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Beijing's Destiny
August 26, 2000
Beijing, which used to be spelled as Pekin, but not the small town in Illinois, is now the capital of PRC.
The city was founded at the border in the Chou dynasty, about 700 B.C. Gradually, it became important and was first made capital of Kublai Khan’s Khanbalik . The city continued to serve the same function in the reign of Tartars (Jin Dynasties 1115 - 1234 A.D.)
The Han Chinese also made it the capital in the Ming Dynasty(1421-1644 A.D.) The rebel Lee Tse Chen marched into Beijing and the last of the Ming emperor hanged himself on Coal Mountain--one of the most tragic stories of all the Chinese emperors. The Manchus took over the city and occupied the throne from 1644 until 1911.
The reign of many kings, emperors, and rebellion leaders gave this city a glorious past, but also one filled with misery for the population.
Since all barbarian threats, at least 'barbarian' in the eyes of the Chinese, to Beijing came from the north, ROC decided to deal with possible future invasions or threats by moving, in 1912, the Republic’s capital from Beijing to Nanjing, south of Yangtze River.
Presently, Beijing has been earnestly applying to be accepted as the 2008 site of World Olympics; but the threat from the north remains silently looming on the horizon. Besides water shortage, the sand storms come often from the north with sand spreading southward at a rate of 3.5 kilometers a year. If no effective measures are taken to deter this 'invasion', 35 years from now, Beijing could be desertized completely. Of course, it would no longer be the capital of PRC.
Beijing authorities have been promoting their industrial sites enthusiastically. Of course, no mention is made of the northern catastrophe; this time, not from barbarians, but invincible NATURE.
When anybody likes to make investment in any place, the investor must bear in mind the motto of American’s real estate business : LOCATION, LOCATION, AND LOCATION .
Need information not carried in the promotional brochures of any industrial estates? Consult us, you will it very, very worth your while.
DRAGON, ELPHANT, AND EAGLE
August 9, 2000
When we count human beings, the most populated country is PRC - 1,236,914,658, followed by India, - 984,003,683, and then USA’s 269,816,000 (all figures are estimated ones in 1998) . In cartoons, the said countries are symbolized by Dragon, Elephant, and Eagle. Here, then, is a modern version of Aesop’s fable.
During the course of economic development, the relationships among the 3 nations have become more and more interwoven and complicated. What is the impact of the first two countries on USA? Since they have been competing for a share of the American market, many people may think that cheap labor in PRC or in India is the only factor that has caused problems for working Americans, particularly the blue collar workers. To certain extent, that is true. Nevertheless, the trend will be that not only the blue collar class, but also the white collar class will start to worry soon. Why? Because the new industry that has been growing outside of factory buildings and marching into offices is the INFORMATION INDUSTRY.
We have noted that USA needs, at present, 300,000+ qualified persons to fill information industry posts. The demand seems to be growing. Even the increase in number of H1B visas cannot cope with the situation. As a result, many of the software jobs have been given to overseas companies, mostly in PRC and India. Because of her traditional English language medium education, India has more advantages over PRC. In 1998-1999, India exported (mostly to USA) software to the amount of US$2.5 billion. In1999-2000, it is US$4 billion!
What does it mean to the Eagle? It could mean the gradual disappearance of a large segment of WHITE COLLAR jobs in USA! This is not merely the imaginary opinion of this writer, it is the opinion of certain expert, who has seen the doomsday of the USA white collar class!
Under these circumstances, would this crisis (in Chinese, it imeans "danger + opportunity") be out of control? Or may we follow the Chinese philosophical thought: to put the danger under control and think of a way to turn it into opportunity?
Will our readers, Americans or elsewhere, like to take advantage of the timing of opportunity? If anyone needs consultation, we shall be pleased to offer.
E-mail: VJCHANG@hotmail.com
Tel/Fax USA : (301) 438-7439
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