Beijing Countdown - 312 Fatherhood Countdown – 28 days 
The 1st of October is the 58th National Day celebration in China which falls just after the Mid Autumn Festival, and the start of a government mandated one week holiday that will see tens of millions of Chinese clutching Moon cakes for family and friends, with many tales of their lives away from home. In my office I have been sent half a dozen boxes of moon cakes, an indication of the growing number of people to whom I owe money, but sadly haven’t been sent one of the most expensive which apparently retails at RMB310,000 (US$40,000). Moon cakes are the Chinese equivalent to Xmas cake, rich in fruit and steeped in tradition, and the commercialization of these innocuous densely packed and individually shrink wrapped sweets are causing some people concern. One writer in an English language newspaper bemoaned the 600 trees being cut down for each 10 million moon cakes, placing the total tree loss at several thousand. As people are increasingly concerned about quality control the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine (AQSIQ) said it has checked a total 425 types of moon cakes made by 378 firms in 29 provinces and found them to be 99.5% safe. As moon cakes have no lead in them I feel pretty sure that there won’t be any recalls to worry about. One of the topics apparently being worried about by the Government though is technology; an issue discussed at the British High Commission briefing this week. One of the embassy staff explained that for the Chinese Government about to start the 17th National Congress of the CPC in two weeks time there is a realisation that the 25 year policy of technology transfer is not working. The Government now wants innovation to drive growth. This is a similar refrain heard in Singapore 5 years ago. Apparently a recent promulgation announced that it is now officially ok for people to fail in new endeavours. Chinese scientists issue more technical papers than all countries except America, Japan and Germany apparently, but many of these have been essentially copy cat theses. The British official suggested that the Chinese Government will be encouraging scientists to publish pioneering research without the risk of some kind of ostracism or lack of prestige that apparently accompanied failures. During the week EASTWEST helped to announce a Centre of Excellence at the British school which is using Promethean Activboards for interactive teaching, a British innovation avidly watched by an audience of Chinese school teachers. Interactive whiteboards give children of all ages the opportunity to investigate subjects very quickly and in a non linear fashion; the teacher becomes a facilitator more than a master of the subject. One of the questions from a westerner in the audience was the freedom that teachers had to customise the content away from the syllabus. The technology is creating interesting possibilities and as master of ceremonies I watched the eagerness of the local teachers. The question will be if the new promulgation on taking risks and failing applies throughout the education system. Many people are taking risks in China and succeeding. A friend told me of his 39 year old one armed army officer who is his new landlord. The property agent exclaimed how brave and reliable the officer must be as all army are trustworthy. Asked by my cynical friend how many properties this officer held, the agent paused gently as she quoted the figure ‘five.’ It is obvious that this young officer has already read Monday’s People’s Daily that will intone people to "Stride forward on the road to build socialism with Chinese characteristics" to mark China's 58th National Day Anniversary. The CPC 17th National Congress is expected to address the issues of continued economic openness while retaining these Chinese characteristics, and repudiating any separatist movement by Taiwan. Taiwan was denied being part of the Olympic flame route, in a snub to one of the Confucian quotes that may adorn Beijing, "All men are brothers.” There is a move by the home town of Confucius, Jinan, to have many of the ancient philosophers edicts placed around the city including: "Do to others as you would be done by", "Virtue is not left to stand alone. He who practises it will have neighbours", and "In carrying our rites, it is harmony that is prized.” Another one should be ‘Patience is a virtue’ for those who are lucky enough to watch the 3 ½ hour opening ceremony. Another ancient edict, "When a friend comes from afar, is that not delightful?" may be truer for those that travel here next year as 3 runways were operating concurrently last week as part of the plan to increase capacity at the airport. The new north south subway line also opened and the train to the airport should be completed soon. It feels as though the pieces of the party that will be Beijing 2008 are coming together, and if there is a shortage of things to eat the Olympic Committee could always bring in the world’s largest ever moon cake, at 8.15-meter in diameter weighing 25,000-kilograms it should feed few atheletes. Manzou Jim p.s. If you haven’t please vote for LP to run the Torch at the Opening Ceremony. Do pass this on – one Japanese has over 2,000 votes! http://pub1.chinadaily.com.cn/olympics/torch/members.shtml?mid=171
The 1st of October is the 58th National Day celebration in China which falls just after the Mid Autumn Festival, and the start of a government mandated one week holiday that will see tens of millions of Chinese clutching Moon cakes for family and friends, with many tales of their lives away from home. In my office I have been sent half a dozen boxes of moon cakes, an indication of the growing number of people to whom I owe money, but sadly haven’t been sent one of the most expensive which apparently retails at RMB310,000 (US$40,000). Moon cakes are the Chinese equivalent to Xmas cake, rich in fruit and steeped in tradition, and the commercialization of these innocuous densely packed and individually shrink wrapped sweets are causing some people concern. One writer in an English language newspaper bemoaned the 600 trees being cut down for each 10 million moon cakes, placing the total tree loss at several thousand. As people are increasingly concerned about quality control the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection, and Quarantine (AQSIQ) said it has checked a total 425 types of moon cakes made by 378 firms in 29 provinces and found them to be 99.5% safe. As moon cakes have no lead in them I feel pretty sure that there won’t be any recalls to worry about. One of the topics apparently being worried about by the Government though is technology; an issue discussed at the British High Commission briefing this week. One of the embassy staff explained that for the Chinese Government about to start the 17th National Congress of the CPC in two weeks time there is a realisation that the 25 year policy of technology transfer is not working. The Government now wants innovation to drive growth. This is a similar refrain heard in Singapore 5 years ago. Apparently a recent promulgation announced that it is now officially ok for people to fail in new endeavours. Chinese scientists issue more technical papers than all countries except America, Japan and Germany apparently, but many of these have been essentially copy cat theses. The British official suggested that the Chinese Government will be encouraging scientists to publish pioneering research without the risk of some kind of ostracism or lack of prestige that apparently accompanied failures. During the week EASTWEST helped to announce a Centre of Excellence at the British school which is using Promethean Activboards for interactive teaching, a British innovation avidly watched by an audience of Chinese school teachers. Interactive whiteboards give children of all ages the opportunity to investigate subjects very quickly and in a non linear fashion; the teacher becomes a facilitator more than a master of the subject. One of the questions from a westerner in the audience was the freedom that teachers had to customise the content away from the syllabus. The technology is creating interesting possibilities and as master of ceremonies I watched the eagerness of the local teachers. The question will be if the new promulgation on taking risks and failing applies throughout the education system. Many people are taking risks in China and succeeding. A friend told me of his 39 year old one armed army officer who is his new landlord. The property agent exclaimed how brave and reliable the officer must be as all army are trustworthy. Asked by my cynical friend how many properties this officer held, the agent paused gently as she quoted the figure ‘five.’ It is obvious that this young officer has already read Monday’s People’s Daily that will intone people to "Stride forward on the road to build socialism with Chinese characteristics" to mark China's 58th National Day Anniversary. The CPC 17th National Congress is expected to address the issues of continued economic openness while retaining these Chinese characteristics, and repudiating any separatist movement by Taiwan. Taiwan was denied being part of the Olympic flame route, in a snub to one of the Confucian quotes that may adorn Beijing, "All men are brothers.” There is a move by the home town of Confucius, Jinan, to have many of the ancient philosophers edicts placed around the city including: "Do to others as you would be done by", "Virtue is not left to stand alone. He who practises it will have neighbours", and "In carrying our rites, it is harmony that is prized.” Another one should be ‘Patience is a virtue’ for those who are lucky enough to watch the 3 ½ hour opening ceremony. Another ancient edict, "When a friend comes from afar, is that not delightful?" may be truer for those that travel here next year as 3 runways were operating concurrently last week as part of the plan to increase capacity at the airport. The new north south subway line also opened and the train to the airport should be completed soon. It feels as though the pieces of the party that will be Beijing 2008 are coming together, and if there is a shortage of things to eat the Olympic Committee could always bring in the world’s largest ever moon cake, at 8.15-meter in diameter weighing 25,000-kilograms it should feed few atheletes. Manzou Jim p.s. If you haven’t please vote for LP to run the Torch at the Opening Ceremony. Do pass this on – one Japanese has over 2,000 votes! http://pub1.chinadaily.com.cn/olympics/torch/members.shtml?mid=171