A respected research institute wanted Chinese classical texts to adorn its journal, something beautiful and elegant, to illustrate a special report on China. Instead, it got a racy flyer extolling the lusty details of stripping housewives in a brothel. Chinese ‘classical poem’ was brothel ad, The Independent (London), December 9, 2008 Thanks to Alex for …
Category Archives: China and Taiwan
The Beijing Olympics
After back-to-back party conventions, the Olympics seem like old news, but here’s my reaction anyway. They were clearly a triumph for China — all the controversies from denied protests to lip-syncing girls faded away, and the actual competition dominated the headlines. I was proud how well the Chinese people conducted themselves during the games, and …
From concrete to water
A few months ago, the Wall Street Journal ran a feature article on Lee Myung-Bak, the then-presidential candidate (and now president) of South Korea. As an aside, the article said that as mayor of Seoul, Lee had ordered an elevated highway torn down to unearth a buried stream and turn it into a park. Of …
Another story from Morris Chang
One more amusing anecdote from Morris Chang. The initial funding for TSMC came mostly from the Taiwanese government (48%) and Philips. There were also a few key individual investors who put their own money into the company. But TSMC was proposing to be a silicon foundry, a brand new business model. How did the company …
A conversation with Morris Chang
I just got back from a Computer History Museum event: a conversation with Morris Chang (張忠謀), founder of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, better known as TSMC, and Jen-Hsun Huang (黃仁勳), co-founder and CEO of Nvidia, the last independent graphics chip company. Morris Chang is a pioneer in the computer industry: TSMC was the first dedicated …
Closing the door to reform in China?
I found this New York Times headline puzzling: China’s Leader Closes Door to Reform This assumes the door was open to begin with.
Taiwan or China? answers
China Airlines: Taiwan Air China China National Petroleum Corporation Chinese Petroleum Corporation: Taiwan (now called CPC Corporation, Taiwan) China Post Chunghwa Post (chunghwa means “Chinese”): Taiwan (now called Taiwan Post) China State Shipbuilding Corporation China Shipbuilding Corporation: Taiwan (now called CSBC Corporation, Taiwan) Central Bank of China: Taiwan (now called the Central Bank of the …
Taiwan or China?
A few days ago, several state-run companies in Taiwan removed “China” from their names. The old names date back to when the Taiwanese government claimed to represent all of China. Mainland China wants that practice to continue, lest anyone think Taiwan is separate from China. The Taiwanese government claims it simply wants to reduce confusion, …
China From the Inside
Last night, Jon, Jerry and I finished watching a four-part documentary on PBS, China From the Inside. The documentary was very well done, and I was surprised by how outspoken the critics of the government were. The overall conclusion: China from the inside is in bad shape. The four parts were about politics, women, the …
Beijing or Bust
On KCSM, I caught the last half hour of a fascinating documentary called Beijing or Bust. It follows six Chinese-Americans who move to Beijing to live and work, as they discuss their reactions to a rapidly changing China and their dual identities as Chinese and American. (I later found out that the filmmaker, Hao Wu, …