About China blogosphere, travel, and entrepreneurship

photo courtesy rich115 on Flickr

I asked my friends on Facebook and also my social-media addicted FriendFeed “friends” whether they felt more negative or positive about China as a result of the Olympics.  Here’s some of the responses:

FriendFeed

Here were a few responses I got on aggregator site FriendFeed (link to the discussion thread here):

Summary:

• Some people were more positive than negative
• Generally impressed with architecture, modernity
• Chinese Olympic cheerleaders in bikinis at the beach volleyball games also help
• Some felt that “the positives and negatives balanced each other out” and theGames “confirmed many of my impressions.”

My feed on FriendFeed is here: http://friendfeed.com/elliottng

Facebook

Here were some responses I got in Facebook:

Some reactions:

• “exactly, utterly the same”
• positive about the ability to pull of an event of this size and scale
• negative about the perceived need for perfection that caused organizers to fake fireworks, to fake minorities with Han children, and to hide the singer with crooked teeth
• impressed by Zhang Yimou (see Southern Weekend interview of Zhang Yimou at China Digital Times: part 1, part 2), but less impressed by the Party
• not surprised by the crackdown on protests and undesirable people
• impressed by the art and architecture…”there is some free thinking going on there”

Exactly, Utterly the Same

“Exactly, utterly the same”: I think this is probably the most powerful insight.  People came in with a set of impressions and feelings.  Some had a more negative feeling about China than others.  The Olympics gave xenophobic, hateful people what they wanted:  intimidating armies of performers, goose-stepping soldiers, demonstration of unrepentant authoritarian power, casual disregard of press freedoms and “the truth.” The Olympics gave critical people what they wanted:  empty protest parks, 70+-year old women sentenced to re-education.  The Olympics also gave supporters of China what they wanted: Gold medal leadership, exceptionally well-run games, friendly volunteers, artistic and architectural achievement.

In summary, the Olympics did not win hearts and minds for China that already had a strongly negative impression of the Chinese Government, or a strain of xenophobia or fear of the Other.  But the Games did create a richer set of images for people who have limited awareness or previous interest in China, or have images of China from 1989, 1993, 1997, or some other time-lagged perception of China.  In that way, it may be a small step forward in helping some people see China for what it is today.

How would your non-Chinese friends answer the question:  “Did the Olympics make you more negative or positive toward China?”

photo courtesy 赤子之心chizi-zhixin on Flickr

From The Independent’s slideshow of Olympic photographs.

Now that the Olympics are over, the foreign media and China observers are all quick to speculate about what will happen in the post-Olympic era.

Here’s a brief sampling of what’s being addressed:

- The economy: While many foreign companies are concerned about a possible downturn, Chinese officials point out that Beijing’s economy only accounts for a very small part of the overall boom. However, maintaining the epic pace that marked the Olympics will be a harder job for the Chinese government. Check out this video from Reuters for an analysis from a Beijing-based economist.

- The environment: Although Beijing won high marks for its pollution controls and clear blue skies during the Games, the environment is likely to take second place behind economic growth…again. Beijingers, at least, support continuing the restrictions on motorists and making a more environmentally-friendly city, but the government will be slowly beginning lifting the regulations starting on Thursday.

- Human rights: Despite the high-profile sentences of two elderly women to labor re-education after they applied for protest permits, one Italian expatriate living in Beijing wanted to show the world that it was possible to protest. It wasn’t. The United States sent in a strongly-worded statement to the Chinese goverment about human rights; China’s response from a Foreign Ministry spokesman creatively invokes Abraham Lincoln. The ongoing discussion and debate on China’s human rights record is sure to continue.

In the immediate future, one beneficiary of the Olympics is the Paralympics–with the passion for spectator sports fairly undiminished, tickets for events have been going quickly. One loser? Olympic souvenir collectors, the value of official souvenirs is falling rapidly.

Fiona Lee is a freelance writer/marketer/blogger based in Beijing. She blogs at quirkyBeijing.

Photo originally found on Mop here.

“Add fuel?” “Let’s go?” “Olé! Olé! Olé?” “Come on?” One of the quirkier news stories that has come out of the Beijing Olympics is how to translate the ubiquitous Chinese cheer 加油 (jiāyóu). The New York Times Rings blog wrote about the various contexts that 加油 has been used–ranging from the current usage during the Olympics to the Wenchuan earthquake–and sparking a vibrant comment thread where no one seemed to be able to agree. Even the Chinese news agency Xinhua got into the act, covering the foreign media’s struggles to translate the phrase properly. And an intrepid blogger took it further–why bother stopping at English when you can say 加油 in languages from Luxembourgish to Prussian?

China Daily also examined how China might need new cheers and compared China’s cheering to the organized South Korean effort. Is the simple 加油 really that boring?  (Aug. 23 Update)  The Australian certainly thinks so.

In case you haven’t gotten the hang of it yet, here’s a video on how to cheer the Chinese way from the hilariously straight-faced Two Chinese Characters.

How would you translate 加油? I’ve always had a fondness for “good luck” myself.

–

On a related note, the Wall Street Journal writes about a government program called Heart-to-Heart that assigned local Beijing schools to cheer for visiting countries. While Huajiadi Experimental Primary School was thrilled to be picked as one of the cheerleading schools, they were understandably less thrilled when they were assigned to cheer for a traditional archenemy: Japan. Nonetheless, in the spirit of international amity, the school made the best of it. One terrific line at the end of the article makes the point that children might “[associate] Japan with cartoons, not history.”

Ironically, the program was first begun by the Japanese during the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano.

One has to wonder how the school assigned to France, China’s newest international nemesis, felt.

Fiona Lee is a freelance writer/marketer/blogger based in Beijing. She blogs at quirkyBeijing.

Sky Canaves, lead blogger of Wall Street Journal’s China Journal blog, highlights the ingenious solution to the lack of food options at the Olympic Green. Too bad the solution results in an exploding lunch box! (h/t Shanghaiist, China Herald) According to her post:

Due to the lack of cooking facilities, a hot meal can be hard to find. So here’s an ingenious solution: a self-heating box of “spicy chicken” for 20 yuan ($3). Among the Games venues around Beijing, we’ve only seen this offered at the Olympic Green, where the staff have got the instant meal-making process down to a science.

Actually the meal looks pretty tasty compared to MacDonalds to me. But then again I prefer the Air China Cathay Pacific Chinese food to the (coach class) United Airlines American food.

Video courtesy of WallStreetJournal. Direct link to the video here.

I think Sky Canaves deserves combat pay for blogging in these conditions.  When she is not busy exploding lunchboxes, she is interviewing Olympic Gold Medalists like Nastia Liukin.

My friend, who is obsessed with lunchboxes and lunchbox recipes, probably didn’t think she would see something like this!

Guest post from Shanghai-based Xiaodi Zhang, product management executive at eBay and co-founder of HopStix, a new China travel review site for sharing about food and travel. Also posted on the HopStix blog as “He’s Not Superman After All.” She also left a super-insightful comment on my earlier post about the Online Evisceration of David Brooks and was inspired to write this post.

By now, everyone knows Liu Xiang, China’s favorite Olympian, pulled out of the Olympics. In noticeable pain, he limped off the field yesterday after a false start in the 110 meter qualifying round and ended his Olympic career in the most anti-climatic fashion. His departure left an entire nation in shock.

Even the CCTV journalist was in tears

The live broadcast from the stadium was interrupted when the CCTV journalist had to pause in mid-sentence, turn her head and compose herself. Mind you, this is not NBC and Bob Costas. This came from the most regulated network in the world, where journalists are trained to speak only what’s on the teleprompter. Her breakdown demonstrated just how emotional this moment represented to Chinese everywhere. Pictures of audience members and Olympic volunteers in tears have been flooding the internet, and people can’t stop debating about his sudden departure. Some people feel cheated and angry, but most people are overwhelmed with disappointment. When I saw my cousin last night, I asked her if she cried. She replied yes, and then started crying again, set off by my question.

Difference between Tyson Gay and Liu Xiang

With all due respect to Tyson Gay and his fans, but I have a feeling that no one shed a tear in the US when he didn’t make it to the 100 meter finals two days earlier. To Americans, Tyson Gay’s win or loss was ultimately his own. His performance did not represent glory or defeat for an entire nation.

In China, however, one athlete’s Achilles injury is felt by an entire nation. To understand why Chinese would respond this strongly, just go back to the moment when Liu Xiang won the gold medal four years ago.

Liu Xiang’s Athens medal was framed as a victory for the Chinese race

After the race, he proudly announced to the world that “It is a proud moment not only for China but for Asia and all people who share the same yellow skin color…. I think we Chinese can unleash a yellow tornado on the world.” (more Liu Xiang quotes here) Even to him, the medal was not merely a personal accomplishment. Rather, his gold medal was a national achievement, even one for an entire continent and an entire race.

The fact that Liu Xiang comes from China’s “me” generation, a product of the one-child policy, and grew up during a time of unparalleled prosperity, western influence and individualism, reflects how deeply entrenched the ideals of national pride and national unity are in China. For most Westerners, it might be hard to comprehend how a young, cocky hurdler can also be so nationalistic.

Where does this deep well of nationalism and pride come from? History.

Understanding it will require a brief detour to China’s history, but it will unlock the mystery of how a country of 1.3 billion people can stand united in face of foreign criticism (Olympic protests) and internal disaster (Sichuan earthquake).

China as we see it today at the Olympics has been deeply shaped by a collective sense of pride, shame and accomplishment rooted in its history. National pride comes from China’s rich history (inventing paper, gunpowder, movable type, AND the compass, which were all on display at the Opening Ceremony), shame at its failure to stop foreign oppression during the first half of the twentieth century, and accomplishment at how far the country has come during the second half.

When Mao Zedong came into power, he famously declared “Today, the Chinese people have finally stood up!” But Chinese knew that the country had not really stood up and would not be able to stand up for another forty years.

So, when China finally re-opened its doors to the world in 1978 and re-entered the world stage in the Olympics in 1984, the Olympic Games became a barometer for China’s growth. Each four years brought new gold medals, new glories, new hope, and renewed sense of national pride. China could finally “stand up”. But many athletes have come and gone before Liu Xiang.

Why has Liu Xiang meant so much to the Chinese?

The answer is clear. Liu Xiang did not medal in ping-pong or men’s gymnastics. Liu Xiang medaled in Track & Field, an arena that China never even hoped to be competitive in. By accomplishing what seemed to most as the impossible, Liu Xiang captured the national imagination and brought a new sense of hope and possibility to China. He represented “new” China, China’s future, China’s Olympics. The possibility that he could repeat the feat in China’s Olympics, on Chinese soil, became what everyone fervently anticipated in the Beijing Games.

After my cousin grabbed some tissues and sat back down on the couch, I asked her why it was so emotional for her. She sighed, “I was really looking forward to it. One minute, I heard the race was about to start, and then he pulled out so suddenly”. She also added, choking up some more, “we shouldn’t blame him. We knew it would be hard for him to win again, but we just wanted to see him run.”

Photo courtesy of bbs2008.163.com and ChinaSMACK. More photos of reactions at ChinaSMACK.

UPDATE 8/20 from Elliott:

China Digital Times shared Xiaodi’s account and also highlighted a New York Times article that talks about the commercial implications of Liu Xiang’s withdrawal. China Herald also asked the provocative question “What killed Liu Xiang’s Olympics ambitions?” Fons Tuinstra quotes his first coach as reported by the Telegraph:

I am saddened by Liu Xiang’s exit,” Mr Gu said at his office in Shanghai. “I think it is because of the intense training. If he had been more relaxed the injury might not have been so bad.
“I have experienced in the past the great pressure that government officials exert on the athletes as well as the coach, and that they demand a gold medal, otherwise it is meaningless. Liu Xiang is still a young boy and he has been put under a bit too much expectation.”

UPDATE 2 8/20 from Elliott:

Marketwatch Olympic Blog by Bill Bishop suggests that things may not be as they appear:

I watched his withdrawal live and felt very bad for him. He looked to be in real pain. But after talking to some of my Beijinger friends over the last 24 hours, I am half-convinced the more is more to this story. All my friends believe this was set up by the track team and its affiliated management company that helps manage (and takes a cut of) the business side of their athletes’ lives.

The conspiratorial thinking goes that Liu and the team knew he was not in good enough form to beat Cuba’s Dayron Robles, and so it was better to not race than to lose. Both are humiliating, though an injury is more sympathetic and face-saving than a loss, and, importantly, might maintain some of Liu’s attractiveness to marketers. Part of the “evidence” is that the team held a news conference within 30 minutes of the withdrawal, making it looked like it was prepared in advance.

UPDATE 8/21 from Elliott:

WSJ China Journal shares that sponsors are kicking into action to put the best spin on the situation:

In terms of advertisements, Nike was quick to respond with full page ads in domestic papers…The translation, from a version of the ad running in today’s English-language China Daily:

Love Competition
Love risking your pride
Love winning it back
Love giving it everything you’ve got
Love the glory
Love the pain
Love sport even when it breaks your heart

Photo courtesy of Beijing News and Andrew Lih (fuzheado)

Chinese basketball fans are elated over the China men’s team 59-55 victory over Germany. Looks like the triple play of Yao Ming, Yi Jianlian, and Sun Yue are keeping China in the running for a basketball medal. Meanwhile, off the courts Chinese are getting a kick out of the Google logo that gets into the Olympic spirit of things by depicting a dragon dunking on a mouse.

While we realize the mouse could just be a nod to the current Year of the Rat, some Chinese are gloating a bit by drawing comparisons between the “very cute” rodent and the German team, while another cheekily asks if there isn’t actually more of a likeness to Spaniards.

But before anyone goes up in arms against Google’s artistic team, it should be noted that the logo has changed almost daily since the games started, and this particular one was up well before the China victory. And a quick glance below at some of the previous logos will show you that they are, in fact, rotating through each of the Chinese zodiac animals, and not taking stabs at anyone in particular. Maybe this will help those over at Toytown trying to guess what will be the next logo — parrots, raccoons, and kangaroos, while amusing, don’t exactly play a big role in Chinese astrology. Has anyone seen a rooster, snake, or rabbit yet?

UPDATE: Here comes the rabbit, only the rooster left

UPDATE (8.22.08):  Another tiger makes an appearance, no love for the rooster?

UPDATE (8.23.08): The twelve animal zodiac is finally complete.

UPDATE (8.25.08): In honor of the Olympics coming to a close, here are the opening and closing logos.  Congratulations to all the athletes who participated in the Beijing 2008 Summer Games!

Think the games are confined to the Bird’s Nest and the Water Cube? Well think again, outside of China the Olympics might be confined to your TV set or your computer screen, but not so here in Beijing. Let’s move out into the streets.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on which side of the fence you stand upon), even miles away from the Olympic Green, the Games are still very much a part of life for Beijingers.

Want proof? 16 pictures — will that do?

Beijing Subway: Olympic Mania

Yours truly’s second home (a mobile one at that), the Beijing Subway, has been successfully brainwashed into Olympic Mode. In many a Subway station, you see this:

The whole thing gets scarier when you approach the station at platform level: Actually, it gets scariest at busy stations, where whole crowds assemble and watch the Games. Sudden yelps of sheer joy (or, if it’s a soccer game, shouts of sheer anger), are suddenly here and there. It’s no rocket science, we guess…Above Underground LevelWant to escape the underground world for a bit non-Olympic Beijing? Above ground, it’s just as Olympic as underground:
  Even outside major corporations and even government buildings, the atmosphere is still very much Beijing 2008 Outside Central Beijing Outside central Beijing, the slogans still have it that this is one heckuvan Olympics City. Unfortunately, I couldn’t exactly pull of the trick of shooting photos while driving, so I’ll leave you with just one pic I took when the car was pretty much still: This is in Huairou, about 40 to 50 miles northeast of central Beijing. Even here, though, Beijing is still in Olympic fever. One More Thing Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you. That’s the back of a ticket to the Olympic Games!

Disclaimer: “I am here to bridge the gap. Not to hate. Not to love. Not to be biased. Only honesty.”

After seeing and hearing many of the critical comments made from so many Americans on newspapers, blogs, forums, TV, venting their frustrations on China’s policy-making, human rights issues, security issues. I’ve decided to step into the limelight and give my two cents on this critical issue currently circulating the media worldwide.

I’m willing to make a bet that many of these critical comments about China are coming from sources that haven’t lived in China for an extensive amount of time; people who don’t really know China. I believe some people just love to hate because I’ve encountered a good number of these bitter souls, but there’s a difference between someone who hates with no foundation behind their arguments and someone who actually knows why they are hating something. Here is my formula: Hate = misunderstanding + ignorance + arrogance, Arrogance = Not wanting to understand (due to fear/insecurity in most cases). Most of us probably read a biased article somewhere in a magazine about China’s workers working for $20/month and automatically scream “Oh my gosh! I can’t believe this injustice! How can this be? We’ve got to do something about that!”

I know people who hated China so much that they went over to China to collect evidence to strengthen their arguments (now that’s some serious hating).  However, most of them came back here with a better understanding and appreciation for China as a culture. I respect these people and applaud their efforts in attempting to at least understand the subject they are arguing against.  That is what we refer to in sports as respecting your opponent.

My advice to all those have negative views about China: “Go to China, live there for 6 months, don’t be a shut in and close your mind.  Open your mind and really experience the culture, and then come back and tell me you still hate it.”  That’s the very first step.  I’ve encountered some of the brightest expats in the world who now reside in China, and we’ve gotten into conversations about China and different perspectives, and every conversations always ends with “best damn decision I made in my life to come here, mate (lots of Aussies).”  Before you criticize something, don’t do it because you have been biased by secondary materials and sources that have influenced you in a negative way; go out there and get to know it yourself before you judge!  

First and foremost, I want to make this clear: the purpose of this post is to help each other understand and accept different cultures so that we may all live in harmony. First, I want to mention that China has made great strides in the past ten years to be more globally receptive to become more international-friendly, and yet I feel we Americans unfairly expect China to make a 360 degree turn within days. It’s almost like telling a 3,000 year old Big Mac Lifetime Honoree to turn vegan within a week. It’s not fair for us to expect a culture with such a rich history to change and conform to our ideals because we think they ought to; especially when we think it’s for their own good.

The popular Chinese opinion regarding the main flaw of America is that we are arrogant, stubborn bullies that think the world should operate our way because we are almighty and everyone else is weak and small. Do we Americans agree with that?  Let’s be truthful here (please do not let your patriotic feelings blind your logic and reasoning because it will make for a weaker argument), it’s my firm belief that a lot of things (media, propaganda, racism) can blind us from understanding other people’s beliefs and cause us to block out the legitimate arguments they may espouse; it’s called cognitive dissonance. If you saw any of the debates from the recent Presidential Election, you’d have a pretty good idea of what that looks like. Let’s ask ourselves, “Are we really a stubborn, arrogant nation that doesn’t want to understand and blocks out everything we don’t believe in? Or is that just a misconception?” Don’t get me wrong, I love America and am proud to be a citizen of this wonderful country where we can speak our mind and not fear persecution. But being in China for two years have helped me understand where the Chinese people are coming from, and that understanding has changed my perspective about a country I had previous biased notions about before actually living and breathing here for two years.  

Here is a quote I found interesting:

“When we have too much security, you blame us for oppressing people.
When we don’t have enough security, you blame us for being a dangerous place to be…

What do you want from us?”

I want everyone to read that statement and absorb it.

Please watch this interview with Chinese veteran blogger Wang Jian Shuo to better understand what we need to do as human beings to help this world.

Quote of the Day:

“Don’t criticize what you don’t understand, son. You never walked in that man’s shoes.” Elvis Presley

Late last month, Beijing Olympic organizers proudly announced that the 6.8 million Olympic tickets were sold out. Yet empty seats are prominently featured on television broadcasts, even for such high-profile events such as competitions where American swimmer Michael Phelps is competing to become the most decorated Olympian in history.

While there are a number of reasons for the lack of interest, what’s embarrassing for organizers is an opportunity for Olympic enthusiasts to still land tickets to the games.

1. Purchase them legitmately from Cosports, the official ticket seller for Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Slovak Republic, United States and the European Union and European Economic Area (EEA). Tickets have been popping up irregularly and even popular events such as basketball and football have had tickets become available for a short time before eager buyers snatch them all up. However, you need to be a citizen of the countries mentioned above ANDａVisa cardholder. There’s also a $30 USD handling charge, but one easy way to get around the high fee is to buy tickets with several friends.

2. Online classifieds have been seeing a roaring trade in second-hand tickets.

• English-language classifieds on the Beijinger and the Beijing version of Craigslist are listing tickets, where they are going for everything from face value to ten times the face value. One woman on Craigslist is even selling tickets at face value in return for a little companionship.
• For Chinese speakers, the Chinese clone of Craigslist zhan-tai.com also has many listings. While the sections for the second-hand and sporting events tickets have been temporarily closed, tickets are easily available in the Others 其他商品 section of their classifieds.

3. Buy them from a scalper at the venue. Technically, this is illegal, but the ticket hawkers are flourishing right in front of the police. It may be worth it to arrive at the venue a little bit early and see what is available. While there are reports of tickets being sold for ridiculous amounts of money (1000 RMB for a 50 RMB ticket for a fencing event, according to this International Herald Tribune article), reasonably priced tickets can still be found by savvy bargainers. For instance, blogger Ben Ross has been showing up at various Olympic venues every day, purchasing tickets for as little as 30 RMB for events like women’s handball.

4. Lastly, Paul Pennay at the Beijinger blog highlights some very creative ways that Beijingers can get tickets. He writes:

According to a report in Monday’s Beijing News, one man has probably really pissed off his friends and family by deciding to give away all of the ten tickets he managed to get in the second, third and fourth rounds of Olympic ticketing. Xiong Wei is just a regular guy who has decided to offer his tickets to anyone who agrees to sign a contract that commits them to give up smoking for one year.

So if all else fails, and you’re ready to give up smoking, then perhaps the opportunity to see an event for free will encourage you to go cold turkey.

Good luck!

 

Fiona Lee is a freelance writer/marketer/blogger based in Beijing. She blogs at quirkyBeijing.

I read the following conversation on a forum two days’ ago:

A: Hi, I just “smashed” a world record in a semi-final contest.
B: Oh, that’s great! Congratulations! Wish you a gold medal in the final.
A: Well, thank you. but I didn’t make into the final.
B: ….

It was a joke about how many swimming world records (WR)/Olympics records (OR) have been smashed in the Water Cube （水立方) - National Aquatic Center（国家游泳中心) since the first day of 29th Beijing Olympic Games. Even you broke a world record, you might not even qualify for the final contest. lol

Until today Aug 13 2008, there are 24 new swimming world records reset, and 28 Olympics records reset according the data from Beijing Olympics official website. Michael Phelps himself contributed 6 world records and won 5 gold medal until Aug. 13.

So, different theories about the world record making secrets have “revealed” on the web. Here are the top 3 most popular ones:

1. Speedo LZR RACER Swimming Suits

SULLIVAN Eamon from Australia said “it was very comfortable when wearing the Speedo LZR Racer.” Chinese Jiaying Pang said “it was like floating on the water after wearing it.” Speedo has done enough PR to show its high tech behind the “shark-skin”, but number is more convincing: 52 out of 56 swimming world records were set when athletes were wearing Speedo LZR Racer.

2. Water Cube

Gao Min (高敏), 1988 & 1992 Olympics 3m Springboard Woman Diving Gold Medal Winner, wrote in her blog:” When I visited the Water Cube a month’s ago for an interview, I was told that Water Cube would be a birthplace of many swimming world records. I didn’t pay attention at that time. Now I realized how important the technologies in building this water center are.”

Gao Min mentioned four key elements:

1. The error tolerance for the 50m swimming lane is only 2mm, far more less than international standard of 1cm.
2. Water quality is better.
3. The floor around the swimming pool is heated to keep the athletes warm before the game.
4. Water recirculating process technologies on the walls of the pool. They were designed  and built to absorbed more currents/waves to reduce the resistance.

Another theory is that the pool is 1m deeper than general pools, which is also helpful in reducing the water resistance.

3. Drugs?

- No comment at this moment.

Any more?