I am not the Manchurian Candidate

February 14, 2010

Originally published at “Speak Without Interruption” on February 7, 2010
By Bob Grant — publisher/editor for Speak Without Interruption

How can you embrace an enemy of the USA?  More important–why would you?  If these questions have not been outright asked of me–they have been implied.  Why I chose to speak highly of China, and its people, is something that I do willingly and with pride. 

I am not the Manchurian Candidate. I was never brainwashed during my visits there. I was not tortured or forced into my feelings in any way. Subliminal messages were not piped into my hotel room at night. I did not have bamboo shoots shoved under my fingernails. I was not drugged or impaired in any way unless it was done willingly by drinking too much of that fine Chinese beer.

Within my small circle of business contacts, experiences, and associations I would say it is Western business people who are trying to brain wash the Chinese. As I developed my business relationships, I both read and experienced failures mainly because Western companies tried to “Westernize” their Chinese business partners rather than adapting to their Chinese partners way of doing business. 

Maybe it has been different for others who have done business within China but for me, personally, my successes came from letting the Chinese conduct business in “their way”, and I tried to educate my customers in their methods and ways. I won’t say it was not frustrating at times—in fact, it was frustrating most of the time. 

However, in the end, it was what worked best for me while others failed. Honor and “saving face” are very important to the Chinese—I tried not to put any of my associates in a position that threatened either.

Again, just from my experience, I have to say that people from any part of the world can work together to achieve a common goal if all parties can be flexible and understanding. From my perspective, this is the true receipt for success among the world’s population.

If you would like to read other guest posts by Bob Grant, see They All Look Alike.

1 Comment | American culture, business, Chinese Culture, economy | Tagged: | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

When in Rome, Do as the Romans Do

February 14, 2010

 U.S., EU decry upholding of China dissident sentence. Since when do Americans or Europeans decide what isn’t proper in China? The fact that China doesn’t have an American Bill of Rights has nothing to do with Communism. China’s foundation was built on Confucianism, and Confucius taught five rules for relationships. 

Conficius

  • Father to Son – There should be kindness in the father, and filial piety in the son.
  • Elder Brother to Younger Brother – There should be gentility (politeness) in the elder brother, and humility in the younger.
  • Husband to Wife – There should be righteous behavior in the husband and obedience in the wife.
  • Elder to Junior – There should be consideration among the elders and deference among the juniors.
  • Ruler to Subject – There should be benevolence among the rulers and loyalty among the subjects.

 Look at the last rule. When a Chinese citizen publicly protests the way the Chinese government runs the country, that is seen as an act of disloyalty. You may not agree with what China does, but China has the right to do as it sees fit even if the act is considered inhuman by Western standards.

______________

Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. 

If you want to subscribe to iLook China, there is a “Subscribe” button at the top of the screen in the menu bar. 

Leave a Comment » | America, Chinese Culture, government, media, politics, religion | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

Foreign Devils and Barbarians

February 14, 2010

While reading A World Too New by Edmund S. Morgan (Smithsonian Magazine, October 2009), an explanation was provided to explain the conquests and slaughters that were to take place for centuries between 1492 and modern times (and I’m not sure the crusades are over yet).

Morgan wrote that Columbus believed “Christ saved those who believed in him, and it was the duty of Christians to spread his gospel and thus rescue the heathens from the fate that would otherwise await them.” (pg 84)

“Slavery was an ancient instrument of civilization, and in the 15th century it had been revived as a way to deal with barbarians who refused to accept Christianity and the rule of civilized government.” (pg 86).

Although China was exposed to the world’s major religions centuries earlier than Columbus, none had a major influence in China by the 19th century. Even today, the majority of Chinese claim to have no religion.

Yet, the Chinese have a morality (honor and piety) that is equal (if not better) to Christianity and Islam without the need to convince others through wars to adopt the same behaviors and beliefs. There is no history that China went to war to change the beliefs of foreign devils and barbarians, as they saw the rest of the world for thousands of years well before Columbus.

Lloyd Lofthouse is the author of the award winning novels My Splendid Concubine and Our Hart.

Leave a Comment » | Chinese Culture, Christianity, religion | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

The Urban-Rural Divide

February 13, 2010

Photo courtesy of Bob Grant

This morning Bob Grant posted Contradiction of Times at Speak Without Interruption, an international online magazine. He shows visually and through words the discrepancy in lifestyles that he has witnessed between China’s cities and countryside. There is a reason for this discrepancy. After Mao died and China started down the road toward Social Capitalism, the central government decided to focus growth and modernization in the cities.

However, when Hu Jintao became president in 2002, he responded to the rising social tensions and China’s wealth gap by advocating a drive to build a “harmonious society”. He promised greater spending on health and education in rural areas where eight-hundred million Chinese live. Prior to that, most of China’s efforts at growth and modernization took place in the cities.  What we see in China’s cities today took place over a period of more than thirty years. It may take longer to improve the living standards of rural Chinese, but if the current government is going to survive, they have no choice.

Photo courtesy of Bob Grant

To learn more, I suggest you read this BBC piece about China’s Country Profile. Hu Jintao was reelected in 2008 for another five-year term. China has a two five-year term limit for public office.

Discover China’s Stick People

______________

Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of the concubine saga, My Splendid Concubine & Our Hart. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too.

If you want to subscribe to iLook China, there is a “Subscribe” button at the top of the screen in the menu bar.

1 Comment | business, China, Chinese Culture, economy, education, government, politics | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

Foreign Devil Heroes

February 13, 2010

One morning recently, I had an instant message chat with Ian Carter, an Australian living in Southeast China, and learned that in 1944 an American B-24 Liberator bomber vanished without a trace. Then fifty-two years later, in 1996, farmers discovered the bomber’s wreck and the remains of the ten-man crew.

Tough Titi - B-24 bomber crew

These Americans are considered heroes (more about this story here) to the Chinese, and the remains of the crew were returned to the United States for burial. 

Heroes' Memorial on Mao'er Shan Mountain courtesy of Ian Carter

There’s a memorial stone near the crash site and Chinese tourists pay honor to these Americans by leaving flowers and other gifts.  To honor these heroes further, the Chinese recovered some of the bomber’s parts that were used as a centrepiece for a museum in Xing’an, about four hours from the crash site.

Photo of Little Cat Mountain courtesy of Ian Carter

You can read more about Ian Carter’s discovery on Mao’er Shan (Little Cat Mountain), Southern China’s highest peak, at his Blog.

Lloyd Lofthouse is the author of the award winning novels My Splendid Concubine and Our Hart.

1 Comment | America, China, Chinese Culture, government, tourism | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »