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.

10/10 is a failure

After 9 years of painstakingly trying to hire ambitious, well rounded, enthusiastic, hard working, creative-thinking young people with common sense, straight out of university, I must conclude that there are none in China.

It's not their fault either. Which is the saddest thing.

I have watched with paternal love the rapid career development of a number of interns that worked in the company I ran in my early years in China. Plucked from university with maybe only one or two of the traits above, they thrived in an open, free, creative environment, acquiring the missing skills over time to ultimately become very successful as a result.

Despite the modernisation and globalisation of so much in China, the Middle Kingdom continues to teach children a SINGLE outcome/conclusion to any question or any given situation.

They are not taught about:
1. The process that led to the outcome
2. Any possible alternative outcomes

And heaven forbid any child who might question, challenge or try to dig deeper into the reasons or rationales.

So, you end up with millions of kids that are simply programmed to pass exams (albeit often with very high grades). But these new young people in the People's Republic are woefully ill equipped for a working life, requiring "join the dots" instruction and a new "tool kit" of thinking that we employers must provide.

I suspect that only International companies notice this issue, as the Chinese State Owned Enterprises and local private companies probably like their junior staff to simply do what they are told, and not question why.

But in a world where the designing/creation process is becoming far more important/value-add than the production/manufacturing process, China needs to think seriously about teaching its children to think.

Happiness

I was asked by a recent British visitor to Shanghai if the Chinese were happy?

The Western press maintains a deep suspicion of China because it is a communist, single party state with restrictions on free speech and a draconian one-child policy. The logical assumption in the eyes of the West must therefore be that the Chinese people are deeply unhappy with their lot, and dream of one day living the life of a typical British person...

Here are some typical middle-class lifestyle comparisons that highlight that the opposite should actually be true:

THEIR HOME:
British: One house, big mortgage
Chinese: Two or three apartments (all worth more that the British family's end of terrace), and maybe only one of their properties has a mortgage

THEIR CAR:
British: Two cars, one old, one on credit
Chinese: One car, new, paid in cash

THEIR HOLIDAY:
British: Two weeks in Spain (if air traffic control are not on strike)
Chinese: Multiple short breaks throughout the year visiting various Chinese cities, plus one or two longer trips a year to South East Asia, Australia or Europe. Cruises are also now proving popular...and gambling trips to Macao or Singapore are too.

THEIR SAVINGS:
British: Start their careers with £25,000 of student loans, and spend the first 15 years of their working life mired in credit card debt
Chinese: Save all their life

THEIR CHILDREN:
British: Two kids, state school
Chinese: One kid, private school, and university fully funded by parents & grand parents

EATING OUT:
British: Once or twice a month. More a treat now than it used to be
Chinese: Two or three times a week. A way of life


Yes, there are some major issues in China. The healthcare system is still inconsistent and expensive. The air & water quality are not what they should be. But walking down a street in any of China's major cities, the majority of people are smiling, laughing and enjoying their life.

Now let me ask you the same question...are the British happy?

Developing Country? Not any more

Looks like an airport doesn't it? But this is actually China's newest railway station built on a green field site west of Shanghai's domestic Hong Qiao airport. Planning intelligently, as is China's way, the station is connected to a brand new second terminal that was built at the same time. Called Hong Qiao hub, this has to be the most advanced transportation interchange in the world with seamless connection from plane to elevated motorway network to trains.

Ah yes. I nearly forgot to mention the trains...













Chinese made, travelling 350 kph (about 260 mph) on purpose built, elevated tracks. At only £30 for a family of three to travel first class the equivalent distance of London to Birmingham in less than 40 minutes, this puts the UK's Network Rail to shame (along with most other developed countries).

And this is not some white elephant "demonstration line" like the Shanghai Maglev. No - this is part of some more joined up thinking by China's forward-looking government to create a grid of the world's longest highspeed railway track connecting Shanghai in the East, Beijing in the North, Chengdu in the West and Hong Kong in the south. Oh, and its all nearly finished!

Still developing? I don't think this term is appropriate anymore.

Reactive, or Prioritising?

One week ago, 58 people died when a Shanghai apartment building caught fire. The cause of the fire was shoddy renovation work being carried out by unlicensed workers, but the wider consequence of the fire has been immediate:

• My apartment building has suddenly got fire prevention and fire emergency posters highlighting the precautions to avoid fires and the emergency actions to deal with the discovery of a fire
  

• My office building now has smart new signs to show the locations of the fire extinguishers and fire evacuation lighting is being installed
  

A cynic might say that this is another example of China's reactionary government which tends to only take a problem seriously once it has made headlines (SARS, Baby Milk, Food Standards, Coal Mine disasters, etc).

But a more sympathetic view is that China has SO many things to fix, and SO many things on its "to do" list that it really can't win.

China's airports, China's railways, China's urban planning are all as good as anywhere in the world (and arguably the best). China is clearly focussing its considerable efforts and cash reserves on initiatives and projects that regenerate, create future wealth potential and catch up with the basic structural infrastructure that the developed economies built over 100 years ago.

So having pondered on this, I am of the view that this terrible tragedy is probably more a victim of the latter than the former. However, as China matures it needs to realise that the country's "software" needs to catch up with the "hardware"...and this starts at school. Only a fundamental reassessment of what is taught, and how it is taught, in Chinese schools will start the sea change of social responsibility and accountability that this country needs so badly. Common sense curriculum items such as fire prevention, road safety and sex education (all seemingly absent currently) would be a good start.

Will it happen? Maybe one day. But sadly not as quickly as the time it takes to build another new airport.

Two Worlds in One - but for how long?

The picture below, taken in the recently opened luxury brand mall San Li Tun North in Beijing, captures the unique consequence of rapid economic growth in China today


WIth the backdrop of a pristine Armani store, an elderly couple enjoy evening Tai Chi, seemingly unaware that their surroundings have changed unrecognisably in just a few short years. I suspect that this couple have been performing Tai Chi in this street for decades, but they, and millions others like them, have largely missed the wave of prosperity sweeping the country. With their savings wiped out by inflation in the 1990's, many elderly Chinese resent the changes that have transformed their country and remember fondly the days when everyone was equal.



But for good or for bad, those days are now a fading memory for some and mere history book stuff for the wealthy young target audience of Armani. Gradually, sights like this will be lost from urban China as the older generations pass away, and China's traditional social group activities like Tai Chi become irrelevant.

China will be poorer as a result, no matter how wealthy the county becomes.

Creative 4 Times More Important than Media Plan

I read this week that a study in the US had established that the quality of advertising creative work is 4 times more important than the media plan in driving sales. I wonder if this same “4 x” score applies to China?

It amazes me the quantity of appalling ATL Creative work I see in this country with seemingly enormous media budgets behind them. One current example is for China Union Pay that I have seen as a 48 sheet outdoor ad, print ad and now in my apartment lift in Shanghai – see pic. The creative idea is weak to start with but the execution/perspective/retouching is terrible (worse that I would ever consider presenting to a Client as a visual, let alone Final Artwork).

And China Union Pay should know better. They are one of a number of state owned/state invested companies that have ambitions far beyond The Great Wall of Mediocrity, in an outside world where this quality of creative would be ridiculed.

John Solomon from Enovate, a Youth Marketing Research Company in China (www.enovatechina.com) was saying at an event this week that there was a shift to quality appearing in the China youth, so maybe there hope yet for Chinese companies to realise that “quality” starts with decent creative work!