623 BC.
Begin here on Wednesday march 12
compare Buddhism with Taoism and Confucianism
an important theoretical aspect of Buddhism
EVERYTHING IS EMPTINESS
NOTHING IS REAL
THE METAPHYSICAL
LIFE AFTER LIFE BY RAYMOND MOODY JR.
the meaning of Karma
CAUSE EFFECT
CAUSES EFECTS
the basic philosophical foundation of Buddhism
THE QI OR THE METAPHYSICAL
how a Buddhist would maximize his "profits"
OFFICIAL PRC DATA
NOT RELIABLE
WHY DO YOU NEED TO KNOW?
IF YOU WANT TO MAKE GOOD BUSINESS DECISIONS, YOU NEED
LOTS OF RELIABLE INFORMATION
BEGINNING 1949 – GROWTH EXAGERRATED
REAL GDP GROWTH ABOUT 13%/YEAR
GREAT LEAP FOWARD
1958 22.3% OFFICIAL GDP GROWTH; WHAT WAS IT ACTUALLY?
1966-76
5%/YEAR GROWTH IN REAL GDP
PRICES DOWN/ GDP UP
P DOWN Q UP รจ WHAT HAPPENED? MADE UP STATISTICS
1985 – ACCORDING TO USGOVERNMENT REPORT
SHENZHEN SEZ
IN FIRST 5 YEARS
$1.2 BILLION INVESTMENT
?
THIS APPOVED INVESTMENT
ACTUAL INVESTMENT WAS 17%
.17*$1.2 BILLION = $204 MILLION
OF THIS AMOUNT 20% IN MANUFACTURING
$40.8 MILLION
FOUR MODERNIZATONS - ASIM
FROM JUNE 1978 TO JUNE 1983
IN 1997-1998
17% INCREASE IN REAL GDP
-2.1% IN ENERGY USE
LATEST – PRC STATE STATISTICS BUREAU COMPLAINING THAT PROVINCIAL DATA IS NOT RELIABLE
TEST UP TO HERE FROM THE END OF CONFUCIANIST THOUGHT OR STARTING FROM DAOIST THUGHT
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
VIDEOS ABOUT GREAT LEAP FORWARD AND CULTURAL REVOLUTION
We showed a video in class which what actually happened in the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolustion. For more information students should check out articles about the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution.
The videos are very special since they show actual movies of what happened during these times and since almost no one outside or inside China have seen these movies. Of course many people in China lived in those times. But what they tell us just become stories. I wanted you students to see for yourselves what actually happened.
One lesson that I want you to learn is that the official statistics of all governments should be questioned. In Mainland China, the exaggeration and flat-out lies about the statistics are amply illustrated by these videos. Communism, in China or elsewhere has not been efficient economically. To make communism seem to be efficient economically, many communist governments have exaggerated or false official statistics. The Chinese Communist Government is no exception.
To make efficient business decisions, you must have lots of reliable information. In China, getting reliable information is especially difficult, since official statistics are highly unreliable.
On the next test, there will be two questions about what the videos showed about the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution.
The videos are very special since they show actual movies of what happened during these times and since almost no one outside or inside China have seen these movies. Of course many people in China lived in those times. But what they tell us just become stories. I wanted you students to see for yourselves what actually happened.
One lesson that I want you to learn is that the official statistics of all governments should be questioned. In Mainland China, the exaggeration and flat-out lies about the statistics are amply illustrated by these videos. Communism, in China or elsewhere has not been efficient economically. To make communism seem to be efficient economically, many communist governments have exaggerated or false official statistics. The Chinese Communist Government is no exception.
To make efficient business decisions, you must have lots of reliable information. In China, getting reliable information is especially difficult, since official statistics are highly unreliable.
On the next test, there will be two questions about what the videos showed about the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution.
DETAILS OF SOME TEST1 ANSWERS
From the first test, we found that some people had problem with the US Government’s definition of China, which is China is Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. And the PRC government is the only legitimate government of China. So, there are two parts of the US government’s definition of China
The class’s definition of Greater China is simply the three economies of Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. This definition is correct, since we are talking about doing business in the economies of Greater China. We do substantial amounts of business with all three economies of China and, because of the different systems in these three economies, doing business in these three economies is different. This is the reason that our definition of Greater China is correct.
The US government’s definition of China is incorrect for two reasons. The first reason is that the PRC government does not govern Taiwan. Taiwan is governed by the government of the Republic China. This is the so-called reality check. Thus, the reality check does not check out. The second reason is that the real reason for the US government’s definition of China is the Soviet Threat. The US government has been concerned about nuclear war with the former Soviet Union since 1945. However, this reason is no longer relevant, since the Soviet Union no longer exists. Hence, the US government’s definition of China is incorrect because of the two reasons.
Confucius said, “Name correct, words flow.” We turn this around a bit and say, “Name incorrect, words don’t flow.” Because the US government definition of China is incorrect, then actions by the US government, the PRC government and the ROC government are strange. For example, the US government calls its embassy in Taipei, the American Institute in Taiwan.
The ROC government, for examples, calls its embassy in the US, TECO or the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office and calls its ambassador to t he US the “Representative,” even in their own secret documents. The PRC government, which really insisted that the US government adopt this wrong definition of China, did not allow a US company to use its brochure in a trade show because the US company said in its brochure, “We have offices in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Taipei.” The customs officer, a Mr. Chen said, if you put Hong Kong and Taipei in the same column as the other places, you are implying that Hong Kong and Taiwan are separate from Mainland china. This was in 1985, when Hong Kong was still a British colony (12 years before the PRC’s takeover of Hong Kong on July 1, 1997) and Taiwan, which was and still is separate from Mainland China. These actions are strange and often time wasting actions because, “Ming Bu Zheng, Yan Bu Shun” (name incorrect, words don’t flow).
One of the key problems with doing business in Mainland China is that doing business there is much too slow. So, to speed up doing business there,
1. Make lots of friends,
2. Learn the language,
3. Have a schedule and never lie (have a ticket to show that you are leaving on the date you say you are leaving,
4. Point out the opportunity cost of slow negotiations. To show that you understand what this means, you should cite an example, such as a $50 million 50/50 joint venture with a roi (return on investment of 20%). Then every year of negotiation would cost each partner $10 million.
5. Have a construction like contract. For example if negotiations are quick (e.g. less than 3 months), the give a 10% discount. If negotiations are slow (e.g. 6 months to a year) add a surcharge of 10%. If the project is priced at $10 million, the discount would be $1 million and the surcharge would be $1 million.
In using examples to illustrate differences in doing business in the 3 economies, in 1985, a service joint venture signing in the old section of the Beijing Hotel took 5 years. The lawyer negotiating the jv was single at the beginning of negotiations, got married and had 3 kids by the time the negotiations were finished. She had triplets.
A similar office in Hong Kong in 1982 was opened in four hours. Mel Searls rented an office, had a phone put in, hired a secretary and to a business license, all in one morning. By the afternoon he was in business as the representative for Dravo.
In Taiwan, a $50 million jv with GE for manufacturing turbines was approved in 2 weeks in 1982.
These examples illustrate the relative speeds of doing business in these three economies. The details in the examples give you creditability when you are discussing business conditions with your clients or your perspective employers.
You can use these examples, until you have your own, better examples … the more details the better. While business conditions may have changed in the last 20 years, the relative speeds of doing business have not changed much.
Also, the business climate in Mainland China is still not very good. For example a survey conducted about 25 years ago showed that only 20% of Taiwan investors in Mainland China were making money. A 2008 survey shoed tht only 10% of Taiwan investors were making money in Mainland China. A 2009 survey showed that only 33% of all investors in Mainland China. The lesson from this is that while changes will usually take place, those changes may be improvements or may be worsening of the business climates.
The above give you some details that some students did not have or remember. These examples were discussed in class. If you attend the classes, you must take notes on these. If you don’t attend classes, you are still responsible for knowing these examples.
The class’s definition of Greater China is simply the three economies of Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. This definition is correct, since we are talking about doing business in the economies of Greater China. We do substantial amounts of business with all three economies of China and, because of the different systems in these three economies, doing business in these three economies is different. This is the reason that our definition of Greater China is correct.
The US government’s definition of China is incorrect for two reasons. The first reason is that the PRC government does not govern Taiwan. Taiwan is governed by the government of the Republic China. This is the so-called reality check. Thus, the reality check does not check out. The second reason is that the real reason for the US government’s definition of China is the Soviet Threat. The US government has been concerned about nuclear war with the former Soviet Union since 1945. However, this reason is no longer relevant, since the Soviet Union no longer exists. Hence, the US government’s definition of China is incorrect because of the two reasons.
Confucius said, “Name correct, words flow.” We turn this around a bit and say, “Name incorrect, words don’t flow.” Because the US government definition of China is incorrect, then actions by the US government, the PRC government and the ROC government are strange. For example, the US government calls its embassy in Taipei, the American Institute in Taiwan.
The ROC government, for examples, calls its embassy in the US, TECO or the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office and calls its ambassador to t he US the “Representative,” even in their own secret documents. The PRC government, which really insisted that the US government adopt this wrong definition of China, did not allow a US company to use its brochure in a trade show because the US company said in its brochure, “We have offices in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Taipei.” The customs officer, a Mr. Chen said, if you put Hong Kong and Taipei in the same column as the other places, you are implying that Hong Kong and Taiwan are separate from Mainland china. This was in 1985, when Hong Kong was still a British colony (12 years before the PRC’s takeover of Hong Kong on July 1, 1997) and Taiwan, which was and still is separate from Mainland China. These actions are strange and often time wasting actions because, “Ming Bu Zheng, Yan Bu Shun” (name incorrect, words don’t flow).
One of the key problems with doing business in Mainland China is that doing business there is much too slow. So, to speed up doing business there,
1. Make lots of friends,
2. Learn the language,
3. Have a schedule and never lie (have a ticket to show that you are leaving on the date you say you are leaving,
4. Point out the opportunity cost of slow negotiations. To show that you understand what this means, you should cite an example, such as a $50 million 50/50 joint venture with a roi (return on investment of 20%). Then every year of negotiation would cost each partner $10 million.
5. Have a construction like contract. For example if negotiations are quick (e.g. less than 3 months), the give a 10% discount. If negotiations are slow (e.g. 6 months to a year) add a surcharge of 10%. If the project is priced at $10 million, the discount would be $1 million and the surcharge would be $1 million.
In using examples to illustrate differences in doing business in the 3 economies, in 1985, a service joint venture signing in the old section of the Beijing Hotel took 5 years. The lawyer negotiating the jv was single at the beginning of negotiations, got married and had 3 kids by the time the negotiations were finished. She had triplets.
A similar office in Hong Kong in 1982 was opened in four hours. Mel Searls rented an office, had a phone put in, hired a secretary and to a business license, all in one morning. By the afternoon he was in business as the representative for Dravo.
In Taiwan, a $50 million jv with GE for manufacturing turbines was approved in 2 weeks in 1982.
These examples illustrate the relative speeds of doing business in these three economies. The details in the examples give you creditability when you are discussing business conditions with your clients or your perspective employers.
You can use these examples, until you have your own, better examples … the more details the better. While business conditions may have changed in the last 20 years, the relative speeds of doing business have not changed much.
Also, the business climate in Mainland China is still not very good. For example a survey conducted about 25 years ago showed that only 20% of Taiwan investors in Mainland China were making money. A 2008 survey shoed tht only 10% of Taiwan investors were making money in Mainland China. A 2009 survey showed that only 33% of all investors in Mainland China. The lesson from this is that while changes will usually take place, those changes may be improvements or may be worsening of the business climates.
The above give you some details that some students did not have or remember. These examples were discussed in class. If you attend the classes, you must take notes on these. If you don’t attend classes, you are still responsible for knowing these examples.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
WEEK OF MARCH 1, 2009 - VIDEO
As you watch the video, remember the following dates:
1949 – beginning of Communism takeover in Mainland China
1958 – beginning of Great Leap Forward
1966 – beginning of cultural revolution
1976 end of cultural revolution
1978 – beginning of economic reforms
Look for:
backyard furnances
weighing of slag
promises of rice crops
planting of rice
data on number of deaths
1949 – beginning of Communism takeover in Mainland China
1958 – beginning of Great Leap Forward
1966 – beginning of cultural revolution
1976 end of cultural revolution
1978 – beginning of economic reforms
Look for:
backyard furnances
weighing of slag
promises of rice crops
planting of rice
data on number of deaths
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