Tiger On the Way

Plata quemada (English: Burnt Money) (2000)

2010-01-11T11:05:00.004+08:00

Today I watched a movie "Burnt Money." That was great! At the beginning, I didn't like the topic, not because a topic of homosexual, but because of it's advocation of crime and drugs. However, later I seem to understand that there probably an internal causality in this context. The society rejected these two guys and forced them to become criminals. I was amazed by the whole story was based on a real one happened in Buenos Aires in 1965. It was also a novel written by Ricardo Piglia, which won the 1997 Planeta prize. My surprise was such a touching story was a fact, not a fiction.

A Blue Day

2008-09-01T11:39:00.001+08:00

After two final exams, I finally got a week off to take a rest. However, I still have homework to finish. I am burn out now. Once I am frustrated and under pressure. I become addicted on sex. To get rid of this, I would go to library tomorrow.

MBA Summer Reception in Taipei

2008-06-14T21:11:00.001+08:00

To attend an MBA Summer Reception in Taipei held by a renowned consulting firm, I took a coach to Taipei this Wednesday and returned home next day. Although I had to spend about 4 hours for each trip and only stayed in Taipei overnight, it has been a rewarding participation because it ignites my interests in management consulting. I may put consulting as my priority of job search.

The host of this presentation is the firm's partner, who is in charge of the great china region and is very charming and even look like Jude Law. In the Q&A session, I forced myself to ask one question, something I require myself to do so that I can train myself how to perform in front of the public. To pursue an MBA, I have to challenge myself and change my personality to become more talkative, eloquent and logical. Looking at him, I realized that I need to talk with more confidence, articulate each word, and exude my feelings and passion to each person in the room. This would be a big challenge for me because I don't think I am good at speech and interview.

After the reception, this company treated all attendees a delicate dinner in Shin Yeh 101. It was a luxury meal with abalone, lobster, etc. Two consultants sat next to my in turn and I was able to understand more about consultant career life. Via such an event, I also got to know more MBA admits and later kept in touch with them by networking website.

The American Dream of Bruce Lee

2008-06-04T23:14:00.001+08:00

I've heard a lot about Bruce Lee, but I have never try to seriously understand who he is and what he has done until today I watched the movie called "Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story" starring Jason Scott Lee. This movie gave me a rough idea of Bruce's life and stimulated my interests in his story. This movie shaped him having an American dream and saying himself as an American. However, he did not succeed in the U.S. until he turned to star in the Hong Kong movies. The discrimination did limit his career development in the U.S. and eventually it is his birthplace that brought him to be a superstar. This story line reminds me of my current situation. Will I succeed after leaving Taiwan for the States?

Furthermore, Obama defeated Senator Clinton to become the first African-American candidate for the American president election. Some critics said that the U.S. has gone through a big change after Martin Luther King's speech about "I have a dream" in the 1960s and that this result has proved that nowadays no matter the white or black both have the opportunity to run the presidential election. I am kind of suspicious of this conclusion.

Memorable Quotes

Linda: "Its okay, Im awake"
Bruce: "I was working on game of death, lost track of time. The kids okay?"
Linda: "Dont you ever get tired of asking that question?"
Bruce: "Linda, we've been through this before - I dont have a choice"
Linda: "You might not, but I do. Im taking the kids and going home for a while."
Bruce: "Home is here for now!"
Linda: "No... here is where we watch you work!"
Bruce: "What do you want me to do?"
Linda: "I want you to come with us"
Bruce: "I worked in America for 10 years - and what it get me? It got me nothing!"
Linda: "It got you me"
Bruce: "Oh man... [pause] they got such a good line of bullshit. 'Come and get it! America! The mountain of gold! Its for everybody! Yeah! its for everybody white but they dont tell you that! You gotta read the small print [pause] if you can read"
Linda: "I am not America! Your kids are not America! Dont push us away... Were going... I want you to come with us... I want the kids to have a father again."
Bruce: "Dont lay any guilt trips on me! Im NOT taking any guilt trips!"
Linda: "This place is eating us up, cant you see that Bruce!?"
Bruce: "This place has given us a life! Im SOMEBODY here, Im SPECIAL. Back there Im just another GOOK! Just another.. wet back.. Charlie Chan.. low payed dishwasher in a stinky stinky restaraunt!! - Starch your shirt Mr. White man! Pleasee! No ticky, no shirty, a one from colum A, and one from column B! Me happy to build the railroads! Me happy to dig the mines for you Mr. WHITE-MAN!!!" [visibly distressed] IS THAT WHO I AM? IS IT? TELL ME, TELL ME THATS WHO I AM!!!"
Linda: "I DONT KNOW who the hell you are anymore! [pause] Do you?"

The First Birthday Gift for My Father

2008-06-03T23:43:00.001+08:00

Yesterday was my father's birthday. Although it had been raining all day long, I took my bike to a supermarket in the downtown to buy a shaver and foams as president for him. This was the first time that I gave my father a birthday gift. I was embarrassed to do so. Thus, I gave a red envelope with $3,000 inside, a mission that my brother asked me to execute and he would pay me back later. My father asked me how my brother could arrange this because my brother was in Taipei. To prevent my father decline this red envelope, I said my brother gave the money to me earlier when I was still in Taipei. To my surprise, my father didn't say much and accept this red envelope. Therefore, I promptly gave him the birthday gift to him. I noticed he always used a plastic shaver and had to clean the razor after using it each time. I think he needs a better shaver. Today, my father unpacked the shaver but had some trouble to put the razor into the shaver. I helped him with this and answered his question about where to buy these razors.

My father didn't ask why my brother gave him red envelop and why I gave him a gift. That means he actually remembered his own birthday. I feel shameful that so many years had passed and I had not given any birthday gift to him before. I think it does not really matter what I prepare for him on his birthday. What counts is that at least I should express something to him. I did not say "Happy birthday to you!" words that I felt difficult to spell out. I should try to enhance our mutual interaction and communication this summer because I don't think I will return home in 2 years after my departure from Taiwan.

Dinged by a Top MBA School

2008-03-26T23:03:00.001+08:00

Waiting for the final notification all day long and unable to concentrate on anything, I finally got the result just now. Sad… I was rejected by the top MBA school. So, this notification concluded my MBA application and I will start to pack my baggage to move back Taiwan.

Last night, a serious argument and debate first on Skype and then in email happened between my business partner and me. I tried to point out his weakness that made him work overtime again and again but my words incurred his discontent and prompted him defensive. I was doing so to ensure the company can run smoothly after my leave. I don't want the company collapse after my quit.

Falling In Love at the First Sight

2008-03-24T23:43:00.001+08:00

Yesterday, waiting right from the Starbucks in the malls of Oriental Plaza for quite a few time, I eventually saw the face similar to the one showed online. Lisbon ordered an espresso for himself and treated me a Latte. We then had a casual talk. His blue eye was shining.

Unable to pick up a decent restaurant for our lunch, I guided him to Chamate, a Taiwanese chained restaurant. We ordered too many dishes. While I was doing my best to each as much as possible, he only ate a few. He said he wasn't hungry. While he spoke, I stared at his blue pupils. He explained that his brothers and sisters have different colors of pupils from green to orange brown. He was born in Mozambique and his father somehow moved back to Portugal at the age of 40 with nothing, no property and money. Sometimes I still missed some information from his talk, but I think I caught the code behind his eyes.

He said he wants to be along with me.

He said he loves me.

He said he will call me.

At 5:00 p.m. I just left him, and got a text message from him telling me that he already missed me and was glad to have meeting me.

After more than 2 years' single life, I seem to be falling in love with Lisbon. Oh, and one thing I didn't tell him: sometimes when I stared at him, I felt his eyes and face resemble my ex so much.

Taiwan Presidential Elections Reveal a New Age

2008-03-22T20:19:00.001+08:00

The opposition party National Party Candidate Ma Ying-Jeon won the presidential election, opening a new age for Taiwan's future.

I am proud of the peaceful process of the entire presidential elections.

Decline an Offer with $51,730 Dollars

2008-03-18T20:51:00.002+08:00

Urged by Lu, I eventually wrote an email to notify the B-school in Boston that I won't join its program. This school provided me first offer and a fellowship up to $51,730 USD, which is very attractive for me. However, I have decided to attend another B-school which gave me offer on March 7.

I recommended Lu to the School and suggested the school to add more amount of money to support Lu's study in this school. I also expressed my intention to introduce some admitted students in Taiwan to Lu.

These days, I am perplexed by the process of applying I-20 form. Getting the proof of financial support is troublesome and complicated for me, especially when I still live in Beijing. Therefore, I am considering to move back Taiwan in April, to expedite the application of VISA.

My First Offer

2008-02-26T00:38:00.001+08:00

Before noon, somebody was knocking my door heavily. I turned off my loud stereotype and opened the door. Then, I see the angel!

It is my first B-school offer!

I am so excited all day long although my physical body become exhausted because of the cold I got and the busy work ( I worked overtime after middle night!).

This afternoon when I took bicycle to Carrefour for dinner, I laughed. America, I am coming!

[Shared] Bent - Introduction

2008-01-20T16:43:00.002+08:00

Martin Sherman's best-known work, Bent, fits in both the categories of gay literature and Holocaust literature. Prior to Bent, there had been virtually no inclusion of gays in discussions about the Holocaust. Therefore, it had a groundbreaking impact when it was first staged off-Broadway in 1978; an impact that continued when the play was performed in London the next year and then finally brought to Broadway. Although the play has flaws, the uniqueness of the story line and the strength of its message about tolerance, love, and human dignity made the play successful. In fact, it was nominated for both a Pulitzer and a Tony in 1980.

The time period of the play is also different from most other Holocaust literature. Rather than being set during World War II, the story begins in 1934 when Hitler's purge of his Storm Troopers (SA) coincidentally led to the persecution of gays since the head of the SA was gay and his fall provided an excuse for going after other homosexuals. The play continues into 1936, when most of the world still had no idea that any concentration camps existed.

The subject matter, nudity, and verbal sex in the play were controversial enough, but Bent ignited further controversy with its suggestion that the gays suffered more than the Jews during the Holocaust. Debate continues among historians about the situation of each group under the Nazis. In the meantime, the play was staged in more than thirty countries during the 1980s and continues to be produced by community theaters across the United States. As a book, the play is available as a 1979 publication of Samuel French, Inc.

Bent Study Guide, by Martin Sherman

http://www.enotes.com/bent/

[Shared] Really Bad Powerpoint

2008-01-06T11:35:00.001+08:00

I wrote this about four years ago, originally as an ebook. I figured the idea might spread and then the problem would go away--we'd no longer see thousands of hours wasted, every single day, by boring PowerPoint presentations filled with bullets.

Not only has it not gone away, it's gotten a lot worse. Last week I got a template from a conference organizer. It seems they want every single presenter to not only use bullets for their presentations, but for all of us to use the same format! Shudder.

So, for posterity, and in the vain hope it might work, here we go again:

Really Bad Powerpoint

It doesn't matter whether you're trying to champion at a church or a school or a Fortune 100 company, you're probably going to use PowerPoint.

Powerpoint was developed by engineers as a tool to help them communicate with the marketing department—and vice versa. It's a remarkable tool because it allows very dense verbal communication. Yes, you could send a memo, but no one reads anymore. As our companies are getting faster and faster, we need a way to communicate ideas from one group to another. Enter Powerpoint.

Powerpoint could be the most powerful tool on your computer. But it's not. Countless innovations fail because their champions use PowerPoint the way Microsoft wants them to, instead of the right way.

Communication is the transfer of emotion.

Communication is about getting others to adopt your point of view, to help them understand why you're excited (or sad, or optimistic or whatever else you are.)If all you want to do is create a file of facts and figures, then cancel the meeting and send in a report.

Our brains have two sides. The right side is emotional, musical and moody. The left side is focused on dexterity, facts and hard data. When you show up to give a presentation, people want to use both parts of their brain. So they use the right side to judge the way you talk, the way you dress and your body language. Often, people come to a conclusion about your presentation by the time you're on the second slide. After that, it's often too late for your bullet points to do you much good.

You can wreck a communication process with lousy logic or unsupported facts, but you can't complete it without emotion. Logic is not enough.

Champions must sell—to internal audiences and to the outside world.

If everyone in the room agreed with you, you wouldn't need to do a presentation, would you? You could save a lot of time by printing out a one-page project report and delivering it to each person. No, the reason we do presentations is to make a point, to sell one or more ideas.

If you believe in your idea, sell it. Make your point as hard as you can and get what you came for. Your audience will thank you for it, because deep down, we all want to be sold.

Four Components To A Great Presentation
First, make yourself cue cards. Don't put them on the screen. Put them in your hand. Now, you can use the cue cards you made to make sure you're saying what you came to say.

Second, make slides that reinforce your words, not repeat them. Create slides that demonstrate, with emotional proof, that what you're saying is true not just accurate.

Talking about pollution in Houston? Instead of giving me four bullet points of EPA data, why not read me the stats but show me a photo of a bunch of dead birds, some smog and even a diseased lung? This is cheating! It's unfair! It works.

Third, create a written document. A leave-behind. Put in as many footnotes or details as you like. Then, when you start your presentation, tell the audience that you're going to give them all the details of your presentation after it's over, and they don't have to write down everything you say. Remember, the presentation is to make an emotional sale. The document is the proof that helps the intellectuals in your audience accept the idea that you've sold them on emotionally.

IMPORTANT: Don't hand out the written stuff at the beginning! If you do, people will read the memo while you're talking and ignore you. Instead, your goal is to get them to sit back, trust you and take in the emotional and intellectual points of your presentation.

Fourth, create a feedback cycle. If your presentation is for a project approval, hand people a project approval form and get them to approve it, so there's no ambiguity at all about what you've all agreed to.

The reason you give a presentation is to make a sale. So make it. Don't leave without a "yes," or at the very least, a commitment to a date or to future deliverables.

Bullets Are For the NRA
Here are the five rules you need to remember to create amazing Powerpoint presentations:

No more than six words on a slide. EVER. There is no presentation so complex that this rule needs to be broken.

No cheesy images. Use professional stock photo images.

No dissolves, spins or other transitions.

Sound effects can be used a few times per presentation, but never use the sound effects that are built in to the program. Instead, rip sounds and music from CDs and leverage the Proustian effect this can have. If people start bouncing up and down to the Grateful Dead, you've kept them from falling asleep, and you've reminded them that this isn't a typical meeting you're running.

Don't hand out print-outs of your slides. They don't work without you there.

The home run is easy to describe: You put up a slide. It triggers an emotional reaction in the audience. They sit up and want to know what you're going to say that fits in with that image. Then, if you do it right, every time they think of what you said, they'll see the image (and vice versa).1

Sure, this is different from the way everyone else does it. But everyone else is busy defending the status quo (which is easy) and you're busy championing brave new innovations, which is difficult.

Note: Original Article from: seth godin's BLOG

The Blower's Daughter

2007-12-15T07:13:00.003+08:00

This song is just amazing!
Today I happen to heard it from radio and then I wonder where I used to listen to it.
Yes, it's in a film starred by Judy Law, Julia Roberts, etc.

Such a sad song makes me fascinate and listen it again and again!

Irish singer - Damien Rice. Now I remember him...

The Blower's Daughter

2007-12-15T07:13:00.001+08:00

This song is just amazing!
Today I happen to heard it from radio and then I wonder where I used to listen to it.
Yes, it's in a film called "Closer" starred by Judy Law, Julia Roberts, etc.

Such a sad song makes me fascinate and listen it again and again!

Irish singer - Damien Rice. Now I remember him...

The Blower's Daughter - Closer

2007-12-14T10:17:00.000+08:00

The Blower's Daughter by Damien Rice

2007-12-13T10:53:00.000+08:00

Stay Overnight at Changi Airport in Sigapore Last Night

2007-11-25T07:13:00.000+08:00

This is a novel experience for me to stay overnight in an airport. My JetStar flight arrived at Singapore at 11:05 p.m., but my China airline to Beijing will depart at 9:30 a.m. next day. Fortunately, the Changi Airport is convenient and comfortable so that I sat in front of a LCD-screen TV set to watch the super long Starwar series movies in the Star Movie Channel Movie Lounge.

Two unpleasant experiences happened in my journey.
First is the strict implementation of 20kg weight limit of baggage. The original weight of my baggage is 24kg, so I adjust and repack my baggage to fit JetStar's requirement. It was troublesome!

Second is the Zhangyi airport levied the tax of my two cartons of cigarettes brought in Taipei airport. It cost me 4 Singapore dollars! I am unhappy to pay this unexpected and extra fee.

One day in NTU Library

2007-11-04T14:01:00.000+08:00

Sitting at the library of NTU, I feel everything is so familiar and enjoyable, reminding each piece of my memory studying here. I used to dream to use my own laptop in this library, however, in my entire university time, I didn’t own one. Today, and now, I am using my newly brought laptop here to type my blog’s content.

Recently, the newspaper and TV news keep reporting the soaring price of food, oil, transportation fees, etc. I do notice that everything becomes more expensive than my past impression. Eating my lunch at the buffet inside the Student Activity Center, I perceive students mostly only spent fewer than 60 NTD to buy a lunch, only having not much amount of food to eat, at least for me. I hope that I am just thinking too much. If not, then it shows sad implications for Taiwanese students, or Taiwan.

Comments Again about the Episode Hosted by Bobby Chen and Patty Hou with Rene Liu as a Guest

2007-07-01T14:24:00.000+08:00

I watched a selection of “Kidnap”(连环结，又名綁架) starred by Rene Liu(劉若英) and Lin Jianxin(林嘉欣), and part of “Happy Birthday”(生日快樂) starred by Rene Liu and Gu Tianle(古天樂), prompting me to search for an episode of a talk show hosted by Patty Hou(侯佩岑) and Bobby Chen(陳昇) with Rene Liu as a guest. I was moved by the show, which I have watched months ago and written down some comments about it.

I have to say that this episode is a piece of works with staggering complicated implications and has even a richer context to analyze than the two movies that I mentioned above, although Rene's acting is absolutely outstanding on the movies. Why do I say so? Here come some points I hold.

First, Rene, a famous Taiwanese actress who has won more than hundreds of acting awards in Taiwan, in Mainland China and even in Asia, expose the “real herself” without any disguise from the very beginning, a situation described by some Internet comments as “totally break down”, because her master declined to accept her offering of brand new album. The guest instantly wept and consequently the inexperienced hostess suddenly did not know how to handle the accidence, resulting in the entire program out of control. Thanks to her inexperience, the audience got the luck to see the real sentiments of the guest and the host, who acted as if he was also one of the guests of that day. In fact, I would say there was no host or hostess in this particular episode. Rene and Bobby Chen just took advantage of this show to communicate their respective attitude and feelings which might not have any proper opportunity to express in other occasions.

Second, although movies tend to be designed to move the audience and to be schemed many climatic plots, sometimes a real life story could be more touching and more intricate than them. For example, after Rene asked Bobby to sing a song called "The Kite”, whose lyrics similized a person with liberal and unrestrained personality as a kite, He by his own picked a second song to sing for her, whose lyrics immersed in a tone of sorrow, wisdom, and open mind used a man's perspective to tell a woman who was going to take a train by herself in the platform of a train station that the time has changed and a woman should have her own dream to pursue. Each word of the lyrics sang by Bobby was fully fit with the thoughts which he want to express. The lyrics seemed to tailor for this moment, while actually they were written by him many years ago.

Finally, I noticed even these days, many fans are still writing their comments about this episode which was produced many years ago. People could easily find this material on various video sharing websites such as Youtube, Tudou (土豆網), and other similar Chinese sites. The popularity has proven not only the popularity of Rene Liu, but also the formidable Internet distributing effects on an event or a program. No matter how long ago a word, a comment or a piece of works was generated, once it was put on the Internet, the impact is going to exist almost perpetually without the limits of space and time.

Bureaucratic Stuff in China and Postponement of Russian Dinner

2007-06-30T17:37:00.000+08:00

I went to Agricultural Bank of China right at 9 o'clock to open several accounts for stockholders. After lining up for more than a half hour, the clerk rejected my application, making me very irritated by the bureaucratic operation of banks in China and the troublesome process of registering a company in this country. I called my agent and he suggested me to try another bank. Queuing for more than one hour this time in another bank, fortunately, his suggestion worked! Afterwards, I emailed Jolt some data and reminded him to move on the next step as soon as possible.

It is exhausting to set up a company in China. However, I keep telling myself that all these annoying trivia are just beginning of owning my own business. The centerpiece has even not yet begun. So be patient!

At noon of Yesterday, I got Creek’s text message and then phoned her to accept the phone call interview for workshop. The result will not be notified until next week, meaning that I have to keep thinking of this thing until next week. The total required cash for this event is 7600 RMB, but I think it is worthwhile.

Today it is raining in Beijing, resulting in postponement of my appointment with Olive to go swimming this afternoon and then to have an exquisite dinner in a Russian restaurant near Xizhi Men (西直門). I have been looking for this get-together since last night I confirmed my schedule with him. I do need a relaxation and some social life now. Besides, Olive is going to leave China a couples days later. I am sad about his departure but this is the correct decision he has to make. Bless him!

Kick off Company Registration Process and Donate a Few Money to a Beggar

2007-06-25T23:39:00.000+08:00

Eventually, I commissioned an agency company to register our start-up and paid 2000 RMB as the deposit. This was a substantial move for me, meaning that I will have to totally devote at least one year to the new business – I do not want to have a failed record of entrepreneurship.

There was a change of shareholders. A PM withdrew from investors partly because, compared with other stockholders, she felt shameful about the paltry sum of her investment and partly because she planed to buy a car after getting a driven license of her own, resulting an exclusive effect on her disposable income. This development did cause some problem on our registration task, but Jolt could solve this issue by himself.

On my way home, I saw one beggar, whose face was so frightening that I do not want to elaborate too much herein. I think that was caused by unfortunately genetic disease. I remembered I used to see him on the viaduct of Sitong bridge (四通橋) last month when I made an appointment with the above-mentioned PM for the start-up discussion. At that time, I did not give him any money and I felt uncomfortable about what I had done. Therefore, this time when I already passed through him and I suddenly realized that this beggar was the one I saw couples weeks ago, I turned back and put ten RMB - which was not too much but which was the amount I could offer in terms of my stringent economic conditions - into his iron can. I was not sure if he could see my behavior because his eyes were covered by pending and twisted muscles and skin, and I was not sure if his appearance was just a trick and a disguise to cheat passengers so that he could make money from people’s compassion, a commonplace in China that was schemed by tons of criminal groups everywhere in this country, making the public reluctant to donate any cash to any beggars in big cities. Due to many disguised beggars in China, I have not give any money to those beggars in Beijing, because I think most of them can get good care if they want to get assistance from the government, and because the authorities also warned citizens not to donate money to those beggars, who influenced the appearance of a metropolis and the operation of subway. Nonetheless, I sympathized with those who played some instruments much more than those who only stretched their limbs to ask for money. My idea was that at least those who played music were doing something to exchange for money, rather than doing nothing but at the same time hoping to gain compensation.

Summary of MBA Career Seminar

2007-06-24T23:46:00.000+08:00

I met zixi, the legendary founder of one well-known community in the Hall of Oriental Plaza when my new friends and I were heading to CKGSB. She was kind of different from what I imagined. I conversed with her prior to the speech given by Professor Huang Ming, who used teach in Stanford and Chicago Business School.

Professor Huang’s speech is convincing. I wrote down some main points from his sharing as the following.

*The goals for a MBA program:

Career Switch
Networking
Knowledge: use a short time to absorb as many study results from managerial scholars, who have devote their whole life on their research, as you can

*The culture in CBS: Competitive
*The culture in Stanford: Teamwork (Suitable for start-up oriented students)

*What matters in essay writing?
Highlight on social activities and leadership and it must be able to move readers.

*Who want to work in investment banks or consulting firms should choose top 5 B-schools; who want to stay in Fortune 500 has not much difference in any B-schools with top 20.

*Is it hard for Chinese students to land a job in the

U.S.

after graduation? The best profile for a Chinese student who wants to get a job in

America

could be someone who understands the western managerial culture, and in the meantime has a deep comprehension about

China

. This type of person might work in the

U.S.

for one to two years and then be assigned to

China

as the top management who is in charge of all

China

affairs.

Agreements Set Down and Some Thoughts about Future

2007-06-22T23:58:00.000+08:00

Waiting for phone call from the consultant in a head hunting company the entire daytime, I wasted time doing nothing today. I think I need to breathe some fresh air so I make an appointment with Olive tomorrow to hike in Xiang Shan tomorrow. In the evening on MSN, Jolt caught me and begun discussing our agreements. I, hence, pulled Ethanol into our conversation and reported to both partners about some obstacles so far I encountered. After one hour or so, we come to conclusion and will move on to registration work next week.

These days I cannot help speculating whether I should follow my original plan to pursue my MBA degree from next year, or I should seize the promising job opportunity in the Great China market, probably a more booming economy than the one in the U.S., if I get the job offer later. I was confused today. Can MBA program in U.S. promise my a better career and life than those in China, a limelight all round the world in this century? Am I too stubborn insisting on this switch of locations, industries, and life? I thought of these questions and then one thing loomed on my mind. That is, yes, I will go on to study abroad, no matter I would start my own business later or I would work in Suzhou for that Taiwanese company. My point is neither that how high position in a company I can get in my future, nor that how many fortune I can amass in my life. My point is that I want to keep experiencing different, interesting, multi-culture life in the following decades. There is not much different between my past and my future if I still work in China for the following years. The only breakthrough I can make is for sure to work overseas, a life experience much different from the traveling experiences that I had in Europe. I might later on feel tired, frightened, and helpless later on the road toward this destination. However, I must give it a try or I would never know if it worth or not.

An Unexpected Job Opportunity and the End of the TOEFL Registration Battle

2007-06-20T23:19:00.001+08:00

In the late afternoon, a specialist of a head hunting company in Shanghai phoned me and provided me some basic information for some position of a Taiwanese company. At first, I was not really interested in it because the location is in Suzhou, a second-tier city in

China

where many

Taiwan

companies amass there. However, the salary is attracting, and I found that the company is promising after checking data about it. This company gained a big amount of investments from two famous venture capitals at the end of last year. Now I am really in a dilemma: Should I do my best to land this job opportunity? Or I'd better follow my original plan to start my own business and study abroad afterwards?

I decided to give it a try for this special job. I replied an e-mail to the specialist to ask her to arrange an interview in Beijing ASAP because the GM of the employer is visiting Beijing currently. I want to go through the entire process as soon as possible so that if I do not match the requirements of the employer, I can go on my previous plan without too much waste of time on this interlude.

By the way, yesterday I spent more than 5 hours registering for TOEFL seats. It was definitely a war that thousands of Chinese people sitting in Internet cafés, offices, dormitories or at home stared at the monitors, cursed the stupid website registration system, complained the Department of Education in China and the ETS in the U.S., and cried for the eventual success or unfortunate failure. Some people decided to register for more than one seat because of the fear of facing this kind of torture again. Many students still failed to get any seats for the exam and thus might lose their opportunities for study overseas.

Release of TOEFL Seats and an Appointment with “Strangers”

2007-06-19T10:44:00.000+08:00

At midnight, there were about 8 people talking at the same time on the MSN messenger dialog pane, words flowing as fast as river water. I have not done such an online group talking for a long time. Among these people, I only met Candid once at a GMAT activity in February and both Lettuce and Meteor, two girls that I have not contacted since then. Jubilant is someone who sent me his MSN account several days ago and who I left him some offline greetings in Japanese. The main reason that makes us get together is the unconfirmed news from NEEA about today’s release of ibt-TOEFL exam, whose seats in

China

is in short supply since the beginning of this year.

After a messy conversations, someone proposed we can have a “FB”, a recurrently coined Internet term which means singing in KTV or dining out with friends with one’s own money, if joining the upcoming speech about MBA career next Sunday noon. I promised to join them because I think I do need more social life and I do want to make more local Chinese friends. Among them, I am very impressed by Jubilant’s multilingual ability, versatility and colorful overseas working and life experiences. Additionally, he is only 24 years now, an age which I still stayed at university! I am convinced that the younger generation of China is very competent and has strong competitive advantage in job markets around the world.

Today's release of ibt-TOEFL seats will certainly cause a war for all Chinese students who plan to study abroad. There is no doubt that the release of this time, 25000 vacancies according to some rumor, could not meet the strong demand from the market. We will see what will happen today.

PS. While I tried to connect to the Internet to post above content, I suddenly found that there was something wrong about the connection. I was very anxiety about this because several hours later I also have to grab a seat for myself. I prompted contacting my ISP and spent about two hours working with them. Fortunately, the problem has solved. I asked the ISP lady about the possible reason for my connection problem. She told me that it might be caused by too many people using the Internet for the moment. Does that imply millions of Chinese are online waiting for the first gun shot to secure a TOEFL exam vacancy now? I can not help suspecting this possibility, because I have never encounter any Internet connection problem since this ISP provide service for me!

The Coincidence Which Makes Us Miss Each Other

2007-06-14T11:04:00.001+08:00

The day before yesterday, I did not turn on my cell phone until noon. A few minutes later, a text message appears and reads as “I am visiting Beijing to deal with some business and will leave soon once finishing it. There is not enough time to meet up with each other in such rush trip.” The words was sent by Venus, someone whom I have not thought of for a long time until several days ago Dr. phoned her in front of me, and whom I just fantasized I made love with in the midmorning on that very day.

I got to admit that I still have some special feelings for her. She is the only girl who has really attracted me. Unfortunately, on a special night when she asked me whether I loved her, I hesitated for seconds and kept silence. Soon she came to a conclusion, “you just think that why not accepting all these things in terms of your single status, right?” I do not know what was wrong with me at the moment. Ironically, after our breakup, I did become eager to confess myself to her. But it was late and she rejected my pursuit. I think that sometimes I am just too slow to understand myself and to respond appropriately toward fantastic opportunities.

Once I read her message, I just replied with some short words to express my regret for no time to meet. She then sent another text message to tell me that she used to call me this morning to see if we could have a lunch together but my cell phone disconnected. At the moment, she was already having her meal. I typed words as “It is OK, because we will still meet each other in Wu Tai Mountain.” Actually, I did not really want to meet her on that very day because I am not in good condition. Thus, it might be a good idea to meet next time. Later on, I went to her blog to leave some words for her.

It was coincidental not only that I received her message just after I thought of her on that day, but also that I was not prepared well to meet her on that very day and I unintentionally turned on my cell phone late, resulting in we missed meeting each other. No matter what, I am still looking forward to our reunion.

The Boy Who Sees with Sound

2007-06-12T19:11:00.000+08:00

Benjamin Underwood develops a special echolocation system, which usually is used by bats or dolphins, to detect the surroundings around him so that he can get to any destination without a cane, a common tool for blind people. Retinal cancer claimed both his eyes when Ben was three years old. However, he always says, “I am not blind. I just can not see.”

The attitude of his mother is contributing to the extraordinary ability to push the limits of human perception. Ben’s mother always told her son, “Your name is Benjamin Underwood, and you can do anything.” She gave him the confidence and the bravery to challenge the physical deficiency, prompting this exceptional boy to develop his unbelievable echomobility.

I am astonished by the fact that the human being could employ echoes to distinguish the objects and to navigate oneself. This story, again, proves that the mankind has a variety of unknown capability to exploit. If a boy like Benjamin Underwood who has lost his faculty of sight could conquer the all the impediments to learn how to locate himself by echolocation, how could a person like me who is in possession of all faculties give up his or her life goal by any temporary setback or surmountable depression?

Taiwanese Literature Reading Club and a Fiction Called “Kill the Husband”

2007-06-10T23:31:00.000+08:00

By MSN messenger Mermaid told me that she will get married in September and invited me to join her wedding ceremony in

Taiwan

. By the same instant communication tool, Cherry told me that in subway train in Taipei she ran into Crimson, who still studies in North Carolina for his politics doctorial degree, and he told her that he was going to visit Beijing next day. I will not return to

Taiwan

until next Chinese New Year festival, and there is no contact information for me to call Crimson, who I have not seen for many years, to figure out a way to meet up in Beijing. These people are all my old classmates in university, who are the members of Taiwanese Literature Reading Club, an organization that I founded with other four friends in our sophomore year.

Cherry said she have collected all contact information of all members of Taiwanese Literature Reading Club. I, therefore, joked that we should hold once again a reading activity and asked each one to read a book beforehand and to bring the book to join the reunion. This sounds exciting, because I could provide everybody’s speech in our book discussion of many years ago, a reminiscence of the prime of our life.

The time of joining Taiwanese Literature Reading Club is certainly one of my unforgettable and beautiful memories in my life. In addition to getting along with many good friends, I also get inspired by one fiction called “Kill the Husband” (殺夫) written by Li Ang (李昂), a famous Taiwanese writer who has ever been awarded Order of Arts and Letters (Ordre des Arts et des Lettres) by French government. The topic of the book was all about a bad-luck story happened on a wife who had been tortured by his uncouth husband, who made a living as a slaughter. The difficult situation that she confronted with made her eventually choose to kill her husband, a miserable story based on a real social event happened in Shanghai. I learned from this prominent novel that one could always have other choices when facing desperate situations, if one has the courage to forsake what one currently owns and to leave one’s surroundings for a totally brand new place. I think this book somehow affects my life philosophy and a number of decisions in my life afterwards.

An Old Friend's Invitation and the New Friend's Pending Leave

2007-06-08T16:52:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, many substantial things happened on me.

First, in the morning I visited Dr. and he gave me a contact info of some Taiwanese in Beijing, who I will write an email to him later, and phoned Venus, who Dr. and I have not seen for a long time, when Dr. and I had our lunch in We Ke Hotel (物科賓館), a place where I had a pleasant conversation with Dr. and Professor Fang, a previous deputy chairman of some Institute of Chinese Academy of Sciences. I was surprised at that Venus still remembered my status and asked me to tell her the result of my examination. At the beginning, she asked me how long I would stay in Shanghai, while the fact is that Dr. came to Beijing so that it was not me travel to Shanghai, but both Dr. and I called her from Beijing at the moment. She invite me to join a possible trip to Wu Tai Mountain (五臺山) in August, an get-together chance which I definitely look forward to.

Second, in the afternoon, Olive told me that he will left Beijing for Paris on July 10 with Henry, who got a internship in an insurance bank in Paris via Olive’s connection, and then stay in Luxemburg about two months before he fly to Boston to complete 2 courses in Harvard Law School, something he has to finish if he want to work for American law firms, instead of European law firms. Besides, he needs to take an exam in America so that he can qualify to work in China for those American companies. He has to get a loan for his short-term study in Harvard. I was sad to know that he might leave Beijing for about half year, because he is my best friend here in China.

Third, in the evening, the score was revealed and it was not ideal for me. Fortunately, I was able to book another seat right away next Saturday in this difficult situation. Thanks all kinds of Gods and all my ancestors! I have to seize each opportunity no matter what happened.

To Save a Stranger, Will You Lie between Rails Letting the Train Running Trough You?

2007-06-06T22:05:00.000+08:00

What is the feeling of lying on the roadbed between rails while a 370-ton subway train roared over above your body? Wesley Autrey, a 50 years old African-American, just experienced this kind of formidable moment. What is his motivation? Well, it is to save a stranger, who fell down from the platform because of unexpected seizure.

I am not only shocked by the incredible plot of this real-life story and the courage of the savior, but also moved by the fact that in this world, there is still somebody willing to risk his own life to rescue the life of a stranger. Many times, when I was standing on the platform waiting for subway train, I used to fantasize lying on the depression between the rails when a train was passing through the station, wondering the possibility of being alive after doing so. This is only a passing whim derived from boredom while waiting for my train. However, I have never thought of that this action could have really happened in the reality on January 2 of this year.

The most impressive moment for me was that the two young daughters were screaming- “My daddy! My daddy! - when the train monster swallowed their father and that stranger. I could sympathize the fright of the little girls at the very emergent moment. What if their father died in front of them? Then that day could become a haunting nightmare in the rest of their life. Fortunately, this supposition did not become a truth.

Life is a miracle. Everybody should cherish each moment of his or her life. On the other hand, to give others a hand when one could is a virtue that might be an old-fashioned one, but should last forever.

Related Report:

Naming for a Company and the Current Process

2007-06-04T19:52:00.001+08:00

Beijing Botanical Garden
Originally uploaded by taigerwan.

“Sony” is a good name because it is easy to pronounce and memorized. “Acer” is also good one. By contrast, “ASUS” is not perfect, because people do not know how to pronounce the “U” here.

Naming for our company is such a substantial task that could affect the result of brand marketing. Till this afternoon, I have proposed 3 choices for my partners, but one of my partner, who is a mainlander, seems prefer the one that my Taiwanese partner and I have already gave up. The possible reason might be that our preferred choice has a Chinese name that consists of the middle word of my Taiwanese partner’s name and that of my name. If I were him, I would certainly feel uncomfortable. Nonetheless, I do think our preferred choice has the very ideal English name for our start-up. Hence, I replace the word which is the same as the middle word of my name with another rare word, which has a similar pronunciation as the English name.

I hope that all partners could agree with my fourth proposition.

So far, I have make sure the list of investors and the capital that each of them will offer. My original plan is to register the start-ups this week. The Chinese investor, however, seems to prefer to sign some agreements first. This requirement is reasonable, but I do need more time to produce the draft version of these legal documents.

I am eager to register the companies as soon as possible, because the process to do so might take about one month to accomplish. Besides, I can do nothing before the setup of the new companies for those potential projects, such as the projects of patent and software products. We have to grab these business opportunities to develop our companies. The current moment is also a good timing for us, but not the 4 quarter, which is usually a low season in software localization industry.

Several Observations about CKGSB MBA Program

2007-06-02T23:59:00.000+08:00

This afternoon, I joined the information session about CKGSB MBA program in Oriental Plaza, a complex where the richest Asian Li Ka-shing invested in. Generally speaking, I got a fair impression on today's arrangement. Here come some observations and comments on this school:

First, CKGSB, which is founded in 2002 by the Li Ka-shing Foundation, is very ambitious to set its goal as a top 10 business school in 10 years, although it is so young. Indeed, this announce could be just a propagandistic strategy to attract talented students. However, it is also true that this mission impossible could be achieved only in

China

, if there is a possibility for any new business school to attain this kind of astonished achievement. The reason is, of course, that

China

is the focus around the world and that the booming economy of

China

can fuel any brave valiant attempt.

Second, to complete a mission impossible, CKGSB has to take some unconventional and unusual actions to solicit more excellent students. A very different approach in CKGSB MBA program is that applicants are allowed to have interview first, and then, if passed the interview, get a so-called “conditional offer”, which means the applicants afterwards need to take GMAT and to achieve the minimum requirement for GMAT score, so that CKGSB would issue the official admission offers for them. Above-mentioned practice is different from the usual procedure of most B-schools, which require the GMAT score before the decision to give any interview. The purpose of CKGSB, I believe, is to attract some outstanding applicants who have problems to take GMAT earlier.

Third, CKGSB holds several GMAT reading clubs, or studying groups, in order to assist all MBA applicants to share mutual experiences and then get as high as possible score at the exam. It also invites some teachers in New Oriental School, a well-known cram school which has listed in the American stock market, to instruct these club members. It is wise to do so because this activity enhance more opportunities for CKGSB to reach those exceptional applicants, and these applicants can also become familiar with this school in the process of studying in this kind of organization.

Forth, CKGSB knows how to attract eyeballs and how to prompt its information session. It organizes a professor’s speech prior to the introduction of admission officer. Today's topic is “Brand Position of Tsingtao beer”, which can lure many attendees for sure.

http://www.ckgsb.edu.cn/

Transfer Pricing and APA

2007-05-31T23:18:00.000+08:00

If I set up one new company in Taiwan and the other one in Beijing at the same time, I am not sure whether any risks might happen on the trade between the two companies. There is one issue to aware, which is transferring pricing, a taxation term which I am not familiar with.

Transfer pricing usually occurs among associate enterprises, resulting in decrease of a nation's tax revenue. There are many complex concepts and operations on this issue. Although I thought of this benefit as well, the motive of starting two companies in different places stem from the high criteria of capital amount of a Joint Venture company, the only form that 2 Taiwanese and 1 Chinese can invest in the Mainland China.

Although transfer pricing and Advance Pricing Agreement are not easy subject for me, I found they are quite interesting. If I do not try to start my own company, I would never encounter this issue, and, from my work, I would never learn something new and similar to it.

Related Article:
Tax Co-operation in an International Setting (by Chinese scholar)

Creating a Start-up Is Demanding and Challenging

2007-05-30T21:07:00.001+08:00

Beijing Botanical Garden
Originally uploaded by taigerwan.

Creating a start-up is never an easy thing. These days I gleaned related info on the Internet, talked with friends or previous boss about their start-up experiences, and contemplated possible solutions for obstacles. There is always something unexpected happened in the process of register our new company. It is true that if we do not have passion, we would give up the idea of building a company of our own.

On Monday, I visited my previous boss and he gave me many useful advices. Inspired by his words, I begin to consider the possibility of setting up a company in Taiwan. Afterwards, I found some insurmountable impediments to a Joint Venture in Beijing, prompting me to figure out a way to build corporations with limited capital.

There was a time I felt so tired that I was thinking of giving up the start-up plan. However, I realized that to create my own business requires right timing to meet some right partners, business opportunities, and proper locations, factors that one could not always meet anytime in one’s life. I think I have to seize the chance to live up with my dream right now, or I might not get the same chance later even I left China.

China is all the rage just now. Now that I live in China at the moment, I should do something on this piece of land. If I do not give it a try, I would never know whether I could make it or not!

My Friend Did His Best to Recruit Me

2007-05-27T00:15:00.001+08:00

Beijing Botanical Garden
Originally uploaded by taigerwan.

Colt invited me for dinner yesterday in Guomao. He used to invite me for dinner this Monday but I had to wait for my landlord to pay the rents.

He tried his best to persuade me to join his company, although he was unwilling to give me any shares of his company. He explained that there is no difference between holding some shares of the company and merely sharing profits of business, an idea which he can only talk about theoretically and can not give me pragmatic salary package. His company has set up for more than one year and has not broken even. Therefore, his company can not afford my salary for sure. This is why I proposed him to give me some shares because as a stockholder, I could comfort myself that I am working for my own company although the pay is so low.

The atmosphere of the end of the dinner may be kind of uncomfortable. He kept saying that I do not admit the wrong decisions I made about my previous job selection. Nonetheless, I thought he was the person who was too confident to see his own weakness and to understand that each person has his or her own values. It was not necessarily wrong if I chose a different path from his.

I revealed to him that I might have four options for my current career path. Among these choices, the most possible is to create a start-up with my other friends. I stop convincing me after knowing my thoughts.

This talk makes me feel that there is no possibility for cooperation between his company and my future start-up, a beautiful plan I considered for a long time before today’s meeting.

NTU(臺大) Students Visiting Qinghua(清華) Students in Beijing

2007-05-25T11:17:00.001+08:00

Students form National Taiwan University visited Qinghua University in Beijing
Originally uploaded by taigerwan.

This Wednesday evening, Students from the Department of Politics at National Taiwan University, a group visiting Beijing for couples of days, had a seminar with students from Qinghua University in Beijing. This activity was a casual communication between these two groups of students. The sensitive politics was certainly one of concerned issues. However, it was impossible to come to any conclusion in such short time stretch. The main purpose of the event must have something to do with building a friendship between the Taiwan Strait so that afterwards these students can keep in touch with each other.

This is a meaningful activity because students in Taiwan seem not to understand China so much as those in China seem to understand Taiwan. It might be caused by the manipulation from the politicians in Taiwan. Whatever one's positions, one should understand as much as possible about the China affairs in order to making a wise decision.

Generally speaking, students from Taiwan were more laid-back and joyful than those from China, who appeared to be serious. There was one thing that amazed viewers – the Chinese students were open-mind to discuss some issues that we thought were taboo here. Perhaps, the young generation of China would really become the hope of this rising empire.

In the occasion, I met some Termite and Syrup, a Taiwanese couple who went to study in American together. Both are brilliant people. I might enter NTU one year earlier than Syrup. It was nice to talk with them.

Go to See a Doctor in Beijing Xiehe Hospital (協和醫院)

2007-05-22T21:12:00.001+08:00

協和醫院
Originally uploaded by taigerwan.

Yesterday was my first time to see a doctor in Xiehe (協和) Hospital, the most well-known hospital in Beijing. Unusually, I got up before 6 o'clock and then dashed to the bus stop because it is said that registration would be full after 7 o’clock. Fortunately, I succeeded in registration and left the hospital about 9:30.
Although the medical services in Taiwan must be better than those in China, for me who do not have the public health security, the cost to see a doctor in Taiwan becomes very expensive. Registration in China may be only 5RMB, while that in Taiwan may cost 150 NTD.

Except the terrible crowded patients, I had a good impression on Xiehe Hospital. Therefore, I went to apply a card issued by the hospital which can make the registration process become easier after second time.

A Software Localization Meeting Beijing

2007-05-20T23:33:00.001+08:00

Localization Meeting Beijing
Originally uploaded by taigerwan.

Yesterday, I attended a localization meeting in Beijing, which consisted of several speeches given by sponsors and main players in translation or software localization industry. Nonetheless, all the speeches were very crass-some become product sales conference, and some sound like college job fair- except the part about the curricula of School of Software and Microelectronics, Peking University.

The only value for me to attend this meeting is to know a Senior Project Manager from a Taiwan Vendor. I might contact him later when I was free. He said some of clients asked its company to arrange some Taiwanese professionals to work in Beijing. However, this is not a permanent request. I think that is especially suitable for me.

At night, Sheath and I discussed about our business. I was exciting. I am going to give it a try. He treated me dinner in a western restaurant. I do not think the price is cheap, but he said in Guangdong the prices for such a meal are much higher. Well, it seems some local Chinese people are just richer than me!

Hop spring in Beijing (九華山莊/小湯山/北京)

2007-05-14T23:02:00.001+08:00

Hop spring in Beijing (九華山莊/小湯山/北京)
Originally uploaded by taigerwan.

Hot spring is always fun. Yesterday, Squash, Oliver, Henry and I went to Jiouhua Shan Zhuang (九華山莊) again, because we enjoyed the time spent there in March with Jupiter and Neptune. However, this time is not as exciting as last time, partly because this is our second time visiting so that no novelty exists any more, and partly because the atmosphere of spending time in hot spring in the afternoon can not compare with that at night, making us feel kind of mysterious and romantic.

The hot spring in Xiaotanshan (小湯山) contain sulfur, and it is beneficial for health, preventing skin diseases occurring. Salt rubbing is the most interesting part for this trip. I had to take off the swimming pant and lie on a bed first. A man put a small amount of water and plenty of salt to my entire body and then began to rub. According to the man, this massage can kill bacteria attaching on human body. Surprisingly, I did not get any strong feelings during the whole treatment. On the contrast, Squash was too sensitive to complete the process. He asked to rub himself, a funny thing to say and to do.

Under the recommendation from Squash, we had a dinner in a Japanese restaurant called "ISSHIN" in Wudaokou (五道口), where is famous for many Korean living in the neighborhood and ,therefore, is called "small Korea in Beijing". Many foreigners ate in ISSHIN. The food was delicate and palatable, and of course expensive.

First Time Language Exchange

2007-05-11T22:21:00.001+08:00

Beijing Botanical Garden
Originally uploaded by taigerwan.

Yesterday in Yannan (燕南) coffee shop, Neptune and I had our first time language exchange. Neptune revised my three compositions and advised me to apply more personal and specific examples to my writing. I think he is right. However, he seams not good at instructing writing details, such as proper use of vocabulary and grammar. Olive appears to be more experienced than Neptune. I made a phone call to Olive and we three had a lunch of dumplings together in NongYuan(農園).

Olive was so thoughtful and generous that he suggested us to use his room in Shaoyuan (勺園) for exchange. In the afternoon, I began to teach Neptune how to pronounce those Chinese sentences in his textbook, a material from Global Village. Neptune complained that in Global Village, most students are Koreans and thus they generally use the Korean language to communicate. Besides, He found that many students spoke much worse Chinese than he, an environment that, in his opinion, is a disadvantage of learning Chinese.

Lifetime Friends Needed Especially When in Depression

2007-05-08T23:04:00.001+08:00

The Bar Zone in Lotus Lane - lane
Originally uploaded by taigerwan.

These two days, I have been in deep depression, mostly derived from the pressure of study and the advent of the exam. I got to do something to cheer myself up. Hence, I forced myself to jog for 20 minutes or so, and, after dinner, I watched Kang Xi Lai Le（康熙來了）, a popular and entertaining Taiwanese Show. Today I watched the episode about 周渝民, one member from F4 which is the most sensational group both in China and in Taiwan.

Everybody may encounter some kind of emotional disturbance now and then. One has to learn how to cope with it. I think the best way could be talking with friends, listening to favorite music, doing some exercises, watching some movies or TV programs which can make one cry or laugh so that one can temporarily forget his or her current condition. The emotion management could be more difficult for those who live alone, and, unfortunately, I am belonged to this kind of groups.

Everyone turns to especially need friends, when suffering. At the moment when one becomes fragile, however, one only want to talk to those “lifetime friends”, instead of general friends, who might be colleagues or virtual friends on the cyber space. Unfortunately, most people may find it difficult to make lifetime friends since leaving campus, because most friends that people made after graduation involved with some sorts of sophisticated interests between.

When I was in college, I do make some lifetime friends, which by definition means, no matter how long we have not seen each other, no matter how far away our locations currently is, or no matter what might happen in the future, we believe we can still be friends until die.

At the moment, fortunately, I somehow feel like making two more lifetime friends, Olive and Henry, who is a local Chinese. Before, I used to think that it is impossible for me, a Taiwanese, to make any real friends with the locals. Perhaps, I was wrong.

The City Animal Visited Lotus Lane (什剎海), the Bar Zone in BeijingAgain.

2007-05-06T23:42:00.001+08:00

The Bar Zone in Lotus Lane - Performer
Originally uploaded by taigerwan.

This is my forth times to visit the Lotus Lane (Shichahai / 什剎海), where is my favorite traveling spot all around Beijing. This area is actually a bar, or pub, zone where the construction of those seductive bars delicately consolidate into the ancient architectures and the picturesque lakes, including Qianhai(前海) and Houhai (後海). Once you get in this area, you can always easily notice those tourists with different skin color from yours. Shichahai is particularly popular among foreigners, prompting the price for everything here to boost. Last year when I came here with my two female ex-colleagues, each small bottle of beer costs RMB 80. However, the performance of the live band was poor and the skills of those bartenders were embarrassing, who are using some fake wood bottles to practice some acrobatic action right in front of us.

I always enjoy strolling on the lanes in shichahai and streets near Drum Tower (Gulou / 鼓樓), because the surroundings remind me of many busy streets in Shanghai, such as Xintiandi(新天地), one of my favorite places there. Olive treated Henry and me again to have a dinner in a British style restaurant. The cuisine is OK, but I do enjoy the atmosphere there. We sat on the second-floor terrace, where I found that Henry and I were the merely two Asian faces on this particular space, making me have the illusion that we were enjoying our time somewhere in Europe.

With Olive's help, Henry just got an intern in Paris. Hence, Olive asked me whether I have time to travel with them to Europe later. I can not help raising my tone to repeat his question again. This invitation is very alluring for me. I do have plenty of time. However, I might not have enough money to visit Europe again. They will let me know their schedule once they set it down. We will see!

How Can I Endure My Face to Become "SWOLLEN"?

2007-05-05T23:26:00.001+08:00

Beijing Botanical Garden
Originally uploaded by taigerwan.

I especially aspire to go swimming today. However, the swimming pool of Huateng Club, where I buy its membership card, has been closed for several weeks, deriving from some construction of a third party. I was very unhappy with the status quo so that I made my third time phone call to the reception of that club to complain. The result, of course, was that I still have to wait for its notification and there is no precise prediction to the re-open date.

When I especially desire to go swimming, most of the time I am in a condition of frustration. Now I become even more depressed after meeting the above-mentioned situation.

Usually, I do not enjoy doing exercises. What is more, I do not enjoy watching any sport program, which, for me, is so boring that I seldom to tune in to any sports channel, such as ESPN. Nonetheless, I do not really want to become a fat guy, and I do want to live longer to enjoy life, so that I force myself to do some exercises, such as jogging, swimming and yoga.

I am a fan of Yoga, but the expense of practicing it here in Beijing is much expensive than that in Shanghai, where I used to buy a seasonal membership card of a yoga club next to my flat. I might consider to practice it around July, when my membership card of Huateng Club is about to expire, making me have to spend all the balance by the expiration date. I might take the 20 times program, which would cost me RMB 720.

Now that I can not go swimming, I turn to jog this evening. Jogging is tiring and boring and it take persistence to accomplish the running each time. In Beijing, it is impossible to get into any school to take advantage of the track on campus, a situation different from Taipei. I planed for myself a route to run in my neighborhood. If I am in a good condition, I can run about three circles of it. But today, I only finish two and a half. I vow to myself that I would go jogging each day, because I notice that my face manifested in recent photos becomes “swollen”!

Want to Own an Apartment? Want to Work in Sydney?

2007-05-04T21:14:00.001+08:00

Beijing Botanical Garden
Originally uploaded by taigerwan.

By email, Tomato told me that he finally owns one apartment of his own, after signing a good many papers these days. I am happy for him. Nonetheless, I can not help thinking of myself that I not only do not have any real estate till now, but also might get into debt in the following years. What an opposite situation we are under now!

I think I am a nomad continuing migrating from one city to another. I do not really have the desire to possess one house for myself, at least not at the current moment, partly because I do not have the feeling of belonging to any specific city, no matter Taipei, Shanghai, or Beijing. I keep searching for a place where I belong to.

I wrote to Tomato that I have already set out toward my destination, so that I do not have the right to become depressed for now. The only thing I should do is to concentrate myself on what I should accomplish each day, avoiding from keeping surfing on the Internet without purposes.

Another thing Tomato mentioned is that an acquaintance invited him to work as the designer in Sydney for the second biggest pearl supplier in the world. Perturbed for many days, he eventually declined the invitation because the affinity developing between him and the brand he has been cultivating in his current company whose headquarters located in Kaohsiung.

I supported his decision because Sydney, for him, is an unknown world where he can hardly harness the potential variations which might hinder his success. However, if I were him, I am not sure whether I would make the same choice because I am such a person who always pursues novelty and changes.

Thousands of Chinese Students Unable to Register TOEFL Are HeadingAbroad to Take It!

2007-05-02T22:49:00.001+08:00

The Number One Pass in The World
Originally uploaded by taigerwan.

TOEFL is all the rage just now. Last week when it was available to register the exam from July to October, all the seats were occupied in four and a half hours, making many students anxious about no opportunities for taking TOEFL. Furthermore, the process of registering a seat was a torture that many people spend more than one day to grab one because the webpage of the Chinese version registration website appeared error message all the time, provoking people even more frustrated and furious. Until now, there are still a big many students unable to get a seat for exam, a incredible and chaotic situation that one in any countries can hardly imagine. Some of those miserable students have no other choices and, thus, are forced to go abroad to take the TOEFL exam.

This is definitely caused by short supply of seats for such a big population country. Indeed, this situation may be partly because the implementation of iBT TOEFL, a new practice which the entire problems are sent out from the test center in the U.S., requires hardware equipment, such as computers and access to the Internet, and, thus, the places where qualify to such requirements might not be as many as those in the PBT or CBT TOEFL times. However, another reason could also be that the institution of arranging iBT TOEFL in China has very limited ability to organize the exam here. One of the proofs was the slow response of the website when thousands of people trying to register their own seats at the same time, obviously deriving from the poor capability of its servers. But I do not think the ETS, the owner of TOEFL, dares to change this institution unless it does not plan to keep promoting its business in China, because this institution, actually, is the Department of Education of China.

Another unpleasant thing is that the price to take TOEFL in China is much higher than that in other countries. In China, one has to register a seat on a Chinese version website operated by the Chinese authorities and the price listed on it is RMB 1370, higher than the price on the international website set by ETS. Hence, who are making money from Chinese students?

Two Day's Travel: Shanhaiguan (山海關), Qinhuangdao (秦皇島) andBeidaihe (北戴河)

2007-05-01T17:30:00.001+08:00

Laolongtou, where the Great Wall meets the sea
Originally uploaded by taigerwan.

Olive, Henry, Jo, Ni, and I went to Shanhaiguan (山海關) for sightseeing. Olive, Henry and I stayed over night in Beidaihe (北戴河), whereas Jo and Ni returned to Beijing because Jo would have a class next day.

After traveling to Europe for one month, I became to lose interests on travel, especially in China, not only because I don’t have much money now, but also because most traveling spots in China are similar, such as temples and ruins, etc. Although I was also looking forward to this trip, which was proposed by Oliver, my motivation was only to breathe some fresh air outside Beijing, regarding the journey only as a stroll much longer than a one-hour stretch after dinner.

In term of stroll, our two-day trip was really a good exercise because we did walk for a long time, especially the second day in Beidaihe.

We took train from Beijing Railway Station to Beidaihe first, and chartered a 7-seat vehicle until 8 o’clock for the first day itinerary, costing each person RMB 50. This saved us a big deal of time from searching for transportation tools and from transferring among them.

Our first stop is Laolongtou, (老龍頭) a name in Chinese literally meaning “the old dragon head”, where the Great Wall extends east into the sea, i.e. Buohai (渤海). We had a lunch first before buying tickets to enter the resort. Originally, we chose a restaurant, but, before ordering anything, we left for another one because Jo found that some dirt on the bowls and plates. Jo apologized for his insistence to change place to eat, but he said, “I don't want to be sick.” I respond to him that, “When I still lived in Shanghai, we used to wash our bowls, chopsticks and spoons with the tea before eating anything. Lack of hygiene in restaurants, especially in the rural locations, is commonplace in China.”

The scenery in Laolongtou was, actually, spectacular. The only thing uncomfortable was the freezing and winding weather.

Our second stop was Jiaoshan (角山), the first mountain that the Great Wall encounters and surmounts in a westerly direction. This journey has become the most appealing part for us, because of its several astonish and hazardous vertical ladders on the fortress of the Great Wall. Admittedly, this section of the Great Wall is the most charming one compared to other sections such as Juyongguan (居雍關) and Jiayuguan (嘉峪關). I found myself a personality trait that the more challenging a thing is, the more impressive I would feel. Huashan (華山), which ranks as my number one picturesque mountain among all the others, was a good example.

Our third stop was the well-known Shanhaiguan, whose ticket cost each of us 40 RMB, making Jo and Oliver to complain about the implementation of super capitalism throughout China. Everything in China charges a fee, no matter what it is and whether it is worth or not. I agreed with them that this place does not deserve that much of money.

The second day of our triad was not exciting. On the second day, however, we spent much more money on the sightseeing on the boat, on seafood which we picked up in person at the restaurant close to the pier, and on the cable car above the seawater between the mainland and a petty island called Nandaihe Whelk Island Amusement Centre (南戴河仙螺島遊樂中心).

The total expense of this travel costs me RMB 800 or so. At the end of the day, nonetheless, I found that actually I should only pay for RMB 500. In other words, I pay extra RMB 300 for the expenses of others, such as the expense of the chartered vehicle, the entrance tickets of Laolongtou, and the most fees of the second day. Any way, it is not a big deal as long as everyone had a good time.

More Photos of Shanghaiguan, please click here!

Beijing Botanical Garden

2007-04-24T23:20:00.001+08:00

Beijing Botanical Garden
Originally uploaded by taigerwan.

Today, I felt frustrated. I think I still have a lot of stuff to improve. These days I found myself easy to upset. This is not a good thing. I hope Thursday's travel can change my status.

Tulips in Beijing Botanical Garden

2007-04-23T23:41:00.001+08:00

Beijing Botanical Garden
Originally uploaded by taigerwan.

The Beijing Botanical Garden located in northwestern part of Beijing downtown. It is actually close to Xiang Shan. I did not expect any picturesque scenery there when I accepted the invitation from Oliver. I just want to have some opportunity to talk with him and relax my mind after several days staying home.

Nevertheless, I was amazed by the fantastic tulips there. Those flowers are just so intact and colorful that I am under the illusion that they are fakes.

Beijing Botanical Garden

2007-04-23T00:28:00.001+08:00

Beijing Botanical Garden
Originally uploaded by taigerwan.

Today, Olive, Henry and I went to Beijing Botanical Garden.
Tulip there is just so fantastic!

Scorched Indian Cake

2007-04-22T00:01:00.001+08:00

Scorched Indian cake
Originally uploaded by taigerwan.

Today I grilled 2 Indian cakes for my breakfast. Unfortunately, the second one got fire. I scorched it!

Successful====>Scorched!

Is It Necessary for Americans to Learn a Secondary Language?-As a Response to Dan

2007-04-20T19:02:00.000+08:00

One month ago, my Caucasian friend, whose parents are respectively an Englishman and a French, told me that our new friend who just come to China from the U. S. is just a “typical American”. I can tell his definition about the phrase “typical American” was definitely not positive, according to his detailed descriptions. This had made me relate to other comments toward Americans from my other European friends, most of the comments concluding to two points - Americans don’t care about others (other countries) and Americans believe they are the center of the world.

I have to make it clear that I didn't feel this way before. In fact, I like Americans and the U. S. A. is my top priority among the destinations on my traveling list. However, when I hear these kinds of comments again and again, I can't help wondering what cause this kind of opinions and what is the so called “typical American". That is the background of article “The World knows about America, Whereas the America Knows Nothing about the World” I wrote a few days ago. In this article, my main idea is that the inability to master a secondary language impedes most Americans to get a deeper understanding of thoughts from other countries. My assumption is that few Americans learn a second language is a fact.

Dan gave me a comment on this topic, prompting me happily to give him a response. In his comments, he accepted my assumption - I hoped that I did not misunderstand -, introduced some background statements about the U. S. and explained his “opinion on why Americans seem to only care about themselves and display racial bias”. In my response, I just reiterated the language do play a key role in mutual understandings, even though it is not the only means for sure. Besides, I wrote that “As for other parts you mentioned, I would say that whether it is necessary to understand more about the world for American people would be another issue involved different value system. It is only a problem of choice," a part that confused Dan and that I would like to make it clear in the following.

It is the values, some beliefs in what deserves to do, that prompt people of a country to decide whether they need to learn another foreign language or not. For most Americans, they don't feel worthy of learning another language because they can use English, both in life and in work, to communicate with people in America and in other countries. They think that learning a secondary language has no pragmatic function. The choice they make just reflects their thoughts and attitudes about the world and themselves. And this choice may be another topic to discuss if anyone is interested in it. There may be nothing right or wrong.

I hope I express my idea unequivocally.

TS Ten-Day Conversations

2007-04-19T23:14:00.000+08:00

Yesterday afternoon, I read a stunning excellent book by accident. It was after my lunch that I downloaded a old book from chapter one to chapter three - the other seven chapters were not available because this book will be published this year -– and then planed to browse several pages to get an idea of this famous works about application of oversea studying. However, once I begun reading the first page, I can't help keeping on reading it and, eventually, I spent all my afternoon on the first 3 chapters. The book is just a miracle. Usually, I am impatient to read too many words at one time. So this situation is very rare for me. Besides, I was shocked by the deep implications and inflection inside the book.
It is hard to imagine that a book talking about the process of studying abroad can become a legend in China. It has been written since 2005 and was published on a famous online forum. The content is about ten times conversation between an applicant who latter succeed in his application in Harvard University and a founder of above-mentioned forum and a CEO of a company which help students to apply overseas school. The author is clever to a frightening degree for many readers, including me. I guess the lead character is just a makeup role and the book bear the intention to advertise that company, touting more students to buy its services. But nobody can deny that the thoughts inside the book is such an attraction and an inspiration, that not only destroys most people's original thoughts about application for overseas studying, but also challenges everybody's attitude toward life, making the topic elevate to a philosophic level. Because of its outstanding writing, all the readers who hate advertisements turned out to become eager to read one episode after another - those articles are separated into ten times to publish in about a half year, making a sensation that a big number of people can't wait to read the latest content.
This practice by itself is a very successful marking approach, which not only promoted the brand name of the company, but also gave favor to students or its customers. This is a win-win situation.

Chinese Knight from a Polish Friend

2007-04-18T22:57:00.000+08:00

It is fun to get a picture from someone who drew it especial for me, especial in a situation that we have never seen each other. Both of us did not put our own photo with oneself on our respective blog. Before I got this picture, I wonder what would be the topic of the picture she – I am even not sure the gender of my friend before I got her works - might draw for me.

Now the answer is revealed - a Chinese knight. Of course, I am happy to have this special gift from another world. This is a really strange but exciting feeling that some person in Poland would draw something for me, a Taiwanese living in Beijing now. I guess this is why the Internet, or blog, fascinates millions of people. However, I can’t help to wonder why she decides to draw a "Chinese Knight” for me.

There may have many different reasons from the impression she get from my blog to her own understanding of the world. I don't want to further analyze the deeper rationale as what an artist psychologist might do. The only thing I want to mention is my strange feeling once I see the title the little painter gave the picture. I noticed myself experiencing a complicated feeling once I read the title- Chinese Knight. It is because the word “Chinese” or “China” has become sensitive in Taiwan. Just a few days ago, there is a controversial "de-Chinese” activity enforcing by the authorities in the society. The Democracy Progress Party, the ruling party of Taiwan, was changing the name of China Post Office into Taiwan Post Office, with the intention to remove all words of “China” in all the state-own companies and public organization. Their conviction is that Taiwan is not part of China so that it is necessary to make this idea clear in all the names of the relevant organization.

I don't think my friend understand so much about the complicated status quo in Taiwan. In addtion, I believe she doesn't know that the official name of Taiwan is Republic of China, instead People's Republic of China. Very few foreigners know about this, and, of course, they don’t have to care about this. Foreigners with deeper understanding about Taiwan would just call my country “Taiwan”, instead of official country name, which is a country name not recognized in international society, whereas Foreigners who don't care about Asian affairs would simply see Taiwan as the synonym of China. This is an unfortunate destiny of all Taiwanese.

My Favorite Host Cai Kang Yong (蔡康永)

2007-04-17T19:14:00.000+08:00

I have adored Cai Kang Yong for, I guess, more than ten years. We may like some artists when we begin to know them, but afterwards we lose the feelings toward them. Sometimes there are some reasons we can analyze, while sometimes it just happened without any justifiable explanations. Both Zhou Xu (周迅) and Andy Lao (劉德華), for example, are the latter case for me. However, I didn’t mitigate my appreciation for Cai Kang Yong as time goes by.

The rationale may be his unique attitude of life and bizarre thoughts toward things that we have taken for granted since childhood. In his most famous talk show (真情指數), which always invited successful and influential celebrities to have one by one interview, he tried to take out the masks of some religion leaders, expose the true thoughts of those movie stars and singers who disguise themselves to grab more popularity in the market, and manifest the hypocritical faces of those politicians. In his another program (兩代電力公司) aimed at generation gap, he had the nerve to ask the adolescents an immoral presuming question – if the death of their parents in the air flight accidents could compensate them a great amount of money, would they choose to get the wealth regardless of the lives of their parents? Surprisingly, most of the adolescents chose to get the compensation from the insure companies. For Tsai, he thought that every body might have some immature, odd thoughts in their adolescence and it would be better to talk about it so that the parents and the children could get more chances to discuss about those developing thoughts. These above-mentioned TV programs somehow have been closed.

Admittedly, it is another talk show called The Advent of Kang Xi (康熙來了), a name combined one word of his name and another hostess, the small S, that makes he and small S to become well-known both in Taiwan and in China. This show is purely an entertaining program that bears no any educational purposes, making it suitable for stressful people living in the busy and fast-changing society. I was amazed how popular this program turned out to be in mainland China. One can buy the cheap DVDs of the program, of course they are pirated products, from every DVD vendors, or download each episode of the programs by Internet. Besides, recently I found that I can also satisfy my appetites for the program via Youtube and 6room, a video sharing website imitated from Youtube.

Yesterday, I found that Cai Kang Yong also begun writing his blog on Sina website and the click count easily reached more than 1 millions clicks in about half month. It is a brilliant idea to take advantage of Internet to reach his audience not only because he is good at writing – he have published several books – but also because there is very low possibility for him to host any programs in China with many TV programs regulations on the style, contents, etc. In addition, I learned that he will direct a movie with the investment of Chinese capital. I am looking forward to his works. His heyday will certainly continue for many years.

Related Info:

蔡康永新浪部落格 (Blog in Sina of Cai KangYong)

How to Clean Downloader Virus?

2007-04-16T18:44:00.000+08:00

I didn't know why I was in a bad mood yesterday. However, the notice from Symantec that my computer was affected by a Trojan virus, Downloader, prompted me to forget about my blues and frustration and turned to focus on the solution to rescue my computer.

I have searched for many data but none of them are reliable. Consequently, I went back to the official website of Symantec and follow its instruction step by step to clean the Virus. Earlier, the notice was increasing to thousands of prompting message, revealing that the antivirus software was unable to finish its duty. I don’t have any technical background about computer science. But in the moment, nobody can help me to do this thing, a task for which, in the scenario of office, a MIS technical person is responsible.

My computer is very old and thus it took me almost 4 hours to scan my hard drives. I was unable to wait for the accomplishment of the scanning in the safe mode so that I went to sleep this early morning about 1 o'clock. After getting up about 9 o'clock, I rushed to my desk and kept doing the following approaches. Eventually, I make it! There is nothing impossible for one who has the determination to conquer.

The instructions I followed on the webpage of Symantec

Work, Responsibility, and Trust define the Leadership

2007-04-14T22:56:00.000+08:00

“Leadership as Work”, an article written by the well-known father of modern management Peter F. Drucker, points out that leadership has something to do with work, responsibility, and trust, rather than charisma or “personality traits”. Mr. Drucker's writing is elegant and to the point. I am delighted to read this topic because it makes me reflect my experiences in the past 5 years about my leadership.

Leadership has little to do with charisma, as what the author wrote that it is unnecessary to make every CEO “look like a dashing Confederate cavalry general or a boardroom Elvis Presley.” I cannot agree more than this description with a little bit of selfish consideration. In the highly developed media age, every CEO, it seems, are reported abundantly in all kinds of newspapers, magazines, business TV programs and radio show with a image of super star, who probably have published several books and won a band of fans. At times, I felt kind of frustrated because I am not so charismatic that I can attract eye balls of my audience. Instead, I even tend to avoid many public occasions because of my shyness, although I do know the importance of public-speaking in the demanding business world. Thus, when I read that the master overturned the idea of leadership which was thought of the equivalent of charisma by the public, I was more than happy with his concept.

So what is Mr. Drucker's concept of leadership? It is work, responsibility, and trust that count. The central idea is that the leadership is not something desirable. Instead, it is only a boring, unromantic means to achieve some goal. Under this definition, I think I can meet all the three criteria to become an excellent leader. Firstly, I always work hard. Secondly, I am responsible for my mission in any organizations I belong to. In fact, just several days ago, Ma asked for my home phone number and called me at midnight to express his willing to further cooperate with me because of my precious sense of responsibility, which is very rare among the work force of China. Last, all my former associates and subordinates not only in Beijing, but also in Shanghai, trust me very much. Especially in the last year in Shanghai when my company encountered financial crisis, all my subordinates believed in me and supported each decision I made. In contrast, they doubted the integrity and sincerity of my successor after I decided to leave the company.

In sum, this essay from Peter F. Drucker really encourages me to continue pursuing my business career. I know that I will have to conquer a lot of looming obstacles on the road I have chosen. However, I do believe what teacher Kang said, "You must do the thing that you think you cannot do" in your life. I choose it, and I would never regret it.

The World knows about America, Whereas the America Knows Nothing about the World

2007-04-13T21:42:00.000+08:00

Many reports are describing that the Americans are enthusiastic about learning Chinese language, making a big shortage of Chinese Teachers. One article comments that English as an international language can be both advantage and disadvantage for the American people. The good part is that they can be convenient and easy to travel around the world because most people around the world try to learn English. However, the bad part is that people around the world can understand every aspects of the U. S., while the American people can hardly understand what other countries are thinking of. The language is the key.

I have to agree with this point of view. Today, I watched some CNN breaking news about the radio host, Don Imus, who got fired by NBC because of his discriminative comments about some African-American young female athletes. I found it interesting that a racial issue is so sensitive in American society, a phenomenon that seldom to happen in Taiwan or in China. While I was observing the progress of the event occurring in the United States, I started to wonder if any American people know what the critical issues are in China, Taiwan, or other countries. I become to get a little idea why most of my European friends express their disparagement to the Americans unconsciously. One of them once told me that the Americans only know about themselves and most of them are just selfish. At that moment, I just think it is a bias and an attitude of imbalance derived from the status quo that the U.S. is the supper power country in the world, compared with the European countries.

Admittedly, many Americans learn their secondary languages, such as French, Spanish, and Japanese. Nonetheless, the portion of population mastering foreign languages is much lower than most other countries. For example, in China, billions of citizens are learning English using out-of-date textbooks and materials. Contrast to this, only about 50 thousand Americans are interested in learning Chinese and they even encounter a big problem of no suitable textbooks, according the article I read.

Related News:
Newly fired Imus meets with Rutgers players

A Lesson Learned from A Fake Mouse

2007-04-12T17:10:00.000+08:00

Yesterday I went to Zhongguancun South, to repair my Logitech mouse, which I bought last month there. I went to the after-sales services department to test the mouse first because I was told that if it dose have quality problem, I can get a new one. However, the result was quite surprising, because the boy who even didn’t open my mouse concluded that what I bought was a fake and suggested me to argue with the merchant who sold it to me.

I returned to the 5th story of Hailong Building and intended to fight with the DIY shop, which sold me the counterfeit product. However, there are just too many similar shops in 5th story so that I can not recognize where I bought my mouse from. I then sent text message to Henry and Olive, whom I bought the mouse with last time. Unfortunately, none of them can provide me any specific information. In addition, I did not ask for any receipt from the seller when I bought the product so that even though I can find out which shop I bought my mouse from, the seller can refuse to admit the mouse was sold by her because I don’t have any evidences.

I would think twice next time if I plan to buy any brand product in China. There are just too many fakes and frauds all around China. Furthermore, I learn a lesson from the story that I can not fully depend on any friends to make any decisions, even they are sincere and knowledgeable. For instance, I believed Henry could help me to choose a good store and then to buy a mouse with good price because he is a local Chinese, so that I did not pay much attention to the purchasing process that time. That is why I did not ask for any receipt from the seller. Nonetheless, such a dependence rendered a miserable result that I paid 95 RMB, a price cut from 100 RMB, to buy a defective product and got no way to ask for refund.

Enemy of State – We Are Monitored!

2007-04-08T16:58:00.000+08:00

My life in Beijing is very ordinary: I go surfing on the Internet every day, go swimming at times, and hang out with some friends on the weekend. Although I can not say that life here is better than in Taipei, I do feel satisfied with living conditions here expect for the chilling winter. However, this morning I turned into extremely uncomfortable and absolutely furious when , in the early morning, I found an stunning truth that all the civilian people in the country, including myself, are monitored on the Internet. All of the sudden, I have never demanded a freedom of communication more than the moment.

As my previous posts have mentioned, I can not access to my own Blogspot pages. I believed deeply that the Blogspot has been blocked by the country. Originally, I thought the situation will be changed very soon, because this blog services provider is well-known and thus gets some bargaining power to negotiate with the government. Nonetheless, couples of weeks have gone by and the frustrating situation remains. Eventually, I was forced to take some action to figure out a way to solve my own problem. In the process of solving the blocked issue, I validate the saying from some of friends that the government continues monitoring all the activities on the Internet. There is an ongoing X shield program, which designates to filter some key words transmit on the Internet and once probes those sensitive words, the page visits would fail in seconds. What related to this issue is that people in the country can not access to many services provided by Google, or at least would encounter some failure now and then, discouraging people to use Google and turning toward Baidu, a searching engine company which try their best to meet the requirements from the government. Google is not welcomed to the authority because it is unwilling to meet all the requirements about scrutiny of sensitive words typed by the public.

In fact, I am not a person who is eager to talk about politics and I don’t search those sensitive words on my daily online activities. However, the feeling of being monitored is very uncomfortable and annoying. I suddenly missed the freedom of speech in Taiwan.

Microfinance Project Site in Rural Hebei Province

2007-03-31T15:30:00.000+08:00

I have heard of “microfinance”, but I don’t really understand how it is operating and what makes it so special that it was mentioned again and again. This Wednesday, I got an opportunity to visit Laishui County, Beijing, to experience the life of people who join microfinance program.

Microfinance refers to organize a specific institution that lend very small amount of money to very poor people so that the needy families can take advantage of this money to improve life. It was first invented by Professor Muhammad Yunus, who organized the well-known Grameen Bank of Bangladesh to execute this experiment and who has been awarded to the Nobel Peace Prize for 2006 because of his contributions on those effective methods to solve the poor problems, and implemented in Bangladesh. The unique characteristics of microfinance is that this method is not donation, because it asks the needy residents to return the principal on time, but a lasting mechanism to support the poor to get out of miserable situations by charging a much higher interest rate from the borrowers than the rate of commercial bank to maintain the organizer’s operation and by providing repeated loans to these who are poor but have credit.

In most cases, the institutions which execute the microfinance not only can lend money, but also can receive savings from its customers, the needy, so that the institutions can have enough capital to keep lending the money, making the effects of microfinance bigger and bigger. In China, however, the organizer is forbidden to receiving savings by the regulations, a reason rendering microfinance not so influential in China, compared to that implemented in other countries, such as Bangladesh, Cambodia and so on. The researchers from Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, which arrange our tour to Laishui, also express their concerns about the sources of capital.

In my opinions, the regulations to limit these institutions should be lifted as soon as possible so that microfinance can become an effective way to solve the poor problems of China. The situations in China is that almost all of the banks in China abandoned the market of rural areas many years ago because of low commercial benefits, and focused their business only in big cities, causing people in rural areas without any resorts to develop themselves. This trend makes more and more people in rural areas leave for big cities and produces many problems about not only rural areas, but also big cities, which suffer from migrant labors’ movement.

We visited several families who join the microfinance programs in Laishui. Here, 5 women- yes, only women can borrow money from the institutions, organized a team to borrow money. Those money almost has been invented in the cultivation of tomatoes.

This is a weathy family in Laisi. You can tell from it by the decoratons of its gate, an uncommon scenery in Laishui county.

PS. I still cannot visit my own blog. This is very frustrated!

Anglo-French Allied Forces and China

2007-03-26T23:31:00.000+08:00

All tourists who visit Yuanmingyuan feel sad and angry with what the Anglo-French Allied Forces had done in 1860. After leaving the ruins, however, very few Chinese people would still bring strong hatred towards English or French people, whereas many Chinese people criticize and curse Japanese people all the time, as a result of Japanese products boycotted in China now and then. It seams that Chinese people are prone to forget what Anglo-French Forces had ever done, but they are unwilling to forgive what Japanese had done from 1937 to 1945. In my opinions, there are some possible explanations as following.
First, time can ease sorrow and pains. The fire in Yuanmingyuan was set by Anglo-French Allied Forces more than one hundred yearsmight, but the invasion from Japanese happened only decades ago so that many victims are still alive and their memory about the cruelty of Japanese Forces are so vivid. Second, the Japanese government refuses to apologize for its sin officially and, furthermore, attempt to conceal the historical truth to its next generation. I do think that Japanese government should be blame on its attitude and policy about this issue.

Ps. this is my 4th day that I can not access to my own blog, i.e. blogspot!

Related info:
Introduction of Yuanmingyuan Park

A Visit to Yuanmingyuan, the Old Summer Palace

2007-03-25T23:23:00.000+08:00

Olive, Henry, Bull and I visited Yuanmingyuan, the Old Summer Palace, today. The scenery was more attractive than what I had expected. I have been in Beijing for more than one year, and very few places I would recommend my friends to visit. However, after sightseeing in Yuanmingyan, I will definitely introduce this fantastic spot for tourists who will come to Beijing!

ps. This is my THIRD day that I can not access to my own blog, i.e. blogspot!

Capital Library and My New Bicycle

2007-03-24T22:56:00.000+08:00

About a week before I took GMAT on March 21, my bicycle was stolen in front of Huateng Club, where I went swimming regularly. When I found the broken lock abandoned on the curb, I feel very calm. This was my second time losing my bicycle in 3 months. Buying a new bicycle in China, no matter in Shanghai or in Beijing, is risky because the bicycle can disappear anywhere and anytime.
I went to Carrefour to buy a new bicycle again, because I can not find any stores selling used bicycle nearby, and because the people’s service attitude in another cheaper bicycle stores were very bad, making me uing to talk with them any more. When I got back home, all of the sudden, I found an email form GMAC in my mailbox. Instantly, I turned to become nervous. Now it is the time to find out how many score I get in AWA. Besides, I still cannot believe that my total score is above 700, even though the figure is in black and white on the unofficial report. Taking a deep breath and then entering the authentication code on the web page, finally, I prove that I do get the satisfying score and I got 4.5 AWA. It is not a good score for the AWA, but I absolutely don't want to take GMAT again! I will move on to my next stage, the preparation of the TOEFL exam.
Taking my new bicycle to the Capital Library to borrow some books about TOEFL, I suddenly got complicated feelings. I used to take my stolen bicycle to the Library to prepare GMAT for a long time, but now, when I achieve the goal, that bicycle was gone and there is another new one under my feet!

Blogspot Is Blocked Here

2007-03-23T19:30:00.000+08:00

This morning, I try to access my own blog, but fail again and again. This situation is very frustrated. I begun to wonder the problem occurred possibly because my blog was blocked by the government for it scrutinized the content of my blog and found some negative descriptions about the country.
In the afternoon, I tried it once again and the situation remained unchanged. I figure out an idea to find out the reasons. By searching on Baidu, the biggest search engine in China, I read many complaints about the same situation like mine. Thus, it is not my problem- I mean, I am not monitored at the moment. Ha ha ha… According to the opinions I searched, people said the failure to access any Blogspot is caused by the block from the Chinese firewall. I am not sure whether this block is intentional and how long the situation can be solved. Furthermore, I don’t know if people outside China can read my post of today!

Some Comments about an Old Article-The Taiwanese Entrepreneur in China

2007-02-11T23:49:00.001+08:00

I found 椰林風情¸ a BBS of Taiwan University, is very popular among the students of Beijing University. Today I happen to read an old article about doing business in China on bbs.ntu.edu.tw. It is a good summary, although I don't agree some viewpoints of it and the content is out of date.

I miss Taiwan very much, but I don't really want to return Taipei and work there now. I think I still have some time to take a look of the world. China has an extreme large market, which is getting more and more global, whereas Taiwan has a very limited market, which is suffering terrible political intervention, the worst part I am always worried about. I, personally, like the last paragraph: if you are still young, you can take time to get some working experiences in developed countries. If you already have children and work well in Taiwan, please support your children to pay more attention on the international world. Please don't merely focus on the issues about the island and become parochial in political interests.

作者: MirrorHu (Mirror.Hu)
標題: 圍爐夜話之台商老闆篇
時間: Tue Dec 25 23:50:58 2001

本篇文章已徵得原作:林龍震老師同意,歡迎自由轉寄與流傳

E-1 大陸投資環境
E-2 大陸的優勢與風險
E-2-1 容易在大陸賺錢的行業特性
E-2-2 容易在大陸認賠的行業特性
E-3 對大陸投資者的忠告
E-3-1 合資或獨資？
E-3-2 投資者對大陸事業的心態
E-4 人才的聘用問題（大陸的學制）
E-5 臺灣人的韌性與弱點
E-6 後記

附錄Ｅ　新圍爐夜話（大陸問題之台商老闆篇）

<<前文提要>>

依照以往慣例，龍震老師都會在您學習末了之時，依據自己的學習心得與當前的職場變化與您交心的深談一番。希望能在不限主題與輕鬆的氣氛下，讓您再比對他人的經驗，來充分擴充於電腦應用科技以外的眼界。因為職業技能固然重要，但是這還是學得到的；與其比較起來，更形重要的社會經驗與成就事業的想法就不一定想學而有人願意教了。這點，大概不會有人反對。

從本系列書籍裡的那本平面畫圖起，龍震老師與弟子們在公元 2000 年底於北京齊聚一堂，在異鄉的土地上，展開了一段溫馨但卻主題嚴肅的話題。這個話題不但充分勾起了弟子們對大陸急切的期盼瞭解，同時也希望龍震老師的經驗與建議能提供他們個人生涯規劃中的重要參考。於是，一場針對「台商幹部」的對談，於焉展開。而現在要記述的，則是另段屬投資層面的「台商老闆篇」對談記要...

(貼圖 APPE-a)ok

E-1 大陸投資環境

（主題開場）
臺灣的企業主體是中小企業，因此，要到大陸投資做老闆，對這群中小企業主來說，是一件再自然不過的事。只是，在這之中，有人順利圓夢了，有人卻鎩羽黯然而歸。境遇的不同，迄今仍沒有完整的資料可論述究竟成功或失敗的那一群人有多少，或是成功失敗的肇因為何。不過，可以肯定的是：每一個到大陸來投資的臺灣人，其心態都是樂觀的，沒有人會認為自己就是那個倒楣的。

（學生提問）
『老師，依您看大陸的投資環境真的有報紙形容的那麼好嗎？我們要以何種心態來看待這個問題？』

（老師答覆）
『全世界沒有一種投資環境是十全十美的，這個一般能長久做老闆的人心裡都清楚。通常他們只相信眼睛所見，所以報紙媒體要怎麼說，不會對這批人產生任何影響。因此，理智來講，投資環境好不好是「比較題」而不是「是非題」。
換句話說，今天要不要到哪裡去投資，投資者會去看該投資環境是否要比臺灣好；如果答案是肯定的，然後，才是再去挖掘在這個比較好後面，是否存在什麼陷阱。對目前正準備到大陸投資的同胞來說，投資前的風險評估已經變得很重要，因為現在去已經算是晚的了。怎麼說呢？早來的投資者在這幾年美國景氣大好以及大陸政經情勢穩定的情況下，早已賺回好幾個投資額了，但以現在的景氣以及大陸即將加入 WTO 的情況下，風險已經增加，除非投資的行業具特殊性，競爭者少，否則心態上要保守。

以下就提供幾個有關投資環境評估的重要評量因素供各位參考：

1.與您專業有關的地域環境。要在大陸的哪一個地區落腳，您要考慮到的可能是：您的上下游協力廠都在哪裡？（如果您的專業有上下游協力廠的話）、交通往來的費用如何？以及當地的氣候風土環境適不適應..等問題。目前台商在大陸各地都有，但以分佈在廣東、上海的最多。由於近來上海、蘇州等地的招商條件優渥，且多屬高科技園區，因此，預估台商的熱門投資地點有
由廣東華南向江蘇華中北移的趨勢，此現象於三通後將更為明顯。

2.投資優惠的條件環境。到大陸投資就是要賺錢，那麼在什麼投資條件下會有優惠？優惠政策的執行力又如何？這二個評估因素可能要就當地政府與當地台商協會二方面包抄探聽才能稍窺真相。

3.稅制的環境。外國公司到另一個國家去投資不比在自己本國，特別要在稅制上守法，以免有把柄落入地區政府或中央政府的手中，成為未來要脅的手段。因此，在稅制上的權利與義務要特別清楚。尤其是工廠，這部分的問題較為複雜，千萬不要為了方便或一點小便宜，而在未來吃上大虧。

4.人力或人才資源的取得環境與成本計算。這部分不需特別說明，是大家都會去做的評估事項。

5.官僚體系的干擾性與政策延續性。在大陸，官員為了「招商業績」，無所不用其極，任何手段都可以使上，但是一樣的位置換了個人，先前的承諾與後者的政策延續性就有待觀察。尤其在非熱門投資區域，這部分已有許多惡例發生，影響投資至巨，這也是外界批評投資大陸風險性最高的項目之一。
因此，台商多半以群聚、增加我們自己團結籌碼的方式來應付這種風險，以保護自己的投資。』

E-2 大陸的優勢與風險

（學生提問）
『老師，那麼現在在大陸上的台商是哪些行業在賺錢呢？大陸的市場是大，但是錢真的那麼好賺嗎？它究竟存在哪些吸引人們的優勢？又存在哪些看不到的風險與陷阱呢？』

（老師答覆）
『沒錯！任何地方的投資都會有其存在的優勢與風險。不過，不論是優勢或風險除了聽聞之外，都要自己親身去體驗求證，不要人云亦云，聽信他人一面之辭而妄下決定。同樣的，今天我在這裡所談的，也僅止於我個人親身的聽聞與體驗，以及具代表性的論調，但也不能代表全面。』

E-2-1 容易在大陸賺錢的行業特性

『所以，要回答你的這個問題，我們得由容易在大陸賺錢的行業談起...以下，就是比較容易在大陸賺到錢的幾個行業：

1.外銷型傳統產業。大陸的第一個優勢就是價格低廉人力優勢。因此，外銷型且人力需求量大的傳統產業是第一個最先被吸引到大陸投資的對象。這批老闆最早的在十幾年前就已進入大陸，而在 1995～1998 年時達到高峰。由於當年傳聞鄧小平過世將引發政局不穩，且又有香港 97 回歸後的不確定因素，所以國人對大陸的投資還多半心懷恐懼。然而，這批老闆當時所抱持的投
資態度就是：「與時間對賭」。意即如果因為錯估形勢而導致損失，那麼就算賭輸，而「願賭服輸」；但是如果局勢相對穩定，那麼這些投資就沒有理由會虧本。再說，那個時候，美國本土景氣非常好，外銷工廠老闆手上的訂單一堆，正苦無勞工可應付，因此，願意去大陸的老闆很多。如今，事過境遷，事實證明：這些老闆早就賺回十幾個當初的投資額了，這從他們的工廠
一再擴大，人工人數一再增加可以得到證明。如果你是這種型態的廠老闆，不用我多說，你也會考慮的。

如此看來，只要不在經營或資金週轉上出了問題，外銷型產業比較容易利用大陸賺到錢是不爭的事實。不過，值得注意的是：這種產業所賺到的錢並不是大陸錢，而是外銷對象的錢。

只是，外銷型產業原本在過去就有豐富的國外投資經驗，只是現在是從以前的東南亞地區轉移到中國大陸而已。「逐低廉人力而居」本來就是他們的特質，所以經常衝在最面。唯一會影響他們的，就是像現在美國景氣走「硬著陸」時，就對他們影響較大。所謂「硬著陸」就是指：國家經濟在短期間的猛然下降。這樣的現象經常會讓政府的經濟政策措手不及，而民間也會感覺難以適應；相對的，「軟著陸」就是指經濟在一段時間內緩慢下滑，讓政府與民間都能有時間來找出刺激的對策與適應方式。而股市的表現則經常最能反映這兩種型式的景氣指標。

臺灣外銷中、小型產業的另一個特色就是：因為這群老闆在臺灣的繁榮過程中，嚐到了坐擁工廠土地等待升值的甜頭，經常工廠外銷利薄，不一定賺得到什麼大錢，但是土地升值後所得到的暴利，總是會讓老闆們笑顏逐開，而惦念不已。這樣的心態自然也帶到了大陸，並在設廠談判時對大陸當局有所期盼。說「卡位」的另一面就是「卡土地」，且是老闆們大夥兒的共同心事，那真是一點也不為過！即便他們知道大陸的土地是公有制與租約制，炒作不易，但是台商也知道當他們決定設廠後，自然會以工廠為中心，進而帶動了周邊的房屋租價格、房價與消費力；換句話說，在大陸設工廠會有很明顯的「造鎮」、「集資」、「集中人口」、「集中消費」..等經濟效益，這不但是當地政府所熱衷迫切希望的，也是台商自己就能掌握有利的籌碼。已經有很多的個案經我私下觀察後顯示：台商與當地政府「充份合作」所達成的「雙贏」默契，已經進而演變成一個「共生」經濟體，而這個經濟體也因為後續的台商加入，而正在成長中。誰說生意人是笨蛋？一天到晚說沒賺錢的地方還拼命去！
在公元 2001 年的今天，如果才要考慮去大陸投資的外銷型產業，其風險反而大。因為國際景氣，尤其是美國已經衰退了，同時大陸上值得卡位的投資地區差不多都已被先到的外商卡得差不多了，大家可別忘了，大陸並不是只有台商來投資而已！外銷型產業經常賭的就是時間與機會，一旦坐失良機，後來才去，那要再下的功夫與代價就要更大了！

2.現金交易產業。很多人都在談「康師傅」傳奇，而「康師傅」也的確是台商投資大陸內銷市場的一個異數。之所以造成這個異數的原因有很多，但是我只能將之勉強歸於「現金交易產業」。所謂「現金交易」指的並不全是純現金生意，而是只要回收期短的都稱之。在大陸，要賺大陸人的錢是很難的，原因之一就是因為他們的收入低，消費力也低。因此，在大陸上，要賣東西不難，但是要收款就「很難」，賴帳的比例很高，經營者要是不「心狠手辣」一點，吃虧的總是自己。「康師傅」的投資老闆在臺灣不獲知遇，但是在大陸卻飛黃騰達的原因是：

●因為當時「速食麵」在大陸上的本地競爭製造商規模不大，且多未採用高效率化的機器設備生產。「康師傅」迅速的滿足了市場上的胃納。
●「速食麵」在大陸叫「方便麵」，其價格一般人都消費的起，具備了市場的普及性。
●「方便麵」這種具本土消費特質的食品產業，西方人本來就不容易做進來，「康師父」又將其改得更適合大陸人口味，自然風靡市場。
●由於銷路好，短時間品牌已經建立，所以貨款短期可回收，企業的現金週轉非常充裕，自然可以持續經營。

換句話說，要在大陸做內銷，「現金回收期」（在大陸叫「回款」）的長短才是重要的關鍵因素。所以，大家不要老是看大陸市場大，就搶一窩蜂，要看錢收得回不回來才是本事！而在大陸「回款」期短的行業屈指可數，多半要有非常手腕。這還是有一個內在因素的。因為大陸人長久以來在共產的制度下，已經養成了貪小便宜的心態，學生貪一點學校的、員工貪一點老闆的、單位貪一點政府的，政府貪老百姓的，上下都習以為常的。再加上對外商投資者本來就有：「你反正有錢，貪一點你的，你也不會怎樣，就當施捨！
」的心態，所以跟大陸的內銷經銷商們做生意，他的貨款能拖就拖，如果遠在天邊，他就逍遙的等在那邊，賭你不會因為要收這個貨款而坐飛機或火車去要帳（因為他們總是很精明的將貨款控制在你會認為追款划不來的情況下，而讓你打退堂鼓）。這樣的損失積少成多，內銷生意自然就做不下來了。

因此，如果不是像門市等現金交易的生意，在大陸做內銷就要非常考慮。「康師傅」的成功只是一個特例，不足以老是拿來做為投資大陸內銷生意能賺錢的樣板。同時，只要是食品業都具有這個共通特質，因此，像是統一的礦泉水、各式飲料，冷凍食品業的龍鳳水餃..等一堆，全部都已經可以在市場上看到。坦白說，現在到大陸超商的飲料、方便麵與冷凍食品專櫃看，你簡直會以為人在臺灣。幾乎所有臺灣的食品品牌都全員到齊，排排站給你選！
不過，外國人也不是省油的燈，任你大陸這樣保護自己的市場，幾乎所有的現金交易就只能由你大陸人做，我們外國人就做不得。美國人就是在 WTO 的談判桌上猛擊這一點。換句話說，美國人也知道今天大陸內銷市場的問題在於中共壟斷了內銷的經營權，而使內銷的現金收益幾乎全數掌控在大陸政府所矚意的單位或公司手中。進入 WTO 後，此保護將破局，已經在大陸投資的外國投資者將可以大肆的建立自己的經銷或門市據點，自己賺自己收，以保住經營命脈。而在臺灣已做慣現金或門市生意的業者，也可以開始考慮到大陸攻下自己的事業據點了。

3.高科技產業。高科技產業是目前中共對外招商條件最豐厚的產業。究其原因是因為大陸吸引前面所談的外銷型傳統產業的第一階段目標已完成，充斥著太多以人力為主的產業對中國大陸的產業體質並無助益，所以，對於還要投資的傳統產業，優惠條件已不如以往。而現階段所要爭取的當紅產業自然就是屬技術層次較高的高科技產業。比當年吸引外銷型傳統產業有過之而無不及的，中共目前的對高科技產業招商手法簡直是優惠再優惠，機關算盡，手段盡出。臺灣報紙報導：有人向阿扁總統說在大陸的地區政府大官半夜還能台商送洗腳水，而反問臺灣政府能為台商做什麼？我個人覺得該仁兄以此問題來詰問總統簡直荒唐可笑！臺灣政府的政策落後於民間的腳步是應該檢討與批評，但是用大陸官員的熱情來評擊臺灣政府官員是非常自失立場的。
各位要知道：大陸現在只要聽說要投資高科技產業，你要大官叫你一聲「爹」，他都會照辦，更何況是端洗腳水！如果要端洗腳水才算是政府有誠意、有效率，那到美國去投資也沒看到人家美國官員出來為投資者端洗腳水啊！
全世界的資金還不是照樣往美國去。所以，這只能反映出我們確有某些台商有「財大氣粗，有錢就是大爺」的不正確心態！

因此，從「在商言商」的角度看，在大陸這種對高科技產業實在是優惠的不得了的政策下，的確令人心動。從先前外銷型傳統產業登陸的經驗與案例看來，對高科技產業的老闆來說，這局賭注已經轉移到他們這邊了。不過，由目前老闆們的普遍心態來觀察，現在大陸的政治面已經要比 95、97 年穩定許多，高科技產業老闆唯恐的是卡位過慢，這已是不爭的事實！

4.智慧型產業。智慧型產業是大陸人比較想像不出來的行業。通常這類產業的特質是：屬小企業，不需要提供固定的地點上班，需要的是可以兼職性的設計人才。這類產業通常看上的是大陸層次高且具實務經驗的特殊軟體人才，然後以專案委托的方式設計出投資者需要的東西出來。例如，泉州的雕刻是很有名的，但是他們沒有市場觀念，所以經常有臺灣的相關專業投資者，先
行設計出具市場喜好的內容，再以此創作內容來要求大陸的雕刻師父創作，最後再以最低成本取得，轉回臺灣即可高價賣出。電腦軟體方面的專業也有異曲同工之效。這都是因為大陸的高階技術人才並不缺乏，且價格的確要比臺灣廉價多了。由於他們並沒有「包裝」或「商業化」的觀念，因此，只要你懂得這行技術門道，那麼就可以先以自己的創意來開出製作規格，然後再到大陸上來找低價的熟練人才做，自然可以賺錢。當然，你要先做的就是到大陸上來建立這些人才網路，熟悉與他們的互動與配合方式，然後就可以順利開創出一番事業。其他諸如廣告、美工、動畫等需要大量創意人才的行業更是如此。

這種靠創意與智慧財產的專業由於屬技術密集，成本低，導致投資金額也低，通常不會引起官方的特別注意與重視，所以並不一定要在大陸成立公司（僅以工作室名義存在即可）。如此，就會因為獲利金額不一定在大陸收，所以在所得收益上，比較不會有稅制的問題。

坦白說，大陸人目前還是停留在認為做公司或做生意一定要以開門見客進出的方式。只要你有很多客人上門，或是貨物進出，他就認為你的生意是賺錢的，那麼隨時就會有很多相關單位的人「不請自來」了。而不需開門見客的智慧型產業，他們會覺得你這裡又沒有很多人進出，能賺什麼錢！自然有很多的不必要開銷可以節省，稅自然也查不到你頭上。

當然，只要所處專業的內銷市場成熟，智慧型產業也可以從事內銷業務（如才能有發票開立），只是這個時機應該在中國大陸進入 WTO 以後。這是因為你現在要去大陸設公司就算外資，外資的投資門檻就是 30 萬美金，這在一般的小企業是無法應付的。但是，WTO 進入後，這樣的限制就必須強制取消了。從那時候起，大陸人花多少錢設公司，我們就花多少。

另外，還有一種有公司牌照來營運會比較方便的智慧型產業。這些產業如，建築師、會計師、律師、室內設計師..等「師」字輩的行業。就如同臺灣，要進入這群「師」字輩的領域中，都必須經過國家考試。其中，律師與會計師因為還牽涉到關係重大的師承與流派，目前多由臺灣的學界積極爭取進入北大的相關科系研究所，取得師承後，再經考試取得執照。相信不用特別說明，您也可以瞭解：如果一個年輕人能分別取得臺灣與大陸二地的會計師或律師資格，在二岸交流日益頻繁的今天與未來，無異是取得了一張充滿「前途」與「錢途」的保證書。

在建築師方面，大陸實施的是建築設計院蓋章負責制，所以建築師的地位在大陸並不如臺灣的建築師那麼高。在進入 WTO 後，外國建築師也可以進入大陸拿業務，所以，屆時只要我們的營建業者也能啟用臺灣自己的建築師，然後再配合大陸籍的建築師，專門在大陸建造具競爭力的建築物，相信就可以再開創另一番景象。此外，與建築業相關的室內設計師在大陸也是蠻有前
途的行業，但是仍需經考試。

那麼醫師呢？醫師的問題恐怕不在於能不能去，而是願不願意去。這是因為大陸的生活水準平均並不高，除了醫療的收益不會比臺灣高之外，慣用西醫治療方式的臺灣醫生並不一定就能獲得已習慣先中後西合併療法的大陸人青睞。不過，如果說要與大陸方面合作開醫院，那可能就會有意願了。王永慶先生即將在大陸建立的二所醫院，其成效如何，目前也相當受到醫師們的關注，可能將是醫界前進大陸的重要指標。』

E-2-2 容易在大陸認賠的行業特性

『容易賺錢的講完了，那一定也有容易認賠的行業囉！以下，就來談談一些在大陸比較不能做，或是做起來比較辛苦的行業：

1.小額投資的餐飲業。在身無其他一技之長的情況下，餐飲業好像是絕大多數人很容易從事的行業。大陸人尤其如此，什麼都不會的，煮個菜總會吧！因此，要在大陸從事餐飲，除非真的特別有手藝或頗具規模，否則將面臨很強烈的競爭。開餐飲其實還要看在哪裡開，以及是否有特色。像在北京已經很流行的泡沫紅茶，早期開還能賺錢，現在開可能要面臨的競爭就很大了。老師的意思是：餐飲業不是不能開，而是它是一種別人可以很輕易模仿的行業，做起來會很辛苦，再加上異地經營還要打持久戰，沒有異於常人的毅力與體力，不要輕易嚐試。如果一樣要這麼辛苦，那留在自己的故鄉打拼豈不更好！

2.加盟聯鎖店。不知道是誰告訴我臺灣辦了一個大陸加盟聯鎖店招商的展覽會，吸引了不少的人潮，讓我感到一股莫名的激憤。想不到景氣都已經這麼差了，還要人要來騙臺灣人的辛苦錢。凡是久住大陸的人都曉得，大陸的加盟聯鎖店已經不少，像是早期的「永和豆漿」、「真鍋」..等，一直到現在的「快可立」、「蔡燕萍」..等，一時之間，臺灣的品牌仿彿正充斥著大陸的大
城市。但是，究其幕後是否適合臺灣的民眾來異地經營，可能就是一個大問號？難道臺灣的民眾真的被不景氣給沖昏頭了？還是自己的同胞為了要賺一點加盟金，而以「老僑吃新僑」的心態來哄騙無辜的民眾？

其實要加盟店的經營者多半適合本地人，這些小品牌要真的能賺錢，那他們自己找大陸當地有房有地的人立門市去做最快了，何必找臺灣人？那就是要欺負這些既落難又對大陸不熟悉的民眾囉！以「真鍋」來說，二年前他們進入上海，是經過選擇謹慎評估的，因為大陸人並不習慣喝咖啡。同時，他們的團隊本身就切入此專業經營，對加盟店的選擇也不是誰說要加入就讓他加
入的，以維持自身的高格調招牌，如今，他們先於上海站穩腳步後，才逐步再到各省設分店。可是，一般的小品牌加盟店多半就是要你的加盟金而已，對於後續的服務幾乎就是自生自滅式的。即使是像「永和豆漿」這麼知名的臺灣品牌，到了大陸就變樣了，凡是去過北京與福州「永和豆漿」的臺灣人一定能瞭解：那真是各唱各的調，自己吹自己的號，一點都不是臺灣風味的「永和豆漿」。您說！這樣的糟蹋品牌，最後不死也會重傷，既如此，那即使加入又有何用！

事實上，要到大陸做什麼行業，先不要急，到大陸找個地方住下來，三個月，甚至不要三個月，你就會有所體驗與決定了，那時候相信你也會同意我以上的這種說法。

總而言之，凡是靠體力與勞力的工作，我們實在都競爭不過大陸人。他們的學習能力也很快，在商業競爭下，一旦他被你的作法打了一拳，他就會迅速的模仿你的方式來跟你競爭。你會搞小品牌加盟店，大陸現在本土的小品牌加盟店也愈來愈多了。在這種情況下，你非要賺 10 塊才能養活臺灣的家人，他卻只要 1 塊就可以過日子了，怎麼跟他拼？因此，凡是靠體力活兒的，在現階段中，都僅適合在自己熟悉的土地上做。

E-2-3 潛藏的大陸投資風險

接下來要告訴各位的，就是大陸的潛藏的投資風險分析。事實上，如果你現在到大陸的民間上去問，多半大家會告訴你：前二年的錢還好賺，這二年就比較差了。可是，大陸的經濟成長與股市不是都還有著亮麗的表現嗎？怎麼民間的感受與媒體講的不太一樣呢？而這種落差正是其風險所在。目前大陸有４個較大風險，茲分述如下：

1.農村賦稅的不公，促使大量的農村人口棄耕並移動到城市找工作，進而導致娼妓與犯罪升高。預估加入 WTO 後會讓此情況更趨惡化。中國自古以來，執政者最怕的就是農民因餓肚子而造反，共產黨則對此情況非常小心，稍有「點火」，隨即撲滅。再加上中共因對「叉叉公」事件的處理不當，使「叉叉公」未來非常有可能造成農民暴亂的導火線。這就不難理解為什麼中共固
執的一定要將一個原本單純的健身組織給妖魔化，欲除之而後快的真正原因了。

2.民間下崗情況嚴重，尤其是北方與內陸。經營不具效益或是政府為了進入WTO，在制度上不再保護與支持的公營單位正以更快的速度瓦解中，使得失業人口大量增加，有工作的人心惶惶。預估也是在進入 WTO 後，此情況也會更惡化。

3.民間的消費力並未因高成長率而成長。在過去的二年中，中共以彈性放假的方式分別於過年、五一節與國慶加長連續假期，期望刺激民眾外出消費，但是卻沒有很大的作用。民間因為對未來沒有信心，所以不敢花錢，而銀行卻有一大堆錢貸不出去（因為有很多會貸款的公家企業已倒閉），內需就不振，經濟就會停滯；況且目前中國的銀行存款有 80% 集中在 10% 的人手裡
，換句話說，就是貧富差距嚴重。在另一方面，政府卻因為沒錢而要大量發行債券來擴大內需，也就是向人民借錢來建設，西部大開發的案子就是在這樣的背景下出現的。這些問題在外資源源不斷的進入時，可能不會突顯，但是萬一國際景氣強力走跌，進而開始對大陸產生影響時，麻煩可能就要來啦...

4.政府官員的貪污腐敗導致國家經濟在檯面下有很高的內耗與民間的不滿。其中，內資大量外逃的現象已趨嚴重，而迫使中共現正加緊立法防堵中。所謂「內資外逃」就是中共內部的高官或企業經理人，或對政權沒有長遠的信心，或因貪污等個人因素，利用「黑市」將人民幣或外匯換成古董或貴重金屬到外國變現，或利用與外資交換..等多種手段變成國外私人資產等行為。其
嚴重程度已逐年遞增。1998 年，中國外貿順差了 400 多億美元，但是外匯僅增加 50 億美元。到了公元 2000 年底，中國的外匯儲備共 1655 億美元，在經濟成長率達 7% 的狀況下，卻只比前一年增加 109 億美元。這就充分證明了有人正以不法的管道偷國家的錢，並將其往國外送，甚至再以外匯的方式堂而皇之的匯回國內，以造成國外投資的假象。內資外逃的現象將相對
抵消辛苦所吸引的外資所達到的成果，只是此現象似乎在外資大舉進入中國時掩蓋了，但卻瞞不過國外經濟觀察家的眼睛與數據。

當然，其他還有很多潛在屬地區性的小風險，這些小風險諸如地方政策的延續與執行性、地方領導人的行事風格、地區保護主義色彩、官員的介入干預..等，有區域比較明顯，有些區域比較成熟，要看你在那裡。一般說來，在北京、上海、廣州等較先進的城市會比較好，愈往內陸或非熱門投資區域會愈嚴重。

正如同我先前所說，任何的國家社會都有其正面優勢與反面危機。當優勢凸顯時，有人躅躑不前；當危機出現時，也有人大膽逆向操作。其關鍵僅在個人的經驗想法與一念之間而已。

事實上，這樣的風險看在一生精明，經歷大風大浪，運籌帷幄的老闆們眼中，並非無動於衷，而是都各有盤算，但是平常絕口不提。要說臺灣的老闆們精明，是一點也不為過的。他們不但個個精明而且也是全世界最會「哀」的商人。我還記得當初因為外銷暢旺，就像大陸現在一樣，Made in Taiwan 的貨品橫掃美國，臺灣商人因而賺飽了美元，而使貿易逆差擴大，老美也生氣了，就逼臺幣升值。當台幣從1 比 40 漲到 1 比 35 時，全臺灣的企業不論大小，在經濟部的帶領下，全體「哀號」，並發動媒體報導，讓政府去跟老美說不要再給台幣升值壓力了，廠商全都
要活不下去了。老美竟也相信，就放鬆逼迫升值的壓力。但是在隨後一年裡的動作，臺灣簡直是以傾銷的方式將貨品輸往美國，貿易逆差再創新高，這下美國人又按奈不住了，再施加壓力，讓台幣又升到 1 比 33，這下台灣商界、媒體與政府又全體大「哀」，美國又不忍心了。就這樣，來來回回的讓台幣從 1 比 40 漲到 1 比28 整整走了快十年，而台灣的繁榮也在這段時間達到了巔峰。每每跟同齡的臺灣朋友在機場或飛機上談起這段故事，大家就津津樂道而相互印證。說實話，經歷那種成長的成就感、喜悅與興奮，不是現在的年輕人所能體驗與理解的。

臺灣商人最會「哀」，現在也用在彼岸與我們自己人身上，所以大家對台商的民意調查數據不要太認真看，因為根本看不出來，也問不出心裡話來！一切都在他們自己心中暗自盤算著。就像我的一位老闆朋友私下跟我說的：『只要趕快賺回第一個資本額，出什麼大事，要跑也就幾只箱子啦！』

E-3 對大陸投資者的忠告

（學生提問）
『既然如此，那麼再請問老師：對要到大陸投資的投資者們還有何更進一步的忠告？』

（老師答覆）
『是的，接下來會面臨的較大問題，就是要合資還是獨資？以及投資後，投資者本人對大陸事業的心態。以下，就開始來聊聊這方面的問題...』

E-3-1 合資或獨資？

對許多中小企業主來說，很多過來人對在大陸與人或單位合資時都有非常不愉快的經驗，這確是事實。我在此舉一個很單純的個案來充分反映大陸人的合資心態：
『在福州，由於有很多臺灣人的親戚，所以經常有臺灣人過來。福州人很喜歡開店做餐飲，自然就會找上很多臺灣的「呆胞」要合作開快餐店或餐廳。對臺灣人來說，反正投資個一、二萬元人民幣也不算多少錢，又可以有當地人幫忙賺錢，吃飯的問題也能解決，心態上不會有什麼抗拒，就投資了。投資後，福州人就要臺灣人的資金到位。從臺灣人的角度看，這也沒錯，總要有資金將店面承租下來、裝修一下，以及採買、雇工等，這些事兒當然由福州人做。就這樣，一切正常開業，然後才發現生意入不敷出，門可羅雀，撐了一個月後，臺灣人看這樣下去不行了，散夥、錢認賠殺出。從表面上看，這只是一件錯估的投資事件。

從幕後來看，就全不是這麼回事了。這是有計劃的坑陷。首先，臺灣人拿出資金來，福州人卻一毛沒拿，採買以及所有的開銷報銷上，福州人全都灌水二以上，換句話說，一個鍋子買才 10 塊，他報帳卻報了 20 塊以上。臺灣人對物價的觀念還停留在臺灣的水準，福州人就是再高報三倍到五倍，臺灣人還是覺得便宜啊！同時，本來就是要騙錢的，福州人對後續的經營自然不會盡心，生意當然就做不下來。當臺灣人認賠殺出時，他又將已裝璜好的全新店面轉手再高轉讓出去，一前一後，所有臺灣人投資的錢就等於全數歸他所有。錢到手後，福州人全家就搬離該地，而後來轉讓來的本地經營者繼續在原地經營，生意卻還不錯！換句話說，他們利用臺灣人對本地物價、行情與經營慣例的無知，以及好面子的心態，扮豬吃老虎。一年如果能找這樣的幾個「呆胞」，他的日子就很好過了。而以合資方式詐騙臺灣人的現象，全大陸幾乎都有，而在
福州、廈門等臺灣人親戚多的地區則非常普遍，同胞要小心！』

這樣的個案與林林總總的經驗都在在指出：在合資的議題上，或許有低層、高檔的合作對象與行騙手法，但是其心態幾乎如出一轍。那就是「貪小便宜，不看長遠」。你永遠也無法要他們往長久看，因為他只看到你的投資金額如果能變成他的他就發財了。他們與你合作不是為了要長久發展，而是要把你搞垮後，將你的那份佔為己有，對他們來說，就已經是很大的一筆財富。工廠合資的不愉快事件更多，外表上看其來是經營權與人事權之爭，但骨子裡就是資金已拿到，要你趕快滾蛋，他好全權做主。麻煩的是：在他們的心態上並不認為這是詐騙，而是大夥兒理念不
合理智分手的！

近年來，臺灣人已經逐漸學乖了，寧願新建工廠或整廠給他買下來，然後獨資，死也不肯跟他們合資就是因為這樣，除非是要做關係或特殊因素才有合資的可能。因此，現在他們的國營單位或工廠快速解體無人肯接也是這個原因。自食惡果，也算天理循環。如果您現在在大陸的投資案屬合資，那就請特別小心！

進入 WTO 後，由於外國人可以與大陸人享有一樣的經營權利與義務，所以預估：除非是大型或超大型需要大陸資源的投資個案，否則大多數的中小企業投資個案都會趨向以單純的獨資方式進行。

E-3-2 投資者對大陸事業的心態

放開大型企業不談，前進大陸的中小企業老闆們在評估投資的過程中，有些是被逼來的，有些是有備而來，有些則是直覺的認為該來而來了。老闆嘛！總是很忙，所以中型企業的老闆對大陸的評估工作可能就派人來，而小企業一般都老闆自己來。當然，再怎麼說，自己來的感覺與派人來的感覺是不同的，員工就是經驗不足才會做員工來學習，所以派他們來評估，他們總會加上他們自己的淺見與看法，而就這些淺見與看法可能會誤導老闆。因此，不論是中型或小型企業的老闆們，我們都建議：如果公司投資大陸不是鬧著玩的，或是應付股東的一個障眼法，那麼親身的參與評估與體驗是有必要的。

當一旦決定投資後，老闆們對大陸事業的心態作法與在大陸的投資是否成功就會有很大的關係。一般說來，事業創始之初，身為企業龍頭的老闆本來就要付出，如果不付出，而事業還能向上增長，那就純屬運氣了。從我身邊認識的老闆朋友來看，有這樣運氣的老闆顯然沒有。當你有事業在大陸時，切忌以下現象：

●派一名中層幹部或新進員工到大陸為你打天下。我必須這樣告訴您：人到一個新環境去的時候，一定不會心甘情願。甚至在遭到挫折時，就停在那邊等待救援，那您的這個大陸事業將變成包袱，得不償失。反過來說，如果這個人派對了，那麼經過一陣的努力與辛苦後，公司業績可以成長。可是久居當地後，該仁兄必定會與當地的利益結合，最後桶出來的簍子，可能會更加嚴
重而難以處理。這種個案發生太多，實例不勝枚舉。一般建議：同具有共同利益的合夥人一起分擔大陸的事業的主持會比較保險。要不然，就是將已經比較有制度化與上軌道的臺灣公司交由股東或合夥人處理，自己上前線。以這樣的心態來做大陸事業的老闆成功機率較大。
●回台時讓公司只有大陸人。大陸的員工可能聽話，但是較無自制力。只要群龍無首，他們就很會「自我管理」，保證效率一落千丈。因此，不只是經營層面的輪替很重要，管理層面的台籍幹部輪替制度也一樣不可缺少。如果公司或工作室規模小，實在沒有人可輪替，那也可以採於平時加重工作工時，然後於回台時，以睜一眼閉一眼的方式，讓他們稍微「休息」一下，但是絕不能明講。
●在管理與生活的待遇上將台籍幹部與大陸人明顯分隔。階級的分隔在管理上勢不可為，因為易生糾紛與心態上的不滿。我們可以對大陸員工施以軍事化的管理，但是卻需一視同仁。再說，普遍的看法與意見也是說：如果要長遠
做，本土化的管理應該是台商老闆於工廠建置後應該努力的目標。所以在這個階段的台籍幹部就應該減少並開始嚐試性的採用大陸籍幹部。其實大陸人的習性與劣根性是政治制度與地區風俗的產物，年輕人的可塑性還是很高、可教導的。老闆們應該積極的為自己的事業培養本地管理人才，而在未來擴張企業版圖時，將有意想不到的效果。
●發生事情時，以非法或檯面下的方式處理。將「大事化小，小事化無」的心態是咱們中國人傳統的處世心態。但是，身在異地，雖然語言風土熟悉，畢竟我們還是外來者，無法充分的預知在大陸什麼事用哪種方式處理會向什麼方向發展。因此，無論有什麼事就應該循合法途徑來處理。如果企業有太多把柄在他人手上，那麼或明或暗的勒索就會層出不窮。換句話說，老闆們一
定要對大陸的法律有基本的認識，或是身邊有一位可隨時諮詢的法律顧問。
如此，一旦有棘手問題時，就能循法律途徑往正確的方向處理，同時，也能讓員工知道老闆處理事情的立場與態度，就不會讓員工有可乘之機私下拿公司的名義亂搞。

E-4 人才的聘用問題（大陸的學制）

有事業在大陸難免就要用人。所以，當您在面談員工時，就要對他們的學制有深入的瞭解。因為這裡面有些地方與臺灣是不同的。

我們就從他們小學講起吧！他們的小學原本是５年制，1984 年起才改為６年制。５年制也好，６年制也罷，基本上對學生的程度上沒什麼差別。到了初中以後，學制也是三年。基本上，農村的女孩或男孩能將初中讀完就不容易了，多半都只是讀到初一、二。這這部分的女性人力流到城市就成了目前工廠、站店櫃台、娼妓、幫傭、餐廳服務員..等人力的主要來源；男性人力則成了工廠、送貨小弟、小偷、雜工、建築工人..等人力的主要來源。這部分的低層人力也是目前中國大陸人數最多的人力，佔 80% 以上。特色是：價格低，遍地皆是。能初中畢業再往高中讀的人口就少很多了，因為要透過所謂的「中考」，因此能再向上升學的學生，多半集中在城市地區以及鄉村中的少數。

透過「中考」（中等考試）後可以就讀的學制有三種：那就是：高中、職高與中專。一般說來，有很多需要趕快就業以負擔家計的就選擇就讀「中專」；中專是四年制，也有三年制，就是我們以前的「五專」。希望以後還要考大學的就爭取考入普通高中。最後，「中考」成績最差的則分發到「職高」，也就是我們的「高職」。這部分的人力現在正是中共的中堅人力，一般如工廠基層幹部、農村基層幹部..等，多屬這類層次的人力。這類人力由於多讀幾年書，識字、表達與應對的能力較強，在台商工廠裡的基層管理人員也可多採用這類人力。

高中階段完成後，普通高中與中專的學生都可以再參加高考或就業。可是，在正常情況下，已經讀到高中的學生多半能體會：學歷即未來。因此，一般都會參與所謂的「高考」（高等考試），就是我們的大學聯考。在這個階段也有三種學制。依分數錄取的順序分別是：「大學本科」、「大專」與「中專」。其中，大學本科就是我們的大學院校，大專就是我們現在已幾乎消失的專科，最低層的「中專」則是二年制中專，也就是我們以前的「二專」或「三專」。這部分的人力則多屬中層技術或管理人力。

值得我們注意的是：他們的本科大學生或是研究生分有文憑有學位，以及有文憑而沒學位兩種。怎麼說呢？因為共產黨對人才的要求在學歷上是非常嚴格的，他們認為讀書不好好讀，還讀到當掉，那還有什麼資格要學士或碩士學位，所以只要曾經有多少學分或學科被當掉（由各系自訂），即使重修過關，畢業時也不能授予學士或碩士學位，只能有文憑。因此，只要是大學或研究所畢業又能擁有學士或碩士學位者，就是讀書還算認真的學生。在他們的社會裡，對這二種人的起薪與待遇是不一樣的，提供給我們台商老闆用人時的參考。這要是咱們的大學與研究所也實施這種制度，包管有很多愛玩但腦筋靈活的孩子拿不到學位！

同樣的道理，在他們公家單位裡工作，為了爭取配房福利，就要「評職稱」。例如，一位中專畢業的年輕人於工作數年後，就可以由單位報准去考試以「評職稱」。考試通過者，就可以由助理工程師升為工程師。那麼分房配給就可以由 60 平方米提高到 80 平方米，同時工資也有小幅度的增加。可是他卻永遠無法再由工程師透過「評職稱」的方式到高級工程師，因為高級工程師的「評職稱」一定要大學本科畢業者才能考（雖然也有特考來讓非大學本科的畢業者有機會翻身，但是這些都要所屬單位同意，經常會有很多因素而難以取得）。換句話說，他這前半生的讀書過程，已經被他的國家與共產黨認定最多只是一個適合當工程師角色的人，不管他再怎麼努力，再怎麼辛苦，能憑實力再往上爬的機會將微乎其微。因此，台商只要在能力傑出的這類人才上予以適當的支持與鼓勵，他們無不感激涕零，鞠躬盡瘁，全力以赴，就是這個道理。這也提供給我們台商老闆們參考。

E-5 臺灣人的韌性與弱點

有很多臺灣的知名人士與媒體報導都擔憂的說：臺灣有一天會成為菲律賓第二！但是老師要說：不會啦！為什麼呢？這是有很多事實可以印證的。

主要的支持論點就是臺灣人的韌性之強，真的要令人感動不已。早期到深圳投資的台商老闆們將當初創業的精神帶了過去，在那邊親自帶領員工們打拼，才有今日深圳的榮景。當時，深圳台商協會理事長最常去的場合並不是雞尾酒會現場，而是殯儀館，因為工作過度而累死的台商在深圳的折損率很高。即使是大陸的員工與官員看到這樣的情況都不禁感動淚下，更何況是我們自己的同胞！只要在廣東與台商有接觸的大陸人，不論是員工或官員，都能真正的體會到為什麼臺灣人能在過去的年代裡創造出傲世的經濟奇蹟而感佩不已！事實上，我們都知道，那並不是什麼「奇蹟」，而是自己的血與汗所累積的自然成果。

這麼一群傑出的人遠走他鄉，默默的在異地開創出他們的後續希望，他們是不懂政治的，無法也沒有時間參與國內政治的內耗，他們只知道以前就是這樣開創出事業的，今天，臺灣的環境讓他們有危機感，而需要遠走他鄉求生存。如果你們也像我一樣也在飛機場或飛機上與他們萍水相逢交談過，你們一定會驚異的發現：只要能生存，他們幾乎什麼地方都去。有到中蘇邊境做為蘇聯與中共間「以貨易貨」橋樑的臺灣人，有到東北惡劣環境探求事業所需物資的臺灣人，有在過年期間拿起槍巡邏，以保護工廠免於土匪劫掠的臺灣人、有周旋於中共高官間，不畏強權努力自行爭取企業權益的臺灣人....臺灣人堅毅的面貌以及為生存而不屈不撓的精神似乎就在一架架滿載他們的飛機上生動的被呈現出來！而我要嚴正告訴各位的是：這正也是身為臺灣人的你，血液裡所流的精神與傳統！也因為這樣的精神與傳統，臺灣人或有可能因為日子好過了而暫時忘記了，或有可能因為生活舒適了而暫時失去了，但是只要痛苦了，挫折了，臺灣人就會再想起這些與生俱來的精神與傳統，而再度掌握未來！

坦白說，國內的不景氣以及失業風潮與臺灣的精英群國際化也有些關係，這群精英在看待企業生存的問題上，不過多的滲入政治因素，而致力於企業本業的經營與未來前景。因此，目前臺灣的不景氣事實上並沒有影響到這批人，影響較大的反而是老百姓與不思經營本業而過度依賴政治運作的企業體。

因此，將很多該學的技術放下，很多該做的事不去做，而過度的將任何事泛政治化正是臺灣人目前的盲點與弱點。今天，在整個國際社會與商場競爭下，我們會分析人家，人家也正在分析我們，以找出足可讓我們致命的弱點來攻擊我們。這樣，當他們在同我們競爭的時候，就有機會徹底擊垮我們。所以，自己要趕快警覺的反省並改正。

對正在工作崗位上，靠薪水過日子的臺灣人來說，必須知道在老闆的圈子裡，他們心裡在想什麼。我問過很多身為老闆的朋友說：『在除去薪資水平的因素下，您會比較喜歡在那一邊做老闆？』，很遺憾的是：有百分之 70% 的老闆會回答：大陸。對時下臺灣年輕員工普遍的不敬業心態、韌性差與自我性太強的現象，是台老闆間普遍的抱怨。這也是提供給大家自我檢討改進的。沒錯！員工與老闆間的角色從某個角度看是對立的，但是卻有更多的角度證明老闆與員工是相互依存的。
在大陸外商員工間流傳著這麼一句話：『給自家幹，前途無亮！給老美幹，神經潰散！給老日幹，身體缺氧！給臺灣人幹，沒死不算！』

就可以想見台灣老闆那種勤奮、身先士卒，精力、耐力與韌性驚人的模樣。不過，大陸人抱怨歸抱怨，當他們領到工資時，表情還是很愉快的。而這就是我們當初創出經濟奇蹟時，勞資雙方的和諧景象，但是這樣的景象在臺灣已不復見，但卻在彼岸重生，這豈不是一件最諷刺的事。

E-6 後記

我到大陸多年來，在我所從事的專業上，一直無法取得別人可以真心告訴我的寶貴資訊，使我不得不自己去摸索。有很多事情都是聽一些與我事業上沒有利害關係的台商朋友點點滴滴累積起來的。因此，在記述這些談話時，我不像報紙或媒體或有刺激閱報或收視的目的與考量，需要「加工」或偏向一些事件的報導；相反的，我僅以一位老師的身份，在無任何的顧慮與考量下，無條件的將經驗以最直接最赤裸的語言來描述給我們的讀友。在這之中，或有正反二面，但在在都是要提醒您值得注意或考慮到的事項，以將我們已經碰到的經驗成功轉移給您，希望減少您可
能會面臨到的任何風險，而這些風險原本是可以不必發生的。如此，只要能讓各位成功的投資機率或案例能再多添幾個百分點，於願已足。

我一直在想：臺灣未來的後代子孫勢必是很「國際化」的，而像對大陸這種區域性的投資行為並不等同於「國際化」，但是卻也只有投資區域均衡的「國際化」投資行為才是一個國家穩定發展的重要基石。現在我們將投資放在大陸上，只是因為時勢、語言與同民族的地緣關係而已。這原本就是很單純的思考與想法，但如果還要硬將其加上政治因素，使問題複雜化，那就非後代子孫之福了。我誠摯的呼籲：

『我們這群自小就生長在臺灣的人，一出生在心態上就一直受到中國大陸的武力威脅，到今天都還不能脫離這樣的陰影，致使在求生存的同時，總是要為自己謀後路，為隨時可能的變化做準備，天曉得我們有多厭煩這樣的事！人家美國、日本的年輕人在成長過程中可沒有這樣的壓力啊！所以，我們真的不希望我們的下一代還要繼續生活在這種壓力下。

可是願望是願望，現實則歸現實。今天，到大陸來並不是因為大家忘了他們還在威脅我們，而是避開政治層面，純就經濟生存面而來。大陸今天能發展我們來，有一天她它走下坡了，大家走，不會多所留戀，這是大家心裡都清楚的事。重點是：不管在哪裡或發生了什麼事，我們都要來去自如！
如果您還年輕，那麼就趁年輕時多到幾個先進國家走一走，以準備在您壯年時期能順利的將視野擴充到世界。假若您已兒女成群，事業也已穩定，那麼也請多支持教育子女們，讓他們的眼界朝向更寬廣的世界社會。千萬不要只看臺灣這個島，而在心態上處處只存在本土化的狹隘地域眼界，過度熱衷於政治，將只會讓自己或後代愈來愈不如別人。走不出臺灣，臺灣充其量也不
過是一個比綠島大一點的監獄島而已！』

這個聚會的記實並未結束，新圍爐夜話更精彩的「大陸問題之溫柔鄉陷阱篇」
將於：

<>

一書中繼續登場。關心台商感情世界與二奶風雲的讀友敬請期待！我們下次見...

2000.2.28 謹記於北京
--
☆ [Origin:椰林風情]

Cat's Decision and Her Offer to Lend Me Money

2007-02-11T00:45:00.000+08:00

Cat sent me a text message first and then phoned me.

She said her former company will recruit her again so that she will not take another GMAT and will not apply MBA in one year. I supported her because I know that she made this decision carefully. I have guessed that she might feel frustrated in December when she got fired in her former company, although she has not expressed many emotions about it. However, she appears to be very delighted now, because a manager of another department, an acquaintance from Hong Kong, is inviting her to go back the same company, but just to work in another expending department. This is a piece of good news for sure. She shared her happiness with me and explained the complexity of the former department which she worked for.

We talked a lot tonight as we did one month ago. It's a long conversation almost up to 2 hours again, a common situation happened when we prepared together for the exam before.

Before she hung up the phone, in a careful way she said she can lend me some money while I don't work and have to study full time for the exam. I have never expected this kind of considerate and touching offer from her. Any way, we haven't known each other two months ago, and we have only met up with each other face by face not more than 10 minutes. I thanked for her warm intention, and told her not worried about my economic situation because I had my own solution.
I was very moved by her good intention. Both my little brother and Matteo have also ever expressed to me the same propose before. I am very happy to get along with these good friends. But I won't borrow any money from them. I am not in such bad situation that I can not survive in Beijing. Besides, borrowing money from others is still a shameful thing to do for me.

Our Start-up Dream Will Resume in Another Day

2007-02-09T22:48:00.000+08:00

On MSN, En told me that he has given up the plan for a start-up, which he invited me to join a few days ago and proposed a further discussion if I would visit Taipei.

" I guess so," because I have perceived some trance last week when he told me that I don't have to rush to get the project of a American company. I didn't ask the reasons he gave up. Although it is a little bit pity that we can not cooperate to set up our own venture, I deeply believe we, or I, will still have other opportunity to do so. EN has been interested in inviting me to cooperate to develop his own software localization business. I can sense his intention to invite me as his partner. But we have never discussed it directly until several days ago when I got a potential project and talk with him. At the moment, he thought that I planned to withdraw from the software localization industry. After a long discussion until 3:00 A.M., by MSN we come up with some initial idea of our cooperation.

In fact, both of us think this industry has gone to a low profit stage and prefer to change our career if possible. However, Cao, one of my former colleagues in Shanghai, asked me to help a Singapore friend of his to begin a new business in the localization industry. Furthermore, another friend of mine, who started up his own company to do translation business last early year, told me that he has succeeded in extending his business into the software localization business and that he has been doing business with a big American company which is also the main client of Lionbridge. It seems that some people dash off this industry, while the other desire to get involved in it.

What Would You Say If Someone Spits on Your Ice Cream?

2007-02-07T23:56:00.000+08:00

Olive always complains that Chinese people are so dirty. What he means is that Chinese People spit anytime and anywhere.

“People in Shanghai must be cleaner than those in Beijing, right?" he asked me.
“No. People all around China are almost the same. They spit all the time, even in Shanghai." I replied.
“But Shanghai is a metropolitan!"
“I know. But people in Shanghai just do it in the same way as people here in Beijing."

Then, he told me a true story happened on Josh when both of them were walking on the street some day. While Josh and he were walking on the street and licking their favorite ice creams, on the street a Chinese guy was splitting, unintentionally but precisely, to the ice cream hold by Josh. You can imagine how disgusting and shocking the scene could be, if this situation would happen on you. When the guy found out what he just had done to a Caucasian, he said sorry to Josh. What would you react at the moment if you were Josh?

Olive also told me that one of his Chinese friends was spitting on the road when he went mountain-climbing with some friends. He asked the friend who was spitting, “Don't you think spitting on the road is not a right thing to do?" His friend answered," This is one part of Chinese culture. You got to learn it."

Furthermore, there is another thing that Olive always felt annoyed. One of his colleagues, who is a senior attorney and has ever studied in Germany, farted in front of him quit often. Olive is irritated by his behavior but doesn't know how to express his unpleasant feelings.

Now, Beijing government eventually took action to curb these kinds of shameful behaviors. People spitting on the street will get fined for RMB50. The spokesperson said, in China, RMB 50 is enough to prevent people from keeping spitting everywhere. “The most important part is that once getting fined, the persons who spit will lose face, an effect that may contribute to correct this bad habit in China.

Beijing government enacts this regulation just because of the imminent Olympic Games. I am not sure whether, in 2008, people can see cleaner streets without some much disgusting fluid everywhere.

Reference: http://news.sina.com.cn/c/2007-02-07/195612256859.shtml

Chinese Government Unblocks Two Taiwan Newspaper Web sites

2007-02-06T23:34:00.000+08:00

This is amazing for me to find out that Chinese government unblocks the two most important Newspaper websites in Taiwan. I have stayed in China for many years and, for sure, have never been able to read any news from Taiwan online website. In shanghai, it doesn't bother me, because I can read China Times, one of the biggest daily newspaper in Taiwan, in some cafe chain stores, which are operated by Taiwanese. But when I moved to Beijing, I can no longer find any Taiwanese Newspaper in any restaurants here. I guess this is caused by one of the obvious differences between Shanghai and Beijing, the personality of Beijing which is all about politics and culture, unlike that of Shanghai which is all about business and fashion.

Although I don't really care the control of news access, I already develop a kind of habit to visit SINA.com, the portal website boasting itself the biggest online news website. However, reading news on Sina.com is very frustrating and aggravating because of many pop-up advertisements. Now that I learn I can visit the United Daily News (http://udn.com/NEWS/), I don't have to endure the AD interruption in SINA.com. It is also said that China Times (news.chinatimes.com), another influential daily newspaper website, can be accessed in the near future.

On the one hand, I am glad that the Chinese government lifted these bans, manifesting that Chinese government becomes more confident to face the challenge of the diverse opinions and liberal thoughts from Taiwan press media. On the other hand, I am worried that Taiwan government is moving toward an enclosed policy, which might prevent the public from real information of fast changing China, concern only about the domestic issues and neglect the inevitable trend of globalization.

Falling In Love with Someone You Can't Admit to

2007-02-05T00:38:00.000+08:00

The entire interview was full of puns, because there were many words these two could not express directly. When Bobby talked to the hostess, actually he was trying to reveal his idea to Rene. When Rene asked Robby to sing the song, The Kit, and when Robby selected other two songs to sing in the program, the lyrics were what one of them tried to imply to the other. The two had not seen each other for many years until they met each other in the program. Besides, they both knew that they won't have many chances to talk with each other after this show. That's why they try to seize the opportunity to communicate. We should thank for the inexperienced hostess so that we can watch this authentic situation in this episode!

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Rene Liu And Bobby Chen

2007-02-04T20:08:00.000+08:00

I don't know what have happened on me today!

I think I must be crazy now...

Feeling deeply depressed from the evening, I begun surfing on the Internet after dinner. At the first, I just clicked on some entertainment news and got interested in " The New Age of Marriage", a new drama starred by Rene Liu (劉若英) and Guo Xiaodong(郭小冬). This TV drama has won a high reputation in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong and many other cities. I have become interested in the lead actor Guo Xiaodong since a few weeks ago I saw him posted for a fashion Magazine. His smile was so innocent and charming. However, I was more interested in Rene Liu. She was fascinated by her look and songs when she mad her début more than a decade ago. "Crazy for Love", her first song, is still one of my favorite songs. Furthermore, she is one of the Taiwanese stars who win a great success in mainland China. I hope she could go on to build her own influence in China market just because of my personal reason.

All my insanity began from a blog describing the relationship between she and Bobby Chen(陳昇). Although I know that Rene is Bobby's apprentice, I don't really have any impression on their other relationship. I was shocked by what the content reveals, not only because I have no idea that they have ever developed a sad and difficult love story, but also because both of them are my most favorite stars. Or I should say one of them is, but the other used to be. Bobby has appeared to be older, and fatter than what he looked like before when I was in the college. But the most important is I don't feel touched by his songs now. I don't think this is my problem. I think most of the genius would deplete his or her talent some day.

I still adore Rene very much. After discovering this story happening between my two favorites, I can't help searching for more news about them on the Internet. And I found that a lot of comments about the episode of "Pink Protein"(桃色蛋白質), a popular Taiwanese variety show in mainland China, which Bobby hosted with another hostess in that episode and interviewed with Rene. All the comments said that specific episode was totally out of control because the hostess, Patty Hou (侯佩岑), was inexperienced. Because Bobby refused to accept the CD of her new album, Rene broke down and wept not too long after the program begun. I read all the comments I could find for many hours, and also tried to get a free source of that program. All the free download sites require me to register or to download some software first so that I can get access to it. I was quite annoyed by all the trouble procedures. I tried some of the Chinese website but eventually gave up. I found one uncompleted part of the episode on the Video features in Sina. This inspired me to give it a try on YouTube.com. And guess what! I do find all I want on YouTube. This is amazing! I don't have to install anything, and I can find one episode of a Taiwanese TV show on YouTube!

I watched the episode again and again, and searched for all the comments about this episode. And I did it all the night, until 6 o'clock in the morning! I can't believe what I have done! Such a crazy, childish and silly thing!

Part 1

A "SOS" Letter from An Old Friend

2007-02-03T21:47:00.000+08:00

Sent: 2007年2月1日 14:41

其实不知道你什么时候才会看到这封信，不过其实即使没有看到也无所谓，因为我只是想写写。上次有段时间说想念你，其实是有私心的。我觉得我一直都是个私心很重的人。其实与其说想念你，不如说其实那段时间，一直都很想能在 msn 上看到你，和你聊聊。不知道为什么，每次我工作上不开心时，都会想和你聊聊。我想，可能是因为虽然有时候我觉得你跟我观点有很多不同，可是我始终觉得你是个心态很平和，能够看问题看得很清楚的人，所以我总是希望能从你这里得到一些指点。虽然你从来不会说人坏话，所以你也从来不会明确地指出我的缺点，不过我觉得你是很了解我的优缺点的。在我的生活和工作中，我想来想去，好像也就只有你是我觉得能够给我某些问题答案的人。

我想…(SKIP)… 所以，我很希望能够得到你的指点。有时或许你没有真正能了解我的情况，不一定能告诉我解决方法，但是我觉得，你的看法应该会让我有新的感悟。我想，事情其实往往会是这样，某个时间听到的一句话，可能觉得没什么，等到某一天发生某些事情，才会真正感觉这句话的含义。所以，如果你看到这封信，很感谢你听我啰里吧嗦了一大堆，如果你有空或者你愿意，请谈谈你的看法。
谢谢。

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sent: 2007年2月3日 03:33

谢谢你的来信，虽然我对你实际的处境并不一定全盘了解，虽然我的想法不一定对你能有什么启发，虽然我现在的头脑不很清楚(已近凌晨三点钟)，但是我仍然很乐意先大略地提供你一些意见。近期我应该不时会上msn，如果能遇见，msn上聊聊或许会更好。

你想这封信给我的时候，需要尽量把你的情况表述给我知悉，以方便我了解你的状况与需求。在你写信完后，是否等于重新理清了困扰你的是什么事？客观不可改变的是什么？主观你能改变的是什么？你要的是什么？

就你信中所提及的部份，我首先要说你还是那个我当面赞扬过你上进、积极的女孩子。有企图心是好事，特别在现在竞争激烈的社会中。但是生活需要平衡，而工作是生活的其中一部份。我要说的是：有企图心固然是好事，但不必时时表现出来，时时争取每一个机会。这样子只会反被其扰，工作得不开心，闷！生活要有收有放，工作亦然。我建议调整你的"角色"，不要设定与你的小团队在玩零和游钱，别人出位，就代表你的失败。重新客观审视其他人与你的不同与优缺点。如果一个机会放在面前，能争取的话，一定要争取，不争取的话别人/上司肯定不会知道你行或你愿意。但若争取不来，那就退求其次，做一个辅助的角色，主动报帮助获得这个机会的人。去学习任何一点别人比你好的长处，让别人乐于找你帮忙，与你合作。这样一来，不但你能有稍许的学习与进步，也能让同事与你处得更融洽！真正的融洽，而不是表面上的相安无事。在怀才不遇之时，要不断调适自已心态，知道自已要的是什么，然后不管别人有没有看到，都持续累积自已的实力，为的是自已长久的未来，而不是只为下一个立马上门的机会。半年、一年的累积后，如果仍觉得无法施展抱负，那么就是该大动而非小动的时候了。换公司、换环境都可以考虑。但在做长期积累前，不需要与人争一时一地，你的同事、你的上司，你所处的环境在一定时间内都会改变。你只要有准备，终能一鸣惊人。困境的产生。有内外两股力量。外部力量，或者说你的老板和你的同事之能力与想法，你的公司和市场的变化，你是否真正客观认识与查觉？内部力量，是你内心的声音，你听见了吗？你听见你在公司裹都说些什么或不说些什么？你所认定的自已的想法真的是那么想的吗？还是你其实总有某些时候在回避自已心底真正的声音？当你弄清楚是哪两(多)股内、外力量形塑出你目前的困境时，你就会开始明白该如何脱困！

或许你可以在三天后重新看一下你寄给我的email，想想是不是有什么没想到、没写到的？再看看你想到、写到的是不是真真正正如此？

当然上面说的这些问题与答案，只有你是最清楚的:) 希望上述所言不会把你搞得更迷糊:) :)

最后，送你个小故事吧。在…(SKIP)…

想着想着，就写了这么多了。我该去睡了。有机会再聊吧！

祝安康！

北京 2007/2/3 凌晨三时过半

Back to Study and Some thoughts about Blog

2007-01-31T23:18:00.000+08:00

After more than one week's messy life, I returned to Capital library to study. In the morning I read about 15 SC explanations, and in the afternoon I finished 20 CR questions. Although my progress was quite slow, my status was okay. At least I resumed the preparation. I plan to last this arrangement until February 14, the date I returned Taiwan. I should finish the OG 11 before departure from Beijing.

I can't help visiting SA’s blog again. His writing allures me and his story moves me. I was captured by his gay love story. From his article, I know that he works in Guo Mao, where I worked before my resignation. Now he is a famous blogger with upcoming 3 millions click rate. He deserves the popularity because of his special background, spiritual openness, and writing talent. Living not far away from his place, I wonder whether some day I can meet him or even know him.

I used to have the same thought of meeting a blogger before when I was fascinated with the blog written by Wang Xi, a strange man about my age. At that time, I still worked in Shanghai, whereas he lived in Beijing. Now I moved to Beijing, but I have lost interests in visiting his blog frequently. I guess that my interest is always changing and that a blogger's enchanting story always gets one day to be depleted.

I Am Homesick

2007-01-30T23:08:00.000+08:00

I think I am not a good son. I have not called back home first for several months. Only my father phoned me first. The phone call I made first was on the middle-autumn Day. Usually the conversation in the phone call lasts only 2 to 3 minutes. The content is always trivial, such as the weather in Beijing and the question whether I had dinner.

I become homesick every time when I am frustrated. Now I am homesick again, so I guess I am in depression. At home, I can totally relax, sleeping over 8 hours a day and watching TV programs all day long. This is a repeated situation in every Chinese New Year festival. But as time goes by year after year, I begun to feel guilty to enjoy my laid-back life at home, because I begun to notice the white hairs occupying my father's and mother's hair! They no longer appear to be strong and tall for me. Now I can look at them at a higher angle, but I have never watched them carefully. And usually I am not patient of their caring questions. This is the attitude I have developed since my childhood.

I got to change my bad attitude and spend more time with my family next month when I go home. There is nothing more important than their happiness and healthiness.

Adventure in Longqing Gorge

2007-01-29T14:10:00.000+08:00

I really need to breathe some fresh air outside the Beijing downtown. So I proposed Olive to go mountain-climbing on Saturday. But we eventually go to YanQing County because Josh invited us to see the ice sculpture together with him.

After lunch together, we took some time to find out the exact way to get Longqing Gorge, 90 km northwest of Beijing, and some of our friends decided not to go with us because they thought the destination was too far away. At last, only 5 persons took the Bus 919 to YanQing County about 15:00, including Josh, Laura, Henry, Olive and me. There are 919 "slow bus" and 919 "fast bus". We spent 1 and a half hours to arrive at Yan Qing, because we could only find the 919 "slow bus" in Shan He, where we started off. It costs 6RMB for each person. That's pretty cheap. But when we come back, we took the 919 " fast bus", which charged everybody 12RMB.

In Yan Qing, we have to take a private mini-van to get to Long Qing Gorge. In every bus station of travel spot, you will always get surrounded by a lot of people when you get off the vehicle. Those people overwhelm you attempting to persuade you to take their private car to the entrance of the spot. This kind of behavior is always annoying. At first, all of them offered us RMB 40, but we didn't show any interest on them. Finally one woman quoted us for 20 RMB and we accepted it. She warned us that if we wanted to return Beijing on the same day we would have to get back Yan Qin by 6:30. But we didn't take it serious because we think she just want to make some money form us and Laura think there must be some other way to get back Beijing. But we are wrong!

When we got back to Yan Qing, it was already past 19:00. The door of the bus station was closed, so we could only check the price of taxi. The taxi driver quoted RMB 200 for one car. Because we had five persons, so we would need two cars! Henry suggested that we could find a 24-hour KTV and stay there until dawn. Unfortunately, the only one KTV in Yan Qing would close at 2: 00 A.M. So we begun to find some recommedations but were rejected by many hotels. The reason is that those hotels don't have the license permitting them to recommedate foreigners. Josh was kind of upset about this situation. We all agreed that this kind of rule in China was ridiculous! Finally, we found Xia Du hotel with 60 RMB for each bed. We wanted to find an economical price for the night, because Laura would pay for all of us for the unexpected overnight. Well, thanks Laura's generosity!

So we owned a very huge room with total 8 beds. The only problem with this room was that the heater didn't work! Otherwise, this is a prefect room because it's very clean and large.

We went to sing KTV for 3 hours because there was no other choice to go in Yan Qing. All of the coffee shop and stores close right at 20:00.

This is an unexpected journey. None of us ever thought that we would stay overnight in Yang Qin. I think that is what life is alwyas all about. We never know what is going to happen at the next moment! We have to equip ourselves to manage all kind of possibilities!

As for the scenery, I think it's just ok for me because I have seen the Harbin Ice and Snow Festival in 2003, which has a larger scale of exhibition of all kinds of fascinating ice sculptures. But for the purpose of breathing some fresh air, I think I do get what I asked for!

Cat Proposed That I Can Move in Her Flat

2007-01-27T15:01:00.000+08:00

Cat phoned me after participating an Ivey Case Study activity.

Before I took the exam, we phoned each other in turn. I called her on each odd date, and she called me on each even date. This was the way we developed to encourage and to monitor each other so that both of us could study hard. After the termination of my exam, we stopped doing so and only talked with each other once on the very day she took GMAT.

In the phone call, she told me what she discovered and how she felt in the activity. Before she hanged out the phone call, she said she had an embarrassing question to ask me. That is: her father and mother will go back to Jiang Xi Province soon, leaving her current flat an extra room for another person to rent and to live.

I was kind of surprised with her propose, because I have never thought that she, as a single girl, would propose me, as a single man, to move in. She promptly explained that if we live together, we can better encourage each other to prepare for GMAT and for the application of MBA programs. Besides, we can share the rent during the period I don't work. Thus, I can save a little money.

I euphemistically rejected her idea, because I prefer living alone, a life style that I don't have to care about another roommate's mood and living habits. But I do appreciate for her kindly propose. This kind of proposes reveals that she trusts me very much. How can a single boy not feel happy when he gets such a trust from another single girl?

If I would move in, who knows what might happen in the future? Under the same roof, will we develop some kind of relationship other than friends? Under the same roof, will we become enemies because of some trivial events? I don't want to make things getting complicated.

This reminds me of a story happened in my second working years. At that time, I rented in a widow's flat. She has a daughter about one or two years younger than me. Her daughter always liked to ask me to have a walk with her in the neighborhood in the evening. At first, I always went with her, but was worried about being seen because I don't want to be misunderstood. This girl has big and beautiful eyes, very beautiful, and treats me very kind. I guessed she kind of liked me. But I tried to keep some distance from her to make sure she won't get wrong idea form me.

My GMAT partner

2007-01-26T00:41:00.000+08:00

Cat sent me a text message to tell me her GMAT score this morning.

In the evening, she called me and expressed how disappointed she felt. I can tell that her voice become kind of strange. At some time, I guess she was about to sob. I can only comfort her to take it easy.

She said she might take the exam again. Well, if so, then we will study hard together again!

Wednesday Blue

2007-01-24T14:58:00.000+08:00

Feel blue today.

Doing nothing, nothing at all today. I already registered the exam yesterday, so I should study very hard now. But I've done all meaningless and trival things today.

Visited the blog of Sa. A sad story there brings me even more sorrow. It reminds me of C,a person who makes me understand what love is.

Olive is inviting me for dinner tonight. I feel kind of sorry for him. He is so kind of me, but I give him nothing.

Never GIve Up

2007-01-22T10:15:00.000+08:00

I avoid to call it a "failure", but it is indeed a failure for me.

I was considering to give up my MBA dream and thinking that I might not have the potential as a B-school student. But after two days' consideration, I found that I still can not let it go. I feel so reluctant to give it up after months' preparation. Maybe I "should" give myself one more opportunity. Or I shall say that I "must" give myself one more opportunity so that in the future I won't feel regreted that I give up in the half way.

After two day's indulgence in the Internet, I will start to return to my study for GMAT. Probably take this exam on March again. No matter how many times I might fail this exams, I decide to keep taking it untill getting a satisfying result.