02 July 2006 I feel as though I am swimming in a huge sea of change, the shifting sands of government regulation making navigation 
harder and the rising tide of inflation consuming my resources faster than I had hoped, but as it is as far to swim for home as it is to shore, I keep the mental discipline to take one stroke at a time. While it seems to me that Ordinance 14 is such big news, it seems that it is receiving almost no attention at all, and I wonder if I have simply misunderstood this. According to Eric Schmidt the lawyers at the American Chamber of Commerce believe that this law will be ‘grandfathered’ in i.e. will only affect new buildings. I have had no news from the British Chamber, or the European Chamber. Apparently the Jian Wai SOHO management are negotiating to have the building reclassified as commercial only; in which case I will have to move my bed or claim it is used for recruitment. Ken Lee tells me that this law is in effect already and applies to my situation. I had thought I could tread water for a while, only to be told that our existing application will expire in 30 days from the date of submission, June 16th – in other words because we are mid way through the application I have to decide to move forward or abandon ship before SOHO can probably reach settlement with the AIC. 
Robin YF Kwong, a reporter with the South China Morning Post, called me on Friday and I hoped that we would talk about my ‘SOHO Killers’ release, but he wanted to know if we had also received notification of an increase in our electricity prices. Prices this week were increased on average by 7.3% to RMB25 (US3.13) per Megawatt Hour, which follows on from the increase of a starting fare in a Beijing taxi from RMB1.60 to RMB2.00 last month. The effects of the Iraq war on oil prices, the impact of China’s demand for all commodities on global prices, and the appetite of Chinese consumers are all manifesting themselves in a tide of cost increases in Beijing, with price inflation at 1.4% in May. Just behind Jian Wai SOHO is a new road that has an army of workers relentlessly digging, hammering and laying pavings by hand, with a remarkable absence of heavy machinery, but looking at their living quarters I doubt they are feeling the benefits of inflation. This week I don’t think that I would have heard any traffic noise, as the World Cup was all consuming, and all depressing. England loses to Portugal on penalties. Some 600 fans packed Browns, upstairs on Gongti Beilu. Bruce Perry, an Englishman who rents tentage for sporting events, commented that the Chinese have become avid soccer fans because they lack a national sport of their own. There is a soccer league, but the players lack the charisma and quality of European soccer, and the national basket ball league suffers a similar fate. The old saying that you can take an Englishman out of England but not the England out of an Englishman is true, because some 500 or the 600 viewers fell silent when United team mates Rooney & Ronaldo clashed, and when the Portugese goalkeeper bested the English strikers 3 times. It just seemed like fate was against us, again, and sometimes I question whether the English are imbued at birth with an inability to win, to not handle the pressure. I have to say that the travel and mental focus involved with running two offices, so far apart, is giving me pressure. I read about the troubles of the US$54bn business that Michael Dell has built since 1984, only 10 years longer than EASTWEST, and am in awe of the ability of entrepreneurs like Dell. I try every day to focus time on the 5 facets of the business: People, clients, finance & administration, technology and marketing. Switching between a client need, sending an email to thank a team member for a year’s hard work, our Intranet, and this Ordinance 14, leaves me feeling sometimes overwhelmed. When one reads management books they never include, and nor did I in my planning, the fatigue of travel, and the concentration required to start and conclude multiple engagements. I am fortunate that I have an amazing team in Singapore, and Judy and Ben are proving to be excellent at taking initiative and taking care of each other. Another comment John Sculley said at the China Entrepreneur event was that “the teams with the best people always win.” England suffered the ignominy of defeat looking as though they might have been the best but neither the fittest nor best disciplined, and I am resolving to learn from their lesson. 
Four year old Chen Ying Xin has been having swimming lessons since she was one, and in another ‘only in China’ feats, has been given the go ahead to swim the Pearl River at Guangzhou, and while I admire her ambition I settled for a swim with Kristian at the Kei Fu Hot Spring club on the 14th floor of an office building next to San li tun. Apparently there are some 10 thousand swimming pools and ‘water paradises’, and over 50 thousands medium-sized bath centers in China, and according to a website for a recent expo, half were built in the 1890’s. Kei Fu is more modern with a ‘gym and swim’ experience for RMB128, where wearing a bathing cap is mandatory, but allowing your toddler to pee in the pool overflow drain is simply observed and not reprimanded. As part of the ‘keep everyone working’ scheme, there is a towel attendant in all the gyms that I have been too, and this young lad tidied up the combs, swabs and lotions, one of which was called ‘Oying,’ ‘Itch Cheek Shower Creme.’ Things are not always easy in China, but it is comforting to know that after being in the swim, we have salvation at hand.
harder and the rising tide of inflation consuming my resources faster than I had hoped, but as it is as far to swim for home as it is to shore, I keep the mental discipline to take one stroke at a time. While it seems to me that Ordinance 14 is such big news, it seems that it is receiving almost no attention at all, and I wonder if I have simply misunderstood this. According to Eric Schmidt the lawyers at the American Chamber of Commerce believe that this law will be ‘grandfathered’ in i.e. will only affect new buildings. I have had no news from the British Chamber, or the European Chamber. Apparently the Jian Wai SOHO management are negotiating to have the building reclassified as commercial only; in which case I will have to move my bed or claim it is used for recruitment. Ken Lee tells me that this law is in effect already and applies to my situation. I had thought I could tread water for a while, only to be told that our existing application will expire in 30 days from the date of submission, June 16th – in other words because we are mid way through the application I have to decide to move forward or abandon ship before SOHO can probably reach settlement with the AIC. 
Robin YF Kwong, a reporter with the South China Morning Post, called me on Friday and I hoped that we would talk about my ‘SOHO Killers’ release, but he wanted to know if we had also received notification of an increase in our electricity prices. Prices this week were increased on average by 7.3% to RMB25 (US3.13) per Megawatt Hour, which follows on from the increase of a starting fare in a Beijing taxi from RMB1.60 to RMB2.00 last month. The effects of the Iraq war on oil prices, the impact of China’s demand for all commodities on global prices, and the appetite of Chinese consumers are all manifesting themselves in a tide of cost increases in Beijing, with price inflation at 1.4% in May. Just behind Jian Wai SOHO is a new road that has an army of workers relentlessly digging, hammering and laying pavings by hand, with a remarkable absence of heavy machinery, but looking at their living quarters I doubt they are feeling the benefits of inflation. This week I don’t think that I would have heard any traffic noise, as the World Cup was all consuming, and all depressing. England loses to Portugal on penalties. Some 600 fans packed Browns, upstairs on Gongti Beilu. Bruce Perry, an Englishman who rents tentage for sporting events, commented that the Chinese have become avid soccer fans because they lack a national sport of their own. There is a soccer league, but the players lack the charisma and quality of European soccer, and the national basket ball league suffers a similar fate. The old saying that you can take an Englishman out of England but not the England out of an Englishman is true, because some 500 or the 600 viewers fell silent when United team mates Rooney & Ronaldo clashed, and when the Portugese goalkeeper bested the English strikers 3 times. It just seemed like fate was against us, again, and sometimes I question whether the English are imbued at birth with an inability to win, to not handle the pressure. I have to say that the travel and mental focus involved with running two offices, so far apart, is giving me pressure. I read about the troubles of the US$54bn business that Michael Dell has built since 1984, only 10 years longer than EASTWEST, and am in awe of the ability of entrepreneurs like Dell. I try every day to focus time on the 5 facets of the business: People, clients, finance & administration, technology and marketing. Switching between a client need, sending an email to thank a team member for a year’s hard work, our Intranet, and this Ordinance 14, leaves me feeling sometimes overwhelmed. When one reads management books they never include, and nor did I in my planning, the fatigue of travel, and the concentration required to start and conclude multiple engagements. I am fortunate that I have an amazing team in Singapore, and Judy and Ben are proving to be excellent at taking initiative and taking care of each other. Another comment John Sculley said at the China Entrepreneur event was that “the teams with the best people always win.” England suffered the ignominy of defeat looking as though they might have been the best but neither the fittest nor best disciplined, and I am resolving to learn from their lesson. 
Four year old Chen Ying Xin has been having swimming lessons since she was one, and in another ‘only in China’ feats, has been given the go ahead to swim the Pearl River at Guangzhou, and while I admire her ambition I settled for a swim with Kristian at the Kei Fu Hot Spring club on the 14th floor of an office building next to San li tun. Apparently there are some 10 thousand swimming pools and ‘water paradises’, and over 50 thousands medium-sized bath centers in China, and according to a website for a recent expo, half were built in the 1890’s. Kei Fu is more modern with a ‘gym and swim’ experience for RMB128, where wearing a bathing cap is mandatory, but allowing your toddler to pee in the pool overflow drain is simply observed and not reprimanded. As part of the ‘keep everyone working’ scheme, there is a towel attendant in all the gyms that I have been too, and this young lad tidied up the combs, swabs and lotions, one of which was called ‘Oying,’ ‘Itch Cheek Shower Creme.’ Things are not always easy in China, but it is comforting to know that after being in the swim, we have salvation at hand.