Crime in China (alternative title I Call Bullshit!)

Slate used to run a great series entitled the "bogus trend story of the week", and this entry will be in that vain. Looked at in a different way, this could be viewed as classic China-bashing and piling on, as it came out on Monday when China was definitely in the news, but for something a little more important and even more negative.

The title of the story says it all, Foreigners Grapple With Crime in China. Events in Xian a few weeks ago weren't exactly positive, but circumstances were brought to a quick ending with no injury to the foreigners involved. The article leads with that incident, certainly a scary situation, but an incredibly unusual one.

It then goes on to state: "But anecdotal evidence suggests foreigners are increasingly targeted, as a booming economy erodes old taboos and some Chinese grow bolder." It's always wonderful to be able to hide behind "anecdotal" evidence, but because its only anecdotal, its impossible to use to establish a trend.

Go on you say? The author follows with some of that "anecdotal" evidence: "In cosmopolitan Shanghai in recent months, a foreigner had a knife put to his throat and his money taken. Another was tricked into paying up to $1,000 for a $7 taxi ride. Four thugs surrounded an English boxing star, Ricky Hatton, and stole his $8,000 Rolex." The knife incident in Shanghai can be counted, but the guy who was "tricked", I simply can't understand and rarely have sympathy for and while its a scam and embarrassing for China, whether its criminal is another matters. With all the play that has been given to the 2 recent scam incidents on Nanjing Rd, I'm really shocked that there has been no coverage anywhere else of this $1,000 for a $7 taxi ride.

As for the Hatton incident, it has me really shocked that 4 thieves could overwhelm a world champion boxer, I could see it being possible after he was beaten to a pulp by Money May, but this wasn't the case. In fact, while a search of English sources turns up no hits other than the author's story, Chinese sources (and they are only bbs') put the event in August 2006. Since when is almost 2 years ago "recent months"? I wonder how "recent" the other 2 incidents were.

The author follows all that fear mongering up with "Shanghai and Beijing are still safer than most foreign cities of their size. Punishments for crimes against foreigners are heavier, police-linked neighborhood watch groups are highly vigilant, and Chinese can't own guns." Probably the first logical thing she wrote in the article. If they are so safe, why are foreigners "grappling" with crime (sorry, I linked to the IHT version which uses a better headline, but I used the AP headline, the AP version (headline is the only difference) can be found here)?

Despite how safe these cities are, probably far safer than any major city in the US, the writer still claims that "The U.S. government now warns Americans against muggings, beatings and even carjackings, especially in the nightlife and shopping districts of large cities." Umm, they do? Where? A quick look through the State Department website shows no travel warnings or alerts for China in the past 6 months, with the glaring exception of the one issued for that certain region in western China, though that was issued 2 days before the article came out and has nothing to do with crime.

I'm not going to go through the rest of the article as it is just more babble and "anecdotal" evidence, but finally, mercifully the article comes to a conclusion with:

Consulates warn people to beware of Chinese who invite foreigners to a teahouse,
ostensibly to practice their English, then present them with a huge bill and
sometimes threaten violence.

Such crimes are a byproduct of a freewheeling economy and more mobile society. "The ability of control in China now is a lot less than it was," Broadfoot said.

But he added, "Gee, on the security side, I'd rather have the Olympics in Beijing than in L.A. Though both cities will get you with pollution."

Ahh, the teahouse scam which has been around since foreigners have been coming to China. I think Marco Polo fell for one of those even, but since they've been around for so long, it's also virtually impossible to come to China without knowing to be careful of people who come up to you at tourist spots speaking English and claiming to be "art students." Finally, the conclusion says it all, Chinese cities are some of the safest in the world for foreigners and while crime exists, what's the point of this story, coming over a week after the Xian incident, the only recent newsworthy China foreigner crime story? I hate being a conspiracy theorist, but this looks to be another example of kicking China when its down. The story is already cold, why couldn't it have waited another week? As for a "rising trend"? Yeah, right...

Scary Stat of the Day or Why the Paralympics Needs to Be the Disabled's "Coming Out" in China 2

Per Xinhua, "43.29 percent of disabled people aged above 15 are illiterate, well above the national average of 6.27 percent for the same age bracket."

On the Subway 1: Not Actually On the Subway

Strange things happen on the Beijing subway, I guess that's true of the subway anywhere in the world, but it just feels especially true in the strange cultural melting pot that is Beijing. It seems like everyone else in the city, every morning I wake up and get on the subway to go to work. Obviously during "rush hour" it goes without saying that the subway would be packed, but packed doesn't come close to defining the situation on a typical morning between 7 and 9 am on Line 1. It's a nightmare, but its a nightmare that gets me from my home to work in 15 minutes from the time I get on the subway to the time I get into my office, not bad for 2 kuai.

This isn't a post about being an old China hand or more acclimated or anything like that, but I'm working for a Chinese firm and not a foreign one and, more than anything, I have to deal with Chinese relatives and therefore, despite the low price of RMB2 for the subway, they often ask why I don't take the bus for RMB0.40. Granted, RMB2 is less than US$0.30, but RMB0.40 is basically a nickle, plus taking the subway I'd spend in a day what it would cost me to take the subway the entire week.

My reasons for not taking the bus were the crowds and the time it would take, especially considering my journey would be down Chang'an Rd and then Jianguomen Wai. I finally got up at an hour early enough that I had enough time to take the bus so I tried it, well, the crowds are far less than what you'd see on the subway and it only took an extra 5 minutes.

Wow, I have a few more "On the Subway" posts that I want to write, but this series could die pretty soon.

Cultural Differences or Olympic Nightmares

With everything that went on over the weekend, it seems China has some bigger fish to fry than worrying about what happened at a baseball game, but there are some definite concerns that seem to be coming forth from the preseason game between the Dodgers and the Padres at Beijing's Wukesong Stadium this past weekend.

Those in attendance were a bit surprised by the way security handled things and there were major complaints from Korean player Chan Ho Park, who wasn't allowed to sign autographs for fans, some who even came from Korea to see him play. This isn't necessarily due to heavy handed security, though in some case it might be, but just that Chinese don't really "get" the idea of autographs. Whenever sports stars come to China, security is extremely tight and, to some, possibly excessive. I still remember in 2003 when Real Madrid came to Beijing (Beckham's first game for them). The members of the Chinese squad that was to face them walked around the Beijing Hotel lobby barely recognized. When Real Madrid's bus pulled up though, police came out from every possible direction to surround the bus and keep fans back.

The Chinese fear an embarrassing failure in security when foreign celebrities come to China, so they go over the top. Those who have been in China for awhile and have attended such events understand this, those that haven't may have a harder time comprehending. Thus, there is a very critical article in the LA Times today talking about China's "security issues".

First, the author who most likely was in China for the first time and didn't get to see much of the city refers to "spending the last several days in high-security Beijing" and "walk around Beijing, a place teeming now with police and soldiers." The author probably didn't realize the national government was holding very "important" meetings and that security is very high during these meetings. One would hope Beijing doesn't present such an open show of security during the Olympics, but only time will tell.

He also doesn't understand the "Chinese way" that I talk about above and so is intimidated when: "the "hidden" cameras, the stern-faced police, soldiers and security guards that seemed to be everywhere. By my count, 67 of them stood outside the Dodgers' clubhouse after the game Sunday." The "hidden" cameras thing is what gets me, cameras in China are big and impossible to miss, not like the growing number of cameras in the US or those in the UK, which has the most watched population in the world.

The line that follows that paragraph though, is the nightmare: "Of course, this was because of the unrest linked to Tibet. [emphasis added]" Umm, really? Why was there security out the wazoo last week when Beckham came to Shanghai with the LA Galaxy? What about the famous clip from the Andy Lau concert in Chengdu, in which the singer gets into a fight with his own concert security team?

A huge security presence like what is typically seen when sports stars or celebrities make their way to China would be off-putting during the Olympics, but at the same time, China's security fears, especially for THE OLYMPICS, the culmination of so much joy and concern, could mean an even greater security presence. China really needs to figure out a way to balance the two issues or people like Mr. Streeter, your average sports writer and other regular people, will return to their home countries and share opinions more damning than any politician or human rights organization could present.

This would appear to be a very important PR issue in the leadup to the games and how China decides to go on the security issue could go a long way in determining if these Olympics are a great success or not.

It's All a Matter of Perspective

I've been blogging fairly frequently and the focus has been on Tibet, though hopefully things will go back to normal in a day or two.

The Times has been a great source for articles on the Tibet situation as they have the only reporter actually on the ground, an article today really caught my eye. It seems that some Tibetans don't feel the Lalai Dama has taken a hard enough line and should propose boycotting the Olympics.

Here I am complaining that he's gone too far and yet there are others out there (the Times calls them radicals, I'm not sure how big their numbers are) who don't think he's done anything.

Once again, my friends, when it comes to this issue, there's no black or white.

UPDATE:
Okay, so it seems that perhaps I jumped to conclusions about the good ol' Lalai as he has stated that he would resign (not like he really could, but it shows how far he would go), if the violence continues. Also, a great article from Peking Duck on why Lalai might be more innocent than the Chinese want to say publicly. Seeing what happened in and around Tibet and the response from exiles (and others) around the world, it really seems obvious that the greatest partner the Chinese could have in reaching a solution is the Lalai Dama, the exile population is just too radical and even some in China are long past autonomy within the PRC framework, if something doesn't get done during the DL's lifetime, there will be blood.

Deng Gets Promoted, Hurrah!

So while all the focus is on Wen Jiabao's press conference (I'd love a Chinese or English transcript of it, but have yet to find one), in a lesser story, Deng Pufang, son of Deng Xiaoping and head of China's Disabled Federation, was the first disabled person to be elected CPPCC Vice-Chairman, the highest position a disabled person has ever held in the government.

Wow, more indifference from me today, despite the title (very sarcastic), I don't know what to think. Does Deng rule the Disabled Federation as his own little fiefdom and receive treatment as if he's a feudal lord, never having to come across the problems most disabled people come across in China? You betcha! Even if he wanted to affect change and despite his "important" title, could he? Probably not...

I would love to see some power for the Disabled Federation and having such a famous patron should help, but it didn't pay any divdends when Deng's father was alive and it won't now. Basically, its not news...

Remind me why I'm blogging about it? A slow night at the Rickshaw...

Priorities, Priorities

Every morning and evening, I get a great short news text message to my phone that includes the weather and top stories in different areas (domestic news, sports, entertainment, etc.). For the past 2 weeks, I've also gotten a message each afternoon informing me about the days goings on at the "Two Meetings" taking place here in Beijing. Before Wen Jiabao's major news conference today, yesterday's post carried 10 "Questions from the People". They were on the following topics and in the following order:

1. the Olympics
2. Environmental Protection
3. Arable Land
4. the Price of Goods
5. Salary
6. Housing Costs
7. Employment
8. Education
9. Medical treatment
10. Service Oriented Governance

I am not sure who came up with the list, the questions were submitted by readers, and I'm guessing as the service is through China Mobile, somebody at Xinhua or below organized the list and picked the questions.

Is the list reflective? I don't think arable land is a big concern in Beijing or Shanghai and I think it would be replaced by food safety, but in the countryside, which makes up the majority of the country, I can imagine it being a concern. The rest, with one glaring exception (guess which one?) are probably pretty accurate and, honestly, reflect the concerns of most people in China and, I'd venture to say, a poll of what concerns US citizens in the leadup to Election 2008 would look fairly similar.

The glaring exception, if you guessed number 1, we have a winner! I was extremely proud when Beijing won the Olympics and despite all the hassles it will bring, I'm looking forward to August, but, especially in light of recent events, its time to start downplaying this as China's Games and leave the focus on Beijing (a nearly impossible task). Beer bottle collectors in Bengbu, factory workers in Dongguan, and school teachers in Anshan are NOT concerned about the Olympics (let alone people in Xinjiang, Qinghai, and that large area south of Qinghai). At this point, is there anybody who actually believes the Olympics will be pulled off without a hitch? I would love to think so, but with China's PR bluffs, thousands of athletes and visitors, and cultural differences (just look at the problems Korean autograph seekers faced at the baseball game over the weekend), at this point (way too late), its time for China to really start lowering expectations. BOCOG should say things like, "if the Olympics come and go and the world hasn't been blown up, we'd count that as a success." Sure, it might sound crazy, but on the other hand, with the first minor blowup, the media is sure to be condemning China.

Flip that list upside down and, with the exception of the environment, now we're talking. Leave the Olympics to Beijing and let the government focus once again on 为人民服务 ("Serving the People").

Anyone else have any thoughts on the list?

Admission of Guilt

I don't understand Tibet. I could talk for weeks about Beijing and different landmarks or "historical sites" that few know, I could talk for days about Chinese soccer and one painful event after another (most recently the 3-3 draw against Thailand, great prep for the Aussies!), I could even sit you down and talk for hours about politics and law, the tough cases and campaigns, the big victories, the bitter losses. I cannot talk to you about Tibet. I love music, I love fashion, but I have very little understanding of them, using Justice Blackmun's famous words "I know it when I see it", I know what I like, but I can't really tell you why. With Tibet, I have no idea where to begin.

There are only so many hours in a day and my brain can only hold so much knowledge, on Tibet, I'm indifferent. China is an interesting, huge country and there is a lot to see, for whatever reason, I've never really had an interest in going to Tibet. It's far, its high, its a pain to get to, its expensive, and as a foodie, its boring, yak this and yak that. If, one day, friends or relatives want to go there, I'd join them, but for me, I'd much rather go to Xinjiang, to Gansu, to other places. If not for Sabriye Tenberken and her work, I'd be even more indifferent to the situation there.

I went to university in a small, midwestern town which was unique in that the school is the US' preeminent university for Tibetan studies, the DL's older brother was a former professor and Eliot Sperling is one of the country's most respected scholars on Tibet. I came in knowing about Princess Wencheng and the Tang, about the Yuan, the connections between Tibet and the Ming, the Qing garrisons, the then DL sending representatives to the Nationalist government. The class was full of "Free Tibet" types who idolized Sperling, I came in looking for a fight, but the result was disappointing. I came out feeling even more confused about Tibet, on one hand, Chinese do have a legitimate claim, at the same time, Tibet also has a legitimate argument. Sperling was an excellent teacher and tried to play things right down the middle, the question really breaks either way, though he obviously leans toward the Tibetan side. It's all about a lack of understanding, if the Communists went into Tibet shortly after taking power in '49 and only set up the military there, or even just pushed their reforms only on citizens, instead of monks, things may have been different (then again, the Cultural Revolution would probably have broken the peace).

Tibet's just not black and white, it wasn't before 1949, it wasn't in 1959, it wasn't in 1989, and after these protests in 2008, it still isn't. I never really thought China had an "original sin", like the US and slavery, and while the effects of slavery are far deeper in the US, is the Tibet issue China's "original sin"? It's certainly a major volcano that is constantly simmering, but rarely explodes. I still don't understand how different Tibet and Hawaii are and I like what Jeremiah said at one point (I believe on Peking Duck), China should just give up the historical claims to Tibet, no matter how strong or weak you think they are, and say, screw it, it's ours, period. If they treated the monks better, if they weren't insistent on such strict control of the religion, most civilians and even some of the monks would accept the situation. It sometimes feels like the government is waiting for the DL to just die, but this situation needs to be taken care of before that, if the government forces a successor, that could be the tectonic shift that causes the volcano to erupt.

I come from a family of cadres and soldiers, of Party members since before the Party took over "New China." Yes, I'm more likely to take the side of the Party, but I won't do it blindly. There is enough historic evidence that claiming Tibet as a part of China is nothing overly radical. At the same time, Tibet as cause is all about Hollywood liberals (I shouldn't be so hard on them, they were often the best contributors to campaigns I worked on), hippies, and new agers who are just looking for a cause celebre, are looking for something "new." They like to think about Tibet in black and white terms, they like to look at the DL and his talks of peace and think about the "suffering of poor Tibetans", ignoring how a previous DL massacred fellow Tibetans so one sect could take over. The DL is a religious leader, but in the West his connection to the religion and what that means is ignored. Instead, hippies (and neo-hippies) and people like Richard Gere have turned him into an innocent, new age self help guru who goes around wearing a gold Rolex, not the leader of a major world religion. I can't understand, I simply cannot understand the "Free Tibet" people. How can it be wrong of me to take the side of the Party, when the flock on the other side blindly believes in something that many Tibetans in Tibet don't fully support.

If there is one thing I learned from Professor Sperling, it's that this issue isn't black and white, the real answer needs to come from China and the DL, Han and Tibetan trying to work things out together, protests will not lead to a solution, but only more misery and embarrassment.

Postscript: Sometimes I don't even know why I keep this blog. I've been thinking about how to write this post since last night, got up extra early, beat the sandstorm that has enveloped Beijing, and started writing. I clicked send and started looking around the web, only then did I find out that China Law Blog basically said what I wanted to say, did so more clearly, and in fewer words.

Time for Another Beatdown

You know, I've told myself its time to stop playing and get back on my game, I got the message from China Law Blog already. So its great when I got called out, again, by China Lawyer Blog (no connection to Dan's fantastic blog).

So now I'm a loser, well, sorry, I never said I ran with the cool kids, hell, I'm on blogspot after all. That said, a loser, sir? I've read your blog and I know that this is what you do because it seems you have nothing better to do, which is probably why Zhong Lun shit canned your ass.

I'm not saying I know the facts on the situation in Tibet right now and I know equally well that Mr. Brauer has no clue whats going on. In almost every account, they are quoting around a dozen deaths, but their source is Xinhua and (in a bit of bias) they fail to mention who was killed, according to Xinhua it was onlookers who got caught up in the stampedes. Of course Tibetan exile groups are claiming many more, but why are they to be trusted any more than the Chinese government, they obviously want to garner international sympathy. Look at the mayhem this has caused on the streets of Australia and India where police are also "brutally" quelling protests that have gone too far.

So far, having read almost every piece of news I could find on the story, (which basically is just different versions of the NY Times, AP, and Xinhua stories), it appears the Chinese government acted quickly and with a more restrained approach than during previous incidents in Tibet. Perhaps we are starting at 2 different points, I think Tibet is and will always be a part of China, maybe Mr. Brauer disagrees, but you wouldn't know it from his post. I like having discussions with people, that's why I blog, if you think my opinion is wrong, explain to me why. And while my tone toward the DL may have been a bit harsh, does anyone truly believe that he has no power to stop these protests? At the very least, his statements about "cultural genocide", harsh terms, could easily be viewed by some as incitement.

But see, that's an idea, it seems Mr. Brauer can't grasp ideas, he just resorts to name calling. So for you folks at home keeping score:

Modern Lei Feng, 2, China Lawyer Blog, 0.

"Well I guess I got my swagger back."

The Many Train Stations of the 'Jing

I've spent entirely too much time on trains over the last few months and so I've come to know some of the train stations and routes fairly intimately. On my last trip, as the train got closer to the station, it came through a sparkling, modern building that is a total maze of scaffolding. Having seen it before, I had no idea what it was, no way was it something for Olympic prep, all the way in Yongdingmen, but what else could it be? On that occasion, I was able to see signs announcing that it would be the new Beijing South Station, Asia's largest train station, when it opens in August.

I'd been through the over 100 years old South Station a few times when it did the Beijing-Zhengzhou route, but that's back in the day of green trains, which are now almost completely gone. I didn't realize that the old South Station was blown up a few years back, replaced by the behemoth new station. Pretty strange to think that the old dump, not much more than some long-distance bus stations, served the capital for so many years. The new station that replaces it looks to be a modern marvel that is sure to make a difference, relieving some of the pressure off of Beijing's West Station and, of course, the main station.

Of course, there is also the North station at Xizhimen, though there doesn't seem to be many trains leaving from there, it always was a convenient spot for me to buy tickets due to its proximity to my old apartment. Also, there is an East Station, dating back to the 1930s in Chaoyang District, though it gets little use nowadays and will probably be replaced by a newer station at Tongzhou.

For those into train station history, you can also check out the old main Beijing Station, easily spotted east of Qianmen by the star on top of the roof which is now filled with shops and restaurants.

Wrong On All Sides...

It was a strange feeling after having a wonderful weekend to come into the office today and be greeted with tons and tons of articles about unrest in that southwestern special autonomous region in China with all the mountains whose name begins with a T.

Leaders in the Tibetan government have claimed that protesters have killed multiple people, and created extensive damage burning and looting around Lhasa. While the killings appear to be unconfirmed (the government has a strong grip on the region, especially when it comes to foreign media), from what I've read and heard, the looting of stores and burning of cars and other property has been supported. This appears to not be something brought on by any specific policy of the Chinese government, simply a "remembrance" of 1959. From the reports, it appears the Chinese government has done a pretty restrained job of dealing with some pretty unruly protests, though rubber bullets may have been used.

If this is really the case, if the government has been restrained and the protesters have behaved so horribly, why not lift the veil and let the people know? What better way to sway opinion onto your side? Something tells me that its because the truth lies somewhere in the middle. It's kind of interesting how the Great Firewall is working overtime now, I could access a story on IHT, but was unable to feature another one about that 73 year old who won the Nobel Prize and who left Tibet to go to India, let's call him the DL, even with anonymouse. In fact, trying to view a number of sites, it appears anonymouse wasn't able to defeat the firewall.

I may sound like a shill for the government, but I don't care. I'm most disappointed in the role that the DL is playing in all of this. If anybody has the ability to stop this, it's him, and yet he's pretending that he is "powerless" and has no role in any of the events. Dollars to doughnuts, if these protests weren't started by an order from him, they were definitely approved by him. Not only isn't he trying to stop them, but he's trying to stir the pot with statements about "cultural genocide." It's also an incredibly smart strategy to do this now, with less than 150 days to the Olympics, when it is certain that the media will pay attention and nuts the world over will start saying China is "unfit" to hold the Olympics. Great way to hijack coverage...

Li Ning Gives the Middle Finger to Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg is a Hollywood legend, behind some excellent movies (and some disasters) and hey, he even made Jews kick ass in Munich, he gets some dap for that. I really could care less about him, until, of course, he decided to declare himself holier than thou and started opining about the Chinese Olympics. Sure, he was under excessive pressure from his liberal Hollywood friends who stupidly go about referring to the Beijing Olympics as the "Genocide Games."

This is not really meant as a post about Spielberg's decision to screw over BOCOG and look like an idiot doing it. China is not to blame for the situation in Darfur and while they've threatened to use their Security Council veto against certain legislation, they've been trying to work with the African Union to help find a solution to the problem as well as pushing the Sudanese government to move toward a new policy. Spielberg may not care about annoying Beijing, but I really don't think Beijing cares that much, if he wants to help, great, if not, it doesn't matter, the Opening Ceremonies will be great with or without him.

Whatever, in any case, going back to the title (and from my high school newspaperman days, law article writing/editing days, and political speech/copy drafting days, I've learned its all about a good title), browsing the malls this weekend, I stopped by Li Ning to see what was on offer. They're sponsorship of the Sudanese Olympic team has brought them under some fire, but Li Ning sponsors many different Olympic squads and right now, they're advertising and in store focus is on their deal with the Argentinian and Spanish basketball squads. But then I came across a couple hoodies and tshirts with their "One Team" slogan and the Sudanese crest and flag.

I don't think Li Ning really expects to sell many of these, even in China, so maybe its just them making a veiled political statement in defense of the government. Maybe I should buy one and send it to Spielberg.

Northern Barbarians Have Style Too!

The first real “argument” of one relationship I had was about which city was more stylish: Beijing or Shanghai. My female friend insisted that she and many of her foreign friends felt that Shanghai way outclassed Beijing. Me, on the other hand, with my pride as a Beijinger, insisted that this simply wasn’t the case.

Shanghai, the “Whore of the Orient”, that plucky rival down south, has long been considered China’s capital of style, yet its also a city where middle aged people consider pyjamas as the en vogue relaxed walking around clothes, something I’ve rarely, if ever, seen in Beijing. Shanghai’s reputation as the style city is more talk than reality. It dates back to its more glamorous days in the 20s and 30s where its location and cosmopolitan nature drew people from all over the world. Nowadays, while it boasts gleaming skyscrapers, high end restaurants and bars, and a lot of interesting early modern architecture, the city’s style and the style of its people are wrongly fused into one.

Having spent a lot of time in Shanghai and Beijing, I really don’t think that Shanghainese are any more stylish than Beijingers, for the most part. Get on a subway in Beijing or Shanghai and look at the 10 people standing closest to you (who aren’t migrant workers), out of the 10, you’ll probably find 4 or so dressed “Chinese style” or badly, 3 who are dressed in casual attire that wouldn’t be out of place in most other parts of the world, and 3 who could be deemed somewhat stylish (out of the 3, usually 1 will stick out). If you’re roaming around Guomao or Lane Crawford in Beijing or the Kerry Center/Shanghai Center/Plaza 66 area in Shanghai the style quotient is sure to go up. Too much of the “Shanghai is stylish” talk isn’t really backed up by reality. Sure, you walk into Jean Georges or Jade and you’ll see a pretty stylish set of people, but it’s the same thing if you go to Courtyard or Lan. Sure, Shanghai has Changle Rd, but I’ve yet to find anything that can match 3.3. Upping the ante, mall for mall, would you actually choose Shanghai over Beijing? Wangfujing vs. Nanjing Rd? Seasons Place vs. Plaza 66? Guomao vs. Jiuguang? Xidan vs. Huaihai Rd? Times Square vs. er...Times Square? Legation Quarter (soon to be opened) vs. Xintiandi? 3.3 vs. ...? Come on, it’s pretty much a wash, the nod goes to Beijing.

One of my biggest arguments against the “Shanghai is stylish” discussion is that it’s a monotonous style that can be referred to as “chic casual” for the most part (and I'm sorry Shopgirl, China's not an inspiration, but simply biting styles from major Euro designers before H&M does) . Beijing has that look too, but there is also a far more diverse range of styles, somewhat driven by the fact Beijing is far more artistically inclined and with a much better music scene than Shanghai. You have indie chicks (which has me thrilled, because in Shenzhen I cam *this* close to writing a post about the disappearance of the indie chick), hip hoppers, nerd chic, punk rockers, skateboarders, and crazy artists. It’s not simply one look, but a little of everything.

For examples of the wide range of great looks you can see on the streets of Beijing (or if you're just into fashion), you must check out Stylites in Beijing, he's fast becoming the arbiter of style in our fair city. And although I have a feeling he’d disagree with my assessment, overall both Shanghai and Beijing have a long way to come before they can match really fashionable cities like New York, London, and Paris.

Baseball in Beijing: "Its Really Great"

So if you've been in a Beijing cab or opened an expat mag anytime during the past few weeks, you've probably seen ads for the "China Series", first pitch starting tomorrow, between the San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers, I've even covered it here a few weeks back. The slogan they're going with is something like "Really Great" (ie 真棒）using the character 棒 that is also used for baseball (棒球).

Yahoo Sports did an interesting writeup about the game that gave the overall impression that these games might be enough to put thoughts about the game in the minds of some Chinese youth. This seems to be how Americans always think, but its interesting to note that baseball does have a long history in China, as the Yahoo article discusses (link at the bottom).

Ticket sales and spirits seem to be pretty high for a game that is only going to feature a bunch of journeymen, many of whom may not even be on the roster come April, but its not being promoted as such and with Jet Li throwing out the first pitch, there's a bit of celebrity intrigue involved, including a gala tonight.

Surprisingly, Shanghaiist even informed its readers today that the Chinese Baseball League is actually going to have a 2008 season, I saw it on tv a few season back and found it unwatchable, I think they quickly lost their tv contract and were never heard from again, but its an Olympic year and anything can happen. Though, as Shanghaiist points out, with baseball losing its status as an Olympic sport in London, its longevity as a global game outside of certain pockets is questionable.

Yahoo Sports: Baseball Delivers Its Pitch to China
Shanghaiist on the game

No More of My Photos, But Even Better...

Back in the day, this was a pseudo-photo blog where I'd post some recently taken pictures on the weekend, now that I'm blogging regularly on a computer that is not my own (my poor, brand new macbook pro has a busted screen), photos aren't getting posted.

The past week has been busy, but today finally having time to read some favorite webpages, I found a great Chinese photo slide show on Slate (how I love thee), provided by Magnum. Check it out!

Update on Joy City and 2 Brit Stars Coming to Beijing (and one's named McCartney)

Last night having some time to look around, I headed to Joy City, the new mall at Xidan (discussed here), to see how things were going. Well, right now almost all the stores are open and the mall was pretty crowded. Occupancy is very high and its a great mix of shops and restaurants, many who are entering the capital's market for the first time. It's Xidan location is perfect and has a great mix of mid-priced western brands as well as the cheaper Chinese brands. As of right now, almost everything is open except the I.T. brands, Uniqlo (coming March 29th), Zara, and Nike.

Some highlights:
-Great to see Muji finally in Beijing and the store was pretty crowded
-I really like Wagas and hope that it will spread around the capital like it did in Shanghai. This location has two seating areas, one an "intimate" setting that is dark and woody overlooking the madness of Xidan, the other is bright and airy overlooking the mall's atrium.
-This is the sports fan in me, but the Adidas store has a small collection of Beijing Guoan clothes,
something I've never seen before, Guoan's move to Adidas seems to be a great choice
-Along with the discussed Japaneseness of the mall is a store that I didn't notice, Asics' Ontisuka Tigers, which carries their great shoes, but also a decent selection of casual clothing

As for my other teaser in the title, a McCartney is coming to Beijing, but sorry to disappoint the Beatles fans, its not Paul, but his daughter, Stella. Guomao is currently advertising that a Stella McCartney boutique is "coming soon" and who will her neighbor be? King of women's shoes and made famous by Sex and the City, Jimmy Choo. It's going to be the first boutique in the capital (there is one in Plaza 66 in Shanghai), though I believe his shoes are also carried at Lane Crawford. No help for us guys, but now Beijing women will be even more stylish.

Another Bites the Dust: The Fall of Eliot Spitzer

I was a Spitzer fan back during his AG days when he was the hard nosed New Yorker fighting against the stock markets, big business, and police corruption. He was a bulldog, but he was likable and had an impeccable record. After doing everything he could do as AG, he decided to move on to the Governorship of New York. When he won that race in a landslide, he was a national star and there were even some rumblings that Spitzer could be the first serious Jewish Presidential candidate. Playing the game of politics, I was a big fan of his and would have loved to see him be a potential candidate, or at least a veep choice. However, his time as Governor was hard fought with numerous of ups and downs.

That is, until this past week when it was revealed he was involved with a prostitution ring that the FBI busted and that he may have spent over US$80,000 on hookers. Mr. Clean, the lawyer who fought on the side of good and mercilessly pursued all those who broke the law, was dirtied in a way he may never come back from, he may even face criminal charges. It's hard to call it a tragedy, the man was plain stupid, but its definitely another lesson (as if Gary Hart wasn't enough). One more goes down to his own lack of morals.

There are three things that I think are interesting about this. First, while its probably better for family reconciliation that it was a prostitute instead of an affair (less emotional attachment, in theory), for his political career its far worse than an affair as not only is it against the law, it also seems more degenerate. Beyond that, you have to wonder about someone who is working as a prostitute, but has a myspace page and writes "I live in New York and am on top of the world. Been here since 2004 and I love this city, I love my life here." Well, this should really bolster her music career. Finally, bringing it back to China, this wouldn't even be a news blip here, because its highly unlikely that the media would be allowed to cover it, which is good and bad, I guess.

Oh well, the Tribe is going to need to find another potential candidate.

One (or More) Less Pure Girls?

Tonight leaving Sanlitun after a shopping trip to 3.3 (its amazing how quickly shops close down and open up there), I came across a massive law enforcement presence (城管执法) outside one of the Pure Girls, while all the others were closed down. Finally busted for selling fake alcohol? Something more sinister? If anybody knows, I'd love comments, in the meantime, I'll be watching Beijing Boyce even closer than usual, as he knows everything that happens around town.

"两会"到了，警察叔叔们好！

So the "Two Meetings" were kicked off this week which means a heightened police presence in the capital and one gets the feeling that this is sort of a small scale dress rehearsal for the Olympics. When I first noticed the large number of cops and also soldiers hanging around my neighborhood and the cops now positioned along 2nd Ring Rd, it didn't really register at first, but then seeing the Christmas lights on around Tiananmen, it quickly hit me that it was "Two Meetings" time.

Oh well, its business as usual around here at A Modern Lei Feng, though it was interesting coming across a large contingent of police cars and plain clothes cops hanging around early Tuesday morning awaiting orders in a spot usually filled by Mercedes and BMWs.

Lots of Apple talk on the web these days, about an Apple store opening at the remodeled Qianmen before the Olympics and talk about what a Chinese version of iTunes may mean to those in China. First, an simpler to deal with, is the Qianmen store, news of which comes way of tuaw.com (hat tip to China Economic Review). It will be great for Mac to finally have its first official presence in China, though current authorized sellers like Dragonstar have done a good job at replicating the Apple store image in China. It will be strange having an Apple store which won’t be selling iPhones (unless a deal can be reached by the time the store opens) and won’t be using iPods to promote iTunes. At the same time, it will be awesome to finally have a REAL Mac presence in China.

As for iTunes, well, that’s connected to part 2 of the China Game’s post regarding Apple in China. I’m sorry, as I said before, the China Game is a great blog, but as a fellow Mac lover, I can tell we have a divergence of opinions on the impact Mac can play in China. In the entry, China Game talks about renting DVDs through iTunes as a great option and possibly the way to fight counterfeit DVDs in China.

There are a number of major problems with this idea that China Game doesn’t touch on or glazes over. The biggest is that he claims that pirated DVDs purchased in China are low quality and typically “shot inside a movie theater”. I wonder when was the last time he bought a DVD in China? I’ve bought over 50 DVDs in the past 6 months (don’t tell Hollywood!) and out of those exactly 1 didn’t work and 2 others looked like they were shot in a movie theater. The majority are excellent, high quality and come straight from real DVDs, often they even turn out copies of awards copy videos provided to the judges of the Oscars and other awards shows. Some stores even offer a choice between DVD-5 for between RMB8-10 and a higher quality DVD-9 for RMB16-20. Out of all the DVDs I’ve bought, the only one that didn’t work came from the guy selling DVDs outside of the Guomao subway many nights for RMB5.

Would I choose to pay RMB21 or more (the equivalent to US$2.99) to rent a movie online or would I prefer taking the (relatively small) risk of buying the RMB5 DVD on the street? Umm, I’m going with my street seller everyday, but that’s just me. In a move to combat pirating, Hollywood came out with RMB20 versions of popular movies with no added content other than subtitles and these failed miserably, what makes anybody think people would download movies for the same price (or more)?

iTunes taught many Americans that paying for music and movies online is the thing to do. No viruses, guaranteed quality, no chance of lawsuit, and a low price was better than the great abyss of downloading music/movies. Even if every Chinese is given an iPod and an internet connection that will automatically hook up to iTunes, it won’t teach Chinese to pay for what now is free for them. There are too many sites that link to free mp3s, even major sites like Baidu, Sina, and Yahoo.

This is another huge problem, music. iTunes already carries a limited selection of popular older Chinese music and newer, cutting edge music. They charge the usual $0.99 per song and $9.99 per album, how could they go about charging ￥0.99 for the same song in China? If they charge close to the equivalent of a dollar, say ￥5 a song, very few Chinese would go for that. If they did go with ￥0.99, would they include all western music? If so, they'd need to do something to prevent foreigners from getting on the Chinese version to buy the cheaper songs. Even if there was a Chinese version, it would be hampered by the fact that so few Chinese have credit cards that could be used to make online purchases.

iTunes revolutionized the way Americans (and Europeans) bought music, but the heights that must be climbed to change China seem too high even for Steve Jobs to scale. Yet reading about the lawsuit that Baidu, one of the most popular sites for downloading illegal mp3s, faces from the Chinese music industry, well, nothing is impossible.

WinTV a Major Loser

I previously talked about Guangdong TV's purchase of the English Premiership tv rights a number of times on this blog, here is just one example. Now That's Beijing has offered up proof of how huge a disaster Guangdong TV's PPV plan turned out to be. Here is a bit of what they had to say in their Sports Roundup:

However, the number of viewers who actually tune in to each game is thought to
be around 10,000 – falling well short of the EPL’s high expectations. By
comparison, the NBA, which is aired on free-view CCTV 5 and BTV 6, commands
nearly one hundred times as many viewers per game. The EPL’s eagerness to accept
the highest bid from the Chinese market did not take into account that many
Chinese would be unwilling to pay the relatively expensive viewing costs.

Exorbitant prices and failure to get off the ground in major cities for the start of the season were two of the plan's biggest problems. Now the only question is will they continue insisting on keeping things PPV for next season or will Guangdong TV's investment really go down the toilet and will they move to free tv? For Guangdong TV, this is a disaster, but I don't think it influences the EPL too much. EPL games start very late at night here and only the most dedicated fans, typically expats, bother staying up to watch all the matches. While there are huge number of "fans", typically they follow their team through the web (downloading torrents of games and reading websites) and in the news. Perhaps that would have changed if, like the NBA, games were on free tv, but its hard to say. However, 10,000 fans per game is such a minute figure, I'm guessing infomercials that run at the same hour as the EPL matches get more than 10,000 viewers. Hell, the blank screens that go up when the tv channels go off the air probably get 10,000 viewers (though all drunk, but in that sense, not much different from those soccer fans staying up to watch the matches). It will be interesting to see, especially considering the length of this relationship, what changes the EPL "proposes".

WTF is going on???

Yes, this blog is heavily China-related (if not entirely), but there are those stories every now and then that you just can't pass up and that have no connection to China, except for the fact that the US, with its much smaller population, is incarcerating more people than China.

That's right, 1 in 100 American adults are in jail or prison. The stats get even more shocking when you break it down by age and race, 1 in 9 black men between the ages of 20 and 34 are behind bars. When you think that another 2 or 3 probably end up dead in that age group, its simply mindboggling. This is exhibit A in why Barack Obama as US President would be a very inspiring thing for so many people.

When the news is so focused on steroids in sports, with Marion Jones in jail and Roger Clemens possibly heading there, its not really surprising that there are so many people in jail, but have our priorities gotten a bit messed up? Aren't there other ways to punish people? Shouldn't society's focus be on other things? Why isn't this something anybody is talking about???

AP article: Record-High Ratio of Americans in Prison

Beijing's Cultural Dominance?

Gmail's news scroll provides something interesting every now and then, even something blog worthy, yesterday was one such situation. The government is currently launching a program in over 200 schools in 10 provinces adding Peking Opera to the music curriculum.

While I like the idea of expanding and diversifying the curriculum and especially the attempt to embrace traditional Chinese culture, I'm not sure how good an idea this is. The public has concerns about how much this program will actually promote traditional culture and there is a fear that many, if not all, the teachers who will be in charge of teaching Peking Opera classes will lack a serious (or any at all) background in this very intricate art form.

The provinces selected for the test program are Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Guangdong, Heilongjiang, Jiangxi, Gansu, and Hubei. I agree that the lack of trained teachers will be a huge problem, but my other complaint, one that the article doesn't touch on, is that while there may be a misunderstanding in the west, Peking Opera refers to a specific art form that is relatively unique to Beijing (or at least the northern region). Shanghai, Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Gansu all have their own unique forms of traditional opera. This issue touches on what was brought up in my CCTV post from a few days ago, a policy chosen by the central government seems to ignore regional differences. What makes this one Beijing centric form of art more important to protect and promote in these regions over other, more local art forms?

You can view the original article that inspired this post here, as well as an interesting article on Kunqu, which is said to have influenced Peking Opera, on Shanghaiist.

Am I Dreaming?

As of 5 minutes ago, blogspot is once again accessible in China, I'm not sure how long that will remain the case, but hopefully it will be a long time, so I won't have to switch this blog to another server and go through all those hassles...

Is CCTV Really NCTV?

The numbers have been out for awhile regarding viewership of the annual Spring Festival Gala on CCTV and as usual, they are very high, nearly 70% of Chinese tv viewers tuned in this year to see an overly painted Zhang Ziyi lip synch, Zhao Benshan do his thing, Jiang Wen pander, and Li Yong's crazy outfits. Going inside the stats reveals some interesting details, the majority of viewers were in northern China. The top 5 provinces with the most viewers were (in order of ranking): Liaoning, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Beijing, and Hebei. You have to go down to 15th before you find a "southern" province, in this case Anhui. The bottom 5? Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hainan. Disappointingly for CCTV, less than 5% of Guangdong viewers tuned in this year.

The numbers, all from AC Nielsen claim 68.16% tuned in at least at one point during the 5 hour broadcast, a percentage that would have any American tv exec drooling. When you have that many people tuning in, its easy to say that the show is overwhelmingly popular, but at the same time, the stats show a different story. So why is the show so popular in northern China and not watched in the south? Is it an issue of dialect? Is it just habit? In the north, Spring Festival is ALWAYS about preparing dumplings while watching CCTV and complaining about how horrible this year's show is while reminiscing about previous years. Do those in the south fail to tune in because they don't feel connected or is it just their New Year's habits are different?

Like When Everyone Discovers That Indie Band You Love...

You know when you really love a band (or restaurant or store or book or whatever) and they seem to be floating sort of under the radar? You keep going through an internal debate with yourself as to whether you want to tell the world about them because they deserve the wider audience or just keep them your own personal secret so that you can enjoy them....

Well, that's sort of how I felt back in December 2006 when I stumbled across Dianping after having returned to Beijing and wanting to find out if a favorite restaurant of mine had been felled by a wrecking ball or was still going strong. It was Beijing, after all, and places were (and are) constantly closing or being chai'ed. Unfortunately, that restaurant had already met its maker, but I had a new go-to tool whenever looking for a restaurant and also something to waste an hour (or three) when I was bored.

Dianping is THE resource on the web for Chinese (and those who can read Chinese) who like to eat out on a regular basis. The website, launched in 2003, offers visitors the chance to write their own Zagat-like reviews about restaurants they visit, and allows other visitors to send reviewers flowers or leave comments about a review. Some reviews are simple, some are extremely in-depth breakdowns with photos, others resort to poetry, and some (read mine) even are in English. Almost every major (and even some minor) cities are represented and it seems that almost every non-hole in the wall tiny restaurant (and even some tiny ones) are listed. There also are a huge variety of groups where one can go to discuss everything under the sun, but usually focused on food (sort of like the US sites chowhound or egullet). Often, these groups will hold gatherings referred to as "FB"s (for 腐败, corruption in English, as these events typically are about eating and drinking a lot and having fun). Dianping has even spawned local imitators like chilema.com in Shenzhen, but as of yet none of them can compare to Dianping for depth of information.

So why am I giving up this "secret"? Well, City Weekend already exposed the joys of the site with their interesting interview with the site creator, Zhang Tao. I figured at this point, it really isn't much of a secret, but its still relatively unfamiliar to many expats, so its time to let everyone know. If you love eating out, if you're looking for a new place to eat, or if you need a restaurants phone number or address quick, Dianping is the place to go!

On the Beijng Subway 1: Conservative vs. "Kaifang"

The topic of "openness" is one that I've brought up before, in China it is overwhelmingly understood that Chinese are "traditional" and "conservative" while all foreigners are "kaifang" (ie open) when it comes to choices about personal life, sex, etc. This stereotype is so simple, but fits into the image Chinese want to have of themselves. A stereotype usually has some truth to it and while maybe it made sense during (or up to) the mid 80s, in today's China (as well as today's conservative Christian movement in the US) this stereotype is somewhat flipped on its head.

Going beyond this simple stereotype, though, its interesting to see how societal standards in this area differ in the two countries and it was never so striking for me than when I entered a Beijing subway car the other night after a long day of work to be struck by new ads that were all over the place. The ads? Along the top section were ads for "Pigeon Manual Breast Pumps" (including a picture) and near the doors were ads for "Pigeon Disposable Breast Pads". As someone whose spent much of his life in the US, this seemed shocking to me, this is not the kind of thing that would be put in such a public place in the US. This is not the kind of thing that would even be advertised in the US.

This wasn't the most shocking example of advertising I've seen in China, though. The worst was in front of a Watson's drug store in Shenzhen, located in a mall with a KFC to the left and a McDonald's to the right, regularly full of middle and high school students. The offending "ad" in this case was a large (4 ft high or so) blow up cartoonish version of a Jissbon (by the way, what a great name) condom. I still truly regret not taking a picture of that.

Another example is on the Sina sports homepage, there is a regular section called "Sexy Border" (among others) with pictures that would make those looking for sports news during the work day blush. We're talking straight out of the Victoria's Secret catalogue/SI Swimsuit issue or worse.

Yet another example of how US society is prudish (or is it just that Chinese society is more open than they'd like to admit)?

Beijing Olympics Logos Abound...

Walking around Beijing, you are met with an overwhelming number of Olympics related logos. It seems like BOCOG has gone a bit insane with logos, not being in any previous host city, I don't know how they treated the Games, but to me, by August it might seem like there are a hundred different logos and even more different "official sponsors." Without further ado, let's look at the different offerings:



1. The official logo

Okay, I like the Beijing font, but I've hated this logo since the first day I saw it. Okay, it is supposed to look like a Chinese chop, a person running, and the "Jing" character. Nothing about it is uniquely Beijing nor does it seem special, its just underwhelming. However, having seen the London logo, I'm starting to appreciate it.

2. Candidate City logo

Beforre 7/13/01, this was the logo that could be seen everywhere around the city. It's unique and exciting, there is movement to it and its colorful. It fails to scream Beijing, but has Chinese elements and is more dynamic than the current primary logo.

3. Olympic Mascots

Another example of how this is China's Games (in more ways than one) and not just Beijing's. The Fuwa are made up of mythical and real animals that are found throughout China, though none is really native to Beijing. Also, unlike most other Olympics with only 1 or at most 2 mascots, Beijing's going all out with 5, one for each ring, and their name spells out "Beijing Huanying Ni" (Beijing Welcomes You). Can anyone convince me the decision to have 5 mascots wasn't totally about money?

4. Paralympics logo

This one is bad, really bad. It's supposed to represent "sky, earth, and human beings" and be an "athlete in motion" that incorporates Chinese caligraphy and characters. Sorry, I'm not seeing that. This makes "Running Jing" look good...

5. Fu Niu Le Le Paralympic Mascot
As much as I hate the Fuwa, I love Funiu. It uses some good colors and while it doesn't shout China, it does shout cute, which is exactly what a mascot is supposed to do.


6. Other logos

Above are the logos for the torch relay, volunteers, environment, culture, and ticketing. For the first few, the logos are all variations on a theme and use the same style person and similar Caligraphy-like strokes that are reshaped in different ways. It incorporates Chinese caligraphy, but is unique to Beijing, the only minor problem is that its lacking some "Olympic" element, but then again, it is hard to incorporate everythin. The rings instead of "ticketing" might have made this a much better choice instead of "Running Jing".

So there's a quick, somewhat uniwatch-style look at some of the logos and I'm sure they'll be a few more over the next few months. What do the readers think? Any favorites? Any annoyances?

The ticketing logo is interesting (sorry for the crappy quality) to me. Unlike any of the other logos, this IS Beijing. As is often talked about, Tiananmen is the symbol of China, but Tiantan (the ticketing logo is a stylized version of Tiantan) is the symbol of Beijing.

America's Pastime Comes to China PK Beckham Comes to China

It's February and though Beijing is currently experiencing a bit of spring weather, its shocking to thing that in the US baseball players are already reporting to spring training. In this, the Olympic year, Major League Baseball has decided its time to come to China and play some spring training ball in Beijing. Forgive me for yawning. It's hard enough for me to get excited about baseball, but spring training baseball? Not for me...

However, for those baseball lovers, the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres will go head-to-head at Wukesong Baseball Stadium on March 15th and 16th. The NBA was the first US sports league to come to China and while the NFL had plans to play at the Bird's Nest this year, those were scuddled. Baseball attempted entry in China a few years back and a domestic league was established, though it was basically ignored and quietly disappeared after a season or two. China's team at the baseball world cup last summer was a bit of a disaster as well, getting romped in every game. Although this is all true, MLB has pushed into the market, while the sport still isn't popular here, they've released a clothing line that can be found in higher end malls that is modestly popular, especially with hip hoppers. For those interested in checking out America's pastime, tickets can be purchased through piao.com for RMB50-1280.

As an aside, in an interesting translation, though they are using 中国赛 like the NBA did, MLB is deciding to translate it as "China Series" whereas the NBA went with "China Games." Here's the baseball logo:

and here's the NBA's version this year:

Personally, I prefer the MLB's version, incorporating the team's logo and a Tiantan shadow, unlike the very generic NBA logo.

Slightly more interesting and also LA-related, Beckham's world tour will stop off in Shanghai on March 5 as the LA Galaxy play a "Shanghai East Asia" team. I'm still not clear exactly who the team will be made up of, perhaps a combination of players like Beckham's last trip to China with Real Madrid when they faced off against the "Dragon team." I know the game is all about Beckham, but having watched both the MLS and the CSL for many years, it would have been very interesting to see teams from each league go head-to-head, especially considering both LA and a would-be opponent like Shanghai Shenhua are both currently going through their preseason preparations.  Tickets for "Beckhamfest" will range from RMB50-2008 (surprise, surprise).

edit: More news on the team, its made up of players from Shanghai and Hong Kong and will thusly be called Shanghai-Hong Kong United and the squad will be picked by veteran Chinese coach, Xu Genbao.

Valentine's Day Shanghai Style

I was in Shanghai during Valentine's Day and while the "Hallmark holiday" is about pampering the one you love, don't we all love ourselves the most and want to pamper numero uno more than anything?

With that in mind, I slept in, headed to Coconut Paradise for a wonderful, leisurely Thai lunch and then headed for a 2 hour full body massage at the uber-relaxing and renovated Green Massage Xintiandi. After the massage, I scoped out a new branch of Enoteca nearby and relaxed with a book and a glass of red wine. Already nearing early evening, it was time to head home and get ready for the main event, dinner at Jade on 36. A glass (or two) of champagne in Jade bar was the piece de resistance on an excellent, relaxed day.

While there are always those who complain about bad "China days", this was an example of a great China day. You could have an equally nice day in many of the world's big cities, but the number of cities where you can experience so many different things and not have your wallet take an insanely large hit (dinner at Jade is expensive, but considering the ingredients, its probably less than you'd pay in Chicago/NY/Paris/London). I'm starting to get used to the Shanghai lifestyle...

No iPhone in China: Who is to Congratulate and Who is to Blame?

I try to read as many other blogs as my time allows and there are many times I will have some kind of response to what someone else posted, but its rare that they will drive me to post. Well, here goes. As someone who paid close attention to the China Mobile-Apple negotiations and was really hoping to get my hands on a licensed iPhone (as on my last trip to the US I discovered I was too late to get one that could be easily unlocked), the breaking off of negotiations between those two parties left me somewhat sad.

In reality, it didn't stop iPhones from entering the China market through the backdoor, as the New York Times has explained. Is Steve Jobs being too greedy or did China Mobile have too much confidence in its hand? The reality is somewhere in between, but if anything, its probably easier to blame Jobs.

Therefore, I was a bit surprised to see The China Game, a recent blog that is a pretty good read, take the side of Jobs, even stating:

While everyone was slamming poor old Steve, I wished to congratulate him at
least for holding his ground. So many have gone to China and given away the
store, and here you had a guy who knew where he stood, someone unfazed by all of
the China hype. Bravo

Okay, the "China hype"? "Given away the store"? This language seems to be going back to the wild, wild west days when JVs were the name of the game.

China Game wrongly states that Chinese consumers who got an iPhone through the backdoor don't have to use China Mobile. While it is true that a user could probably go with China Unicom, despite its horrible GSM services, its highly unlikely. China Unicom's focus is on CDMA and therefore any iPhone purchaser is probably choosing China Mobile and its also highly unlikely that Apple will do a deal with Unicom.

Consumers are paying a premium for the iPhone here, but none of that money is going back to Apple, because the phones are usually purchased in the US or Europe. Just think, they could offer the iPhone in China for a price of up to US$100 more than it sells in the US and still have no problem garnering major interest. A licensed iPhone through a Chinese carrier offered at the same price as it is in the US would almost immediately make it the top selling phone in China, especially if you look at what is currently available in the RMB2500-3000 price range.

Also, while China Game sees Apple as creating "customers" in China, the reality is that they are only creating "window shoppers." The current price of the iPhone, hiked up by greedy importers, is making it a tough sell. I've yet to see an iPhone used by someone in China who isn't an expat or an overseas Chinese. The idea that the iPhone is a "hit" in China is insane, sure, as the NYT says "thousands" have been smuggled back into China, but 1. they aren't selling like hotcakes, and 2. "thousands" is a miniscule number in the Chinese mobile phone market. The price issue matches much of the talk you hear from Chinese about Apple products. While many love the design and are highly interested in Apple's other products, price and concerns about software often keep them away from purchasing computers, legit iPhones could have been the first step in really creating "customers."

Granted, China Mobile lost out on getting a cut of sales from the iPhone (at least for now), but as for services, most people are still choosing to go with China Mobile. Equally, the corresponding cut Apple would have gotten from China Mobile on iPhone service usage would have been much greater to what China Mobile would get from sales. If a customer uses an iPhone or not, there are still a lot of premium services that China Mobile offers and that bring in a lot of money. Unlike in the US and Europe, its unlikely a Chinese version of iTunes would be released (and even if it did, there's no way Chinese would pay for music online), so the one new area of revenue that China Mobile would have seen (other than sales of handsets) was a moot point.

Neither of these companies are hurting, but the iPhone was Apple's chance to enter China in a big way and it fell through. If anyone comes crawling back to the table, its going to be Jobs.

The Road to 2010 Begins to be Paved...

The 2010 World Cup seems off in the distant future, but qualifying for it has already begun and if you were like most people, busy on some wonderful New Year's vacation, or just parked in front of the tv watching the annual New Year's Gala, you missed the fact that China played its first qualifying match on New Year's Eve.

First off, the post's title isn't (really) meant as a (somewhat) intelligent gibe at the 2010 host nation, South Africa. I just want to get that out of the way. Anyways, on New Year's Eve, after Australia had basically decimated the group's presumed punching bag, Qatar (a strong team, but one that is more or less overmatched in this group), 3-nil at home, China was to take on Iraq in Dubai.

The lineup for the first match that "counted" in the Petrovic era was an interesting mix of mostly established, young(ish) players with a few surprises, including Qu Bo and Xu Yunlong getting starts. Petrovic kept Sun Jihai on the bench for the majority of the game and brought him on as a late sub, it will be interesting if this was a one-time thing or signifies Sun's future role for the national team. The media has made a lot of the fact that half of the starters lacked experience in WC Qualifying matches, yet that doesn't seem to be a valid excuse considering those without the WC Qualifying experience do have Asian Cup experience. None of these players, with the possible exception of keeper Zong Lei, are lacking in big game experience.

As for the game, well, those that chose to watch the New Year's Gala (or do just about anything other than watching the match) made the right choice. A scoreless, physical first half which saw Iraq lose its star Mahmoud Younis was followed by Iraq grabbing an early lead in the second half, but then going a man down not long after. China had a number of excellent chances as it seemed the Iraqi defense was in disorder and hadn't properly adjusted to going a man down, the Chinese side didn't let the opportunity go to waste and Zheng Zhi was able to bang in a header in the 75th minute. China followed it up with a few more chances, but they were unable to pull ahead, instead settling for an away draw.

Typical logic dictates that an away draw isn't a bad result, especially considering the opponent was the Asian champion. There was also the added pressure that this game was being played on China's New Year's Eve. In reality, this was a winnable game, especially when Iraq lost its best player (early) AND went a man down. It's going to be a long, tough road for China and home results will be crucial, this time around China has chosen Kunming to play host to its home matches and the big clash will be March 26th against Australia.  Perhaps even more importantly will be the June 14th home match against Iraq, the penultimate group stage match.  A win in that game could decide it all as China ends the group stage matches in Australia, a huge challenge.  In between March and June, China can't take their 2 games against Qatar for granted if they wish to advance.

As a fan of uniwatch, my focus wasn't only on the game but also on the uniforms.  China appeared to be wearing their old jerseys and have yet to introduce the "Great Wall" uniform (unless they only plan on introducing a new home kit and keeping the old red kit).  On the other hand, Iraq fixed their Asian Cup uniform madness (players wearing 3 different style tops, all with different fonts and logos) and are now sponsored by Chinese company, Peak.  

As has been previously discussed on this blog, this continues the trend of smaller Chinese companies finding ways to market to a Chinese audience.  Peak has been masters at this, signing a deal with the Houston Rockets as well as Rocket Shane Battier (who does commercials on Chinese tv with the uninspiring tagline "I can play").  I highly doubt Peak sells athletic wear in Iraq (or Dubai), but by signing the Iraqi team, a team Chinese fans will be paying a lot of attention to and whose group stage games (at least in this round), will be all over Chinese tv, they are able to get in through the back door and earn themselves a lot of exposure.  Expect to see even more of this kind of marketing, especially at the Beijing Olympics.