Naked Capitalism Gets it Wrong about China

July 18, 2010

Yves at naked capitalism provided a perfect example of Sinophobic comments when writing about doing business in China. In GE CEO Immelt Gets Pissy About China, Obama, I agreed with Yves when he pointed out the hypocrisy of a US corporate executive complaining about how Chinese officialdom is not supportive of GE’s business goals.

However, Yves then quotes “Poorly Made in China: An Insider’s Account of the Tactics Behind China’s Production”  and selected quotes like “Chinese manufacturers cut corners wherever they can, from product quality to factory equipment and maintenance…”  Before you believe everything Yves writes about doing business in China, I suggest you check out what China Law Blog says on the subject. 

I have met Westerners doing business in China, and those who are carless get burned and others, who do their homework and know what they are getting into, have few if any complaints. When a careless, lazy deal with a Chinese manufacturer turns sour, a careful examination often shows that the fault lies with the foreigner—not the Chinese. Understanding China’s culture and laws is the key to success.

See Bob Grant’s guest post about doing business in China

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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. 

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1 Comment | America, business, capitalism, China, cultural differences | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

When in China, Buyer Beware (a first-hand experience)

July 18, 2010

If you are buying electronics or paying for a service in China, you should not expect things to work the same as in your home country.

However, a foreigner’s experience may not be the same, since many Chinese treat foreigners differently than another Chinese, whom they may treat “very” rudely, and if you have a Chinese face, don’t expect to be treated as if you are not Chinese.

A Chinese, American friend visiting China recently had a problem with his Sony laptop. Since he never used the laptop on the Internet in the US, he went without security protection. Then, in the hotel, he decided to use the Sony to check his Yahoo e-mail and to send e-mails, but decided to buy Norton Internet Security first.

My friend sent me this e-mail telling me his story.

“Chinese technicians don’t know how to handle a US laptop. To prevent a virus, I purchased Norton Security Software in Shanghai and had a store person install it.

“First, without asking me, he converted the entire system from English to Chinese, and that’s when things started to get really messed up. The next morning, my son discovered that the supposedly installed Norton Internet Security program wasn’t there! When we went to log onto to the Internet, a warning appeared that said we had ‘no virus protection’ on the Sony, so we had to go back to the store to find out why.

         “Then my five-year-old Chinese cell phone stopped working, so I bought a ‘new’ Nokia mobile phone, which is supposed to be a good-name brand. That Nokia cost me 1,600 yuan (about 235 American dollars). Guess what, after 24 hours, the thing quit working.

“When I returned to the story to find out why, I was told I would have to pay another company for a service plan so I could use the phone. The salesperson then turned the original receipt over and pointed at some Chinese that was so small you needed a magnifying glass to read it.  It said, ‘The customer has to take the phone to a Nokia check center at People’s Square to have it tested.’ Only with a test result that says, ‘No man-made damage by the purchaser,’ would the store consider an exchange or perhaps a refund.”

This 2008 video is almost 48 minutes long but may be worth your time.

In fact, before you visit China, I recommend you become “very” familiar with the China Law Blog. Contrary to popular Western opinions, China does have laws and courts.

See China’s Growing Legal System

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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. 

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Leave a Comment » | business, China, Chinese Culture, cultural differences, expatriates, legal system, tourism | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

Growing China’s Legal System

July 18, 2010

In October 2008, Stephen Yao, talked about the evolution of the Chinese legal System. During the Cultural Revolution, for ten years, China had no law or legal system.  Then in 1979, Deng Xiaoping initiated the “Open Market Policy”.

Law schools, the ministry of justice and legal services were started in the early 1980s.  Another milestone was in 2001, after China joined the WTO (World Trade Organization).  The economic changes were taking place faster than the legal system was developing.

In 2008, the Chinese legal system had the minimum standards as recognized by the WTO.

In the video, Stephen Yao displays a chart for China’s Legal System and explains briefly what it means.  The second slide shows China’s legal market overview and the multilayered legal structure.

Yao says that the death penalty must be referred to China’s higher court and the lower courts do not have the power to apply the death penalty.

See China Law and Justice System

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Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of The Concubine Saga. When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. This is the love story Sir Robert Hart did not want the world to discover.

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1 Comment | China, legal system | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

China’s Warrior King

July 17, 2010

Qin Shi Huangdi (259 – 210 BC) unified China by using advanced weapons and brutal tactics. The Qin Dynasty arsenals made swords and other weapons with a precision unknown in Europe. Trigger mechanisms for crossbows and arrows were made in runs of tens of thousands.

The Qin military machine had one command—attack.

At this time, the Roman Empire had gathered 80,000 troops to defend Rome against Hannibal. In China, the king of Qin had an army of one-million.

Bravery was valued above all else. When a Qin soldier was killed in battle, it was up to his fellow troops to avenge his death. The penalty for cowardice was death.  More than two million will die before Qin Shi Huangdi conquerors all China.

Qin’s officers were advanced in rank by winning in battle. If you wanted to be advanced in rank, you brought back the head of an enemy solider. The honorable way to treat prisoners of war was to bury them alive.

Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi was the father of a unified China. He was also brutal and ruthless.

To discover more, see The First Emperor: The Man Who Made China (Part 1 of 9)

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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. 

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3 Comments | China, Chinese history, history, military spending, politics | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Lloyd Lofthouse

China’s Sexual Revolution – Part 5/5

July 17, 2010

Most prostitutes are village girls and have no idea about safe sex. This is causing an increase in HIV. Many of the men refuse to wear condoms. Sometimes, when the girl says no, the paying customer will rape her.

The sexual revolution in China is a fragile one. While the new China supports it, the old China is afraid of these changes. Adultery and divorce are on the rise. Kids are leaving home. There is a growing generation gap.

One older Chinese man says that China is not used to this. Under pressure from the older generation, the police must crack down, raid bordellos and arrest prostitutes.

However, now that China’s sexual revolution is in the open, it will be hard to stop. At first, the government tried to stop what was going on but soon backed off. And many parents, who grew up in Mao’s puritanical era, don’t want their children to experience the same repression.

These changes are talking place while women are gaining power and many families now value having female children. Few want to return to the way things were.

Return to Part 4 of China’s Sexual Revolution or start with Part 1 of China’s Sexual Revolution.

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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.

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Leave a Comment » | business, capitalism, China, Chinese Culture, Chinese men, Chinese women, crime | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
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