阳朔，广西，中国

The last days of Chinese New Year were spent in Yangshuo, Guangxi, China...sleeper buses, rock climbing, bamboo boating, amazing drinks and food, and incredible fireworks!

Public Diplomacy and Strategic Communications Review: Key Issues for Congressional Oversight | The Heritage Foundation

Public Diplomacy and Strategic Communications Review: Key Issues for Congressional Oversight | The Heritage Foundation


你会不会说中文？
If you can't answer that question above in Chinese, then I can answer it for you: You don't know how to speak Chinese. Well, though I have spent 1 and a half years of fairly intensive study in Mandarin, I am far from gaining fluency in the immensely challenging language.

Think about globalization and the role that United States plays in our global society. Now think about China and the role they play. Pretty big responsibilities for these two nations, huh? Well there is a problem: language barrier. If diplomacy is going to be effective, we need to be able to communicate with them effectively. That being said, China has already started to learn English. Now, America needs to make an effort to improve relations with one of the globe's most influential countries if not the most influential in relation to the global economy. Our national strategy for strategic communication is thankfully realizing the need for promoting outreach programs for China and Chinese language teaching for Americans. I for one am convincing my friends here in Hong Kong to start learning as I have because it just makes sense to know Mandarin when you think about the number of speakers. In our flat world it is just so useful. If you are considering to learn a foreign language because you only speak English and feel that you are at a disadvantage (which you are) then please take my advice and start learning Mandarin - also known as Putonghua 普通话; meaning "the popular language". So be cool, 学中文！

Kunming

It's a bit late, but here is the last video of Kunming made by Craig. This was the tail end of our Chinese New Year trip and we were tired. It was great to see Quqi though and go to her hometown in Yuxi! Although I regret the food that we had...never want to eat Yuxi BBQ again.

Why Are Parent-Child Suicides Rising in Hong Kong?

Why Are Parent-Child Suicides Rising in Hong Kong?

Just read this article online and it struck me hard because I just heard a deep lecture given by Ravi Zacharias. Ravi is a well known Christian apologetic who has been referred to as "the present day C.S. Lewis". He was born in India and is now a professor at University of Oxford. He is remarkable keen with his words and thus is a marvelous communicator. His explanations for life's toughest questions in today's intellectual world are so awesome. The question which he is now going around the world to answer is "What does it mean to be human?"


The other day I was watching him speak on you tube because of my friend Daniel recommending me too check him out. My friend Daniel is from Austria and is studying Religion and Philosophy as an exchange student here at Hong Kong Baptist University. Anyways, he is very passionate about apologetics and its importance in today's society due to the great influence that professors have on the educating of our next generation. I really admire his heart and see much truth in the need for making sure that Christian education is emphasized more amongst the body of Christ. We need to be able to stand firm in our faith and know the Word and be able to defend ourselves against the enemy. The word is like a double-edged sword. So, I started to feel bad because I don't memorize verses enough. I do on a number of occasions, though not regularly, open my Bible for encouragement and direction. But also when I am needing spiritual nourishment - which when I go a day without opening the Bible, I tend to become hungry rather quick.

So that day I spent around 5 hours or so watching Ravi Zacharias and other speakers about apologetics and debates they would have with Atheists or Muslims. The following day, I went to my Mandarin class which I take with Daniel, and he tells me that Ravi Zacharias will be speaking at Hong Kong University on March 18 at Hong Kong University....that very night! I was like, "are you serious?" Yea, very surprised, I couldn't believe it was true because I had just watched him on you tube the day before after he recommended me to listen to him probably a month ago. Luckily, I didn't have plans and decided that I must go with Daniel to hear Ravi speak.

Low and behold, he was speaking on the question which I stated earlier and saw on you tube: "What does it mean to be Human?" (in accordance to the Christian faith). So Daniel, our non-Christian friend Billy from mainland China who is an amazing student, and myself set off for Central Hong Kong which was home to the area's most prestigious university - HKU.

Seeing him in person was crazy - his hair is white like the snow and his dark Indian toned skin makes his hair look even whiter than snow! That's not really correlated with anything other than the fact that this man had a demeanor that was up to par with the likes of Billy Graham. Anxious to hear him speak, including all other 1000 in attendance from all kinds of backgrounds, I started to feel a little giddy about where I was and couldn't wait to hear what he had to enlighten us with! He's just that smart. Before he started his lecture Daniel and I were thinking of questions to ask him because the best part is the Q&A session afterward. The one we wanted to know was how he would define evil. However, it was unnecessary to ask because he answered it in full within five minutes of his lecture!

It's really hard for me to extract his lectures and let you know in full what I got out of it because for one I can't remember it all and two it's just so highly academic! But he has made me sure of this: All humans have intrinsic value and the Declaration of Independence is the only national document that adheres to that truth for human rights with this statement: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."

Wow, talk about a bold statement with some rock solid truth to back it up. The only absolute in this world is found in God. Nothing is naturally absolute in man and though we as Christians believe that we are made in God's image - we are absolutely not capable of answering all life's questions. Realizing that we all have this freedom to choose, I know that Christ is our only choice for salvation - which is found through God's perfect love and grace which being what we all naturally long for.

I appreciate Ravi Zacharias and what he is doing for the defense of the Gospel and the God's Holy Word. I will be considering Oxford as he has programs for students and coincidentally Georgetown College has a partnership with the Regent's Park College in University of Oxford.

U.S.-Indonesia Relations: Build for Endurance, Not Speed | The Heritage Foundation

U.S.-Indonesia Relations: Build for Endurance, Not Speed | The Heritage Foundation

This is a wonderful article composed by Walter Lohman, Director of The Heritage Foundation's Asian Studies Center. As I hope to be taking part in a summer internship with an Indonesian non-profit organization in July, I was hoping to gain a better perspective of our nation's relationship with Indonesia. It seems that our relationship really plays a significant role in today's global economy and especially in regards to the War on Terrorism.

As a representative of the United States, I hope to help develop a good relationship with the 10 Indonesian students that I will be partnering with this summer. Knowing that George W. Bush and now Obama have done much to promote democracy in Asia through the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Nations) as places like Burma struggle politically. As well as promotion of education through the $157 Billion annual funding for Indonesia to start more schools. As for the promotion of peace and the war on terrorism, George Bush formed a wonderful relationship with former Indonesian President Megawati who condemns the attacks on 9/11 and now after having terrorist attacks from Islamic terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah in Bali and other parts of Southeast Asia they are desperate to make sure that they can control these extremists. We have a mutual perspective towards the War on Terrorism and I feel that new Presidents Obama and Yudhoyono will take the necessary steps together even though Obama has yet to make a visit to mother's husbands home country of Indonesia.

As for the economy, I find it ironic that I am now in Hong Kong and in high pursuit of Chinese language and culture. When you think about the rise of China and the impact they are making towards the global economy - especially when they are undervaluing the renminbi for successful exports - you can't forget that Indonesia is just a short plane ride across the South China Sea for quick and easy trade transportation. Especially when you realize that Indonesia is the 4th largest country in the world! That makes it clear that a partnership is needed to be built. Our bilateral relationship with Indonesia as far as imports and exports must increase so that we can start to have closer trade and investment ties with our highly influential economies.


Of course our main goal is to establish democracy in Asia. I think that Indonesia is our best bet for starting any political trends in the Asia Pacific and the rest of Southeast Asia. Please take the time to read this if you have nothing else to do because it's very informative. I definitely recommend all Global Scholars to have a look at this.

If not, at least be supporting me as I pray that God shows me the way this summer - if that means acceptance into this highly competitive summer cultural exchange internship then so be it! Regardless, he is always faithful and will lead me to the cross where his love conquers all. Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter and be sure to sing praise for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ! Glory to God and may we be forever thankful for the Gospel.

China Learns to Say 'Hola' | Asia Society

China Learns to Say 'Hola' | Asia Society

According to a recent panel conducted by the Asia Society, the economic integration of China and Latin America is developing rather quickly. Their relationship is improving significantly and they are showing signs of growth in trade. However, as we have learned in class, doing business internationally always creates some barriers and each country must accommodate one another so that they can achieve the desired "win-win" relationship.

In today's global society, the relationship between China and Latin America is very important. The heavy competition that has risen in today's global economy has forced these two regions to negotiate so that the trade barriers can be settled and so both parties can benefit from each other. Hu Jintao has been working with Cuba and Costa Rica on bringing about free trade agreements. Although there has been a lot of political downturn with Latin America, Hu Jintao is still striving to help Latin America also benefit from the stronger Chinese economy.

China is so much bigger when put on a scale with Latin America. They have more investment in capital, are able to save more, have cheaper labor, and they are more unified. Latin America on the other hand doesn't have technology, yet has expensive labor and more internal barriers.

Because Latin America has problems and differences in terms of per capita income, China is needing to focus on obtaining well developed manufactured goods from them. They are able to get commodities and well manufactured goods from countries like Brazil, Mexico and Argentina. Further economic integration is needed from China and Latin America by integrating countries like Peru, Chile, and Costa Rica. As for China, most manufactured bases are along the coast near Shanghai and Guangzhou. They are focusing on growth through exports.

Both sides are cooperating to solve trade issues. Latin America as of now doesn't play a huge part of Chinese imports (only 5%), but it is growing. Agriculture to China from Latin America has a 15% tariff. The free trade agreements in place have given tariffs a tendency to come down so 90% of products are fully liberalized by the 10th year.

As we look at Chinese political economy, they need to encourage domestic consumption instead of strictly relying on exports for obtaining sustainable development. At the same time, if China and Latin America want to help their relationship benefit both sides then China must be willing to help the smaller Latin American economy grow and develop. However, China is not like the United States who would go the extra mile to try and fix their economy. China expects Latin America to figure out how they can make this economic integration work and China will make sure it benefits them.

Because of the linkage of these two economic regions, the already wealthy Chinese economy should help Latin America get to the point where it is not only exporting commodities. This would require Chinese investment in infrastructure throughout Latin America and also Chinese companies must be willing to set up shop there. Latin America must be able to learn from China's experiences so they themselves can know how to succeed and experience industrial diversification and revolution through innovation.

Knowing that the only way for this relationship to improve is for Chinese companies to go to Latin American countries, there are now some International Business lessons needed to be learned by the Chinese. Lesson number one: know how to say "Hola!" Of course learning the language is a great way to connect with those whom we do business with internationally. Actually, this isn't much of a problem because most can communicate with each other using English.

But there are cultural differences between Latin America and China such as urban violence and crime which is non-existent in China. As far as China's difference from Latin America is that they seem to be only worried about themselves and their own benefits. This is a rather controversial opinion, but I for one somewhat agree. If you look into China's history they have never been one to intentionally change, influence, or harm another society. That being said, they don't feel obligated to help others in regards to their economic development. Unless of course by doing so they will be able to better achieve their own economic goals; which are very high goals.

How then should they deal with these cultural differences? Well, the Chinese companies can't use the same marketing strategies or approaches in Latin America as they do in their home country. The best way for a firm to overcome these cultural barriers is to have fluency in Spanish and or Portuguese. This would obviously require them to have workers who are from Latin America. When they do this, then they will have a chance to start advertising and effectively communicating their product in their new country.

The language barrier is just the first hurtle needed to jump. The next is the image that the Chinese companies' status and image and whether it's new Latin American consumers see them in a positive or negative. Our textbook refers to this as source effects and it's a barrier because if there is a bias against foreign firms then it can really keep the Chinese companies from being able to compete with the already established international and domestic businesses. The best way to jump this hurtle is by trying to get rid of the image of Chinese heritage. Although this may seem a bit unfair, it must be done in order for the Chinese companies to achieve it's goals. A good way for them to avoid having to compete with more preferred companies in Latin America is to go to the countries with less noise or competition.

The next hurtle is religion. These Chinese companies will have to be careful when dealing with Latin America because practically all countries are apart of the Roman Catholic church. Confucianism ethics is without a doubt effecting the Chinese business ethics and they have to be willing to respect any differences or controversies that may be faced in regards to the different beliefs and practices done by its Latin American colleagues and consumers. This means that companies must be mindful of Sundays and it's holiness. Although the boss of a Chinese company entering Latin America may find it silly to lose a day from progressing in it's business workload, they must realize that they have to sacrifice this time to cooperate with the new culture. In order to cooperate they must allow it's Latin American workers to attend mass each Sunday and also show respect towards lent. By doing this the Chinese company will be able to win the favor of more Latin American workers and possibly receive mutual respect from the consumers as well.

The next big hurtle would be marketing and advertising strategies. Obviously when you are preparing a speech you must first take into consideration your audience. If you are talking to a bunch of professionals in the subject, then you should be sure to get your facts straight and should have a very in depth analysis to present. But if you have an audience of people who are not very knowledgeable of the subject, then you would need to change your delivery style to keep them entertained and also make sure that you keep it simple enough for them to understand. The same goes for these Chinese companies who will be entering Latin America. Of course, each company will have their own product which will be intended for it's own particular group of consumers. It is important that they get in tune with their consumers and make sure they can keep them interested and attracted to your product.

As far as global advertising, it is not always standardized although there are those who think it should be. The truth is it isn't so the Chinese companies going to Latin America will have to deal with the different legal and cultural environment. Although, in dealing with this hurtle it can bring up costs having to deal with localized advertising efforts instead of having a set internationally recognized slogan. If the Chinese companies that come to Latin America can come with an already established brand that is known worldwide then they will not have to worry about this problem. So there is much value in a company's advertising campaign.

However, it definitely benefits to mix up the advertisements so that they can be more suitable to the region. For example, they could integrate the globally known Olympics to relate to the people of Brazil. This would be an excellent way to establish their brand in Latin America because the next location for the 2012 World Olympics will be in Brazil. Ironically, the previous one in 2008 was in Beijing so surely the Chinese companies could take advantage of this correlation to become a likable brand in Brazil and the surrounding countries as well.

The last hurtle that these Chinese companies will have to jump is pricing. The Chinese government’s way of regulating prices is not the same as the way of governments in Latin America. China has been a target of antidumping from Latin American countries such as Argentina and Mexico. Latin America is trying to protect its own domestic markets and China has been unable to be competitive by dropping its prices below the cost of production. It’s difficult for Chinese companies to deal with this issue because it’s hard to take legal actions and defend their rights because of the strictness of the Chinese government. Also their market status has not really been fully recognized as of yet so this makes it hard for them to make any agreements. Though, Hu Jintao is making more effort recently to fix these economic problems.

Overall, it seems that China is willing to jump all of these hurtles to have a win-win relationship with Latin America and its economies. In my opinion, China must be willing to take more risks with its business there if they intend on achieving all economic goals in the next decade or so. This means making more foreign direct investments in the region and changing its strategy of exports. I believe that China is taking the measures necessary to show the globe how it needs to be recognized and its status is surpassing Japan and my home country of the United States better start taking notes!

Tiger Leaping Gorge.avi

Simply stunning. GORGEous as we were saying. This two day hike was unforgettable an my definition of mountains is no longer the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee (no offense Craig). The Halfway Lodge was so beautiful and I would love to go back again someday. Highly recommend that you hike this trail.

LiLi's Adventure

So this is Craig's second video production. Here we are starting our adventure with Lili, a Naxi-Tibetan whom we met while in Lijiang. She took us to see a Bai minority monastery and horse-back riding throughout many Naxi villages. Enjoy!