ChinaFUBAR

Ok, time for a break from all this Olympic Visa nonsense.  We’re about to be inundated, worldwide, by The Olympics, and all the back stories, side stories, front stories and who knows what stories that will come of it.  But really, check the blogroll for some very good sources of information

My only comment about the whole thing today?  The Visa Olympics.  No, not sponsored by VISA  but an Olympic event where everyone tries to get a visa to come to China, vs Chinese trying to get a visa to go to anyplace else.  Can be graded on “degree of difficulty”  I say this because I just had to make a trip to Hong Kong to get 6 months of bank statements and a “statement of bank balance” so my wife can get a visitor’s visa to U.K.   I, being an American, can just show up, go through immigration and done deal. Her, on the other hand, being Chinese (even though she’s a US permanent resident) has to jump through hoops and file copious amounts of paperwork.  I think we had it way to easy with the China Visa situation for a long time.

But I digress, had a little rant there. Sorry.

The real story today is the “Legend of the Ghost of NB”.   This actually happened, I used to work for the company involved, and while I never met NB, I know some of the other players, at least the ones still alive, and have heard this all first hand from the folks involved.  I’m not naming names, some are still alive, and I think NB’s wife is still around, and may not even know the whole story as of yet.

NB was one of those “old China hands” that used to inhabit these parts when China first opened up and started to be the world’s factory floor. Back then, most country managers and production managers weren’t the MBA graduate, family man type. They came from the factory floors of the U.S. and were mostly blue collar, very capable, hard working, hard drinking, and mostly rough around the edges folks that just dealt with what came best they could. There were no books on how to do business in China back then, no blogs going on about the subject, or even Internet access or even e-mail.  These guys were the pioneers so to speak.

Dongguan back then was, for the most part, an outpost. No 5 star hotels, no “western” restaurants, no expat pubs, and the roads were suspect.  Expat’s living in Dongguan either stayed at the Guancai Hotel or the Dongguan Hillside,   There were a couple of  disco’s the KK club and one called BMW,  BMW was the most popular of the two, but is the source of another story.

Now NB was about in his late 50’s we suspect, but because of the expat lifestyle, Johnnie Walker and chain smoking, looked much older.  It is said there are still bottles of  Johnnie Walker black label in bars in Southern China with his name card on them. He also had a “git er done” a coupled with a didn’t give a squat what folks thought attitude that kept him sane living in this part of the world at that time.

He also liked women, especially the local grown Chinese ladies, and had a particular girlfriend that he took with him almost everywhere, company meetings, final inspections, etc.  NB was in the habit of doing final inspections late at night, girlfriend on one side, bottle of Johnnie Walker on the other.

Eventually though, the reputation caught up with NB, and the VP of manufacturing, an Indian fellow, PR, decided enough antics were enough, and terminated NB,  NB apparently didn’t take it well, and crawled pretty far into the bottle of JW that evening.  Legend has it he also had a particularly strenuous session with the girlfriend.  However, his health wasn’t the best, and after the session, he passed away.  Differing accounts on his last words.  Either “I love you” or “I’m cold”

Now technically, he was no longer the responsibility of “The Company” as he was terminated earlier in the day, but the company did the right thing by dealing with the aftermath.  PR, who felt responsible  went back to India shortly after, and had to do some sort of cleansing ritual, involving shaving his head, to atone for what he believed caused the death of NB.  At this point I have to ask forgiveness, as I’m not up on Indian culture or religion, so I can’t be more specific.

Now, old NB expired at one of the two above mentioned hotels, the Guancai.

And NB was shipped off to the states, his affects sorted through, girlfriend paid off, etc. and life went on.

Until one of the expat production managers, we’ll call SW, who worked for The Company and as also staying at the GC hotel, heard a knock on his door late at night. When SW answered it, who should be there but NB himself, seemingly risen from the grave.   SW closed the door immediately.  And quit drinking.

Apparently, NB’s ghost wasn’t done, as he reportedly visited, over the next couple weeks, a German Tourist Couple and several Chinese visitors to the hotel.

What with the ghost running around and scaring the visitors, and the rumors that started flying, the hotel management had only one option. They called in a “spiritual” advisor, and had the ghost “exorcized” from the hotel.  All accounts seem to indicate it worked, as NB’s ghost has not been seen again.

These days, the CG hotel is mostly a local place, Dongguan having grown to a much larger city, with expat pubs, several 5 star hotels, etc.  The KK club closed, and the BMW club was closed down when a high ranking party official’s son was killed there, having the side effect of having all entertainment banned from China for a few months.

Some days, I miss the camaraderie of those times,  All the expats knew each other, we all stayed at the same hotel, and had breakfast together,  and usually drinks later in the evening.   We were pretty much “working without a net.”

And with that, it’s time to get down to Starbucks for a coffee fix.

Maybe I don’t miss the old days so much after all.

Ok, so a couple days after the story on SCMP “broke” the story about how the police in Beijing are asking bar owners in the Sanlitun bar district to ban blacks, there have been several follow up reports, some from the SCMP and some other investigative reporters.

SCMP still sticks to their story, with a follow up written by Tom Miller in Beijing, who writes

Police in Beijing’s popular Sanlitun bar district deny they are conducting a racist campaign ahead of the Olympics, as another bar owner revealed he had been ordered not to let in blacks.

“They made us sign and chop a document saying we would not allow black people in [during the Olympics],” the owner said. “But no one is willing to say so because we’ll all get deported … and have our business shut.”

Asked yesterday whether they had told landlords not to let blacks in bars, an officer at the Sanlitun police station had a one-word answer: “No.”

The story goes on mention one bar owner who said blacks can still come into his establishment, but they have been asked to watch for people acting suspiciously.

Meanwhile Beijing Boyce made some calls and visited some bars in the district and found

- An owner said police met with Sanlitun bar reps and told them to monitor black patrons. He said the police told the reps that drug dealers are predominantly black in the area. He said the police did not ask bar owners to ban blacks.

- Several Sanlitun area bar owners said they had not been told by police to ban blacks or Mongolians.

- I also spoke to several people in the restaurant business and they told me they have not heard of police telling city eateries to ban people.

- Most interesting, two people working at one bar had different perspectives on the terminology used by the police. One said the police used “black” in reference to skin color; while the other said it was used in terms of bad elements (the Chinese character for “black” is part of a phrase used to describe criminals)

Beijing Boyce will be providing follow ups as they become available.

So, the question remains, is this just bad reporting on the part of the SCMP, a lot of misunderstanding of terminology, or another heavy handed tactic being used by Beijing police to “provide for the public safety” during the “No Fun” Olympics?

Ok, now from the “Lets set the Civil Rights movement back about Oh, Say 50 years” department comes this little tidbit from the

South China Morning Post: (you may have to have a subscription to read this, as the SCMP is one of the few news sites you have to pay to read.

Authorities order bars not to serve black people

Beijing authorities are secretly planning to ban black people and others it considers social undesirables from entering the city’s bars during the Olympic Games, a move that would contradict the official slogan, “One World, One Dream”.

Bar owners near the Workers’ Stadium in central Beijing say they have been forced by Public Security Bureau officials to sign pledges agreeing not to let black people enter their premises.

“Uniformed Public Security Bureau officers came into the bar recently and told me not to serve black people or Mongolians,” said the co-owner of a western-style bar, who asked not to be named.

The local authorities have been cracking down on blacks and Mongolians in an attempt to stamp out drug dealing and prostitution ahead of the Games, the proprietors said.

A few months ago, police launched a violent sting on black men drinking in the Sanlitun bar district, and a notorious nightclub largely populated by Mongolian prostitutes was also shut down.

Security officials are targeting Sanlitun, which Olympic organisers expect to be a key destination for foreign tourists looking for a party during the Games.

The pledges that Sanlitun bar owners had been instructed to sign agreed to stop a variety of activities in their establishments, including dancing and serving customers with black skin, they said.

They have been allowed to keep copies of all the pledges except those relating to blacks, implying that the authorities are wary of charges of racism.

“I am appalled,” said a black British national who works in Beijing.  “I understand that the government  is trying to stop certain illegal activities, but I don’t think blanket discrimination is going about it the right way.

“Chinese people are prejudiced, but I would have hoped that the government would set a better example as it debuts on the world stage.”

Calls to Dongcheng district and Chaoyang district public security bureaus, which oversee the bar districts, went unanswered.

The authorities’ attempt to keep unwanted behaviour from damaging the squeaky-clean image of the Games is the latest example of heavy-handedness that critics say is killing the party spirit of the Olympics.

During the Athens Olympics four years ago, bars and nightclubs were allowed to stay open all night. But venues in Beijing that are not being shut down during the Games will have to close at 2am and maintain tight security.

“The officials told me to inform my customers that they must at all times carry their passports or ID cards,” said one bar owner.

“Security is important, but Beijing is becoming a fortress, and that’s not attractive.”

Rumours that all bars within 2km of an Olympic venue will need to close remain unconfirmed, with many managers complaining that they still have not been told whether they will be allowed to open or not. Several bars have been raided in the past few weeks as local police step up a campaign of low-level intimidation, according to several witness accounts.

Bar and restaurant managers in Sanlitun have been instructed to remove tables from footpaths in a crude attempt to prevent fighting in the streets.

“The local police told us to get rid of the tables because they’re scared that if too many foreigners congregate outside there could be trouble,” said Song Xun , who runs a burrito joint in the area.

Local musicians say that a clampdown on live music risks stifling  Beijing’s thriving cultural scene and giving Olympic tourists the false impression that the city is artistically anaemic.

Several popular live music venues have been shut or instructed to stop all outdoor shows, and club owners complain they have got used to strange new guests nursing a beer for hours and suspiciously observing everything around them.

“The whole music scene is angry and bewildered. It is impossible to understand how keeping tourists from seeing an open, culturally vibrant and diverse Beijing is possibly a good thing for anyone,” said one well-known figure in the local music industry.

David Mitchell, a Beijing-based jazz musician, said it had become increasingly difficult for his band to find anywhere to play.

“It appears the local government is trying to control every aspect of the experience that foreigners get when they come here,” he said.

“Everything is aimed at creating stability, but they don’t understand that is precisely the unfounded prejudice that foreigners have of Chinese society - that it is a highly controlled and not a very cultural place. It seems completely self-defeating.

We’ve been wondering about the Central Government’s motives behind all the visa restrictions, new rules and sudden changes, and I guess this brings it all to light.

On another note, James Fallow’s gives us his “Final Words on Olympic Tourism”   and mentions that while the BOGOC’s initial estimated a total of 500,000 foreign visitors to the Olympics, the working plans now call for 140,000 foreign visitors.  Apparently the foreign visitors have concluded that the Beijing games won’t be much fun, and are waiting the four years until the London Games, when, according to Paul French in Shanghai, author of the entertaining recent biography of the old China hand Carl Crow “we’ll all be in London where lots will go wrong but it will probably be quite a fun party with few restrictions and the police won’t care that much if people unfurl banners in Trafalgar Square.”

And so it goes in the Middle Kinkdom

Ok, I can’t help it, I gotta do it. Sometimes headlines just beg to be made fun of.

On today’s Yahoo Site:

Obama says New Yorker insulted Muslim Americans

If I was a Muslim American I would be insulted that Obama was portrayed as one of them also. 

In case you haven’t seen the cover:

A take on the anti-Obama e-mails that keep springing up claiming he’s a Muslim intent on converting the nation to Islam.  I remember when JFK was running for president, the rumor was he was going to build a direct tunnel to the Vatican. 

Ain’t Democracy fun?

Well, then, I see I’ve been very remiss in updating this blog, and for that I again apologize.  If you think this blog hasn’t been updated for a bit, you should see my other website,  That’s Dongguan.  Just found out last night that the remaining restaurant  in the Dongguan Dining section has closes.  So, the site contains a bunch of reviews on restaurants that don’t exist.  Great Stuff.  My excuse for that one is I wasn’t in China for 10 months to keep track of things.

Rest assured, Dongguan foodies and news hounds,  I’m in the process of re-working that site, to make it more user-friendly, easy on the eyes and more meaningful.   We have decided to re-name the restaurant review section “Needs to be Eaten” after my wife’s comment after Hurricane Katrina.  CNN announcer was doing an interview with someone from the local Human Society, about the house pets and domestic animals that were left homeless, and asked the H.S. person “what do these animals (homeless house pets)  need”  my wife pipes up “They need to be eaten!” 

Now, down to business.,

One of my rare pub crawl nights out last night, and the main topic of discussion was the China Visa situation.  Now anyone who even remotely follows this knows the tightening up of the rules,  however unevenly applied, but it’s interesting to see how it’s hitting home in Dongguan and how it’s affecting companies’ business decisions.

First, ChinaFUBAR’s been looking for work since his return to China in February, with limited results.  Factor’s mentioned other than the “too experienced” “not experienced enough” and “you aren’t fluent in English, Mandarin AND Cantonese”  is the new regulations for “Z” visas.  Basically, any company that’s following the rules to the letter and wants their expat employees to have proper documentation in the form of “Z” residence visas and work permits,  isn’t going to pay to have a new hire flown back to his home country, then sit for 2-3 weeks while the visa is processed. 

In addition, there are some rumors now that the local government is cracking down on who they will give “expert certification” to, and has tightened the Chief Representative Visa Policy.   Discussion last night was around an expat country manager from Germany, working for a large German athletic shoe manufacturer, who is now being transferred out because the company “has to have a local Chinese country manager”  We’re trying to verify if the policy came from local government or if it’s new company policy.  From what we understand it’s new company policy put in place at the request of local government.

Will be interesting to see how this plays out, and if it extends to other companies as well.

As a follow up to my post of “Where Next”   the China Law Blog discusses “China Versus India Versus Vietnam at a Gut Level“  Mostly a discussion of pride of place,  makes the supposition that India cares more about pride of place than China.  Makes for an interesting discussion.

Now, back to “work” with me, time to find gainful employment.  I did hear last night that I’m publishing an English language magazine.  Interesting news to me!  I really need to get out more, I may be president of some company making a 7 figure salary and I don’t know it yet.  AH, Rumors….

Ok, first, I apologize for not posting for  a while, things have been very hectic around ChinaFubar’s area of the Middle Kinkdom,  what with dealing with father-in-law, copious amounts of rain, and day to day dealing with balky customers.

On a personal note, the father-in-law is back home from the hospital after having 3 surgeries to un-clog his blocked arteries.  Bit of an adventure getting home, as the rains in Guangdong had many of the roads flooded, as well as the in-law’s village, so we were stranded there for a while. One way in and out, and it was under a couple feet of water.  Not the first time I’ve had to deal with this. Now I know why the Landwind dealer tried to sell me on the “high water” option, which consisted of waterproofing the engine and air intake snorkel. 

Seems a bad year for natural and man-made disasters in China,  Snow, fire (Olympic torch fiasco) earthquake, and now floods.  And it’s not even full on into typhoon season yet, so wind has yet to take a bow.

Other random notes, just read an article by Emily Flitter entitled  “With Karaoke, a Deal in China for a Song”  A lot of the people making comments, including myself thought the article was a bit naive with her idea that most of the young women in Karaoke clubs aren’t sex workers, and that business visitors wouldn’t be taken to those sort of low end clubs.  Uh, try again…

From what I’ve seen, the whole dinner and karaoke thing, especially when it involves the factory, is a good excuse for the factory boys, who are usually living in a factory dorm to begin with, and normally pretty boring lives, to have a night out on the company.  If you watch close, usually they’ll eat before going to the dinner and actually eat very little at the dinner. You on the other hand will be treated to all sorts of delicacies not normally associated with your everyday meal in China. 

Luckily, these days it’s more common to have female visitors, and many factories have female management, so another option of “bonding with the hosts” might be foot massage.  Somewhat less seedy, and women can go to separate rooms from the men, and all are happy. . 

I’ve been on the “host” side of some of these, and while I’m not sure what goes on for interaction in the women’s rooms, the guys’ rooms  usually winds up with a macho thing of who can take the most pain at the hands of the masseuse.  A proper done foot massage can get pretty painful to the uninitiated, and I’ve seen some pretty “macho”  American guys cry like little girls by the end of it all.  I’m always amazed at how such small women can inflict so much pain.

Anyway, it’s been a long time since ChinaFubar’s been treated to a “factory night out” so luckily, China’s karaoke girls are safe from having to listen to him sing “Casablanca” yet again.

Sometimes this winds up  not so much about business in China, or social life in China but about life in China in general.  Let’s face it plenty of China bloggers do a great job of discussing a lot of issues, if you don’t believe me,  just check the blogroll to the right.

Some bad news, father in law had a heart attack a couple of days ago, he’s resting comfortably, but probably will need surgery.  Was taken to the local hospital in Changping (in Dongguan) and stabilized, luckily they got him there in time.  Apparently hospitals like this are like any large small town hospital, equipped to do emergency stuff, get folks stabilized, but major surgery is sent to larger cities. In this case off to Guangzhou should any major stuff be called for.   I’ll follow this one, as for us expats, health care is a primary concern, and we worry about the quality of care we would receive in such an emergency.

On other bad news, a friend and past business associate was diagnosed with cancer, evidently a rare form of stomach cancer on top of that, signet ring cell cancer.  Now if you knew this person, this is something you wouldn’t expect, maybe, as one entry in  his blog puts it.

Cancer? Come on man, you can do better than that.
Nearly blowing your head off after chucking a burning spear into an abandoned well filled with decades of methane-producing rotting vegetation. That shit is more your speed.
Piloting your Jeep through hairpin donkey trails haphazardly cut into the sides of 500-foot high granite cliffs. Big, ankle-slapping brass balls, that one.
Eating dicey curries in back-alley Hong Kong lucky sailor wok shops. Pure Purdom.
Sorry it took so long to get back to about your latest attempt to buck life’s odds. I was just waiting for something with a bit more of an, I don’t know…, “Erik edge” to it.

ChinaFUBAR’s also a cancer survivor, so we understand what’s going on, and our prayers go out to Erik and his family.  By the way, we opted to do treatments in Hong Kong instead of repatriating back to the U.S. and seems all worked out well. Cannot say good enough things about he Hong Kong Adventist Hospital Cancer Center.

On the China Business side, had a conversation with a Sourcing Manager for a major U.S. retailer, in charge of hardgoods, fashion accessories and Footwear.  The discussion about the supposed “mass exodus” of factories in Guangdong came up, and although he deals with quite a few vendors by the time you combine all his areas of responsibilities, he’s not hand any of his vendors yet come and say they are moving to other provinces, other countries. etc.  Is this whole “we’re leaving Guangdong” a big knee-jerk reaction?  Stay tuned China-watchers.   He did mention that his product costs have risen about 15% and they’ve had to absorb the costs.  I expect that will only last so long.

About it for now.

It’s cold and rainy here in Dongguan, and I’ve got a honkin’ bad head cold.  Tylenol Cold medicine ain’t cutting it, so later  head down to get some GanKang, or what ever the name of the Chinese brand cold medicine is.  Works great, stops the nasty stuff without drying me out totally.

Still haven’t heard feedback from the job interview, although I have another interview with a different company on Monday in Hong Kong, Need to get rid of this cold before then.

Today will be spent on the sofa, under a blanket.  Probably watching old Marx Brother’s movies.

Nothing intelligent is going to happen today. I can pretty much guarantee it.  How do you call in sick from semi-retired?

Sunday I mentioned one of the possibilities of the next place after China being the Philippines.  I’m sure that may have elicited a bit of laughter from China Business watchers, and to tell the truth I was a bit skeptical myself when the idea first came across.

However, one of the “breakfast crew” send over this article from The China Post by Howard Lin, entitled “Businessmen Find Haven in Central RP Amid Rising Costs”

Because of the problems of higher labor costs, taxes and the appreciating Yaun, many Taiwanese businessmen are looking for other manufacturing locations.

They might want to listen to some of their fellow entrepreneurs who have invested in the Mactan Economic Zone (MEZ) in the central Philippines.
As with any location, problems exist, but to hear Taiwanese investors tell it, Filipino workers are obedient, loyal and easy to communicate with, and companies benefit from tax breaks, freedom from political interference and a pristine natural environment.
The MEZ, established on Jan. 15, 1979, is one of four government-owned zones under the administration of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA). Covering a land area of 150 hectares, it is only 500 meters away from the international airport and 14 kilometers away from a port.
The zone,which began with two tenants in 1980 –TMX Philippines, Inc. and Fairchild Semiconductor — was home to 108 companies employing 49,943 workers as of the end of December, 2007.
Among the 108 companies operating there, 54 percent are Japanese, 16 percent are Filipino and 12 percent are Taiwanese-owned businesses.
The Philippines often trails behind China, Vietnam, Indonesia and India as a “hot” destination for new manufacturing investments, in part because of concerns over labor quality and personal safety, but Taiwanese investors in the MEZ have found Filipino workers and the environment provided by the Philippine government to their liking.

There’s more to the story, and some great tips on how to deal with Filipino employees, and quality of life in general.

Will be interesting to see if this becomes a viable alternative manufacturing location in the near future

Somehow, I hadn’t heard the news about the 3 minutes of silence honoring the victims of the Sichuan earthquake.  So I was a little surprised, when, at 2:28 P.M. here in Dongguan all the horns and sirens started.  We were at the China Telcom office paying our phone bill, everyone stood, the security guard snapped to a salute, all, including myself bowed our heads and said prayers I suspect each in our own ways. 

There’s a lot of discussion going on about China’s response to the quake, and I suspect the west was a bit surprised at the completeness and overwhelming competency displayed.  I know a lot of us “twitterati” and armchair China observers and bloggers were very impressed, if not somewhat surprised ourselves.

The next three days will see a period of mourning, something unusual for China, made even more remarkable by the fact that flags will be flying at half-staff to honor the fallen civilian population. This is the first time in the history of China that flags have been flown at half staff for any reason other than a leader’s death. A great  blog post by Paul Denlinger goes into more detail about this, as well as reaction to the western media and U.S. based Twitter discussion.  It really points out a lot of misconceptions that stateside-based people have about China.

Also, there will be a 3 day entertainment blackout, all non-news television, gaming websites, and many entertainment venues are to shut down.  Imagethief has an interesting article about the shutdown, as well as some other reactions to some of the Twitter posts of folks such as Robert Scoble and company. Elliot Ng definitely does a bit of a number on Mr. Scoble

As always, our friends at Shanghiist have all the news regarding the 3 days of mourning, as well as some heart wrenching tales of motherly love.

So, keep the victims in your prayers, there will be a long rebuilding road ahead.