Terms, and how they are defined are important.  A good friend and colleague once told me how he can remember a number of discussions/arguments he has had with individuals where they were both basically saying the same thing, but their terminology was just different. It reminded him of The Unbearable Lightness of Being and the idea of an experiential dictionary, where two lovers have dramatically different reactions to the words, “I want to make love with the lights on,” based on their past experiences. Culturally, it’s the same game at stake; we each have different experiences forming our perceptions of certain concepts. Articulating how we get to those concepts and what these words mean to us is important.

So before we arrive in China, I would like you to reflect and give the (loaded) terms that are embedded in the title of this post some critical and serious thought.

To that end, click HERE and listen to this Sinica podcast and discussion in Beijing on the topic of China apologists among China hands Kaiser Kuo, Jeremy Goldkorn of the respected Danwei blog, journalist Gady Epstein of Forbes, Will Moss of the respected Image Thief blog and David Moser.

Note:  Start at the 16:00 mark of this podcast and listen to the end at 42:30.  You do not need to listen to any part of this podcast before the 16:00 mark.  And you can link to Shaun Rein’s short article in Forbes that fueled a part of this debate and podcast by clicking HERE.

After you listen to this podcast and these commentators, what did you learn and what do you now know about this topic and debate that you did not know before?

And do you have a better sense of what a Panda Hugger, a Dragon Slayer, a Centrist, is or could be, and when, where and why?

For this course there is no litmus test or expectation that you be one or the other, but I do have the expectation that you be able to intelligently define and discuss such terms, even when their meaning shifts, when asked by a person in the US or China when they come up in a conversation or debate.

Discuss.

[Click for larger view]

This is from a posting in Forbes I came across in my file.  It reminded me that that for the 2011 trip we will visit several of the listed places perceived to be favorable venues in China to conduct business!  Don’t know that this list has changed much from the publication date of this article.  Click on the image for a clearer view.

Ever take the time to ask, “How does an immigrant see us/the USA?”.

Check out this comedy presentation by Joe Wong at the Radio and Television Correspondent’s Dinner in Washington DC  (click HERE).

The Joe-Man is brilliant, in my view, and funny.

Imagine flipping this … you/us know enough about China (or India), speaking Mandarin (or Hindi) well enough, and know Chinese (Indian) culture, history, its jokes and humor well enough to stand before a room of Chinese (Indian) press correspondents and high ranking CCP officials and do what Joe Wong did at this dinner.

And his joke about the how the President should be fluent two languages … (1) English to sign legislation; and (2) Mandarin to be able to work with Chinese debt collectors?   Priceless …..

Here is Joe Wong’s website if you want to learn more about him - click HERE.

Joe is the man ….

- Chris Carr

I assume that anyone with even a remote interest in business and the global world at large has been loosely monitoring the recent WWF pissing match between the Chinese CCP government and US firm Google.

See/read the below January 30, 2010 Wall Street Journal article on this topic (be sure to click on the “Comments” link at the top of the article and peruse some of the comments that were posted in response to this article):

Battling the Information Barbarians: China Often Views the Ideas of Foreigners, from Missionaries in the 17th Century to 21st-Century Internet Entrepreneurs, as Subversive Imports.  The Tumultuous History Behind the Clash with Google.

Ring a bell from your admission essay question when you applied to the program?

Were you aware of this historical tension between China and the West?

See also/read this nice blog post from David Wolf of the always insightful Silicon Hutong blog, based in Beijing, Why Global Internet Companies Fail in China and his really, really good Ad Age article cited therein, The Internet Does Not Rise Above Nations and Cultures.

Books will be written on this dispute and much dust still needs to settle before any sane writer takes on this subject and starts to write these chapters, but what are your early thoughts on this dispute for now?  Did Google to the right thing?  Did it take the right approach?  Why did it do what it did?  How do you predict this will all end?

Not really.  But a title like this always grabs the reader’s attention.  Worked on you, didn’t it?

American’s can be pretty naive, overly trusting and even downright lazy in their due diligence when doing business in an emerging market like China and India and in addressing some of the commercial/corporate espionage risks involved.

See/read this China Law Blog post, China: Do The Walls Have Ears? See also this Times of India article, Corporate Espionage: India Inc. Means Business and this Asia Times article, India’s Growing Corporate Spy Threat.

Your thoughts?

Did you know and appreciate how big of a deal corporate espionage has become not only in China and India but right here at home/in the West?   See, e.g., this recent Wall Street Journal article on this very topic, Hugger-Mugger in the Executive Suite.   Don’t think this stuff does not happen here/in the US.  It does.  All the time.  In my other life as a practicing attorney, I worked on several civil cases that involved commercial dumpster diving allegations.  At times I felt that I was in an Austin Powers movie.  Yeeeeaahhh  Baaabbbyyyy!

– Professor Carr

And to see him come at this from a bit different angle, also/listen to Kaiser’s presentation at TEDx Honolulu.  Click HERE.

When you applied to the MBA program we required you to write an essay that addressed the ethics of Google (and other firms) doing business in a China, and the ethics of internet censorship in general.  And Google has also been in the news a great deal the past year for its (alleged) decision to pull out of China. But before you read the rest of this post and watch the below video, be sure to read my initial post (and the cited WSJ article) therein, Battling the Information Barbarians, as it will give you a historical perspective on this issue.

Then, check out this video presentation (click HERE) of Kaiser Kuo at my undergrad alma mater, the University of Nebraska - Lincoln.  This is an excellent, excellent talk, and well worth the investment of your time.  He speaks directly to the very essay admission questions you responded to when you applied to the program.

It is a 1 hour and 18 minute broadcast (includes Q&A).  The intro takes about 2:40 minutes to get through to get to his actual speech.  His talk is titled, “Shouting Across the Chasm: Chinese and American Netizens Clash in Cyberspace”.  You will learn a great deal about the true Internet and information landscape in China that you did not know before.

FYI, Kaiser is a UC Berkeley grad and two years ago he exclusively spoke to our MBAs during our trip to China.  Below is a more beefy bio for Kaiser.

Your thoughts and takeaways from his talk?  And what are your thoughts after reading the WSJ article noted above about China “Battling the Barbarians”?

Kaiser Kuo:  Born in the U. S. to Chinese parents, Kuo lives in China and identifies equally as American and Chinese. Formerly director of digital strategy for the Beijing office of a global advertising agency, Kuo has worked as a technology and business writer for publications such as Time, TimeAsia, China Economic Review, Asia Inc., and the South China Morning Post, and currently serves as an advisor for Youku.com, a leading video sharing company in China. Kuo co-founded China’s most famous rock band, Tang Dynasty, and continues to be active in the Chinese music scene.

Professor Carr addendum:  This is not required as part of your homework on this post, but you might be interested in THIS 30 MINUTE PODCAST of Kaiser where he reads from some of his work and writings in Ich Bin Ein Beijinger.  I really enjoyed this investment I made in myself to listen to this and learn a few new things that I did not know or had not thought about before.

I recently finished James Fallows terrific book,  Postcards From Tomorrow Square: Reports From China. Can’t recommend it enough.  It will be required reading for our next China trip.

I also just came across his most recent article in The Atlantic, How I Survived China.  Also a great read.  

Regardless of whether one agrees with what Fallow’s sees and/or concludes, the guy can flat out write, and I have to utmost respect for those who can do so.

I don’t know the answer to this question.  

For me, it depends on the day you ask me, and, the product, issue and/or industry in question.  This BBC podcast (click HERE) I just listened to is one of the more thoughtful and balanced pieces I have come across on the subject.  

For those of you who have been to the PRC, what say you on this topic and after listening to this podcast?

This is another introductory post and video to peek your interest about the trip and get you thinking about China and its many faces.  Its also shows a part of “China” that China (or any country throwing its birthday party) wants the public to see.

This 3.5 minute video is by photojournalist Dan Chung (click HERE) who covered China’s 60th Anniversary National Day parade with a mix of time-lapse and slow motion.

This birthday bash, and the Beijing Olympics, convinced me that the Chinese are slowly but surely “getting” (note I did not say “mastering”) this thing in business and politics called …. marketing.

E.g., a woman’s military brigade wearing white gogo boots and berets with pinkish thigh cut skirts, AND while carrying sub-machine-guns?  This part was right out of an Austin Powers movie.  No peasant and  Chairman Mao suit wearing people waiving Little Red books here.

Your thoughts?

Post event side note:  When China and the CCP’s 60th birthday bash took place, a few folks emailed me asking me to post some thoughts on the topic.  Sorry to disappoint.  I have nothing original to add on this subject, and I can only link you to this cool video that shows you in visual form that the Chinese feel pretty strongly that after two centuries of perceived Western humiliation, they are back and some of their best days may lie ahead.

Enjoy!