My letter (for once) was published:
6 July 2009 China Daily (Letters to China Daily)
Treat foreigners the same as Chinese
As a foreigner, I think it is wrong to give foreigners preferential treatment over the Chinese.
What foreigners want is only to pay the amount the Chinese are charged, no more, no less.
Too many times in the past I have been forced to pay extra being a foreigner. In the early 80s I had some heated discussions, refusing to pay for extra for food on trains or as admission fees at scenic spots.
I pay my taxes here in China too. So let’s all pay the same.
Gilbert Van Kerckhove
via Email
Well, all a bit out of context really. See here the original submission:
Subject: “Free for foreigners, not Chinese (Anyang City)” China Daily, 2 July – Page 5
As a foreigner, I think it is wrong. What we want is to pay the same as “locals” without discrimination. Too many times in the past I was forced to pay many times more, being a foreigner. In the early eighties I had some heated discussions, refusing to pay for excessive overcharging for food on the train or admission fees to scenic spots. I pay my taxes here too (I am a Green Card holder on top of that). So, let’s all pay the same.
Gilbert Van Kerckhove
Beijing
The article mentioned polemics about Anyang giving free admission to musea for foreigners while all Chinese had to pay.
Gilbert joined the “Global Think Tank Summit”
On 4 July Gilbert was invited by Caijing (probably the most open news medium in China) to join the Summit in China World.
-
- Panel on Global M&A
-
- Chairman Li Rongrong (SASAC)
-
- Chairman Liu Chuanzhi (Legend/Lenovo)
-
- Panel on Global M&A
Pictured are among others Li Rongrong (Chairman of SASAC) and Liu Chuanzhi, Chairman of Legend Holdings Ltd (mother company of Lenovo).
Much of the talking was of course on the economy, stimulus plan etc. The usual.
As for the topic “Cooperation and responsibilities of Transnational Companies”, of course the Chinese side requested the MNC (or you prefer here, the TNC) to “invest more in China, not to fire people, to do more R&D, to be involved in CSR”.
We all can agree on that – as long as MNC (and all other foreign companies in China” are protected for their IPR and have fair market access as a “domestic enterprise”. The EUCCC remains positive, see here the latest:
PRESS RELEASE (EUCCC)
European Chamber welcomes Premier Wen’s statement on maintaining an open market environment in China
Beijing, 3rd July, 2009. The President of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, Joerg Wuttke, in an address this afternoon to the Main Forum of the Global Think Tank Summit in Beijing, hailed recent comments by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao that underline China’s commitment to maintaining an open market environment.
Said Mr. Wuttke: “We welcome Premier Wen’s strong statement on the 25th of June that China will not discriminate against foreign enterprises or products. European businesses in China hope to see more concrete measures to ensure this position will be well implemented across the board.”
In his remarks, Mr. Wuttke also noted that European businesses in China are eager to see a quick and comprehensive conclusion of the Doha round of WTO talks.
“We need a signal that the world is moving on, and that a stronger WTO mechanism is being put in place,” he stated.
The inaugural session of the Global Think Tank Summit opened in Beijing on Thursday and will run until Saturday evening. The event, which is organized by the China Center for International Economic Exchanges (CCIEE), brings together political and business leaders from China and around the world to discuss remedies for the global financial crisis and the future development of the world economy.
Updated: info on API and PM2.5
Now more info available, see the Page “Beijing Pollution API intro”!
Including on the measuring station the city now hates… Of a country that on their national day said:
– 4 July at 19:00 AQI was 261 and at 24:00 was 231. Very unhealthy.
While the BEPB station close by had the following API:
– Period ending at 12:00 on 4 July: 104 (unhealthy for sensitive groups)
– Period ending at 12:00 on 5 July: 117 (unhealthy for sensitive groups)
Now we all know they measure different things but have a look outside of your window and see for yourself.
About my book (no title yet!)
Since about two years at least I have been fascinated by the tremendous changes within the Chinese society. After 28 years of China I suddenly realized how much things had changed and how little I had noticed what was going on.
Most of the foreigners, even living in China since many years, have little insight in the Chinese society, the way people think, love, live and how they look at their future. Actually many Chinese also do not fully grasp the many changes in attitudes as they often live within their “box”. Others are bewildered by the sudden changes and feel uncomfortable with the new generations, called the “balinghou and jiulinghou” – the post 80 and post 90 generations. Among Chinese there is a lot of passionate debate on the generation gaps and the new trends. Chinese don’t share much those issues with foreigners as they feel this is “for Chinese only”. On the other hand they are ready to discuss with us once they feel comfortable about it. As many new trends and personal feelings are kept discreet and hidden, many Chinese and foreigners alike do not always realize what is going on around them.
The book will try to address those issues in part, much as a sociological study. It is not my aim to be complete as China has grown into a very complex society and the country is so vast with many local attitudes. The book will be focused on Beijing that is already a city full of contrasts with all the migrants – millions of them – coming from all over the country to work and live here.
The book is not without controversy as many foreigners and Chinese alike can be shocked and doubt that in China “those things exist and Chinese think and act in that way.”
Interestingly enough, my Chinese friends seem more interested in my book than foreigners – as the Chinese are more aware of the controversies.
I often jokingly say: it will not be like all the “Ying and Yang crap you hear from so-called “China specialists”.
My goal – maybe too optimistic – is to finish the draft by the end of this year. I did not even start looking for a publisher… (all suggestions welcome). First version will be in English.
I have collected a lot of information but I still need to work on it all. Currently I look at the influence of Confucianism on the society of today (many Chinese say: as good as no influence).
Keep posted!
What are “China-made products”?
The comments from the EUCCC for sure made waves. Premier Wen Jiabao tried to convince Ms. Merkel all is well over here (see earlier entry).
Now on 26 June 2009 People’s Daily Online reported:
“Ministries: China to treat domestic, foreign products equally:
Regarding China’s efforts on securing fair implementation of the bidding system in government procurement projects as trade protectionism is a misunderstanding. Actually products made by foreign-funded enterprises in China are treated as China made products. China will continue to keep its commitments on its opening-up policy and will never take any discriminative measures against foreign companies or products.
Those remarks were made by Yao Jian, spokesperson of the Ministry of Commerce, and Li Pumin, spokesperson of the National Development and Reform Commission, in their joint statement on June 26.”
and on 2 July China Daily reported:
“On June 4, nine Chinese ministries jointly clarified their stance on the issue, saying there was no harm in buying domestic products, as the wind power project is part of government procurement, and not part of the 4-trillion-yuan stimulus package.” (note: this is wrong – not a case of government procurement, read the Law!)
“Last Friday, the Ministry of Commerce said on its website that China sticks to the principle of treating foreign and domestic products on equal terms when it comes to stimulus-financed projects, and foreign enterprises have already benefited from the package.
All nice promises but it remains to be seen if except for Mofcom anybody else will actually follow the instructions. Past experience shows – NO. But let’s hope that this time, words will be followed by action.
Otherwise, attracting more foreigners to set up factories here will be more difficult. Initial comments from Mofcom were kinda real dumb:
“Foreign factories here in China should know there are other markets than China”. Oops. So, you mean, we should close our factories in Europe, put them here to export to the EU and other markets and have little access to the Chinese market?. Seems Mofcom understood (?) the faux-pas and tiptoed back. At least in words.
As with the pathetic Green Dam stuff, wait and see.
The proof is in the pudding.
Optimism is not yet guaranteed.