1. As a CEO of a Chinese startup, if you were to start going to your workplace by bicycle, how do you expect your colleagues, your employees and business partners would react to it?
And, would it make a difference if the bike is ordinary (mechanical) or an e-bike?
2. How does the work culture in the Chinese work environments you can speak about compare to the American work culture described in the comments' section here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=av3CHCu2zBM ?
4. Mencius: "There are three things which are unfilial, and to have no posterity is the greatest of them." (Mn. 4A.26). Among the current generations of Chinese, does failure to have descendants cause a sense of guilt? If so, in what percentage of childless people, and to what degree?
5. For a good while, it used to be the case that the Chinese were more materialistic rather than idealistic or spiritual. But, the young generations tend to perceive a need for more spirituality. And, meanwhile, China proved rather outstanding in systematic studies, in sciences. My question is: How do the Chinese stand regarding scientific studies that suggest an existence of a spiritual domain? Viz., studies of Chi Gong, of 'distance healing,' and "near-death experiences." Can you go to WeChat, enter a bookstore or a library, and find works on those topics? How much public interest there is for those fields?
6. What would be your take on these accounts of the dramatic Tianamanmen Square events in 1989?
My impression, which could be mistaken, is that Chinese manufacturing is pretty efficient and advanced, and while not necessarily the best or most efficient in every category of manufacturing, not too far away. However, when it comes to services, my impression is that China is generally much less efficient and productive than the US. First, does that seem accurate? And secondly, if that is accurate, what’s your opinion on why productivity lags in China’s service sector?
There is a lot of talk about purges in the PLA. Having family who've served in various nations' military I'm aware of what a purge means there, which usually is the general being "fired" from his current assignment, given a pleasant job until the relevant MIC-IMATT figures out how they can use him to funnel more money their way in another position. In other words a purge is rarely a moment where criminal activities are punished by severe actions. What happens in the PLA when a group of generals are purged? Is it usually fatal to career, if not life?
An Asia Times article from Dec 4, 2023. reports that spitting, loud throat clearing and smoking have vanished from the streets of Beijing. (https://asiatimes.com/2023/12/from-low-trust-to-high-in-china/) Can you or anyone you know tell us more about it? Are these changes lasting? And, for them to happen, who did what?
Six questions:
1. As a CEO of a Chinese startup, if you were to start going to your workplace by bicycle, how do you expect your colleagues, your employees and business partners would react to it?
And, would it make a difference if the bike is ordinary (mechanical) or an e-bike?
2. How does the work culture in the Chinese work environments you can speak about compare to the American work culture described in the comments' section here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=av3CHCu2zBM ?
3. You wrote that "Using a VPN is illegal in China" (https://www.china-translated.com/p/can-you-criticize-xi-jinping-in-china/). Would you please cite the relevant section of the criminal code and which section or article it comes under?
Here's the link to the Criminal Code in English : https://www.cecc.gov/resources/legal-provisions/criminal-law-of-the-peoples-republic-of-china
4. Mencius: "There are three things which are unfilial, and to have no posterity is the greatest of them." (Mn. 4A.26). Among the current generations of Chinese, does failure to have descendants cause a sense of guilt? If so, in what percentage of childless people, and to what degree?
5. For a good while, it used to be the case that the Chinese were more materialistic rather than idealistic or spiritual. But, the young generations tend to perceive a need for more spirituality. And, meanwhile, China proved rather outstanding in systematic studies, in sciences. My question is: How do the Chinese stand regarding scientific studies that suggest an existence of a spiritual domain? Viz., studies of Chi Gong, of 'distance healing,' and "near-death experiences." Can you go to WeChat, enter a bookstore or a library, and find works on those topics? How much public interest there is for those fields?
6. What would be your take on these accounts of the dramatic Tianamanmen Square events in 1989?
i) https://americanaffairsjournal.org/2018/02/surprise-authoritarian-resilience-china/
ii) https://twitter.com/zhao_dashuai/status/1665135146004013058
iii) https://www.unz.com/article/tiananmen-square-1989-revisited/
After electric cars and solar, which next cutting-edge technologies do you expect China to take the lead on?
My impression, which could be mistaken, is that Chinese manufacturing is pretty efficient and advanced, and while not necessarily the best or most efficient in every category of manufacturing, not too far away. However, when it comes to services, my impression is that China is generally much less efficient and productive than the US. First, does that seem accurate? And secondly, if that is accurate, what’s your opinion on why productivity lags in China’s service sector?
There is a lot of talk about purges in the PLA. Having family who've served in various nations' military I'm aware of what a purge means there, which usually is the general being "fired" from his current assignment, given a pleasant job until the relevant MIC-IMATT figures out how they can use him to funnel more money their way in another position. In other words a purge is rarely a moment where criminal activities are punished by severe actions. What happens in the PLA when a group of generals are purged? Is it usually fatal to career, if not life?
An Asia Times article from Dec 4, 2023. reports that spitting, loud throat clearing and smoking have vanished from the streets of Beijing. (https://asiatimes.com/2023/12/from-low-trust-to-high-in-china/) Can you or anyone you know tell us more about it? Are these changes lasting? And, for them to happen, who did what?
Great rehash of some brilliant essays, particularly the "I'm against the CCP, not the Chinese People" essay.