest and most advanced country in the world, as they have never even considered making that claim, nor in reality have they ever been so. But they don't need to either as being number two or twenty is not something they contemplate.

The Chinese do keep track as they are highly competitive. They will even take other country's successes and make them their own.

On the other hand America is a place defined by systems more than racial or ethnic identity. American's can take comfort in the fact that their atomic bombs were designed by European Jews, and their space program by Germans. So what if Silicon Valley has a lot of Chinese or Indians, the success is still America's and not China's.

The systems in America and that have been developed over the centuries still create an environment where people can realize their own potential. It was the software of society that set the groundwork for the hardware to come. Even to this day, over the last four hundred years of America's existence there has been little if any migration back to the old world, despite the handicap of being a new country.

So it may be that Chinese people still have a lot to learn. Despite being so smart they are not really wise. If they were, China may have become a modern country at the same time as Japan. Despite the Chinese peoples' acumen for business, they have not been very successful with politics.

Why? In America we have something called the "Nimby" syndrome - 'not in my backyard'. Basically it means that no one wants any problem at their own doorstep. It is always someone else should deal with it.

For Chinese, the acronym might be OTCOFF 'only take care of friends and family', or another NOMB - 'none of my business'. This attitude means that Chinese define success by how well their friends and family are doing, not necessarily society at large. This makes sense, for if all families took the same approach, the conglomeration of friends and family all succeeding will enable the society to succeed at large. But somehow it doesn't work this way. Cooperative rather than competitive efforts are usually more productive in a large society.

In the 'Confucian' top-down approach to problems, only the leaders can be right, as only those in power can have the wisdom to tell others what to do. The problem that a society may have a competitive market place, but there are no competitive or competing government institutions, media or ideology.

Yet it appears now that this could also be said of the West. Look at the EU or the US, both large seemingly bumbling democratic societies where they can't agree on anything except what is best for the oligarchs. Sounds almost like China.

# The Columbus Era – 1492 to 2008

On a visit to Shenzhen on August 8th of 2008, I watched the Olympics opening ceremony on a big screen TV, just outside the Coco Park shopping center.

This particular shopping center could have been in Singapore or Dallas and had bars with themes from even Norway and Thailand. The shops included Louis Vitton and Gucci, which only years ago represented the decadence of the west. The clientèle were wealthy young Chinese, who would have looked comfortable anywhere in the world, drinking such Chinese favorites as Corona beer or imported French red wine.

I know this is only part of the China's new reality as China is no panacea or paradise. There are still over 200 million people who live in poverty, and there are injustices being visited on the peasants every single day. In fact, by the Chinese governments own statistics there are over 50,000 various protests within the country every year, and many of these turn violent.

The Olympics were a time of great celebration, or so I thought. I was waiting outside the shopping center for at least an hour, along with at least two thousand Chinese. We all expected to watch the ceremony on the big screen TV which had yet to be turned on. I was stunned to see that with only an hour prior to the ceremony none of the Olympic festivities were being broadcast. There was no signs, balloons, or Chinese or Olympic flags flying. No sense of any festivities. People were coming and going as if this was just another day.

Gee, I thought wouldn't the powers in China want everyone to share in the country's pride? Due to the government's inherent distrust of the masses, they were not encouraging spontaneous crowd gatherings, even for the Olympics. Everything had to be on their terms, and sure enough, about 7:15pm, without notice, the TV's came on.

The opening ceremony was a wonderful event, and it was clear that despite all China' travails, the country was making progress. All traffic on the streets came to a halt, and the vast majority of the population would take pride not just in the Olympics, but would feel that this was China' re-emergence as one of the greatest countries in the world.

The Chinese flags and stickers, dolls, and souvenirs were not selling briskly as there was really no need to boast, as on this night China was a confident nation. Everyone had a smile on their face, and were as astonished as most of the world to see what a great show China could put on.

As I watched the opening ceremony there were still garbage collectors pushing their flimsy overloaded carts down the adjacent streets. There were others casually looking through garbage cans for such valuables as cardboard and aluminum.

They had no interest in China's big coming out party as they were not invited anyway. Like their ancestors, they will just have to grin and bear whatever reality brings.

Will China be a place that re-enacts the French Revolution, or will it make the transition to some sort of large version of South Korea? Only time will tell. Meanwhile, everyone can take pride in the Olympics, for China is surely back, warts and all.

The era of the white man dominating the world is coming to an end – the end of the Columbus Era.

The Olympics

#

August 24th, 2008 Olympic Closing Ceremonies

It is the day after the finish of China's hugely successful and entertaining Olympics. After China has put on some more stunningly choreographed routines in the huge National Stadium, it is Britain's turn to be in the limelight as London would host the next Olympics.

Daily Telegraph

August 25th, 2008

Then came yesterday's closing ceremony, and Britain's eight-minute window of opportunity to invite the world to London 2012 as the breathless BBC commentators put it. And guess what? We blew it spectacularly.

Amid the cast of thousands of thrillingly well-drilled Chinese dancers, acrobats, singers and fireworks technicians, a red, double-decker London bus chugged ominously into the Bird's Nest stadium.

There was some naff modern dance from British youngsters pretending to be standing at a bus stop, and a cute 10-year-old girl chosen by the viewers of Blue Peter appeared at the bus door to receive a football to deliver to David Beckham, who later kicked it into the crowd of massed athletes.

How did he feel about this hardly challenging task, he was asked earlier. "It's very proud for London, very proud for myself," he replied inanely. What an archetypal British hero he is.

The roof of the bus eventually folded open to reveal green topiary depicting unrecognizable London landmarks and the X-Factor winner Leona Lewis rising up and up on a hydraulic lift and looking understandably uncomfortable in a dress that seemed to be made out of a couple of hundred yards of crumpled Bacofoil.

This was as nothing however to the horror of the raddled, sweat-drenched face of Led Zeppelin lead guitarist Jimmy Page, his snow-white hair unwisely tied back in a horrid little pigtail as he thrashed out the celebrated riff of Whole Lotta Love.

Unfortunately both he and Leona were virtually inaudible and all the palaver about toning down the song's famously filthy lyrics was unnecessary because you couldn't hear them anyway. The sound resembled a badly tuned transistor radio in a tin bucket, though elsewhere in the ceremony, and particularly when Placido Domingo sang, beautifully, it was perfectly acceptable.

In my time I've witnessed countless Royal Variety Performances and the opening ceremony of the Dome. This British fiasco was worse than any of them, and even at only eight minutes seemed interminable. No wonder London mayor Boris Johnson looked so uncomfortable beforehand. He must have known what was coming.

I have two tips for you, Boris. Keep your hands out of your pockets when attending high-profile events like this, and secondly fire whoever was responsible for this fiasco and hire proper showbiz professionals – from Las Vegas if necessary – to handle the opening and closing ceremonies in 2012. Another toe-curling embarrassment like this would be unendurable.

After the show ended my wife turned from the TV and said "That was terrible, they have no respect for anyone". She was referring to the Londoners, not the Chinese. Her point was that since China made such an effort to impress the world, the British didn't have the courtesy to reply correctly to their hosts. That was another injustice visited on Asians by the west.

China has arrived on the world stage and their success is undeniable. It sure won't be easy for London to eclipse this Olympics as China has raised the bar. Actually, 'the bar' has been raised many times before. In 1964, Tokyo made their debut quite impressively, and the same could be same of Seoul in 1988.

But this is China, and it seems to raise the stakes to a whole different level. After all China has a larger population than all the Olympic host countries of the last 44 years. At the Beijing Olympics China won the most gold medals by a large margin. America will most likely have to get used to being Number 2.

However, from the Chinese perspective they have been playing catch up with the west for 500 years and they have a pretty dismal record so far. But not this time as they beat us at our own game, and on our terms as the Olympics is a Greek invention, and most of the sports, and all of the rules were set up by white people in the west.

That is the way things have been as the west has defined the world. In most instances, such as banking, commerce, law, music, military, and politics, we were the 'gold standard'. In fact, nothing could really be accomplished without the Wests' blessings. We have never felt shy about imposing our values or systems on others.

The most extreme example was the time of Western conquest and colonialism. At its peak the sun never set on the British Empire and the American Empire still has over 700 military bases overseas. When we speak of past Empire we generally refer to Rome, Spain, and Holland, all Western. Of course there is also the Ottoman Empire (Turkish) and the Inca Empire, but our context is also a Western one where we interpret the past in our own reflection where we are at the center of the world. Not much unlike China's former view of itself!

The turning point for the west was the age of discovery - which officially happened when Columbus discovered America. Only two years later in 1494, Spain and Portugal signed a Treaty at Tordesillas where half the world would be Spanish, the other half Portuguese. None of the inhabitants needed to be consulted or informed. The Pope had spoken, and Europe had truly become the center of the world, the arbiter of the heathens and savages and all civilizations. I don't think even China would have the temerity and arrogance to make such a gesture.

It was only another thirty years later that Magellans' fleet circled the globe. The Europeans were in control and could seemingly impose their will on the rest of the world. Which has seemingly been the case, until now. The Columbus Era is over.

From the Chinese perspective, there are only three major races of any consequence, Chinese (yellow), European (White), and Indian (from India). The Chinese feel that the Whites are in decline, and that India may never get its act together. So the world is their oyster.

It has taken a long time but China feels it is returning to its rightful place in the world, perched on its own pedestal. It is only a matter of time that they will be dictating to the world about how things should be done. They seem to have a lot of facts on their side.

In the first three months of 2009 a truly remarkable thing happened as China became the world's largest market for automobile sales. Given that much of America's identity is so closely related to their car culture, this is a real example of a power shift and it looks as if China's market is here to stay.

I talked with people in Hong Kong about this. They said they were surprised this happened so fast as just ten years ago, China's car market was only 10% of that of the US. Imagine that, just ten years for the world to change.

China is not alone, as others in Asia are already on the rise too. India continues to grow and it has over one billion people too! Then there is Indonesia with a population approaching that of the US. Can you imagine that half of the world has been asleep at the wheel for generations, and only now have they come back to life.

In Asia we are talking about over 4 billion people, who have the same aspirations as everyone else and want their piece of cake too. If we look at more mature economies in Asia like Malaysia, or the more developed like Taiwan or Korea, we can assume that in the next ten years or so, China will end up with an per-capita economy even richer than Malaysia is now.

The implications of this are hard to fathom. Right now China's per-capita income is about $9,000 US, while in Malaysia it is just less than $10,000. In America it is over $59,000. If in five years China's economy continues to grow and has a per capita income of $15,000 then it will become an economy as large as the US is today Already China is the largest economy on a PPP (Purchasing Price Parity) basis in 2018.

Meanwhile, Europe is starting to see itself as part of the Eurasian land mass again. In fact Europe is China's largest trading partner. The recent integration of Eurasia with the One Belt One Road initiative means that Eurasia becomes connected at China's behest and leadership.

# Can China Lead the World?

If China is economically so strong, and soon the master of Asia, what does this mean for the world? It is a question many people ask. The fact of the matter is, 'we' in the west cannot stop this realignment of power from west to east. There is no way short of war for America or others to reverse this trend. The die has been cast in India, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, and others as they embrace the modern world with a passion.

Despite all the cultural and historical baggage, Asia seems to have found a way to accommodate change while still retaining their culture and values. If we just look at the four largest countries in Asia – China, India, Indonesia, and Pakistan, their population exceeds the combined population of Europe and America by 3 times. Already more than 20% of the population of those countries are enjoying the equivalent of a US middle class life. So even if their growth slows, Asia will soon become the center of the economic world.

China will benefit immensely in the economic growth of Asia. They are well placed the be the largest trading nation with every major Asian country, and in addition have the human resources and inclination to influence events in the region.

Success in the Future

So even if China continues on this path – success is not assured. For as we have seen over the last five hundreds years it is the open societies who have prevailed, and the closed, insular societies who seemed to have ossified and stagnated.

Sure, they can build new cities in China, but politically and socially they are still at least one or two generations behind the west, in 'soft power'. This will most likely restrain their influence on the world. Much like Americans or Australians who look to England for advice, China and India both look fondly on European civilization and will still seek to cooperate with the west.

Yet, the west will soon no longer include America. As we have seen over the past few years while relations with Europe improve and there is talk of connecting Europe with Eurasia, America seems to have only one approach – the outdated big stick.

When the British held sway in Asia in the 19th century they did so with gunboat diplomacy, which worked as no power in Asia could confront them militarily. Yet, those days are gone while America still thinks they can militarily threaten China. It ain't gonna work, and it doesn't have to.

For China has many problems to face in the coming years. Demographics for one, as the one child policy means that China will age faster than anywhere on earth. As the baby boom generation of 'little princes and princesses' grow up they will be expected to pay for their parents and sometime grandparents retirement – this can create much social strain, as it could be one child trying to support two parents.

Then there are the problems of wealth distribution, water use, dissidents, and ethnic minorities. But it is not all doom and gloom as long as people continue to improve their lives, the communists will remain in power. And like other Asian societies, there is a lot of respect for social stability and economic progress.

Potential Conflict?

As China develops and gains more footholds around the world, the number of conflicts are bound to rise. I believe that until the Chinese government operates with more transparency at home, they will not be prepared to manage any other parts of the world. They may not recognize this at times, and thus despite China's huge economic strides, it might be better to take baby steps on the world stage.

So it will be two steps forward and one step back for the foreseeable future. There will be inequalities and conflicts within China and with the rest of world. However, China will develop with its own pace and rhythm, and it will never become a society that is simply a reflection of the west. They are putting their own house in order after years of chaos and bad governance.

One thing that is obvious is that China will remain Chinese. Sure they have their problems and they know it. That is why China will remain a bit insular and not be in a hurry to emulate the world's current superpower – America. That means the idea of immigrants from other countries is a non-starter.

At the core of China are the Han Chinese. Numbering in excess of a billion people, they are the glue that keeps China together. Sure, there may be troubles within the country and on the periphery, but whatever happens the "Han core" will determine China's future.

# 

# The Future of China

Confucius explained, "If people are ruled by uniform laws and punished uniformly they'll certainly try to avoid punishment but will never develop a sense of shame. If, on the other hand, they're led by morally admirable people and encouraged by rules of good behavior they'll emulate their leaders, internalize the moral code and gradually become good".

China is not the west and although it may have in the past wanted to emulate the western success, at no time did they want to be or act the same as 'us'. For the past twenty years most Chinese firmly believe that there is another model to the culturally and spiritually corrupt western world – that is to say China being Chinese.

The current leader Xi Jinping has a practical vision of China that includes the goal that by 2021 essentially poverty will be almost eliminated, and that not only will be country be rich but also collectively be an equitable society. In practical matters that means healthcare for all, safe streets, good housing and education for children. Actually they are well on the way to meeting those goals.

The fact is that Chinese citizens have set high standards for how their government should behave, and how the government will be held accountable. Chinese citizens won the right to film policemen and there is a huge effort to make government services more transparent.

Meanwhile, their social credit system, while appearing to be something from 1984, is in fact applied not just to citizens but to government officials as well. Thus anyone can be barred from taking an airplane or receiving a bank loan despite their status and connections. Most people in China welcome this, as they want social stability and an ethical society and believe this will help achieve that.

The reality at the moment in world affairs is that China is going from strength to strength and is now the biggest trading nation in the world. Meanwhile, America and the west are no longer seen as beacons of hope and for many in Asia they believe the days of westerners and their sense of superiority are behind them. Not only will China be China, but Asia will be Asia.

Is the time approaching when we see China at the center of the intellectual world and millions of foreigners flock to China for higher education? If you don't see that time coming soon, then it will most likely be a long time, if ever, where China replaces the west as a cultural and intellectual hub. China will remain a Chinese society, and the world will not become shaped in any Chinese image.

So, I tend to see the future of China as a half full glass. Firstly, it is a country that has yet to reach its full potential, and secondly, it has yet to negatively impact on the world.

In the meantime a lot of cars, PC's and iPhones will continue to be made in China and China's economy will continue to grow. If you are going to bet on the future, at least for the coming generation, I'd bet on Asia becoming the center of the world's economy – and China the center of Asia.

So even if China's economy crashes (as it will) they will have a country with the most manufacturing capability, the biggest high speed rail system, and hundreds of other infrastructure around the country that will benefit them in the long term. Enjoy the ride!

END

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