The Crema Vita

New Blog Address

2011-02-24T14:09:00.001+08:00

Crema Vita moving to www.cremavita.tumblr.com. Check it out there.

Southside travels- Jinghong

2011-02-17T18:43:00.001+08:00

First stop, Jinghong and our 2nd Chicago Coffee location.

Happy 春节！

2011-01-29T17:59:00.001+08:00

CC will now be closed Jan. 31st as well. Happy 春节！

Spring Festival Hours @ CC

2011-01-22T11:20:00.001+08:00

Spring Festival Hours- CC closed Feb 1-8.

Jan 24-31 & Feb 9-13 Open 10 am-8 pm.

New Years Eve & New Years

2010-12-29T15:10:00.000+08:00

New Years Eve & New Years Dinner- 5pm-8pm (Chocolate Fondue guest appearance)

Wednesday & Thursday Specials @CC

2010-12-22T13:27:00.002+08:00

Wednesday & Thursday Night Dinner Specials - Filet Mignon Pizza 菲力牛排批萨 & Rib Ends 猪肋小排

For more specials check out @ChicagoCoffeeKM on Twitter and @芝城咖啡 on Weibo.

Decaf Coffee is Back @ CC!

2010-12-10T08:10:00.001+08:00

Food- The Premiere

2010-12-08T21:43:00.003+08:00

Food – The Premiere

The New Menu @ Chicago Coffee debuts December 18^th, 17:00-21:00

Book Dinner on December 18^th and we will pick you up in style (THINK UK area)

(0871) 538-9228

New Menu will also be available for dinners - Tuesdays – Sundays 17:00-20:00

Signature Steaks, Hamburgers, Ribs, Pasta and Pizza

See the Trailer- http://gallery.me.com/cremavita/100022

Holiday Drinks at CC

2010-11-18T09:58:00.001+08:00

Holiday Drinks are here @ CC!!!

Buy 1 Get 1 Free - Monday November 22nd. Code "More Peppermint More Better"

Chicago Coffee Closed November 10th

2010-11-04T18:59:00.000+08:00

Chicago Coffee will be Closed

Wednesday November 10th

本店将于11月10日歇业一天

Riddle me this? Starbucks Coffee Bean prices

2010-10-29T13:51:00.003+08:00

Why does a half pound (225 g) of Yunnan Coffee cost 85 RMB (12.71 USD) in China? Do we attribute it the Starbucks price bump? Probably not, because you can get twice as much beans for your buck at Starbucks stateside. Around 67 RMB (10 USD) for a full pound (453 g) thats twice as much coffee for a much lower price. And Yunnan Coffee is one of the least expensive worldwide. Just for perspective we offer a half pound of our Yunnan Hope coffee for 29 RMB (4.33 USD) and ours is considered on the "expensive" side because we work with the coffee growers that grow it, paying fair wages and donate part of the sales on top of that to planting more trees. Why is Starbuck's Yunnan coffee 3 times more expensive?

Retaining your Chinese Employee

2010-10-16T08:30:00.000+08:00

Pretty interesting thoughts on keeping employees in China. Mostly focused on larger corporations or businesses in the coastal cities. I would add showing respect, kindness, and paying fairly. Seems obvious but you would be surprised.

From The China Observer:

Be flexible about employee titles

In general, it’s not wise to give inflated titles to employees whose skills and responsibilities don’t match up. While the title may initially satisfy an employee, he or she is likely to eventually consider themselves underpaid for the rank and demand more compensation. However, some companies have found a way around this dilemma by committing to a standard company-wide title and pay grade internally, while granting the employee a more appealing outward facing title on their business cards and in the marketplace. As one Asia Pacific CEO at a leading technology firm put it, “if the regional sales manager for China and Taiwan wants his business card to read ‘Greater China Director of Business Development’ I am ok with it, if that’s what it takes for him to stay in the company and continue to hit his sales targets.”

Think long-term when it comes to incentives

Convincing your local talent to buy into the company vision and stick around over the long-term may prove challenging. Nevertheless, you may be able to increase the likelihood your top employees will stay past the two-year mark by tying their incentives to aspirational purchases. The ideal path for a top graduate on the white collar career track is to graduate, get married, and buy a house. In recent years, a second major purchase typically follows home ownership - a car. Understanding this phenomenon, one company set up an incentive scheme for top sales managers. The company would provide an interest free loan to selected employees to buy cars and match a portion of the payments for 5 years. If the employee leaves the company before five years, they would lose the car and the company’s contribution. For those who stick around, they receive a car at a significantly reduced price. This is somewhat similar to companies outside of China issuing stock option plans, in which employees’ options fully vest only after a set number of years working for the company.

Shatter the glass ceiling

The Asia Pacific CEO at most Western multinational companies is often a foreigner from headquarters. Typically, other key positions such as VP Strategy, VP Marketing, even down to middle-management posts are filled by expatriates. This is unsustainable for a business seeking to localize for the long-term. As soon as a key Chinese employee sees a glass ceiling looming above her head, she will opt to join other firms. Interestingly, an increasing number of mid-level managers are choosing to leave Western MNCs for domestic firms. According to Frontier Strategy Group’s 2010 China Talent Engagement Survey, domestic Chinese firms empower their mid-level managers with greater responsibility than their counterparts at multinationals. On average, the typical mid-level manager (age 31-35) at a Chinese firm oversees 13 direct reports, while those at Western MNCs on average only directly manage 9 employees. It is important for top talent to see a clear career path at your company, or else ambitious employees seeking career advancement with increased responsibility may leave for a competing local firm such as Mindray, Baosteel, Huawei Technologies or Haier where there is more potential for career advancement.

Sugar Free Now Available at Chicago Coffee

2010-10-14T20:21:00.001+08:00

Come try our new sugar free hazelnut, almond, caramel, and Irish cream flavors.

10 Irreversible Trends Re-shaping China and its Relationship with the World

2010-10-13T07:55:00.002+08:00

An interesting book posted from the China Law Blog:

Bill Dodson of This is China! Blog fame, is coming out with a book, entitled, China Inside Out: 10 Irreversible Trends Re-shaping China and its Relationship with the World and pre-ordering is now available on Amazon for delivery next month. I am certain the book will be good.

It is going to focus on the following ten "major social, economic, environmental and technological trends that are molding a China":

CHAPTER 1: China's Generation W(eb) – The Great Firewall of China seems monthly to become more sophisticated with growing armies of internet censors and cutting- edge technologies that filter and block web sites, emails, and text messages that promote the free flow of ideas and expression. But how far will government censors be able to go before a cyber- subculture of hundreds of millions of Chinese rebel en masse?
CHAPTER 2: Keeping Up with the Zhangs – Chinese are on average becoming richer, less healthy and more anxious as they eat more, drive more, smoke more, work more with few government assurances their assets and their futures are secure;
CHAPTER 3: Country Mouse, City Mouse – China needs its migrant workers from the countryside to build its cities, and, increasingly, to live in them, with ever increasing stresses between the have's and the wanna have's;
CHAPTER 4: "Not in My Backyard!" – As more Chinese embrace the ideal if not the practice of an American style middle class lifestyle, it is beating records as the world's largest polluter of land, water and air resources;
CHAPTER 5: With the Appetite of a Dragon – China has been on a buying spree abroad as modernization leaves it with less arable land, food, crude oil and other mineral resources. Ultimately, though, it will find water more precious than oil, with dire implications for its neighbors.
CHAPTER 6: China 24/7 – As the East Coast becomes a more expensive and congested place in which to do business domestic and foreign production and infrastructure development is moving to China's hinterlands, where 800 million Chinese literally work day and night to get rich and show it off;
CHAPTER 7: China, At Your Services – The hallmarks of China’s nascent services sector are a lack of civility, little sense of customer care and arcane bureaucracies. If only Chinese hospitals, for instance, were more like the country's wedding industry, where the customer is queen, service level quality reigns and beating out the hundreds of local competitors is a matter of pride.
CHAPTER 8: The Global Sugar Daddy – As China becomes richer its trade practices, currency positions, stock markets, and foreign investments will matter more in the international marketplace, which will increasingly resist opaque Chinese business practices and inadequate quality and governance controls;
CHAPTER 9: Hot Pot Nation - China's allure as the most populace country in the world has for millennia snared foreign and Chinese interests into cultivating and exploiting a source of tremendous wealth and energy. Now, population pressures lanced by the One Child Policy and a rapidly aging population with a below- par replacement rate are becoming national and global liabilities.
CHAPTER 10: In the Shadow of the Emperors – Chinese nationalism and militarization are increasingly filling the vacuum left by the lack of a civil society and the dearth of reflection on the country's modern history, making its neighbors near and far anxious about how aggressively it will fulfill its role as a rising superpower.

Sometimes things just dont go your way

2010-06-28T07:59:00.001+08:00

Yunnan Hope

2010-06-01T06:41:00.007+08:00

The Coffee story has always begun with the farmers. In Yunnan, many coffee farmers are not paid fair wages for the work they invest into each cup of coffee. Many farmers are struggling to make a living and provide for their families because they are paid as little as ¥1.5 ($0.10) per pound of coffee. Many times large companies and coffee exporters deceive the farmers into signing long contracts forcing farmers to maintain these low prices for long periods of time. In other areas, middleman “coyotes” buy up coffee at very low prices from numerous farms and earn as much as the farmers do for the entire year in one day by simply reselling the beans at higher prices.

Yunnan Hope Coffee is our solution to this growing problem. The sales of this coffee goes directly to help change the system currently in place and ensure that more farmers are paid fair wages. With a commitment to justice and transparency, Chicago Coffee does fair trade in the most basic form. We buy directly from coffee farmers and pay a fair price based on what works for the farmers so they can provide for their families and ensure their children’s education. Many big coffee companies hide the prices they pay and the way they obtain their coffee, and some have even gone as far as to confiscate the farmer’s copies of the contracts they have signed with them to prevent them from changing the system. At CC, we publish all our financial details about how we buy our coffee and exactly how Yunnan Hope Coffee will directly help the farmers of Yunnan.

For more information, please visit www.YunnanHope.com

Travel Notes 5-3-2010

2010-05-03T19:39:00.010+08:00

You know you are a long way from home when even Beijing is still 3134 kilometers away...

You know you are addicted to coffee when you can identify this plant on the mountainside from the highway going 120 km/h...

You know you have grown up in the car washing business when this sight brings utter delight...

You know you are a long way from home when your roadblocks consistently look like this...

You know you have been without breakfast choices for a long time when you can tell the difference between a good breakfast bowl of spicy noodles and a bad one...

Chicago Coffee Closed Sunday April 25th

2010-04-24T19:01:00.002+08:00

Chicago Coffee will be closed Sunday April 25th and will have a delayed open until 12 pm (noon) Monday April 26th.

Make A Difference- Yushu Earthquake

2010-04-21T08:07:00.003+08:00

A week ago this morning I was driving home to Kunming when Jack, one of my staff and one of my closest friends, called to tell me his hometown had been just hit by a massive earthquake demolishing everything in their town. Jiegu, his hometown in Qinghai province near Tibet, was hit the hardest destroying every home and building trapping thousands, killing more than 3000 and injuring 10,000.

5 of Jack's extended family lost their lives and the homes of his parents and uncles and cousins were all destroyed. Despite their livelihood hanging in the balance they have brought lost children into their home that have become orphans from the earthquake. Jack's sister had fortunately been out of the city at the time but that same morning learned that her cancer had gotten worse and that she would have to undergo chemotherapy which they can not afford. She is 24 years old. Jack's family is really struggling.

Starting today, April 21st, Chicago Coffee will begin raising money to help Jack's family and the orphans that still need a place to live. 20% of all sales through the end of the month will go to this end and we will be collecting any direct donations to this effort as well. For more info, please email me at chris@thechicagocoffee.com.

Why China needs fairer traded coffee... pt 1

2010-04-18T09:28:00.003+08:00

Reason #1- the Math

The average Chinese farmer in southern Yunnan has anywhere from 1 to 10 hectares of land and depending on way the coffee was planted and the yield of each coffee tree 1 hectare of land produces about 1.2 tons of coffee cherries that are harvested once a year.

From one hectare farmers can expect about 1.2 tons of coffee cherries which then dried produces about 240 KG of green coffee beans. Those 240 KG of coffee beans can then be sold at an average price of 10 RMB per KG. So under most conditions farmers receive 2400 RMB per hectare per year. Leaving many families to live off roughly 352 USD a year from their coffee yield. Now many have multiple hectares of coffee trees and/or other crops but for most growing coffee can be a struggle.

Earthquake in western China

2010-04-14T10:13:00.001+08:00

Pray for those affected by the earthquake that 2 hours ago shook southern Qinghai province. Pray that they find those children that are missing and for those families who have lost loved ones.

- Posted via iPhone

Who will answer the cries for help?

2010-03-26T06:24:00.006+08:00

Who hears the shouts from another's home?

In my tongue, in their tongue- all cries for help

If I do not answer surely someone will

But if that someone never comes - can I live with the guilt and pain?

I know the guards think they came in vain

I know the police think this was another foreigner's silly game

If they come and ignore - wasn't it all still the same?

Why do they make me feel like somehow I am the one to blame?

Why does "educating" now involve such violence and shame?

Does a wife or child need bruises to prove they have learned?

Does a angry man think that this will really go unpunished?

Raining blows on the helpless will certainly bring its own storm

Why has this behavior now become the norm?

The blacks and blues on her face will eventually heal

But damage to the soul will always have a hue of black and teal

Who will answer the cries for help?

*Note- this is in reference to a neighbor in our building from a few days ago. we tried to help when we heard their cries but we still dont know what happened.

Chicago Coffee Websites Relaunch

2010-03-19T08:05:00.003+08:00

Head over to ChicagoCoffee.cn to access our all new coffee portal.

Get to know your local baristas at our Kunming store.

Learn more about how Sumatra Mandheling coffee got its name at our roastery website Chinaroasters.com.

Access our coffee compass via CoffeeChina.net for those that desire good coffee no matter where in China they visit.

Finally stroll through our coffee selection delivered anywhere in China on our taobao store.

Zoe Mei!

2010-01-25T18:01:00.001+08:00

More pictures at www.alfordsinchinablog.blogspot.com.

Zoe Mei Alford!

2010-01-25T10:49:00.000+08:00

Zoe Mei was born at 9:30 AM Thailand time. She weighs 7.7 lbs.

Zoe meaning life and Mei meaning beautiful in Chinese. We are proud to be welcoming this beautiful life into our family.

- Posted via iPhone

At the hospital

2010-01-25T09:38:00.000+08:00

Checked in and getting ready for a new baby in 30 - 60 minutes.

- Posted via iPhone

New Alford Baby Announcement Sun 1-24-2010 9:30PM ET/8:30PM CT

2010-01-24T15:39:00.002+08:00

New Alford Baby Announcement Sun 1-24-2010 9:30PM ET/8:30PM CT on cremavita.blogspot.com. Start refreshing your browser now!

The McDonaldsfication of Starbucks

2010-01-21T14:08:00.000+08:00

I rely on Starbucks quite a bit when I travel. My blood runs golden brown with a hint of crema. But honestly over the last few years I have seen Starbucks go from the “it” place to the fast food version of coffee. The machines are completely automated. What used to be an art and a science, Starbucks has made into a push-button automated frenzy. There is no love put in that latte anymore. There is no gentle coercing of air into the milk to form that smooth microfoam.

Now 1 Starbuck's barista does not speak for all of them but just this morning I was barked at for asking something a little particular about my latte desires. I am sorry. I will gladly pay $3 for a latte because I know the work and training that goes into getting it just right. But I will not pay $3 to get barked at. Where did that love go?

And when its slow why not let the customer sit down and bring them their drink. This is an luxury item not a Big Mac at Mcdonalds. If I always have to wait at the counter for my drink then whats the difference then me waiting in line at McDonalds. If your not busy what's the rush? The ladies behind me asked if they could sit down and the barista told them no way. They needed to wait a few minutes. There was no one else in the store.

And would it kill Starbucks to try something a little different with the store design. I have been to a million different Starbucks in 5 countries and they are all exactly the same. I expect that from McDonald’s but why Starbucks? Can’t we have a little uniqueness? And the décor and paintings are becoming more and more like advertising. There are more signs and posters creeping in to promote the newest drink or food and they are crowding out the paintings and soothing atmosphere that was once more common.

But yet I like so many others are addicted to coffee and without a suitable alternative I still go in and order. But I will dream of a day when you can travel and have more access to local coffee shops that can put of a solid brew.

Power Down- Behind the Scenes Pt 2

2010-01-20T13:46:00.005+08:00

2:00 PM January 16^th- the Police

I think I only need 2 more punches on my VIP police card to get a free sandwich.

Seriously I have called 110 (911) so many times this week for good reason that I literally had a cop car out front of the coffee shop so they could keep a closer eye on me. I had money stolen from my company this week and the police just laughed at me. But when I was accused of taken $2 worth of junk from the new management company I had 8 officers there in a heartbeat ready to arrest me if I didn’t cooperate. The difference? The guy accusing me is a guy with power and money. He has relationships with the police. I don’t. The same policemen that laughed at me a few days before were back and demanding action over some junk. Welcome to the dichotomy of China. For people with power and money anything can be done in a heartbeat. For everyone else that makes us 99% of the country, good luck. Even if that wasn’t enough, the new management company guy threatened me even with the police standing right there and the police didn’t even blink. It could not have been more obvious and direct.

6:00 PM January 17^th - the Police return

After finally getting to the bottom of the power situation, I returned with my manager to the old management company to discuss where everyone’s money for the electricity bills had gone. The power company said that the old management company wouldn’t even take their calls to work this problem out. Granted it was Sunday night but in light of this situation I expected the workers in the office to at least call the people in charge to answer a few questions. When they ignored me and told me to come back sometime next week, I told them it was really crucial to talk to someone tonight. Well they didn’t even look up from their TV show when I asked them the second time. Maybe I lit too big of a fire to the situation but I wasn’t in the mood to be disrespected and ignored when the stakes where so high and I spent so long being lied to by both of the management companies. So I unplugged the monitor that they were watching. Well that got them up on their feet and ready to take action. Unfortunately not the action I was looking for. They went to guns blazing in a half a second and were in our face yelling and threatening a beat down. So we called the police.

Busy signal.

Perfect, nothing like being in an emergency and the emergency line being busy. 4 or 5 minutes later the police did finally arrive to try to get a hold of the situation. You will never believe what side these police immediately took. The other people. Yes I did aggravate those old management company guys and I probably deserved the reaction I got but we certainly weren’t the ones that were threaten to beat someone up when the police arrived. From the management guy’s suggestion the police accused us of coming here to steal from them despite the fact that the office is no longer operational and completely barren of anything of value. I begged the police to file a report last week when I was stolen from but they said no way. This time they were filling a report without even being asked. I think I may have set a record for a foreigner and police reports in a 3 day span without actually doing anything illegal.

Everything seemed to be fine despite the uproar until the management guys got up in my manager’s face swearing at her and calling her names despite the presence of 7 cops in the room.

The police did nothing.

They simply watched.

So I did what any crazy person would do and stepped in front of my manager and put some distance between her and these two guys. When they pushed forward to get at her again I pushed them back against the wall with some force. That’s when one of them punched me in the throat and only let go when I was able to push him back off again.

The police just watched.

No attempt to help.

And when things settled down again their only recollection was that the foreigner tried to hit the Chinese men and they didn’t see the Chinese men do anything! You have got to be kidding! What does it take to get some justice here. I refuse to let Chinese thugs threaten people and especially women without any recourse. If it means I am the one that has to pay the consequences then so be it. I am willing to accept the consequences for my actions.

Power Down- Behind the Scenes Pt 1

2010-01-19T19:53:00.010+08:00

I think after blogging about some day last week being a perfect storm of problems, I think it only made sense to have the weekend that I had. I have always said that my now 3 years plus of doing business here in China will make a great book when and if I go home all in one piece. But this power situation in THINK UK may just be a book all unto itself.

I thought long and hard about whether to share some of the experiences I had on this blog and I decided to because I have always been completely honest and open here regardless of how it makes me look. If you haven't read much about what happened here then take a look back at the last dozen or so blog posts to get an idea of the craziness of the whole thing and then come back and read about some of the behind the scenes stuff that I saw, created, or witnessed over the last 5 or 6 days.

3pm January 15th - the Mayor's Office

After being without power for 6 hours and receiving little or no answers to what caused the problem or how long the problem would last, I started making phone calls to see if we could force the issue. One of those calls was to the Mayor's Office.

(Most of my experiences here were greatly helped by the work of my excellent company manager, Teresa. Without her hard work a lot of the work we did to help get this problem alleviated would not have been possible. She did not have to put her self in harm's way but she did anyways. Some of these experiences are partly hers but I will tell them in first person for clarity)

I explained the growing situation that was upon us here in THINK UK. We asked for help as these apartment complex's problems led to a lot of anger and violence over the last few months and as recently as that morning. We implored the Mayor to take action before things got worst. After I stated the situation, I realized quickly that help would not be provided. Just the opposite. The Mayor's representative began accusing me of causing problems and stirring up the masses and encouraging violence. I was told to stop standing up for these things and that if I didn't back off I would be risking heavy consequences. Maybe I should have backed off, but as the next few days progressed backing off was clearly not something I do naturally.

Power protection for the future

2010-01-18T13:16:00.001+08:00

Finally, a decision that makes sense. Think Uk'ers can now apply at the new management company for direct deposit for electric bills. Take a copy of your landlords ID and a copy of your rental contrat to the new management to apply. I guess this is better 5 months late than never at all.

- Posted via iPhone

Power Up!

2010-01-18T09:55:00.004+08:00

I am still holding my breath but a resolution may have been reached. The new management company finally came through this morning and paid their unpaid bills. So for the time being the power company has backed off. The old management still has not paid their bills and are still hoarding all of our money but hopefully that won't lead to any more power outages.

For now enjoy the electricity as I know we all have a new found fondness for it.

Power Down Update 1/17 9:00 PM

2010-01-17T20:39:00.003+08:00

All last ditch efforts have failed. After 3 hours in power company lobby I was finally allowed to talk to the highest leader involved in the power situation. Here is the absolute nuts and bolts of the situation. The power company is owed money. The two management companies both old and new owe a ton of money and refuse to talk or negotiate with the power company thus making the situation what it is. The power company will turn off the power from 9am-6pm every day starting Monday and honestly I see no end in sight. None of the 3 companies involved care at all what happens to the THINK UK residents so I don't see how that will ever change. They simply don't care and have nothing to lose. So don't believe anything that either management company says. They lie. Just today the new management company said they paid their entire amount owed so they were off the hook. The head boss at the power company said no such thing happened. So the management companies keep accumulating our money and who knows where it is going.

But Chicago Coffee will do our best to be open during this power outage. We have a generator coming tomorrow so if you need a place to hang out feel free to join us and swap stories. I have some good ones from the last few days.

Most of all. Stay safe. There are some crazy people out there and there is no telling what some people are willing to do.

Power Trip

2010-01-17T15:20:00.002+08:00

Hello think Uk fellow residents. I have decided to peacefully sit in the power company office 二环西路高新科技广场398号 until someone comes to begin negotiating our power situation. The news is coming soon so I hope that I can at least raise awareness of the problem and get some real information.

- Posted via iPhone

Power Down- ACT NOW!

2010-01-17T12:38:00.001+08:00

THINK UK’s Power will be turned off again tomorrow, Monday, and it will be off indefinitely until the remainder of the unpaid power bills are paid. Please call the power company at 95598 and strongly encourage them to only turn off the power of those residents and businesses that have not paid. The more people that call the more chance we have of avoiding this terrible problem.

Power Down Update 1/16 11:00 PM

2010-01-16T22:41:00.002+08:00

Perhaps a slimmer of hope. A notice has been made that THINK UK residents may be able to apply for bank cards to pay for everyone's electrical bill on their own. Its unknown whether this will keep the power company from cutting the electricity on Monday but its better than nothing. More details tomorrow.

Power Down Update 1/16 6:00 PM

2010-01-16T17:49:00.005+08:00

Little progress to report on the power down situation in THINK UK. The new management company finally has a real store front to house their office instead of the carnival tent that they were residing in before. Unfortunately the clownish activities that usually happen inside are still a main feature of this management company. After my suggestion of leaning harder on the 600 residents that have not paid their electric bill was rejected, I decided to obtain the full list of these 600 residents and give them each a "friendly" reminder that their bill needs to be paid immediately. So we manually cut power to 200 of the 600 residents in hope to spur some action before Black Monday is upon us.

Side Note: I apologize to anyone that is falsely accused of bad behavior. Most outraged residents are looking for me "the foreigner who is turning people's power off."

Even after the steady flow of residents went to pay their unpaid bills the new management company was still upset that I would dare do something that was their job. I explained that if they were doing their job then I wouldn't feel the need to do it for them.

All in all, after much prodding the new management company supposedly began negotiating with the power company to only turn off the power to those residents that have unpaid bills. Something I wished would have been done before cutting the power off to everyone. So I will check again tomorrow and hopefully there will be some hope that Black Monday can be avoided. Until then I am off to use as much electricity as I can before its too late.

Here is the full list of all 600 unpaid residents. If you know anyone on this list please encourage them to pay!

Power Down Update 1/16 11:00 AM

2010-01-16T11:08:00.004+08:00

Power in THINK UK is still expected to go offline line starting Monday the 18th. I have acquired the list of all 600 residents that need to pay their electric bill before this problem can be resolved. The new management company is still sitting on their hands and hoping that the problem resolves itself. I am hoping for a positive update today but I am very weary of the consequences if we dont.

Seem Familiar?

2010-01-15T21:19:00.000+08:00

I don't know what it is about this coffee shop in Guangzhou, China that seems so familiar but it feels like I have seen this all before somewhere else. Starbucks anyone?

Power Down #2

2010-01-15T14:25:00.001+08:00

Hour 5 of the Think Uk standoff. As the story unfolds it turns out that the new management company is the one to blame for a possible permanent power down of the entire complex. The new management collected money for the last 3 months of electric bills and decided not to pass that money onto the power company. The power company in return will shut the power down again to the whole complex on Monday and keep it that way until a bill of 700,000 Rmb is paid. I have cotacted the police, the mayor's office, and the foreign affairs bureau and nobody wants to help. Helpless and powerless. Welcome to China. Where help is only given to those with money or power.

- Posted via iPhone

Power down

2010-01-15T10:10:00.002+08:00

The troubles at Think Uk continued today. Between the fools at the old management company, the new management company, and the electric company decided that it would be a good idea to turn off power to the entire complex today at 9 am without warning because of the continued despute over who owes what money. Turning off power to over 8000 residents and over a 100 businesses is never a good idea as rioting filled the streets shortly after the power down.

- Posted via iPhone

Shanghai Thieves & Indoor Swimming Pools

2010-01-13T16:44:00.001+08:00

I have told some that my job would be much easier if there didn't seem to be an endless supply of problems both big and small that seem to occupy 90% of my time. Today brought a perfect storm of these so called time occupiers.

The Shanghai Thieves-

You may remember my post about the veggie scam of 2009, well a Shanghai coffee equipment company is trying their best to make their mark on 2010. We recently purchased a coffee machine from Super Coffee Bean Company 超级无敌豆 for a 1000 USD.

10 days ago the order was suppose to be processed and we expected the order to arrive 5 days ago. When it didn't arrive we called and they explained that it would be in the mail very very soon. When we talked to someone else in the company they said they didn't have the product we purchased and that if we were lucky we might get one in a weeks time. Well I don't like purchases being based on my luck so that didn't fly very well. The company said 4 days ago that they would return our money through the bank. Ok I can live with that. 100 phone calls later it turns out that this is one messed up company. They have given us excuses like they were in line at the bank and that we should receive the money in a few minutes. Unless that line is 4 days long, I cannot imagine they ever actually went to the bank. On and on the excuses came but day after day the money still was not received. This company sells hundreds and hundreds of equipment and other products and I am sure will continue to do so, but why are they choosing to mess with me. I think some companies truly believe that people will sit around and take this abuse and do nothing. Well I am not one of those people. If our current request to the American Consulate and the Kunming Foreign Affairs bureau does not find success then you better not doubt that I will fly my angry butt up to Shanghai and raise the underworld until my money is returned.

Sidenote- The Foreign Affairs bureau took 5 hours to answer the phone today and when they finally did they said there is nothing they could do short of the American Government making a direct request to them. So I am a "Foreigner" and I have an "Affair" so wouldn't the Foreign Affair's Bureau be the ones that could help?

Indoor Swimming Pools-

As if this didn't require my entire day's time I got the water bill for my home today. 666 RMB (98 USD) for two months of water. Normally my bill is 1/10th of this amount. Now I do take daily showers and have been known to wash clothes and dishes on occasion but that is a lot of water. I am not sure but it may be so high because of my olympic size swimming pool that now occupies my living room.

I am not joking. For that amount of water I could LITERALLY fill a pool in my living room. And if you think I am just saying that to be funny or to make a point then you need to think again. I have a close friend that owns the swimming pool in our complex, right next to the coffee shop. His bill for to for his SWIMMING POOL is only 400 RMB for the same amount of time. My bill is 33% MORE then a swimming pool. When I explained this to the water company they were not amused. They are convinced this bill is not a mistake and that I need to pay it otherwise they will cut off my water. Fantastic. It's now 4:44 PM and work is almost over and I have literally done nothing else but work on these two situations. This has been another day lost at sea.

Shenzhen Airport- quick thoughts

2010-01-11T20:48:00.002+08:00

I usually roll with the punches when it comes to critcism from strangers here in the big C.There is usually no shortage of things for locals to rag on a white faced, outspoken, coffee-loving, American from the great state of Nebraska but I'm afraid that this sign in the bathroom is taking things too far.

I may have a great fondness for the 'ol western style toliet or perhaps it's passionate hatred for the squatty potty that comes standard here in China, but is there any reason to call me weak. How about the next time you have a case of the Chairman's Revenge, you tell me who is desperately begging for a toliet that won't leave loving reminders up and down your legs.

On the plus side the Shenzhen Airport boasts free Wifi. Excellent. Nothing like stingy hotels, cafes, and the like insisting on hitting you for a few extra bucks when Wifi was born to be free.

- Posted via iPhone

Caffeine boost

2010-01-04T12:58:00.000+08:00

A coffee shop owner's pick-me-up.

- Posted via iPhone

Chicago Coffee via Taobao.com Now Open!

2010-01-03T08:29:00.001+08:00

Chicago Coffee and Espresso now available on Taobao.com. (Taobao is China's Ebay equivalent and a haven for foreigners looking for things not easily found out west) All our products are available here (http://shop60206312.taobao.com/).

And in honor of this occasion I am including a recent blogpost from the veggie discourse about funny buyer/seller interactions from taobao's store. Definitely gets more hilarious the more you know China and especially if you have any experience with taobao. Enjoy.

The following is what happens when odd customer demands meet unprofessional customer service.

1. Product: 60 weight loss pills, each tablet 400mg
Buyer Feedback: I bought the entire container with 60 pills and only received 1. The seller is dishonest! Who can lose weight with just 1 pill?
Seller Reply: Sorry. I just learnt yesterday that the Chinese zodiac sign of the postman I use is rat.

2. Product: Purse
Buyer Feedback (2007.01.10 18:22): Seller attitude was awful. I know you are busy, but that doesn't excuse your monosyllable replies! All you said were "en" (恩, OK), "hao" (好， good), so disrespectful. I am giving you a negative rating.
Seller Reply: Pei (呸, as in the sound of spitting)

3. Product: toy koala bear
Buyer Feedback: He wrote my name wrong on the package.
Seller Reply: I can't believe this small thing got me a negative rating. OK, I will write your name here: Xinhua Li,Xinhua Li,
Xinhua Li, Xinhua Li, Xinhua Li, Xinhua Li, Xinhua Li, Xinhua Li, Xinhua Li, Xinhua Li, Xinhua Li, Xinhua Li, Xinhua Li, Xinhua Li, Xinhua Li, Xinhua Li

4. Product: herbal recipe for safe weight loss
Buyer Feedback: No explanatory note. Results of taking the medicine did not match online description. I felt anorexic and could not fall asleep.
Seller Reply: Liar! Your symptoms match the side effects.

5. Product: Dress
Buyer Feedback: Everybody says that I look like an auntie after wearing this dress. Your advertising photo was deceptive.
Seller Reply: You truly are an angel, not an auntie. Unfortunately, you just happened to land on your head when coming down from heaven. Otherwise, the dress would have looked great on you.

6. Product: Wild Hazelnut
Buyer Feedback (2006.12.03 01:51): The hazelnut shells are really tough to crack. Eating 1 jin (0.5 kg) of them nearly broke my teeth. To increase weight and charge more for shipping, the seller placed a piece of junk metal in my package.
Seller Reply: Look carefully at the piece of iron, do you notice a screw? Look down a little ways, do you see the line of separation? Now along this line of separation pull apart the two "legs"--the piece of junk iron was a custom-made nutcracker, which was sent to you to crack the hazelnuts.

7. Product: Yida gum
Buyer Feedback (2006.04.04 16:56): I asked for gum. Instead I received some white stuff that was cloyingly sweet. I could not eat it.
Seller Reply: Faint. That white stuff was white chocolate, my gift to you. The gum should be found under it wrapped in newspapers. Did you toss the whole package in trash? Quickly go retrieve it.

8. Product: Majier compressed facial mask
Buyer Feedback: Nothing.
Seller Reply: What do you mean by nothing? What is nothing? Why did you even leave a neutral feedback just for nothing? Jesus!

9. Product: Birdie earrings
Buyer Feedback: My computer did not respond when I chose "positive rating." Let me try neutral.
Seller Reply: How could you do this to me? You really should upgrade your computer (I am currently in a state of depression)

10. Product: Crystal ball
Buyer Feedback: The ball is good. But why wasn't the supporting base in that ad photo also mailed to me?
Seller Reply: You misunderstood! The "supporting base" is my husband's ash tray.

11. Product: Plated platinum necklace, 9 yuan
Buyer Feedback: My girlfriend told me: "so so"
Seller Reply: Try to buy her a diamond ring!

12.
Buyer Feedback: Bad attitude. OK product
Seller Reply: When was my attitude toward you bad????????????? Weirdo. What does it take to have a "good attitude"? Declare my love for you?

13.
Buyer Feedback: Didn't buy.
Seller Reply: Sigh!

14. Product: Fancy imported European chocolate
Buyer Feedback: The chocolate arrived 3 days late and in pieces. I got into a huge fight with my boyfriend.
Seller Reply: As the Chinese adage goes, hitting means intimacy and cussing imparts love. When neither works, kick him.

15. Product: Verbenaceae Leaf--for weight loss and headache
Buyer Feedback: Why doesn't your herb look like other sellers'?
Seller Reply: Why don't you look like anybody else?

16. Product: Clocks
Buyer Feedback (2005.02.13 14:29): I haven't gone shopping online because of the frequent scams. This time I got lied to again!
Seller Reply: Just messing with you.

17. Product: Swarovski crystal
Buyer Feedback (2008.03.10 15:41): Great product. Am satisfied. One question though: why were there a firelighter in the mail? I don't smoke
Seller Reply: Shhhhhhh. My husband has been looking for it since this afternoon. Helps him quit smoking. I guess the thing fell in when I was packing the crystals for you :)

18. Product: Handbook on How to Win Lottery
Buyer Feedback: Didn't the introduction say I will win a million yuan after reading this handbook? I did not get even the smallest prize.
Seller Reply: You didn't read carefully enough. The last page mentioned: "Fulfillment of millionaire dreams requires all-out efforts." Trust me, you will get your payback some day. That time just hasn't come yet!

20. Product: Nike shorts 40 yuan
Buyer Feedback: Dreadful quality. The crotch tore after one week because I farted too forcefully.
Seller Reply: I am not responsible for your indiscreet farting. Besides, what did you expect out of such a low price, 40 yuan including shipping!

21.
Buyer: Can't give feedback on cellphone
Seller: I should not be held accountable for the inadequacy of your phone!

22.
Buyer: The package was too sturdy. Took me a long time to unwrap it.
Seller: Well, can't have my customers say that I am too stingy to buy packing tape. Haha!

23.
Buyer Feedback: The product costs only 4 yuan by regular mail, but the seller spent 5yuan on priority shipping to send it to me. Afterward, he called me long distance to inquire after the transaction! Now this is true communism. Great seller.
Seller Reply: I...just didn't have time to go to the postal office.

24. Product: Osmun Pearls eye cream
Buyer Feedback: How do I return the product?
Seller Reply: You didn't pay me, so I haven't sent you the product.

25. Product: Fruit basket
Buyer Feedback (2006.05.10 14:49): Some fruits were too ripe.
Seller Reply: You mom requested fruits that will keep for only 3-5 days after shipping (please ask your mom to leave feedback next time)

26. Product: Sexy lingerie, latest Korean style
Buyer Feedback: I loved it.
Seller Reply: Didn't your husband like it??!!

27. Product: Medication to treat hemorrhoids
Buyer Feedback: The medication took so long to get here! By the time I got it, my hemorrhoids were already healed.
Seller Reply: Testament to the effectiveness of my product. As soon as your hemorrhoids heard about the medication coming, they just high-tailed out of there.

28. Product: Cellphone
Buyer: Do you have chocolate?
Seller: Of course, I offer Dove and Jindi.
Buyer: I am talking about cell phones!!!
Seller: Oh yea, thanks for reminding me. I am selling phones.

29.
Buyer: The price for your phones are exorbitant! I could have bought a laptop instead.
Seller: Yes. I can just imagine you standing in a crowd, opening your notebook, and sticking your ear to the speakers for the incoming call. Keep up the cool pose.

30. The buyer was trying to find out if the store has a physical location (Chinese: 实体， pinyin: shí tǐ)
Buyer: Hey, do you have a corpse store? (Chinese: 尸体， pinyin: shī tǐ)
Seller: Sorry, Taobao doesn't permit selling of cadavers

31.
Buyer: Hi, I would like to buy a pair of shoes.
Seller: Hello, how would you like to pay?
Buyer: Can I use QQ virtual money? (Note: QQ money is virtual currency that can only be used in QQ online games. One can buy QQ money with Chinese yuan but not the other way around)
Seller: I can't accept that.
Buyer: How about I pay your cell phone bills according to the shoe price tag?
Seller: Faint.

32.
Buyer: Do you offer other styles for shoes?
Seller: Yep, here is the URL to my online album. You can look through photos of my collection.
Buyer: Pretty shoes. How come there is a baby in the pictures?
Seller: Oh, that's my son. He is not for sale!
Buyer(embarrassed): Yea, of course. Everything can be for sale except our own children.

33.
Buyer: Is that really you in the profile picture? So handsome
Seller: Sorry. But you are not receiving a discount.
Buyer: .....

34.
Buyer: Does this cellphone have good reception?
Seller: Samsung products are usually good.
Buyer: I bought several phones already. They all had bad reception.
Seller: OK.
Buyer: What do you recommend that I buy?
Seller: Hearing aids.

New Years Eve

2010-01-01T09:50:00.004+08:00

2 Years and 20,000 drinks. A few pictures to mark the occasion.

New Years Eve packed with events and prizes. Kicked off the night with a pizza buffet and a coffee tasting.

Our 2nd annual Pizza Eating Competition. 9 inch Cheese Pizzas. Winning Time- 1 min 53 seconds. Slowest time- 30 mins +

Guitar Hero tournament. Projected the screen on our building's outside wall which certainly drew a crowd. Of course that crazy foreigner in the bottom right might have had something to do with that as well.

We had our entire crew of 12 there for the evening of festivities. They rocked it out with matching black ties. It is nights like these that make it all worth while. Here's to another great year in 2010.

Happy Holidays from Chicago Coffee!

2009-12-31T07:08:00.000+08:00

Best White Elephant Gift

2009-12-28T08:39:00.003+08:00

I may be slightly biased but I never seen a white elephant gift as great as this one.

The creator of this excellent gift spent hours modeling a poem after Martin Luther King Jr.'s " I have a Dream" speech about Chicago Coffee and it's "American Boss"entitling it "I Have a Cup of Coffee."

New Years Eve Party & Chicago Coffee 2nd Anniversary

2009-12-26T09:54:00.000+08:00

Click Image for Event Details!

Chicago Coffee Holiday Events and Store Hours

2009-12-20T08:36:00.007+08:00

December 25th

Closed for Christmas Day

December 31st

New Years Eve

Chicago Coffee's 2nd Anniversary Party

(6pm to midnight)

January 1st

Special store hours

(noon- 9 pm)

Starting for 2010

New Store Hours

Mon- Sat 9am-9pm

Sun 12pm- 9pm

Holiday Gift Ideas

2009-12-12T07:38:00.004+08:00

1 lb of Holiday Blend Coffee

any size Chicago Coffee Mug

¥100

Chicago Gift Cards

Buy 4 Get 1 Free

Any Denomination- min ¥50

Traveling Salesman- Rekindled love for fireplaces

2009-12-06T08:53:00.000+08:00

3 cities in 2 days and all I can think about are fireplaces. Everbody has fireplaces up here but nobody is using them.

Traveling on a budget certaintly has it's frosty points. No heat when it dips down into the low 30's at night or showers where the water hovers just above freezing. You will never see me move as quickly as I do running to throw on clothes after a shower when those two things combine for a blizzard-like effect.

These are all the more reason for the use of perfectly good fireplaces. Most shop owners say the season for it hasn't arrived yet. But if freezing isn't rationale to start using a wood burning fire then I am afraid that season will never come.

Give me a latte, a good book, and a wood burning fireplace and I will brave as many cold showers as you like.

- Posted via iPhone

Traveling Salesman- the Good Idea

2009-12-04T02:15:00.000+08:00

Once in a while an idea comes along that grabs your attention and won't let go. It's the kind of idea that keeps your brain churning late at night despite your body's plea to just go to sleep. For a traveling salesman maybe the idea can simply simmer on the back-burner but for a traveling entrepenuer this kind of idea is what makes all the other failed ideas fade into oblivion. It makes you feel like even for a few fleeting moments that this is the idea that simply can't fail. It's 2 am and my only canvas is the darkened ceiling of my hotel room. Welcome to my life.

- Posted via iPhone

Traveling Salesman- Day 2

2009-12-03T11:12:00.009+08:00

Day 2

6:03 am - Struggling to get out of bed because it dipped into the 20's last night and there is no heat where I'm staying.

6:57 am - Ready to go early today since our bus leaves at 8 am for Lugu lake. My derriere still hasn't recovered from yesterday but no time for resting. I did have time to enjoy a little Monday Night Football and a french presses Mt Kilimanjaro Blend (which I had to backtrack 30 minutes yesterday because I forgot to grab it on the way out. Why backtrack for a bag of coffee? You may asking. Well I at a point in my life where I can't possibly leave my coffee needs up to random chance and the hope that someone is serving something fresh or real). I am definitely thankful for the little things though. Like being able to watch American Football live despite being thousands of miles from the actualy game. In fact is there someone watching it further away than I am?

7:35 am - Out the door and off to find the bus. The trek through the mountains will take anywhere from 7 hours to 11 hours depending on fallen rocks and/or other acts of nature.

10:45 am - A few hours out and making good progress. Not sure it will really take even 7 hours as I keep checking in on the map on my iphone and it doesn't look that far. The picture below is from the side of the road at a "rest stop." A "rest stop" here is simply a Chinese outhouse and few local sellers offering some fruits and vegetables from the trip. If you look carefully you can see the winding road. I know my Mom would not have been able to make this trip with me. Way too many mountain passes.

1:30 pm - Lunch break for the driver. I hope I am wrong but I have a bad feeling that the driver may have had a beer at lunch as his personality has completely changed and the last 30 minutes of the trip made me feel like he all of sudden decided to get there as fast as possible.

3:02 pm - The secret is out. As we stop for a 1 hour break to rent canoes on the lake, I realized that the trip only takes 6 hours but the driver gets some kickbacks from these types of places for making planned stops.

3:35 pm- After asking our business acquaintances to come pick us up at the canoe rental place we have finally made it to Lugu Lake. Absolutely beautiful. Crystal clear water completely surrounded by mountains on all sides. Lugu lake is home to one of the last untouched and unpolluted resources in China and also to a matriarchal society. The women of the Mosuo people are in charge of all production and management and marriage is non-existentent as men float from woman to woman until the woman tires of them or as long as the woman likes.

- Posted via iPhone

Gotta Love the Chinese Media

2009-12-02T20:01:00.002+08:00

You can't go wrong with a re-enactment of the Tiger Woods incident. You just can't.

Life of the traveling salesman

2009-12-01T21:33:00.001+08:00

Tripping out to Lugu lake this week to explore the possibility of bringing my roasted coffee to the far stretches of Yunnan province. Although I'm not really a traveling salesman but I thought to blog about this experience might be interesting. Besides, something crazy always happens to me.

Day one entails a 7 hour drive to Lijiang, a city north of Kunming, and half-way to Lugu lake.

- Posted via iPhone

We Steal from the Chinese

2009-11-29T08:52:00.006+08:00

They say that 1 human year is the equivalent to 7 dog years. Not sure how they came up with this or why the two have to be compared in this way. Isn’t it simpler to just say that dogs don’t live as long as humans? Then we can start using the dog year analogy for other things. For example, 1 year running a business in China is the equivalent to 7 human years. I am sure this might apply to more things then just running a business, but I can speak first hand that it has been 2 years since the Chicago Coffee Company was established and the toil it has taken feels nothing short of an equivalent 14 years of life.

There are ways to keep this kind of wear and tear off the proverbial business tires. Shortcuts. There are shortcuts to be had in any country in the world and even the US of A is certainly not without its share of corruption and injustice. But here shortcuts in this political and economic system are so widely used that they can no longer be considered shortcuts. They are the status quo. Because of this “playing by the rules” and “following the law” are such foreign concepts that in order to do so the government has actually set it up to discourage such behavior. i.e the Fapiao 发票 system (which I hope to touch on in a later post).

One of those shortcuts is the use of 关系 “Guan Xi” or the use of relationships or each person’s social capital to incur favors in order to get something done that otherwise would not be possible. The more guanxi one person or one company has the more favor one can enjoy from other companies, individuals, or government entities.

Another shortcut is less a cultural custom and more of a universal injustice practiced in almost every country in the world. That shortcut is simply the violation of an established minimum wage for workers and/or the violation of basic employee rights in order to save money or time or both. Fast food giants, McDonalds, KFC and Pizza Hut, are notorious minimum wage violators and have been found guilty in some Chinese cities of underpaying its workers.

It is no secret to most that these Fast Food giants have been paying sometimes half the minimum wage or as little as 3 or 4 yuan per hour (43 – 58 cents per hour) despite having lower operating costs and the same prices as their U.S. based counterparts. Instead of just settling for making a hefty profit they have chosen to steal from the Chinese so they can make a killing at every one of their 100’s of locations. And the worst part is its not just mega chains that have taken up this practice but even local foreign owned restaurants and cafes like Silver Spoon* have made this common practice and run on the reputation of abusing Chinese workers simply because its cheaper and easier. I understand that Chinese companies do this as well and they should be called to the same standards as well, but it is disgusting to see foreign businesses doing it without any concern or respect for the Chinese people.

I am not perfect in what I do by any means, and I can’t guarantee that those that work for my company will leave thinking it was the best job they have ever had. But I can guarantee they will be paid a fair wage of at least the minimum wage (nearly double the city average wage) and that they will be shown the respect and concern they deserve as fellow human beings. The Chinese are not just cheap labor and those that treat them as such will surely be held accountable at some point.

* Changes in management have been made recently at Silver Spoon so I am unaware if other changes to their practices have been made as well

The little things

2009-11-27T19:30:00.001+08:00

Sometimes there isn't much to say or post that is not of the frustrating nature, business wise at least. So as thanksgiving has come and gone I am thankful for some of the little things.

1) The remaining people out there that are friendly and allow you to build rapport quickly. Seems like it happens more in the small cities than places like Kunming even though that was not usually the case a few years ago.

2) Ms Chen at the police station. I have had enough dealings with the police over the past few years and Ms Chen is one of the few officers that is cheerful and always willing to help.

3) Taxation with representation. Hard to be thankful for taxes but when a government mysteriously implements a new tax without explanation on small businesses right before Christmas and Chinese New Year wiping out any cash reserves and applies it retro-actively, it is easier to have fondness for taxation the just way.

4) Coffee's addictive nature. It's great that coffee has spurned endless possibilities on how it can be consumed and that I never grow tired of a simple black hot cup of Joe.

- Posted via iPhone

Enjoy the Holidays @ Chicago Coffee

2009-11-20T12:34:00.002+08:00

Eggnog Latte, Gingerbread Latte, Toffee Nut Latte, & Peppermint Mocha

available now through the holidays

Humiliated and Insulted

2009-11-01T16:05:00.001+08:00

"But I can tell you this. If it were only possible (which, however, from the laws of human nature never can be possible), if it were possible for every one of us to describe all his secret thoughts, without hesitating to disclose what he is afraid to tell and would not on any account tell other people, what he is afraid to tell his best friends, what, indeed, he is even at times afraid to confess to himself, the world would be filled with such a stench that we should all be suffocated." ~ Fyodor Dostoevsky

"Much unhappiness has come into the world because of bewilderment and things left unsaid." ~ Fyodor Dostoevsky

I do not like being insulted by rich people. Of course I do not like being insulted by anyone but the way the "haves" treat the "have-nots" is nothing short of deplorable. The debate that rages inside of me is whether describing my true and secret thoughts would truly be a suffocating stench or if leaving the truth unsaid would be a much greater travesty. Do I ignore a cultural custom by being direct with my innermost feelings or do I let someone violate a universal custom in allowing them to treat the rest of the world like their personal trash can?

Why does money so often become a license for disrespect?

Breaking News- THINK UK under new management

2009-11-01T00:55:00.000+08:00

Maybe its not breaking and maybe its not news but for those of us that live and work in the massive apartment complex THINK UK the idea of the management being booted at midnight and a new regime taking over immediately it is at least noteworthy. And yes I do mean that a new regime is here. In place of the old gatekeepers and guards there are masses of military police looking guards. These new super patrols give off the aura of storm troopers in the "I feel like this is going to be a lot worse for everyone involved" sort of way.

I returned home tonight at 12:30 to what looked like a bomb scare. 20 storm troopers at every entrance and hundreds of fellow THINK UK'ers all meandering about trying to figure out what was happening. Now as many know the management and I have never really got along for numerous of reasons. In fact, when asked to vote for which new management company I wanted I infamously used my 3 votes to vote for life without any management company. No one to nitpick every coffee shop decision we make and no one to keep me from ridding our neighborhood from our teeming mangy cat population once and for all. But alas, I am a bit worried that the few problems we had with the old management may grow into some serious problems with any new management company. Especially one that seems to favor a little too heavily in the 厉害 (li hai- shrewd) department.

Lose the Way- Chicago Coffee TV Part 1

2009-10-30T18:00:00.002+08:00

The TV show filmed in Chicago Coffee that was mentioned in an earlier post has finally hit the small screen. The title of the show is 迷路 Lose the Way. What I have previewed so far seems to be a show focused on the every day lives of a handful of Chinese young professionals in their 20's and 30's with spicy intrusions of guys with knives and cops with guns. Oh and at some point they sit down to enjoy some pizza and coffee. I am sure I will give a full review of the show once I watched the first episode in its entirety but for now I have included a short clip.

Raspberries @ Chicago Coffee

2009-10-29T17:29:00.003+08:00

Fresh Raspberries now available at Chicago Coffee for only ¥19/box

Dust to Dust

2009-10-27T23:00:00.000+08:00

Boom, Crack, Pow

Sunrise is awaken with noise abound

Wails and cries nothing in tune

Louder the wails larger the fortune

Empty

A Life Lived in Darkness

Smoke, Toxins... Honghe's Gold

Faced with mortality they still have their hold

Smirk, Laugh, Smoke

How can some not care but others death chokes?

Empty

A Life Lived in Darkness

Hush, Shh, Silence and Stares

The girl, a daughter, still unaware

Oh my how many can stare?

Amazing that I instead of the girl was standing there

Some cry

Some covet

Some ache

Some love it

The battle of emotions divides even those that are closest

East meets West

2009-10-22T10:50:00.004+08:00

Nothing better symbolizes to me "East meets West" then what this picture represents. Part of my journey included a dual coffee- tea tasting. Green tea from the mountains surrounding Lijiang and coffee peaberries from the mountains of Tanzania. We have been talking coffee for 14 hours a day for 5 days straight but this was definitely one of the moments that stood out. Amazing that two beverages so distinct and varied come from this earth in the form of leaves and cherries.

Old Faithfuls

2009-10-18T07:46:00.000+08:00

Living in China has its ups and downs as one can imagine. And there are times when Montezuma's revenge can cripple even the most versatile traveler. And there are even times when you need a quick fix from home and our comforting pick me up. It is during these times that those hailing from-a-far rely on our "old faithfuls" aka Dove chocolates, Oreos, saltines, Sprite, Coke, banana chips, and Snickers. I am not going out on limb by saying that I am pretty confident that 100% of foreigners that have spent at least 72 hours in the great mecca of fried rice, holes-in-the-wall, and stinky tofu have at least once relied on these old faithfuls for a pick me up or it was the only thing an American (insert any country) bred stomach can handle at that given moment.

Well I am afraid to say that today may be the day we have to be a little more careful. We have all seen foreign establishments take that dangerous road to corn flavored ice cream, shrimp burgers, and taro pies but now even the very fundamentals of our old faithfuls are being challenged.

Exhibit A- Oreo.

Usually you can count on this blue and white wrapper for a sweet dessert of chocolate and frosting. I narrowly grabbed this package when I realized that "lightly sweet" is not what I am looking for when grabbing this snack. Oreo what have you done? Please don't play these games with the staples of our sugary solace. Fortunately there were other choices so I grabbed another and moved on.

But food purgatory could not be avoided. I opened my oddly shaped Oreo to discover that someone had already consumed all but a small smackerel of my frosting. After opening a few more I realized that the 新 on the package indicating a new kind of Oreo is what I mistakenly purchased. The package indicated a strong vanilla flavored Oreo but I only tasted a strong taste of disappointment. Perhaps the frosting is sold separately but I could not have been more unhappy with one of my old faithfuls.

The Coffee Quest

2009-10-17T22:10:00.003+08:00

Today I have left for a whirl wind tour of a 100 plus coffee establishments of all kinds that are scattered around this massive province known as Yunnan. My goal is to help alleviate what is known as crapcoffeeitis. I am no lover of Starbucks but when I travel in China it is one of a few places where real coffee is actually served. Multitudes of coffee shops, cafes, and restaurants offer "coffee" but only a few really serve COFFEE. I will be detailing this expedition and hope to offer a online hub for coffee in China for those of us that never want to be a few feet from the nearest cup of joe.

Maybe most have not experienced what I have in the coffee world but I cannot tell you how many times I have been to a coffee establishment like the one pictured to find bad coffee going for ¥38 ($5.56 USD) for a mere 4 oz. Thats nearly over $16 USD for what I consider an average cup of coffee (12 oz.)

All will not see the light but those that do will be detailed here.

(Note to reader: No need to worry I am still traveling with what they call a parachute. I have some fresh roasted Tanzania Peaberry and french press along with me if all else fails)

Sign #457 - How to know you have been in China too long

2009-10-11T20:54:00.006+08:00

When you are willing to take 3 unmarked green medicinal pills to combat the hot wind building up inside of you and you actually look forward to seeing what will happen.

(Note: After taking these pills and writing this I wiki'd the ingredients and one of them is "used to regulate the menstrual cycle and to treat menopausal symptoms caused by hormonal changes.” Not sure why I did research after the fact but it did lead to

Sign #458- How you know you have been China too long.

The hospitals and doctors are so untrustworthy that I am relying on unmarked pills and wikipedia to diagnosis and treat my health problems.)

2 hours & 20 cups

2009-10-10T21:14:00.000+08:00

Yesterday I spent 2 hours tasting 20 cups of coffee/espresso and was not even the least bit affected by the caffeine. I dont know whether to consider that a good or a bad thing.

Coffee and Smoking?

2009-10-09T21:09:00.002+08:00

I just wanted to refute what I was told today that smoking actually helps distinguish the flavors of coffee and that I should smoke more so I would be better at coffee tasting. I believe the idea is to cleanse the palate before tasting not destroy it.

Mooncake Fever

2009-10-01T07:00:00.001+08:00

Two holidays have arrived together this year: Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day. National Day celebrating the establishment of the People's Republic of China now for its 60th year and Mid-Autumn Festival marking the 15th day of the 8th month in the lunar calendar.

At some point in history mooncakes became an integral part of the Mid-Autum Festival probably stemming from a tale dating back to the Yuan Dynasty.

"According to popular belief, the custom of eating mooncakes began in the late Yuan dynasty. As the story goes, the Han people of that time resented the Mongol rule of the Yuan Dynasty and revolutionaries, led by Chu Yuan-chang, plotted to usurp the throne. Chu needed to find a way of uniting the people to revolt on the same day without letting the Mongol rulers learn of the plan. Chu's close advisor, Liu Po-wen, finally came up with a brilliant idea. A rumor was spread that a plague was ravaging the land and that only by eating a special mooncake distributed by the revolutionaries could the disaster be prevented. The mooncakes were then distributed only to the Han people, who found, upon cutting the cakes open, the message "Revolt on the fifteenth of the eighth moon." Thus informed, the people rose together on the designated day to overthrow the Yuan, and since that time mooncakes have become an integral part of the Mid-Autumn Festival."

I am convinced that they intentionally made the mooncakes heavy as a brick, thick as tar, and tasty as concrete to keep the Mongols from ever eating one and thus deciphering the code. How the tradition has survived so long when 90% of Chinese don't seem to enjoy eating them is something that is beyond my comprehension. Most people re-gift the mooncakes after receiving them so they can just pass them off to someone else. Most people receive 100's of these little things which is definitely more than one person can or ever should eat. Consider that most mooncakes can have upwards of 700 calories and 40 grams of fat. To put that in prospective consider that a Big Mac has "only" 485 calories and 22 grams of fat. I never thought that there would be a scenario in history where a 100 individually wrapped Big Mac's would actually be the diet option.

On top of that this holiday is not exactly in line with the new go green trend. For a country trying to do more recycling and in many cities banning the complete use of plastic bags, the packaging for each batch of moon cakes is nothing short of a colossal waste. Here is a description from the image thief :

"a heavy, embossed and foil stamped bag with rope handles. In the bag was a heavy cardboard box with a tri-fold faux-embroidery lid with faux-embroidery dragon applique. Within the box was a cardboard frame wrapped in a faux-silk shroud and lovingly cradling eight mooncakes. Each mooncake was in an individual cardboard box, a sealed plastic wrap and a plastic cup. Two pairs of wooden chopsticks in a fabric envelope were included for good measure. The theme throughout was tasteful and subdued imperial yellow garnished with dragons."

I used to think the mooncakes were a cool little Chinese tradition to be a part of. But five years in I am as anti-mooncake as they come.

Veggie Scam (Solved)

2009-09-29T07:32:00.003+08:00

Yesterday, the culprits of the veggie scam returned. The details are unclear but apparently they didnt make it to their condo on Sanya beach. Ironically those that returned claimed to have nothing to do with the company but then proceeded to refund everyone's money. It seems that the news report we were in helped raise awareness and must of put enough pressure on the police to figure out who was responsible. I hope these culprits understood our double checking of each 100 RMB bill to make sure they weren't fake. You can fool us once with your elaborate vegetable scheme but don't plan on us falling for it twice.

Yunnan Coffee Producer in violation of Nestle trademark

2009-09-25T06:27:00.001+08:00

From GoKunming

Yunnan-based coffee producer Hogood Coffee (云南德宏后谷咖啡有限公司) is playing the victim after government employees confiscated Hogood non-dairy creamer which was illegally using the "Coffee-Mate" (咖啡伴侣) name, which in China is a registered trademark of multinational food and beverage giant Nestlé.

On September 3, around 12,000 bags of Hogood-produced non-dairy creamer packaged under the name "Coffee-Mate" were seized by Industrial and Commercial Bureau employees in the Panlong district. Panlong officials confirmed the next day that the confiscation was a response to a complaint filed by Nestlé.

However, on September 15 a Nestlé China public relations manager reportedly claimed that Nestlé had filed no such complaint. The source of the complaint is currently under investigation by the Panlong government.

Hogood CEO Xiong Xiangru (熊相入) told reporters after the confiscation that the company had no idea that Coffee-Mate was a trademark – despite it being clearly marked as such on all Nestlé Coffee-Mate products.

Xiong's denial seems more implausible considering that Hogood has been a supplier of beans to Nestlé, which it grows on farms in Dehong in southern Yunnan.

...

Acknowledging that Nestlé was one of the main driving forces behind the development of China's coffee market, Hogood CEO Xiong pleaded to "big brother" Nestlé to rescind its Coffee-Mate trademark in order to bring "fair competition" to the Chinese coffee market.

This is right in my wheelhouse. We are very active in the Yunnan coffee market and deal with both of these companies from time to time. It is stuff like this that helps us make a name for ourselves. It happens far to often in the coffee industry where copying and half-truths are status quo and most business is shady business. Maybe Hogood really didnt know about the trademark but my money is on them lying about it to save their business partnership with Nestle. Its really hard to believe that they unknowingly violated the trademark considering they do business directly with Nestle.

I find it silly that they also are asking Nestle to give up their trademark to make business more fair in the Chinese market. Ironic for a business to ask for that considering the favors they probably accept from the government and the corners they probably cut by doing anything necessary to make money. I have seen it too often with my own eyes to pass along the benefit of the doubt to Hogood.

Fall Drinks @ Chicago Coffee

2009-09-21T07:29:00.000+08:00

Pumpkin Spice Coffee, Pumpkin Spice Latte, Cinnamon Apple Latte, Caramel Apple Latte, Caramel Apple Frappe, and Apple Cider are all available starting today.

China News Update- Lead Poisioning

2009-09-18T08:41:00.006+08:00

From the TimesOnline:

Picture: TimesOnline
At first the villagers could not understand why their bouncing babies turned into small children who refused their food and complained of feeling ill all the time, agitated one moment but listless the next.
Then, early this summer, so many of the youngsters began to sicken after playing in fields of corn around a giant lead smelter, that the puzzlement turned to foreboding.
“We took the children to local hospitals but every time the doctors told us there was no problem,” said one mother.
Eventually, one father became so worried by his son’s convulsions that he telephoned a relative in Xi’an, the capital of Shaanxi province in the centre of China, which has first-class medical facilities.
The family boarded a bus and made the 100-mile journey to Xijing hospital, where tests established that their baby had severe lead poisoning. When they returned, panic spread through the villages.
It was the start of a scandal that would explode onto the front pages of Chinese newspapers, only to vanish because of censorship, intimidation and a local cover-up that has now extended to restricting tests for the children.
The affair highlights the environmental price paid by many ordinary people for economic growth in a state that often ignores their interests.
A total of 851 children in seven villages were found to have excessive levels of lead in their blood. Some had 10 times the limit that China considers safe for children — 100mg per litre of blood. More than 170 were so seriously ill they had to be kept in hospital.
Lead poisoning damages the nervous and reproductive systems. It leads to high blood pressure, anaemia and memory loss. It is especially dangerous to toddlers, pregnant women and unborn children. The damage is usually irreversible.
On August 15, hundreds of farmers went to Fengxiang, the seat of local government, to ask for help. They sat outside its offices for two days but officials took no notice.
The Chinese countryside is supposed to be a place of placid toil but there have been occasions down the ages when it has exploded into violent revolt — and this was one of them.
On August 17, the farmers massed in their hundreds around the walls of the Dongling Lead and Zinc Smelting Company, a huge industrial complex looming above the rolling Shaanxi wheatfields.
They tore down part of a wall, broke into offices, wrecked computers, smashed cars, stoned the coal delivery lorries, blocked the factory’s railway tracks and sabotaged machinery. The managers fled.
The authorities sent thousands of police and plain-clothes security men to cordon off the villages. Running battles broke out along the rural roads and in muddy yards. “Hundreds of young men ran away to escape arrest,” said a villager.
The next day Dai Zhengshe, the mayor of Baoji, the nearest city, came to plead for calm.
China’s rulers were on the alert for trouble ahead of a grand celebration of 60 years of Communist party rule on October 1, so they did not want to take chances. Dai ordered the closure of the smelter.
That was the end of the story, as far as the Chinese media were concerned. It became an example of benevolent government intervention. As for the international media, police and plain-clothes toughs harassed reporters and threatened local people with dire consequences if they talked.
Then similar protests broke out in three other provinces, where horrified parents living near smelters of lead, copper and aluminium also learnt that their children had been poisoned — 1,300 of them in one city alone.
The spotlight moved on, local officials breathed sighs of relief and the young fathers stayed in hiding, all too aware of the state’s sly habit of concession followed by revenge.
The air still reeks in Changqing, the township that includes the plant and the tiny villages clustered around it. The corn has wilted and green vegetables planted in rows up to the smelter’s walls look pallid. The police cars and unmarked SUVs that kept reporters out are still there but in the soft rain of a central Chinese summer, the functionaries of the law prefer to stay dry.
By hiding in the back seat of a rural taxi, it was possible to slip past the roadblocks and enter the villages, where families eyed strange vehicles with suspicion. A few children played in the farmyards.
“You can see my house is only 50 metres from the lead factory,” said Zhang Mintian, a farmer. “On sunny days I couldn’t see the sun. On summer evenings I couldn’t open the windows, even though it was terribly hot. My nose and my ears were full of lead dust and smoke.”
Most of the 3,000 inhabitants of Madaokou, previously a thriving market crossroads, have gone. Of the seven villages that rose in revolt, this is the closest to the plant, right next to the walls.
“Why did our young people run away? They’re afraid of being arrested because it was they who tore down the wall,” said a man in his sixties.
“Who’d stay here?” asked an old lady, Bai Xiuying. “If you’re a man, how will you find a wife who wants to come and live in a poisoned village? If you’re a girl, who’s going to marry you if you come from here?”
Bai Xiyun, the oldest villager, added: “As an old man of 82 I feel guilty that I’m still living in this world when 800 babies have got lead poisoning. I know children mean the future. I wish I could change places with them.”
...
Inquiries made last week have revealed that officials have now ordered doctors to restrict the blood tests for lead poisoning as part of a campaign to stanch the protests.
“Every day farmers bring in their babies for examination and we can’t accept them,” a local doctor said. “We can only accept babies brought in by officials. And it’s policy that we’re not even allowed to perform examinations on children older than 13.”
An even more damning revelation came from a doctor at a general hospital in Baoji who, like the first doctor, cannot be named. In the past, said the doctor, blood samples used to be sent for high-grade heavy metals testing at an institute in Xi’an which has a national reputation.
“Suddenly the local government ordered this to stop. None of the staff could understand it. Our duty is to save lives. We were told that if anyone must be tested they should be sent for a less reliable test at a local health centre.”
The order left a bitter taste in the mouths of the staff. The doctor opened a drawer and pulled out two sheets of results showing grave levels of lead poisoning in 35 small children who were tested last month. The doctor wondered how many more there might be now and added, in a rare burst of frankness: “There’s a rich political hue to all this.”
Chinese journalists, who had at first conducted energetic investigations, found out that local officials had done a deal with the smelter company because they were desperate to meet their targets for economic growth.
Some of the villagers still have a yellow brochure that was handed out by the local government six years ago describing the plant as “a garden-like factory”.
The farmers nevertheless stood in their fields to block the construction machines. In October 2003, local officials organised 3,000 young thugs to cow them into submission.
“I was one of them,” confessed Zhao Xinping, now a driver. “We cut down their corn stalks and beat them up but now, frankly, I’m ashamed of it. Farmers in China are the poorest and the most honest of us all.”
Promises that the villagers would move to new homes more than 1½ miles from the smelter were never kept.
A source close to the company said that it had paid £18m for resettlement to the local authorities but the funds were never spent for that purpose. “Officials believed the farmers would never dare to rebel,” he said.
Soon Dongling Lead and Zinc Smelting was producing 100,000 tons of lead and zinc a year and 700,000 tons of coke. Last year it paid more than £10m in taxes, a sixth of the local government’s revenue.
Today the smelter is cold and silent. The government has promised a nationwide clean-up and says new pollutant controls must be installed.
The farmers have once again been promised new homes or a buyout of their land in cash and crops. Their children play on with an insidious poison in their blood. The police still stalk the villages. The officials brood and wait. Doubts and suspicions plague all sides.
The company is set to lose millions. And as a result, on the London Metal Exchange the price of lead has reached its highest level this year.
Pollution protests
- Ten thousand demonstrators took hostages and fought police at a $5 billion petrochemical project in Fujian on the east coast. The battles forced the local government to promise strict anti-pollution measures at the plant.
- Authorities closed a chemical plant in central China after two locals died of cadmium poisoning. Chinese newspapers exposed a long-running scandal of political collusion that had allowed the plant to flout environmental standards.
- Mass protests broke out over “cancer villages” near polluted waterways in eastern China. A series of campaigns followed to win compensation for villagers who became ill living next to filthy canals and rivers full of factory discharge and effluent.
I wish these were the exception to the rule but these problems are way too common for that to be the case.

The Veggie Scam

2009-09-17T08:30:00.001+08:00

Vegetables are supposed to be good for you but beware of those that try to sell them to you. Across from the coffee shop there was a vegetable store that open a few months back. Apparently, they sell prepaid cards and after a few months they run away with a fist full of cash leaving a wake of angry customers, perplexed suppliers, and confused employees. I say apparently since when they left they didn't leave a note on the door as to how their scam operates. We were interviewed by the local news and they informed us that this company had a few branches around the city and that all of them were abandoned. Just to be safe we added some extra locks to their doors to prevent any late night return for goods and products. The reporter was amused that a foreigner was playing such an active role in this.

Its no wonder you can never trust anyone... vegetables included.

Justice better served late than never

2009-09-13T08:12:00.000+08:00

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. ~MLK Jr.

Injustice is something that keeps me up at night. Injustice is something that is infuriating in every instance. There is no such thing as light injustice or injustice of the 2nd degree.

And this is what injustice on a motorcycle looks like. A few days ago, I and one of the Chicago Coffee staff were on our scooters riding in the complex where my home and coffee shop are. Mr. Chen was riding the opposite direction on his motorcycle on the wrong side of the road forcing me off the road and running straight into my staff and her bike. He paused for 5 seconds until we told him that her bike had been damaged and that something needed to be done about it. Thats when he bolted. No concern for her property or even to check if she was injured. No concern for owning up to his mistake. He lives in a world of one and there is no respect for anyone outside of his world.

Well I have reached a point now where I am not going to allow injustice to happen without standing up. I have reached a point now where I am not going to take this kind of disregard for human life. So I chased him.

I am a self-acclaimed scooter driving expert. (It seems like nothing but living in Asia driving with anything less than perfection can mean an accident and/or bodily harm. I would love to see the list of people that have used a scooter every day for 5 years in cities like Shanghai and Kunming without a single accident, brush-up, or fender-bender.) You can add "chased down a gas motorcycle" to my resume even though I still not sure how it was possible.

Head starts are never good for someone with the slower mode of transportation. Of course, not knowing you are going to be chased down by a crazy foreigner is never good for those who hit-and-run. A few blocks away I caught up with him and told him to pull over.

He kept going.

So I swerved in front of him forcing him off the road. I explained that he was going to wait because I was calling the police and he wasn't going anywhere until they arrived.

He went to restart his engine to back up and drive off.

So I did what anyone bordering insanity would do. I went for his keys. He took a swipe at me but not before I ripped his keychain from his bike. Lets just say he didn't appreciate that very much.

The police finally arrived and tried to get everyone's take on the situation. Here's a few highlights for time sake.

Mr Chen claimed we had in fact hit him on his side of the road. Airtight case if only he had not fled the scene and other witnesses didn't recall the opposite happening.

Note to criminals: If you want to appear innocent do not flee the scene. If you do end up fleeing, do not get caught because your are going to look guilty as hell.

Mr Chen claimed that the dirt on his pant's leg was proof that we hit him and now 1 hour after the fact he was worried he might of some broken bones in his ankle.

We didn't have to convince the police of too much since Mr Chen was doing a dandy fine job of establishing his guiltiness.

When Mr Chen began realizing that it was looking worse and worse for him, he switched to trying to use his "关系 guanxi" (relationships) to free him of this mess. He began dropping hints to the police of who his friends were and also inquired what department they were in and if they knew this guy or that guy. Thankfully it didn't work otherwise we would be talking a lot more about how corruption is still plays a large role in everyday life. Its sickening but at least in one instance justice prevailed.

After 3 hours of this nonsense, the police finally forced Mr Chen to pay for the repairs to the scooter. It wasn't much but in cosmic terms it was huge. Thank goodness for some justice that day. At least one person has learned a lesson regardless of how long it will last.

A Nebraskan Birthright

2009-09-11T07:58:00.003+08:00

Some are born to be doctors, lawyers, physicists and the like. Those that hail from the great state of Nebraska are born to make a world renown steak, baste a fantastic set of BBQ wings, roast a sumptuous earn of corn, and uphold the greatest tradition in college football. Does your state's 3rd largest city only exist on Gameday Saturdays when the football stadium is packed to capacity?

I bring this up after I adapted my normal BBQ skills to fit my life in China. Instead of the usual BBQing of chicken wings for my staff meeting last week, I decided why not BBQ whole chickens. Of course BBQing 8 whole chickens does require the use of a commercial oven since normal home appliances are not designed for the cooking of an entire chicken farm.

China & Suicide

2009-09-09T07:55:00.001+08:00

From the China Daily:

Suicide has become the primary death cause among people 15-34 years old in China, Deng Xiaohong, vice director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Health, said on Thursday, the Chongqing Evening News reported Friday.

Deng announced the finding a few days before World Suicide Prevention Day which falls on September 10.

Deng said suicide has become the fifth cause of death for Chinese people, with a suicide rate of 22.2 per 100,000 people. Roughly 2.25 million people attempt suicide in China each year, while 250,000 die from their attempts.

A recent global medical research study shows that 1 million people die from suicides worldwide each year, and 30 percent of those are from China.

Mind blowing numbers on the China front. I have spent years researching suicide and specifically suicide in China and it was only a few years ago that I tried to raised awareness about this issue. It gets very little attention for a problem that is so massive. To put this in prospective I spent 99% of my day interacting with high school students, college students, and young adults and professionals and among these fellow young people I am more likely to hear that one committed suicide then any other cause of death. Despite this why is this issue more than other more likely to fall on deaf ears? Why is this problem the one that is always ignored? Is it that more and more people have no idea what to do or how to help or relate to someone that is depressed or dealing with suicidal ideation? My pleas for change were ignored when I was enrolled in college. How will it be any different this time around? I would love for the opportunity to ensure a different outcome this time around.

22 Chinas

2009-09-07T21:55:00.004+08:00

From the WSJ:

Photo: The Frame

One China? One dream?
Not so, say McKinsey & Co. analysts. The firm counts 22 Chinas, each of them with different aspirations.
Of course, the consulting firm isn’t being “splittist” — the term Beijing uses to deride anyone seen to challenge its sovereignty.
Instead, McKinsey’s count is the latest attempt to give its clients insight into what it finds are deep differences in consumer patterns throughout the world’s most populous nation.
“China is a complicated place,” says McKinsey analyst Max Magni. “It is a continent, not a country.”
For their latest survey, McKinsey researchers studied 815 Chinese cities along lines including industry composition, government policy, demographic characteristics and consumer preferences. The 22 city clusters – population areas anchored by a city – it identified in the 2009 Annual Chinese Consumer Study are meant to underscore how the nation has many markets.
Its findings are based on face-to-face interviews with 15,000 consumers in 58 cities between last December and March 2009.
The firm last month published another large report on consumerism in China that concluded that it could become the third largest consumer market by 2020, but that private consumption expenditure remains only 36% of gross domestic product, the lowest of any large country.
For its “cluster” report, McKinsey Insights China says the global financial crisis has affected different cities in different ways, and that companies hoping to tap into the Chinese consumer should understand both where and how to play. The firm says marketers would do better to build a defensibly large market position in one city, rather than small positions over a wide area.
Driving the differentiation between markets within China is its urbanization, with 350 million people likely to move to urban areas over the coming 15 years. “There’s a magnitude of complexity (in China) we’ve never seen in the world,” says Mr. Magni.
Consumption patterns can vary widely. McKinsey analysts found consumers in the relatively well-off and largely Cantonese city of Guangzhou, for instance, to be far more loyal to certain brands than those who live just a few hours drive across the same province in the national melting pot city of Shenzhen.
Media also help drive decision making. About 62% of those in Shanghai say they are influenced more by local television channels than national ones, while 80% of those in Kunming say national broadcasters hold their attention.
Guangzhou is one of the 49 cities among the biggest 100 that McKinsey determined are likely to lag behind the average GDP and consumption growth through 2015. Shanghai will about match averages, and Beijing could exceed them, possibly seeing its levels of consumption doubling between 2008 and 2015.
The breakdown could be important.
The financial crisis, McKinsey analysts said, has made many companies keen to tap China for profits immediately, rather than set down strategic stakes that may or may not immediately make money.
One of the firm’s analysts quoted a client as saying, “the best way to be profitable in the long term is to be profitable in the short term.”

China News Update- Responsible???

2009-09-05T07:38:00.001+08:00

From China Daily:

The national flag of the People's Republic of China (PRC) will be hoisted at the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on September 20, media reported Sunday.

Chinese associations in the United States had applied to hold a ceremony in front of the US President’s residence to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of PRC.

Chen Ronghua, chairman of Fujian Association of the United States, told reporters that their application was approved not only because of the sound Sino-US relations but also because China is a responsible country.

"Many Americans admire China due to the success of last year’s Beijing Olympics," said Chen.

More than 1,000 people will attend the ceremony and the performances held after it, according to Zhao Luqun, who will direct the performances.

Zhao said the performances will demonstrate the friendship, magnanimous spirit and kindness of modern Chinese people.

Hmm. Interesting. Responsible wasn't exactly the first word that came to mind.

Signs of these Economic Times

2009-09-04T08:37:00.001+08:00

Proof of the current recession- the Suze Orman Show

Nothing that reminds me more that we are in a recession than the snarling Suze Orman and her call-in show advising people on whether or not they can afford a particular purchase. It seems like most callers can save time and assume that if you need to call in and ask whether or not you can afford a certain purchase, then odds are you cannot afford it. Personally it seems a little challenging to take financial advice from someone that spends millions on a private jet or someone that claims stocks are the best investment vehicle for growth when she personally has 97% invested elsewhere. But it's good to know there is someone out there to give advice next time I am debating whether I can afford that Maserati or luxury yacht.

Musings on Creativity

2009-09-01T18:28:00.000+08:00

desperation breeds creativity while contentment lies in wait for stupidity

the Chinese bandits

2009-08-30T07:26:00.008+08:00

No President Obama has not begun marketing a Chinese "BlockBerry" in his free time around the White House. This advertisement is just another masterpiece from the “Chinese Bandits.”

The Chinese Bandits are known as Shanzhai (山寨) companies that have moved beyond the world of merely copying ideas and products to begin dabbling in the world of creativity. The Chinese have long been known for their expertise and mastery of copying ideas and products. Shanzhai (山寨) refers to Chinese knock-0ff or pirated brands which have become increasingly common in electronics. Literally "mountain village" or "mountain stronghold", the term refers to the mountain stockades of warlords or thieves, far away from official control.

Even entire websites have been dedicated to this world of knock off phones. Featured recently is the iPhone F9 M-Smart on www.shanzhaiji.cn.

Not exactly the most realistically Apple logo.

These companies have begun to see opportunities in the marketplace and are trying to capitalize on creating products and services that can meet specific needs of the consumers. For example, adding two slots for SIM cards in cell phone for businesspeople traveling between Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Mainland. Some phones can even identify fake money, or include loud speakers for farmers who have trouble hearing their phones.

"This is an important way to cultivate grassroots innovation," said Jack Linchuan Liu, a communications professor at Chinese University of Hong Kong who has studied the shanzhai industry.

"There is a lot of raw power in the development of these bandit phones that could be channeled into normal, productive creativity from the bottom up."

The key is that this energy or power is channeled into normal, productive creativity instead of just illegally copying of ideas and products. There is still a long way to go.

If you have ever read "Rivertown" by Peter Hessler, a great read about life in China, then you might remember his referencing of Shanzhai culture in Chinese society starting on page 258.

The demand for Nalgene-knockoff bottles was much more understandable, especially in a tea-drinking city like Chengdu, where the bottles spread quickly throughout the city's social strata. They were first acquired by cab drivers, who tended to be at the forefront of such trends - cabbies had a certain maverick quality, as well as plenty of money. After that, the businessmen followed suit, and then xiaojies, and finally by summer even the old people in the teahouses were sipping their tea out of fake Nalgene bottles. Soon you could buy them for twenty yuan in any Sichuan city or town.

The bottles came with a label that described them as American-developed Taikong Pingzi - Outer Space Bottles. But they were clearly the product of Chinese factories, because they weren't quite standard and often the label was misspelled. In that regard things hadn't changed greatly from the seventeenth century, when a Spanish priest named Domingo Navarrete described the business methods in China. "The Chinese are very ingenious at imitation," he wrote. "They have imitated to perfection whatsoever they have seen brought out of Europe. In the Province of Canton (Guangdong) they have counterfeited several things so exactly, that they sell them Inland for Goods brought out from Europe."

The amazing thing about this Shanzhai trend is how much of the global market it entails. Out of the 1.15 billion cell phones sold worldwide in 2007 over 150 million of those were Shanzhai. Thats over 10% of worldwide sales and that data was the officially reported amount from the Chinese government (so it could be even higher.) And this is only one area of the "Chinese bandits" work... cell phones.

China News Update- Organ Donor System

2009-08-28T07:37:00.005+08:00

From CNN:

China has launched an organ donation system that it hopes will eliminate illegal organ trading and encourage people to become donors, according to reports in China's state-run media.

Health officials will start promoting the system in 10 provinces and cities, including China's largest city of Shanghai and the prosperous southern region of Guangdong.

Donating organs is not a widespread practice in China. Officials said last year, only 36 people donated organs -- out of a population of 1.3 billion.

The organ donation program -- which was unveiled on Tuesday -- will be "in line with the national conditions and international ethics," China's Deputy Health Minister Huang Jiefu said, according to Xinhua News Agency.

China has long relied on executed prisoners as its main source of organs for those in need of transplants, drawing widespread condemnation from international human rights groups.

That system failed to address the needs of the more than 1.5 million people in China who are in need of an organ transplant, according to the Chinese Medical Association's deputy director for transplanting.

"The huge shortage of organ donors and organs has created a significant black market for organs, which in turn has ruined public faith and willingness to donate organs," Chen Zhonghua told China's Global Times newspaper.

"There are already signs of backlash, with the nationwide number [of donations] falling last year to 36, from 41 the previous year, and only about 10 cases so far this year."

Only 11,000 transplant operations -- from both living and deceased donors -- are performed each year, according to Chen. More than 90 percent of those organs come from executed prisoners, according to the United Nations' World Health Organization.

In 2007, China introduced new regulations which banned organ trading and trafficking, and cracked down on "transplant tourism" by non-Chinese nationals.

W.H.O. praised the new regulations in a report released in December. W.H.O. said China has also made an effort to ensure that "altruism," and not financial compensation, is "the driving principle" for organ donors.

China's new regulations "have successfully established baseline requirements for medical institutions to do transplantations," W.H.O. said. The reforms have also led to a significant decrease in the number of organ transplants from cadavers, it added.

According to the W.H.O., "the number of living-related organ transplants [increased] by more than 100 percent in China in 2007."

Chen and other Chinese health officials hope the new organ donation system will help increase the number of organ donors, which is about 0.03 donors per 1 million people.

Only 130 organ transplants have ever been performed in China using donors who consented to have their organs used after their death, Chen said. He conceded that it will be a massive task to get China's organ donation program in line with other countries, such as Spain, which has 34 deceased donors per million -- the world's highest rate.

"It will take China five to 10 years to raise the number to 0.3 in 1 million people," Chen estimated.

Maybe Coffee shops do grow on trees

2009-08-26T08:22:00.002+08:00

I have said it before and I am sure I will say it again but Chicago Coffee added two more coffee shop neighbors bringing our small residential area to a total of 5 or 6. Coffee shops are definitely the in thing among Chinese business types. We still have a long way to go before it reaches the tea house level but this is starting to get out of control. I will have to go and check and make sure nobody has blatantly copied our menu or ideas or something like that. Never can be too careful.

The Standoff

2009-08-24T08:02:00.002+08:00

Sometimes I wonder if sharing what really goes on here in China comes across as overly negative. But honestly doing business in China, especially in Kunming, fosters an overwhelming amount of crazy situations... most of them detrimental to running a successful business.

Evidence #5043 The Standoff

Purchased a new coffee roaster 6 weeks back and the delivery was made Friday night. Besides it being a few weeks late, totally expected, and it growing to a much larger size than advertised the roaster had finally arrived. The delivery company arrived with the roaster but instead of the team of deliverers that was promised only a man and his wife jumped out of the truck.

Now for those not in the coffee business, roasters are heavy duty pieces of equipment. A large commercial roaster is pounds and pounds of solid metal. The main unit on our new one is over 500 lbs. So its not molecular science but two people are not capable of moving it down off a 4 foot truck bed and then 50 feet into our location. Their explanation:

"its just the two of us because its your responsibility to have the people available to get this roaster off the truck"

Ahh yes. Nothing is more delightful than a complete change in what was promised. But without proper notice it is almost impossible to be prepared with 10 people to help move a roaster that late at night.

"ok well we've done our part of getting it here so we would like to be paid now and we will be on our way"

Besides the obvious complication of driving off before we can get the goods of the truck, we have the problem of a delivery company being satisfied with delivering it 80% of the way. I am not an employee of FedEx or UPS but I am pretty sure its standard procedure to put the goods into the care of the customer before leaving.

So we call the delivery company boss. We explain that they told us they would have 5 or 6 people come along to help deliver the machine. We need them to come back tomorrow when something can be arranged.

"Click"

The hang-up. All of my favorite customer service techniques are being used in full force. Chinese business people have no trouble hanging up on you. It saves them the trouble of explaining themselves or saying something like "we will take care of that for you." So here we are stuck in an Old Western style standoff. Their side not willing to budge or help at all and our side with no means of finding a solution to this quandary.

The delivery company asks for their money again.

So we decide to begin working our way out of this mess by inviting a nearby man, hailing from Sichuan province, to invite 7 of his friends to come move the roaster for a decent sum of money. One hour passes.

We get delivery company boss back on the phone to inquire about the fork lift that the driver said they used to get the roaster onto the truck that morning.

"It's too expensive"

I see. We put a call into the roaster manufacturer and find out that it would be dangerous to try to get the roaster off the truck without a fork lift. Back on with the delivery company boss.

"We didn't use a forklift. We did it with just 4 guys. Real easy."

Not true but oh well. "Water pipe Zhou", the old man with an adjacent Mahjong parlor who is constantly gargling his nicotine fix through his gigantic water pipe, chimes in.

"Back in the day, me and one other guy could have handled that roaster no problem"

Unless he was 350 lbs of pure physique back then instead of the 11o he is holding down now, then I have trouble seeing that as a possibility. Bless his heart though as he is always offering advice when I venture over there.

Another hour passes and the 8 Sichuan men arrive finally ready to help us out. The drivers once again asked to be paid immediately. They are informed that they will be paid but not until the goods are actually "delivered."

I can't describe that amazing feat that those 8 Sichuan men pulled off but here is a small glimpse of the easier final stretch of getting the machine all the way into the room after somehow slowly lowering it off the truck bed. Keep in mind that the moment the roaster was inches away from the truck bed the drivers began asking for money again ignoring the fact that I was a little preoccupied with whether or not my roaster was going to fall and put a dent in the earth.

After 4 hours the roaster was finally nestled away and most everyone went home happy.

Coffee Calories

2009-08-22T20:06:00.002+08:00

From Men's Health:

Americans have a drug problem: We’re hooked on caffeine. In fact, about 75 percent of American adults drink at least one cup of coffee each day. Several studies have shown that drinking coffee might help offset dementia and Alzheimer’s — unfortunately, these brain-boosting cups of java are simultaneously wreaking havoc on other parts of our bodies. Fancy frozen concoctions, added flavors teeming with sugar, and super-sized receptacles all mean that the average cup o’ Joe has increased from 45 calories 20 years ago, to 330 calories today.

...

Worst summer treat: Cold Stone Creamery Gotta-Have-It-sized Lotta Caramel Latte

1,790 calories; 90 grams fat (57 grams saturated, 2.5 grams trans); 175 grams sugar

That’s the caloric equivalent of 10 slices of Pizza Hut Thin ‘n’ Crispy Ham and Pineapple pizza!

Don’t be fooled because Cold Stone calls this outrageous beverage a “latte.” It’s a coffee-flavored shake, pure and simple. Only problem is that it’s loaded with almost as many calories as you should eat in an entire day. Avoid the entire shake line at Cold Stone. You’re safer with actual coffee, or a couple scoops of sinless ice cream. (Extra tip: Avoid all foods in this slideshow:

All the more reason to follow my coffee guide for newbies and start adjusting to drinking coffee in its purest form... black. Calories in a cup of coffee: 5. To drink the equivalent of a Cold Stone Creamery Gotta-Have-It Latte you would have to drink 5000 oz of black coffee or nearly 40 gallons. That's a small swimming pool.

New Offering- Mayan Breakfast Blend

2009-08-20T08:34:00.002+08:00

The Mayan Breakfast Blend boasts a good first impression of berry overtones and an even body by blending beans from Costa Rica and Peru. A perfect blend for that morning cup of joe.

Coffee Drinking for Newbies

2009-08-19T07:49:00.004+08:00

Coffee is certainly an acquired taste. For those that have not been enlightened try this lineup to slowly get your feet wet.

Mocha Frappe (all the coffee you need but with Chocolate dominating the taste buds)

Coffee Frappe (still enough sugar, milk, and ice to hold the coffee at bay)

Mocha (see Mocha Frappe)

Latte (Espresso balanced wonderfully with steamed or iced milk)

Coffee with fixings (although not recommended, fixings can help you adjust to black coffee)

Black Coffee (only by consuming it black can you taste the complexity and subtleties of a good cup of coffee) *requires fresh high quality coffee beans

Iced Espresso with Sugar (takes the edge off)

Espresso shot (straight and unencumbered)

Espresso consumed intravenously

Alternative Theory for Shady Business

2009-08-15T08:05:00.007+08:00

Seen a lot of shady stuff in my 5 plus years here. Let's just say the standards here are sometimes morally challenged. There are many reasons for this and probably some very good theories that explain this behavior but let me add one to the discussion.

Its the 100 RMB bank note.

Its pinkish hue may give off an aura of innocence but because this note has the rough value of $14 USD and that 95% of all businesses in China still don't except any payment besides cash, it causes quite a dilemma. Sure it works just fine when going to the supermarket but have you ever tried to buy something expensive when your largest available denomination is only worth $14.

Try going to a U.S. car dealer and plopping down huge stacks of $10's to get into that new car. But in China it is expected that you carry huge stacks of cash to pay for larger purchases. A purchase equivalent of $10,000 requires a stack of nearly 700 ¥100 notes. The average Zhang (Joe) needs a briefcase of some sort just to move around manageable amounts of cash.

You start looking over your shoulder to make sure nobody is eyeing your cash.

You get nervous.

Your palms get a little sweaty.

Your heart begins pounding faster and faster.

Your reflexes heighten.

Before you know it you start getting the sense that you are doing something wrong... something shady. Harmless semi-regular activities begin to feel like more and more like shady business deals or some other potentially inappropriate activity because normally the only people that carry around large sums of unmarked cash are the people doing shady business deals and the like.

Perhaps when these nervous feelings occur frequently during harmless activities your conscience begins reading these feelings as 'normal' or 'accepted.' This becomes a problem when people do begin to dabble in 'shady' things because the normally protective conscience that usually throws up red flags at the first sign of trouble, now sits back in hibernation because these feelings are much too commonplace.

Maybe the ¥100 note is not the sole reason for shady business but I can't help but think it is a contributor.

China News Update- Holes in the Green Dam

2009-08-14T07:33:00.007+08:00

From the New York Times:

Photo: www.smh.com.au

BEIJING — So far this week, the World Trade Organization has rebuffed China in an important case involving Chinese restrictions on imported books and movies. The Chinese government dropped explosive espionage charges against executives of a foreign mining giant, the Anglo-Australian Rio Tinto, after a global corporate outcry. And on Thursday, the government said it had backed off another contentious plan to install censorship software on all new computers sold here.

Throughout its long economic boom, China has usually managed to separate its aggressive push into the global business arena from domestic politics, which remained tightly controlled by the Communist Party. But events this week raise the question of just how long it will be before the two meet.

In each of those matters, politics and business collided, and business won. Business does not always win, and when it does, as in these cases, the reasons are as often as not a matter of guesswork. But in at least some high-profile matters, China appears to be facing the reality that the outside business world can be freewheeling and defiant when its profits are threatened. And so China’s authoritarian system may also have to evolve in ways its top leaders may not readily endorse.

Beijing has a global footprint now, a consequence of its booming domestic growth and breakneck international expansion. And decisions that once were made on purely parochial grounds — like censoring Web sites, protecting the interests of its state-owned companies and restricting the flow of foreign news and entertainment into China — now have international ramifications.

Definitely some good news. There is enough blocked already.

Chicago Coffee- The TV Show

2009-08-13T14:02:00.000+08:00

Coffee shops and cafes have long been the backdrop for Tv shows and the like.

Monk's Cafe from Seinfeld

Central Perk from Friends

And now Chicago Coffee ...

Yunnan TV has become filming a 100+ episode show using Chicago Coffee as a regular backdrop for some of their story. As the show begins to air we hope to have more media and info about their time in Chicago Coffee.

Macintosh Revolution- Dare I?

2009-08-08T22:40:00.002+08:00

I have long been a PC guy and an anti-Mac guy. I have long sung the praises of the PC life and ignored the curses I utter when I am reinstalling Windows. I am no longer sure that PC is the way anymore. I mean look at this beauty....

Well I am sure they have newer versions out but you get the point. Its really the Iphone's doing if I were to speak honestly. Its fancy dragon slaying and nifty humdingers. That addictive little thing.

In many ways my laptop is my life source as it keeps me connected back home as well as manage the in's and out's of my business. But I don't think I can take one more of these...

because all it causes is more of these...

Please weigh in if you have an opinion because seriously this Ad might just push me over the edge and I am not so sure I am opposed to that anymore.

Shenzhen Airlines- in need of a bailout

2009-08-08T09:59:00.005+08:00

I don't want to heap more coals but Shenzhen Airlines has done it again. I look the other way when small companies do things a little differently than I would do it but an airline company with personal vendettas against their customers!

Booked a flight to Shenzhen last week but had to adjust the return flight due to circumstances out of my control. I simply want to change from a Sunday flight on Shenzhen Airlines to a Monday flight on Shenzhen Airlines. I call my booking agency and they can't make the change because Shenzhen Airlines only allows Shenzhen Airlines to alter bookings once they are made. Fine. A phone number is given and I begin talking to the reps at Shenzhen Airlines. Turns out they, Shenzhen Airlines, don't have the ability to change flights either. Why? No particular reason. But turns out the only way to alter anything on a booked flight is to go directly to the Shenzhen Airline office at the airport????? I am sorry but I am not taking a taxi across the city to make a simple change on my booking which they would have charged me a few hundred RMB to have done anyways. But here's what I did do, I canceled my flight all together and booked a new one on Air China which despite the 84 RMB cancellation fee, ended up saving me 16 RMB because my new flight on Air China ended up being 100 RMB cheaper than my previous Shenzhen Airlines flight. I explained this to Shenzhen Airlines to give them a chance to keep my booking and redeem themselves. Not interested. Didn't bother them much that they were going to lose the entire booking to a competitor. Unfathomable.

You may be thinking why does he keep booking and dealing with Shenzhen Airlines. I may despise their tactics but when you have to fly often to Shenzhen and you fly on a budget then you are almost always going to choose the cheapest flight...which 99% of the time is Shenzhen Airlines. Believe me if I had another choice... I would take it.

Of course, my hand may be forced if I end up getting black listed.

China News Update- China Bans Bad Breath, Scars in Space

2009-08-07T09:00:00.004+08:00

From Fox News:

Bad breath can disqualify you from becoming an astronaut in China, but even if your breath is minty-fresh, you won't be seeing orbit unless your wife says you can go.

Candidates for China's manned space program must be cavity-free and have no history of head colds or sore throats. In fact, candidates must show there has been no serious disease in the family going back three generations, Sina.com reported.

"Bad body odor will affect the colleagues in the narrow confines of a space shuttle," Shi Binbin, a doctor with the 454th Air Force Hospital in the east Chinese city of Nanjing, told AFP.

Preliminary tests are being conducted on potential candidates. A hospital employee at the No. 454 Hospital told China Daily Sunday that 100 fighter pilots with college degrees were among the hopefuls being tested at the hospital, according to Sina.com.

China's future astronauts must also be scar-free.

"Scars on the body, for example, might burst and bleed when spaceships are accelerating," Shi told Sina.com.

Stringent requirements, he said, will help make sure the astronauts can handle the harsh environment of space.

"The candidates who go through all the tests and meet all the requirements can really be called super-human beings," Shi said.

And the lucky few who qualify will have one final obstacle to overcome — their wives. If a potential astronaut's wife does not want him going to space, he will not be allowed to enter the program, Sina.com reported.

I guess this sounds reasonable but seriously how long is it going to take to have this standard applied to other means of transportation i.e. buses and subways.

Summers in China: TV Show Recommendation

2009-08-06T08:21:00.000+08:00

In America, summer time is the season of going to a baseball game, grilling outside, eating hot dogs, fresh squeezed lemonade, sunburns, trips to the zoo, outdoor concerts, and the like. In China, not so much. We have done our fair share of grilling but from the confines of our apartment balcony. Not sure if that's what Weber grills were designed for. For most of you, there is no time or no need for a good TV show recommendation during the warm summer months but for those of us with days that revolve around when the elevator is going to be powered off or what kitchen appliance/shoddy electric work will break down or start a fire... this one is for you. I highly recommend Burn Notice on the USA network Thursday nights at 10pm (or any time you want to download it for those of us overseas.) A great show about the life of being a spy. I don't understand why there are 10 CSI's and 20 Law and Orders but so few spy shows. Everybody dreams of being a spy.

the Breaking Point

2009-08-04T19:38:00.003+08:00

From gokunming.com:

(Kunming) Early in the evening this past Sunday, shoppers passing near the Xinhua Bookstore on Nanping Jie may have noticed a bloodied young man laying on the ground between roughly 5:30 and 8:00 pm.

image: news.kunming.cn

Who beat up this man and left him injured on the street? According to witnesses interviewed by local paper Shenghuo Xinbao (aka Life Times), the man had been beaten by plainclothes chengguan (城管) – literally 'city management' – the government employees who are charged with keeping the streets free of unlicensed commerce.

The man, Yuan Bangjin (袁帮金, pictured above), moved to Kunming from Sichuan in January of this year after a tragic 2008 in which the May 12 Wenchuan earthquake killed his wife and destroyed his shop. According to the Shenghuo Xinbao article, Yuan barely had more than a photo of his deceased wife when he arrived in Kunming.

According to Tong Dahong (童大洪), a friend of Yuan's, the two men had been playing cards with others before returning to Nanping Jie, where Tong was flogging goods at a makeshift street stall. When the chengguan arrived, Tong fled, leaving Yuan to face the chengguan alone.

The chengguan reportedly mistook Yuan for an illegal street vendor, leading to a quarrel that quickly turned violent, according to onlookers quoted in the Shenghuo Xinbao report.

"We change shifts at three, afterward I was sitting in our [chengguan] kiosk the whole time, we did not beat anyone – furthermore we didn't wear plainclothes today," Chengguan captain Yu Bing (余兵) told Shenghuo Xinbao.

"If you're going to say we're beating people, you need photographic evidence," Yu added. "At present we've undergone an investigation and we have no responsibility whatsoever.

A woman working near the Xinhua Bookstore on Nanping Jie told Shenghuo Xinbao a very different story. The woman, who did not give her name, said she and her coworker both saw plainclothes chengguan beat Yuan.

"[Chengguan] come here everyday, frequently in plainclothes," she said. "I know exactly what they look like."

After being taken to a hospital for treatment, Yuan went to the Huguo Police Station, where he was told that they could not deal with the matter. Yuan then went to the chengguan bureau for the Wuhua District, where he was told that they would only investigate if he provided photographs of him being beaten by chengguan.

"How can I obtain photographic evidence [of my beating] while I'm being beaten?" Yuan asked Shenghuo Xinbao.

Kunming's chengguan have a local reputation for frequently resorting to heavy handed tactics when dealing with street vendors and even registered businesses. Conflicts involving chengguan can also end up with chengguan suffering casualties. A chengguan was stabbed to death on Wenlin Jie in late 2005 while confiscating a tangerine vendor's cart.

In what may be an effort to improve the image of chengguan in Kunming, a "military-style" seven-day training program for thousands of chengguan around Kunming was launched on Sunday, according to a Yunnan Information News report.

Yang Zhaolin, an assistant chengguan captain, told the paper he was optimistic about the effect the training would have on Kunming's chengguan.

"I believe that later on, the team members who complete this training will definitely not enforce the law the way they wish to or enforce the law haphazardly, putting an end to any unhappiness that results from the process of law enforcement," Yang said.

After 7 years and 5 years continuous in China, there is something about the way things work here that pushes you to the breaking point. I am not a violent person, I am not one to react to quickly, lose my temper, or do things irrationally, but there is something here that builds up over time and feels like an unreasonable amount of pressure that weighs you down.

There is something about having everything out of your control, your business, your safety, your livelihood and your well-being that makes you want to snap sometimes.

There is something about people treating other people like animals (sometimes worse) and people in power abusing that power that makes you go absolutely crazy.

Its injustice and the sheer amount of it here pushes people to the edge. I admit even someone like myself. I understand why Chinese people sometimes lose it and do something they regret. It's not right but I understand. I feel that exact feeling growing consistently. It isn't one thing that does it; its hundreds of things that build up and give you an overwhelming feeling of hopelessness.

Maybe I am in a unique position or I see more injustice because of my role here, but there are times when I hold myself back from doing something I would definitely regret. Its the countless stories like this of someone being treated like crap and then told the only way they will get help is if they can produce photos of the attack, while being attacked. Its the "haves" taken advantage of the "have-nots."

Who will stand for the

have-nots

&

the broken

Who will speak up in defense of

the beat up

&

the unclothed

Who will give hope to

the helpless

Do not be fooled by those that say everything is well here because the economy is booming and the people are getting rich. There is still much left to be done.

An Eye Opening Read

2009-08-04T08:13:00.001+08:00

Kindled my first e-book on my iphone and definitely a must read. Can't give you the name of the book or tell you what it was about but I will link you to Amazon so you can see for yourself.

You know you have been in China a long time when...

2009-08-02T09:06:00.001+08:00

You travel 3 hours out of your way specifically to get here.

And some more similar thoughts from another expat...

The footprints on the toilet seat are your own.
You no longer wait in line, but go immediately to the head of the queue.
You stop at the top or bottom of an escalator to plan your day.
It becomes exciting to see if you can get on the lift before anyone can get off.
It is no longer surprising that the only decision made at a meeting is the time and venue for the next meeting.
You rank the decision making abilities of your staff by how long it takes them to reply "Up To You".
You no longer wonder how someone who earns US$ 400.00 per month can drive a Mercedes.
You accept the fact that you have to queue to get a number for the next queue.
You accept without question the mechanic's analysis that the car is "Broken" and that it will cost you a lot of money to get it "Fixed".
You find that it saves time to stand and retrieve your hand luggage while the plane is on final approach.
You can shake your hands almost perfectly dry before wiping them on your trousers, or you have your suits made with terrycloth pockets.
A T-Bone steak with rice sounds just fine.
You believe everything you read in the local newspaper.
You regard traffic signals, stop signs, and copy watch peddlers with equal disdain.
You have developed an uncontrollable urge to follow people carrying small flags.
When listening to the pilot prove he cannot speak English, you no longer wonder if he can understand the air traffic controller.
You regard it as part of the adventure when the waiter correctly repeats your order and the cook makes something completely different.
You have more knick-knacks than your grandmother.
You are not surprised when three men with a ladder show up to change a light bulb.
You understand all the above listed references.