English with an American Corporate Accent - 002

I was in the California Bay Area for a business meeting this past November. It was a busy two weeks as I had to meet many people with my new job and different responsibilities. I picked up some business jargon to share with those who might be interested. It works best if you can find a native English speaker with exposure to corporate America to elaborate on the finer points that I cannot cover well here.

* Hey, when the rubber meets the road, she'll have nothing to say anymore. [Hey, when reality kicks in, she'll have nothing to say anymore.]
* We are also making inroads into the European markets in the last quarter. [We are also making progress into the European markets in the last quarter.]
* Trying to get project details from Brian is like pulling his teeth. [It is very difficult to get project details from Brian.]
* You have been really lucky to get the code review done recently. Knock on wood! [I am counting on my luck, don't break it...]
* I'll do that for sure. Cross my heart and hope to die, stick a thousand needles in my eye... [promising to the extent of almost swearing...]
* Finally, our big server order prayers are answered. [ Finally, our big server order wishes are answered.]
* You really don't want to get into that pissing contest with them. [You really don't want to get into meaningless arguments with them.]
* If the devil is in the details, outline the devil. [If we have to address the real issue, let's outline that.]
* Hey, you better all pony up and finish that project. [Hey, you better all get serious and finish that project.]
* Paul, why don't you table that item for the next meeting? [Paul, why don't you record and discuss that item in the next meeting?]

First Chinese Spacewalk

On September 27, 2008, Zhai Zhigang, wearing a Chinese-developed Feitian space suit, conducted a 20-minute spacewalk, the first ever for a Chinese astronaut. It is a great achievement for the Chinese. To me, the space project is a measure of science and technology know-how, as well as the ability to carry out large-scale logistics planning and process. The tolerance for errors is extremely low and it is a risky business to be in. Aside from these general observations, I, as a nobody civilian, do see two strikingly different features between the space programs run by the US and by the Chinese.

First, the Chinese space launch was not broadcast live and was quite secretive. Pictures and video footage were shown after the fact. In the wiki URL listed in the previous paragraph, you might find it interesting to see things live regarding the Associated Press' article on September 25, "China space mission article hits Web before launch". Some friends told me that not broadcasting live was to prevent possible mishaps and embarrassments. I assume that one would have enough time to come up with a reasonable explanation if any accidents happened. I suppose that more transparency will come later when the Chinese perfect the space mission projects some more. The fortunate part is that the spacewalk was broadcast live, although no one knew for sure until the very last minute. As far as I know, all US launches in the past were broadcast live. Once people got bored with the space program, the broadcasts were on lesser-known channels.

The second striking difference to me is that the operation is very much a military one, as opposed to a civilian or quasi-civilian operation - from the selection of the astronauts, the briefing and debriefing, and the homecoming ceremony. Supposedly, the astronauts were to be quarantined for two weeks for fear of viral or bacterial infections reported in the earlier news. Yet, they were paraded through part of the city in open-air caravan after they returned to Beijing Xi-Jiao military airport. Contradictions and inconsistencies are everywhere in China. You have to live with it.

It is my view that the Chinese space station and space shuttle projects are barely economically justifiable, other than from the political and military vantage points. The transfer of technology from space research to the improvement of people's daily lives is not easy to see. With the current infrastructure, I have serious doubts on how this can take place quickly without reasonable transparency and civilian counterparts in the development and transfer of space technology. Lot of work has to be done to make space station and space shuttle projects economically viable.

On a more serious note, I do think that the moon project is very questionable economically other than to show off an ego of a nation or a party. I recall that many physicists were out driving cabs in Houston in the early 1970's after the moon landing project was over. Economically, there were no foreseeable benefits to continue on any project focusing on the moon itself.

During the cold war, the moon project was an important and visible milestone for the space race between the US and the USSR. It was probably essential to win the race for the US, otherwise we probably would have a Big Brother watching over us like that of "Nineteen Eighty-Four" by George Orwell. Some felt that the space race caused a serious drain economically both in the US and in the USSR.

What's in Common between Coal Mines and Sanlu Milk Products?

I don't watch TV or read the newspaper regularly. I get free cell phone news briefs twice a day with my subscription from China Mobile. It is a distilled version of news that always comes with four pictures, one in politics/military/international, one in sport, one in entertainment, and the last one is the same logo picture. Presumably it is the best sanctioned view of the current events as they are known or supposed to be known all over China. This is my daily information and education directly from the mobile source. I get to read simplified Chinese comfortably now.

About every two to three weeks recently, I have read about coal mine explosions and accidents. The safety condition must be pathetic. These Chinese mining enterprises manifest themselves as the money-grabbing apparatus taking advantage of the poor in the society who take the most deadly job in China to make a living. It appears that every coal mine operation is the same, that which coal mine is next in line to have accidents is random. When that happens, investigations will begin, responsible parties will be jailed, and party chiefs and government officials will be removed. For many, it is worth the risk since there is no faster way to get rich, and gambling like this is not a bad deal in China. This reminds me of the Junk Bond King Michael Milken. Many wish that they have a chance to do the gambling. Many people, including me, still feel that it is not right to get people killed or buried alive 1 mile below the earth's surface.

By the way, the immediate removal of party membership of the involved officials alwaysis accompanied by scapegoat-hunting exercises as a form of political excommunication. Those doing the scapegoating hope it would indemnify them from any wrongdoing or prevent the tarnishing of their perfect image.

Another recent news item was the recent SanLu (Three-Deer) baby milk scandal, in which many infants were exposed to melamine and suffered kidney damage. Fatalities occurres in many parts of the country including in several cities. It is an industry-wide practice to enhance profit margins by adding melamine while the raw milk is diluted to pass the test for nitrogencontent, and thus protein content. Soon after the government started the test, very few brands test negative for melamine contamination. Many countries are more aggressive in testing and publishing the test results, and the importing of food products from China is seriously curtailed.

This is another case of corporate greed and lack of business ethics. The corporate China is making profits by cutting corners putting the health of the general population at risk. Again, the punishment pattern is similar to other scandals and it is worth the risk to get rich fast in this country.

On a sad note, a friend from Taiwan told me that similar scandals took place there about 20 years ago. He suggested that this phenomenon might be natural for any developing country. Is this truly a predestined phenomenon that as a society we all have to suffer and learn together from? I mean that the greed and the suffering part is a necessary part of the development. If so, some societies will learn fast and will gradually move to a new and civil level of playing field, while some stagger and never move forward. What moves things forward and what leaves us fumbling, never to become a civilized nation that treats its citizens as individuals and not as targets for profit-making?

Imperfection is Just As Beautiful

Imperfection is just as beautiful if not more beautiful than perfection.

I was more inspired by the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing than the "regular" Olympics. The XXIX Olympics was a great event, but simply a good show in some ways. The Paralympics had some sadness to it. One taxi driver mumbled to me that it was heart-wrenching for him to watch the Paralympics competition. I felt the pity and the "why bother" attitude in his tone. Many of my friends here were inspired by the physically challenged athletes; but, for the most part, Chinese society needs to open its arms wider to accommodate better the marginalized and the disadvantaged.

Relatively speaking, Chinese society and infrastructure is not friendly to the disabled population. A wheelchair-bound individual cannot move about in Beijing, let alone in other cities in the country. I would never haul two suitcases from the airport to my apartment using the subway unless I were desperately poor and could not afford other means of transportation. Escalators are not guaranteed to be there, and you have to walk up and down the stairways. Elevators are there sometimes, and they are often locked and not available. When you have two 20 kg suitcases to deal with, you can be considered physically challenged. The sad fact is that I do see poor people transport their luggage in the subway. Some of them don't have suitcases, just two big tote bags.

To see and hopefully to accept imperfection is good to begin with. Only people with confidence are comfortable with their shortcomings and handicaps. Chinese have yet to get used to this new notion and to love themselves deeper in the face of imperfection. There are good examples, although the media and society don't show them often. Parents in China are as dedicated to their disabled children as parents in other parts of the world. But the media and society shun away from them and rarely shine a positive light on this group of people. Some Chinese even believe the traditional idea that imperfection stems from the wrong-doings of a person's previous incarnations. A sense of guilt and shame is quite common. The Paralympics is good for Chinese audiences; the Games made it easier for the disabled population get out of their isolation and to push the envelope a little.

Chinese are obsessed with perfection and that's not heathly. This burden is unbearable and is not sustainable. Chinese have to learn to accept the reality of imperfection, and have the spirit to overcome, not to overcompensate, for it. Politically, it is also good to accept imperfection; that is the hallmark of democracy. Mediocrity is a fact of life, and we are making a conscious decision to trade this for the long-term stability of the society. An error-free, austere political machine is just a facade. It is inherently unsustainable and there is no breathing room in it.

The Paralympics was a good thing for China. Many of us should be thankful for not feeling challenged in any perceivable way. One day, we will all become disabled as we get older and by then we should be able to realize the need to provide equal opportunities to the disadvantaged. I like the 1997 Academy Award winner for Documentary Short Subject, "Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien" that says "sooner or later, we'll all become handicapped." It is a 35-minute film. Watching it will be good for you spiritually and philosophically. :-).

Reflections on the 2008 Beijing Olympics

The Beijing Olympic Games were "truly exceptional Games," said International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge at the Games' closing ceremony staged in the National Stadium in northern Beijing on Sunday night, August 24, 2008.

This is a fair overall assessment of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. A few reflections are in order since I was in the city for the last two years and attended three events, men's gymnastic, women's skeet shooting, and men's boxing.

[China's Favorite Sporting Son]

China's favorite sporting son, Liu Xiang, had to pull out of his defense of his 110 meter hurdles title due to an Achilles tendon injury, leaving his legions of fans heartbroken. He is a man who could be more influential than the PRC President in what he says and does. He is now depicted as a cartoon character in one TV show I happened to glance at recently; every child in China will probably recognize him. I hope that a hero like him can do more for China beyond the 110 meter hurdles event.

[Nationally Organized Sport Promulgation]

China has a national-level office, the State General Administration of Sport, to promulgate sporting events and training and to win medals in many venues. This is another good example of Chinese efficiency in execution when action is needed. A news report last week mentioned that 800 million RMB was spent for the 2008 Olympics in athletes training; and with 51 gold medals, each cost about 15 million RMB (about 2.2 million US dollars).

As far as I know, there is no counterpart in the US. Almost all sports organization are grass-roots organizations. Rules and regulations are defined and run by these non-profit organizations. I am familiar with high school level wrestling and swimming, as these are the sports my children participated in. I think that reaching the grass-roots level should be the aim for China to be sustainable in medal counts. A healthy and fit population should be the eventual goal of any government-sanctioned effort.

[Handing Over the Olympic Flag to New Host City London]

London Mayor Boris Johnson received the Olympic flag from Beijing Mayor Guo Jinlong during the closing ceremony on Sunday, because London is hosting the next summer games in 2012. To the Chinese, it might seem odd to see the Beijing Mayor having such an honor. Mr. Guo is not even listed in the CCP page, which lists 30 or so names as members of the Politburo of the CCP Central committee. If you want to count "status or standing" in Chinese politics, that is where you should look first.

The tradition of having a city, rather than a country, bid to host the Olympic Games is something novel to the very centralized Chinese system in the first place. Mr. Guo, as the mayor of the host city, was the one to do the job, and not anyone else, which was refreshing and food for thought for the Chinese during the closing ceremony. Incidentally, it was the first time I saw him on TV in the two years I have spent in Beijing.

[Extinguishing the Olympic Flame]

I was quite sentimental about the extinguishing of the flame. It signaled an end and put a period at the time horizon. Chinese are not used to, and often are reluctant and sometimes even superstitious in, talking about and facing end games in many social and personal circumstances. Facing it in front of a billion of viewers in China was a good experience and a good mental exercise. No rationale, no explanation, no thing required for this. An event to accept and to reflect upon is a simple and beautiful thing.

[Collateral Damages in the Last Stretch of the 2008 Beijing Olympics]

There were so many accomplishments in completing projects and construction on time for the Olympics. The pleasant surprise of fast clean-ups on streets and subways in the early summer was a clear indication of the can-do spirit around the city and probably in the country as well. The question, then, is when and where the government is going to take action.

In the preparations for the Games, there was much collateral damage. The "undesirables," including migrant workers, were moved out, and visas for foreign students were not extended for the summer. For the sake of not getting embarrassed or having to be bailed out, I acquired a "temporary residence permit" and always carried it along with my passport in my backpack.

Torch relay crowd control tactics were all very raw and rudimentary in the Chinese style. This is often offensive to non-Chinese and is in bad taste in general. Speaking of the torch relay, there were about 8 hours of torch relay with 800 runners in Beijing. This equates to 36 seconds per runner, which is pathetic to me. It was a "who's who in Beijing" event to me, an attempt to balance out demands from all corners of the society and government.

My barber shop owner complained about slow business and many restaurants were not packed at all for the summer. All these temporary alienations hopefully can be well compensated by the great success of the Games and will be forgotten hopefully after a few years.

Obviously, what I have just said is all officially false information from the government's point of view. For me, I am a stubborn donkey and I like to think and observe myself without being told and fed of any truth.

A taste of Northern California from my viewfinder

[High school students traveling to USA at the Beijing Airport]
My UA flight on July 12, 2008 was fully booked. Among the passengers, about 120 high school students were on board. I sat next to a couple of teachers/chaperons. They were excited and they had long shopping lists. One of them said to the other philosophically, "Let's not buy America to go." Travel and seeing things firsthand without hindrance is a first step to understanding and communication among nations. This is something good to see and I am hopeful to have a peaceful global village.




[The famous BlackBox at Sun's MPK campus]

Well, this might not be the original. It is in front of the MPK12 building, and I suppose that it is for the executive briefing tour. The future of networking, storage, and computing power are all packed in this box, with electricity and network cabled in, and information and heat out. I heard that the Pentagon liked this idea very much.






[Forced Tour at IKEA East Palo Alto]
I just needed to buy a gift certificate for my nephew's LA wedding. And I went in one way and had to quickly do a tour of everything. Here is a shot of a beautifully designed information post. I had to follow the winding road to reach the check-out counter at the end.














[Kaiser Hospital and my annual medical check-up]
I did my blood work and ultrasound a few days before I saw the doctor so that everything would be ready for his assessment. It was good for him to declare that I was good for another 6 months. This shot was at the women's ultrasound floor. Because of "load balancing," I was moved from the regular location to this one. Felt a little out of place at the beginning until I found a few other men there later. Kaiser Hospital at Santa Clara was part of the HMO network I still subscribe to.





[Pruneridge Golf Driving Range, my rare ritual these days]

You must be rusty only doing this driving range practice every 3 or 4 months. I don't even bother to go on the course, because we would hit the balls everywhere and be chased by the next group.














[LA Wedding, all in the family]

Driving down from San Jose to LA is about 6 hours. It was good to see my two sons and my mom again. It was an excuse to have a family reunion. My nephew John got married, the first in that generation. I found my position as uncle was well respected in the scheme of things.







[San Jose RHV airport: biannual flight review]

I did not look too thrilled. I wonder why? My private pilot license requires a biannual flight review to be current. It was one hour of ground instruction and review, and another hour or more air work with a required minimum number of takeoffs and landings. I took this shot in front of the at the RHV airport. It was a lot of mental and physical work to recover from installs and to simulate emergencies.





[Gate of Heaven: my dad and my mom]

My mom is living with my younger sister in Taiwan for the time being. It is her wish to visit the grave site of my dad at Gate of Heaven, a Catholic cemetery in Los Altos, every time she is in northern California. We cut the flowers from our backyard; Michael did a nice job in arranging them.







[Robin and Family in our backyard]

This was a great shot seeing a mother or father robin feeding the young chicks. Our family had a great time seeing this robin family doing their thing in our backyard.









[Century 22 Movie Theater]

I heard in a Toastmaster speech that not having reserved seating for movie tickets in the US was a surprise to Chinese natives. I refreshed my memory on this trip. This dome-shaped structure is a common for movie theaters in the US. We watched "The Dark Knight." This Batman sequel was entertaining and has some interesting philosophical thoughts in it.






[California Living: Castro Street in Mountain View, luncheon in outdoor cafe setting]

This Castro street is becoming a symbol of California living these days. California has nice weather with beautiful blue skies most of the year. It is dry, and outdoor living is feasible and enjoyable. Although California is lagging behind in terms of East Coast high culture and sport teams, and is not well known for public education K through 12, the weather has attracted many new immigrants in the last two centuries. In the boom days of the Silicon Valley, many domestic transplants came to this state as well.



[Police riding Segway in Mountain View, California]

I saw this in LA airport, but I did not have chance to take a picture. This time I used my iPhone to record the scene. It is like child's play to me. A little wild and unthinkable 10 or 20 years ago. The cops need to work more efficiently, I suppose. It is probably more acceptable than seeing them riding on scooters?

Align Your Expectations in Beijing and China

If you are in Beijing in an organized tour group, you'll be ushered around in an air-conditioned bus; you'll be pampered well. You probably won't run into any expectation alignment issues.

This alignment of expectations is a must for people who come to Beijing and China for a longer period of time. First of all, looking like a foreigner could be a double-edged sword. Don't play your foreigner card too hard. As a foreigner, extra courtesy might be extended to you. Yet, you are clearly a target to be ripped off.

The following is a list of my observations after two years in Beijing.

• Taxi driver - Generally, there is no tip expected. Don't expect him/her to come out to open the trunk for you. Load and unload the luggage and suitcases yourselves. Once a while, they do help you. You are in luck when that happens.
• Crossing the Intersection - Don't expect the bus or the car to yield to you even when you have the green/walk signal. Cars can turn right on red, and the drivers normally push their way through whenever they can. Remember that there is no notion of "right of way." You are a meat ball and they are metal; don't insist on this.
• Lights beaming - When a car/bus beams lights at you, especially with increasing speed, it means that you should get out of the way as soon as possible. This is *not* to signal you to go first.
• Using horns - When a car/bus is rushing through, horns are applied generously. Don't get annoyed. Horns are often used to show the displeasure of the drivers as well.
• Cutting in front of you - It is not uncommon in subway/bus lines for people to cut in front of you. You have to adjust a bit; and at the same time, be a little aggressive, otherwise, you might have trouble getting on.
• Let people out first? - Normally, people having no such courtesy of letting you out first before they barge in. This applies to elevators, buses, and subways. If you are the last one or close to the last one, be aggressive to move out early. Position yourself in a crowded situation when you are reaching your destination; you might have trouble getting out in the last minute. "Excuse me" does not help much in the last minute, and it is all right to move close to the door when the bus/subway is approaching your destination. Signal that you wish to swap positions, and stop when someone tells you that he/she is getting out too. Sounds like a bubble sort algorithm?
• Yielding their seats to you - If you have some gray or even some signs of aging, some youngster might yield his/her seat to you. In the city bus, sometimes the bus attendant would point and ask some young person to yield a seat to the senior or needy. He/she sets the civil code in the bus! At times, some young people shamelessly ignore the request or pretend to be ill. Some Americans might be a little offended as they are not ready to be seen as needing special treatment in their 50's. This is quite a contrast between today's Americans and Chinese in their 50's and 60's. Psychologically, many Chinese accept the notion of old age and fragility while their American counterparts perceive themselves completely otherwise.

  It is a pleasant surprise, isn't it? It is a pretty complicated society, you might think, given all the other things you have read so far.

• Crowd control - If you travel during peak weeks of the major holidays, you might be able to witness multi-level queues in and out of train stations. This is unique to China to make sure that people can get out of the stations, and can get into the stations as well. The system is designed not to let people in too early to block others who might need to get in. Chinese do have the expertise to manage and do crowd control during peak weeks of the transportation infrastructure.
• Rushing to get in and out - Going in to a music hall with assigned seating or on a upscale train, people still jostle. There is no real reason to get ahead. People are unconsciously insecure, and want to be ahead of everything habitually. One Tsinghua professor I knew told me of this analogy: When you are hungry for too long, you cannot stop eating when seeing plenty of good food on the table. It is probably a transitional phenomenon from a resource-poor economy to a plenty-for-all economy.

English with a Chinese characteristic - 005

English with a Chinese characteristic - 005
This is the "005" installment of this series.

This one is dedicated to the pronunciation difficulties experienced by many Chinese software professionals I am personally acquainted with.

From my old American housemate Dave in the 1970's, "If you cannot hear the difference, you cannot say it correctly." Find a native speaker or someone with good command of spoken English to work with you on the following examples. Listen very hard for the differences and then try to pronounce them so that you can reflect the differences you heard.

• [Long vowels]
  Try these pairs: Keith and kiss, feast and fist.
  
• [R versus L]
  Try these pairs: liver and river, world and word, war and wall.
  
• [Th versus S]
  Try these pairs: face and faith, think and sink.
  
• [Missing counterpart; there is no v sound in Chinese]
  Try these: very and vibrate.
  

Unlearn these pronunciations that are due to the Pin-yin imprints. Pin-yin is the most common standard for representing Standard Mandarin in the Latin alphabet. The correspondence between letter and sound does not follow any single other language such as English. Many Chinese have to anglicize the Pin-yin alphabet in their early learning to pronounce words accurately in the English language.
For example: c as in cang and cong, q in qing and que, x as in xiang and xue, r as in ren and rang.

I found that the college-educated group manages well the different pronunciations in English and in the Chinese Pin-yin.

Top Five Impressions of My Datong, Shanxi Trip

I took a night hard sleeper to Datong, Shanxi, Thursday, May 29. The hard sleeper train is basically a crowded 3-level bunker bed as opposed to the 2-level more spacious soft sleeper. It was my first time ever on this hard sleeper, and I learned to appreciate the comfort (and the privacy) the soft sleeper offers. Everything is relative. ;-) See the picture of the hard seat train I took to come back Saturday afternoon.

This was KS group's extended team building event at work, and I was quite happy to go with the group. Interacting with the energetic and talented engineers has always been rewarding to my work at Sun's Engineering and Research Institute.

I picked out 7 pictures to go with my top 5 impressions.

[Yungang Grottoes]

This was the first rock-cut architecture site I ever visited. Seeing it is definitely different from seeing them in the pictures and books. This Yungang Grottos has about 1500 years of history and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001. This grotto site was started by the Northern Wei dynasty, ruled by the proto-mongolic tribe called Tuoba. This ethnic group was completely disintegrated and became part of the modern-day Chinese.

This buddha picture on the left is often the picture used for the Yungang Grottos in many post cards and books. The large and small statues in the other picture are quite clever. The small statue actually served as a support piece for the hand of the large statue; without it the hand would be unable to stay in the air.

I have never before visited any grotto in China. I had the impression that access to any of these sites was difficult. I was proved completely wrong as I walked up easily to the grottos. It sort of makes sense, since those early devout religious people and artisans need to access them to do their carvings and worship.

[Hanging Temple]
Built more than 1400 years ago, this temple is unique not only for its location on a sheer precipice but also because it includes Buddhist, Taoist, and Confucian elements.

People believe that an ice-based scaffolding was built in winter from the frozen river up, and main treated wooden beams were inserted or wedged into the cliff side. Craftsmen could then work on the rows on beams as a platform when ice melted. Next winter the whole cycle would start over again. The original theory of construction, that ropes from the ridge of the cliff down and into the cliff wall, has been deemed impractical. The latest conjecture on how it was built can be applied to many other similar sheer precipice constructions.

There was an access path that the visitors can take to reach the temple. The passage way inside the temple was quite narrow, and we followed the one-way sign to avoid traffic congestion.

The view from the top was quite awesome, as you can see in this picture on the left. I believe that it would take those monks some time to get used to living up there.

[Hard Seat Train Ride]

It was my first time to take this greenish train. I had an assigned seat. The seating was partitioned asymmetrically by a walkway, with 6 people on one side and 4 on the other side in two rows. There were two small tables between the rows. We played the Chinese version of the "Hearts" (Black Lady) for the most part to kill time. The Chinese name for this is "Egging on the Pig," and the Pig is the "Black Spade Queen." This card has -100 points in the game; the players usually try to get others to take this negative card early.

The trip was a long 6-hour ride and I learned to appreciate the opportunity to lie down on a hard sleeper train. Don't let the good experience of soft sleeper spoil you! Incidentally, I have ridden enough times on the Chinese railways and have seen so many people using this system to move about day and night. The Chinese probably have the most experience in the world in managing large-scale mass transportation systems that move people and goods by railroads.

[Chinese Signage]
Look at this translation "Please Cherish Followers and Trees." This is meant to be "Please Protect Flowers and Trees." There are many translated signs that make you shake your head. This one is not that bad, just incorrect. If you wish to see how hilarious English translations can be, visit the following URL English signage web site. There is a Specially in Chinasection on this web site.

The situation of poorly translated signs is much better in Beijing and other first-tier cities; it gets worse as you move out to the countryside. What's needed is a simple process to allow skilled groups or volunteer organizations to proofread the signs.

[Mao is among the gods]
Seeing what's available on the souvenir stalls always tells me something. This picture showed that Chairman Mao has been elevated to the status of deity. Not only he is historically an important man of his era, his legacy and influence have turned him into a class to be remembered and sometimes to be worshiped.

Women in Modern-Day Chinese Society

Women in Modern-Day Chinese Society

[Preface]

This is my Toastmaster Communication Program number 9 speech (Persuade with Power) at the SpeakerEasy@SunBeijing club.

[Text]

[prop: Show campaign material "Hillary Clinton for President: Unleashing American Innovation" mailed to my Campbell, California home.]

Dear fellow Toastmasters and guests, I answered questions a few times from friends here discussing the possibility of Hillary Clinton becoming the President of the United States. After addressing the questions, I often turned around and asked about the possibility of a woman President for China, and when that might be? Each time, I got a blank face without any conviction of that possibility in the foreseeable future. This leads to my topic today "Women in Modern-Day Chinese Society."

How many of you went to see the 2008 Beijing Auto Expo? Many told me that it is a show where you can see many beautiful women showing off their flesh. I can close my eyes and imagine the feeding frenzy of those eyeballs. This situation is really pathetic to me. We have bad TV influences and serious stereotyping of women in China. Women are seen as beautiful and subservient objects.

Now let us look at where women have their influences in the modern Chinese society. According to the statistics in Women in Politics 2007, the National People's Congress in China has about 20% women out of the 3000 or so members. This percentage is actually higher than the 16% in the United States Congress. Do women in China really have this sort of influence? I have serious reservations.

Another statistic might reflect better the reality for us. According to an article at the conclusion of the Chinese Communist Party's 17th Party Congress in South China Morning Post October 22, 2007, there are 13 women in the Central Committee among the 204 full members this year, compared with five among the 198 full members in 2002. In five years, we moved from 2.5 percent to 6.5 percent in women representation. Is this progress fast enough?

What should be a reasonable goal for changing this situation? Women should not be just the decoration of our society, and women should not be just beautiful objects appreciated by men and by the society as a whole. Something has to change.

We should not aim to switch roles, but to expand the role of women in general. The participation of women does not mean the replacement of men. Women should not be content at being patronized, for example, getting an extra day of vacation every year. What we want is equal opportunity and equal pay for equal work.

What is the downside if we don't get engaged? Remember that half of the people's power comes from women. We'll lose half of the collective power and wisdom, and it is a huge loss. Besides, there cannot be a harmonious society when our women cannot develop fully and have their aspirations fulfilled, especially when they see women in other societies participate in all aspects of the social, economical and political processes.

What can you do to lead the changes? First, get women educated, and make sure that little girls get the same opportunities to get educated as their counterparts. Second, be a pioneer in engineering, medicine, management, politics and all other walks of life. Third, lend mutual support to women in need. Speak out in appropriate venues and be a role model. Lastly, boycott activities and events that further the stereotyping of women such as the 2008 Beijing Auto Expo.

You must have a woman close to your heart, your sister, your daughter, or your mother. They all deserve the same opportunity to fulfill their dreams and aspirations. They should become full partners in our society. What should we all, women and men, do? Get women educated, participate, offer support, speak out, and lead the changes.

Bring Your Own Chopsticks! Save Our Forest!

Bring Your Own Chopsticks! Save Our Forest!

2008 Worldwide Volunteer Week
Sun Microsystems Beijing Engineering Research Institute

On May 8, 2008, ten volunteers from Sun China Engineering Research Institute together with two helpers from Greenpeace China held an activity named "Bring Your Own Chopsticks! Save Our Forest!" In China, there are a lot of restaurants that provide disposable chopsticks to customers. We have to cut down many trees to make disposable chopsticks. We need to protect our forest and our environment. We need to persuade restaurants that provide people with disposable chopsticks not to do that. We need to encourage people to refuse to use the disposable chopsticks. Bring Your Own Chopsticks! Save Our Forest!

In this event, our venue was the biggest cafeteria in the office building complex where Sun employees work. It is relevant to our campaign. During the 3-hour event, about 2000 people came to lunch and had to walk by our booth and bench. They could see the Sun logo and banner on the wall and Greenpeace banner surrounding the bench.

We successfully attracted more than 600 people to stop by and listen to what we had to say. We got 350 stickers/signatures promising not to use the disposable chopsticks in the future.

A Finnish TV station heard about and came to this event. Our Sun employee Paul Lee took part of their interview explaining the activity and also explaining Sun's worldwide volunteer week. All volunteers worked enthusiastically with the crowd to bring the environmental awareness into focus, and to encourage them to take actions to protect our forest.

We feel proud to be involved and proud to be Sun employees leading this effort in China.

[N.B.]
I wrote this report together with my good friend Jian Li who took the initiative to start this project a month ago. It is an opportunity to join him and to promulgate this idea and initiative. I treasure this association with him very much since it is precious for me to see this effort in the fast-moving Chinese society. With his permission, I included this in my blog.

Top 5 Impressions of my Nagoya Trip

I flew to Nagoya, Japan, Friday May 2 to meet and join a Taiwan tour group there. I waited for 3 hours and in the meantime, I took a tour of the sky deck and ordered a simple Japanese lunch with awkward pointing, hand gestures, and broken Japanese. It was my first trip to Japan. It was a bit weird since the trip was not to Tokyo, Osaka, or Kyoto. I started to have my first impressions of Japan from the mountainous region of Japan near Nagoya. It was a not-so-rushed trip that ended with a good hot springs overnight stay. I picked out 5 pictures to go with my top 5 impressions. These days I have blogging in mind when I take pictures ;-). The tour ended late Tuesday May 6, so I stayed at a Comfort Inn next to the airport to catch an Air China flight back the next day.

[Left-Sided Society]
People walk on the left side and pass from the right. I noticed this first in the airport. This tendency became quite noticeable later. Here is the tour bus I rode in for this trip. You boarded from the left and the driver sat on the right. I was on the right side of the bus, and watching cars and buses whizzing by from the right took a day to get used to. I still walked on the wrong side of the street towards the end of the trip.





[Japanese Bicycles]
There are certainly not as many bicycles as compared to China. But there are some and they are truly used for transportation, not limited to mostly sports in the States.
The bicycles are quite sturdy in construction and relative well maintained. The most nostalgic part for me is the small headlamp next to the front wheel, which you can flip to clip on the tire, and power it while you are propelling yourself in the evening. I don't see these too often nowadays in the US or in China.




[Bring Your Own Trash Home]
I am favorably impressed with the cleanness of the places I went - service plazas along the highway, city streets, national parks, and country train stations, to name just a few. Things are orderly and people are genuinely courteous. I bought a few apples as I usually do in all my trips for added vegetable and fruit regiments. A good-sized sweet crunchy apple cost me about $1 each. I had to absorb my own sticker shock.
I skipped a small banana, which cost about $1.50. I would get my potassium later in Beijing, I thought.
At one point in a national park in the mountains, I was annoyed at not easily finding garbage cans. And then I realized that it is a recommended practice to take your trash home, as witnessed by this information/guide near the park entrance. I suppose this is the ultimate goal to deal with trash generated by the tourists. I am impressed. Obviously this works for the most part, since the surrounding is fairly clean. I took mine to the hotel for disposals.

[Wedding Chapel for Rent]
I guess that the wedding business is also big in Japan. In Beijing, you see package deals for newlywed photos in the shopping malls, and you wonder how young people can afford to do all this without going broke.
In this wedding chapel that is built next to the hotel where I stayed, there is a very small area for the worship crowd, just enough for picture-taking. I suppose that in Japan, you don't need to go to the real church to find a time slot if you wish to have a "Western-style" ceremony included. This could be a profitable business idea in China. Call a priest-like justice of the peace to witness your wedding in this hotel-owned chapel next time you are thinking about getting married.
[High-Tech Toilet]
What's in a toilet, you think? As long as it is functional and clean, I would not ask for more. Four out of the five hotels I stayed in had the kind of "warmer/shower toilet" shown here. You can program it to warm your butt ;-), and it can do two forms of water squirting (shower and bidet) at your convenience. I had to play with both to figure out the difference, since words and pictures are only clues for me. So, where are we going with the advanced toilets?

Who We Are and What We Are

Who We Are and What We Are

[Preface]

This is my Toastmaster communication program No. 10 speech (inspire your audience) at the SpeakerEasy@SunBeijing club. I include this in my blog because I feel that the materialistic pressure is so high around me, and I have to cry out loud to help my inner self to get some fresh air. "What We Are" is so overwhelming in Beijing and other parts of China. The air is so stifling and we need badly the prophetic voices to develop the spiritual side of ourselves in modern-day China.

[Opening]

I would like to start my speech with an anecdote. About a year ago, I was meeting my wife outside of the Chinese Customs in the Beijing airport. She must have flown on a Boeing Jumbo 747, because there were many people coming out. While I was waiting, I saw the United Airlines flight attendants coming out. To my surprise, the guy next to me spoke to his friend this way, "See those ugly and old flight attendants? United Airlines sends the worst crew to China." It was unsettling to me, and I had to mumble a few words to him to the effect that United Airlines cannot let people go simply because they get old. This leads to my talk today about "Who We Are and What We Are".

[Body]
*We are not created equal*

We are all different and we are all gifted differently. Don't fool ourselves that we are equal. We are *NOT* created equal. What we might provide is equal opportunity to all. To the disadvantaged, we make sure that we give them fair chances to compete and survive. Sometimes, we even need to make special efforts to accommodate groups that need help. To the stronger and more gifted, practice modesty and humility, be kind and be gentle. This defines civilization to me. Thus, to me, what we are is not something we judge ourselves. Who we are is what I use to judge ourselves.

*Who we are*

The very pride and dignity of each individual is derived from our attitude and from being who we are. It is not the work we do. The work we do neither makes us worth more, nor makes us worth less. The beauty and worth of each of us is within us, and it is how we strive to be a better person in the family, community, and society. We compare ourselves against who we were yesterday. Are we making good use of our gift to be a better person in the many hats we wear such as a student, a parent, or an engineer? We should be conscientious of the fact that we respect effort and we pay less attention to the result.

*Toward others*

We should not judge others based on age, physical characteristics, nor gender. We should not patronize and protect for the sake of protection; instead, we should instill self-confidence and pride in others. For others to respect us, we must respect others first. Have faith in human nature and its potential. Make sure that we share the bright side of our human nature, not the dark side of ourselves.

*Toward oneself*

Our work is sacred. We should not feel lowly because of our work or social status. As a matter of fact, I heard my favorite reading again a few months ago. "If anyone was unwilling to work, neither should that one eat," from St. Paul's Second Letter to the Thessalonians in the New Testament. Working with your hands, head, and sweat is always something to be respected. Our respect for others, our effort, our integrity, and our responsibilities define who we are.

[Closing]

In closing, I suggest that we strip off and ignore gadgets and properties that make us feel good and proud. Forget about the titles we might have. Look deep inside ourselves. Are we genuine, true to ourselves, kind to others? Although we might not be gifted at all things we wish to be good at, do we have the persistence, coolness, and open-mindedness to face the world one day at a time? Be proud of who we are, don't get confused by what we are. And never get bothered by what we are not. We are all beautiful and truthful inside. Make sure that we nurture that every day.
Next time when you see the United Airlines flight attendants, don't write them off so quickly. Think how they show you the safety regulations and how to use the oxygen mask. Think that they serve you drinks and meals. They work with their hands and pride, and they are decent individuals who deserve their paychecks just like we do. Never judge them again by their outward appearances, especially their age. They are not beautiful and subservient objects for us to fantasize about. Shame on you if you still think that way.

[EOF]

Non-profit Organizations to Unleash People Power

I talked about my flying hobby and wanted to come back to look at the non-profit organizations in the context of Chinese modernization.

The best equivalent of the non-profit in China is the non-government organization (NGO). In China, the government seems to be the criterion to delineate everything. And in the US, the 'profit' seems to be the criterion ;-).

In China, it is quite cumbersome to start an NGO entity. It is like starting a new enterprise needing big money and structure. Government leaders and the elites cannot quite trust that people can manage themselves and innovate in the collective sense. In a way, this is true. It is a difficult thing to trust people if they are never educated and trained to conduct themselves independently. To work with others and to be governed by rules and laws takes practice and takes time.

As parents, we cannot prohibit babies from walking for fear that they'll fall. We have to let them try and fall and hurt themselves at times. This is the only way they'll learn to stand up and walk by themselves. A parent watches on the side to help them and comfort them, and sometimes teach and discipline them as the circumstances may call for. It is in faith that we believe that we shall not be in a vicious cycle and that our children can never succeed to stand up on their own.

I read one quote from an interview with someone who went through the Cultural Revolution in the 70's. The man said that the net effect of the Cultural Revolution is that no one can longer trust anybody anymore. It was food for thought. If that's true, this was a deeply wounded people and nation. Fortunately, younger generations grow up and have a chance to shake off that burden and gain confidence and trust again in personal relationships. They will be able to build up a new community. The collective power can then be unleashed to serve the common good of mankind.

The line between personal freedom and complete chaos in the society is self-rule, respect, and awareness of the common good. The law and regulations are there to guarantee order and fairness. The lawmakers and the enforcers of the laws cannot be the same entity for obvious reasons; when necessary, the interpreters of the laws interpret and they have to be completely independent of the aforementioned entities.

Similar to many titles in the computer trade books, one day I would really like to see the book and the action entitled "People Power Unleashed" in China.

English with an American Corporate Accent - 001

I was in Los Angeles for a business meeting this past March. The three-day meetings tested my endurance and adjustment to jet lag.

Since I had to ask to my non-native English-speaking colleagues from time to time for the subtle meanings of the word/phrase usages, I jotted down some of them to share with those who might be interested. It works best if you can find a native speaker with exposure to corporate America to elaborate on the finer points that I cannot cover well here.

• Put those projects in your list on the parking lot for now. [Put them on hold to wait and see.]
• That's skunk work to me. [That's labor-intensive work and is not too rewarding.]
• We are going to fiddle with the schedule in real time. [We are going to do the adjustment for the schedule on the fly.]
• Are you ready for prime time? [Are you ready for the real presentation?]
• Now, I see a perfect storm developing in that project. [The project is going to see lots of troubles soon.]
• Other than a few expected speed bumps we'll hit, this project should be easy to execute. [We expect to run into a few obstacles here and there in the normal course of execution; it will slow us down a bit when that happens.]
• If you two don't talk right away, I see a train wreck in the horizon. [A train wreck is a big disaster.]
• They are throwing a curve ball to us. [A curve ball in baseball jargon is a ball with unpredictable direction and speed.]
• Let's reconvene at 10 of. [Let's meet again 10 to 3 o'clock. We assume that now is 2:50 p.m. and at times people use the minus scheme to align with the hour.]
• We'll have to see when this new initiative gains traction. [We have to see when this new initiative gets accepted and gets visibility.]

2008 Chinese New Year in Nanjing and Shanghai

Republic of China's Presidential Palace in Nanjing. This political reality is still there in Taiwan although many things have changed and evolved. People with a Taiwanese background should visit this interesting place. Nanjing was the capital of the Republic of China and this is why the Father of the Republic, Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, was buried in Nanjing.













Nanjing's entrance gate to Dr. Sun Yat-Sen's mausoleum. I really liked the unassuming sacrificial hall and the marble coffin.















One of the entrance gates for the Ming Dynasty Emperor's tomb in Nanjing. The first Ming emperor was buried here. The capital was later moved to Beijing.















Nanjing's QinHuai River night scene. This is a beautiful place, but a little bit too commercialized.











Nanjing's old city wall. It is the longest in China as far as city walls go; only a small portion remains today.













Nanjing's to-be-torn-down sign. The most eminent sign in the rapid modernization of China today. Talk about central planning here!











Shanghai's neighboring town ZhuJiaJiao's old post office. It is one of the first post offices, established about 100 years ago.











Shanghai's Nanjing East Road is a pedestrian-only street now. People enjoy shopping and strolling in the relaxed ambiance.










This guy was playing saxophone from the third floor for the street audiences. He was good at playing the popular oldies.

2008 Chinese New Year in Beijing

Riding and pushing (with two iron sticks) along the so-called ice-car in Beijing University's campus lake (Yet-to-be-named Lake).















Skiing in Beijing? Yes, but most of the snow is man-made during the night. The slope was not too bad for us intermediate skiers.











Riding the sedan chair (palanquin) the old-fashioned way. Normally only wealthy folks or officials ride this. The bride gets to ride on this on her wedding day as well.










Amazing sea of people on the first day of the Chinese New Year at the Temple of Earth in Beijing for the "Temple Fair". We went at 9 a.m. and it was not as crowded. The picture was taken around noon. We spent about 3 hours there walking about and the nostalgic feeling of the old days was great.








Standing on the lake of the Summer Palace, only in winter though. With our toys and paper/plastic flying fish on hand we bought from the temple fair in the morning.















Summer Palace in winter time. See the people on the iced-up lake?

Basics of Flight and Flying in the US

In my Toastmaster project #8 speech "Get comfortable with visual aids," I decided to try to explain the basics of flight to non-flyers. You can find the "Basics of Flight" presentation in PDF format by click the link. I would like to acknowledge that I found the materials I used for the the GIF files, on the Internet. I cannot name specifically any person or organization since I do not have a record of it now. You can search on "Basics Flight" and you might be able to see some of the GIF files I used in the presentation.

Flying has been my hobby for more than 20 years, since my Berkeley office mate took me to the UC Berkeley flying club based at the Oakland airport in the early 80's. I am instrument-rated and have about 600 hours of logged time. See this picture of a Cessna 172 parked in front of the Squadron 2 Flying Club at the RHV (Reid Hillview airport) in San Jose, California.

Flying gives me a real sense of freedom, and viewing the city from being able to fly as a common citizen is unthinkable to my colleagues in Beijing.

Years ago, I took my 8-year-old nephew on a flight. On our flight to North Philadelphia airport from Morristown, New Jersey, I let him handle the yoke, gently going up and down and turning left and right when we had really smooth air.

I told him that the airspace belonged to us commoners, that is, the people, and that the military is just carving out certain pieces in the name of national defense. As long as they don't overdo it, I don't mind. My sister told me not to give such liberal thoughts to my nephew's young mind, as they were living in Taiwan at the time. Very often, I called in to the military airfields for permission to fly over to save time, and I don't remember that I ever got turned down once. It tickles me still that I could do it as simply as that.

I recall one report from the English CCTV program a year ago that showed some Chinese farmer who had assembled his kit plane in the countryside and was the test pilot himself. It was amazing to me. I found the farmer not only talented but definitely courageous. However, the CCTV reporting had a different angle looking at this news, saying that this daring individual had violated some laws. It was not clear exactly what law this farmer violated, since the concept of general aviation and the regulation of airspace are just too new here. I would bet that the Wright brothers would never have had a chance here to do their first powered flight and to open up a new era in human history.

Government and society should guide this positive energy to innovate, and to create new and better things for mankind as a whole. Flying is not rare in the US, but not that common due to the perceived risks in learning to fly and operate an airplane. The last statistic that I remember is that there are about three quarters of a million private pilots registered in the United States. This is about 0.3 percent of the general population. Many pilots belong to this non-profit organization AOPA (Aircraft owners and pilots association).

I like to talk more about non-profit organizations in another posting in the context of modernization of China.

English with a Chinese characteristic - 004

English with a Chinese characteristic - 004
This is the "004" installment of this series.

• Grammatical Errors
  
  (Verb that needs a preposition.)
  Almost everyone complains the bad traffic. -> Almost everyone complains about the bad traffic.
  He has to fill an application form. -> He has to fill out an application form.
  


• Odd Phrase Usage
  
  Even you have the time, don't do it. -> Even if you have the time, don't do it.
  
  
  
• Difficult Pronunciation
  
  (Tendency to add a vowel between successive consonants. Listen carefully and practice.)
  Edgar, against, chevrolet
  


• Choice of Words
  
  He refused to use throwaway chopsticks. -> He refused to use disposable chopsticks.
  
  
  
• Easily Mixed-Up Words
  
  train versus subway
  customer/custom/consume