He Has A Point

Although he might be a little angry, the writer of Diligence China more often than not is on to something. He has a recent article which you all might find interesting and it’ll give you a good idea about what working here is like. Check out the whole article here but here are the parts I found most interesting.

“Chinese nationalism is back, and international managers have to be very careful. As the banners and demonstrations at the gate’s of Danone’s Wahaha subsidiary underscore, Chinese leaders are more than happy to whip up public opinion to serve a wide range of goals. The problem is that once the genie of nationalism is out of the bottle, it’s impossible to contain.

Recent Chinese economic gains have raised expectations in two ways that are both significant to ex-pat managers and investors. 1) Chinese people believe that any frustrations, shortcomings or failures are YOUR fault, not theirs. They have been conditioned to see themselves as the natural heir to economic and industrial ascendancy. Any blockages or pitfalls must have been placed in their way by outside forces. 2) Westerners and foreign institutions are plotting against the rise of China. The average mindset in China is that western institutions are “tired” and outdated – and their only defense against the rise of China is trickery and manipulation. You will hear more and more of this line of reasoning when intellectual property or product safety laws are invoked – particularly on the international level.

Know which subjects to avoid, or at least where to tread carefully. Tibet & Taiwan are obvious. Hopefully you are aware that to the average Chinese person, Tiananmen is an architectural structure whose main historical significance is as the site of Mao’s address to the Red Guard. There was never any massacre there as far as most of your Chinese staff and managers are concerned. Chinese colleagues think that government censorship of the internet is a virtuous system that protects children, that media controls are necessary and party membership is akin to joining the Rotary Club or Chamber of Commerce. They probably don’t understand why Darfur matters (at least to them) – but believe the Beijing Olympics is one of the most important events in modern history. Don’t be lulled into misconceptions by sophisticated-sounding Chinese colleagues who take a worldlier, cynical line. Once the banners start waving, every critical word you’ve ever uttered – or agreed to – will be used against you…

Be sensitive to the symbols. Mainland Chinese yuppies like to sound sophisticated and modern. Don’t buy into it. Chinese people revere Mao. They revere their flag. They respect the Party, at least as far as you’re concerned. They think the Chinese legal code is the best in the world. As far as the symbols go, you want to be very careful whenever the Chinese flag is used – but also watch out how images of Mao, dragons, the map of China, images of “common” Chinese workers and historical or traditional Chinese personalities are handled. Don’t fall into the trap of believing what the NY Times or hip business mags have to say about the “Chinese street”. The people around you tend to be MORE patriotic and loyal towards their government than US people are…”