Rubik's Cube and Cat Painting in Tianjin

One day over a year ago I was walking down a street with several art galleries in Tianjin, China. Most of them did not catch my attention but one had a painting that caused me to stop dead in my tracks. This painting seemed particularly... unique. Especially since it was so prominently displayed, I wondered if the painting was a sign of local "creativity" or something else. In some parts of China it can be relatively easy to find copies of famous and even less-than-famous paintings.

I was in a hurry so I just took a quick photograph before rushing off. I have yet to see anything similar to the painting in other art galleries or anywhere online. Several friends who have seen it have been equally stumped. So, I will share my photograph of the painting here. Maybe someone can recognize it or be more successful in finding a match.

Also, bonus points if you can explain its symbolism.

More on creativity in China in future posts. I assure you, though, that none of them will involve cats and Rubik's Cubes.

Apple's Trademark Challenges in China: EPADs and ifads

In case you are not already aware, Apple is in the midst of a legal battle over whether or not they own the "iPad" trademark in mainland China. A mainland Chinese court has ruled that it is now owned by the Chinese manufacturer Proview but a higher court has still not announced its ruling. For more details about a fascinating case I recommend some posts written by lawyers knowledgeable about China. Dan Harris on China Law Blog clearly described the overall issue here: "The Proview v. Apple China Trademark Dispute. Wanna Buy The Brooklyn Bridge?". And Stan Abrams on China Hearsay has been very regularly explaining and commenting on various aspects of the case as it evolves. His most recent post (at the time of publishing this post) is here: "The Natives Are Restless: Proview’s Latest iPad Threatdown".

Abrams also mentioned another Apple trademark legal case. Apple has filed a complaint over the Chinese luggage vendor EBox using the name "EPAD" on its products. Michael Kan on PCWorld shared a response by EBox that indicates it is fully aware of Apple's current trademark problem in China:

EBox opposes Apple's complaint and is preparing a formal response. "The iPad trademark is not Apple's, so now they want to take ours," said EBox's spokeswoman. "Apple has been a bully."

Abrams does not comment on the case specifically but does mention that:

...there are tons of “bad guys” out there using marks similar to “iPad” to flog their stuff.

Based on what I have seen, I am not surprised by the use of the word "tons". In fact, I have seen some items that may strike some as slightly more egregious than EPAD-labeled luggage. For example, in the city of Guangzhou, where I earlier observed the iPhone 4S grey market and a number of "fake" Apple stores, here is what I found in a large shopping mall several weeks ago:

Want one for your home?

Just like many similar-looking products offered by Apple, the rather large ifad had a touch screen and provided an interactive experience. I did not have much time to fully explore its functionality so I will refrain from providing a review. I will just say that it did allow one to find a variety of products listed for sale, such as these shoes:

If only it could automatically detect my shoe size and let me know if they are in stock.

I am not sure whether ifads are widespread, but this is my first and only time to notice one. And I assume that this is not an Apple product despite its name and remarkably familiar design.

So, it looks like Apple's lawyers still have plenty of work to keep them busy even if Apple successfully acquires ownership of the iPad and EPAD trademarks.

And no, I do not know if ifads are available in other colors.

Donuts China Style

I have commented before on how Western companies, such as McDonald's, KFC, and Dairy Queen, have localized their products for China's market. Writing for Reuters Eveline Danubrata reports about a another food localization:

Pork donuts may not be palatable to Americans or Europeans, but the parent company of Dunkin' Donuts and the Baskin-Robbins ice cream chains is catering to local tastes in China, where it aims to open another 100 stores in the next two to three years...

"Donuts are a very flexible product. You can do savory donuts, you can do donuts with shredded pork -- that's in China," Chief Executive Officer Nigel Travis told Reuters in an interview.

"We also have a range of other savory products that we have been testing and introducing country by country."

Danubrata also notes that pork donuts probably would not work well is Muslim countries due to religious rules forbidding the eating of pork. In that light, I suspect Dunkin' Donuts is not planning to introduce them in Israel as well.

In The Washington Post Keith B. Richburg also commented on donut localizations in his article about the "doughnut wars" in Shanghai:

...Chinese customers seem more interested in the drinks than the sugary doughnuts. And following the lessons of other American retailers, the doughnut shops are finding that some of their best-sellers would be barely recognizable back home, like Dunkin’s dried pork and seaweed doughnut, or the doughnut made with dried Bonito fish...

Dunkin’, like some of the other chains, is discovering that coffee and other drink offerings, including jasmine green tea and lichi green tea, are more popular than doughnuts.

Krispy Kreme, meanwhile, is offering its quarters, with easy chairs and quiet surroundings, as a place to relax, surf the Web and enjoy a huge variety of cream-filled doughnuts at a more leisurely pace.

“People stay a long time,” Lim said. Here in Shanghai, he said, “we position ourselves differently than in the West.”

However, he also questions whether donuts are a good fit for China:

But what isn’t at all clear is whether Chinese consumers particularly like doughnuts.

The average Chinese breakfast might consist of congee, or rice porridge, maybe some soybean milk, sometimes fried noodle, or perhaps a dry roll or bun. The idea of something as sweet as a glazed or cream-filled doughnut in the morning would seem an anathema to many local palates.

Based on my own food explorations I am not as skeptical about the future of donuts in China. Here is one reason why:

A pile of deliciousness

These tasty objects are called xián jiānbing (咸煎饼) and roughly equivalent to a large bagel in size. I am not aware of a English translation (and a literal character by character translation does not seem to do the trick) so I will call them Chinese donuts. They go especially well with a tasty bowl of congee (a Chinese rice porridge) but can be happily enjoyed on their own. The Chinese donuts cost less than US 50 cents each, are much denser than typical Western donuts, and are very filling. The ones above are from a simple but wonderful local restaurant -- Wuzhanji (伍湛记). I would list the restaurant as a must visit for foodies (they also have excellent steamed rice-flour rolls) and is perfect for a morning meal. Based on the crowds I regularly saw at Wuzhanji, they certainly have no problem selling plenty of Chinese donuts.

Of particular relevance is that these Chinese donuts are not very sweet and instead fit more in the "savory" category. Based on it and many other similar foods I have had in China, when I read about the localized products at Dunkin' Donuts I was not at all surprised (I have yet to try any of them though). I think the Chinese donuts provides a useful example of how understanding what is available in China can provide some hints to foreign companies about how they can best localize their offerings in China or how some offerings may not require any changes (see here for a similar discussion about mobile phones).

I should point out that you cannot find Wuzhanji and its special Chinese donuts in just any city in China. As far as I know it only exists around Guangzhou -- a city where the density of Western donut shops currently appears to be far less than Shanghai. But I suspect Wuzhanji and its Chinese donuts could fare well in Shanghai. If Wuzhanji opens branches in Shanghai there could be yet another twist in China's donut wars.

From Nail Shop to Factory Life in China

When I was last in Shenyang, Liaoning province, I visited a large underground shopping mall popular with many youth. While there I had the opportunity to speak with this young woman working at a nail shop:

Selling fake nails with a variety of designs

As we talked I got to learn about some of her life. And I tried to understand some of the decisions she had recently made, including the choice of her mobile phone:

However, it was another decision that I found most striking. When I asked about her hopes for the future she said without hesitation that she planned to the leave the nail shop and work at a factory in Yantai, Shandong province -- over 12 hours from Shenyang by road and ferry or longer without the ferry. She had already moved from her home in a village several hours away to work in Shenyang and was prepared to move even further to an unfamiliar city just based on the encouraging words of a friend who had done the same. In the young woman's eyes working in a factory would be an important step up in her life.

Her story in part resembled others I have heard when interviewing youth in China. It also seemed straight out of a book I had recently read - Factory Girls by Leslie T. Chang. If you enjoyed reading my earlier posts about Xiaoxin's first payday or first vegetarian lunch in Shanghai, you may also enjoy Chang's book. The stories she shares help capture the realities for many in China as they strive to improve their own and their family's lives.

Recently, I came across a video excerpt capturing some similar issues regarding factory life in China (H/T to Tricia Wang) . In the excerpt workers' express their hopes and their impressions of life at Foxconn -- the company which is the focus of much Western media attention due to its important role manufacturing goods for Apple, Sony, and many other well-known companies. The video also includes scenes reminiscent of many others I have seen that are more a part of everyday life for many in China than modern architectural marvels or high speed trains. While what is shown in the video is just the surface of some very deep issues and I do not believe all is as clear as it may seem, it helps show a side of China that is often missed or glossed over in typical news reports.

One young man in the video mentions that he chose Foxconn because its conditions are much better than other factories in China. I would not be surprised to discover that Foxconn's conditions are also much better than the factory where the young woman above may now be working.

You can watch the video here:

        Dreamwork China from Cineresie.

Bailian Dong Park in Zhuhai, Guangdong

Today, I visited Bailian Dong Park in Zhuhai, Guangdong province. It can also go by the names Bailian Cave Park or White Lotus Cave Park. I see them all being used on English web sites. But in Chinese there is no confusion. It is simply 白莲洞公园 (in pinyin with tones: báilián dòng gōngyuán).

The park and the several temples on its grounds provided me a much needed change of pace. For the same purpose I will share a few photos here.

Park lake

Photo opportunity

Man displaying his nunchaku skills to the rest of his group

Roller skating

Stairway to the temples: the character 福 (fu) can be translated as "blessing"

Placing incense sticks

Looking at lotus flower shaped candles

Incense sticks burning

More Than 3 Standard Deviations Above the Mean: Lactivism In Memory of Susan Eitelman Dean

Several days ago I found out that a friend of mine, Susan, had suffered a "major embolic stroke that occluded 2 major arteries in her brain". Much of my graduate work and some additional later research was in the area of cognitive neuropsychology -- I studied what brain damage could tell us about how the undamaged brain works. I knew, as a friend had written, that this was likely "bad, bad, bad".

A wonderful web site tracking her progress was quickly set up and her close friends provided regular updates. I first read that doctors were using medication to reduce the pressure in her brain. Then they decided surgery was neccessary. Then there were reports that the swelling continued and was potentially causing more damage. Her friends expressed that any recovery could take from months to years. I knew in cases like this, though, that "recovery" can truly mean "as recovered as possible".

But there will be no recovery of any length. Earlier today I read Susan had died.

Susan was married and in her early 30's. She had a 2 year old boy. She was very health conscious.

My heart goes out to her child, her husband, her parents, and everyone else who was close to her.

Reading the stories and comments others left on the web site and her Facebook page was both uplifting and sad. I think one of the comments on her Facebook page says so much:

I love you more than 3 standard deviations above the mean!!

Her friend wrote that just days before Susan's stroke. It highlights both the feelings many genuinly had for Susan and the dorkiness Susan proudly displayed.

I could go on and on about how years ago a work colleague and I recruited Susan fresh after she graduated from Carnegie Mellon and how she proved to be such a great work colleague and friend. Or how she was so helpful when I needed to make a long distance move. Or how she semi-randomly thanked me last month for the used knife set I gave her over 10 years ago -- it solved a minor but long unsolved mystery for me since I had forgotten giving it to her.

Instead, I will share one of the issues dear to Susan: breast feeding. She considered herself a lactivist -- someone who promotes breast feeding. This is not limited to simply encouraging women to nurse their children. In American society, some women are made to feel as if they are doing something wrong by simply feeding their child in public -- as if it is something that needs to be hidden away. That something so incredibly natural, healthy, wondrous, and loving as breastfeeding even needs advocates boggles my mind.

Just days before her stroke I shared with Susan a recent news report that caught my attention:

Nirvana Jennette, a mom of four from Camden County, Georgia says she was forced out of church for breastfeeding her baby. Church leaders asked her to breastfeed in the bathroom and implied they could have arrested her for “lewd behavior.” The most egregious statement? She told news station WSAV that her pastor compared her breastfeeding to a stripper performing.

How breast feeding is "lewd" or like a "stripper performing" is beyond me. Sometimes, the same people who can be charmed by watching puppies suckle can without hesitation criticize a woman for nursing her own child in public. Whatever the cause for such feelings, I have yet to hear a good reason for banning public breastfeeding. If you do not like to look at it, tough. I do not like to listen to people in the supposedly free U.S. whine about public breastfeeding. But I will be the first to protect your right do so.

Fortunately, in Georgia the law allows women to nurse anywhere they and their child have permission to be. Now, there is a movement to add an enforcement provision to the law. The article also mentions nurse-in protests in reaction to several other incidents.

In response to the article Susan commented:

Thanks for sharing this Brian! I love how some of my guy friends are becoming lactivists too!! Even from as far as China! I'd love to hear your thoughts on how breastfeeding is viewed over there... :)

I was hoping to more carefully consider the issue of breastfeeding in China when I had the chance and get back to Susan later. Sometimes, later does not work.

In the spirit of Susan's lactivism I want to pass on some relevant links Susan recently shared:

• An article "Why you should breastfeed your toddler"
• Lactivist shirts for sale
• An effort to convince Google to do a Google Doodle promoting breastfeeding
• An online store offering breastfeeding solutions

I must admit I had no plans to do a post on breastfeeding, but I share Susan's feelings on this topic. I am happy on this very sad day to help spread Susan's concerns about an issue that was particularly important to her.

Finally, just a few weeks ago Susan shared a post of this photo:

It is a collage of photos telling the story of a couple who married despite the bride being in the midst of a very difficult fight against cancer. She died 5 days after the wedding. Like me, Susan is careful about checking out such stories and included a link to Snopes indicating the story about the photos was indeed true.

And she left a brief comment on her post that seems so apt now:

Life is short, and delicate. Handle carefully.

Sometimes, it is much too short.

Susan and her son Andrew at a Kindermusik class last week (thanks to Holly Lesnick)

Conan Copies the Chinese Copier

I have previously commented on various examples of potential copyright or trademark problems in China -- whether mobile phones, Apple Stores, computers, or ice cream. However, these are certainly not the only cases. One question many foreign companies ask is "What can we do about it?"

American talk show host Conan O'Brien has taken his own path to answering that question after he discovered a show produced by Sohu in China had copied his own show's opening sequence. I do not know whether any legal action has been taken or is even possible, but O'Brien may have done something even more effective: he publicly mocked Sohu's show. And just as important, the key excerpt has been posted and is currently available on Sohu's video sharing service in China:

[Update: If video is not appearing you can find it on Sohu here]

While I and several of my Chinese friends find the excerpt humorous, I think there is a deeper point to be made. Fan Huang on the Shanghaiist commented on the potential impact:

The internet now makes former boundaries porous to an incredible extent yadda yadda, and we feel like the current moment is when a previously solid cultural bubble separating China and the rest of the world has been pierced...

We hope incidents like the Conan smackdown contribute to a new notion in China that wantonly appropriating other people's names/designs/tv show opening sequences is no longer okay, because the specter of losing face is now possible on a global scale.

Face is indeed an important concept in China and understanding it can help companies better address a variety of issues. Conan's aim may have been more about producing fresh humor than causing Sina's show to change its opening sequence, but I believe this illustrates how best responding to copying in China can be aided by a better understanding of Chinese culture and some more creativity.

Great Firewall Update: Google+ Blocked Again

Last month I explored a variety of web sites to see whether they were freely accessible in China. In short, from my location in Guangzhou I found that:

• Facebook, Twitter, Vimeo, and YouTube were all completely blocked.

• Amazon China, eBay, MSN, NPR, and Windows Live loaded without apparent problem.

• Amazon.com, Bing, CNN, Gmail, Google+, Yahoo!, and this blog had a variety of problems but were not completely blocked.

For more details see here.

Recently, there have been reports of Google+ being accessible in China and that it led to an outburst of Chinese language comments on President Barack Obama's Google+ page (see here for a news report that includes some of Jeremy Goldkorn's insights on the Chinese language comments). I was surprised numerous reports claimed that Google+ had only recently become accessible since I was able to access it last month in Guangzhou.

In light of the news, a few hours ago I did a quick check of some of the sites I tested last time. I conducted the tests on two different operating systems from my location in Zhuhai, Guangdong province. The tests were conducted while while using a non-local DNS server and without a VPN (for details on what that means see the earlier post). The results on the two operating systems were the same. It is possible some of the results would have been worse with a local DNS. It seems unlikely any would have been better. This is what I found (changes from previous testing in bold):

• Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and YouTube were all blocked.

• Amazon.com, Gmail, Windows Live, and Yahoo! loaded without apparent problem.

• This blog loaded with the same problems as described before.

So, while Amazon, Gmail, and Yahoo! all fared better than last time, Google+ is now blocked.

For me. In Zhuhai. Today.

My understanding is that I am now not the only one being blocked from accessing Google+. It is also worth noting that my VPN is working just fine. When I want to "get through" the Great Firewall I can do so without problem.

My guess at the moment is that the Great Firewall underwent some recent updates and that there were a few bugs in the rollout. However, there are some peculiar aspects regarding the reported recent accessibility of Google+ that make me wonder if there is more to the story.

But for now, I will return to trying to get that video to work.

Seeing What is "Out of Sight"

In the "About Me" section of this blog I wrote "I'm fascinated by the similarities and differences in how people 'see' the world around them." And in a previous post I shared how following a dog led me to some interesting discoveries in Yuli, Taiwan. In that spirit, here is a short animation made by three graduates of the National Taiwan University of the Arts about what a little girl "sees" while searching for her very helpful dog (no Chinese required and thanks to a Taiwanese friend for introducing it to me):

Update: For those who cannot watch YouTube due to the Great Firewall here is a version on Tudou (possibly not the same quality):

[Update 2: the Tudou version no longer loads so it has been removed. If you are here now, the Great Firewall likely isn't a big factor for you now anyway.]

The "Out of Sight" website  can be found here: http://evaty.main.jp/oos/

Beach Inconveniences in Hong Kong

Two signs I saw last November at a Cheung Chau (長洲) beach in Hong Kong:

Note: 01-11-2011 in Hong Kong format is 1 November, 2011.

Despite it being a warm and sunny day, I did not go in the water.

From Video Mishaps to Hong Kong, Open Plan Offices, and Text Messaging Legal Woes

I had hoped to have a post today about the parade in Taiwan I mentioned here. However, I am having some bizarre problems creating the video. It looks completely fine in the edited preview, but in the final version some sections get stuck rapidly alternating between just a few frames. Other sections are fine, though. I will give it a whirl again this weekend. If all goes well I will put up the post on Monday. Otherwise, maybe I can just add some techno music to the video, and it will go viral.

For now I will do something I have not done in a while -- a quick review of some random links I had been holding onto for potential deeper commentary. Since I may never get to them, here are a few in no particular order (previous post of assorted links here):

1. I have previously discussed (here, here, here, and here) the barriers mainland Chinese face visiting Macau and Hong Kong. Bo Gu of NBC News describes her own first visit to Hong Kong. Her story about how she obtained the necessary permit highlights both some of the challenges in obtaining a permit and provides a taste of how "official processes" can work in China.

2. An article by Julian Treasure on The Sound Agency website discusses research indicating that open plan offices can hurt work productivity, even when they have been designed in the hope they can promote "creative thinking and better problem solving". I have not yet had a chance to review the original research papers, so I do not want to comment specifically. I will just say that what is reported is consistent with other cognitive psychology research I have conducted/reviewed in the past.

3. A Reuters article by Patricia Reaney warns:

Couples who may be heading for a nasty break-up should be careful about texting because it could end up as evidence against them in divorce court.

I appreciate the concern from a legal perspective, but it strikes me as somewhat ironic. I am no relationship expert, but it would seem to be that if one wants to save a marriage that reducing lines of communication may not be in a couple's best interest. Also, the advice to not put anything in writing seems easy to follow -- just speak your thoughts. However, sometimes people are better able to express themselves through written means (and sometimes very specific forms of writing). I have conducted research that... well, I cannot share details so I will just say that I think there may be some opportunities for innovations here. And they will not necessarily only apply to troubled couples.

That is all for the links. Now hopefully I can sort out the video problem.

A Taiwanese Perspective on Michele Bachmann

Early last September when I was in Kaohsiung, Taiwan's second largest city, I spent an evening with a Taiwanese friend who lives there. While driving to a cafe for desserts my friend told me she was fascinated by Michele Bachmann and hoped she would continue her campaign to be the Republican nominee for the 2012 U.S. presidential election. I found it surprising that a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives and strong supporter of the Tea Party movement might not only be known to at least some people in Taiwan but also have some followers.

The ensuing conversation proved rather enlightening. I will share it here since it provides an example of how American politics are perceived in a part of the world that in recent decades has seen a variety of democratic reforms and last month had an important presidential election of its own. To be sure, my friend's opinion is just one voice out of many in Taiwan, and I make no claims as to whether it is representative.

I recently communicated with my friend and everything she wrote is consistent with my memory of our earlier conversation. So, I will simply provide her recent written responses. [I have made some very minor edits for clarity since my friend is not a native English speaker. I have also reorganized the text for better flow since some content is the result of requests for her to elaborate.]

How do you know Michele Bachmann and what is your opinion of her?

Michelle Bachmann is a public figure so it was hard to ignore her when all of the spotlights were on her. I first noticed her when she appeared on the cover of Newsweek. It seemed she was being bullied by some of the media so I started to wonder if people had been unfair to her. But it turned out she’s a very interesting individual.

She had my attention particularly for her very conservative speech as well as her ambition for the presidency. I understand ambition is sometimes a good thing. It’s the very same quality I see in Hillary Clinton, but she’s not like Clinton at all! I mean, it’s just hard for me to relate a “submissive” wife to also being an ambitious / calculating politician. That didn’t sound very convincing to me.

What also amazed me was that she seemed to have loads of followers/supporters. She won Iowa, right? [She did not. My friend may be thinking of the Ames Straw Poll] I don’t understand why people voted for her. I was confused and also curious. Later I decided to give up wondering why. Like I said, I enjoyed seeing her. Every time she was on the news I had so much fun, like I was enjoying a daytime soap opera. She’s not dull at all!

As a matter of fact, it’s not Bachmann that I am interested in. It’s the world politics that attracts me, and I am particularly fond of US politics because of all the conflicts between parties and all the ups and downs in the recent Republican primary. It brings me a lot of fun.

What makes Michele Bachmann seem like a soap opera?

She's funny. She likes to put things in a dramatic/exaggerative way, and her talks are mostly odd, absurd and ridiculous… and I guess those are the crucial elements of soap opera?

Would you want Bachmann to be President of the U.S.?

NOOOOOOOOo I don’t want her to be the president of the US. I can’t imagine her being the leader of a super power. I think one good old Bush is good enough for all of us.

She and Bush are equally silly, only Bush is funnier (his choking on a pretzel or wiping his glasses on some poor woman’s clothes...). If she became the president, I am afraid the US would return to medieval times, gay rights would be banned, girls would not be allowed to wear bikinis, wives would have to be submissive to their hubbies....

So, Michele Bachmann may feel a little pride in knowing that her celebrity has spread all the way to Taiwan, although maybe not in the fashion she would likely prefer. And I assume my friend now has mixed feelings to know that Bachmann dropped out of the Republican primary after a poor performance in the Iowa caucuses.

I would be curious to hear what others think about my Taiwanese friend's views of Bachmann. In an upcoming post, I will share some photos (and probably video as well) of a large parade I saw in Taipei after I had left Kaohsiung. It highlights an issue that my friend fears would worsen in the U.S. if Bachmann became President. At the very least, I am pretty sure the people in the parade would not agree that they were celebrating, as Michele Bachmann has described it, "personal enslavement".