It's my first working day in Shanghai. I stayed in the city for almost two months in the summer last year and then left for Hong Kong. Now, I am like a totally freshed person to the city. No idea how to use subway to go to Pudong, no idea of the humid weather, and no idea of the people here.
Staying in the office, I have a private room, much more comfortable than the Hong Kong office. People here leave office really early, while I still continue working as a HKer, the only one remaining in the office.
Tomorrow will be a big conference. Will be terribly busy. I should have some time to enjoy myself in SH.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Another tip from Wiki conference
Jeremy Wales said something quite right during the conference: The block of Wiki will not only inhibit the information flowing into China, but also inhibit the information flowing out of China. Nobody in the mainland China could update the Wiki in the way they want, which means they will not involve in a internationl world where everyone has the right to speak.
A little bit like China's foreign policy right now. No one talks too much. In some extent, it is right; but in other extent, it mean the country loses its freedom of speech to the other countries in the world. Better to think about it.
A little bit like China's foreign policy right now. No one talks too much. In some extent, it is right; but in other extent, it mean the country loses its freedom of speech to the other countries in the world. Better to think about it.
Wikipedia Chinese blogger conference in Hong Kong
The most exciting thing to attend the conference is to see Jimmy Wales, thehedge-fund-manager-turned-non-profit-organization-founder. I am just a huge fun of him. So when i talked with him, I feel I even stammered to speak. bad, bad, bad, just because I am too nervous or what?
I agree with lawrence Li (in chinese) that the conference is a little bit boring, though my job as a volunteer was really chanllenging. Could you imagine doing a real time translation for a five-person panel discussion? Everyone speak fast and love to challenge each other. More terrible, four of the five person are non-native English speakers, and it makes harder to translate other people's secondary language. I was almost crazy. Will never do it again...... just for wiki this time.....
The content in the panel discussion is boring: why Chinese government blocked the wiki? everyone was guessing, while someone tried to explan from a Hong Kong perspective. Most of the speakers, except Jimmy Wales, tried to connect it to the democracy in Hong Kong, and BTW, most of them, except Jimmy Wales, are just occasional Wiki readers or never use Wiki before. The whole topic is a little out of way.... It is more important to talk on some practical topics, say, how to solve the problem, or how to make more mainland Chinese contribute. When a young college student standed up to give his idea which is to set up a version of Wiki without politics, two of the speakers even refused immediately: "You are self censorship yourself". What? at least that young student is thinking of some creative way, not even like someone just sitting there to judge others' creative idea all the time.
Anyway, Jimmy Wales is so cool. And I just like like like him. here is the photo. Am I a lucky girl to be shooted together with him?
I agree with lawrence Li (in chinese) that the conference is a little bit boring, though my job as a volunteer was really chanllenging. Could you imagine doing a real time translation for a five-person panel discussion? Everyone speak fast and love to challenge each other. More terrible, four of the five person are non-native English speakers, and it makes harder to translate other people's secondary language. I was almost crazy. Will never do it again...... just for wiki this time.....
The content in the panel discussion is boring: why Chinese government blocked the wiki? everyone was guessing, while someone tried to explan from a Hong Kong perspective. Most of the speakers, except Jimmy Wales, tried to connect it to the democracy in Hong Kong, and BTW, most of them, except Jimmy Wales, are just occasional Wiki readers or never use Wiki before. The whole topic is a little out of way.... It is more important to talk on some practical topics, say, how to solve the problem, or how to make more mainland Chinese contribute. When a young college student standed up to give his idea which is to set up a version of Wiki without politics, two of the speakers even refused immediately: "You are self censorship yourself". What? at least that young student is thinking of some creative way, not even like someone just sitting there to judge others' creative idea all the time.
Anyway, Jimmy Wales is so cool. And I just like like like him. here is the photo. Am I a lucky girl to be shooted together with him?
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
google and blogger
Google.com has started to let its gmail user log on blogger.com......automatically....... Frankly speaking, I hate it. Come on, I am already the user of blogger.com and gmail.com. Now with my gmail opening, I have to log out first when i go to the blogger.com and then log in again. Troublesome.
It is not a google way. in my concept way, google should be cool, cool, cool. It just needs to attract users by excellent services such as google map, gmail, google talk and so on. But not by forcing users using the service under the same account...automatically......
Just want to say another thing but first annoyed by the above things.
An employee of baidu.com was killed by the door guard after she finished the work in the midnight. It was late then, almost the midnight, so she just slept in the company, while the door guard, a bad guard, went inside trying to rape her. However, the girl resisted hardly and then the guard killed her. (Quote from the link in Chinese)
It was not about Baidu.com, though it may be be that popular online if it is another company. but the security is just so bad, even guard will do illegal things. When economy develops quickly, people miss a lot of other things, such as ethics.
The old China has various rules on ethics; though they are old, they are still useful in maintain the peace in the society. or the society will expand too fast, just like a balloon, and finally.....booh..boo... bo....
It is not a google way. in my concept way, google should be cool, cool, cool. It just needs to attract users by excellent services such as google map, gmail, google talk and so on. But not by forcing users using the service under the same account...automatically......
Just want to say another thing but first annoyed by the above things.
An employee of baidu.com was killed by the door guard after she finished the work in the midnight. It was late then, almost the midnight, so she just slept in the company, while the door guard, a bad guard, went inside trying to rape her. However, the girl resisted hardly and then the guard killed her. (Quote from the link in Chinese)
It was not about Baidu.com, though it may be be that popular online if it is another company. but the security is just so bad, even guard will do illegal things. When economy develops quickly, people miss a lot of other things, such as ethics.
The old China has various rules on ethics; though they are old, they are still useful in maintain the peace in the society. or the society will expand too fast, just like a balloon, and finally.....booh..boo... bo....
Friday, August 18, 2006
do people care about China's capital market?
I've been writing on China's capital market in English for a while, especially in the stock market. A question remaining in the mind is if English readers do care about this market. Frankly speaking, China's market is still a domestic market, while players are all, or mostly Chinese. So why people still want to read the news in English? Do English readers care about a Chinese company buying another Chinese company, or a Chinese tycoon has been punished?
I am still on my way to find the answer. However, a lot of media have been trying to do that. Have a look at Wall Street Journal, Financial Times and even Times magazine. A lot of stories on Chinese companies. Nobody did it before, so everyone wants to be the pioneer. It's not easy, especially for reporters. They have to be familiar with both side, Chinese side and English side, to find a way to cover interesting stories.
But I still wonder if people really care. Anyone has idea?
I am still on my way to find the answer. However, a lot of media have been trying to do that. Have a look at Wall Street Journal, Financial Times and even Times magazine. A lot of stories on Chinese companies. Nobody did it before, so everyone wants to be the pioneer. It's not easy, especially for reporters. They have to be familiar with both side, Chinese side and English side, to find a way to cover interesting stories.
But I still wonder if people really care. Anyone has idea?
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Chinese Wikimedia conference 2006 in Hong Kong
Chinese Wikimedia Conference 2006 will be held in Hong Kong from August 26 to August 27. I almost missed it as I was so busy with my job these days. However, Luckily, I found it just before the conference, and thought it would be interesting to attend and volunteer there.
Wiki grows fast. I first heard about it in 2004, when it was pretty new with only a few users. Now, it is so big, covering every corner of the world. I am not sure if the Chinese bloggers are more active now, maybe not as active as in the English version. But I believe people will soon fall in love with it.
If you just drop by HK in the period, come to the conference and have fun.
Wiki grows fast. I first heard about it in 2004, when it was pretty new with only a few users. Now, it is so big, covering every corner of the world. I am not sure if the Chinese bloggers are more active now, maybe not as active as in the English version. But I believe people will soon fall in love with it.
If you just drop by HK in the period, come to the conference and have fun.
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Say something for Carlyle Group
As one of the biggest and government official-backed private equity funds in U.S., Carlyle may be already used to political pressure. But I couldn't quite understand why it faces so much hurdle in its deal in China.
I remembered cleard a classmate from U.S. once told me the nationalism among Chinese is very dangerous. I was angry to hear that at first, but then found the words had a point. In fact, as Chinese suffered a lot in the war before 1950s, they knew they have to love their nation as much as they can in order to survive. But the fact is that the country becomes bigger now, which means the nation needs to do things to strengthen herself, instead of just protecting herself. But most Chinese still hate Japan, though Japan has taught Chinese a lot of the industrilization and corporate governance. Governments, unfortunately, make use of this kind of nationalist to play on the politics.
Now, it is the same with foreign merge & acquistions in China. Government is afraid that it will lost control on the state-owned companies after selling stakes to foreign investors. So it tells people that it will do harm if foreign investors buy into the company. And then many people protest again, just like they did to the Japanese.
But people should try to investigate before making a judgement. Like Carlyle's deal to Xugong group, one of the biggest heave machine makers in China. Carlyle wants it, Xugong wants it, and even the local government wants it. Then why central government couldn't make a decion in the period as long as three months? Some competitors even said Xugong was sold cheaply. But that's not a reason, isn't it? When foreign investors first came to China in 1990s after Deng Xiaoping made the decision, they also thought China's things are cheap, the reason why they came and buy factories. Why people at that time didn't say the state-owned companies are sold cheap? More important, what Carlyle will bring will be a transparent governance system, which will be much better than a non-transparent company where a lot of bribery will happen?
I am not a Carlyle fun, but just want to make a balance when all the Chinese newspaper which blamed Carlyle all day and when Carlyle hasn't said anything. Today people even argued that Pacific Insurance, in which Carlyle bought a stake a few years before, was also sold cheap. Come on, a bread in China now is sold at least five times expensive compared with years ago, and why couldn't a company? If someone wants to sell and someone wants to buy, the deal should be made, and that's called market economy.
I remembered cleard a classmate from U.S. once told me the nationalism among Chinese is very dangerous. I was angry to hear that at first, but then found the words had a point. In fact, as Chinese suffered a lot in the war before 1950s, they knew they have to love their nation as much as they can in order to survive. But the fact is that the country becomes bigger now, which means the nation needs to do things to strengthen herself, instead of just protecting herself. But most Chinese still hate Japan, though Japan has taught Chinese a lot of the industrilization and corporate governance. Governments, unfortunately, make use of this kind of nationalist to play on the politics.
Now, it is the same with foreign merge & acquistions in China. Government is afraid that it will lost control on the state-owned companies after selling stakes to foreign investors. So it tells people that it will do harm if foreign investors buy into the company. And then many people protest again, just like they did to the Japanese.
But people should try to investigate before making a judgement. Like Carlyle's deal to Xugong group, one of the biggest heave machine makers in China. Carlyle wants it, Xugong wants it, and even the local government wants it. Then why central government couldn't make a decion in the period as long as three months? Some competitors even said Xugong was sold cheaply. But that's not a reason, isn't it? When foreign investors first came to China in 1990s after Deng Xiaoping made the decision, they also thought China's things are cheap, the reason why they came and buy factories. Why people at that time didn't say the state-owned companies are sold cheap? More important, what Carlyle will bring will be a transparent governance system, which will be much better than a non-transparent company where a lot of bribery will happen?
I am not a Carlyle fun, but just want to make a balance when all the Chinese newspaper which blamed Carlyle all day and when Carlyle hasn't said anything. Today people even argued that Pacific Insurance, in which Carlyle bought a stake a few years before, was also sold cheap. Come on, a bread in China now is sold at least five times expensive compared with years ago, and why couldn't a company? If someone wants to sell and someone wants to buy, the deal should be made, and that's called market economy.
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