NEW TRENDS IN DIGITAL PR WORKSHOP (0)
New Strategies in Digital PR
CultureFish Media’s CEO Lonnie Hodge and and Sam Flemming, founder of CIC, China’s first Internet Word of Mouth research and consulting firm, are the featured speakers at the New Trends in Digital Media Conference in Shenzhen, China. Topics to be discussed include: Benefits of Online News Releases, Myths and Realities of Digitization, Trends in Digital Online Ads, applications of Internet word of Mouth and Online Reputation Management methods. The event will give attendees a competitive advantage over the competition by revealing information needed to catapult a company, event, brand or website to top positions in search engines world-wide.
The conference is part of a trio of charity events designed to entertain and inform while raising money for important charities. The three events include a golf tournament, a concert with Virgin records star Che’Nelle and the Digital Workshop.
Veteran and apprentice PR, Advertising, Online Reputation Management and SEO and SEM specialist will equally benefit from the half-day seminar to be held at the famed Mission Hills Resort. Known for being the world’s largest championship golf complex Mission Hills is also a 5-star conference facility.
All proceeds from the workshop benefit two literacy projects: The Library Project in China which builds facilities in rural villages and orphanages and the Reading Tub which supports opportunities for under-privileged youth in America.
Cost for the workshop is $200 USD and covers lunch and dinner at the resort. All attendees can bring their families and discounted rates up to 50% for rooms and activities will apply.
To register for the events simply pay online at the Dream Bash: http://dreambash.eventbrite.com
The workshop is sponsored by Digital PR and Marketing Specialists CultureFish Media.
—You may also attend ONLINE. The workshop begins at 1:00 PM China Time
Posted 2 May, 2008 in Seach engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing, SEM, SEO, Internet marketing China, Chinese Media, SEO China Expert, Online Advertising, Online Digital Marketing, seo expert services guangzhou china, China Business Consultant, Seo China, Chinese Internet, China web 2.0, China Consultants Directory, China Search Engine Marketing, Global SEO Services, China Editorials, China Cartoons, The Internet, China Web 2.0, 中国, China Business, China SEO
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Posted 2 May, 2008 in American Professor in China, Chinese Education, China Business Consultant, China Expat, Education in China, 中国, Confucius Slept Here, Expats, Intercultural Issues, Teaching in China, China Editorials, China Business, China Expats
Boomtown Beijing (0)
My friend Siok Siok Tan is the multi-lingual marvel who, during her tenure with Discovery Channel, racked up a dozen Asian TV Awards as a documentary film director, and producer.
Her latest work, done in concert with students from classes she taught at the Beijing film Academy, is a fascinating pastiche of people obliquely impacted by the economic, political and athletic rush for gold in the 2008 Games.
Siok Siok renders her perspective on the games by examining the lives of Beijingers, so far from the torch run, that neither the western or Chinese media would even bother to distort or propagandize them. But, the stories, some that will move you to tears and others to great amusement, are emblematic of how deeply the allegiance to the success of the Chinese Olympic movement has permeated the collective conscience of a country.
Boomtown Beijing has everything and nothing to tell you about why 200,000 netizens on Baidu and the CEO of Sohu.com, Zhang Chaoyang, are calling for a boycott of Carrefour (France’s Great Wallmart) in response to western reactions to the torch run: It is a less about nationalism than it is about a new-found sense of international belonging, national pride and individual dreams of being able to even a small difference in a fast changing China. It is not a political statement. It is an authentic, objective and heartfelt look at a Beijing ad its citizens that few foreigners will ever see. Tan is one of the few film makers with the cultural savvy to ine and polish these rare human gems.
Boomtown Beijing is showing in cities world-wide and the proceeds are being donated to the Library Project. The next screening is in Beijing. The details from the FacebookFacebook group here:
The Film:
TThe 2008 Olympics Games is China’s debutante ball on the world stage. “ Faster. Higher. Stronger” — the preparation for the Games has turned Beijing into a hot spot of frenzied growth. A 11 year old boy wants to beat the odds to become an Olympics torch-bearer. A road sweeper dreams of staging his own mass Olympics countdown performance. An aging blind athlete makes one last stab at a Paralympics medal before he retires from sports. Together, their stories and scenes of everyday life in the city give a snapshot of Beijing the summer before the big games come to town. Running Time: 70 minutes
Language: Chinese with English subtitles
The Director:
Tan Siok Siok has built a career as an executive producer of international documentaries focusing on the China region. Her executive producer credits include award-winning shows for Discovery Channel and Discovery Travel and Living. Boomtown Beijing is her first independent film. She directed the film with the assistance of her studets while she was a visiting lecturer at the Beijing Film Academy
Tickets:
Pre-Sale: RMB 85 (before Saturday April 19th) Contact: mark at dembitz.com
At the Door: RMB 100
Included in Pre-Sale (1) Beverage with Ticket
Posted 18 April, 2008 in Beijing Olympics, Heartsongs, Beijing, Faceboook, China films, Chinese Media, 中国, China Editorials, Intercultural Issues, China Sports, China Olympics, In the news, Videos
China Blinders…. (6)
This post was written exactly a year ago and I opted to reprrint it as some things never seem to change…..
In today’s news:
Club.cn.yahoo.co is a new blogging network for Chinese netizens. According to Reuters and Wired magazine the new service designed to give bloggers a place to exchange ideas and photos. Wired posited that this seemed pretty dangerous in light of Yahoo’s admitted role as a snitch for folks who might advocate such atrocities as democracy and human rights. While I like that they took a shot at Yahoo! for its ongoing hypocrisy, it seems typically naive and Sinophobic. QQ is the world’s third most popular IM service and easily the largest in China. It is an incredible pipeline for information among everyday Chinese citizens. There are now so many blogs, bulletin boards, cell phones and messaging services that the Chinese government is soon going to be busier than a one-armed paper hanger with the hives and hopefully unable to police even a fraction of the traffic out there. I am looking forward to more of the Chinese information/communication explosion. Wired and media worldwide ought to be applauding any vehicle that further taxes the censors and they should be providing links to groups that will help further that cause. But, it is easier to demonize a country we really know little about in the west and play to people’s perceptions of China.
While Yahoo is trying to get folks on the net the Chinese government is trying to get some of them off: The long anticipated restrictions on gaming will take effect on July 15th. Emboldened by a report that claims some 2,000,000 Chinese kids are addicted, the government will penalize minors who spend more then three hours a day playing video games like WoW online. The consequences: After three hours players will only earn half the credits they would normally accrue and if they play for five hours online they will stop earning any credits at all. It isn’t exactly a firing squad, but some folks are calling this a fascist policy. Should I be sent to Guantanamo for believing it is not really a very bad policy and the punishment seems pretty benign?
And speaking of fascists: Google, Yahoo! and MSN are taking heat from some bloggers for refusing to to sell ads for China is Evil. CIE is a pretty poorly done site with kind of rambling rant which includes: “ In recent years maoist rebels have tried to take over Nepal. I have no evidence that China is supporting them, but it is highly probable that they are.” It ain’t the International Herald Tribune and I am even not sure there enough content on his one page site to get him banned in Beijing. I say sell him the ads. As advocates of free speech we should be defending his right to sound dim, especially if he is paying for it.
But he seems typical of most Americans and bloggers to whom I speak with about China: It is a given, in my experience, that Westerners will buy information in any news release that helps paint China as a bastion of oppression and don’t do a lot of research on their own. My stories about China’s ills are syndicated 10 times more frequently than my calls for positive action.
I was guiding a class through keyword research in an SEO class today and looking up words relating to China/Asia. The results were telling:
China Politics receives 1,600 queries
Chinese Girls gets 61,000 searches a month by Americans in the three major engines
Human Rights China scores 2,345 hits
China News gets 17,000 visits
Chinese Zodiac slams in at 280,000
and Tiannanmen Square receives 15,000 searches a month…..
I get a bit weary of the negativity without good information or corresponding positive solutions. I heard candidate Obama on Letterman play to people’s fears that their jobs might be outsourced to China, but I heard little about how he’d further humanitarian ideals for an oppressed populace. China is new country we love to hate. But boycotting or ignoring issues and not participating in solutions isn’t going to do us, or the 1.3 billion folks in the Middle Kingdom, much good.
Scholarly and well articulated related articles: Mutant Frog (fantastic writing!), Simon World,
Posted 11 April, 2008 in The Great Firewall, The Internet, Blogroll Diving, Censorship, 中国, China Editorials, cartoons, In the news, China web 2.0
Doing Business in China: Strategies (2)
Doing Business in China Part 2:
The third strategy in our series on Doing Business in China involves: “Besieging Wei to Save Zhao.” Basically this means that you don’t need a bigger army if you’ve got relative superiority at key points of contact. Ask anyone who has ever played the Japanese game of Go if they have ever lost due to “target fixation” by fixating on the larger battles and getting overtaken by the troops in the skirmishes. The story involves a general of Zhao, who allowed an opposing army to lay siege to the major city of Wei (one of 7 “key” cities) so that his army could exhaust his opponent and defeat them later.
During our time in China, and having traveled to meet dozens of top expatrapreneurs, we feel confident we could amass a formidable staff in your campaign for business superiority in China. The metaphor, however prosaic, stands to give you the information needed for relative superiority at any point of business contact:
Without a doubt, you’ll need China Law Blog as your JAG. If you have a question about the law you should be talking to Dan and Steve.They have the most powerful and best researched China blog on the Internet and don’t let the name fool you: they talk with good humor and keen insight about all aspects of life in China both personal and professional.
And recently we met Sam Flemming, CEO if CIC in Shanghai. His company, once providing niche research has created a mainstream standard in China and is an absolute necessity: to learn the latest IWOM buzz on your brand, Sam’s team provides the latest in searched-for terms for your product or service on in the China websphere and identifies for you all critical advertising data, reputation management information. Our Online Digital Marketing Company, Culturefish Media, has resolved not to enter into a large campaigns for clients without the thorough recon’ work offered up by CIC. Equally helpful is China Vortex, who keeps abreast of the latest Internet news, trends and information in China. And for in-depth knowledge about consumer markets in China, Shaun Rein and his team will prepare the field via white papers and in-depth reports that will guide you to success. And las, but not least is Marc Vanderchijs’ blog. Marc is a Dutch Entrpreneur and co-founder of the China video sharing site Tudou. Reading his blog wiill make you feel like you a fireside chat with a real veteran. There is much to be learned there.
For a good quartermaster, we heartily recommend All Roads Lead to China for the latest information about logistics, shipping, and import-export here in China. As for logistics, kinakontaak…kinaahgk…kinkatonkie the tall Scandanavian guys on the small motorbikes at Kinakontakten and the publicly traded kings of online savvy at Global Sources are two reliable resources for keeping supply lines open and moving with quality products.
For Engineers capable of helping you build a great business, Globe Forum and its SME incubator methodology will connect you with the world’s fast-growth and corporately responsible companies and opportunities.
In public affairs, Kaiser Kuo, Web Wednesday and Danwei are the best at what they do. All of them know the lay of the land and are not afraid to speak or change their minds as the truth mandates. If it is relevant, Kaiser, Napoleon and Jeremy have likely already talked about it over lunch or Twittered, Facebooked and Blogged it throughout the Middle Kingdom.
China biz needs an expat Signal Corps: men, women, and sites dedicated to quality digital content, keeping up with the latest in online technology developments. China Web Review 2.0 will keep up to date on the latest in Internet trends, David Feng will brief you on the latest updates on technology and trends (especially Apple Products), and ChinaOnTV will provide you with high-quality digital videos about anything from history to contemporary Kung Fu and Chinese Recipes. Meanwhile, China Webmasters will keep you ahead of the power curve and put your website on track for visibility in China.
For cultural affairs, Shanghaiist stands out as a great collection of the most interesting cultural news in China. From updates on the Worldwide Pillow Fight in Shanghai to updates on F-visas, these guys know what is going on. The defense language institute belongs to Chinesepod and The Lost Laowai Blog.
For personnel needs, look to ChinaBiz Speakers and the wealth of great knowledge these speakers can tap into. The top aggregator of talent driven content about doing business in China is the China Business Network. CBN, hosted by our comrade-in-arms Christine Lu, is a one-stop Linked-In connection for Web 2.0 in China and Silicon Valley leaders and visionaries.
Everyone needs a Morale and Welfare Corp, and in China’s all-too-serious blogosphere, some down-to-earth chopping wood and carrying water is needed. The Library Project, which builds literacy in orphanages and rural schools around China, does a great job of spreading goodwill as does The China Dreamblogue, whose purpose is to create travel, charity and educational opportunities for Westerners and Chinese while promoting engagement with all that is positive about China. CCTV9’s Culture Express provides a surprisingly well produced source of information about China’s remarkable past and contemporary cultural heritage. And since we live on the south we look to GZ nightlife, Shenzehn Stuff and the newest gourmet dining spot in the area belogs to our friends at Wilbur’s Guangzhou Restaurant–They even have their own private-label house wine if you get tired of that Rothchild’s brand.
There is plenty more to come. Not nearly as many links, but a footlocker full of books, movies, and other valuable resources….
Posted 2 April, 2008 in Internet marketing China, Chinese Internet, The Internet, New Blogs, SEO, SEM, China Law, SEO China Expert, 中文, Chinese Media, 中国, Top Blogs, Greater Asia Blogs, Hong Kong Blogs, Top China Blogs List, China web 2.0, Intercultural Issues, China Editorials, In the news, China Business, China Cartoons, China SEO
Whose Comments Are They Anyway? (1)
Reputation Management and Manipulation of the Internet
In addition to water-boarding it is apparent that government interpreters world-wide now learn social media, SEO and RSS management during their program of study. It is no secret that many blog comments on opinion-shaping sites are made by full-time surfers or “trolls” as some call them, with nationalist or agency mandated agendas; some get paid for their performance. The real weapons of mass destruction in a digital world are words and the technology is readily available even when we don’t send fuses to Taiwan.
Several recent comments, meant to manipulate media have come back to deservedly sound-bite the perpetrators in their virtual asses.
John McCain campaign aide, Soren Dayton was suspended from the campaign because he Twittered a link to a YouTube video blasting Barack Obama’s minister. And the Chinese government was a bit slow on the draw when they led reporters into the lama’s den in Lhasa last week.
Multi-national companies now hire ethical as well dubious administrators of propaganda to sow seeds of content across the blogsphere when a ruthless competitor, frustrated consumer or PR gaff has sent a brand or image into the cyber-stool. Internet Word of Mouth is an ICBM with a guidance system that can be more unpredictable than a cold war space laser.
I read a news release today written by the folks at 5fad.com. 5fad.com is suing Baidu.com for copyright infringement and then speculating, during trial, about the outcome and impact of the verdict.
Written in something akin to English and suspiciously fed out of a UK media outlet, the release contains suppositions meant to influence public opinion in advance of a judicial ruling.
Some highlights: “The MP3 search engine is of crucial importance for Baidu.com to gain an advantageous position in its competition with its business rival, Google.com. Once the MP3 search engine service is ruled unlawful, Baidu.com’s leading position in the search engine market may topple” Remember that this news release was written by the Plaintiff!
The take a break from legal commentary to do an infomercial about 5Fad: “5fad.com, ranking among 2007 Red Herring Asia Top 100, was founded in 2003. Though headquartered in Hangzhou, it has branch offices in Beijing, Seoul, Tokyo and New York…5fad.com is the leading digital entertainment and culture company in China. Its service network covers a total population of 300 million.” With a Google Page Rank of 4 and a purported audience more than twice the size of the China Internet user base the claim is dubious at best.
I have become so jaundiced that when JWT’s Tom Doctoroff, a man I have long respected as an authority on China, makes statements concerning Tibet like:”…I instinctively empathize with the impulses of the protesters” I wonder if he is just careless and failing to weigh the consequences of the potential spin of his comments as sympathy for murder or arson? Or I question whether or not the soon-to-be Olympic torch bearer has intentionally inserted psycho-linguistically charged language about Tibet, in an article written against calls for an Olympic boycott, in order to draw in more readers for the Huffington Post?
I am a poet and the keeper of an online diary. I am not a journalist or political pundit in blogger’s clothes. I love and cherish the written word–despite my occasional acts of grammatical or stylistic annihilation. And because I am a creative writer I attempt to ferret out the real meanings of a work and the reasons for the choice of diction.
I am becoming less cavalier about reading or writing. I now am casting a cold eye on much of what comes to me via RSS or social networks and so it seems should we all….
Update: Head over to ESNW for an important addendum to the newest China Photogate…
Posted 29 March, 2008 in SEM, Chinese Media, SEO, Internet marketing China, Seo China, Violence, Human Rights, Taiwan, Human Rights China, Beijing Olympics, SEO China Expert, Chinese Internet, The Internet, China Olympics, China Editorials, Intercultural Issues, War, Personal Notes, cartoons, Censorship, 中国, In the news, Tibet, China web 2.0
Doing Business in China (4)
Doing Business in China Guide
Part 1
(whew!)
This is our latest series on doing business in China. In these posts, our advice will correspond to the thirty-six strategies designed by the ancient and great Song general and strategist Tan Daoji–that is, we predicate all this advice on never using the 36 strategies as a way to do business in China. We have bookshelves stacked full of expensive kindling labeled “how to do business in China” that we will later use to heat our house.
The first listed strategy is “Deceiving the Heavens to Cross the Sea,” or man tian guo hai(And no, it’s not a reference to a sea-going Dali clique). While the strategy typically involves deception and refers to an advisor who got the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty so drunk and engaged in feasting for three days that the ruler had no idea he was on a boat–akin to the Beijing guides who accompanied press on yesterday’s “Meet the Lamas” broadcast.
Instead of learning to deceive the heavens, your best bet to getting introduced to China is learning some Chinese. Among our billions of dollars of unread books, unopened CDs, and untouched lessons, here are some tools we actually used to learn the language and culture of China:
The Rosetta Stone: though sometimes maligned for its interface, we give props to the English-free interface of the program and its integration of reading of and listening to Chinese characters from the beginning.
FSI language courses: a full and free year’s worth of free Chinese language instruction. This is the stuff the diplomats used to use and despite that it is hands down a great free tool for helping people learn to pronounce and listen to standard Chinese.
Chinesepod: Have a random question about Chinese? Allergic to parsley? Unsure about a specific word for sports? Head for Chinesepod. With a vibrant community of online learners, free daily podcasts, and a great selection of different tools like flashcards and online lesson reviews, Chinesepod’s collective of learners deserves its rock-star status on the net.
Lost Laowai: As always, well crafted by Ryan; Canadian accent comes free of charge, aye.
Berlitz: The only “learn Chinese in 30 minutes!” that actually works.
The next step is to get some culture (God knows we could use a lot more):
Lost Laowai, offers up real-life experiences of expats in China. We are hoping for the reality show to displace “swin in China.”
The HaoHao Report, everyman’s aggregator with Digg-like China focused features.
Panda Passport: Everything about China cyberspace you wanted to know but were afraid you’d get busted for on an IP violation.
RConversation, the most harmonious blend of blogging and citizen journalism on the web.
CDT, all the news from China blocked in China.
ESWN, a blog that brings together news from the East and the West–not the best in its class, but rather a species by itself.
Global Voices: China. The World is Listening. Are you?
China Herald, all the news that fit for bandwidth.
Cal Poly MBA Trip, a blog from the MBA Program with no ballast to throw overboard.
Thomas Crampton, former correspondent for the International Hong Kong International Herald Tribune, Mr. Crampton shares on-the-ground and insider info about the latest web innovations and websphere happenings in Hong Kong and greater China.
Imagethief, named for his photography habits and not for any actual Interpol related activity, is the creator of such marvels as the Stupidvator. a blog to lightens the cargo of the China blogosphere.
China Rises: Journalist and great story teller Robert Johnson: The only chief corresponsdent in China with hand-written instructions and a GPS reporter locator given by Central Government for any coverage of Tibet the Olympics.
China Blog List: a comprehensive guide to the many blogs passing us in the night.
The Opposite End of China: Life’s a Riot, and this blog reports on it. Veteran journalist Manning is as good as it gets and still chooses to farm tomatoes along the silk road.
More to come…
Posted 28 March, 2008 in Charity in China, 中文, Podcasts China, Chinese Proverbs, Chinese Media, Search Engine Marketing, China Book Reviews, SEO China Expert, China Business Consultant, Book Review, 中国人口福利基金会, Cal Poly, 中原, China Law, China Expat, china books, Seach engine Optimization, SEM, Teaching in China, China Editorials, China Cartoons, Intercultural Issues, Top China Blogs List, China web 2.0, Book Reviews, China Business, Confucius Slept Here, Internet marketing China, SEO, Seo China, Chinese Internet, 中国, The Internet, China SEO
Project Happiness in Beijing (1)
The Chinese Apprentice-type TV show ‘Win in China” started with 150,000 candidates, and now only 11 are left. One of them is theonly foreigner to ever make the cut: Henry Winter’s final project for all the marbles involves supporting a wonderfully worthy cause: Project Happiness. The charity’s website: PROJECT HAPPINESS (in Chinese) indicates that it gives micro-loans to needy rural Chinese women starting businesses to supportthemselves. Henry’s task is to rally as many supporters as possible for the cause. He is going to need our help!!
Expats and local residents in Beijing are asked to come by and support Henry and a valuable humanitarian cause at the same time. To assist simply head for the third floor of ShiJi JinYuan Mall, West Third Ring Road (near Suzhou Bridge) in Beijing between 11 and 1 on Sunday the 23rd of March.
Let the games, and good works, begin!!
Posted 22 March, 2008 in Project Happiness, China Expat, 慈善, 慈善事业, 中国人口福利基金会, 幸福工程, 中文, Charity in China, China Business, China Editorials, 中国, Chinese Internet, Chinese Media, China Expats
Zhu Lu Zhongyuan… (2)
How is this for synchronicity?:
I study at least one Chinese idiom, parable or allegory a day. Today, honestly, I opened my study text and immediately saw:
At whose hand the deer will die is unknown
It is an idiom that implies that the outcome of a struggle or rivalry is still undecided. It has roots in the first Han dynasty in 203 B.C..
The story behind the idiom takes place in what was once known as “China Proper” which originated in the Tibetan Plateau and was bordered by the Yellow and Yangze rivers: The advisor to Han Xin, King of Qi, urged the King to break away from the Emperor Liu Bang. In 196 Han was executed for plotting a rebellion even though he had not followed the advice given to him by one Kuai Tong.
Later Kuai Tong was brought to Liu to be executed. Kuai Tong told the emperor among other things: ” A dog barks at people, not because it is bad, but because they are not his master. At the time my duty was to help Han Xingain gain power, so to execute me would be unjust.”
Liu Bang pardoned him.
I am hoping for the same fate for other Yellow River inhabitants showing support for their beliefs. I am hoping for the safety of my friends very near the confrontations. I am praying for an end to the violent conflicts– though the outcome of the struggle may long be undecided…
Posted 16 March, 2008 in Human Rights, Violence, 中文, Human Rights China, China Law, Chinese Proverbs, Chinese Media, Tibet, In the news, 中国, Censorship, China Editorials
One of the things wrong with history… (11)
The American iconoclastic lawyer Clarence Darrow resigned himself to history’s repetitive nature, but never stopped challenging the powers to which most of us abandon control.
The British Olympic Team at The 1936 Berlin Olympics
Athletes have long been surrogates for our personal, school, community, and national wishes lies and dreams. We foist on them the responsibility of atoning for our own failures as sportsmen, parents and citizens. And visited on some are the the sins of governments who draft them as unwitting soldiers in wars of propaganda and ideology.
Section 51 of the International Olympic Committee charter, “provides for no kind of demonstration, or political, religious or racial propaganda in the Olympic sites, venues or other area.” That does not stop dozens of groups from calling on he most physically gifted and dedicated among us to end the bloodshed in Africa, restore the Dali Lama to sovereignty, or enforce Chinese intervention in Burma amid a long list of religious, humanitarian and political causes.
Many organizations are calling for a boycott of the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing to further their agendas. Many decry China’s denial of human rights while remaining silent as, paradoxically, some governments, namely New Zealand, Belgium and Great Britain are forbidding their team members to speak their minds before, or during the contest, or face immediate expulsion from the games. It is the western pot calling the tea kettle black.
As a former athlete and coach I might bow to tradtion and refuse to dip the flag for the Olympic reviewing stand, but I could never in good conscience sign any document that demanded surrender of a basic human right.
The web’s most articulate journalist-blogger, Rebecca McKinnon, writes with moving precision about the house arrest of Chinese human rights blogger Hu Jia , his wife Zeng Jinyang and the world’s “youngest political prisoner” their 2-month old daughter Hu Qianci. In the article, Rebecca clearly articulates Beijing’s poorly staged suppression of dissent during the dress rehearsal phase of its first leading role on the world stage. It is exactly this kind of scrutiny of the aging, fumbling power-elite that we might lose by disengagement.
To boycott the Olympics, an arguable failure of policy in Moscow and Los Angeles, moves the spotlight off China, punishes athletes in lieu of policies and leaves the average Chinese citizen, denied full access to information, angered and dazed by a seemingly xenophobic west. To even call for a boycott of the Olympics is to give spin doctors an award- winning script full of perfect, indignant replies to what we can only imagine to be true. Engagement in lieu of boycott will enlighten and inform us all. As the chinese proverb states, 拔苗助长 , you cannot help sprouts to grow by pulling them up.
I am hoping that history repeats only by way of expose made possible by athletic achievements–think Jesse Owens in Berlin– and not because of “free world” demands for the conscription of players into a silent Nazi salute to the abolition of free speech.