China’s list of secret polluters leaves journalists incensed in Heilongjiang Province
I’ve seen this piece of news a couple of times over the past few days and, since it was Earth Day this week, the idea of the environment and pollution in China seems like a pretty timely topic. So, here’s the deal: Heilongjiang Province’s Environmental Bureau holds a meeting to discuss environmental law enforcement in […]
Passport envy in China: why citizenship shouldn’t matter for Chinese, even though it does
It was a recent weekend when Jun and I were browsing university websites, looking through their psychology faculty, when something gave us pause: the listing of faculty nationalities. The university in question — one of China’s top ten — had a table that listed the faculty name, nationality, and department. It’s quite an oddity, isn’t […]
The kind of person it takes to live in China, according to Pearl S. Buck
I found a smashing quote on who should live in China, from Pearl S. Buck’s Kinfolk. I guess it really hit home with me and my husband, because we have plans of our own to move back to China, in an effort to help the country grow. Even though this novel was published in 1948, […]
What does your Chinese translation say about your company? You may be surprised…
“I hired a student from a local university to do my translation…and it ended up hurting my reputation.” This was the story I heard from a business contact I met with a couple of weeks ago. He works for a large chemical manufacturer with a presence in China, and they needed their website translated into […]
Throwaway PhDs? The mindless and unfair side of higher education in China
I know a fellow from Taiwan who spent eight years laboring over his PhD — eight years! — in some area of engineering. He now runs a private media company and does real estate on the side, and regrets the years he spent on higher education. Another friend of mine came over here for a […]
Delinquency in China on the rise = a decline in social values?
The number of juvenile crimes in China has risen from 33,000 in 1998 to 80,000 in 2007, according to a BBC report. Robbery, theft, intentional injury, rape, and gang fighting are among the most frequent crimes the delinquents commit. What are the reasons behind the rising juvenile delinquency in China? This essay focuses on the […]
Still pointing your finger at China for the lead toy recalls? Not so fast…
I wrote several weeks ago about a case for Mattel apologizing to the Chinese manufacturers. In particular, I highlighted the fact that US companies often share some of the responsibility for negligence. Today, an article in the New York Times titled Lessons Even Thomas Could Learn really hits that point home. After all of the […]
A case for Mattel apologizing to Chinese manufacturers
There’s been a great brouhaha in the press over Mattel’s apology to China — particularly over the allegations that Mattel apologized directly to its Chinese manufacturing partners. It’s not a surprising reaction. This supposedly “Golden” year of the Pig is turning out to be more porcine than prosperous, thanks to the slew of recalls — […]