From owner-china-nt@UGA.CC.UGA.EDU Thu Oct 13 04:12:17 1994 Date: Thu, 13 Oct 1994 01:06:26 -0700 Reply-To: Ming Cheng Sender: China-Net From: Ming Cheng Subject: CCF #9452 Comments: To: china-nt@uga.cc.uga.edu To: Multiple recipients of list CHINA-NT ==+==+==+== C h i n e s e C o m m u n i t y F o r u m ==+==+==+=== Wednesday, October 12 1994 (Issue No. 9452) +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= Chinese Community Forum (CCF) is an e-journal published on China-Net. CCF is dedicated to the discussion on the issues related to the Chinese community. The opinions expressed here do not necessarily represent the views of the new topics are very much appreciated. +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+= # of Table of Contents Author | Lines ===========***==========***==========**==========***==========***=========== <> 1. Improve Your English, Buddy!...................................EBCCF 32 2. If They Can Make It, So Can We--Chinese in the Hi-Tech Biz...An Jing 53 <> 3. Eulogy To The Rice Princess ............................Xingchu Wang 53 4. Prison Labor Revisit..................................Changqing Yang 57 <> 5. Don't Believe Everything You See.....................Kevin Faulkner 126 6. American Movies and Its Ideology.........................Leran Dong 45 ===========***==========***==========**==========***==========***=========== -- From The Editor -- As editors of CCF, we think that it is definitely worth our while to spend a moment or two to reflect on the interests and the needs of our community. A result is the announcement in opening of this issue. We must confess that readers' demand is also part of the reason for such an annoucement. Most of all, our hope is that through collective effort we can accomplish a common goal -- to improve our English. And of course we would be glad to see that CCF can play a role in helping our community in whatever way. But for the current project you, our dear readers, have a major role to play in order for this project to achieve any success. Also with the promotion of the community's interest, An Jing follows up his idea put forward in the last issue by providing us with some success stories of Chinese entrepreneurs in this country. His message is clear: if they can make it, so can the rest of us. Well, different interests as well as cultures are not always compatible with each other. In the column of "China on My Mind," Changqing Yang touches on the controversial topic of forced labor products imported from China, and Xingchu Wang elaborates with his touch of satire on the societal impacts brought about by the economic reform undergoing in China. Then Kevin Faulkner presents a well-written review on the book "Age of Manipulation," which may extend and deepen our vision on the concept of democracy and the functionality of the U.S. government. For your movie goers/lovers you might be surprised to know that hot movies, such as "Forrest Gump", also have their hidden and not so hidden social ideologies as reviewed by Leran Dong. Whether our review inspires you to go to those movies or not, we here wish all of you a nice weekend. ==============***====================***===================***============= 1. Improve Your English, Buddy! ................................. CCFEB 36 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- We, the Editorial Board of Chinese Community Forum, invite everyone who is interested to participate in our Imporve Your English program. By now we feel that all of us have realized how important English is to our career, and to a large extent our life in general. For many it may start as a struggle to draft a decent job application letter or a presentable resume, for others to speak and write English well may have become the main obstacle in our career in this juncture of life, ultimately it is about whether we will be able to assimilate ourselves into the new culture into which we are now emerging. And language is by far the most telling yardstick of our assimilation progress. We don't think that too many of us are willing to wait for our sons and daughters to teach us how to speak and write English, are we really? We know that in many cases that many of us were never given a chance to work on our language skills while in school because we came in as graduate student. That's the fact of life, and also one of the reasons we decide to reach out and ask all of you to join us and improve our English skills. This is by no means to say that we CCF editors are necessarily the best English speakers or writers in the community. As a matter of fact, our first invitation goes to those of you who are better, by trade or training with English language, to join force with us to serve the community at large. Meanwhile, we still don't know how big the problem is out there. We can only guess that there is a case to case scenario. Everyone's needs are different from others. So, to start, we ask all of you to write to us about your concerns, suggestions, and even questions, specific or general, in relation to this topic, to CCF-EDITOR@IFCSS.ORG. In return, we will try to assembly the best talents we can find to assist you or to solve the problems together. And periodically we will put messages together to let you know what we have. It is said the best way to learn how to speak is speaking. The same also goes with writing. By participation you will only get better. This is probably the only place where you don't have to worry about making a mistake. And it goes without saying that we are looking farward to your reply. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. If They Can Make It, So Can We--Chinese in the Hi-Tech Biz...An Jing 53 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- To follow up the discussion we convened in last issue of CCF, today I want to introduce you to some of Chinese friends who are relatively successful in the hi-tech biz here in USA. All I can say to you is: If they can do it, so can we. Let's first take a look at the Kingston Technology, incorporated in 1987 by Du Jichuan and Sheng Dawei at Orange County, California, with only $10,000 start money. They started in their garage by making DranRam. In the next six months, they netted one million dollars. Today the processor up-grade is the company's main production which has $500 million worth of business deals a year. Meanwhile, it's probably safe to say that whatever Chinese man can do, Chinese women would do better, if not equally well. This is exactly what the Compulink Management Center Inc. is, a software company owned by a Chinese Woman. The founder and the president of this family business, Dong Lianlin, who has a Master's Degree in Physics, comes from Shanghai. She started to write the software while taking care of her newborn son at home. Now her company has four million biz per year. Its product Laser Fiche has been rated as the best software in network in 1994 by The Network Solution Magazine. The company is ranked as the number 95 in Women biz of LA county. Well, I'm not surprized if you have heard the two stories mentioned above in the past but it is probably the first time you are hearing the story of the Automated Intelligent Systems, Inc., a company which invented the automatic fax system for office use. The system which could send a fax to many destinations at once may be imaginable to the minds of many Ph.D's. But many of us may be surprised to how this biz took off. It did so after receiving a letter from Hillary Clinton, the First Lady, to praise his work as usual as it may do to many others. Sure, many CCS have even received a letter from the President himself. But if you think by getting a letter from the White House, you, too, could become a millionaire. It can happen, you heard it here first. "They are all doing computer biz", you sigh in despair. Well, you must be a physicist, am I guessing right? OK. Here is a guy who did not go to any school of even modest fame, nor did he major in a field of great popularity. Xie Qikuan, this year's Outstanding Youth Award Winner in Los Angeles manages a farm in the outskirt of Los Angeles. His story is a perfect fit to the Chinese saying: Hang Hang Chu Zhuang Yuan. "Well, I just graduated, I may have to work in some company first," you say. Well, I understand. The president of Cheyenne Software Inc. Hu Aishui welcomes people to join his adventure. There are about 50 Chinese among 250 employees. "I do not resent using Chinese," said Hu. "You do not have to be the smartest, but you must be the most responsible and have an enterprising spirit." ==============***===================****==================***============== 3. Eulogy to the Rice Princess..............................Xingchu Wang 54 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Back home they call those products manufactured out of the state-run or Socialist factories and plants as "daughters of the Emperor." Daughters of the Emperor definitely need not to worry about marriage. In other words, there is no question that those products are guaranteed to be sold out. It's simple: each princess is also the only child of the family, the only product in the market, and no other companies or shops have such a thing. When the market demand is greater than the supply, customers have no other choice but to buy shoddy products, and also horrible service on top of everything. It's a blatant monopoly with no competition from anywhere. A particular product, no matter how bad it is in quality, can remain the same for decades without upgrading. When you have billions of customers and limited supplies of goods, anything of life's necessity automatically becomes a hot commodity, a hot bed that brews nothing but rampant corruption, backdoor connection and bribery. All hell broke loose right in your face. Take rice for example, not long ago city residents must get their rice with rice coupons and ration books at an appointed rice center, state-run of course, that distributed a certain quantity at a predetermined time period. There it mattered very little whether the rice for distribution was good, bad or even rotten, the bottom-line was that people had to buy it right now before their ration evaporated with time. On the other hand, it was a different story if your family had relatives or friends working at the distribution center who could pass the words along. This way you would learn beforehand that at which time of which day there would be rice of excellent quality with limited supply for distribution at which center. So either you or somebody else from your family would rush to get in line. That was the way to get good rice. On the other hand, others who had to eat bad rice everyday became upset. So the leaders of the neighborhood committee went to visit them with brainwashing in mind: "rice in your bowl is definitely better than starving to death like what happened to your grand parents in the old days, etc, etc, this is, by the way, what Socialist advantage is all about. See, we must review our past misery in order to appreciate the good time of now. We can't forget the pain after the wound is healed." Gosh, it was so eloquent, there was nothing those poor bad-rice fed folks can say but nod their heads. Sure, the rice tasted bad but it was rice nonetheless. Then there was a time when rice must be rationed with flour. For Chinese live on rice down in the South, every family had its share of headache in dealing with the 30-50% of flour in their ration. Again if your family had somebody working in the distribution center, things were much easier. The pavilion in the lake always gets the first moon light, see. Getting rice, nothing but rice, was a piece of cake if you have connections in the royal court. That way, you don't have to eat flour. Still there were those who actually preferred to spend money to buy good rice from the black market where the price was twice as high as the state run rice centers. But black market was not where ordinary salary folks could afford to go. Recently, the Mainland has eliminated rice coupons and ration books. That particular daughter of the emperor had seen the end of her life. Since the start of the economic reform, there have been a number of princesses who died young. And it seems more are going to follow suit. Alas. (The text is translated from Chinese by Newton X. Liu.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Prison Labor Revisit ............................... Changqing Yang 57 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- With the latest report from ABC World News Report, the issue of the prison labor in China came to the limelight again. If the US news media, with the help of SDC etc. do not make distortions on their report about the prison labor in China, I am not sure there will be any support of such "protest" among the American people. There may be hundred of thousand prisoners, with say several thousands "political prisoners" who have been fighting for democracy and human rights in China. Most of those so called prison labor products, according to the knowledge we have, were made by those regular prisoners, or real criminals. That is really not a big deal even to the American people. What the US news media and SDC have done was this: First, they point out the fact that there are prison labor products made by prison labors in China and those products are exported, violating the US law and the agreement between the two government, to the US. Then, they deliberately point out another fact: there are political prisoners in China. They intentionally connect those two facts together to mislead the innocent American people to believe that the products shipped to the US were mostly made by those people who fought the value the American people have cherished and who was sent to the gulag of the communist dictator because they fought for the value they have cherished. So, in the mind of American people, after the brain wash by the news media, SDC and Henry Wu, the equation is this: prison labor = political prisoner = communist dictatorship = blood in Tian An Men Square. One has to admit that no one is guilty of lying. However, anyone with the common sense of China will know that it was misleading to connect those issue together. The issue of prison labor in China is simply a matter of China internal legal system, the choice of Chinese people to punish and re-educate the criminals. It may not be up to the US standard of humane, it may not be up to the ideal of perfect, but it is the system in China and Chinese people in general prefer harsh punishment to the criminals. Just ask the people in this country how they like the criminal punishment system here, one knows the answer. The matter of the prison labor products been illegally exported to this country is simply a matter of diplomacy. It is the US law not to import prison labor product (although it is NOT the US law not to produce and export prison labor products), but it is not Chinese law not to export prison labor products. If you do not want it, fine don't buy it. It is that simple. Connect the issue of different judicial systems, the issue of diplomacy with the issue of human rights, will only back fire. It will only prove to the Chinese people that some of those people in the US will do whatever to undermine the Chinese. One thing need to be noticed: this round of assault on the issue was backed by AFL-CIO, the American Labor organization. AFL-CIO was one of the driving force last May to block the renewal of China's MFN status, not for the reason of human rights but for the fear of cheap labors, and cheap products from China. Bringing AFL-CIO to the stage will only make the issue of human rights more vague. ==============***===================***==================***================ 5. Don't Believe Everything You see......................Kevin Faulkner 126 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- We've all seen it recently -- the courtroom pictures of O.J. Simpson, showing a close-up of his face. About tow months ago two prominent American magazines showed the same picture on the covers. But as it turns out the pictures were not quiet the same. One of them was touched up so that the face of Mr. Simpson was darker than the original. If the two magazines had not published these pictures simultaneously, it may have gone undetected. But, as chance would have it, the travesty was recognized. The magazine editor's explanation: that by darkening the face of Mr. Simpson, the alleged criminal looked more menacing, thus the magazine would sell more. And selling more is what its all about, right? I present this timely example of blatant media manipulation because the book I am about to review, "Age of manipulation" by Wilson Brian Key, shows a rarely viewed side of the mass media in America: the untruth in advertising. Yet the example above (along with other recently discussed media fiascos of CNN and CBS) show just how presently the problem can be. The premise of the book is simple, that the media machine in America has made us American the most indoctrinated society on the planet. This is a compelling statement in light of the stereotypical ideal of the independent and free-spirited red- blooded America. Yet, the context of Key's Book goes much deeper than mass media, questioning the fundamentals of what makes us think what we think, and why. Key wastes no time in jumping into the most controversial topic of media manipulation: subliminal advertising. Simply put, scientists have known now for some time (e.g. July 14, 1994, v340, Science) that humans can be influenced by images, sounds, and smells that register on a subconscious level. Key shows specifically how the media uses this to sell consumer goods. While some of Key's specific examples of subliminal advertising are fuzzy, other examples are more blatant. But, perhaps more convincingly, he points out the millions of dollars are spent on simple picture that would otherwise appear as photographs. While the US government has laws to prohibit this type of advertising, they are rarely enforced. If you, still do not believe what Key described in the examples of his book, you are at least left with a sinking feeling. Why do advertisers spend this money if isn't effective? And most disturbing, how does all of this influence me? While no reader of this book would like to believe that he or she can be influenced by subliminal images between the sheets of a magazine, your left questioning yourself. Key points out that it's not the power of advertising itself, but our refusal to discern reality from fantasy that's so disturbing. So what's all of this have to do with democracy and government in America, or any country for that matter? Key goes on in his book to explain this. His analogies are often between the former Soviet Union and America, but it could just as well as be between China and America (incidentally, all of Key's books had been banned in China and the former Soviet Union upon its first printing in 1989). He sites differences in propaganda in the former Soviet Union and mass media in the US. While in a communist country like the Soviet Union propaganda is blatant and in the open, propaganda in America is somewhat less obvious. You're not sure what to be believe in America, while communist propaganda is mostly overt attempts to distort reality. Yet Key argues that it's Americans that have the most distorted view of reality of any nation in the world, that we have become immune to misinformation that goes on around all time. An excellent examples of the difference between how, for instance, graft works in America versus China in obtaining such thing as passport. To purchase a passport in USA, you must pay a certain fee by cash or check, then about 10-20% of this in cash as a "processing fee". Purchasing a car is another examples. In America, all sort of processing fees and "optional" features (which are really not optional at all) are tagged onto the price of a car. Graft is alive and well in America, we just have become immune to it and accept it. What one society call graft, we call a "processing fee". While pay-offs may be worse in magnitude in one society from another, the difference is simple a matter of degree and perception. (Reviewer's example) The example above also illustrated the power of words. Words can be used to manipulate reality or hide it (such as "processing fee"). Key goes into great detail on this issue. In fact, it would be difficult to describe accept by example. Key (who is professor in University) describes an incident where he steps into his classroom, walk up to the chalkboard, and writes the work "FUCK IT" on the board. What resulted was telling. The reaction of the students ranged from amusement to fear and honor upon seeing the words written on the chalkboard. While Key asked the class what was wrong, someone replied that the word written on the board is "dirty". Key's message from this is that the word itself was not dirty, only the students interpretations of it. What was in their heads. Thus, words themselves can have a profound influence on the way we behave. Key point out that this has serious consequences when humans try to deal with one another. Stereotypes and misconceptions can often get in the way of true communication. It is this kind of behavior that makes us more vulnerable to advertising propaganda. We humans like to have simple answers to complex problems. Ours reward for indoctrination is the perception that the world is simple and that there are clear solutions to all problems, no matter how complex. Stereotypes often are part of dealing with problems in our society. Key use the example of the famous actor/president Ronald Reagan to show how this is especially true in America. While Reagan was president, much of his effort was spent on making the Soviet Union seem like an imminent threat to our society, the "Evil Empire" as he called it. This justified massive defense spending. And in the meantime, we become the biggest debtor nation in the world. But many people seemed to rally around this attitude of "us" against "them". It makes life simple when you describe it in terms of black and white, good and evil. What does all of this have to do with the Chinese community (or any immigrant community) in America? The answer is, very much. This book is an eye opener for people new to this country and those of us who were born here. Stereotypes and wishful thinking about race, gender, religion, etc., run deep in our psyche, and much of it, as Key point out, is very harmful to the mutual understanding between the many people in America's melting pot. Ads and media propaganda condition humans to view others as stereotypes, rather than as individuals. But if we are aware of how we think and where ideas come from, we can have power over them. Key's ending message is uplifting: that we humans can exercise our free will to determine what we think, and feel. This will invariably lead to more productive action in solving the many problems that face us all in this country, and elsewhere. While "Age of Manipulation" is sometime wordy and complex, Key's book is a thought provoking work in a world where so much is taken for granted, and everything that is spoon-fed to us by the media is believed. Key's book offers questions to the reader that will forever change your perspective on the world. The major message of "Age of Manipulation" is that the power of advertising media/propaganda should never be taken lightly. In 1989 this country spent $150 billion on ad propaganda, and this rises 10-15% annually. America has a head start on the rest of the world in media manipulation, but the rest of the world may not be far behind. I am reminded of a recent press report. It stated that in the early 90's, upon the opening of China's markets, the advertisers were among the first from America to go. [The Age of Manipulation: The Con is Confidence. The Sun in Sincere, by Wilson Bryan, 1993, Madison Books, Lanham, Maryland] --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. American Movies And Its Social Ideology..................Leran Dong 45 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- We know that movies used to be propaganda tool of social ideology in China. Neverthless, the entertaining function and utilitarian purpose aside, American mainstream movies as a whole reflect its social idelogical trend as seen through the eyes of those American who with historical vision. Recently, a best selling movie "Forrest Gump" is a good example of such so called history-rethink film in which most important historical events in last thirty years in America have been reexamined seriously and facetiously through the fortuitous adventures of a charming nerd. With him many American have reenacted their real stories in those eventful years once again with bitter weeping as we have in watching the movies about the culture revolution. The sentiments involved could hardly be understoond by others who do not have same experience. The film is made at the time America itself is also at the crossroads though the cummunisties have collapsed as shown vividly in the movie "Ninotchka". While US is still the leading economic and military power in the world guarded by people as Sergeant York in "Sergent York", this same world no longer behold US with the moral respect it onece did. Instead, it sees a society ripped apart by drugs, violence and crimes, its intellectual circle full of the "Carnal Knowlege" of the hedonism . Being compatible with current social ideological trend which is vowing to reinvigorate American democracy and the system of value, the film strickly criticizes both conservatism and liberalism. By letting Gump's sweet heart return to his embrace after loitering years, the film expresses the willing of American for returning to the true. In response to the calling for restoration and renewal in America, the movies explaining Chinese family values start to draw attention of people at Hollywood. Knowing this backgroud, we would not be surprised at seeing the chinese movie such as "Joy Luck Club" become hot at this time when those movies advocating heroism such as "First Blood" and "Start War" (1977) failed to rebuild the moral standard of the American families and children seared by the emotional trauma of single parenthood and divorce. No matter which way the America will go, we probably will not see the golden time of Hollywood representing westen civilization again which has gone with "Easy Rider" and "Midnight Cowboy" (1969), two representative films proclaimed the end of the good time. An old American century is coming to end . +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=++ + Executive Editor: Ming Cheng + + Executive Moderator: Gang Xu + +--------------------------------------------------------------------------+ + For subscription: mail "SUB CHINA-NT Your-First-Name Your-Last-Name" + + to LISTSERV@UGA (bitnet) or listserv@uga.cc.uga.edu (internet) + + For unsubscription: mail "UNSUB CHINA-NT" to the above e-address + + For back issues of CCF: + + anonymous ftp to: cnd.org[132.249.229.100]: pub/community/CCF + + gopher to cnd.org: 2. English Menu --> 13. Community --> 1. ccf + + For contribution and inquiry: mail to ccf-editor@ifcss.org + +=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=++