There’s No Business Like…

Google’s ultimatum that they’ll leave China rather than continue to censor their search engine is an interesting case, and one in which I feel we haven’t been told the full story.

Let’s be honest, not many corporations have qualms about doing business in China from a moral standpoint. The global recession has seen to that. Why Google would throw down the gauntlet in this way baffles my business sense—though there was a brou-ha-ha when they set up within the Great Firewall, it soon died down and people went back to pirating images and searching for porn with as much ease as before. We love Google—it makes our work so much easier, why not just turn a blind eye to their toadying to the Chinese government? Yahoo reported human rights activists to the Chinese government, Microsoft happily censored MSN.com, and MySpace ditched politics and religion discussion groups when they set up in China. Ethics are ethics, but a Chinese cash cow is a Chinese cash cow.

Race Relations in China

Two things I saw this week made me think about prevailing race relations in China. First, the music video for American made Chinese pop star Chloe Wang’s debut single “Uh Oh”. And secondly this headline article on CNN’s homepage about an aspiring mixed race singer from Shanghai named Lou Jing.

Exporting Asian-America

There is a well-oiled pop machine in South Korea. It seeks out obscure Asian teenagers from across the globe, signs them into draconian 8 year contracts, and cultivates them in rigorous training camps. After years of intense dance and vocal lessons, language education, and exacting physical exercise, these “trainees”, the future Rains and BoAs, are unleashed upon Asian markets as superbly packaged solo or group pop products.

El Salvador’s Growing Pains: What About the Locals?

In northern El Salvador a dam is being built on the Torola River. The Torola River is one of the largest in the country, located in an area in the department of San Miguel known as El Chaparral. The El Chaparral Dam began construction earlier this year and is slated to take 50 months (just over four years) to complete. When finished, it will function as a 65.4MW hydroelectric plant that will provide electricity to 200,000 families in the region.

The Mystery of the Smuggled U.S. “Bearer” Bonds

There are few news reports these days that inspire confidence in the U.S. economy. Unemployment levels rose to a 26-year high of 9.5% in June and word of a second stimulus package (vehemently opposed by Obama) has investors balking at earnings projections and questioning whether we are in fact on the road to recovery. Amidst the worst recession since the Great Depression, a mind-boggling news story has emerged which poses questions pulled right from the pages of a Tom Clancy novel.

Approximating the Truth

We might never know the truth about the events of early June twenty years ago. The story might forever remain an unfocused tapestry of anecdotes, interviews, and the occasional memoir. But twenty years later, we gain new understanding in the form of a photograph of a familiar scene, taken from an unfamiliar angle, which reminds us that what is know is only a collection of points-of-view that approximates truth, but the more points-of-view we collect, even if they contradict each other, the closer we come to understanding. This week, some questioned the apathy of students, while others proved that they had not forgotten, and still others wondered: had we gotten this all wrong?

In addition to these points-of-view, I offer two anecdotes about the twentieth anniversary of June 4, 1989.

Writer’s Block

There is a Chinese idiom about a man who buried a sum of silver underground and, worried that passersby would find it, placed a sign next to the plot that read “ci di wu yin san bai liang,” or “There is not 300 liang of silver here.” Needless to say, the next day his silver was gone.

I wonder if the censorship bureau understands this parable because one thing everyone in China should know by now is that if you ever come across a website that terminates your Internet connection, start digging.

What Makes a Democracy?

A few things recently have coalesced in my mind. Thoughts on democracy, liberalism, and the future of China in both respects.

Backsliding

The international financial crisis has brought the underlying tensions in Mainland China between strengthening the rule of law and fostering economic growth to the fore. The case of the export-driven economic powerhouse Guangdong Province illuminates the priorities of the Chinese government and the implications that the economic downturn may have for the rule of law across the Mainland.

The Myth of the West: Part 4 – Wenming

A gowned scholar strides slowly into a room, eyes downcast. Sinking to his knees, he places the backs of his hands upon the floor and gently taps his head on the ground three times. Wafer-thin porcelain cups are used to drink steaming green liquid, while singing birds fill the air with sound. A filial son cuts off part of his own leg to make a soup for his starving parents. Bearded officials gently wet the tip of their brush in blue-black ink and carefully calligraph their letters. Oriental culture is steeped in history and traditions that have been preserved, seemingly unchanged, for thousands of years. Yet despite this long history, they are eager to adopt many Western cultural norms that they deem “civilized.” The pursuit of wenming (civilized or cultured) is one being carried out by all Chinese, from the nouveau riche to fresh-off-the-farm migrant workers.