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 […]
Can a “Moral Models Campaign” Solve China’s Morality Problem?
The Civilization Office of the China People’s Congress Central Committee announced Friday the assistance plan to 14 of the 53 national moral models who are in financial difficulty. The plan involves paying 24,000 RMB to 100,000 RMB to the models for their life assurance, housing cost, tuition, living expenses, daily necessity cost. The moral models […]
We all go down together: lianzuo (collective responsibility) in China
Imagine doing jail time — or worse — just because you were related to the offending party. If you want to understand just how far collectivism goes in China, look no further than lianzuo — or collective responsibility. Throughout China’s 2,000-year feudal history — from at least 7th-century BC all the way to the turn […]
Yahoo in China = prison time? The worst PR ever…
There’s a fine line everyone has to tow when doing public activities in China — that line between absolute freedom and the Chinese government. I touched on this a bit in my previous post on the One China Policy. But what if your concessions result in jail time for a Chinese dissident? That’s what’s at […]
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 […]
Ten ways to make your college/university more welcoming to Asian (and other international) students
We just finished off our first workshop on Asian Awareness for Northeast Ohio organizations — this time, we focused on higher education. Many schools are faced with a decline in international applicants. Some of that may be tied to post-911 policies in immigration and general international relations. Other reasons, however, can be traced back to […]
One big happy family — on paper: how the one-China policy affects your writing in China
I’ve never been to Macau, but I have visited Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, and Spain. What’s wrong with that sentence? Well, if you were publishing something in writing in China, you’d be in violation of the one-China policy. The one-China policy is where politics meets publishing. It’s one of those odd rules in China that […]