Monday, September 03, 2007
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Moved once again...
I'm temporarily moving my blog to www.tabulas.com/~genghiskhan until blogger is once again viewable without a proxy in China.
My work blog can be found at www.tabulas.com/~shaankhan
Cheers
My work blog can be found at www.tabulas.com/~shaankhan
Cheers
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Why isn't there more outrage about this?
Chinese manufacturers are totally getting away with murder here, why isn't the US calling for an immediate all-out ban of Chinese pharmaceutical products? Business interests? Bull shit.
update: add this one to the list:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/19/business/worldbusiness/19toys.html?th=&emc=th&pagewanted=print
First it's the drugs, now it's the toys.
update: add this one to the list:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/19/business/worldbusiness/19toys.html?th=&emc=th&pagewanted=print
First it's the drugs, now it's the toys.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
"The outrageous pimping content in some websites is very shocking"
I had to blog this just for that outrageous pimping line. Good stuff Xinhua!
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Monday, May 21, 2007
Your Guess is as Good as Mine
I'm really, really not sure what will be going on here (It's still under construction).
Friday, May 18, 2007
Evasive Action!
Saw this message swirling around the Internet the other day:
由于美国最近要针对中国上诉WTO知识产权保护问题，微软正在为美国政府搜集相关证据，在最近自动更 新中包含检测盗版副本程序，为了咱中国利益，请大家不要开启自动更新。已经开启当提示要你安装正 版增值计划请别安装！安装后会在任务栏右下角出现一个蓝色五角星符号！！！这样就会被微软追踪锁 定，以向美国政府提供证据！！！
Translates as something like:
Seems instead of coughing up the dough for real copies of software, it's better to cover up what you're doing? Sure, I guess. Even though Microsoft, I thought, has done a lot for China in terms of investment, research and development. Nice way to thank them...
由于美国最近要针对中国上诉WTO知识产权保护问题，微软正在为美国政府搜集相关证据，在最近自动更 新中包含检测盗版副本程序，为了咱中国利益，请大家不要开启自动更新。已经开启当提示要你安装正 版增值计划请别安装！安装后会在任务栏右下角出现一个蓝色五角星符号！！！这样就会被微软追踪锁 定，以向美国政府提供证据！！！
Translates as something like:
Since the US is now appealing to the WTO regarding IPR, Microsoft is using automatic updates to detect pirated MS software as evidence for the case. For the benefit of China, please turn off automatic updates. If you've seen the notice to install the Genuine Value Plan, please don't install it! If installed you'll see a five-pointed star in the lower right corner of the task bar!!! This is how Microsoft can track you and send the evidence to the US Government!!!
Seems instead of coughing up the dough for real copies of software, it's better to cover up what you're doing? Sure, I guess. Even though Microsoft, I thought, has done a lot for China in terms of investment, research and development. Nice way to thank them...
Thursday, May 17, 2007
The Natives
"It's cold, sister. Can I offer you some warmth?"
"Don't worry about me, brother. I got mine."
"Don't worry about me, brother. I got mine."
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Night Wanderer
Every night an old man in blue wanders the back streets around Houhai lake, drifting from one cold circle of light to the next. What are you doing?
Rumble in Beijing
First someone throws a burning object at Mao's portrait looming over Tiananmen Square, then a police officer is stabbed at the Square a few days later. Probably just a coincidence, but still... why do I always miss out on the exciting stuff?
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Beneath the City Rail
It was dark and warm that night beneath the City Rail, and wind came in halting gusts. Cool blue and yellow taxis blurred by, a red banner with white characters flapped in the breeze. Glowing sparks from a rickshaw driver's falling cigarette ash. The lights were bright and cold. Where was he?
Monday, May 14, 2007
Under the Overpass
Across from the subway stop I waited for my girlfriend. In front of me the huge 3rd ring road overpass loomed high above, and underneath this old man sat on his three-wheeler, making his way through unforgiving traffic.
Exporting Idiocracy
No, not the film, but the American education system, which Harvard among others is trying to send out to the world, to places such as... China! And of course China is looking for education reform, but this article points out why that might not be such a great idea for the Chinese economy:
Sounds good to me...
It took nearly a century for the “reforms” of Dewey’s progressivism to make American schools into places that cultivate self-assurance over knowledge, co-operation over achievement, blandness over distinction, and dullness over everything. Gardner is widely recognized as one of Dewey’s most important heirs, and we need to give his ideas some time to turn China into a nation of self-satisfied ignoramuses.
Sounds good to me...
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Houhai Zoo
I'm going to start trying to post one photo a day from a collection of my favorites. We'll see how long I can keep this up
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Pig Flu? and yet another editorialist with a myopic sense of history
Concerns raised on China's global health disclosures
writes Keith Bradsher:
Hm... well lucky me I don't eat pork, and I'd now absolutely recommend no one else living in China eat it either. In fact I'd recommend everyone stop eating it altogether. There are some diseases that only eating pork can give you, and they're pretty nasty.
In other news, the Washington Post published a book review (if you could call it that--the reviewer, Steven W. Mosher, never even mentions the name of the book he's reviewing, only mentioning it's the third by "principled China watcher" James Mann) about a book that addresses the problem of China watchers falling for the "China Fantasy," that China's economic reforms will lead to political reform. It's been almost thirty years, and hey, where's the democracy, the open elections, the rule of law, Mosher wonders.
But this so-called "book review" quickly devolves into a polemic of Mosher's own views, using the subject matter of Mann's book as a catalyst to kick-start a rant about how most China watchers are "cowardly and self-interested," a phrase he borrows from Mann. On this point they may agree, but it's impossible to tell just what exactly Mann's book is about since Mosher then proceeds with paragraphs that go something like this:
Oh, where to begin, Mr. Mosher? Forgive me if I see a bit naive, I'm only 27 years old, you see, but please tell me on what historical basis do you think all these sort of democratic reforms would be taking place in just thirty years? How long did it take our own system to develop? How many centuries of monarchic rule did the people who rebelled against England suffer before setting up their own democracy?
But I shouldn't be comparing histories, it's not really fair. Consider for a moment that China has experienced in the past century more physical, emotional and political chaos than any major country on the planet. Actually I hate even mentioning this point because it's rather cliche now, but it's still true. Students I have taught have grandparents who lived in such vastly different conditions than those in which we live today, far more different than my grandparents lives were from mine. It's generation gap times ten.
Consider too that most of the country is still living in something like Middle-Age conditions, 800 million people or so who have no concept of what democracy is and why it's important. What do you think they care about, having food to eat or the right to vote for their leaders? Which would you care about more?
And what does democracy look like to the world today? According to the American Way, inevitably Imperialistic, in large part to the war in Iraq--whether it's a just war or not, this is a fact: countries such as China see us as more of a threat than before, and force-feeding democracy, even to those who want it, does nothing to assuage those fears and nothing to promote peace in countries that don't develop the democratic system from within. No dictatorship in all of history has ever lasted, but the best way to prop one up is to attack it, militarily or politically.
I hate to use this line, but unfortunately it seems neither Mosher nor Mann understand China well enough to make any constructive critique of the current situation and so I must: you don't understand China. I hate it when Chinese people tell me this as it seems to be a catch-all phrase for any situation in which they don't have a rational response to criticisms of China, but here it seems true.
One thing I have noticed about China is that its leaders almost always will refuse to bow to any sort of publicized pressure to make changes to their government, but when the changes do come, they occur quietly, through negotiations that are kept quiet. Unfortunately the US likes to make its human rights violations announcements on the world stage instead of dealing directly with China behind closed doors, and to what end? China then refutes the reports, and nothing changes.
Why? Face. It's a bitch for us Westerners to understand and deal with, but China, like Japan and Korea, need to have face, keep face, save face, etc. And the best way to do this is to give it to them, especially when you're criticizing. This means negotiation and compromise, and putting pressure in private, not in public. But as far as political strategy, that change can only come from within, and it can only come with time. As the Mao generation ages and dies out, and if the Western provinces can be economically improved, it is inevitable that the political system will change; we just can't expect it to ever bear a striking resemblance to our own.
Pigs dying mysteriously: http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/05/07/news/pigs.php
Mosher's article/review of Mann's book (which he finally does say at the end is titled The China Fantasy): http://www.washingtontimes.com/functions/print.php?StoryID=20070505-101331-9766r
writes Keith Bradsher:
HONG KONG: The international and Hong Kong authorities said Monday that they had received little information from mainland Chinese officials about a mysterious ailment killing pigs in southeastern China or about Chinese wheat gluten contaminated with plastic scrap, raising questions again about whether Beijing is willing to share data on global health issues.
Hm... well lucky me I don't eat pork, and I'd now absolutely recommend no one else living in China eat it either. In fact I'd recommend everyone stop eating it altogether. There are some diseases that only eating pork can give you, and they're pretty nasty.
In other news, the Washington Post published a book review (if you could call it that--the reviewer, Steven W. Mosher, never even mentions the name of the book he's reviewing, only mentioning it's the third by "principled China watcher" James Mann) about a book that addresses the problem of China watchers falling for the "China Fantasy," that China's economic reforms will lead to political reform. It's been almost thirty years, and hey, where's the democracy, the open elections, the rule of law, Mosher wonders.
But this so-called "book review" quickly devolves into a polemic of Mosher's own views, using the subject matter of Mann's book as a catalyst to kick-start a rant about how most China watchers are "cowardly and self-interested," a phrase he borrows from Mann. On this point they may agree, but it's impossible to tell just what exactly Mann's book is about since Mosher then proceeds with paragraphs that go something like this:
If the China Fantasy were true, American ways would already be coming to dominate in China. Democratic sentiments would be growing apace with the swelling Chinese middle class. Chinese youth (dressed in Levi's) would meet (at McDonald's) to discuss human rights. Internet chat rooms would be devoted to setting up opposition political parties. E-mails and faxes would encourage people to turn out for political rallies. Before we knew it, China would be abiding by the rule of law, enacting a written constitution and holding free elections.
There would be talk of returning the Goddess of Democracy to her throne in Tiananmen Square. China would be following America's lead in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) and cooperate with the American-dominated World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Beijing would dismantle its missiles ponted at Taiwan, recognize that democratic republic as a separate and equal state, and give up its smash-and-grab operations in the South China Sea. And as a result of all this, the United States would enjoy a true "strategic partnership" with a China that was evolving into a free market democracy.
Oh, where to begin, Mr. Mosher? Forgive me if I see a bit naive, I'm only 27 years old, you see, but please tell me on what historical basis do you think all these sort of democratic reforms would be taking place in just thirty years? How long did it take our own system to develop? How many centuries of monarchic rule did the people who rebelled against England suffer before setting up their own democracy?
But I shouldn't be comparing histories, it's not really fair. Consider for a moment that China has experienced in the past century more physical, emotional and political chaos than any major country on the planet. Actually I hate even mentioning this point because it's rather cliche now, but it's still true. Students I have taught have grandparents who lived in such vastly different conditions than those in which we live today, far more different than my grandparents lives were from mine. It's generation gap times ten.
Consider too that most of the country is still living in something like Middle-Age conditions, 800 million people or so who have no concept of what democracy is and why it's important. What do you think they care about, having food to eat or the right to vote for their leaders? Which would you care about more?
And what does democracy look like to the world today? According to the American Way, inevitably Imperialistic, in large part to the war in Iraq--whether it's a just war or not, this is a fact: countries such as China see us as more of a threat than before, and force-feeding democracy, even to those who want it, does nothing to assuage those fears and nothing to promote peace in countries that don't develop the democratic system from within. No dictatorship in all of history has ever lasted, but the best way to prop one up is to attack it, militarily or politically.
I hate to use this line, but unfortunately it seems neither Mosher nor Mann understand China well enough to make any constructive critique of the current situation and so I must: you don't understand China. I hate it when Chinese people tell me this as it seems to be a catch-all phrase for any situation in which they don't have a rational response to criticisms of China, but here it seems true.
One thing I have noticed about China is that its leaders almost always will refuse to bow to any sort of publicized pressure to make changes to their government, but when the changes do come, they occur quietly, through negotiations that are kept quiet. Unfortunately the US likes to make its human rights violations announcements on the world stage instead of dealing directly with China behind closed doors, and to what end? China then refutes the reports, and nothing changes.
Why? Face. It's a bitch for us Westerners to understand and deal with, but China, like Japan and Korea, need to have face, keep face, save face, etc. And the best way to do this is to give it to them, especially when you're criticizing. This means negotiation and compromise, and putting pressure in private, not in public. But as far as political strategy, that change can only come from within, and it can only come with time. As the Mao generation ages and dies out, and if the Western provinces can be economically improved, it is inevitable that the political system will change; we just can't expect it to ever bear a striking resemblance to our own.
Pigs dying mysteriously: http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/05/07/news/pigs.php
Mosher's article/review of Mann's book (which he finally does say at the end is titled The China Fantasy): http://www.washingtontimes.com/functions/print.php?StoryID=20070505-101331-9766r
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
May Holiday and China still has a long way to go...
Photos are up from my recent holiday trip with Lingying to Beidaihe, a beach town resort in Hebei. Click here:
And I just read this extensive article on yet another product pirated/counterfeited in China: pharmaceutical solvents
China still has a long, long way to go in regulating its industries. The runaround given to the reporter of this article by the two departments supposedly responsible for investigating the matter reads like such a cliche of China, and yet it's still so true.
 |
| May Holiday - Beidaihe |
And I just read this extensive article on yet another product pirated/counterfeited in China: pharmaceutical solvents
China still has a long, long way to go in regulating its industries. The runaround given to the reporter of this article by the two departments supposedly responsible for investigating the matter reads like such a cliche of China, and yet it's still so true.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Photo updates...
Updated Auto Shanghai with pics of the kiddies driving toy Mercedes cars (yes, we corrupt them young), some pics of an MB Zippo, and Shanghai at night:
And some photos from today out on Chengfu lu, street vendors:
Photos from Beihai Park with the gf and her colleague Suki soon to come
 |
| Auto Shanghai |
And some photos from today out on Chengfu lu, street vendors:
 |
| Cheng Fu Lu Street Vendors |
Photos from Beihai Park with the gf and her colleague Suki soon to come
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Auto Shanghai
So I said I'd write something about Auto Shanghai... went for a week to work for my PR company at the Mercedes-Benz stand in hall W5, mostly to help receive members of the various media who came to the event. We arrived on Sunday the 15th, and the event officially opened to the media on Friday the 20th. Friday and Saturday it was only open to the media, and starting Sunday tickets were available to the public.
Timeline (not that interesting)
Sunday, Monday and Tuesday we were relatively free. I've only been to Shanghai once before back in 2003, but I hardly remembered it, and had nothing to compare it to. Now having lived in Beijing for a year, the situation is a bit different, and differences in culture are clear--something like New York and Los Angeles, I think (though I've now spent way more time in Beijing than I ever have in New York, and more time in Shanghai than in L.A.). In China these two cities are rivals in a sense, neither showing much respect for the other, and probably only agreeing that they are superior to the rest of China (as well as the other).
My girlfriend Lynn, who works at another PR company near mine, was also in Shanghai working on several events for Dodge, which has recently made its official entry into the Chinese market this year, I believe. Since Dodge is Chrysler is DaimlerChrysler, the Jeep, Chrysler, and Dodge stands were all next to each other right across from ours. Lynn was managing an event at the Bar Rouge, and upscale place just across the Bund in Puxi, from which the Pearl TV tower and Jinmao Tower are visible at Shanghai's most photographed area. (And more on romantic follies at the Bund later!) Despite working in close proximity, we didn't get to see much of each other until the day before we left. I caught a few glimpses of her working at her stand before the press conferences, but that was about it--I'm sure you can imagine my frustration, so close and yet so far.
As I said, the first two days were media only, which was nice since it meant the hall was relatively calm, not too crowded, and everyone (except for one 会虫) was pretty professional. Mercedes-Benz's stand was set up pretty much the same as it was in Beijing last year, so I hear, which you can see in my photos is all black with wooden alcoves and silvery words splayed across both. On the stage itself, several bunches of bamboos were set up to give it what they called in their press-release, 'elements of Chinese aesthetics' to somehow show the close attention they are paying to the Chinese market. Frankly it looked like bunches of bamboo sticking out of the stage, held up only by the netting above through which it was stuck. Compared to their Detroit '06 showing, which had an ice rink on which they drove a 4MATIC vehicle to show off its performance, pretty bland.
Press Conference--speech writing, article writing par moi!
On the opening day Mercedes-Benz held their press conference, for which I helped to write the speeches of both Klaus Maier and Claus Weidner (why one is spelled with a K and the other a C is beyond me), the former being the CEO of Mercedes-Benz (China) and the latter being in charge of sales and marketing I think. I even got to help out in rehearsal for the camera crews by reading the speeches for Walker (DaimlerChrysler CEO of Northeast Asia) and Weidner, my first time reading off a teleprompter. Feels funny because you're looking past the audience to read it so you have to remember to look down from time to time. And I definitely did a way better job than Maier or Weidner--especially Weidner. Granted, English is not their first language, but Weidner sounded like a robot.
There was an interlude with eight Shanghai primary school girls in angelic outfits singing Happy Birthday to celebrate the 100th anniversary of AWD at Mercedes-Benz, after which Weidner thanked them mechanically, "Thank you for that wonderful performance" (imagine Stephen Hawking but with less feeling). Ruined my beautiful speeches!
Dodge had much more entertaining press conference, but it was too loud. At least the Viper was on display.
Besides welcoming the media and handing out press kits, I also had to help revise some press releases and most peculiarly, write an article about the press conference to be published in Shanghai Daily. Peculiar why? Because it was meant to be written by a journalist, not by Mercedes-Benz. The most amusing bit is that I wrote the speeches, and then I was supposed to be writing a complimentary but not sycophantic (has to sound objective, after all) article in reference to those speeches! Oh the media in China is quite a circus... literally. It has you going in circles.
Damn you, Hong Bao
While I'm on the subject of media in China, I need to rant about the situation here, which is pretty bad. It's all because of the Hong Bao (红包). Hong Bao means 'red packet' literally, which traditionally are little paper envelopes filled with money given out by parents and grandparents to their kids at Spring Festival. In this context, however, it refers to one of the big perks of being a journalist in China--when companies have events they want media to attend, they send out gifts to the invited media. Without these gifts (a.k.a. Hong Bao), the media won't show up, simple as that. What started out as a reimbursement for smaller media who couldn't necessarily afford transportation costs has turned into outright bribery that all media big or small demand or refuse to show up.
This 'gift-giving' as it's euphemized, has created what I earlier referred to as 'hui chong' (会虫), or 'conference worms'. These are people who nab some journalist's business cards and come to an event just to try to get the gifts. One showed up at are our stand, presenting his business card, saying he forgot his invitation and forgot who sent it (not likely since media relations are quite important here). My colleague, looking at the business card, wisely asked, "what's your family name," and the idiot who presented it couldn't tell him. You'd think he'd at least have gone to the trouble to remember that one bit of info. The gifts, by the way, were a Samsonite toiletry bag and a model of Mercedes-Benz first ever automobile.
Incidentally Ferrari got itself in trouble its first year in China by refusing to give out Hong Bao, taking offense at the very idea. Not surprisingly, no domestic media showed up at their event that year.
Shanghainese lose themselves, Autoshow models hot or not? (Kinda not.)
Media reception is a pretty boring job that involves mostly waiting, and then if its not handing out the press kits, its trying to answer questions you don't have the answers to. But once the show opened to the public, I could quite easily see hell on the verge of breaking loose. Shanghainese, known for their relative level of civility, became a lot more Beijingerish at the autoshow: people packed into the halls, everyone clamoring to take photos of each other posing awkwardly next to the cars, sometimes groping them in bizarre ways--maybe they were trying to be funny? Even the professional models were a mixed bag. The one in my photos who appeared with Peter He (some Asian pop star I've never heard of) was pretty hot, but there are others, at Ferrari's stand surprisingly, that could have been men in drag. Not sure what was up with that. Foreign models graced the stages of some brands as well, though most seemed to be Eastern-Eurotrash dressed probably less promiscuously than they're used to. Okay, I'm exaggerating a little, but the models overall... not so hot from the neck up.
Freelance Photgraphy (emphasis on free, unfortunately)
Fortunately we didn't have to stay for the public, but we were there for the first day the show was open to them, and I was asked to take photos of the cars with people swarming around them, but to make sure the car and its logo(s) were visible. I learned a few things about photo taking, particularly about the requirements for PR photos--the logo must be clear and no other brands logos, names, cars, etc. should be visible. Makes sense, I just never thought about it before. The head of my team liked a few I took, though I don't know if any made their way into the media. It'd be nice to put that on my resume...
Romance, China-style
Of course, finally Lynn and I did get a chance to spend some time together, that night after the final day of auto show work and one night before going back to Beijing. After having dinner with my colleagues, she and her colleagues met up with us at The Ark, a bar somewhere in Puxi. We played drinking games for a while (first dice, then truth or dare). About one o'clock we headed out, some for KTV (karaoke) and me and Lynn for a walk along the Bund.
In case anyone doesn't know, the Bund is the site of every tourists photograph in Shanghai, the peninsula of buildings that gives Shanghai its famous skyline--the Pearl Tower being the most prominent, looking like some kind of rocket ship read to take off. It's lit up beautifully in the evening, but by midnight most of the lights are off, except for the flashing red beacons, leaving only a dark impression of the buildings. That late at night Shanghai is totally quiet, a silence that seems incongruous with the skyscrapers standing there, massive both in size and number. It's as if you should be able to hear them breathing as they sleep, but there's only the hollow rushing sound of the occasional taxi, or barges groaning up the river, visible only as slow-moving shadows on the water.
The rain had stopped now (it had been raining all day), and I took a couple long exposure photos. Besides us there was only the occasional passersby, a few dark figures huddles on curbs; we paid them little attention. For the moment we were concentrating on each other. At one point a man selling his services as a photographer stopped his bicycle near us; we refused politely, and I joked with him for a moment about something I can't remember. He came back moments later (if he'd even left in the first place) now trying to sell me a watch, and I couldn't help laughing--he was nothing if not persistent, but he went on his way, and it became quiet again.
The rain had gone but their was still a chill; a wind blew and we held each other tight.
Sometime around then a little old beggar woman gripping flowers in dirty hands accosted us, first trying to sell us the flowers (to which Lynn adamantly refused) and then resorting outright begging. I might have had change on me, but I was too annoyed at her spoiling the romance to feel generous, and finally she shuffled off. And it became quiet again.
Inevitably the embrace became intimate, and for several minutes (it seemed) I couldn't think of a more romantic moment--kissing on the Bund in the silence of the after-midnight night? It couldn't have been better. What if I had flowers to give her, just then, appearing magically out of nowhere? Would that have been better?
No, not the beggar lady, but an old man with the same purpose seemed to think so. I heard his shuffling (they really like to shuffle) feet approaching, but at that moment I was checking Lynn's teeth for cavities (none!) and didn't feel like paying him any mind. He got close enough and then spat out the English he knew--all I remember, however was, "good luck, good luck!" as he pushed flowers at us.
His persistence outmatched ours. We let go, looked at each other, laughing. What a week, what a night. It somehow seemed so fitting that our one moment together after a almost a week without seeing one another would reach this anticlimax. All I could think was, well, that's China for you.
Not that China is a constant spoiler of beautiful moments, but I do feel like this place is constantly throwing curveballs at you, final acts of movies that end up sort of how you expect but with a twist, at least peculiar but sometimes extreme enough to be completely non sequitur. These are the kind of moments that if you're telling a friend about it later over a cup of coffee, trying to explain why it annoyed you so much, you'll find yourself laughing because that's all you really can do, isn't it?
Timeline (not that interesting)
Sunday, Monday and Tuesday we were relatively free. I've only been to Shanghai once before back in 2003, but I hardly remembered it, and had nothing to compare it to. Now having lived in Beijing for a year, the situation is a bit different, and differences in culture are clear--something like New York and Los Angeles, I think (though I've now spent way more time in Beijing than I ever have in New York, and more time in Shanghai than in L.A.). In China these two cities are rivals in a sense, neither showing much respect for the other, and probably only agreeing that they are superior to the rest of China (as well as the other).
My girlfriend Lynn, who works at another PR company near mine, was also in Shanghai working on several events for Dodge, which has recently made its official entry into the Chinese market this year, I believe. Since Dodge is Chrysler is DaimlerChrysler, the Jeep, Chrysler, and Dodge stands were all next to each other right across from ours. Lynn was managing an event at the Bar Rouge, and upscale place just across the Bund in Puxi, from which the Pearl TV tower and Jinmao Tower are visible at Shanghai's most photographed area. (And more on romantic follies at the Bund later!) Despite working in close proximity, we didn't get to see much of each other until the day before we left. I caught a few glimpses of her working at her stand before the press conferences, but that was about it--I'm sure you can imagine my frustration, so close and yet so far.
As I said, the first two days were media only, which was nice since it meant the hall was relatively calm, not too crowded, and everyone (except for one 会虫) was pretty professional. Mercedes-Benz's stand was set up pretty much the same as it was in Beijing last year, so I hear, which you can see in my photos is all black with wooden alcoves and silvery words splayed across both. On the stage itself, several bunches of bamboos were set up to give it what they called in their press-release, 'elements of Chinese aesthetics' to somehow show the close attention they are paying to the Chinese market. Frankly it looked like bunches of bamboo sticking out of the stage, held up only by the netting above through which it was stuck. Compared to their Detroit '06 showing, which had an ice rink on which they drove a 4MATIC vehicle to show off its performance, pretty bland.
Press Conference--speech writing, article writing par moi!
On the opening day Mercedes-Benz held their press conference, for which I helped to write the speeches of both Klaus Maier and Claus Weidner (why one is spelled with a K and the other a C is beyond me), the former being the CEO of Mercedes-Benz (China) and the latter being in charge of sales and marketing I think. I even got to help out in rehearsal for the camera crews by reading the speeches for Walker (DaimlerChrysler CEO of Northeast Asia) and Weidner, my first time reading off a teleprompter. Feels funny because you're looking past the audience to read it so you have to remember to look down from time to time. And I definitely did a way better job than Maier or Weidner--especially Weidner. Granted, English is not their first language, but Weidner sounded like a robot.
There was an interlude with eight Shanghai primary school girls in angelic outfits singing Happy Birthday to celebrate the 100th anniversary of AWD at Mercedes-Benz, after which Weidner thanked them mechanically, "Thank you for that wonderful performance" (imagine Stephen Hawking but with less feeling). Ruined my beautiful speeches!
Dodge had much more entertaining press conference, but it was too loud. At least the Viper was on display.
Besides welcoming the media and handing out press kits, I also had to help revise some press releases and most peculiarly, write an article about the press conference to be published in Shanghai Daily. Peculiar why? Because it was meant to be written by a journalist, not by Mercedes-Benz. The most amusing bit is that I wrote the speeches, and then I was supposed to be writing a complimentary but not sycophantic (has to sound objective, after all) article in reference to those speeches! Oh the media in China is quite a circus... literally. It has you going in circles.
Damn you, Hong Bao
While I'm on the subject of media in China, I need to rant about the situation here, which is pretty bad. It's all because of the Hong Bao (红包). Hong Bao means 'red packet' literally, which traditionally are little paper envelopes filled with money given out by parents and grandparents to their kids at Spring Festival. In this context, however, it refers to one of the big perks of being a journalist in China--when companies have events they want media to attend, they send out gifts to the invited media. Without these gifts (a.k.a. Hong Bao), the media won't show up, simple as that. What started out as a reimbursement for smaller media who couldn't necessarily afford transportation costs has turned into outright bribery that all media big or small demand or refuse to show up.
This 'gift-giving' as it's euphemized, has created what I earlier referred to as 'hui chong' (会虫), or 'conference worms'. These are people who nab some journalist's business cards and come to an event just to try to get the gifts. One showed up at are our stand, presenting his business card, saying he forgot his invitation and forgot who sent it (not likely since media relations are quite important here). My colleague, looking at the business card, wisely asked, "what's your family name," and the idiot who presented it couldn't tell him. You'd think he'd at least have gone to the trouble to remember that one bit of info. The gifts, by the way, were a Samsonite toiletry bag and a model of Mercedes-Benz first ever automobile.
Incidentally Ferrari got itself in trouble its first year in China by refusing to give out Hong Bao, taking offense at the very idea. Not surprisingly, no domestic media showed up at their event that year.
Shanghainese lose themselves, Autoshow models hot or not? (Kinda not.)
Media reception is a pretty boring job that involves mostly waiting, and then if its not handing out the press kits, its trying to answer questions you don't have the answers to. But once the show opened to the public, I could quite easily see hell on the verge of breaking loose. Shanghainese, known for their relative level of civility, became a lot more Beijingerish at the autoshow: people packed into the halls, everyone clamoring to take photos of each other posing awkwardly next to the cars, sometimes groping them in bizarre ways--maybe they were trying to be funny? Even the professional models were a mixed bag. The one in my photos who appeared with Peter He (some Asian pop star I've never heard of) was pretty hot, but there are others, at Ferrari's stand surprisingly, that could have been men in drag. Not sure what was up with that. Foreign models graced the stages of some brands as well, though most seemed to be Eastern-Eurotrash dressed probably less promiscuously than they're used to. Okay, I'm exaggerating a little, but the models overall... not so hot from the neck up.
Freelance Photgraphy (emphasis on free, unfortunately)
Fortunately we didn't have to stay for the public, but we were there for the first day the show was open to them, and I was asked to take photos of the cars with people swarming around them, but to make sure the car and its logo(s) were visible. I learned a few things about photo taking, particularly about the requirements for PR photos--the logo must be clear and no other brands logos, names, cars, etc. should be visible. Makes sense, I just never thought about it before. The head of my team liked a few I took, though I don't know if any made their way into the media. It'd be nice to put that on my resume...
Romance, China-style
Of course, finally Lynn and I did get a chance to spend some time together, that night after the final day of auto show work and one night before going back to Beijing. After having dinner with my colleagues, she and her colleagues met up with us at The Ark, a bar somewhere in Puxi. We played drinking games for a while (first dice, then truth or dare). About one o'clock we headed out, some for KTV (karaoke) and me and Lynn for a walk along the Bund.
In case anyone doesn't know, the Bund is the site of every tourists photograph in Shanghai, the peninsula of buildings that gives Shanghai its famous skyline--the Pearl Tower being the most prominent, looking like some kind of rocket ship read to take off. It's lit up beautifully in the evening, but by midnight most of the lights are off, except for the flashing red beacons, leaving only a dark impression of the buildings. That late at night Shanghai is totally quiet, a silence that seems incongruous with the skyscrapers standing there, massive both in size and number. It's as if you should be able to hear them breathing as they sleep, but there's only the hollow rushing sound of the occasional taxi, or barges groaning up the river, visible only as slow-moving shadows on the water.
The rain had stopped now (it had been raining all day), and I took a couple long exposure photos. Besides us there was only the occasional passersby, a few dark figures huddles on curbs; we paid them little attention. For the moment we were concentrating on each other. At one point a man selling his services as a photographer stopped his bicycle near us; we refused politely, and I joked with him for a moment about something I can't remember. He came back moments later (if he'd even left in the first place) now trying to sell me a watch, and I couldn't help laughing--he was nothing if not persistent, but he went on his way, and it became quiet again.
The rain had gone but their was still a chill; a wind blew and we held each other tight.
Sometime around then a little old beggar woman gripping flowers in dirty hands accosted us, first trying to sell us the flowers (to which Lynn adamantly refused) and then resorting outright begging. I might have had change on me, but I was too annoyed at her spoiling the romance to feel generous, and finally she shuffled off. And it became quiet again.
Inevitably the embrace became intimate, and for several minutes (it seemed) I couldn't think of a more romantic moment--kissing on the Bund in the silence of the after-midnight night? It couldn't have been better. What if I had flowers to give her, just then, appearing magically out of nowhere? Would that have been better?
No, not the beggar lady, but an old man with the same purpose seemed to think so. I heard his shuffling (they really like to shuffle) feet approaching, but at that moment I was checking Lynn's teeth for cavities (none!) and didn't feel like paying him any mind. He got close enough and then spat out the English he knew--all I remember, however was, "good luck, good luck!" as he pushed flowers at us.
His persistence outmatched ours. We let go, looked at each other, laughing. What a week, what a night. It somehow seemed so fitting that our one moment together after a almost a week without seeing one another would reach this anticlimax. All I could think was, well, that's China for you.
Not that China is a constant spoiler of beautiful moments, but I do feel like this place is constantly throwing curveballs at you, final acts of movies that end up sort of how you expect but with a twist, at least peculiar but sometimes extreme enough to be completely non sequitur. These are the kind of moments that if you're telling a friend about it later over a cup of coffee, trying to explain why it annoyed you so much, you'll find yourself laughing because that's all you really can do, isn't it?
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Early shots from Auto Shanghai
 |
| Auto Shanghai |
Pics here from Auto Shanghai 2007. I was working at the Mercedes-Benz station, will give more details when I get back to Beijing... PR is a lot of BS, in case anyone didn't already realize that, but it's even more true in China than in other places.
A few pics here:
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Chinese Communist Party makes Mephistopheles jealous
That's what Mr. Holz of HK University is saying, anyway. He claims now Westerners, even academics (supposedly paragons of free thought), are bowing to the will of the big ol' CCP,
The Mafia comparison is based not just on ol' Webster, but consider what happened to Mr. Holz himself, on a research trip to China:
And questions whether the CCP should be privileged to wear the title of 'government':
There also seems to be a tinge of paranoia surrounding this argument, as well as a kind of "Bushy" logic--if you accept anything the Chinese government/mafia says, you are instantly supporting them. I agree with the points made about Tiananmen Square and "Harmonious Society" because there is indeed a lot of bullshit going on here that I don't see, but has anyone compared the rise of other civilizations to that of China? Because that's what's going on, isn't it? And a huge one at that with larger, more isolated minority cultures than India, plus a legacy of instability far surpassing that of it's South Asian neighbor, not to mention much less influence from foreign powers that might have given it the ground for establishing a more democratic form of government.
It's an old argument now, but considering where China was thirty, forty, fifty years ago, shouldn't we be astonished by the level of development, by the number of people raised out of poverty, even in rural regions still in desperate need of development and modernization?
I think China's plan is to introduce democratic reforms gradually, starting at the most local levels for elections that don't really matter, but perhaps to get people used to the idea of voting before suddenly springing it on the entire governmental system. Considering how corrupt everything is, dramatic democratic reforms would be manipulated to no end and the result would be a sham system that is then much more difficult to fix.
My main concern is how willing the CCP will ever actually be willing to give up its authoritarian control of the government. It ultimate goal is legitimacy, and legitimacy means giving the Chinese people a reason to believe that it can do the job better than anyone else, whether it's actually true or not. So on the one hand this forces them to actually serve the people, simply because ignoring them would throw China back to the 60's. But on the other, they ought to be willing to cede power when they see their way is not working, and they've shown no signs of doing that--instead they either kick-start nationalism (like every time Toyota makes an offensive advertisement or Chen Shui-Ban makes a move for Taiwan independence), lock-up reporters on fraudulent charges of 'threats to state security', kill any and all reports on social unrest before it his the global media (and if the story does get out, they quickly publish bs reports saying how so-and-so instigated the event by manipulating those poor [stupid] peasants), or starts spewing out a litany of propagandistic slogans, a tradition that doesn't seem to be dying out any time soon (those white-on-red banners are EVERYWHERE).
The worst of it all is the benefits one gets by becoming a member of the Party--sounds like The Wave (8th grade reading, remember?? Made for ABC after school special!) to me... oh, and if you're Christian (not sure about the other religions, forget it, you can't be a Party member. And of course if anyone from the outside criticizes China, you get either the "don't get involved in our internal affairs" reply, or even more dreaded, the classic "you don't understand China." (While the internal affairs point has some merit, the latter is the equivalent of intellectual bullshit. I'm sorry, but I don't think a lot of Chinese understand their own country, or if they do, they just don't care, which is the scariest thing of all.)
Our use of language to conform to the image the Party wishes to project is pervasive. Would the description “a secret society characterized by an attitude of popular hostility to law and government” not properly describe the secrecy of the Party’s operations, its supremacy above the law and its total control of government? In Webster’s New World College Dictionary, this is the definition of “mafia.”And why? To gain access to China, to collaborate (oh, sensitive word!) with Chinese researchers on whatever researching there is to be done legally in China, all based on a dearth of information that mostly comes from the Party anyway. The brief moments of exciting insights come from the occasional cracks in the Great Wall of Silence (bad metaphor, I know), when corruption reveals something deeper, or when one of the 200 (TWO HUNDRED) daily events of social unrest leak out into the Western media.
The Mafia comparison is based not just on ol' Webster, but consider what happened to Mr. Holz himself, on a research trip to China:
A local Party committee, at one point, helped me out by providing a car, a Party cadre and a local government official. They directed me to enterprise managers who, presumably, gave all the right answers. The hosts were invariably highly supportive, but I ended up working in exactly the box in which they were thinking and operating.And the usual corruption stats:
Article after article pores over the potential economic reasons for the increase in income inequality in China. We ignore the fact that of the 3,220 Chinese citizens with a personal wealth of 100 million yuan ($13 million) or more, 2, 932 are children of high-level cadres. Of the key positions in the five industrial sectors—finance, foreign trade, land development, large-scale engineering and securities—85% to 90% are held by children of high-level cadres.
And questions whether the CCP should be privileged to wear the title of 'government':
Does China’s government actually govern China, or is it merely an organ that implements Party decisions? By using the word “government,” is it correct to grant the Chinese “government” this association with other, in particular Western, governments, or would it not be more accurate to call it the “government with Chinese characteristics” or the “mafia’s front man”? Who questions the legitimacy of the Party leadership to rule China, and to rule it the way it does?Comparing the Chinese government to a kind of mafia is a spin I haven't heard before, and I think at the local level Holz is definitely correct. Provincial and city governments, from the stories I've heard, do operate in this fashion with petty officials more interested in their own well-being than than of their nation's. The central government has relatively little power in local matters, especially the farther one travels from Beijing, this seems to be a point Holz is neglecting to make.
There also seems to be a tinge of paranoia surrounding this argument, as well as a kind of "Bushy" logic--if you accept anything the Chinese government/mafia says, you are instantly supporting them. I agree with the points made about Tiananmen Square and "Harmonious Society" because there is indeed a lot of bullshit going on here that I don't see, but has anyone compared the rise of other civilizations to that of China? Because that's what's going on, isn't it? And a huge one at that with larger, more isolated minority cultures than India, plus a legacy of instability far surpassing that of it's South Asian neighbor, not to mention much less influence from foreign powers that might have given it the ground for establishing a more democratic form of government.
It's an old argument now, but considering where China was thirty, forty, fifty years ago, shouldn't we be astonished by the level of development, by the number of people raised out of poverty, even in rural regions still in desperate need of development and modernization?
I think China's plan is to introduce democratic reforms gradually, starting at the most local levels for elections that don't really matter, but perhaps to get people used to the idea of voting before suddenly springing it on the entire governmental system. Considering how corrupt everything is, dramatic democratic reforms would be manipulated to no end and the result would be a sham system that is then much more difficult to fix.
My main concern is how willing the CCP will ever actually be willing to give up its authoritarian control of the government. It ultimate goal is legitimacy, and legitimacy means giving the Chinese people a reason to believe that it can do the job better than anyone else, whether it's actually true or not. So on the one hand this forces them to actually serve the people, simply because ignoring them would throw China back to the 60's. But on the other, they ought to be willing to cede power when they see their way is not working, and they've shown no signs of doing that--instead they either kick-start nationalism (like every time Toyota makes an offensive advertisement or Chen Shui-Ban makes a move for Taiwan independence), lock-up reporters on fraudulent charges of 'threats to state security', kill any and all reports on social unrest before it his the global media (and if the story does get out, they quickly publish bs reports saying how so-and-so instigated the event by manipulating those poor [stupid] peasants), or starts spewing out a litany of propagandistic slogans, a tradition that doesn't seem to be dying out any time soon (those white-on-red banners are EVERYWHERE).
The worst of it all is the benefits one gets by becoming a member of the Party--sounds like The Wave (8th grade reading, remember?? Made for ABC after school special!) to me... oh, and if you're Christian (not sure about the other religions, forget it, you can't be a Party member. And of course if anyone from the outside criticizes China, you get either the "don't get involved in our internal affairs" reply, or even more dreaded, the classic "you don't understand China." (While the internal affairs point has some merit, the latter is the equivalent of intellectual bullshit. I'm sorry, but I don't think a lot of Chinese understand their own country, or if they do, they just don't care, which is the scariest thing of all.)
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
龄莹介绍一下
一个月之前, 我认识一新的朋友,她叫龄莹. 钟龄莹. 我和她的工作一样的行业, 公关的. 第一次见的时候是一个计划公关活动的开会: Benetton公司要促进一个艺术杂志刚刚到达了中国市场叫Colours. 所以我和她的公司一起合作, 位于在Yen club里, 七九八art district的地方.
那, 在活动的期间有一些好运--我和她一起在外媒体登记桌子责任. 活动花几个小时, 所以我们也花几个小时聊天. 起先, 她想来有点羞的, 但是对我来说很认真, 有爱的, 比较聪明, 而且她的外形很不错. 更好好运是那天晚上，正巧，我过去了韩国饭店，突然在玻璃墙对面看见她！她也看我，所以我进入了，我们有几分之第一约会。
自那天的时候, 我们每天在上网聊天, 每个几天一起去吃饭, 曾一起去我前的老师的讨论...我们去做什么事情, 我们老说话很多, 很自然, 很舒服. 我开始了解好久没认识这样的女孩, 觉得很特别. 越认识越喜欢.
那, 当然我也开始害怕. 原来的时候, 每个我喜欢的女孩都没互给...我以为为什么本次应该有什么区别? 所以, 我不要跟她谈恋爱, 不要伤心. 不过, 我们继续每天说话, 我就觉得她也喜欢我, 但是当然无确定无自信. 很多次我们去吃晚饭, 我真要说"什么什么"的恋爱的词, 但是说不去来. 好可怜是我?
然后呢, 一个机会到了. 上个星期她邀请我吃她自己做的饭, '当然, 我好期待,' 我说. 周日, 我们决定, 虽然我的周末比较忙. 周日下午我已经有计划很好的韩国女的朋友一起去中山公园拍照片, 还有周六周日上午给别的朋友帮助. 反正时间够了, 没问题. 韩国朋友帮我忙了买礼物给龄莹送--一个项链根石头的观音联系. 观音背部能放一个雕刻术, 所以我问了服务员雕刻"钟龄莹".
7点左右终于她的房子到了, 她做马拉西亚的采: 唐杜里鸡胸, 米饭跟coconut奶, 虾, 还有几些很好吃的食物. 吃完以后, 她给我看一下一辈子的照片! 那么多。。。虽然我有点累, 我很喜欢看她和她的家人的照片.
突然我们发现了, 好晚, 时间过去太快了. 我仍然没给她送的礼物. 我等到回家的时间送她, 因为我以为同时送她和给她解释我为了她有什么感情. 那, 如果她说对不起, 你很笨, 不要再看你, 至少我吃到好吃的晚饭 :).
不过, 我真不要害怕了. 送她 礼物, 看到她真感动. 我们都说, '好,' 拥抱. 很长时间拥抱, 我在手中放她的头, 眼睛关起来, 吻. 好暖和,好舒服, 完美的片刻. 后来, 有的人说, 是历史吧 :)
那, 在活动的期间有一些好运--我和她一起在外媒体登记桌子责任. 活动花几个小时, 所以我们也花几个小时聊天. 起先, 她想来有点羞的, 但是对我来说很认真, 有爱的, 比较聪明, 而且她的外形很不错. 更好好运是那天晚上，正巧，我过去了韩国饭店，突然在玻璃墙对面看见她！她也看我，所以我进入了，我们有几分之第一约会。
自那天的时候, 我们每天在上网聊天, 每个几天一起去吃饭, 曾一起去我前的老师的讨论...我们去做什么事情, 我们老说话很多, 很自然, 很舒服. 我开始了解好久没认识这样的女孩, 觉得很特别. 越认识越喜欢.
那, 当然我也开始害怕. 原来的时候, 每个我喜欢的女孩都没互给...我以为为什么本次应该有什么区别? 所以, 我不要跟她谈恋爱, 不要伤心. 不过, 我们继续每天说话, 我就觉得她也喜欢我, 但是当然无确定无自信. 很多次我们去吃晚饭, 我真要说"什么什么"的恋爱的词, 但是说不去来. 好可怜是我?
然后呢, 一个机会到了. 上个星期她邀请我吃她自己做的饭, '当然, 我好期待,' 我说. 周日, 我们决定, 虽然我的周末比较忙. 周日下午我已经有计划很好的韩国女的朋友一起去中山公园拍照片, 还有周六周日上午给别的朋友帮助. 反正时间够了, 没问题. 韩国朋友帮我忙了买礼物给龄莹送--一个项链根石头的观音联系. 观音背部能放一个雕刻术, 所以我问了服务员雕刻"钟龄莹".
7点左右终于她的房子到了, 她做马拉西亚的采: 唐杜里鸡胸, 米饭跟coconut奶, 虾, 还有几些很好吃的食物. 吃完以后, 她给我看一下一辈子的照片! 那么多。。。虽然我有点累, 我很喜欢看她和她的家人的照片.
突然我们发现了, 好晚, 时间过去太快了. 我仍然没给她送的礼物. 我等到回家的时间送她, 因为我以为同时送她和给她解释我为了她有什么感情. 那, 如果她说对不起, 你很笨, 不要再看你, 至少我吃到好吃的晚饭 :).
不过, 我真不要害怕了. 送她 礼物, 看到她真感动. 我们都说, '好,' 拥抱. 很长时间拥抱, 我在手中放她的头, 眼睛关起来, 吻. 好暖和,好舒服, 完美的片刻. 后来, 有的人说, 是历史吧 :)
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