China Apprentice

“If nature has made any one thing less susceptible than all others of exclusive property, it is the action of the thinking power called an idea, which an individual may exclusively possess as long as he keeps it to himself; but the moment it is divulged, it forces itself into the possession of everyone, and the receiver cannot dispossess himself of it.” - Thomas Jefferson

Photo by Fatty Tuna

China is often admired for its vibrant variety of cuisine, a long and enchanting history, delicate ceramic, silk, and other cultural arts, not to mention, a vibrant street market of cheap copied DVDs, pirated software, and fake designer clothing. The dichotomy of rich cultural heritage based in Confucian and Daoist doctrine paired with an almost flagrant neglect for characteristically “western” values for intellectual property rights (IPR) can surprise the unassuming visitor. The fakes, the poor product quality, and an apparent disregard for IPR make foreign governments and businesses unsure of China’s innovation potential. Understanding the past, present, and future of China IPR is key to successful business in China.

Foreign media consistently overwhelms the international community with impressive statistics of China’s growth. That growth is enthusiastically fueled by continual investment from the world’s multinational corporations in the new “socialist economy with Chinese characteristics.” Depending on the source, China’s GDP growth hovers at just a fraction under 10% year-on-year – a record for a country’s development by almost any standard. The so-called “gradualist-reform” inspired by Deng Xiaoping’s famous Southern Tour in 1992 and subsequent opening of the economy that led to China’s eventual inclusion in the World Trade Organization in 2001 has attracted a frenzy of foreign direct investment and an overall global rush to enter the China market. Annual factory growth, though slowing in recent months, holds steady at around 17% while export growth hovers around 20-30% . It wasn’t long before the world recognized China would become the “factory of the world”. The technical competitive advantages of companies opening facilities in China rolled in on waves of technology and intellectual property transfer. Literally millions of China’s poorest citizens were trained to operate all manner of machinery in order to manufacture anything the world ordered.

The more Gucci pocketbooks and James Bond movies China’s workers manufactured, the more local people realized they might like one or two themselves. After all, a fake Rolex from one of the original Rolex factories really didn’t seem so different from the real thing sold for thousands times the price in downtown London. Fakes and counterfeit products are good export moneymakers too. In fact piracy and counterfeiting has been consistently on the rise since China took the title from Taiwan, Russia, and Southeast Asia. The Geneva Chamber of Commerce claims that 7% of all global trade is counterfeit goods. Estimates put foreign firm’s losses at $20 billion annually with two out of five companies losing more than 20 percent of their local revenue sometimes reaching as much as $150 million annually. And this isn’t just fake CDs and DVDs. Half the motorcycles sold in the China market are imitations of Japanese Yamaha and Honda. 97% of 1300 synthetic medicines produced in China are copies. High-technology items, such as microprocessors, are knocked off as well, modified to accommodate pirated components in video game consoles or computers thereby creating a value-chain based on piracy. There’s often no way to reliably tell if a product is real or not. Of course, most people probably wouldn’t be surprised to know that the “US-based Business Software Alliance claims that 96 percent of China’s software is illegally copied.” A CD of software on the street sells for less than a dollar and legitimate stores are virtually nonexistent. The processes for mitigating the mass IPR problems are weak at best. It can take five to six years in China to successfully remove a bad-faith trademark that violates IPR. Counterfeit products take up valuable Chinese domestic market share and are also aggressively exported overseas creating a real problem for both Chinese and foreign companies trying to leverage corporate intellectual property in China. (more…)

I’m at Starbucks just across the street from my house right now (trying to avoid the distractions of sitting at home doing work) and I can’t help but jot down a few words (and waste some more time). At the table next to me are a pair of Buddhist monks done up in traditional drab orange tunics sipping lattes. I’m intrigued. I want so badly to take a photo. What contrast! What irony! What a perfect advertisement for Starbucks (as though they need any more brand recognition). I’m puzzled because these are Chinese champions of moral religious ideals prescribing to a “middle way” that abstains from all hedonist consumption and generally live very simple lives. And here they are consuming possibly one of the most expensive beverages in China (in yuan/drop) at a decidedly non-Chinese institution, a symbol of all that is conspicuous over-the-top consumption in western culture.

And then I realize there is more to this scene than immediately obvious.

There’s a young monk paired with an older monk. All of a sudden, a fellow Starbucks patron (Chinese) approaches and asks a question I cannot hear. He then goes to move back to his seat and the younger monk motions for him to sit down. They have an unintelligible conversation. The Chinese man puts his hands together, mumbles, and bows countless times to the monk’s words. The monk pulls out his “wallet” (I didn’t know they had those) and hands the man a little gold card. I’ve seen them before and believe it to be a small inscribed tablet with some holy words on it. Or it could be a VIP card for the Bank of Monks. The man bows profusely again and then leaves.

Several minutes later, one of the employees approaches the monks. She indicates that they must leave. They argue quietly with her. The younger monk insists that she sit down and chat. She ignores them and scurries to a back room. The younger monk jumps up and pursues her going through the employee-only door. He returns empty-handed. Both monks get up and leave.

I’m bummed I never got a picture!

Then I start to think about what may have happened. In the big cities like Guangzhou, you rarely see the monks outside of their temple domain. Very rarely do you see them roaming the downtown streets. And never have I spotted one in Starbucks. The Chinese have utmost respect for these men who devote their lives to a not-so-easy Buddhist way of life. If they do see them, Chinese are quick to give them some spare change. This case must have been no different. Except the change was converted to a 40 yuan latte. One of the employees must have “given” these monks a coffee. After all, what would you do if Buddha’s own pious disciples walked into your store looking for a little get-up-and-go?!

These monks were at Starbucks in the name of prophesizing Buddha’s teachings to the unsuspecting affluence that gathers in such places. Such was the story with the man and the card. The manager soon caught on and chased the religious men out. Gotta hand it to them for their ingenuity! Not to mention the free cup o’ joe! Maybe tonight I’ll see them at the city’s local watering hole throwing back a Guinness?

Then I remember I may have seen these monks before. I saw some in the supermarket. AMD says she’s seen them taking the elevator in our apartment building! I wonder what’s really going on here?!

Ok, so this has been circulating around the internet for many years. If you’ve never seen it and you’ve been to China, then enjoy. Or just read it again for nostalgia. It makes me smile every time. Can you think of more???

1. You’re at an expensive western restaurant and don’t even notice the guy at the next table yelling into his cell phone
2. You enjoy karaoke
3. You walk backwards in the park listening to a transistor radio
4. The China Daily is your source for hard hitting, fast breaking, investigative journalism
5. You smoke in crowded elevators.
6. All white people look the same to you
7. You like the smell of the bus.
8. You find state-employed retail staff helpful, knowledgeable and friendly
9. You no longer need tissues to blow your nose
10. You find western toilets uncomfortable (more…)

It’s almost guaranteed anyone who’s ever lived in Guangzhou will only spend one summer there. We learned the hard way our first summer. In short, it’s hot. Fortunately, we arrived in July and missed a good portion of the heat. But the GZ summer humidity still got to us and we learned that a summer in China is better spent out of Guangzhou.

Now Guangzhou expat veterans, my wife and I managed to escape this summer. We spent the better part of our summer break first visiting my sister and her new husband for their wedding in the USA. Then we took a trip to Eastern Europe. We started in Germany, Austria, Slovenia, and Croatia. I’ve already touched on our experiences/impressions there. We finished off the second-half of the trip heading south from Hungary to Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey. Friends (and employer) asked us, how does Eastern Europe have anything to do with China? Although I secretly echoed their suspicions, I answered what country these days doesn’t have something to do with China?!

Since I wasn’t quite as punctual as I’d liked in blogging these impressions immediately during or following the travels, my memory has been reduced to a series of notes. Although I’d like to write about this in a more fluid prose style, I think I’ll keep it in bullets. So sorry to the reader if you enjoy trolling through my rants. On the other hand, this way is probably better for the random person who Googles in here actually looking for some specific information. Anyway here is a:

Comparison of Former Communist Eastern Europe with Currently Communist China

First of all, if it could be financially possible, I think travel to Eastern Europe should be a required field trip for all Chinese high government officials. If they’re going to make this current communism/capitalism mélange work, they ought have a long hard look at what communism did for their European comrades. ABD saw parallels between China and E. Europe throughout our trip. I’m sure we only scratched the surface but it’s fascinating to almost be able to see the future through a past communist/socialist regime. However, in a lot of ways, old E. Europe is NOT China and the two could vastly politically diverge in the near future.

History – It all started with the Sumerians. (more…)

This entry was a work in progress that finally got finished. I left out the part about Eastern Europe. I’ll get back to that in a later post.

Finally back in Guangzhou after a couple long flights and a night on the floor in the Dubai airport surrounded by the buzz of sheiks and Africans all apparently buying gold necklaces. Apologies to anyone who may have been keeping track of our travels. I seem to have lapsed in writing for a couple weeks. My only excuse is an intense last portion of our journey punctuated by many long train rides, very hot weather, and an overdue bout with food poisoning. This post should make up for a long span of missed ones.

In case you haven’t noticed, I try to get myself in quiet inspirational settings when I write these posts. Could I ask for better in China. Well, probably yes. How do you get away from all the people, you ask? I’m currently relaxing close to the registration building on Sun Yat-sen University campus as I wait to sit down with the professors and convince them to let me take classes. Southern China takes a siesta (小觉 or literally “small sleep”) after lunch till about 2:30. This always allows me some extra time. Classmates ask me why I don’t sleep insisting that it’s good for my health. I tell them it’s because I don’t stay up till 3:00 am like them doing homework or playing video games. That’s how it works – no nap = regular sleep schedule. But Chinese still believe that the nap is a necessary part of the day so schools and businesses duly respect that.

And that’s just fine by me. The worst of the Guangzhou summer is passed and now the days are comfortably bearable. I found a spot next to a tastefully preserved brick building from Sun Yat-sen University’s better architectural days back when it was all Lingnan property. The building ironically stands next to an open pit of rubble where buildings like it were recently toppled to clear way for more dormitories or classrooms. It’s a starkly beautiful scene to wait out the 午觉.

In fact that leads me into the first topic of this post - an Eastern Europe/China comparison. Damn! Screw the aforementioned beauty of this place – the mosquitoes are still going strong in Southern China – I’m moving to the library! Pick this up later…

Never made it to the library. I managed to get a copy of the class schedule and in fact it has been some time now since registration. I spent a good week sitting in on various levels of Chinese class trying to find the best fit for my abilities/interests/goals. Students and teachers kept asking me which class I was supposed to be in and I kept saying I hadn’t decided yet. I told them all I was just “sitting in” to try out their class. There didn’t appear to be any other students doing this. At Jinan it was standard drill for the first couple weeks of class. Inevitably in this way, the better teachers all attracted the most students. It’s the free market approach to Chinese course selection. It’s a fun way to take tastes from the buffet selection of courses available. Anyway, I finally decided on a study approach that has been a part of my strategy throughout the first two years of learning this crazy language. I opted for challenge.

Sounds trite but let me explain. My entire experience studying Chinese in China has been characterized by discomfort. And ironically, I mean this in a good way. From day 1, I didn’t speak any Chinese. My wife and I landed in this amazing country not even knowing how to introduce ourselves or tell a cab where we wanted to go. With that foundation, I enrolled in the “Speedy Chinese Course”. I’ve pontificated before about my experience in that class. It was essentially all overseas Chinese students who had grown up with Chinese in their home but had never taken the time to formally learn it in an academic environment. This was a challenge for the greenhorn beginner. I was always behind. I always had to work really hard to keep up with my classmates. It was the brute force approach to Chinese study. And it worked.

After 4 months at Jinan University I jumped from Speedy Beginner class to Intermediate class (most students need an entire year before that move). I was in a hurry to learn and had grown accustomed to the discomfort that comes from being behind and needing to catch up. It’s this sort of challenge I think that works really well when learning a foreign language. If you’re the smartest one in the class and the teacher loves you because you know all the answers, it’s time to change classes. I’ve never been that guy.

So as I try to juggle MBA courses and Chinese classes this semester (only two more to go in the MBA program), I have again chosen challenge and I just hope I can hang on again. That’s ok, I like hanging. But I noticed, whether it was my study approach or the level of instruction at Jinan, I find the overall product delivered at Jinan is better than that at Sun Yat-sen. Feel free to argue with me on this but I think the biggest difference in the caliber of students that the two schools produce is the effect of one little teaching method called the 听写. Jinan has ‘em, ZSU doesn’t. These little vocabulary spelling bees are the key to learning Chinese characters and actually remembering them for years to come. I’ve written about them before and how much I hated it. But they worked.

I’m taking a mishmash of courses from the 高级班 and 本科 levels. These are the two highest levels in the Chinese department. One is simply called “High Level Class” and the other is the 4-year undergraduate course for those that major in Chinese. Both are probably above my everyday street conversation level but I find I can follow what goes on in class and, more importantly, I’m very interested in the subject matter. Finally, I’m using Chinese to actually learn something! It seems like it takes so long to get to a level in Chinese where you can read a newspaper about today’s news (not a watered-down textbook version), watch a TV show from last night (not a dialogue crafted for foreign students), write a professional letter (that doesn’t sound like a 5-year-old), or read a scholarly paper about Chinese history, culture, or current events. The courses I’ve chosen focus on all of these. Finally I feel like I’m not just learning Chinese but actually using the Chinese language as a means to learn other things. Finally.

Schedule conflicts aside, highlights this semester should be Chinese Culture, Business Writing, Business Conversation, Chinese History, Intensive Newspaper Reading, Ancient Chinese, Chinese Poetry, and Television Watching (if only college kids in the US had a class like that!). Granted, I’m still at the undergraduate level here but just to kick it up a notch, I enrolled in the graduate Chinese Economics (oh yes, it is different from the Western version) class. I’m trying my best to keep up – learning hundreds of new words every day. As a wise China hand who had studied in China for several years once told me, “quite possibly the best thing to study in China - is Chinese”. Now I think I know what he meant. There is so much to “Chinese” that goes way beyond just the language itself. If you really want to study something authentically Chinese, then Chinese – the language, the history, the people, the literature, the thought, the culture and so on are it. Most everything else is non-native and has been adopted/translated from abroad. At least for now.

I get really excited when my professors at Lingnan bring out a case study that they personally developed from their research in China. I love it that some of the professors have published their own textbooks and now teach from them. I think it’s the cat’s pajamas when the professor tells stories and gives experiences from his own work at companies in China. That is what makes studying a Chinese MBA in China special. That is what I’m here for.

Running in Guangzhou?! When most tourists come to Guangzhou, their first instinct is to turn around and run away! Can it really be possible to run/jog/walk for exercise in the third largest metropolis in China?!

In a former life, I was a runner. And a biker. And a swimmer. And a guy that liked outdoor activities. I used to do all these things for fun. In China, the first two are almost exclusively forms of transportation. Few people would consider outdoor movement as a benefit to health unless of course it involved getting to and from work. I consider riding a finicky red Chinese bike 10km to school one of the most dangerous activities I’ve ever done (more so than skydiving, motorcycling, and a Chinese buffet).

But things are changing. The Olympics are approaching and in an effort to boost government controlled media coverage of general Chinese population fitness, outdoor sporting events are growing. I spotted one such event advertisement in my apartment building elevator just the other day. The event was called the 安利健康跑 or “Health Run” sponsored by big names such as Amway and 7-11. Interested in joining this new Chinese 热浪 in outdoor health, I gave them a call. A week or so before the event and several phone calls later, I received the same answer - registration was full! Knowing well that in China when things are closed, full, or unavailable, negotiation is name of the game. I paid a visit to the main sponsor - Amway - on the 43rd floor of the tallest building in Guangzhou (they actually occupy three of the highest floors). I strolled in with my school backpack wearing shorts and a T-shirt. I asked to talk to someone important regarding the upcoming event their company was sponsoring. A friendly woman met with me and again explained that the slots had all been taken and I would just have to wait till next year. Huh?

So, I decided to just show up and register the day of the race. I walked over (I live just minutes from the sports center in Tianhe) this morning at 0645. The race was to start at 0730. I scoured the expansive sports center grounds looking for just one booth where I could potentially register for the race. No luck. I asked race staff personnel. I even asked competitors if they had any extra race T-shirts. I failed. I resolved to just run the race sans registration.

People gradually filled the sports center till there were thousands surrounding me. I didn’t see another white-faced foreigner - they were obviously way smarter than me to know not to show up on a Sunday morning in downtown G-town for a run. Anyway, we packed in like sardines at the starting line (actually a human chain made by red-shirted volunteers restraining the pulsing crowd). Everyone surrounding me was probably an average age of 16. At this point I started to realize what may have happened with “registration”. In an effort to promote outdoor sports and healthy lifestyle, the government powers-that-be had obviously partnered with Amway (for big foreign money) and handed out free T-shirts to all the local college/high school students. They said, be there, clap your silly hotdog balloons, and represent your city/country - we’re putting on a good show.

In fact, most of the performances/shows/表演/concerts I see in China seem to be more concerned with putting on a good “show” than actually entertaining the guests. This “race” was no different. Before we got started (not at 0730 as advertised but an hour later at 0830), there was the obligatory public officials’ speeches. Anyone who thinks they are important has to say a few words - usually consisting of several long sentences first welcoming all the VIPs and then some carefully chosen philosophical 成语 to help everyone know how clever this particular public official is. All this is delivered in a dramatic tone of speech with the voice rising to almost shouting volume three or four times during which everyone bangs their clapping balloons together - the teenage crowd not quite sure what was just said because the speakers are turned up to max volume and distorting the important guy’s yelling. After several people in a row deliver their long-winded speech always ending with “健康跑开始”, we started.

Racing. Chinese style. Guys in loafers and dress pants. Girls in mini-skirts. Jeans, heels, suits, but certainly no hats - no one wears anything on their head (except for the two random folks in the photo above - but I think it was just them and me). A mass push forward and competitors in green and white 健康跑 shirts are all tripping over each other to get to the end for the lottery give-away. Out of shape, hungover, and a little fat, I passed all of them - except for the token fast guy at the front who will be in the paper tomorrow. Everyone had to stop from sheer exhaustion. All these teenagers who should be in the best shape of their lives (at least from all the basketball and soccer) threw their hands up like they’d been running a marathon and hit the Great Wall. The course wasn’t long. It followed a circuit around the sports center tracing the four major roads that encircle it. Though police had blocked off part of the road, cars and buses still screamed by. I almost hurdled a lady getting out of a cab. As I passed the finish line and watched people walking in behind me, I looked around for some refreshment. Not a water bottle or Gatorade to be found. Then again, I hadn’t registered anyway.

So, being so pitifully out of shape, I was exhausted. I walked home and picked up a Subway sandwich on the way. The masses hung around for the ceremony that I knew would just be another “show”. Honestly, I’m not so sure I can say I feel “healthier” after the “Health Run”. Occasionally when I run outdoors in China, I develop a nasty cold that only attacks my nose and throat. It never really develops into a sickness but I’m convinced the pollution has something to do with it. Nothing quite compares with a jog through Guangzhou CBD where the sun is blocked out by smog at 0800, buses belch exhaust in your face in a plume of smoke and heat, rotten vegetable garbage puddles splash at your feet, and raw sewage odors fill your huffing nostrils. That’s one (un)healthy race down for Fall 2007. Can’t wait for the next.

Seriously though, if you’re reading this post to try to figure out where and how to run in Guangzhou, I have a few suggestions… (more…)

A long summer has passed since the dragon boat races in June. Many of the foreign exchange students have left for their schools/jobs back home. Many of the Chinese members of the team even left on their own overseas exchange program in various countries throughout Europe, Asia, and North America. The rest of us have returned to Guangzhou and are getting back into the rhythm of the first semester of our second year in the Lingnan MBA. It’s tough to come back after a long summer of travel, internships, and relaxation.

We all remember what a powerful experience we had preparing for the dragon boat competition. What made the training even more special was the company of a tireless news crew from Life of Guangzhou, an excellent resource for Guangzhou news, events, and places to visit. They joined us for every practice and were there to film, interview, and just generally observe the entire process. The delightful and friendly Carrot Chan was the lead reporter on the subject and was there every practice, rain or shine. She and I had many wonderful conversations exploring the life of an expat student in China. She and her cameramen shared in all the emotions of the dragon boat experience.

Carrot’s articles about the team and the competition can now be found online here. Also a talented photographer, Carrot took countless photos of the team and can be seen here. In addition to her poignant and observant portraits of select foreigners on the team, Carrot also published a feature article about a unique team member, Pierre, an overseas Chinese classmate who came back to China to study for a semester at Lingnan. Finally, Life of Guangzhou’s parent company, Dayoo, released a documentary about the team created from the fantastic videography of Carrot’s accompanying cameramen. Many other news agencies supported us in promoting our team and our sponsor, Gatorade - you can read more from them on the Dragon Boat page. But, Life of Guangzhou certainly went the full 9 yards by being with our team from Day 1 and encouraging us daily till the bittersweet competition on the 23rd of June. Thank you LoGZ! We had fun and hope you did too! Hope to see you soon!

A five-day boot camp of team-building, problem-solving, charity, and fun! Proceeds from this year’s Charity Bazaar competition and Charity Gala went towards the students of Meizhou city in Guangdong province. The children were forced to stop their studies when their town and schoolhouse were ravaged by a massive flood back in June. Funds raised due to the efforts of the Lingnan classes of 2006 and 2007 allowed the students to return to school. Some photos here of the outdoor portion of the orientation.

Tristate Co. in southern China is truly a revolution in manufacturing. When you think of where the polo shirt off your back may have come from, you might envision a dimly-lit, sweaty factory floor somewhere in southern China where thousands of tireless, young, uneducated workers toil 24 hours a day spinning your stylish duds from threads to fashion. In fact, ABD witnessed just about all of that. Except, operations at Tristate Co. take place in a enormous spotless factory with ample lighting and sufficient cooling - all the while expertly organized using some of the latest operations management techniques.

The workers at this plant may not be working any less harder than their compatriots at neighboring factories, but they’re doing it more efficiently and likely with greater incentive. The mastermind behind the radical changes is the Hong Kong CEO and his protégé and VP in Guangzhou. Together they are turning this factory around and churning out some of the world’s highest quality brand-name products. In fact, Tristate is the leading manufacturer for such famous brands as Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, and Gap.

The changes started three years ago when Tristate’s CEO decided his factory wasn’t going to be like all the others in Guangdong. Tristate management instituted a famous operations management system called the Toyota Production System (TPS) that is now affectionately known by employees as the “Tristate Production System”. (more…)

Our friend is launching a most ingenious and magnanimous venture. It’s not of the type that you read about every day in MBA case studies. Sure, it’s still about making money. But this money is for a great cause.

Anyone who’s traveled outside of China’s biggest cities is abruptly shocked by the abject poverty of the people in the thousands (millions?) of small villages. Many have missed the China fast train to development. Lonnie over at OMBW, the famous American Professor in China, is behind this effort. Through the support of various charitable contributors, The China Dreamblogue is raising money through advertising for students in China and all over the world. Lonnie’s idea is a noble and novel concept that draws on his expertise as an SEO pro and his connections with influential bloggers, educators, and professionals all over the globe.

I encourage you to check out the site and become a regular visitor/contributor. The Dreamblogue is something that could really happen with the support of a social network of cyberspace billions. Here are some details from the Dreamblogue site about the project:

The Dreamblogue is a simple concept. After a specified period of time (maybe once a month or once a quarter), we’ll select a contributor who will win a prize donated by one of our charitable sponsors. We hope to give away vacations to China, scholarships to study abroad, technical equipment, software and cutting-edge gadgets that will appeal to our broad demographic. We want to attract a Postsecret-type http://postsecret.blogspot.com interest in our blog that will drive enough traffic that we can generate advertising revenue to give to educational and medical concerns. All of the money generated from these sources will go directly from Feedburner and Blogads to the 501(c)3 charities we support—we will never directly handle the money. Funds will go to our partners The Library Project, which builds libraries in orphanages and rural schools all over China and Asia, and to The Reading Tub, a charity that promotes children’s literacy in the United States.