China Perspective
Old friend transferred to China comes home for family Xmas visit
He's an exec with a multinational specialty insurer on a multi year assignment went with his wife and kids to Shanghai
He loves it, wife loves it young kids mostly like it fine
2/
Old friend transferred to China comes home for family Xmas visit
He's an exec with a multinational specialty insurer on a multi year assignment went with his wife and kids to Shanghai
He loves it, wife loves it young kids mostly like it fine
2/
/2 Why do you love it says I
It's a great city, great architecture, great food, shopping, great atmosphere, super dynamic
He loves the business culture
"Instead of spending all your time thinking about expense control, claims containment and maintaining market share
3/
It's a great city, great architecture, great food, shopping, great atmosphere, super dynamic
He loves the business culture
"Instead of spending all your time thinking about expense control, claims containment and maintaining market share
3/
/3 all we have to think about is GROWTH"
"It's just expansion in China, you have to navigate some bureaucracy but they don't put up road blocks"
Okay, I thought that made sense, what business person wouldn't prefer to exist in easy growth mode
What about the culture?
4/
"It's just expansion in China, you have to navigate some bureaucracy but they don't put up road blocks"
Okay, I thought that made sense, what business person wouldn't prefer to exist in easy growth mode
What about the culture?
4/
/4 he loves the culture, he was born in the Middle East, came here at age 12 did well in school has all the right degrees
He says: " they think like I do, they respect their elders and believe in family, if you don't get married and have one or two kids they think its odd"
5/
He says: " they think like I do, they respect their elders and believe in family, if you don't get married and have one or two kids they think its odd"
5/
/5 "crime is really suppressed, you feel safe, no gun crime and they believe in an orderly society"
"no drug abuse, police will enter clubs and demand ID, if you seem high they take a hair sample, if positive they locate you deport the ex-pats and jail the citizens"
6/
"no drug abuse, police will enter clubs and demand ID, if you seem high they take a hair sample, if positive they locate you deport the ex-pats and jail the citizens"
6/
/6 Holy sheet, that's what a totalitarian dictatorship will do, that's terrible
No, he says, it's better for my kids to know that booze is ok but no drugs are available
So what do I get from his perceptions?
I think some folks can be seduced by a dictatorship
7/
No, he says, it's better for my kids to know that booze is ok but no drugs are available
So what do I get from his perceptions?
I think some folks can be seduced by a dictatorship
7/
/7 it provides economic growth, jobs and the chance for success and people will look the other way when others are oppressed and arrested
But when you get rich you will worry and ship your kids and wealth to messy democracies like ours because freedom and rule of law is better
But when you get rich you will worry and ship your kids and wealth to messy democracies like ours because freedom and rule of law is better
