Changchun - The Ugly Side

During the rise of Communist China in 1949, Changchun was one of the many cities "liberated" by the People's Liberation Army. What really happened, however, is rarely described in Chinese history textbooks due to censorship, or maybe the government just doesn't want to look bad. During the siege of Changchun, citizens underwent a starvation like no other. People were driven to the point of cannibalism and the city experienced total anarchy. Nowadays, only a small percentage of the entire Chinese population actually knows what went on in Changchun. While it is understandable that China would want to keep its youth's faith in the country, it is a solid fact that in order to avoid such a catastrophe in the future, the new generation must be made aware of the past one's mistakes. It is not the first time we've heard of China's paranoid secrecy; both foreign and domestic viewpoints have been censored by China's Internet Branding Policy, basically banning all online material criticizing the Chinese government. China has catapulted itself into the future in the past decade, but to maintain this amazing feat, it must follow up with open mindedness and power to the people.

Shocking China-Taiwan Relations

About a month ago, I read an article in the NY Times about a Ms. Lung Yingtai and her inspiring literature. She writes about many touching family stories where families have been torn apart by the Communist Party seizing control of China in the mid-20th century, her own family being among them. Many of her books explore the difference between Chinese and Taiwan views, and while discussion her books is banned in China due to the strict Internet Branding Policy, she hopes to influence other to be more accepting and welcoming to people on the other side of the straight. For example, when the Communist Party laid siege on the city of Changchun, hundreds of thousands of people died of starvation. However, the PLA described their victory as a glorious "liberation" of the city and the tall tale is repeated in Chinese textbooks today. This just goes to show that the victorious ones are the people who write history, and we always have to take bias into account when reading anything.

Coopetition in Obama's Speech

In simple terms, coopetition is when two companies are competing with each other for business, but cooperate in certain areas so that the products produced in those areas are better overall, but everything else is left to the individuals companies themselves. Yesterday, President Obama paid a visit to Japan to give his speech regarding many topics including global warming, various summits, and American-Asian relationships. This, I think, is where coopetition comes in. In the past couple decades, Asia has jumped from poverty and rural populations to urbanization and a booming econemy. Of course, America is not used to being at the table with so many other countries, so at the moment, all of the superpowers of the world are in fierce competition in terms of econemy, education, and military strength. That is not to say that America is enemies with these countries. In his speech Obama made it clear that while America and Asia are experiencing a high point in good relations, America stands firm in the growing competition between the many nations of the world. This is a perfect example of coopetition because America certainly could not have recovered from recession so quickly without Asia's help, and Asia certainly could not have pulled itself out of 3rd world status without help from America. It is clear that while America and Asia are in a good-natured competition, there many areas where they agree with, help, and support each other, in other words, coopetition.

Uyghur Riots Fuel Racism and Predjudice

In an effort to stop these Uyghur riots in northwestern China, the Chinese government had been employing harsh policies to crack down on these Nationalists. Not to mention the increased dislike and distrust between the majority Han and the Uyghurs. Such oppression against the rioters draws negative media attention from western news channels. The western point of view is one we have seen before, when it strongly supported the independence of Tibet. The situation is much more complicated than many people and reporters will let you know. Sympathizers and human rights activists will argue that the Han methods are oppressive and cruel, but it is hard to understand the Chinese government's predicament. In the past, they've tried to implement a policy that says "less arrests, less punishment, and more leanient procedures." But such sympathy would be unfair to the Han, and it would be counter-productive because it would actually encourage the Uyghurs to commit crimes because they're not afraid of punishment. Also, you have to realize that many countries want support for Uyghur independence because an independent Uyghur nation would be easy to snatch up or manipulate. If it were any other country in control of Uyghur territory, they would probobly also be adamant on keeping the territory and fending off foreign media attention.

Charity Work in Taiwan from Jet Li

As I wrote in a previous entry, Jet Li, the famous kungfu movie star, makes his appearance in disaster sites and charity organizations all around to world to provide help and more importantly, moral support. As Mr. Li is only one man, the extent of his physical labour abilities are limited, but for the people suffering from natural disasters, it would certainly brighten your day if you knew that a movie star was breaking his back to help in your situation. Those are the circumstances that brought Jet Li to the scene of the most recent disaster, Chishan, in southern Taiwan. Already, news channels have captured videos of this hard working hero unpacking and distributing relief supplies to people who've lost their homes and families to the most recent typhoon. No flashy paparazzi attention for this movie star though, a curt nod and a few seconds on video was the only thing the news crews recieved while Li was heaving supplies to temporary shelters. Jet Li probobly ignores the media attention because he wants to keep his image as a hard working charitable figure. Coming out to the people as a showy movie star would not be the best way to motivate others to do their part in helping disaster stricken areas. But what's the engine behind his selflessness? Obviously he wants to help disaster victims after becoming one himself, but why not just donate money like those millionaires in their mansions? Well for one thing, Jet Li probobly has a lot more spare time than big CEO's who cant leave the office without their companies collapsing. Regardless of his motives, the quality of work and selfless inspiration that disaster victims have recieved from Li rival any monetary donation and inspire many to emulate his example.

Yahoo/Microsoft Search Alliance

Specifically, a search alliance is a way of combining Microsoft's Bing with Yahoo!'s Yahoo! Search engine to produce more accurate and full results. Alone, these two companies probobly get marginally less searches than Google, but this improvement will combine their forces and possibly overcome any rival competetors. What does this mean for the public? It means more precise search results more information per result as well as day to day functions such as sports/stock results and calculators/converters, most of the stuff Bing has already. In the business sense, Yahoo! and Microsoft have made complicated agreements as to "walk away" insurance and management of advertisements. This "walk away" insurance means that if Yahoo! Search/Bing's search query count is too low, or if Yahoo! Seach is being overshadowed by Google to a certain extent, Yahoo! can pull out of the deal immediatly. These events all happened more than a week ago, so we will just have to wait and see for oncoming changes to two of the most famous search engines.

Huntsman Confirmed as Ambassador to China

Yesterday, the United States Senate voted to confirm Jon Huntsman as the new Ambassador to China in the Obama Administration. Rewinding a bit, Huntsman was previously Governer of Utah a few years back but this fact was obviously irrelevant to Obama choosing him as Ambassador. The reasons for this selection are probobly because of Huntsman being fluent in Mandarine as well as Taiwanese. He has also spent a lot of time traveling Asia and getting familiar with local customs and people, another good reason for his current occupation. Also, Hunstman's success as Governer of Utah made him a likely canidate for his job as well as a potential 2012 Presidential canidate. But this now presents another possible motive for Obama's appointment: could he see Huntsman as a potential threat to his future presidency? If so, Obama is very savy in both removing a possible political rival as well as gaining a valuable tool to communite to China with. Regardless, of the motives, the appointment of Huntsman was a good choice all around and an obvious on at that.

Saving Taiwan's Economy

Althought Taiwan has proved itself to be a technological and economic powerhouse in that past decade or so, it too has been affected by the economic crisis that is scouring the globe. Morris Chang, owner of one of the largest semiconductor producing companies in the world, feels that this downturn of economy is unfortunate as the technological economy is one of the more seriously affected in Taiwan. However, Chang sees this as an opportunity to improve his company to better help the economy and save jobs. When asked if he was afraid of larger powers like China surpassing his company in silicone production, he stated that he believed the silicone foundry was a very exclusive enviroment, and that the work they do would not be easily duplicated by less skilled hands. Clearly, Chang is well equiped and unafraid to challenge the economic crises that is facing Taiwan. He is one of the best canidates to retore the monetary status in Taiwan to its former glory.

Morris Chang - Trasnforming Taiwan

Since Morris Chang was engineering manager at Texas Intruments, the bussinessman has witnessed a bumpy wave in Taiwans econemy ranging from monetary powerhouse to economic crises. Following the rise of his company he was recruited by the Taiwanese government to manage the Industrial Technology Research Institute. The purpose of his managment there was to promote technological advances and usage in Taiwan, a growing nation with economic potential. Realizing this potential, Chang founded the Taiwan Semiconducter Manufacturing Company Ltd.. Throughout the years, he and his company have made important contributions to economic and mechanical society particularly in Taiwan. These contributions have won him numerous awards from the government that commemerate his hard work in improving his country. Recently, however, Taiwan was drastically affected by the economic crisis the world has been experiencing and its profits are decreasing. Undeterred, Chang sees this as a sign that improvement is required and he and his company are more than willing to provide it.

Summer Camp for the Hearing Impaired

Last weekend, I visited a summer camp in Taipei where they provide activities and care for little children with hearing disabilities. At the camp, daily activities include visiting museums, playing games, and learning music. As a helper there, my main job was to keep any children from hurting themselves or running off. As such, I ended up spending a lot of time with these children and we became very close to each other. Of the twenty or so children at the camp, children from ages three to twelve were present, making my job much more difficult and diverse as I had to change my personality to accommodate such a large range of ages. Two days and twelve hours a day removed a sizable portion of hours from my required community service. Accompanying me in my task were several other kids of my age, and between activities I learned a lot about the adolescent population of Taiwan. In conclusion, my trip to the camp of the hearing impared surely helped both the teachers there and the children. I myself developed close bonds with the children and gained valuable knowledge making my trip very worthwhile.

Jet Li and His Charity Post 2004

On the day December 26th 2004, Jet Li, his two daughters, and the family maid had been playing at the beach in Maldives when a massive tsunami struck the region, leaving 82 dead. Somehow, although he was at the shore of the tsunami, Li survived and helped his daughters and maid to safety at the Four Seasons Hotel. Obviously the experience left him stunned, but it helped him realize how close he was to dying and how lucky he was to survive. This revelation caused him to start his own earthquake/tsunami relief foundation and he has done much charity work since. In the aftermath of the Chinese earthquake in '08, news reports of Li surfaced showing him, in plain workers' uniform, carring raw materials for the construction of temporary shelter. Clearly, his selfless work has had as much an effect on the world as the tsunami that caused it had on Li, and he will continue to do great work whenever the occasion arises.

Too Brief Overview of Gary Locke

In my last entry, I mentioned a politician by the name of Gary Locke. Locke, as I also mentioned, is the current Secretary of Commerce. He is also the former Governor of Washington, the first ever Chinese-American to have that tittle. His position brought him political power and success, and also a barrage of hate mail and insults because of his somewhat pro-republican actions. Rather than continue as governor, he left the office after two terms to spend more time with his family. After that he was involved with the political parties of various other people and acted as a connection between the American government and that of the Chinese. When introducing the new Secretary of Commerce, Obama commented, "Sometimes the American story can be told in the span of a single mile. More than 100 years ago, Gary's grandfather left China on a steamship bound for America. He had no family here. He spoke no English. He found work as a servant and purpose in a dream. He raised a son, Gary's father, who would go on to fight in World War II, return home, and open a grocery store, and later raise a family of his own." Clearly, Locke's story of humble beginnings and becoming governor of Washington reflects the American dream much better than most can imagine, and he is ideally suited for his new post.

Locke and Chu in China for Economic Recovery

This week, U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Gary Locke, is in China and has been promoting economic changes to increase China's wealth and its people's wellfare. He was with U.S. Secretary of Engery, Steven Chu to ask China to be more leanient on foreign trade relations, thus openning new opportunities for Chinese-American bussiness dealings. Clearly in this state of econemy, the two secretaries are looking for ways to recover the U.S. from the crisis, and they see China as a potential place to begin this recovery. Gary Locke is probobly most famous for being the only Chinese-American governer in the history of the U.S., and as Secretary of Commerce and a Chinese-American, he is ideally suited for bridging economic connections between U.S. and China. Also, Locke and Chu are two of the three Chinese-Americans in Obama's cabinet, showing Obama's effort to incorporate more diversity in the government, whether this is for better or worse is a matter that is still being observed.

China Tries to Stop Unrest in Tibet

The recent history of Tibet has sparked controversy all over America and the UK. Both believe China to be over controlling and side with Tibet in its desire for independence. China however, remains adamant on their control of this territory because of its strategic location. So in order to repel the demonization of the media, China adopted some new tactics to quell the unrest. For instance, China opened Tibet to the public as well as the reporters so they could get a better idea of the real situation there. Also, they filtered news sites and articles in China so the readers would get a more one-sided report on how things were going in Tibet. In the past, China has sat quietly on the sidelines and observed techniques from other countries as they are doing so now. The results are usually very effective and already, we see less unhappiness regarding the situation in Tibet.

Upcoming Economical Book Comments

My dad was recently asked to write a comment to be on the jacket of a book that was written by his friend. The book's tittle is A Guide to the Top 100 Companies in China, by Ilan Alon. It describes the economic rise of China and the companies that arose and benefited from this new wealth. The history of these companies is given in detail, as is the its major functions and productions. Also, it is one of the few books, I think, that takes into account the quality of life for those who have lost rather than benifited from the rising econemy. Alon puts into perspective how the rise of big companies puts smaller, cottage industries out of bussiness. In foreign relationships, Alon remarks on the increasing number of American foreign-exchange students coming to China to learn its native language. Alon believes that his book will clear up some grey areas on China's most successful companies because there is little literature written on the subject elsewhere. As I have only read the introduction, I hope Mr. Alon's new book will be as useful as he claims it will be.

Hoogewurf's List

Rupert Hoogewerf is from Luxembourg but immigrated to China early in his life. He became an abled accountand and publisher of the Hurun Report magazine. In this magazine, he published a list of the richest people in China at the time. At the time, China was relatively poor and people paid little attention to this publication. However, the list actually put into effect many qualities that we observe in the wealthy population of China today. The list motivated others to try and place their name on the list, and also uncovered falsifications of income by several people on the list. Authorities were quick to investigate and proved these suspicions true. Clearly, the Hoogewerf list had a great impact on China's econemy, and has made Mr. Hoogewurf a very important man with a multi-millionaire company.

Madoff May Motivate More Malefactors

Bernard Madoff is the new guy that the media has been demonizing lately. At the time of his arrest, he was found to have scammed over 13 billion dollars off average investors who now have been forced out of retirement or into poverty. At 71 years of age, he was sentenced to 150 years in jail, sufficient vengence for some who had their lives ruined by his scheming. However, the problem remains that Mr. Madoff's franchise avioded discovery for such a long time, a possible motivator for other aspiring money launderers who may think that they, like Madoff, could aviod capture for many years. One of the solutions the court used to prevent such felonies was the 150-year sentence. Such a heavy punishment made an impression on everyone. Also, not only did the judge presiding, judge Chin, issue 150 years of jail time, but he also demanded $170 billion be paid by Madoff, leaving the criminal penniless.

China's Internet Security Dispute

I've recently read a Wall Street Journal article about China's new front in controlling the Internet. China requires all computers sold to its population to install censorship softwares. These softwares been deemed by investigators to be flawed as well as simply a disguise for another extension of China's Internet policing policy. China has stated that its intentions were purely to protect its underage population from viewing adult material, but researchers of BBC and Harvard have found that China's Internet policing only blocks a fraction of explicit material, while the majority of its efforts are focused on blocking sites that are news realted or offer political opposition to China's government (as well as blocking most Taiwanese sites). This blockage of material has already reached search engines like Google, Yahoo!, and Mircrosoft's Bing. Citizens who want info on health care, news, education, and politics will find their searches filtered.

So how do big companies like Google respond to this situation? Theyhave two choices: confrom with China's regulations and gain acess to a thriving econemy or stand up to China and waste more money garnering complaints. Tough decision... Already, Google has begun looking up ways of providing quality service for Chinese citizens while complying with China's requirements. Bing's idea is also creative. Taiwan and Hong Kong use traditional Chinese characters while China uses simplified characters. Bing has created different search results for political topics when using a traditional character search than a simplified search. That way, mainland China has its searches blocked but Hong Kong and Taiwan bypass the restrictions.

Why am I doing community service in China?

Right, so most high schools have a community service requirement to graduate and mine is no exception. That's why this summer, my dad is taking me to Taiwan, where he was born, and mainland China to do a little charity work because of the abundance of this kind of work in those areas. Sounds fun, right? Or maybe a little tedious was what I was thinking. But enhancing global synergy is pretty important and my free time is a small price to pay to help those in need as well as promote interaction between the two sovereignties of the world, China and America.

As a start, we've got a black president so I guess that's proof of an open-minded America right there. Although, it'll be even longer before the first Asian president is elected so it's this sense of cultural enlightenment that should be a long-term goal for any person wanting to take another step in improving foreign relations. That's why I hope to encourage others to do service in another country because I think that it would show our willingness to offer help and then trigger a positive response from the helped, thus creating international cooperation.