Note: This post will remain at the top until the end of voting on December 31st. Please scroll down for new posts.
The voting has begun...
Important stuff
You can only vote once per day across all the in each category. Please choose carefully. Update: my mistake. You can vote in each of the categories once per day. Sorry for the confusion.
Please look at all the nominees before voting.
Voting closes on December 31st.
Voting is monitored for cheating. IP addresses are recorded.
Update 12/15: Please see this. The polls will no loner be altered. No more withdrawals or new nominees. Sorry.
Update 12/16: I've found a way to edit polls without losing the votes. I have fixed the URLs for unfolded origami and Cranial cavity in the Best Designed section, and corrected the spelling of Scott Sommers. If there are any more problems please let me know ASAP as from 12/17 I will no longer alter any polls.
VOTING IS NOW CLOSED. RESULTS SOON.
More about the vote
The introduction and nomination master post can be found here. Thank you to everyone who linked, commented, emailed, offered help and nominated.
There are some categories that still have open slots:
1. Best Diary/Journal
2. Best Political Blog
3. Best Foreign (non-Asian) Blog
4. Best Design
5. Best Essayist
6. Best Thai Blog
7. Best Taiwan Blog
8. Best Central Asia Blog
9. Best Vietnam Blog I will continue to accept nominations for these categories up until Friday 17th December. Please email them to me at simon-[at]-simonworld-[dot]-mu-[dot]-nu with the blog name and URL, plus which category you are nominating it in.
Some nominations were emailed directly to me. If your blog appears and you don't want it to be in the voting please email me ASAP.
There are a maximum of 10 slots per category. In some categories there were far more nominations than slots. I based finalists on the number of nominations, their content and their direct relevence to the category. I limited blogs to 2 categories at most.
Once the voting has finished I hope to post a copy of all nominations (and other Asian blogs off my rolls) in each category.
I've combined the single Sri Lankan entry under the Bangladesh category into a single Bangladesh/Sri Lanka category.
I've allowed my blog to be entered into the Best Design section. It was nominated and it is rewarding the work of the site designer, not me.
Thanks again to everyone who has participated. Please check out all the finalists - you will find some great blogs out there in Asia.
You can check out the Best Blogs in Asia directory for more Asian blogs.
How come Hemlock didn't even get nominated for funniest blog? I was just looking for him in that section so I could cast my vote. Maybe I should have paid more attention to the process and nominated him myself, rather than asume that about a thousand other people would have done it for me!
For Best Designed blog my web site name is spelled wrong (you added an extra e and an extra r) and the link is incorrect on the vote page. (it should be http://depository.unfoldedorigami.com). I also noticed that cranialcavity's link is incorrect also (you've got quotation marks in the href). Shouldn't the links to the pages at least be correct?
Simon,
Last week (before the nominations closed), I tried to nominate Fazu of http://fazu.typepad.com for Best Malaysian Blog, my commnet didn't *register* why was that? And nwo it is too late!!! UGH
Hey Simon, it's cool that I was nominated, but how did that happen? And at the last minute? And here I've been telling everyone to vote for Pok Ku..hehe.
Posted by Jordan MacVay at December 18, 2004 12:22 AM
Mr. Simon. With the credentials of a READER[ you know how important is that!] I strongly recommend that you reconsider Gongkapas Times for you finalist list.[I seek to say so because you say that you believe in 'second & third & fourth...chances]
Well Gongkapas truly deseves a double take in the Best diary/ journal category.
Posted by mona s rahman at December 18, 2004 07:49 PM
Mr. Simon. With the credentials of a READER[ you know how important is that!] I strongly recommend that you reconsider Gongkapas Times for you finalist list.[I seek to say so because you say that you believe in 'second & third & fourth...chances]
Well Gongkapas truly deserves a double take in the Best diary/ journal category.
Posted by mona s rahman at December 18, 2004 07:49 PM
Hi Simon,
I just found out that my blog "...not a weBlog" (http://vbglau.blogspot.com) got nominated under best malaysian blog. Would just like to bring to your attention the mistake on the link to my page : there is a double "http http" resulting in a dead link. Hope you will ammend it. Thanks
[frustrated]Simon, next time you hold the awards it might be a good idea to delegate to somebody if you go away for most of the voting duration. Because I'm at my wit's end here that's all. And it's not a good place to be on Xmas eve.[/frustrated]
O Lord, let me give thanks to the makers of all Toy Story movies and water-based paint. Please give me strength not to throttle my children at 5:45am when they decided to start their shout-a-thon for the day. Yeah verily I walk in the valley of poo-poo, I shall not yield to the nausea in my stomach. May my earnings be bountiful so that I can pay for the damage they causeth and allow them to indulge their whims. If it be thy will, please stop producing Barbie merchandise and movies, so that I can recover some small patch of my home to call my own. Giveth me the will not to be jealous of the fun and care-free life they lead. Give me the drive to go to work even when they beg me to stay home. Let me always be able to look at them and smile, even when they are teenagers who say they hate me. Protect them from evil and especially from Mattel and Disney. Lord, let them always think I have all the answers and I can do no wrong. Let me resist the temptation to sell them for a box of oranges and a Playstation. May I never be embarassed by them or have to apologise for them in a public place. Should it be thy will at least allow one of them to become a child movie star who will give all their earnings to me. From dust their toys were made and to dust they will quickly return once they play with them. If my right hand forgets its skill, allow them to be there to operate the TV for me. Allow me to forget those pre-child days of lazy mornings and late nights, of spontaneous rendezvous and careless spending. Let them always know I am there for them, except if they want money or the car keys. May they one day learn the meaning of pain and love, hapiness and sadness, light and dark, good and evil, Abbott and Costello, and may they learn the differences too. I will always learn from them and love them except between midnight and 6am.
All this I wish and pray for, my Lord. Please, I beseech thee.
Ever since an Ethiopian goat herder noticed his flock got frisky when they ate some berries, coffee has become a way of life. This vile, putrid liquid has become part of modern life, evoking rituals as detailed and intricate as the Japanese tea ceremony. It has spawned the ubiquitous coffee shop, especially the Starbucks variation, which recreate the coffee experience in a mass commoditisation way.
The ceremony itself is simply and oft-repeated each working day. It begins when does that cannot face the working day under their own accord appeal to fellow workers to join in the first run. Often this person calls in on their way into the office to enable the slothful early birds to remain entranced by their computer screens. Each person quickly establishes their "regular" drink, which usually involves a baffling combination of milk, sugar, chocolate or anything else that can disguise the taste of the vile black scum. All important is to quickly abbreviate one's order into the "lingo", including latte, short blacks (for those with no concept of taste), caps, moccas and so on. For the healthy there is the skinny variety, where watery skim milk replaces full cream milk in a vain effort to save one's health.
Once the first run has been consumed it becomes a waiting game for the second run. Finally someone's caffeine addiction overcomes their hesitation and they announce they're off for a coffee. This seems to release the appropriate chemicals in fellow addicts, because suddenly a second coffee becomes a must for everyone. And so the procession continues, several times a day, much in line with the rise in Starbucks' share price. There is a reason the place is named for the boat in Moby Dick - although it seems the boat has overtaken the whale in size.
There can be breaches of etiquette. Should one show enough gumption to go and get a coffee alone, any return to the office will be met with howls of protest from fellow addicts who lament the opportunity to feed their disease. This only has to happen once or twice before this enterprising person learns that being different is a sure recipe for disaster, and they too are quickly dragged into the group coffee run net.
For those of us who despise the stuff this leads to a murky morass of moral dilemmas. To sit out run after run sets us apart from these lesser mortals. In order to enter into the espirit d'corps occasionally we have to shout (i.e. pay) and make the run, substituting hot chocolate or a juice. Instead of enjoying our superior status we need to drag ourselves down to the level of these desperate addicts in an attempt to fit in, to join in with the hoi polloi.
It demeans us but it is the price we have to pay - otherwise I see a diversity training course in my future. I hate coffee.
In some ways I feel sorry for our helper Jacquie. She's a lovely Filapina lady, attends church weekly and loves the kids. Unluckily for her Mrs M and I are parents who like being actively involved with the kids. We want to bring them up, and we take the good (eg kisses) with the bad (too numerous to mention). We make sure we get them up each morning and put them to bed each night. It is great having someone to do many of the menial jobs around the house so we have even more time to spend with the girls. She helps when we ask her to and is great with them. But there is a line we draw, somewhere, to seperate parenting from helping.
What prompted this rant? On Saturday afternoon I was looking after little PB. We went to the playground at Disneyland, which has a good spread of equipment. PB plonked into the swing and spent the best part of an hour in it. This gave me plenty of time to think. Looking around there were at least 12 other kids in the playground. Yet I was the only parent. The rest were helpers. There are plenty of reasons for this. Often parents are away, or have functions, or simply want to get the kids out of the house for a while. But it certainly struck me as unusual to not see any other parents at all.
What really struck me was one little 5 year old boy. He was sitting on a bench, playing with his helper's hair. Every 5 minutes or so he would start kissing her and cuddling. Not just a one off little peck on the cheek. He was clambering for more and more kisses and clinging to her desperately. She felt uncomfortable with this and kept fighting him off once he got too boisterous each time. Another 5 minutes and he would start again. Plainly this little boy was pleading for affection. Clearly he wasn't getting this from home and the helper must be the only adult figure he knows who shows him such affection. This is what leads to the emotionally retarded kids playing in that playground on Saturday.
Many parents here see helpers as a way to outsource parenting. They can live their lives as if the kids didn't exist. Long weekends away, shopping, night clubs, whatever tickles their fancy. We also sometimes take advantage of this - we'll sometimes leave the kids with Jacquie and go shopping on Saturday afternoon. We are even thinking about leaving the girls for a day with her to go to Macau. It is part of the luxury of life here. But we make sure we are the kids parents' and the kids (and Jacquie) know that. Many parents are surprised to find the kids aren't that interested or close to them. It's not too surprising given the kids hardly know these people. Yet when these parents decide they want to dip into the game for a while they are shocked the kids would rather spend time with the helper and shun them.
I don't know quite why this all bothers me so much. I think it might be seeing a 5 year old boy casting around for a parent, surrogate or real. Hong Kong enjoys and encourages the worship of material goods. But there's a lot of emotional damage done in the process.
Right on about the delinquent parents. But I'm writing to say that since you started keeping the Blog Awards at the top of the site I've lost interest in everything else. Perhaps it's a Pavlovian reflex in me that only pays attention to the top posts of blogs, or maybe it's because I'm nominated (For Best Japan Blog! I'm gunning for second-to-last here!) but I swear I didn't even bother to look at your other posts until the other day. I just assumed you weren't updating while you were in Australia or something. OK, just wanted to let you know!
I see the same cases in other parts of Asia. Infact a chunk of my early years were spent with a maid/baby-sitter/playmate. Mom was away in another country and was hardly around, so I'd only heard of her, but not enough to be close to her.
Curiously enough, my grandma became my surrogate mom. So, eventhough there were maids around my cousins and I, we knew who the grand dame was.
It's the culture in Asia to have a helper in the house. But it makes for a lot of dependency on the part of parents. They end up only being with their kids for the good times, but leave the bad stuff (changing nappies, crying kids...etc) to the maids.
You and the wife have decided you no longer like sleep or money and are going to have a baby. You, the male, feel this is the final step in changing from caveman slob to responsible hunter-gatherer, from flannel to corduroy, from night life to day time. You figure that you'll at least be guaranteed of getting some lovin' time with your beloved. But there's 9 months* before you get there. So I am going to provide a helpful guide to what you've got yourself in for.
There are 4 stages. The pregnancy is usually broken up into 3 trimesters, which is medical speak for "we are going to charge you more and more the closer it gets to your due date". Let's look at each in turn.
The first 3 months
For a few weeks you're probably not even sure your wife is preggers. In fact often there's a clear early sign she is pregnant: she will go on some wild bender when the little foetus, your pride and joy, is only a few delicate cells old. This is called acclimatisation. Then your wife will go to the pharmacy and buy ludicrously expensive one time tests to determine if she really is up the duff. These mostly revolve around one principle: your wife pishes on a stick. It's a test: if this grosses you out, then babies are seriously going to be an issue for you. Then you sit and wait for 30 seconds until the line shows up. It is a common male mistake to see lines that aren't there, or to see the line that is the check the test worked as the line that you are extremely virile and your little fellas are Olympic swimmers. Trust me, you need two lines. Often, especially if this is your first baby, you'll burn through enough of these tests that you'll soon realise this isn't cheap. Get used to it, buddy.
Let's assume you've made it past this first hurdle. Your wife will then enter a period known as the "I feel like I'm going to be sick" stage. Morning sickness gets its name because it happens at any time of the day or night. Remember, the same people who named this sickness are charging you a fortune to see them each time. There are some women who don't get morning sickness. They are known as "lucky bitches". Your wife will be completely off-limits and the very sight of you can induce nausea and worse. The severity of this sickness differs but basically expect to go from getting plenty to getting none rapidly.
The other thing you need to prepare for is your first visit to your obstetrician (herein known as the money vacuum cleaner, or obs). In many places you need to call and book in just prior to conceiving the baby. That's right, prior. It's like Viagra but without the fun. At 12 weeks you go and visit the obs. The doc will be running late. You should get used to this. You will be in a waiting room with various other couples that go from old timers (usually on their 3rd or 4th, talking casually about anything but the baby) to other nervous newbies like yourselves. Finally you enter and the doc proceeds with the usual questions and tests. This involves plenty of blood and urine, much talk of horrendous financial conditions (ie yours) and a blow-by-blow description of the changes your wife will undergo. Then the doc will work out your expected due date (EDD, not Mister). The doc does this by taking a wheel thing-y, asking about your wife's last period, consulting the newspaper's astrological papers, reading some tea leaves and picking a random date about nine months later. From this moment the EDD will define you as a human. The chance of the baby coming on this date are about 3%. Don't attach too much importance to it. Also you need to get used to a new phrase: "normal for pregnancy" (NFP). The doctor will repeat this ad naseum to your wife in the months ahead as she asks questions: "I'm getting cramps". "That's normal for pregnancy." "I'm feeling tired and have high blood pressure." "That's NFP." "My left leg fell off." "That's NFP". You get the idea. Most importantly you will be told it's almost too late to book into a hospital for the birth. You should've called just after conceiving instead of having that cigarette. Let that be a lesson to you.
Once you pass the doc test it's time to tell people. Follow your wife's guidance on this. Telling random fellow bar-room drinkers before your in-laws is not a good start. Staying quiet and accepting glasses of champagne and manly winks and nudges is a far better route.
Note: at this stage it's too early to speak to your wife's tummy, or play music or whatever other bizarre hot housing method you have for turning your kid into a genius. The thing is a fish at this stage. Seen any fish with ears?
The middle 3 months
This is known as the golden period. Your wife will glow. Her morning sickness often (although not always) lifts and she develops a special state of nirvana. Her stomach starts to form a bump, and for once she doesn't mind. In fact often your wife will rub it affectionately. Be careful: there is never a time to tell a woman she is getting fatter, even if she's preggers. You will visit the obs monthly and will get an ultrasound of the baby. As I said, it looks like a fish. That's if you can make anything out at all. The technician will helpfully point out all the organs and bones developing in your pride and joy. The truth is it looks like static. It's best to nod politely and go along with it.
This is also the stage you read various books about babies, childbirth and pregnancy. Usually these books contain helpful photographs of what will happen. Unhelpfully they are not big enough to contain a magazine that you'd rather be reading.
The last 3 months
Your wife will continue to grow. She will actually be pleased that she is putting on weight. Enjoy this, it is a unique time. However she is also entering the business end of the pregnancy. Biologically this induces changes in your wife. Her "nesting" instinct kicks in. This requires multiple visits to various baby stores for all sorts of paraphernalia that the caveman seemed to manage without but are indispensable to modern child rearing. If you're lucky this will be it. If you're unlucky this will start to involve you and your wallet. It could be repainting the house; renovating the house; or worst of all a new house. Like you don't have enough stress already. If this is the case your friends and family may be thankful: your conversation will change from babies to the house, making a nice detour on your otherwise single-minded obsession with your upcoming parenthood.
Your wife will be getting bigger and bigger. It looks uncomfortable but that's mostly because it is. It is time to enter the world of new age manhood. Try helping out around the house. It won't help you get any, especially as you near the end, but it's the least could you do given the state you've put your wife in. If you forget this step, don't worry. You will be reminded.
The main event
The big day is approaching. You've mapped out the route to the hospital. You have your bag packed (checklist for women: clothes; for baby: clothes; for man: camera, video, mobile phone**, snacks, drinks, a change of clothes, a strong stomach). But you're worried about how something that big is going to get out of the little hole you used to call your own.
Newsflash: this has been done before. Hell, even your parents dealt with a birth, so you can too. The most important thing is this is not about you. It's not about your wife. It's not even about your baby. It's about the hospital and doctor making as much money as they can as quickly and as effortlessly as they can. And these guys are good.
There are various signs that your wife is entering labour. The clearest one is when your wife grabs you by the hand and squeezes the life force out of you screaming "we need to get to the f*cking hospital NOW!". Listen to her. But be prepared, there's a good chance the hospital will tell you both to turn around and go home. Even more interesting is the Jekyll and Hyde nature your wife adopts. When a contraction comes she will be in a state of extreme distress and is likely to blame you for many of the world's problems, not just hers. Be prepared for this and remember the age old rule: what's said in the delivery room stays in the delivery room. There's an important caveat to this rule: it only applies to your wife. It's not the time to tell her the bit on the side you had at that conference in Bangkok. In between contractions your wife will assume a tranquil and peaceful air and become at one with the world. Again be careful: it's a trap to lure you into a false sense of security before her next contraction. In the delivery room there will only be the two of you for much of the time. The midwife will be there for some of the time. The doctor will be there at the very end for just long enough to say they were there and earned their fee. The midwife will clean up the baby and leave the three of you alone. Your wife resumes her blissful state and will seem remarkably beautiful and wonderful to you. You only have one question left to deal with:
What do we do now?
* Yes, 40 weeks in reality, but you get my drift.
** Do NOT use the hospital phone. You're in enough financial trouble already.
As an unpaid member of the Hong Kong Tourism Commission (I told them the light and fireworks for the tourists of TST was a waste of time) I'm proud to present the one guide you really need to get around in Hong Kong: the Hong Kong Taxi Guide. This has been made necessary as part of my campaign to have Hong Kong taxis listed as a World Heritage item by the UN.
Hong Kong taxis come in three colours: red for the Island and Kowloon, green for the New Territories, and blue for Lantau Island. Theoretically taxis from each region cannot work in other areas. Why this should be so is a mystery lost in the annals of Hong Kong history. However usually it comes down to each area trying to restrict the number of drivers. Each taxi is individually owned which means the drivers tend to work 28 hours a day and consider their cab more like a home.
So to the rules:
1. Not all red taxis are the same. If they have a sign saying out of service on them, it actually means they are in service, but not going where you're going. If they're on the Island they are only interested in going back to Kowloon. Silly you thought they were all meant to service the Island and Kowloon; easy mistake for beginners to make.
2. Your taxi driver can have three conversations at once, and yet not one of them is with you. They have their radios, their mobile phones (complete with wires dangling for an earpiece) and many like talking to themselves.
3. Your taxi driver knows where they are going, but they know a completely different route to the way you know. Hong Kong being a complete rabbit warren with random street placements means all roads lead everywhere. There's no such thing as lost in Hong Kong. You just drive long enough and you get somewhere that gets you somewhere else. (NOTE: there is one exception to this rule. Never get into a lane that says Kowloon if you're on the Island, because you'll be in a tunnel before you can leave the lane. Unless you wanted to go to Kowloon, in which case no-one will let you into the lane you need to get into).
4. Taxi drivers are the masters of HK road etiquette. This simply means they are pushier, more aggressive and more unyielding than regular drivers. Unfortunately this includes busses.
5. Taxi drivers are masters of spacial perception. Their ability to weave a sedan into a space is unparalleled.
6. A taxi's radio will also be on the same station, which seems to mix Canto-pap with some DJs who clearly mixed too many amphetamines into their breakfast.
7. The taxi will have one climate: freezing cold. This is a relief in summer, but a worry in winter. Don't bother asking to adjust the temperature - it's not an option.
8. A taxi driver can only ever change a $100 note at best. This is despite the massive wad of cash they peel off notes from. Sure the guy next to you in the bank depositing thousands at a time is also the same guy who dropped you at the bank in the first place, but a $500 (or worse $1000) note is like doing a fart in the cab. It's just not done.
9. Taxis work only by distance travelled, rather than time (except for waiting time). This means a taxi has an incentive to get you to your destination as quickly as possible. Obeying road rules is optional.
10. If you've had a big night out, and there are two ways home, the cab will take the twistiest, windiest and most convoluted route possible. They will invoke the random braking provisions of their licence to induce nausea.
11. Taxis have automatic doors on the passenger side only. The driver's side is locked. This means the door, in theory, can be opened for you by the driver. It won't be. But it could. On the other hand, the door will tend to swing open before the cab actually stops at your destination.
12. Seat belts are highly recommended. Even if your driver isn't wearing one. In fact that's a better sign you do need one.
13. A taxi's boot is like Dr. Who's Tardis. While seemingly limited in size, a taxi driver can in fact fit a family of 6 into their boot. This is despite the boot also containing assorted car cleaning items, some assorted personal gear and lunch.
14. The taxi driver knows your destination. They just don't understand you and your cr@p Cantonese.
15. It is a taxi driver's right to add random charges at the end of your journey: tolls, return tolls, luggage charges, passenger charges. You cannot argue these - they're in the fine print somewhere.
16. A taxi driver looks nothing like the photo licence they have on the dashboard. Usually because it is someone different driving the cab.
17. Never question a driver's personal hygiene or driving ability.
18. Respect the wisdom of your driver. He's been studying the form guide for Wednesday's races far longer than you have.
There are plenty more rules but that's enough to go along with. Feel free to add more.
Sorry to sully your site with a comment, but I have to disagree with points 4 and 5. Taxi drivers have no more spatial awareness than other HK drivers - they are just more agressive, as you state, and will try to push into smaller spaces. However, they can't actually get their cabs into the space until the traffic has allowed the space to become as large as a small house.
And HK cabbies are always sounding off about bus drivers who use their extra bulk to bully them out of the way in the same way that they try to bully other motorists.
But ultimately cabbies are bluffing. The last thing they want is to be out of service due to a knock as they struggle to make much of a living anyway. An hour off the road can make the difference between profit and loss for the day.
If you're reading this it is likely you are, in one way or another, trying to escape Christmas. And what better way to escape it than spending time aimlessly surfing blogs. Here are the blogs sitting on the Top Shelf at the moment:
A Small Victory: Michele has more talent in her left pinky than most bloggers do in their lives. She writes about everything from music to politics to her life to the world with wit and vim.
Dean's World: True liberalism, with a healthy dose of common sense and a wide raneg of interests.
Everyday Stranger: Quite simply the best writing in blogging. Searingly honest, Helen can make you laugh and cry in the space of a paragraph.
Ilyka Damen: Pithy, refreshingly different and to the point. Not shy about expressing herself, and she expresses herself well.
Instapundit: Deservedly still the king of the blogging hill. Copious links to anything and everything, Glenn often sets the blogosphere agenda. Nowadays there might be rivals, but his is the original and still the best of the top rung of blogging.
Protein Wisdom: Jeff is the most original comedic talent in blogging.
Random Pensees: With as precocious a talent as Girl Child, RP could just act as a scribe for his daughter. But he has plenty to say himself. Not surprisingly, he's a lawyer. Surprisingly, he's a good person as well.
Sanity's Edge: It's no co-incidence that good writers dominate this list. Paul is a master storyteller. He's also a master at debating, if you get my drift.
Silent Running: A couple of Kiwis, a token Aussie and an even more token American ex-military man combine with others to make an engaging group blog.
Snooze Button Dreams: Everything from funny vignettes to thoughtful reflections on life and politics. I miss the cow udder picture.
Tim Blair: Yet another example of an Aussie making it big on the world stage, this time in blogging. Clever and biting.
Winds of Change: The thoughtful group blog that brings Regional Briefings, thought-provoking questions and well-reasoned posts on issues large and small.
I read each of these daily. Bookmark and visit them regularly.
I am sick to death of everyone over the age of 40 saying this (from a book review in The Economist):
It may well achieve its goal of taking management ideas to a new younger audience, aged around 30, being famous for their short attention span and need for instant impact and gratification.
Why is it that every "generation" has to get categorised in one dull stereotype after another? I'm sure back in 1235 they were saying how the young kids can't concerntrate on being medieval and were going to ruin the whole Dark Ages thing. They were wrong then and they were wrong now. All this crap about an MTV generation who need a quick fix really, ummm, oh, hang on, there's a bright shiny thing-y over there. Ummm, so what was I saying. Can't remember. Better go put on the TV for some inspiration instead. I need rapid images saturating my brain quickly before thinking recommences. Oh the humanity.
Yes, I am 30, and I do want instant graitification and impact. Who doesn't? It doesn't mean I don't want to read books and hold intelligent conversations, and at the same time it doesn't mean I won't say no to a whole afternoon of rumpy-bumpy as opposed to a quick one.
Some things are worth working for, after all.
30 year-olds wanting instant gratification and low attention spans...sheesh. Old people can be so grumpy.
I tried to read this, honest. But I got distracted by Helen's bright, shiny comment. I promise to come back and give it another go once I've refreshed my brain with a little flash animation.
I have read Roman writers complaining about the lax standards and loose language of the young. Also medieval Japanese. And I read a review of a book which demonstrated that, in the western world, every generation for the last two centuries has believed that the younger generation was more violent, when violent crime rates have consistently dropped over that period.
Email. It is reckoned to have been "a good thing", saving paper, speeding communications, enhancing workplaces and information flows. It is cheap, quick and convenient. It has a lot to answer for.
Email is an excuse for laziness. Its very convenience lends itself to people engaging it without thinking, much like talking. Often email acts as a written one-sided conversation. It has the advantage that you can tackle it at a time and place of your choosing. You can delete, edit, reply, forward, copy, import, export, bend, twist and (sadly) live for it. It's cheapness and format are such that people rarely think about it. That has to stop.
So I hereby humbly present some Laws Of Email:
1. Before adding someone in the To or CC box, ask if they really need to see it.
A sender's instinct is to copy far too many people on emails that may have little to do with the recipients. This breaks down into three main reasons. One is arse-covering - if everyone's been copied no-one can say they didn't know. The second is the arse-sucking - look at me, I'm so good, I just did this, aren't I clever. Lastly is the arse-draining - regularly sent blocks of information churned out and blasted as more information fodder. The best way to think about it is to put yourself in each recipient's shoes and ask if you would read it if you were them.
2. Replies to emails are worse than the originals.
Replies are usually instantaneous reactions. They are rarely well thought out considerations of the issues and topics brought up in the original. Often it leads to a quickly disintegrating cascade of misunderstandings and insults that finally gets sorted out in the traditional manner: by speaking to each other.
3. There is no email in the world that deserves a one-word reply.
Don't send me an email saying "Thanks". It's 3 seconds of my life I can't get back.
4. Just because it's an email doesn't mean the rules of English grammar don't apply.
Little things like punctuation and capital letters are really not too difficult to find on a keyboard. Or so you would think. English grammar is not particularly easy but the basics are. Once you work out how to write complete sentences and where pesky commas should go at least I've got a chance of understanding your intent. Going overboard is a danger too. Three exclamation marks don't make the point any better than one. Smileys and abbreviations have a place but don't go overboard either, unless you want the email look like alphabet soup.
5. Email is not a replacement for the telephone (or other person-to-person interaction).
Email is a static medium. It is not a form of dialogue. It is the modern era's form of correspondence. There's a world of difference. Don't be a lazy idiot because you can't be bothered picking up the phone or walking around the corner to talk to someone. This leads to...
6. Don't call me to tell me you sent an email.
I look at emails when and as I can. I don't need a minute long phone call telling me to look at my email. Especially when you could have told me the contents of that email in the phone call.
7. If you are relying on a spell-checker, at least use some common sense.
Just because Microsoft says a word is spelt wrong, you don't have to agree. Some people are no good at spelling and checkers work for them, but for God's sake use your brain a little and make sure the result is still in English.
8. It is not a crime to read over an email before you send it.
Just because you dashed it off doesn't mean you've got to hit the send button. The email doesn't evaporate. Do the world a favour and read it once. You'll be amazed at the baloney you've written.
9. Make each message brief and to the point.
The best emails have the main points in the first few lines; if you have other guff then add it below. We've all got inboxes stuffed to overflowing so the quicker and more simply you can get the information across the better place the world will be. Here's a hint: why not make the title of your email descriptive enough that people will know the contents before they open it.
10. Don't forget there are other forms of correspondence.
Email can be a great way to keep in touch with distant family and friends. But really the ancient art of letter writing needn't be discarded at the great altar of technology. Handwritten letters, even with scrawling writing and crossing outs, is far more personal. You may even remember how to write with a pen if you use it once in a while. And stamps don't set you back that much.
11. Spam is bad, don't make it worse.
Look at your email and the people you sent it to. If your name wasn't there would you call it useful? Helpful? Or a waste of space.
12. Viruses are bad, don't make them worse.
Don't open attachments unless you are 100% sure you know the source and are expecting the file. Morons who haven't realised that opening that ZIP file from ax123@yahoo.com will get what they deserve, but you needn't join them in the 7th circle of Hell.
13. Etiquette is not a four letter word.
Don't use all capitals. Don't even say "Oops I had the Caps Lock on" half way through. Just use the Backspace button and try again. Just because it is an email being polite is not a crime. You needn't sign off with a Your Obedient Servant, but putting your name at the end is a good start. That said you don't need an all singing signature either. Avail yourself of some pointers and advice.
14. Get organised.
You needn't reply to every email straight away. Many are junk and useless. But not replying at all is the same as picking up the phone but not saying anything. Replying too quickly can get you in trouble (as mentioned earlier) but taking days or weeks to reply certainly doesn't help either. If you're getting overwhelmed with email, do something about it. Start sorting mail into folders. Use the filters and rules. Start asking people to take you off lists. Stop getting Dilbert and Joke-a-Day sent to your inbox if it's getting clogged up. Be diligent and prioritise. Look at the email - does it need immediate action? Can it wait? Can it be deleted without reading? Don't wait for later. Later never comes.
15. Encourage others to follow the rules.
The world isn't go to be a better place if you do it on your own. Encourage others to follow your example.
16. Stop whinging and start doing.
The ritual of returning from holiday and impressing everyone with how many emails you have is quickly replacing other forms of measuring importance such as status, fame and success. Your job competence is not related to your inbox size; indeed the better you are at handling email the better you will be in your job. Everyone's in the same boat so get on with it and stop talking about it.
Finally after much pressure from the various authorities (hereafter collectively referred to as the "grandparents") I present the 2004 Annual Family Report: Overseas and Over There.
Thank you fellow shareholders for attending this year's Annual General Meeting. This report intends to summarise the key events in the company for the previous calendar year. 2003 was an important year in the company's (herein referred to as the "family") development. Since the family was started in December 1998 (please see 1998's Annual Report: The Wedding, The Honeymoon and Real Life) it show consistent growth in line with our core values. We have stuck with our core competencies of recreation and procreation with a strong stable of future prospects. Going forward 2004 and beyond are looking solid and the family expects to continue to exceed market expectations.
Subsidiaries
The Mrs M division continues to remain the main driver of the family. Fulfilling all roles to the highest standards of the industry, this division is truly a world class organisation in its own right. Be it cooking, cleaning, organising social events, keeping the other divisions in line, keeping the HQ in order and the other important functions of this division consistently exceed the targets set. The family is extremely lucky to have such a talented Chairwoman who can do several things at once. Her sporting group has proven capable to compete at top levels in tennis after re-entering the market following an extended absence. The organisation of the family's internationalisation in late 2003 followed hard on the massive early 2003 move to larger headquarters (see the 2003 Annual Report: My that's a lot of boxes) saw the division stretched to its limit and yet it came through with flying colours. There is no doubt in your CEO's mind that without this division the company would cease to exist in any meaningful form. There is also no doubt in your CEO's mind that at crucial times this division has provided your CEO with much needed support. Additionally acting as main tour guide and hostess for the various overseas visitors who come to see the family at work and play is handled with much aplomb. At the time of writing this division is in the process of developing the newest division in the family, at the moment known as Project Ubul. Amazingly this has not constrained the division's performance in the slightest.
The JC and PB divisions astound with their rapid growth. Following a recent merger these two divisions now share a common head office, despite an overnight noise problem with JC's area. These two divisions work extremely well both together and separately and show stunning potential for the future. JC's mastery of all movies ever made by Pixar along with her mastery of numbers (up to 2) show the kind of genius we are working with. She has taken the expansion into pre-school like a Shrek to mud. PB's curly hair line has seen more photographs per day than any other gweilo child of her age since the move to Hong Kong in early 2003. Both divisions coped well with the major change of country without a whisper of complaint. They continue to experience teething problems (literally) as any greenfields site is likely to do. Occasionally there are rivalries between these areas, but these tend to be resolved without intervention and in amicable ways (these include clops over the head, fingers in the face and the old favourite leg pulling). That said it is not too early for this CEO to say that based on his years of experience we are developing two world beating divisions.
The Misti division has shown recent signs of turn around after a much needed injection of both care and capital. She has regained much of her old pep and vim, meaning no leg is safe from her effervescent attentions upon entering the HQ. Having this division back to full strength and here with us in the international HQ enables the other divisions to continue working solidly and happily.
As for your CEO he has happily presided over an operation that mostly looks after itself. Under the guiding hand of Chairwoman Mrs M the machine that is the family is well-oiled. This is just as well given the significant amounts of time your CEO's attention is diverted by his other activity, being work (OK, yes, and blogging). Bedding down the internationalisation of the family has proved to be far easier than this CEO expected. The new domicile of the family has proven a far more hospitable and family-friendly place of business than the CEO ever expected. The side activity of work has exceeded expectations and having the other divisions running smoothly eases the CEO's mind immensely.
Profits and Balance Sheet
The move to the new domicile has proven financially rewarding in some senses. Moving from a high taxing to low taxing country has assisted cash flow and enabled the previously stretched debt ratios to be brought under control. The financial recovery plan (see the 2002 Annual Report: We're up to our eyeballs in it) remains in place and the future goals so established remain achievable. Indeed there is now potential to make some acquisitions, such as the all important LCD TV (according to your CEO) or food (according to the Chairwoman). In other senses there have been the inevitable financial drags but inevitably they are for good causes or important reasons. The family financial situation continues to improve and your Chairwoman and CEO remain confidant that the key financial ratios and positions are poised for ongoing improvement. Previous attention to costs has left the family in the happy position of being able to fund such future developments such as JC and PB's education and Ubul's arrival without relying on credit card debt.
The Future and Summary
As mentioned earlier the Mrs M division is working on the continued expansion of the enterprise. With two such immensely talented young divisions already, the track record is there to expect only good things from the third division. Your Chairwoman and CEO continue to work closely together to run and improve the company.
Overall all divisions and operations this year have made this one darn proud CEO. We have the very best company in the world, bar none, and it will only get better from here. I love my job and I love my divisions and I have no qualms about continuing to work hard to keep this successful endeavour moving onwards to bigger and better things.
Simon, very good stuff, I am about to depart the States for an expat experience down under, specifically melbourne, anything I should watch out for in particular? Or just general words of wisdom for those embarking on the expat life?
Having been living in HK for 6 months makes me incredibly underqualified to comment on living in HK. But I'm going to do it anyway. I've been fortunate to travel to many places around the world and many of them feel the same. Same shops, same shopping malls, same products, same news, same same same. HK has elements of this, such as the ubiquitous presence of Starbucks and McDonald's. No problem with that - if that's what people want and these places can make a buck then great darts.
However HK feels different. It's fusion of Asian and Western is probably a guide to where many Chinese cities are heading. The skyline is magnificent - laissez faire architecture means some buildings are stunning, other horrible. But combined they make an incredible view. Every building is a high rise, whether it's an office tower or residential. The harbour is a working one - there are plenty of container ships and cranes to remind you trade works. There are a wide variety of faces on the street, especially downtown.
It is a city with a buzz. It lost it a little due to SARS, and the economy hasn't been too flash. In the last couple of months though you can feel a return to normal. There's more tourists, there's more visitors coming through at work, there's more to do. Sure there's been 5 years of deflation but there is even talk of property prices bottoming out. The people have realised they have a political voice (the July 1st march surprised everyone) and even more excitingly there was a reaction from the Government.
It is an easy city to live in. When we first moved here plenty of people of told us it would take a year to settle in. Not true. It took 3 months, and this was including the SARS period. JC is settled at kindy, we've found an apartment and helper, PB is doing baby things, Mrs M is getting into tennis and bridge. We've met some great people and work is going well with enough interesting personalities to keep each day interesting. The work itself is interesting and varied too. Most people speak enough English to make yourself understood, and if they don't they can gesticulate in the universal sign language that all people seem to understand.
Hong Kong is larger than you think, more cosmopolitan than you imagine and an ecletic mix of culture and people. It's a great place.
I'm fascinated by the fact that western bloogers in Hong Kong seldom if ever mention the local people. Let's here more about Cantonese people and culture. What do you like about thisCantonese city/find interesting?
It's as if someone going to Glasgow never remarks on the Scottish and didn't know the difference between Celtic and Rangers.
I've got a quiet few minutes. PB is in bed, JC is watching Nemo (surprise) with her Grandma, Grandpa is off for a shower, Mrs M is busy thawking tennis balls at an almighty pace, and I'm slowly recovering. Soon JC and I off to the AMC for a birthday party, after which I'll have the pleasure of an afternoon of work. What bites about my job is I don't get public holidays unless all of Asia is off, which is never. We've got a shift system for these days and today I've got the afternoon stretch, which starts off quietly before geting busy just when you hope to make it out the door.
Last night, then, was interesting. A Canadian has come in to work to fill in for a week or so. Being the good host I offered to go for a drink. Accompanied by Tom the Redneck American we started in the Captain's bar of the Mandarin. We downed a quick 3 beers before we hit Lan Kwai Fong, the main bar district near Central. The pace was furious and it would have been rude not to keep up. Some time later I realised I needed to go. I jumped in a taxi and somehow I could make my destination understood. We arrived at what looked like Disneyland, but it was spinning more than usual. Made it up to our flat, and quietly as a drunk I stumbled in. I undressed, laid down in bed for a matter of seconds before heading to the bathroom and spending an hour talking on the great white telephone to God.
It's funny. You realise things when you're in a state like that. You realise that you really should eat before you have a big night. You realise that alcohol can pretend to be your friend when it is really seeking to undermine you. And you learn to make promises that will not last in the cold light of a sober morning. Usually these promises start at "I'll never drink again" before moving to the "I am going to become a monk in the Italian Alps and foreswear all vice" variety. Mrs M was very supportive during this introspective trip through the depths of my soul, providing bread and water so I can get used to a monastic life.
There's something about a session in a bathroom that you finally reach a point where you know you are done. You've come through the darkness and have finally reached the light. You have nothing left to give of yourself. You are at one with the world. A welcoming bed no longer turns on its axis. Sleep quickly overwhelms you. Then 5 hours later your eldest girl lets you know its time for milk. In our house we have only one rule - it doesn't matter if you play up and stay out until silly hours, but the girls come first and the routine is kept. Luckily there was no hint of a hangover, and my sheepish looks at Mrs M confirmed that my night of revelery was no dream. If only she would stop looking back at me with a mixture of sympathy, envy and glee then I could pretend it never happened. And forget my promises.
For the next two weeks I am on holidays. During this blissful (mostly) blog-free fortnight in the golden Australian summer there are two things to keep you going:
1. Voting in the Asia Blog Awards continues until the end of the month. Vote for your favourite blog, then check out the nominees. You might find some new ones to add to your regular reading.
2. In the hackneyed tradition of record companies, I'm going to do a 2 week long "Best of" series. Each day I'll be posting some of my posts from the archives. If you send HK$500 I'll have it printed and bound, sent in a special HK Post package direct to your door. For an extra HK$500 I'll sign it, too. Each post will have REDUX in the title to distinguish it from the regular stuff. There may or may not be additional posts from Oz. You'll just have to keep clicking back to check. Enjoy.
Finally let me wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a very healthy, successful and happy new year.
Does it make any sense that you "surf" the web? Has anyone seen any spiders with Malibus saying "Surfs up, dude?"
Anyway, some interesting pieces from around the traps:
1. Tom Paine of Silent Running is preparing for a terror simulation involving bloggers called Simterror '05. There's a Yahoo group set-up and the exercise begins early January. It has great potential and is an interesting new blogging project. Can role-playing games involving blogs be far behind?
3. Jim has re-established his creative writing blog Protomonkey. He's extended it into a group blog for creative writing and already Paul has joined, as has RP and Michele. If Jim will have me I've offered as well - I'd like to get back to doing some more creative writing.
Japan has given the world so much: sushi, ramen, kabuki theatre, origami, geisha, love hotels, kareoke. But, like I've said before, the most important thing they've given the world is Iron Chef. I came across the Wikipedia entry on the show (thanks, Joe, great effort on SoA). It brings a tear to my just to read it:
Each episode presents a culinary battle between two chefs in "Kitchen Stadium". A contestant, usually a famous chef from Japan or elsewhere, is pitted against one of the show's four "Iron Chefs". Each of the Iron Chefs is an expert in a different cuisine, either Japanese, Chinese, French, or Italian. The chefs have one hour to complete their dishes. At the end of the hour, a panel of Japanese celebrities tastes and rates the dishes and crowns a victor.
The flamboyant host, Takeshi Kaga (鹿賀丈史) (known on the show as Chairman Kaga), and extravagant production values, contrasted with curiously pedestrian voice-over narration and polite but generally insipid commentary from the judges, not all of whom are food professionals ("This is really very good"), contribute to the eccentric style of the show.
Here's an idea that I can see catching on. A combination of all of HK's major newspapers, media outlets and assorted chambers of commerce, associations, unions and others have launched a competition to pick the top 10 Government events of 2004 (site is in Chinese only). Among the organisers are Xinhua, the People's Daily and CCTV. On offer are prizes including laptops, cameras and phones.
What is most impressive is the list of 20 to choose from (see the extended entry). Amongst the regular puff are two gems - number 5: Appointment of an independent committee to investiage the HabourFest fiasco and number 19: The sale of Hunghom Peninsula to private developers which scrapped demolition plans after public outcry. They might have got a little ahead of themselves on number 20: Setting up of the Link REIT - HK's first real estate investment trust. With Link still under court challenge at the time of writing that one could go either way.
What I'd really like to see is other countries adopting similar civic initiatives. The top 20 Chinese Government events of the year? Olympic medals, arresting intellectuals, missing out on World Cup qualification, corruption, economic growth, the Three Gorges dam...that's off the top of my head. How about America? Australia? Iraq? This could be hours of fun.
Full list to choose for the top 10 HK Government events of the year, with a little snark:
1. Implementation of CEPA, further integration and co-operation between HK and the Pan Pearl River Delta.
Has anyone seen any concrete signs CEPA has added anything to HK's economy? Didn't think so.
2. Public consultation on how to promote HK's democracy under the Basic Law.
It didn't help - Beijing said no anyway.
3. Resolving through legal means the dispute over Central-Wanchai reclamation, reassurance from the government that no further reclamation projects are planned.
Yeah, right.
4. Promoting HK's tourism: opening of the Avenue of Stars is TST, visitors to HK topped 20 million.
No SARS helps as well.
5. Appointment of an independent committee to investigate the HabourFest fiasco.
Fiasco being the operative word.
6. Issuing of HK$26 billion government bonds to fund infrastructure developments.
7. Resignation of top health officials...following the completion of SARS investigation.
Accountability comes to HK.
8. ICAC's raid on newspapers offices, newspaper took case to court.
What a co-incidence. A survey run by newspapers highlights this.
9. HK's economy continues to recover with dwindling deflation and falling unemployment rate.
Is this a Government press release?
10. Outstanding achievements of HK atheletes in the Olympics; Mainland Gold Medallists' visit to HK.
They forgot the Orwellian patriotism campaign.
11. Legco election successfully held with 55% voter turnout.
The result? On HK Island 60% voted for Democrats but they won only 2 of the 5 seats on offer.
12. Government cuts welfare payments to help ease financial burden.
In number 6 we're issuing debt, now we're cutting welfare. But if number 9 is to believed, things are getting better. No point aiming for consistency.
13. Public consultation launched on education reform.
14. Public consultation launched on the development of the West Kowloon Culture District.
The public had a victory in Hunghom, but will they win in this time?
15. Public housing rental dispute: legal challenges continue as government promises rent concessions.
They didn't mention the dispute over pets in public housing. Now that was a big event.
16. Government increases transparency in releasing land supply and property figures.
They still don't mean much, though. Interesting they didn't mention the very successful land auction late in the year which has sparked the latest rebound in both the the government's fiscal position and the property market.
17. Government's commitment to downsize the civil service and to resolve pay dispute with civil servants through legal means.
Which civil servants are fighting tooth and nail. There's plenty of fat to be cut from the most pampered "public" servants in the world.
18. Opening of West Rail, Ma On Shan Link and the TST East extension.
19. The sale of Hunghom Peninsula to private developers which scrapped demolition plans after public outcry.
Hey, this public having a say thing could catch on.
20. Setting up of the Link REIT - HK's first real estate investment trust.
Asia by Blog is a twice weekly feature, usually posted on Monday and Thursday, providing links to Asian blogs and their views on the news in this fascinating region. Previous editions can be found here.
This will be the final edition for 2004. New editions will commence in the first week of January.
This edition contains Taiwan's elections, an unwanted Chinese export, Japan's new defense guidelines, sex and Korean tourism, Chinese page 3 girls, China slipping grip on the net, the regular North Korean histrionics, Indonesian pirates, differences in understanding of culture, Singapore's party poopers, a fake beauty contest, the Global Voices conference plus plenty more...
The end of textile quotas will likely mean China will soon dominate textile trade. But under great pressure China is imposing export duties to limit the initial damage.
There are allegations the Bush administration has misrepresented North Korea's nuclear program. Problem is the Norks seem to be talking up their nuclear potential, rather than talking it down.
Some Japanese politicians are openly calling for the overthrow of Kim Jong-il. Here's another reason to agitate for change. Tensions are rising over the "fake bones", where NK sent remains of Japanese abductees that DNA testing showed were not. In the counterclaim to Japanese threats of suspending aid and foreign exchange remittances (a large source of forex for NK), the Norks have opted for threats of war. Maybe the Norks should have thought about that before they sent the wrong bones to Japan?
Nitin thinks America's interest are better served if India isn't distracted by the threat from Pakistan and the Bush administration's planned sale of F-16s to Pakistan. Robi Sen disagrees.
This might be the first blog in English on Burma by a Burmese. There's some background here, and read this view of the situation in Burma. Well written and heart-felt stuff.
Singapore's party poopers have rejected plans for a gay Christmas party.
It (China) has done more to alleviate poverty and hunger than any other organisation in the history of mankind.
Why should that be? What did China have 25 years ago that countries that are poverty stricken and moribund do not have? Why has China succeeded when the best efforts and years of international aid, World Bank, NGO and other programs have barely helped many poor countries in Africa and South America? After all, China was and is ruled by a totalitarian Communist regime; it has limited rule of law; corruption; an inefficient financial system where loans are allocated based on cronyism and diktat rather than price. Going by the economic development rulebook, China shouldn't work. But it has and does. Why?
My best guess is China set reasonably stable macro-economic parameters and got out, to some extent, of people getting on with the business of making money. Once a measured dose of market capitalism was introduced, China's entreprising people went to work and the success of their efforts have borne fruit. But the question remains: have development organisations, foreign aid givers and NGOs actually learnt anything from China's example?
I'd gladly welcome any input on this one. I don't pretend to know the full answer. But I cannot help but feel the answer is well worth knowing.
"China's entreprising people" says it all.
Tito sat on the Balkans for 40 years and the moment he departed the scene all the old tribal hatreds resurfaced.
Same in China. Despite Mao and the Red Gards brain washing the people for 40 years, the old,intuitive capacity to trade and make money resurfaced naturaly.
Cultural differences surface again.
Andrew, I think that might be part of the answer. But I'm not sure I believe that Africans are any less enterprising than Chinese. It might be that Chinese culture has long emphasised education and learning...
I'd vote for China having a "totalitarian regime" (although you seem to class it as a negative for economic growth). China under the CCP has consistently shown the ability to think up and execute projects on a huge scale ... I'm thinking of such successes as the great leap forward and the cultural revolution. Perhaps it's just 3rd time lucky.
Most countries just bumble along, either tweaking economic parameters which only have small effects, or having a bloody revolution/war (which obviously has a negative effect). China doesn't seem to be like that: big projects - big results.
Ask and ye shall find! Finance and Development is IMF's issues and best practices journal, which also includes work from World Bank economists.
Here's an article from this quarter's issue: "Learning from Success," by Martin Ravallion and Shaohua Chen. (pdf) The blurb: "China has made huge strides in its battle against poverty over the past 25 years, providing a number of lessons for other developing countries trying to improve living standards. What has worked well in China and why has the problem of inequality become a looming problem?"
The biggest source of poverty reduction is, of course, not replicable, either by China or others -- Deng's liberalization of agriculture. But some interesting observations nonetheless, especially on the importance of rural and agricultural development (bulk of poverty reduction from growth in primary sector), and that growth and inequality aren't necessarily tradeoffs (at least to a certain point).
Your point about macrostability is also clearly critical. I've got to study their comments about the ambiguous contribution of increased trade more closely -- doesn't quite jibe in my brain with their comments about sectoral contributions to poverty reduction and relative to growth rates. There's a bit of a mix there between growth rates and impact on specific workers that seems a bit apples and oranges, but it's probably just my reading of the piece.
Communist China is one of the last living proofs of the failure of communism. China improves when (and where) abandons communism (in economy). China is the same black hole as before when (and where) mantains communism (in politics).
The front page of today's SCMP splashes an article headlined Tsang juggles political hot potatoes with ease (reg. req'd, try this). A 5 column spread above the fold with 3 photos of Chief Secretary Donald Tsang dominates the page. The article starts:
He once appeared sidelined, destined to oversee projects no one else wanted, such as cleaning up Hong Kong. But Chief Secretary Donald Tsang Yam-kuen regained his centre-stage position yesterday, as he juggled two of the city's hottest political potatoes with ease...After Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa launched his ministerial system, Mr Tsang was seen by many to have been reduced to a figurehead secretary without a real portfolio, asked to lead hygiene and cross-border projects.
But that image seemed to be relegated to history yesterday - and added fuel to rumours that Mr Tsang could be a dark horse in the next race for chief executive.
It's hard to know where to begin. It seems the SCMP has adopted Mr. Tsang as its candidate to replace Tung Che-hwa in 2007. Ironically one of yesterday's announcements by our "dark horse" candidate was on constitutional and electoral reform in Hong Kong. His other announcement yesterday was opening the public consultation over the newest developer boondoogle - the West Kowloon Cultural hub, or Cultureport. Not to let our Donald down, the SCMP obliges with a page 3 spread of the three alternatives (use this), along with dire warnings (use this) if the project does not happen and pictures of the hideous contenders (use this). Even the models don't do it justice - the area covered with the canopy is over 400,000 square metres!
In its coverage of the constitutional reform papers, the article (use this) focuses on the emerging "consensus" the next chief executive should be elected by between 1200 and 1600 people, instead of the current 800. They'll still all be appointed, but now 0.023% of HK's population will be represented instead of the currect 0.012%. What a victory! Oh, it ruled out those pesky calls by hundreds of thousands of marchers for universal suffrage with the simple formula that it is "inconsistent with Beijing's expectations".
Why bother worrying about press freedom when this paper censors itself?
Update: Hemlock today notices the same thing. It's a bit hard not to. Thank God I wasn't walking under the escalator today.
Update 2: Don't believe me on the censorship thing? Proof.
China is a unique economy and in many ways justifies the oft-abused tag of "economic miracle". Some signs of this? Japan will no longer send aid to China after 2006. The World Food Program has said China no longer requires food aid and instead should become a donor to the WFP. And China has responded to worries about the lifting of textile tariffs at the end of this year with new export tariffs - self-imposed protectionism.
Consider: China now holds the second biggest foreign exchange reserves in the world. It is one of the major engines of the world economy. It has done more to alleviate poverty and hunger than any other organisation in the history of mankind. Within a generation it has gone from receiving food aid to giving it. It has gone from receiving Japanese aid to being seen as a potential threat and rival.
I don't want to be a cheerleader here but I think one of the more interesting things is that China isn't complaining about these developments and will probably welcome them.
Posted by Matt Waters at December 16, 2004 12:31 PM
I've fixed up a few of the polls where there were errors or people who wanted to be withdrawn. HOWEVER it has meant each of those polls have been reset to zero. I'm very sorry about that but I have no control over the voting software.
From now I will no longer alter any polls. That means no more chances for withdrawals or any other alterations. Once again I apologise for the reset on those few polls. Given voting only officially started today, we can consider those races have started with a clean slate.
How about on the voting page? For Best Designed blog my web site name is spelled wrong (you added an extra e and an extra r) and the link is incorrect on the vote page. (it should be http://depository.unfoldedorigami.com). I also noticed that cranialcavity's link is incorrect also (you've got quotation marks in the href). Shouldn't the links to the pages at least be correct?
In a piece titled Five hows and whys about China's foreign exchange the People's Daily lays out China's official position on forex issues. Bear in mind that the very last people to admit to any change in policy will be the Chinese Government itself. That said, some interesting points...
Q: According to the report from the web there are several hundreds of billions or even trillion of US dollars of international hot money which are now gambling on the revaluation of the People's Currency, is it true or not?
A:...So far the capital count in China has not yet fully opened to the outside and so it's very hard for the speculative capital to get in boldly and openly on an extensive scale...we've discovered that there are some false reports in the import and export prices under the present trading items, a forgery of advanced collection of goods payment yet actual postponement in payment while the direct investment items are not true to the fact with abnormal phenomena to appear in excessive loans and the manipulation of the real estate market, etc. This is quite likely aiming at arbitrage by way of speculation...we'll continue to make a clamp down on [these rorts] later by monitoring and controlling closely on the capital flows.
In other words the rorting has been domestic in nature, and China sees little impact from hedge funds and speculative money. Combined with a financial system full of bad debts, they aren't in a hurry to fully liberalise the capital account. Now for the juicy bits:
Q: According to the foreign media China has reduced and sold out a lot of USD capitals in the management of foreign exchange reserve? I would like to ask whether the case is true or not?
A:...China has always been adhering to the "security, circulation and value-adding" principle in the management and operation of the foreign exchanges...China carries out the handling for the foreign exchange reserve structure in accordance with the long-term and strategic structure standard without taking the advantage for profiteering from a short-term exchange fluctuation...China has already taken into full consideration the needs for overseas payment when China was deciding its currency structural standard of foreign exchange reserve. And so there is no such thing as to change the US dollars into other currencies due to the shortage of the currency in the actual payment, thus causing the probability of the loss in the exchange trading.
Q: There is still another kind of view in society, holding that the foreign exchange reserve faces a big risk and a very high cost. Is it the case that the loss outweighs the gain when China holds in its hand a lot of foreign exchange reserves?
A: A reasonable scope and scale of foreign exchange reserve for a country is a very complicated question. The foreign exchange reserve held by the central bank (PBOC) is fundamentally for maintaining a macro-economic stability...good for coping with the unexpected events, preventing from the happening of systematic financial risk and maintaining the security of the national economy...It is sure that certain amount of cost is necessary for the keeping of foreign reserves. Any central bank of any country will have certain amount of cost in currency operations. However, should the overall macro-economy or financial system be mired into a vibration or even crisis the whole country and society will have to pay a hell lot of cost for it.
Brad deLong has had a look at the "cost" of supporting the renminbi. What's clear from the official statement is that China sees its reserves as a macro-economic insurance policy. They aren't too concerned if the US dollar loses value, because most of its trade is denominated in US dollars. Effectiively the Chinese economy is a dollarised one. So long as the majority of its trade continues to be denominated in US dollars (and note that's not the same thing as only trading with the US) then its forex reserves are no problem. If China is prepared to continue investing in Treasuries it might even allow other central banks to diversify away and allow a relatively painless drop in both the US dollar and US Treasuries.
China is not looking at its foreign reserves as an investment. It is looking at them as insurance.
It is extremely flattering that Andres chose me as the subject of his second interview with Asian bloggers, following his interview with Joel from Far Outliers. As we've come to expect from one of the most thoughtful bloggers in the region, his questions were varied and thought-provoking.
China has 1.3 billion citizens. The People's Daily reports amongst them there are 90,000 foreigners working in China. That's a low base for all the hype about China being the next big thing, especially if you consider that many of these foreigners are likely to be English teachers. Are overseas companies relying more on local labour or is foreign investment not translating into people on the ground? Or are these numbers wrong? Could there be an army of illegal Western immigrants in China, secretly beavering away in such menial jobs as management?
In other globalisation news, China has responded to massive pressure over the liberalisation of textiles quotas by imposing export duties. Silly me. I thought abolishing quotas was all about free trade and allowing comparitive advantage to work. This could still all work out - if the level of taxes is lower than China's cost advantage then China will still take its fair share of world trade in textiles. Otherwise it's just postponing the inevitable.
Simon,
It is a good principle to assume that all figures from China are distorted, fake or otherwise not true, until the opposite is proven.
I assume the figure relates to all foreigners with a working licence in China, so that would exclude Taiwanese, Hongkongnese, mainland Chinese with a foreign passport and foreigners with a Shenzhen visa. So, in any case, it is a perfectly useless figure.
Posted by Fons Tuinstra at December 14, 2004 03:43 PM
Fons - these are numbers of foreign work permits. My point remians for all the blather of a China investment boom, the number of non-Chinese boots on the ground seems very small in such a vast country.
I grant the any official number in China is suspect. Nevertheless I hope it helps give people some perspective.
Stephen at ALN has sample questions of the new test Singapore's curiously misnamed Ministry of Manpower will start giving all domestic helpers from next year. Do this quiz, it's well worth the time. To think I almost gave my kids a screwdriver to play with...
When Hu Jiantao assumed the mantle of top dog in China this year, there was an expectation his would be a more open, gentler style of governing, a marked depature from his predecessor Jiang Zemin.
Two weeks ago the developers of a massive but vacant development in Hunghom announced they were going to demolish the new buildings and build luxury apartments. There was a public outcry, the Government quickly got on the bandwagon and the whole idea was abondended with indecent haste. Some jumped to the developers' defense, saying they were obeying the law and exercising their rights under contract. Luckily even the developers live in the real world, not a court room, and dropped the whole idea. Stephen Vines points out this is another victory for people power in HK.
This is the third major victory for people power in the past couple of years; the first, of course, being the shelving of the hated Article 23 legislation and the second being the scrapping of the super prison scheme. In some ways however this victory is more shaming because it exposes the government's impotence and incompetence. [T]he initial response of the government was to say that there was nothing it could do...It took no time at all for this vacuum of opposition to be filled by pressure groups and legislators. The acceleration of protest was fast. Relying on the impotence of the government and a dangerous disregard for the great unwashed, the developers issued a facile statement justifying their actions...
At every level this [Government] participation displayed at best incompetence and at worst unhealthy governmental collusion with the developers.
In the past HK's Government saw the property developers' as its main constituency. Which they were given the incestuous land auction cartel. The Government would restrict and parcel out tracts of land for development and developers would take turns in buying and turning them into flats. Now the public is realising they have a say in matters and the HK Government is slowly realising it too. Inevitably some tycoons will trot out their old warhorse of the damage such actions will have on HK's reputation as a financial centre etc. It's baloney and even they know it. Thomas Kwok, vice-chairman of massive developer Sun Hung Kai and part owner of the Hunghom development, said it would not undermine the economic environment. At the same time and more predictably Ronnie Chan Chi-chung of Hang Lung said it had "dealt a severe blow to investor confidence and Hong Kong was the most Communist place in China." Interesting vitriol from a man who's made his fortune in the "most Communist place in China". Maybe he should move to Shanghai and increase his fortune there?
There are two similar scandals brewing. Firstly there is the West Kowloon "cultural project", which is a massive property development on prime real estate dressed up in a cultural hub proposal. Expect the public opposition to the project to build after this success.
At least West Kowloon hasn't happened, yet. The Discovery Bay fiasco is a perfect combination of Government incompetence and property developers riding roughshod. Discovery Bay was initially to be a tourism project, a place for Hong Kongers to buy weekenders to get away from the rat race. But it quickly turned into yet another residential development. Under normal Government policy, such a change in the project would require the payment of a land premium fee, to reflect the greater utility of the land. Except it wasn't paid. At all. There are no records as to why it was not charged. The SCMP:
Other [Government] officials said they had no idea why the sum [land premium], which legislators estimate could be as high as HK$10 billion, was not collected after the developers changed the original plan from a holiday resort to a luxury housing development.
The Lands Department was also criticised in the report for failing to assess whether Discovery Bay's developers should be charged a land premium after changing the project's master layout plan eight times since the mid-1970s. Director of Lands Patrick Lau Lai-chiu said if today's government practices were applied 20 years ago, a land premium would have been charged for the change of land use in the master layout plan. But he said the government could find no record of why the money was not collected then and dismissed calls from committee members to recover the sum.
The Government's defense? The money cannot be considered as lost revenue because there's no evidence it should have been collected. A perfect catch-22: there's no evidence so the Government can't decide if something should be done. Makes you wonder what all these highly paid public servants do with their time. Best of all:
"The government did not charge the money then and if we collected it 20 years later, there would be big difficulties ... there will be a legal controversy," [Director of Lands] Mr Lau said.
It is understood that David Akers-Jones, who was then secretary for New Territories in charge of the project, and later became the chief secretary, will testify at a hearing next month. Sir David is retired in Hong Kong.
We can be thankful Sir David still lives in HK so that he can testify as to the events of 30 years ago. We're saving on travel and we get to see the Government's record keeping system: relying on the memory of former public servants.
For the sake of HK$10 billion, aren't a few "legal controversies" worth the trouble? Apparently not. Might scare away the developers from the "most Communist place in China".
By the way, anyone seen Tung Che-hwa lately? He needs to meet the people he supposedly represents. Not Beijing; not the property developers. It's the people of HK.
The status quo prevailed in Taiwan's legislative elecitons, with the opposition KMT and their allies holding on to 114 seats of the 225, versus Chen's DPP and allies winning 101. The NYT points out China could read the result as a successful outcome for its saber rattling. China is not going to relent given Chen will be around for a few more years yet, no doubt hoping by the time of the next election Taiwan's voters get it "right" and elect a KMT candidate instead. If that happens China will then find itself in a tricky position. The KMT is closer to China than the pro-independence camp so they'd expect some kind of negotiations. But that's down the track.
Certainly a big loss for Chen & the DPP. I guess it means we can look forward to 3 years of the same as before: no talks with China, virtually no legislation passed in Taiwan, and only the occasional food/fist fight to liven things up a bit!
At least this time Taiwan managed to have an election without any rioting/legal challenges.
Besides, this win by KMT hardly means that the Taiwanese failure reunication. It just means that TSU and DPP did bad by competing against each other instead of cooperate, and both trying to outdo the other that they miss the centrists.
And it also means that the Taiwanese prefer KMT's economic outlook to DPP which is, to say the least, crap (from a libertarian point of view). Or it could mean that Taiwan was just as divided as March and nothing changed. I favour Taiwanese independence, but if I was Taiwanese, I would find it hard to vote for DPP.
Miss Artificial Beauty begins this week. It's considered cheating if you haven't had cosmetic surgery. The contest controversially includes Liu Xiaojing from Harbin. She was a man until 3 years ago.
The idea is too good to leave to the world of beauty. Let's have the steroid Olympics, where there are no restrictions on the drugs contestants can take. Let's have cricket where Murali can play without being no-balled. And finally baseball can embrace Barry Bonds with open (if not very wide) arms.
Our leaders are always imploring to diversify HK's skills so we can continue to be a world-leading economy. So someone follows the advice and gets arrested for their trouble.
Police in Hong Kong have raided a floating fish farm used to refine smuggled South American cocaine.
Officers seized about 400 liters (106 gallons) of a brownish solution in buckets, which could be turned into US$1.54 million (€1.16 million) worth of cocaine, on the fish farm, a police statement said Friday. A Peruvian national and three Hong Kong men were arrested.
I can see the concern. Overfishing is enough of a problem without making the eating of fish addictive. It could turn the drug trade on its head. Anyone smelly decidedly fishy can be arrested for smuggling coke. Fish markets can offer a sideline as a drugs supermarket. Cod and coke, heroin in your hake and grass in your grouper.
China has reacted with righteous indignation at Japan's defense program's labelling the PRC, along with North Korea, as a potential threat.
The Japanese government unveiled a 10-year defense program Friday which groundlessly describes China as a potential threat alongside the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
While the DPRK has no diplomatic relations with Tokyo, China is a country with which Japan has signed a peace treaty and maintained very close economic ties...China has expressed its "strong dissatisfaction" with the Japanese move. "This is totally groundless and extremely irresponsible," commented Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyueon Friday.
It is well-known that the Chinese people are peace-loving. A stronger China will not be a threat to any other country. Instead, it will be conducive to the development of its neighbors and to regional and global stability and prosperity.
Maybe it's just me. I'm sure Chinese people are "peace loving"? I'm just not so sure the leadership is. Don't believe me? Feel free to ask your local Chinese embassy what the plan for re-unification with Taiwan is.
**Nominations closed. Polls will be posted from December 15th**
Following Phil's successful efforts last year with the 2003 Asian Blog Awards, he has graciously passed the honour of hosting this year's event to me. So I present to you the Asia Blog Awards for 2004. It's a great way to draw attention to the Asian blogging scene. Hopefully it will generate more traffic for Asian blogs and expose us all to many new blogs from around the region.
This year's event will be similar to last year with a few key differences. The rules for the event are below. Any suggestions, offers of help or comments are welcome:
1. All nominated blogs must be predominately written in English.
2. For each regional category, the blog must either be written by someone living in that region and/or predominately concerntrate on that region.
3. If your blog is nominated but you do not want it to be in the voting, please send me an email at simon-[at]-simonworld-[dot]-mu-[dot]-nu with your blog name and URL, your email and a clear statement you do not wish to be nominated. Otherwise all nominated blogs will be considered potential entrants.
4. The logo is the same as last year's awards. I encourage you to use it and to promote the awards but please download it to your own server. Do NOT link to the image on my server.
5. Voting will be restricted to once per day per person. You can vote more than once, but only once per day. I will doing my very best to prevent cheating. Any blog found to encourage or engage in cheating will be immediately disqualified.
6. Due to the limitations of the voting service, there will only be 10 finalists per category. At the end of the voting I will list the winner and runner-up and all nominations for each category.
7. The finalists will be determined as follows by the number of nominations (note that nominations do not count as votes) and my discretion. Repeated nominations by the same person do not count. If your blog is nominated in more than one category I may, at my sole discretion, exclude you from certain categories. If you have a preference for one category over another, please email me. In other words I've only got 10 open slots per category, so I'll do my best to judge who should go into those slots. I'm looking for volunteers to help with choosing finalists (see below).
8. To nominate a blog leave a comment in the relevant post's comments. See below for the full list of categories. Please include both the blog's name and its URL. You can nominate yourself.
9. I am the sole judge of these awards. I welcome input but my decisions will be final (unless I change my mind).
9a. I am excluding my own site from being nominated. If you'd like to vote for me, I'm in the Asia section of the World Blog awards.
10. Timetable:
Nominations: close December 10th
Voting: December 15th to December 31st inclusive
Results: first week of January
The timetable is subject to revision. It is deliberately quick to avoid the Christmas/New Year period and avoid dragging on too long. If there is enough demand I may extend the voting into the New Year but at this stage this is the timetable.
Before I get to the categories, I have two requests. For each regional category I would like a volunteer who knows the blogs of that region well enough to help me sort out potential finalists. Your own blog will still be eligible for that category. Also anyone able to help in designing logos/buttons for the winners to post on their site, please let me know. You can email me at simon-[at]-simonworld-[dot]-mu-[dot]-nu
I think everyone should be entitled to *one* vote. Perhaps you could find software that requires the registration of voters - making multiple votes by a single person really too much of an inconvience. Registration also solves vote rigging (pretty easy with most online voting scripts - vote, reconnect your connection to get a new IP address, delete all cookies, vote, repeat)
That's a fair point and one I considered, but due to the time constraints and the lack of available software I just went with what I had at hand. If you can find some free/cheap voting software that will do this then I'm happy to try it. But it needs to be ready to go by next Wednesday...
From last year, Phil had a reasonably good one-time only voting system and still plenty of people tried to cheat. I figure this is the best compromise. I will be tracking the voting to make sure people don't vote more than once a day.
Rajan - many thanks for the tip. You guys forget that some of us are pretty computer illiterate and i would never have worked out how to vote more than once without being detected but now i know how to vote early and vote often as the old saying goes.
hopefully this means i will be able to raise even more cash from the auction of my vote(s).
I'm actually surprised at the number I'm finding that are written by Peace Corps Volunteers in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan (Uzbekistan has few active ones).
Really though, we're a weird category -- not quite Asia, but not quite Europe, just hanging out on the fringes.
Posted by Nathan Hamm at December 2, 2004 10:55 PM
Helen beat me to the question!
Can I write you in? How about if there is a groundswell of public support for a write in campaign?
Posted by Carl Parkes at December 3, 2004 02:43 AM
who's going to feed the grandchildren while you feeds all these bloody bloggers inflated egos. Just fix the results at the beginning and all the votes can go into the ether. This technique almost worked in The Ukraine and has been successful elsewhere
The Central Asia link takes us to the Vietnam category. I am, of course, willing to help you out with selecting the finalists. And, since the Central Asian blogosphere is a lightly-trafficked place, I heartily encourage everyone to check out the Central Asia blogs on my blogroll to help with the nominating!
Posted by Nathan Hamm at December 4, 2004 02:07 AM
Should all be fixed now Nathan.
Thanks to all...please help continue to spread the word and get those nominations coming in.
I am a reader of blogs. My first favorite to which I am addicted to, and I am nomitating and voting is: A Sassy Lawyer in Philippine Suburbia with url http://houseonahill.net
I should like to nominate the entertainingly no-nonsense "Jakartass" blog (which lives at: http://jakartass.blogspot.com). If feasible I should like to nominate his blog for both "best Indonesian blog" as well as "best newcomer 2004"
Yours,
Derek Bacon
Posted by Derek Bacon at December 8, 2004 06:31 PM
Asia by Blog is a twice weekly feature, usually posted on Monday and Thursday, providing links to Asian blogs and their views on the news in this fascinating region. Previous editions can be found here.
This edition contains China-Japan tensions, the flipside of globalisation, Tron in Japan, a ban on Nike, political and legal changes in North Korea, Indonesia's most wanted, Santa for big boys, and a blogger you should know, plus plenty more...
The 2004 Asia Blog Awards have begun. There are plenty great Asian blogs so go and check some out. Also the voting has begun in the World Blog Awards, including the Asia section. You can vote once a day and I have been nominated amongst some elite company. So go nominate and vote; then check out the links below...
A solution for the US dollar crisis is at hand. We just have to wait a week to find out what it is. It's a problem that even stumps Nobel prize winners.
Modifying game players like X-Box and PlayStation II to run pirated discs and renting out movies may become criminal offences under proposals unveiled by the government yesterday to close loopholes in the Copyright Ordinance...
Film rental operators may also be held criminally liable if they fail to pay a fee to or seek permission from copyright owners, provided the owners are granted exclusive rental rights under the proposal.
Officials said the movie industry was unhappy about rental operators that charge much less than the cost of cinema ticket or disc. If the rights are confirmed, rental charges are expected to surge.
An analogy is in order: when you rent a flat, do you pay any additional fee to the original building developer, the builder, the architect? Dind't think so. Once the flat is sold the new owner has all rights to that property. I am ready to hear why a film rental is any different. Once the copyright owner has sold a copy of that film, why can that new owner be stopped from renting it out? Copyright fees are not annuities...yet. I'll bet the movie industry is unhappy about rental operators that charge much less than the cost of cinema tickets or dsics. That's the free market in action. So long as the rented movies and discs were legitimately bought in the first place I cannot see how the original copyright owner has any claim over the property once it's sold.
Or is HK giving up on private property rights? How ironic as China embraces them HK is going all Communist on us.
The Legco Commission yesterday dropped its plan to invest up to $10 million in the controversial Link real estate investment trust, but denied the proposal had involved a conflict of interest...
On Wednesday, commission members unanimously supported the plan, but yesterday they rejected it 5-4. Mrs Fan played down the about-face, saying the issue was "a small family matter" which should not be politicised. "It [would have been] a very small investment from our operation fund and is a family matter for Legco. If people don't feel comfortable with it, then we might as well not invest in the scheme," she said.
If you ever worried about the nature of LegCo, calling this a "small family matter" will confirm your worst fears.
Japan is upset over another Chinese ship "researching geography" off the southern-most tip of Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone.
Tokyo has lodged a protest with Beijing against unannounced research activities being carried out by a Chinese ship in Japan's exclusive economic zone around Okinotorishima Island, the nation's southernmost territory, officials in Tokyo said Wednesday.
China has claimed the small island 1,740 km south of the mainland is merely a rock, rather than a significant piece of territory worthy of putting an EEZ around. EEZs are based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Okinotorishima Island is listed as being 4.8 km long, but most of it is submerged...The 400,000-sq.-km EEZ around the island is larger than Japan itself. To avoid losing claim to the huge area, Japan has built wave-dissipating blocks around the two visible tops of the island to prevent them from eroding.
China last year began drilling at the gas site, which is some 450 kilometers (280 miles) west of Japan's southern Okinawa island. Japan says China has drilled three to four kilometers (two to two-and-a-half miles) beyond a line proposed by Japan separating the two nations' exclusive economic zones. Beijing has not recognised the demarcation, saying its economic rights extend almost as far as Okinawa. Japan and China are two of the world's top energy importers.
A Japanese survey in 1999 estimated the reserves at the disputed field to be at 200 billion cubic meters (seven trillion cubic feet).
A better summary of the history of the dispute can be found here. If you want to have a look at what they are fighting over, here's a picture of the beautiful Okinotorishima "Island". Does that look like an island to you? It would to me if it had a bar in the middle.
I almost spat my Cheerios across the kitchen this morning when I read this in the SCMP:
The Legislative Council commission has decided to invest up to HK$10 million in the Link - the Housing Authority's controversial real estate investment trust - because it believes the deal is a bargain...The 13 member commission, an independent statutory body that support's [sic] Legco's operations thruogh the council's secretariat, comprises legislators from various parties and is chaired by Legco President Rita Fan.
"Some legislators have repeatedly said the trust will be sold at a knockdown price. That means it will be a very good deal," she said.
With Legco's workload like to increase, the more the commission could on on investments the better services it could provide Legco members and the public, Mrs Fan said.
The commission has reserves of HK$160 million, three-quarters of it held in bank time-deposits with the balance invested in financial markets. Mrs Fan said it had been the establish practice for the comission to nivest in bonds with high stability and good returns.
It's hard to know where to begin. Let's set aside the sub-editor's over-fondness for apostrophes. There are a number of issues here, any one of which would normally be a scandal.
1. Why are legislators investing taxpayer money in the Link REIT? It is effectively paying itself. If normal practice, according to Rita Fan, is to invest in bonds, why suddenly invest in Link? Mrs. Fan says it is because Link has bought its assets cheaply. That's great for the IPO. It's not so great for the Government-owned Housing Authority that is selling the assets. Mrs. Fan is confirming the widely held view that the Housing Authority is selling these assets for below their fair value. That's a scandal.
2. Why does Legco have a financial reserve of HK$160 million? Normally running costs would be paid of out of revenue on an ongonig basis. Any money saved should be returned to those who paid it in the first place: the taxpayer. Giving Legco an investment fund make absolutely no sense. If extra funds are needed to provide better services, pay for them through the budget. That's a scandal.
3. Why are our esteemed Legco politicians investing any public money at all? There is a massive conflict of interest. If Legco must have a financial reserve it needs to be managed by an independent advisor at arms-length from the Legco. Having 12 legislators on the investment panel borders on unethical. That's a scandal.
Will we hear more about this? I doubt it. That's a scandal, too.
In the US the US government takes taxpayer's money and buys US government bonds and then the US government uses the money for general expenditures purposes.
It's called Social Security.
Not as egregious as this fraud, but along the same lines, just not as brazen (or is it just fraud with a better veil?).
We're from the government and we're here to help you...
Has anyone heard from Conrad? His site has been done for two days. Has he settled down with the inamorata and given up blogging? Or a mix up at the hosting company? Or has the site been hijacked? Anyone?
Countries build statues to honour their heroes, their war dead, their leaders. They represent one of societies ultimate accolades, a symbol that endures and inspires. Think of Lord Nelson in Trafalgar Square, think of the falling statue of Sadaam in Iraq, think of the Colussus of Rhodes. To the pantheon of great statues, China has one to add: the unknown mouse:
Most countries honour their war dead, but China has erected a monument for a little thought of but altogether more cuddly martyr -- the mice, guinea pigs, rabbits and monkeys who gave their lives to science.
Far from basking in the glory of scientific achievement after making strides with a potential SARS vaccine, Chinese researchers had taken time to commemorate the furry martyrs who paved the way for safe human testing, the official Xinhua news agency said...[T]he Chinese Academy of Medical Science had been graced with a monument to the fallen animals. It did not give details of the monument or say where it was.
Wuhan University, in the central China province of Hubei, erected a similar monument in September in honour of 38 rhesus monkeys that died in another SARS research programme, Xinhua said.
Hong Kong's schoolchildren have scored top results in an international comparison of math skills. The OECD's PISA report ranked HK students as top in maths, second in problem solving, third in science and seventh in reading for an overall top ranking of all countries surveyed. A victory for HK's education system? Not necessarily.
The same survey also found HK students had the worst perception of their schooling. More than half said school had done little to prepare them for adult life, 13% said school was a waste of time and they had the lowest sense of "belonging" out of all students surveyed. Despite the Government's efforts, schooling in HK remains about only one thing: getting good marks. This sausage factory approach means schools teach but they don't educate. It is made worse by the huge pressure parents put their children under to perform to the exclusion of all else. This survey is not a good result for Hong Kong.
I was afraid to look but I did anyway. And my suspicions were verified. Americans "feel good" and "feel a sense of belonging" about their education though.
Hong Kong did not have the "worst perception of their schooling".
It's true that the Hong Kong students reported that schools were not preparing them for their adult life.
However, they did very well (relative to other nations) on other attitudinal measures. For example, most of the HK students reported they were "interested in" and "enjoyed" mathematics. 45% said they looked forward to mathematics classes. Those figures are all above average.
The kids might be looking forward to maths class, but if half are saying the school isn't preparing them for adult life, I take that to be a poor perception of their schooling.
Asia by Blog is a twice weekly feature, usually posted on Monday and Thursday, providing links to Asian blogs and their views on the news in this fascinating region. Previous editions can be found here.
This edition contains MS spaces censored, Uyghurs and Islam, North Korean beauties, a bird drop in Thailand, dead Singaporean gamblers, the new Chinese IBM, the real meaning of 'Made in China', Christmas in China plus plenty more...
The 2004 Asia Blog Awards nominations have begun. There are plenty great Asian blogs, so get busy and get nominating. Also the voting has begun in the World Blog Awards, including the Asia section. You can vote once a day and I have been nominated amongst some elite company. So go nominate and vote; then check out the links below...
A very thorough look at the history and politics of Uyghurs and Islam in China's western province of Xinjiang.
Dan Washburn rates the various gadgets he took on his pan-China adventure. These are in-the-field reviews of what works and what doesn't, plus Dan's slow drift away from all things electronic.
Thomas Barnett says China is now similar to the US in the first two decades of the 1900s and the nexus between globalisation and Americanisation is nearing an end.
The Economist this week has a piece by UN Sec-Gen Kofi Annan on reforming the UN. It follows a report by the "UN High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change" which included Gareth Evans. The print edition (page 24) has him listed as "president of the International Crisis Group and former tourism minister." Well he did get around a lot.
Gra-gra fancied himself at one stage as a UN Sec-Gen and even learnt French to qualify, but has settle for president of the International Crisis Group. Before that "Biggles" was Australia's foreign minister and sometime paramour for ex-Democrat leader Cheryl Kernot...the Age has a full profile. And here we all were thinking Belgium was far enough away for him to stop doing damage.
CRIMINAL syndicates in Singapore are using funeral wakes as cover for mobile casinos by paying off grieving families to allow strangers to gamble near their loved ones' corpses, a report said.
The Straits Times said the syndicates have found a loophole under which card games are permitted at wakes, usually held for several days, to keep people occupied while paying respects to the dead and meeting friends and relatives.
Spoil-sport Singaporean police will note tolerate excessive "noise pollution" nor "gambling" at wakes, but will allow "games of chance for social interaction".
In a completely unrelated report Singapore has reported a massive rise in the number of year-long wakes. When asked to comment one mourner said, "We really, really miss...ummm...what's his name again? Anyway it's goign to take us a long time to deal with this. Ha. Get it? Deal with it? Blackjack!"
Thanks to everyone who has linked and nominated in the Asian Blog Awards 2004. Keep them coming in. I'm revising the timetable to give some more time for nominations and to also allow enough time to get the polls set up. The revised timetable:
Nominations: close December 10th
Voting: December 15th to December 31st inclusive
Results: first week of January
The results will come out once I sort through all the votes. There are lots of great blogs being nominated, but please don't be shy about suggesting others. The idea is to create exposure for all blogs in a region, not just the most popular ones.
An interesting interview with Sakai Makoto, head of the Japan-China Friendship Association. It looks at what forces are behind the tension between Japan and China. There are some telling points, for example how the strained ties are impeding economic development, that China should feel itself a strong partner for Japan, the domestic political pressures on Japan's PM and that the tension benefits Taiwan.
I mentioned whenChina raised interest rates that at the same time they liberalised they also abolished the ceiling on lending rates. This allows proper credit charges to be factored into loans, a major step in improving China's banking system and moving towards a more normal market economy. Now the China head of the IMF looks at the same issue in greater depth and notes the same: this is a far more important (micro)-economic step than China's (macro)-economic raising of rates.
In its report, the department said that "no major trading partner of the United States met the technical requirements" laid out in the 1988 law. China's decision to keep its currency, the yuan, tightly linked to the U.S. dollar and not allow it to rise in value did not meet the law's requirement's concerning problematic currency manipulations for unfair trade advantages.
China cops a lot of flak in talk of the US dollar and its decline. In fact it is not clear that China's currency is under-valued. China runs at best a balanced trade account. What it does is process raw materials and runs a massive deficit with countries that provide those, and turns them into manufactured goods it then exports primarily to America. A float of the yuan might even see its value fall if the massive pent-up demand from Chinese citizens to diversify their (large) yuan currency holdings into other currencies. The previous quid pro quo has been for Asian countries, predominately China and Japan, to export goods to America and buy back US dollars and Treasuries in return. This supported the US dollar and has kept US interest rates low, despite huge budget deficits. In turn that combined with huge amounts of liquidity have spurred asset market rallies (bubbles), the latest being in the property market. This merry dance is now reaching its inevitable conclusion. The US is quite content, official speeches not withstanding, to allow its currency to depreciate and thus devalue its way of its current account problem. No other country could get away with running a deficit as high as 6% of GDP without facing a massive run and financial chaos. But markets appear sanguine when it comes to the US, perhaps because of the dollar's role as the historic reserve currency. But if I'm Japan or China, owning a shedload of Treasuries, and I am about to see their value fall another 30% or more from a dollar depreciation, I'm going to be mighty p!ssed. I can't keep doubling up without causing domestic economic chaos, especially as both ecnomies are growing and inflation is looming as a problem. But I also can't sell or even stop because that just makes the problem worse. The only real alternative is the Euro, but buying those assets doesn't make much sense when most of my trade is denominated in US dollars. Brad, I'm damned if I do, but far more damned if I don't continue holding and buying US dollars and Treasuries. China and the BoJ are many things, but they are not fools. They are not going to shoot their biggest asset holdings in the foot.
What's the solution? It's actually basic economics. The US needs to save more and stop relying on the rest of the world to pay its credit card bill each month. A good way to start? Cut the budget deficit, quickly. It will mean both spending cuts and tax rises. It won't be easy. But considering the alternatives, it is the least bad option and it is about time America did something to get itself out of its own mess. Otherwise the US will find foreigners are going to have enough of owning US assets and are no longer going to want to use the US dollar as the basis of their trade. The dollar will keep losing value and potentially stoke domestic US inflation. If followed to its logical conclusion, the world needs to get ready for a Mexico-style bail-out...for the USA. It would be ironic if China, bastion of Communism, ends up giving the US a helping hand out of its economic mess.
In other words: the party's over. It's payback time.
The US needs to save more and stop relying on the rest of the world to pay its credit card bill each month. A good way to start? Cut the budget deficit, quickly.
Hear, hear. Now if we could just do something about the pesky rules about who's allowed to be President, we in the U.S. could look forward to voting Simon in 2008.
The deficit issue was used against Republicans in 1992 by Perot and it's always nice to see how much they've learned from it--nothing.
are trying to avoid another Great Depression. At the same time they . There are two main camps as represented by Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush (the first President Bush is closer to former President Carter politically than to his son). But on some issues all must give way. No one wants another Great Depression.
Foreign newspapers are to be printed but not sold in China. Despite being easily accessable already via the internet, China only knows to ban foreign publications with very limited exceptions. But when lucrative printing contracts are open the authorities aren't going to get in the way of commerce. Given most foreign papers are in a language almost no-one can read, it's hard to see what the threat is. But that's Communists for you: ban what you can't control.
Miss World 2004 has been run and won by Miss Peru. Next year the contest again returns to Hainan Island, despite reports the contestants were bored out of their brains having been forced to spend 4 weeks in a place most struggle to find something to do after one. Last year the contestants travelled throughout China in the leadup in the contest but not this time around.
Let's cut to the chase. The anti-porn drive not withstanding, Xinhua presents some tasteful shots of the contest. More shots here.
Police said Friday they have arrested a 21-year-old man and are looking for two other suspects after they allegedly stole an empty double-decker bus and crashed it.
A witness told police he saw the bus being driven unsteadily on a road in the suburban new town of Tuen Mun, and that the trio fled the vehicle after crashing it into guard railings, police spokeswoman Kelly Chan said.
Has anybody ever seen a Hong Kong bus being driven "steadily"?
There is an ongoing piece of farce being staged by Vanuatu. They have twice changed their mind on recognising China over Taiwan, the battle becoming a struggle between the Prime Minister and his Cabinet. The PM faces a no-confidence motion, so he's taken matters into his own hands. Literally.
Vanuatu's Prime Minister Serge Vohor was accused here of assaulting the Chinese ambassador during an increasingly acrimonious row over Vohor's unilateral recognition of Taiwan, for which he is facing a no-confidence vote.
Beijing's newly installed envoy to Port Vila, Bao Shusheng, said he was punched on the shoulder by Vohor when he sought to complain that the flag of Taiwan was still flying in the capital after it was supposed to have been taken down after a ruling by the council of ministers.
Maybe he's been watching too many videos of Taiwan's Parliament?
While the Asian Blog Awards are only in nomination stages, the World Blog Awards voting has begun. Yours truly is flattered to be nominated amongst some august company in the Best Asian Blog category. I've also listed my endorsements for other categories. You can vote once a day every day from now until December 12th.
Asia by Blog is a twice weekly feature, posted on Monday and Thursday, providing links to Asian blogs and their views on the news in this fascinating region. Previous editions can be found here.
This edition contains China's emerging blogosphere, the ASEAN-China free trade area, Japanese urban legends, the wisdom of cabbies, being gay in Japan and AIDS in China, subs in India, Korea's Sharon Stone moment plus plenty more...
The 2004 Asia Blog Awards nominations have begun. And the voting has begun in the World Blog Awards, including the Asia section. You can vote once a day and I have been nominated amongst some elite company. So go nominate and vote; then check out the links below...
Nathan discusses the disconnect between the Communists economic and political goals.
While waiting on the verdicts on the trial of the authors of the banned Chinese Peasants Study, ESWN translates a detailed background look at the authors, the book and the case.
At WoW there are several posts on the state of Chinese soccer. Best line is in this post: Many Chinese people are afraid of criticizing their schools, their companies and the government, but they are free to say anything they want about Chinese football. Therefore, maybe our national soccer team became the best representatives for our stressful people.
Singapore's Lee Kuan Yew has moderated his opposition to a casino, but hopes Singaporeans aren't mugs. Yet no doubt his Government is hoping they are mugs so they can fill the coffers and ease the deficit.
Miscellany
Have a look at the Asian pieces the celebs are getting this Christmas.
China Daily copies most everything already on the internet as news. But so does Yahoo. Anyway, I thought House of Flying Daggers was a good film. Not Zhang Yimou's best, but better than Hero imo.
The 2004 Blog Awards have entered the voting stage. The full list of polls is here and I am going to follow the lead of Bill and Jim and list my picks for each category. Before I do I will note that making the final list is already an achivement in itself. Like Bill I often have several favourites in each category; luckily you can vote once a day so I will vote for each of those listed. I heartily recommend you do so too...
The full list of all Munuvians competing is here. Each will get at least one vote. An * indicates I will vote for this blog more than once. I have a feeling my clicking finger's going to get a good workout. Now on with the list...
Thank you to everyone who has nominated so far. Please keep the nominations coming in. At the moment I'm intending to close nominations next Wednesday, December 8th. However I'm toying with the idea of leaving nominations open a little long, to say December 10th (next Friday). Then I'd open the voting around 15th December and leave it open until the end of the month. Any suggestions or preferences are welcome.
Are you a world traveller, jaded at the same old tourist trail and looking for something new? Why not try North Korea? It's a holiday with a difference:
A Hyundai executive half-jokingly says that his company's excursions are called "Don't Do It! Tours." Cellphones, laptops, telephoto lenses, and powerful binoculars are strictly verboten. Visitors must wear photo ID tags at all times. Photos are forbidden inside the DMZ and in the North. You are not to point at a North Korean, and, in the unlikely event you talk with a resident, you are to avoid any political statements.
While you are no doubt quite the joke-maker, caution is advised.
Two years ago a South Korean woman reportedly asked a North Korean why President Kim Jong Il was the only fat man in the country, and was detained for several days as a result.
Who's laughing now? Regardless, read the whole article.
I have so much sorrow for the N. Korean people. Why is it there is nothing anyone has/can do? Why must they suffer so? They are people, too. They deserve to live free. That is my belief. I am talking to my government to try to help them. Maybe there is a light at the end of the very long tunnel. Thank you for your article. I don't think the joke was very funny, either. Have a nice day.
Ex-editor of the (almost gone) FEER, Michael Vatikiotis, sees the potential China-ASEAN FTA as a double-edged sword for the ASEAN countries. Already Thai farmers are feeling the pointy end of the competition stick while having trouble getting their goods into China. At the moment ASEAN nations run a massive US$100 billion trade surplus with China as they shovel their raw materials into the Chinese workshop. Mr. Vatikiotis notes a free trade area with China is good given ASEAN exists within the "yuan block", but at the same time the ASEAN nations need to develop themselves as viable competitors with China in attracting foreign investment and trade.
Globalisation - it's catching on because it works.
Xinhua isn't all dismal science. Check out this Heidi Klum spread. They've combined a plug for McDonald's with skimpy bikini shots. They really are catching up with their Western media counterparts.
While The Times's policy is, wisely, never to comment on the sources of articles, my own private digging indicates that Mr. Zhao was not the source for that scoop [on Jiang Zemin's official retirement]. He is innocent of everything except being a fine journalist who, before joining The Times, wrote important articles in the Chinese press about corruption.
Kristof has been refused a visa to visit by the Chinese authorities, which he casts as part of a clampdown on dissent and reporting by China. Which it could easily be, although China is also responding to America's tight visa system with similarly tight restrictions. Earlier in his op-ed he gets it right:
So what are China's new leaders, Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao, really like? Are they visionaries who are presiding over the greatest explosion of wealth the world has ever known? Or are they ruthless thugs who persecute Christians, Falun Gong adherents, labor leaders and journalists in a desperate attempt to maintain their dictatorship?
There's some evidence for both propositions, and they are probably both true to some degree.
Hu and Wen have one main priority above all else: to keep the CCP in power. Everything else flows from that.
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