How to market a US$ 1 million house in Shanghai

This picture taken today shows a young and enthusiastic real estate agent standing at a cross roads in a Shanghai suburb. He his holding a hand-written sign advertising a US$1 million house nearby.

Contrast this with the US or UK, where properties of this value are advertised in prestige magazines and viewings are carefully selected.

With property prices in China's key cities still massively over valued compared to global norms, the value perception is such that a US$1 million house does not warrant any special marketing approach, other than a guy with a sign on the street.

One has to question how sustainable these valuations really are, and whether the Chinese ten year property bubble really is about to finally deflate?

If so, the guy on the street might have to start selling something else - and so will his many friends!

Early Adopters

This picture taken today in a traditional Chinese vegetable market shows a typical Chinese "early adopter/early majority". She has just bought a new 3G mobile phone and is very proud of it.

Her demographic is hardly the target audience for a 3G Smartphone. Her salary is about US$300 per month and I question her need to be "always on" with her social network! But there she is, proudly standing behind her vegetable stall with her unopened 3G phone.

Mobile phones, like many other categories in China, show that the Chinese often adopt products at an earlier lifestage/product maturity. Good examples include Scotch whisky, iPads, Swiss watches, and luxury cars.

One of my Chinese friends has just spent 750,000RMB (over US$100,000) on an Infiniti G37 convertible car. His (Japanese) work colleagues wonder how he can afford it, as in Japan this is the type of car you would buy at the peak of your earnings. But in China, you need this type of car earlier in your career development to show to everyone (especially your peers) that you are one of life's achievers. And what does he do at weekends? he has joined the Infiniti G37 car club, so like-minded achievers like him can drive down China's new motorways in convoy and network with each other at their destination.











So next time you wonder how and why the Chinese are buying up the world's latest technology and luxury goods, remember the middle-aged woman in the vegetable market.

Paying the ultimate price

After the China high speed rail crash tragedy over the weekend, I was not surprised to see that 3 high-ranking officials of China Railways were immediately fired. Whilst this very visible action from the government may go someway to appeasing the masses, it is not the correct reaction. Instead, China should shut down its high speed rail network until every inch of track has been walked, every power unit checked and every signal/safety device tested.

With all honesty, I do not believe that the train crash on Saturday can be said to have been a surprise. Mired in corruption allegations from the start, this visually impressive show-piece of Chinese infrastructure has had a series of embarrassing breakdowns in the last few weeks and so there was a degree of inevitability about Saturday's disaster.

Whilst corruption has doubtless played a part in what is increasingly looking like shoddy construction, it is not the only factor. China has "acquired" immense knowledge and capability almost overnight in many high tech industries, without the accompanying due process of trial, error, learning and refinement. As a result, I believe there is less of an appreciation of the complexities and risks associated with applying this technology. This shallow understanding therefore leads to a blasé approach to construction and maintenance, with a corresponding stretching of safety margins and tolerances.

45 people have now paid the ultimate price on Saturday. I pray that their deaths are motivating enough to ensure that the necessary steps are taken to ensure this will never happen again. But in a country of 1.4 billion and where life is still cheap, I fear that nothing will really change.

Insights or Sampling (Part 2)

On 7th June, I posted an observation about the "marketing" of Tibet 5100 mineral water.

I was fortunate enough to take a trip on the Shanghai-Beijing high speed railway a couple of weeks ago. At prices similar to flights, this is not a cheap experience and some forward thinking brands are already marketing to the captive premium audience in the waiting hall, eg: Cadillac:
















I was interested to note that Tibet 5100 had secured the exclusive rights to distribute a free bottle of water to every passenger. Surely a great opportunity to educate the fledgling brand's target audience on the provenance of this water through some effective display techniques and information leaflets? But no...here is the Tibet 5100 (Premium) mineral water distribution point at Hong Qiao station:
















Someone tell me why no one cares?

Retail Service Culture (or not)

If Retail in China is going to develop then it needs to learn service culture - and quickly.

The rapid growth of TaoBao and numerous other on line retailers will already be creaming off the most discerning, confident and knowledgeable shoppers who shun the crowded malls in favour of the convenience of shopping from the comfort of their home.

I visited a store in Shanghai this weekend with an intention of spending on a pre-researched major purchase. However, when a simple request for more specific details was rejected by the store staff because they could not be bothered to find out, I walked out.

I accept that China does not have a natural service culture, but I have seen first hand that the hotel companies are working hard to train this into their people. Unfortunately, the retailers are not, and it seems they will only learn their mistake when their shops are in future only visited by the simply curious who do not have any money to spend.

Life After iPhone (part 2)

Further to my previous post, my iPhone-less cold turkey experience lasted just 3 weeks!

Yesterday, I relented and so I am now the proud owner of an iPhone 3GS (because I don't like the design of the iPhone 4).

I heard last week from an expert during a research group that "anyone can get addicted to anything that gives pleasure". It seems I was addicted to my iPhone.

If I am not alone in this, then Apple's future commercial success is a psychological and medical certainty.

Life After iPhone

Do you remember when phones were phones?

If you picked up your phone it was because you wanted to speak to someone and your mind became focussed on the job in hand.

The trouble with the iPhone is that it does so many things that it encourages a constant state of partial engagement. Every time you pick it up, you have infinite choices of whether you want to talk, read, socialise, play, calculate, muse, listen, watch or create.

Following an unfortunate event at the weekend involving a sailing boat, a surprisingly rough lake and rather gusty winds, my trusty, well worn and well loved iPhone Mk. 1 no longer functions and I have been forced to resurrect my faithful old Nokia. But in the space of 24 hours I have moved from a state of "How will I cope without my iPhone!" to one of "Will I bother to replace it?". My iPad Mk. 1 does all of the distracting fun things that the iPhone used to do, and does them much better. The only exception is phone calls, which the iPhone was never very good at anyway.

So maybe I am setting a new retro trend: Ditch your iPhone, and go back to using technology that is optimised for a single purpose...

Phone = Phone.
iPad = Fun

Insights or Sampling?

Tibet 5100 is a Chinese brand of supposedly premium bottled spring water. It's brand credentials are compelling, being bottled at source in the purity of the Tibetan Himalayas - the highest source of spring water in the world.

So, what innovative marketing strategy is the company using to highlight the unique attributes of this aspiring Chinese brand to compete effectively with the more established French brands?

Yes - you guessed it...Supermarket sampling of the water, served in a plastic cup.

Despite what appears to be a considerable marketing budget, the company behind Tibet 5100 seems to have forgotten to get a planner involved in their marketing thinking. So, whereas Evian, for example, are selling health and well being with their insightful LIVE YOUNG positioning, Tibet 5100 are instead selling WATER.

Money down the drain.

RETAIL LOYALTY IN CHINA (OR NOT)

A research paper published this month by Kantar has highlighted that grocery shoppers in China are some of the least loyal in the world.

Whilst the research explores deep analysis to try to explain the reasons why, I believe there are three key things that modern trade retailers in China could do to improve the loyalty of their shoppers:


1. STOP FOCUSSING ON PRICE ALONE
Yes, the Chinese are incredibly value conscious. But this is culturally ingrained and so is simply a hygiene factor for success in this market. The major grocery retailers, however, appear to only focus/ communicate this aspect of their proposition. But low prices alone cannot drive loyalty if everyone is following the same strategy.


2. ENHANCE THE SHOPPING EXPERIENCE
Very little attention is paid to the shopping environment and the training of store staff in China. But low prices result in low margins making it very difficult for retailers to invest in the soft stuff that can enhance the shopping experience and so make someone leave the store having enjoyed a positive experience and with the intention of returning again. Whilst the International brands have the best global credentials to be able to own this space, they are also faced with shareholder pressure for profitability that may reduce their ability to implement these initiatives. Best Buy is a clear example of an international retailer who tried, and ultimately failed, to sustain an enhanced customer shopping experience in China for these reasons. Unfortunately, it appears that it may not yet be economically viable to "Surprise and Delight" shoppers in China.


3. STAND FOR SOMETHING THAT PEOPLE CARE ABOUT
The retailers need to become more shopper-centric, and this could be achieved by simply listening to their shoppers. If they were to ask shoppers in China what the single most important factor was in their choice of groceries, the answer would almost certainly be food safety/quality. However, no retailer has yet been brave enough to make this their stated mission.

With China's ineffective quality standards enforcement, a "food quality" brand positioning would certainly be very difficult to deliver. But maybe Private Label could become this differentiator?

Currently, Private Label is virtually non-existent in China, arguably because no retailer has sufficiently invested in their brand to make any product bearing that brand name credible. But perhaps the answer in China is to approach Private Label not as a low cost option, but as a premium option. Tesco Finest in the UK is an example of how high levels of consumer trust in the Tesco brand name enabled the creation of a super-premium range of products selling at prices higher than the established brands. A secondary benefit of the Tesco Finest launch was a halo effect, further enhancing the consumer perception of the Tesco brand.

If Tesco (or any other retailer in China) was able to launch a marketing-supported premium private label brand that guaranteed 100% control of the supply chain from farm to shelf, and therefore of the quality of the product, they would most likely kill three birds with one stone:
• They would credibly be able to position themselves as China's highest quality grocery retailer
• They would secure a meaningful differentiation that would be very difficult for competitors to quickly copy
• They would enhance their profitablity through the sale of higher margin goods, enabling them to invest in the previously unaffordable soft stuff


I don't mean to take anything away from the obvious rigour that has gone into Kantar's (very interesting) research paper. But like many things in China, the answer to the issue may not be that complex. But, as with almost everything in China, actually taking the necessary steps to address and resolve the issue may prove very difficult.

SNAKES & LADDERS

I have come to the conclusion that the main issue with doing business in China is that there are too many Snakes, and not enough Ladders.

A friend of mine has been negotiating for weeks for a deal, and at every step of the way the Chinese buyer has thrown up another "Snake" which could potentially kill the deal. Every Snake brings with it additional costs, additional process and additional time to renegotiate the deal price. All the while, the deal becomes more and more marginal for the seller until such point that one of two things happen:

(a) The seller gives up, and walks away vowing never to trade with the Chinese again

(b) The deal happens, but the seller is so frustrated with the outcome that he vows never to trade with the Chinese again

So if you are seriously contemplating selling something in China that is not luxury goods or exclusive cars, be prepared to lose your sanity, your temper, your patience and your hair.

Only the lucky few find the Ladders.

Five things you need to know about China's inflation

1. It will not go away quickly. China has maintained a relaxed fiscal policy for a number of years with lax lending criteria combined with massive state investment in infrastructure. China's 12th five year plan announced in March shows little sign of any change, with seven strategic emerging industries identified to receive an incredible US$2.1 trillion of investment over the next few years. With this much money in the system, combined with a stated intent to dramatically raise the minimum wage every year, Chinese inflation is here to stay.

2. China's 'Big stick' approach to the problem will not work. As was witnessed by Unilever's about turn last week on planned price rises following their "little chat" with the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission, China is trying to artificially hold down prices. But this control mechanism will only work in the short term before the growing pressure it creates builds to a critical point.

3. It will affect marketing budgets. In the meantime, international companies that market price-sensitive or consumer commodity goods will be forced to look for savings elsewhere to maintain their profitability in China. Marketing budgets are likely to be the first to be reviewed, and so we should all be braced for some belt-tightening in the next few months as the effects feed through to agency and media partners.

4. It will affect product quality. Ultimately, everyone in business needs to make money, and if profits cannot be made at one end of the supply chain, the pressure for cost savings will be pushed down to the suppliers. We know from the Melamine milk scandal in 2008 that raw material suppliers in China can find ways to enhance their profits through the supply of substandard goods - no matter the consequences. It is an economic reality that manufacturers will not continue making unprofitable goods indefinitely and so something will have to give.

5. It will force China to allow the RMB to rise against the US$. For every dollar of trade that China does with the rest of the world, it has to print a corresponding amount of RMB. This ever-increasing liquidity in the system stokes the inflationary fires that can only be reduced by allowing the RMB to rise. While China has resisted the pressure over the last few years due to concerns about exports, increasing domestic demand and a stated intention to focus future investment into higher value-add industries will diminish this argument. It is therefore likely that inflation reduction will become a higher priority for the Chinese government economists rather than export growth, with a resulting assent of the RMB.

Copyright © Campaign Asia-Pacific 2011

Big Stick Update: Unilever postpones price rises

The Chinese National Development and Reform Commission of the Chinese Government has "had a word" with Unilever who have announced the postponement of their price rises.

Now, there's a surprise...

How to Resolve China's Inflation? A Big Stick.

On the radio news this morning in Shanghai was a discussion that Unilever & P&G were to increase their prices in China next month by up to 15%. This reminds me of a news item 2 months ago when Carrefour was blamed by the Chinese Government for contributing to food inflation by over-charging for certain goods. In the Carrefour case, Carrefour was subsequently found "guilty" and fined. I wonder if the Chinese Government are again using their (controlled) media to heighten consumer anger prior to "resolving" this issue with Unilever and P&G through force?

China's rampant inflation is largely of its own making, with loose financial policies stoking an already burning fire. And recent announcements about dramatically increasing the minimum wage over the next 5 years will only make the situation worse. However, expecting manufacturers and retailers to take up the slack is naive, especially the foreign-owned companies who do not have the Chinese financial safety net of being state-owned.

For many years, making a profit was an optional component in the land-grab of building a foreign-owned business in China. But not anymore. With developed economies still underperforming, the China honeymoon period is well and truly over and Global HQs are expecting their Chinese businesses to break even at the very least.

But with margins being squeezed from all sides, FMCG and consumer goods businesses in China are in for a rough ride, and it would not surprise me if we see one or two more big names pack their bags and leave.

Brand Value?

Below is a picture I took this morning of a valuable McLaren Formula 1 display car which has been the victim of China's continued lack of appreciation of brand value.















Clearly, the people who were responsible for creating/constructing this display stand outside one of Shanghai's busiest KTV outlets were focussing on how to make it as cheaply as possible rather than considering:

1. The value of the display car (and the duty of care that should go with that)















2. The value of the Johnnie Walker brand (and the duty of care that should go with that)

3. Optimising the media value of the premium outdoor display area negotiated with this leading Johnnie Walker outlet (which would have cost a LOT more than the display stand)














As I have written on these posts previously, China is reactive, not proactive. So it is likely that this stand will now be rebuilt in a few hours, and the car will be patched up/subsequently repaired. The cost of this remedial work will far exceed what doing it right in the first place would have cost. But that is a very familiar story in China and it shows no sign of changing.


Keep Walking.

Trained Dogs

I have always believed that life is a journey, not a destination. But no one seems to have told the Chinese. In their rush to achieve the various symbols of wealth, prestige and an international lifestyle, many of the pleasures that go with new acquisitions are lost.

One example is dog training. In the last ten years, owning a dog in China has gone from something highly unusual to something common place. But training the animals is still a relatively new idea. The solution, in time-poor, cash-rich China? Boot Camp for dogs. Yep - the Chinese send their dogs away for a few weeks to special doggy schools where they are trained in the art of sitting, not pulling on their leads and generally making their owner look good.


But I still have very fond memories of the amazing bonding time that training my first dog provided, and the personal satisfaction of seeing my efforts being rewarded. That is all sadly lost if you delegate this task to others and take no interest in the process.


Regrettably, many Chinese middle-class parents may, in time, find they are doing exactly the same with their single child:

• From the moment the child is born, the parents are hands off.
• For the first few months, the Grandmother stays with the new mother and takes total charge. Additional help comes in the form of a dedicated live-in Ayi (maid) who will take full responsibility for feeding, bathing and putting the child to sleep.
• As the kid grows older, the Ayi and Grandparent relationship is retained as the mother quickly goes back to full time work - essential to maintain the higher income levels that the family require to sustain their (misguided?) material aspirations.
• With the start of school comes relentless homework, but this valuable bonding opportunity is lost as the support/assistance of the child is often delegated to group-run homework clubs, whilst the weekends are childless as the kid is off attending morning to evening extra schooling and music classes.
• Finally there is university (hopefully in the UK or USA , if the kid has good grades and the family bank balance can afford it)

Throughout this whole "journey", the parents seem to only have their eyes on the destination. But by then it is too late. I have a Chinese friend who has realised their mistake and is now frantically trying to bond with their teenage kid before he grows up. But the boy just thinks it is weird and does not understand why they are now being followed everywhere and hugged by a father who has taken little interest in them for the past 13 years.

Historically, the Chinese had children primarily to ensure their retirement security. Those days may have passed, but some of the attitudes have unfortunately remained.

Bye Bye Barbie

Just days after the announcement that Best Buy were throwing in their red towel, it seems that Barbie is now doing the same.



















My earlier blog, Bye Bye Best Buy (achinadiary.blogspot.com/2011/02/bye-bye-best-buy.html) suggested some of the mistakes that Best Buy may have made. Barbie's misjudgment was more simple: Value.

The Chinese seek value in everything they do. They are happy to spend three months salary on a Louis Vuitton bag because of how it make them look to others, and the consequential benefit that this will therefore give them in the future. The price of a Barbie doll, whilst affordable to China's rapidly growing middle class, provides no value to their child, and in fact could actually do harm. The time the child is playing with their doll could be better spend studying. And the parent may feel that the value of money may be undermined in the eyes of the child by spending time in a shop where everything is so expensive.

In the simple value comparison that a Chinese parent will make, Barbie does not stack up. It costs more than double the price of a similar local-brand doll that, to the parent, appears the same. And it nearly costs as much as the larger dolls that walk and talk.

Whilst a major selling point in the West, the Barbie "eco-system" that surrounds the core product holds little interest (or value) to the parent and so adds nothing to their purchase consideration. It may actually even frighten the parent that this purchase is just the first of many.

So, whilst there may be a small number of Chinese consumers who are happy to buy the range of Barbie dolls and accessories for their child, Barbie will always be a niche product or one-off purchase in China. The mass-adoption levels that might have justified a pink, six story palace in the most expensive shopping street in China are as much a dream as Ken.

A Hobby? What's That?

I have spoken before in this blog of my concern about the Chinese education process and what it turns out. However, I was struck at the weekend by quite how deprived Chinese children are of out of school activities/leisure interests (beyond homework clubs and music lessons).

One of my Chinese friends was describing how her teenage straight-A student son cried last week during an interview for an overseas private school. The questions that made him cry?

- What was your favourite toy/why was it your favourite?
- What are your hobbies?

He was unable to answer either question as he did not really remember playing with toys when he was growing up as he spent all of his free time studying. Similarly, he had no time (or encouragement) to take up a hobby and was actually unsure what a hobby was!

This second point is probably more telling of the rapid change in society that has occurred here in China. Most Chinese parents today grew up at a time when their were no leisure opportunities or facilities. And as most hobbies in the West often seem to pass from parent to child, this might explain the gap in this child's education/upbringing.

The lack of parent/child interaction caused by excessive competition for the child's attention (4 grandparents and an Ayi/nanny) further reduces the opportunity for parental bonding/sharing of any common interests.

The end result is kids with some "missing pieces" that may not be completed until adulthood, if ever. This could help explain my post last Sepetember (Warwick or Wuxi) where I highlighted that Chinese kids in overseas education tend to stick together...they sadly may have nothing in common with anyone else.

My youngest son, Daniel, enjoying MY childhood hobby for the first time.
Shanghai, March 2011.

Have Your Cake and Eat It (or why there are so many local agencies in China)

Someone I know was approached last year by the Chinese Marketing Director of a major International company with a proposition to jointly set up a database marketing agency in Shanghai.

The shareholding of this new agency is 50% held by the Chinese Marketing Director and 50% held by the person I know, who is running the agency on a day to day basis.

They have one Client, who is investing an ever increasing amount of money in database marketing. Can you guess who their Client is?

Yes...their Client is the SAME International company that the Marketing Director works for.








This is NOT unusual, and is one of the reasons why there are so many local agencies in China - they are quickly set up to take advantage of approved marketing spend that might otherwise go to a legitimate agency. It is also THE key reason why it is so difficult to extract implementation-type work from Chinese Clients.

For those of us who refuse to play by the local rules, we face this every day.

Bye Bye Best Buy

I was sad, but not really surprised, to see Best Buy close the doors of it 9 branded stores in China last week.

I am not surprised because I think there are three fundamental errors that they made in their market entry:

Error # 1.
When Best Buy arrived just four years ago they promised a dramatically different and better consumer electronics retail experience for Chinese buyers:
- plush store environment
- impartial product advice

- live demo equipment
- geek squad support staff

This was all well and good, but critically failed to recognise that the Chinese do not place any value on service. So if an enhanced level of service is your only differentiator in China, you will only succeed if your pricing is the same. But Best Buy was more expensive.

Error # 2

Carrefour was an early entrant in China and so largely wrote the rule book that everyone in China modern trade food retailing now follows. But in electrical retailing, the Chinese market was already dominated by major players like Gome, Suning and Yolo. These local guys had written an alternative rule book that Best Buy chose to ignore. There were just two rules:

- Don't sell anything. Instead, focus on property development, establishing prime real estate sites and renting out a few square meters to each major brand so they can sell everything for you (including paying for all the staff!)
- Don't stock anything. Instead, get the brands to hold all your stock, whilst you take all the cash (and no doubt holding it for a few weeks to ensure positive cash flow before passing it on to the brand owner).

Best Buy chose to lease it's sites, employ it's own staff, and hold it's own stock, so adding three critical and expensive operating costs to its P&L that it's competitors did not have.

Error # 3

When Tesco came to China, despite being very late for the party, they still invested many more years waiting, and selling nothing. They simply opened an office in Shanghai and watched...and watched...and watched. Only when they felt they were really ready did they pounce and buy the local HiMal chain, converting them all to Tesco stores - "China style". Best Buy so nearly got this one right. Best Buy also bought a local Chinese retailer called Five Star. But instead of learning from them, they kept the 161 Five Star stores totally separate from the Best Buy business, and chose instead to open 100% American-style Best Buys with not even a hint of Chinese flavouring.

If Best Buy really wanted a presence in China, they should have simply converted the 161 Five Star outlets into 161 Best Buy outlets, and added just a twist of American to the successful China recipe. If they had, China might not now be saying 再見 "Zai Jian" (Good Bye) to Best Buy.

Pulling Feathers from Ducks (From Top to Bottom)

Last week it was reported that the chief of China's railway ministry had been suspended on suspicion of taking bribes. But he is just one of the hundreds of millions of Chinese who supplement (or vastly exceed?) their monthly salary in this way. But the government departments only showcase their high profile catches, as evidence to the populace that corruption is being tackled.

However, these public humiliations are meaningless when it is a way of life for almost everyone in China. All this does is bury the problem deeper and force people to be more clever/sneaky in the way they do it.

A colleague visiting Shanghai last week asked me how, if everyone really WAS on the take, was our company driver creaming off the top? Following a few days of close observation, it seems he can take in three different ways:

1. He falsifies the mileage on his written report each day (so allowing him additional private use of the car at our expense). I caught him today.

2. He falsifies the start and finish times each day, adding a few minutes where he can (so allowing him additional over-time payments.) I caught him yesterday.

3. Siphoning petrol out of the tank, so enabling him to resell some of the petrol paid for by us. I do not yet have proof of this last one, but our petrol consumption appears excessive versus the (true) mileage, and so going forward I will fill the car up myself and will note the mileage at each fill up

I really should not be surprised. I have lived here long enough to know that if there is a Chinese expression for something, then it really IS endemic:

雁过拔毛

If a duck flies past, you should pull out a feather

Retail Field of Dreams

This picture was taken on Sunday afternoon. Not any special Sunday - just a normal shopping day in Shanghai.















When this shopping centre was built about 10 years ago, it was almost empty with many of the upper floor units vacant. Now, it is a heaving mass of people, with queues stretching out of the door of the huge Starbucks on the second floor.

The Chinese consumer's insatiable appetite for shopping is incredible and growing every year. New shopping centres and malls that would be a major news event in the UK open almost weekly. At the same time the older shopping centres are constantly reinventing themselves, raising their rents in huge steps to rid themselves of "no longer desirable" tenants and replacing them with Japanese and Western luxury brand stores

How sustainable this Chinese locust mentality is, bearing in mind the stalled stock market, an intensified central government tax war on house prices and rampant inflation, is a question that will be answered in due course. But for now, if you build it, they will come.

Should China be worried about Egypt?

The last 18 days in Egypt will do doubt have been watched closely by the ruling elite of the People's Republic of China. But should they be worried about the power of these People?

Whilst many Chinese increasingly have the confidence to express their grievances on line, the fundamentals of the Chinese economy remain very strong. As a result, the typical Chinese is much closer to the top of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs pyramid than the typical Egyptian. The complaints of the Chinese people therefore tend to be from a vocal minority rather than the majority.











Another key difference is that China now changes its leadership on a regular basis, so avoiding the risk of any single individual ever becoming as entrenched as Mubarak (or Mao) had become.

I believe that China is more sensibly compared to Singapore than Egypt. Singapore has demonstrated that you do not need true democracy to create a modern, dynamic, functional and successful economy. If China, over time, really is able to recreate on a larger scale what Singapore has created, with a firm but fair rule of law, racial tolerance and improved human rights, then China's leaders will no longer have to keep a nervous eye on their central square in Beijing.




Happy Chinese families enjoying the Spring Festival sun in Shanghai, February 2011

What Do You Really Want from Us?

I enjoy writing about the things I observe in China. But for this post I thought I would share something that I read. Written by a Professor Lin, these lines very clearly sum up the feelings of many here in China. When you read it, try to imagine that you are Chinese:

　　When we were the sick man of Asia, we were called the yellow peril.
　　When we are billed to be the next superpower, we are called the threat.
　　When we closed our doors, you smuggled drugs to open markets.
　　When we embrace free trade, you blame us for taking away your jobs.
　　When we were falling apart, you marched in your troops and wanted your fair share.
　　When we tried to put the broken pieces back together again,
　　free Tibet you screamed, It was an invasion!
　　When tried communism, you hated us for being communist.
　　When we embrace capitalism, you hate us for being capitalist.
　　When we have a billion people, you said we were destroying the planet.
　　When we tried limiting our numbers, you said we abused human rights.
　　When we were poor, you thought we were dogs.
　　When we loan you cash, you blame us for your national debts.
　　When we build our industries, you call us polluters.
　　When we sell you goods, you blame us for global warming.
　　When we buy oil, you call it exploitation and genocide.
　　When you go to war for oil, you call it liberation.
　　When we were lost in chaos and rampage, you demanded rules of law.
　　When we uphold law and order against violence, you call it violating human rights.
　　When we were silent, you said you wanted us to have free speech.
　　When we are silent no more, you say we are brainwashed-xenophobes.
　　“Why do you hate us so much﹖”we asked.
　　“No,” you answered, “we don"t hate you.”
　　We don"t hate you either, but, do you understand us?
　　“Of course we do, ”you said, “We have AFP, CNN and BBC"s ……”
　　What do you really want from us?
　　Think hard first, then answer, Because you only get so many chances.
　　Enough is enough, enough hypocrisy for this one world.
　　We want one world, one dream, and peace on earth.
　　This big blue earth is big enough for all of us.