Mark Dunn - Karen M. Sutter - Catherine Gelb - Virginia A. Hulme
Cover by Benjamin A. Hurd
Mark Dunn is The CBR's research assistant.
Edited by Jun Jing. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2000. 279 pp. $49.50 hardcover, $17.95 softcover.
Feeding China's Little Emperors is a collection of essays that analyze the changes in food consumption that have occurred in the PRC since the start of the reform period. The implementation of the one-child policy and the effects of globalization have drastically changed the diet of average Chinese citizens, especially children. Covering a wide range of topics from breastfeeding to the establishment and expansion of Kentucky Fried Chicken in China, the book is full of compelling anecdotes and analysis. Written from an anthropologist's point of view, the book focuses largely on culture and cultural change. But all audiences can enjoy the universal subjects of the book--children and food. For those seeking more, a few of the authors delve into theory.
The authors detail various aspects of food and other consumption, such as the 4-2-1 system--4 grandparents, 2 parents, and 1 child--and the role that the government plays in raising children.
The authors compare the current young generation to those who grew up in the Maoist era and before. Today, families have more money and fewer children to spend it on. As a result, some parents practice "scientific feeding," taking tremendous care to ensure that their children receive the right nutrients and hygienic food. However, others allow the child to dictate the food eaten in the household. These parental decisions, which the authors discuss at length, illustrate the paradox surrounding Chinese children, who are seen as leading either highly demanding or spoiled lives. The book also covers the recent trend of conspicuous consumption in China. Youngsters often buy food and snacks for the sole purpose of status. For these children, the "Western-ness" and novelty of a product have replaced nutritional value and taste as motivations for food purchases. Many of the authors note this as a huge difference from earlier generations, who had little money to buy even staple foods.The chapters can be read either by themselves, or as a whole, and each chapter looks at a specific part of the child-rearing process. One memorable chapter deals with food practices among the Hui minority in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, and includes a fascinating week-long food diary of a young Hui boy. This examination of a subset of the Chinese population allows readers to see how eating habits differ within China.
Some topics, including prenatal care and breastfeeding, seem to be overemphasized and repetitive. Overall, however, Feeding China's Little Emperors is useful both for anthropologists or those looking at social changes over the last few decades. While the average reader will come away with an idea of how Chinese children eat and behave, consumer-goods businesses can use this information to aid their marketing and advertising efforts. By analyzing what and how children are consuming, producers can more successfully direct their goods at these future consumers.
--Mark Dunn
|
Karen M. Sutter is director of Business Advisory Services at the US-China Business Council in Washington, DC.
|
by David Palmeter and Petros C. Mavroidis. Boston: Kluwer Law International, 1999. 325 pp. $70, softcover.
In Dispute Settlement in the World Trade Organization: Practice and Procedure, David Palmeter and Petros Mavroidis have provided a practical and readable book on World Trade Organization (WTO) dispute settlement for the many China hands beginning to focus on the nuts and bolts of WTO procedures. The authors are both lawyers who have represented and advised clients for dispute-settlement panels in Geneva.
Particularly helpful for newcomers is the book's historical overview of the evolution of the WTO dispute-resolution mechanism. It discusses how the international trading system developed the consensus principles of General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) conciliation. These GATT principles eventually evolved into the WTO dispute-resolution mechanism that exists today, as outlined in Annex II of the Uruguay Round Agreement.
The book also analyzes questions of jurisdiction, sources of law, special rules and procedures, the appellate process, the adoption and implementatio n of reports, and remedies. Most useful is Chapter Four, which features a strong discussion of the WTO dispute-resolution panel process. The charts in this section outline the flow of action and serve as a concise reference tool. Other topics explored include a discussion of the special requirements for developing countries that dispute-resolution procedures take into account, subsidies, local-government measures, the exhaustion of local remedies, and the ability to alter WTO commitments in services. In addition to the rich material presented in the main text, footnotes provide references to other useful resources on WTO rules and procedures.
--Karen M. Sutter
|
Catherine Gelb is editor of The CBR.
|
Directed, photographed, and produced by Ellen Perry; written by Audrey Ronning-Topping. San Francisco: Independent Television Service, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. To air on local PBS stations, October 3, 10:00 pm.
"Great Wall Across the Yangtze" makes a convincing case that the Three Gorges Dam should not be built. That this conclusion is quite widely accepted--almost as an article of faith among human rights, environmental, and even many governmental and multilateral institutions--makes the program no less compelling. Narration by actor Martin Sheen tends toward the dramatic, but the program strengthens its argument with interviews with Chinese residents of the Three Gorges region and carefully chosen, vivid imagery and archival footage. The program exposes American television viewers to images of China they rarely see, which alone is reason enough to watch the broadcast, set to air in October on public television stations throughout the United States.
For viewers that may have no background in China, the program clearly explains the history of the Yangzi River and of the dam. It delves into the importance of flood control in Chinese history. Filmmaker Ellen Perry brings the region to life with shots both of the river's greener shores and of the gray, dusty banks of the dam in progress. Footage also highlights the cities, fields, and cultural landmarks that will soon be inundated.
Numbers give a sense of the scale of the project. The dam will be 610 feet high, more than a mile across, and will take $30 billion and 15 years to build, according to the program. Over a million Chinese will have to be resettled. Archeological treasures dating back to the Stone Age could be "lost forever."
The program, written by journalist Audrey Ronning-Topping, duly mentions the non-political goals behind t he dam's construction, primarily flood control and power generation. The dam, the program notes, could help stop the regular flooding that has killed hundreds of thousands of riverside residents, and could provide up to 10 percent of China's future power needs. Unfortunately, analysts point out, the water level in the reservoir needs to be high to produce hydropower, but low to protect against flooding. Another worry is that the sluice gates meant to divert the expected massive silt buildup have never been tested on a dam of this size, though the film neglects to mention what size dam has used such mechanisms. The film also asserts that the twin goals of flood control and electricity generation could easily be attained by building smaller dams on tributaries.
The dam's best-known opponent is Chinese dissident Dai Qing, who has written and spoken widely in public against the project. In the film, she points out that the dam is an inherently political project. Viewers will not be surprised to learn that the film was made without PRC government permission.
The filmmakers also interviewed two PRC dam engineers, who defend the project, and a number of foreign experts who point out its many flaws. The most valuable and revealing interviews, however, are those of residents of the Three Gorges region, particularly the farmers who will have to leave their land. Few appear to understand fully the changes they face. S ome residents expect the government to compensate them, in terms of employment and housing, but others are more cynical. The program states that 13 cities, 140 towns, and 1,300 villages will be underwater once the dam is complete. Concrete tablets erected in some cities indicate the future water level.
Equally disturbing is the report's description of the cultural loss that could result from the creation of the dam reservoir. Archeological examination of the area has only just begun, and many of the secrets of the origin of Chinese civilization--and even of human civilization--will be submerged.
It is only at the end that the program touches on the tremendous corruption already afflicting the project, which not only is undermining the government's ability to pay for resettlement, but also calls into question the quality of the construction process itself. One foreign engineer notes that if the dam ever broke, over 300 million people--more than the entire US population--would lie in the path of the floodwaters.
Despite the program's one-sided approach, the words of Dai Qing and the other Chinese interviewed in the film speak for themselves, and save "Great Wall Across the Yangtze" from being dismissed as merely anti-dam propaganda.
--Catherine Gelb
|
Virginia A. Hulme is assistant editor of The CBR.
|
by Rainer Thomm. Beijing: World Affairs Press, 2000. 230 pp. RMB480 ($58), softcover.
Is success in China impossible for the foreign businessperson? Some frustrated expatriates may reply with a resounding yes. Beijing-based consultant Rainer Thomm offers some practical advice to reassure them that there is room for optimism.
In China: Mission Impossible?, Thomm points out basic cultural differences between China and the West, particularly in the business arena, and suggests ways a Westerner should approach them. Much of the advice Thomm doles out is common sense: listen, be polite and friendly, make an effort to learn the local language and customs, don't hurry, be patient, and persevere. He offers little in the way of facts and figures, but draws on 20 years of his own business experience in Asia--much of it in China. He also offers nuggets of wisdom from other experienced foreign businesspeople in China.
In one example, Thomm advises foreign businesspeople to stop business meetings and negotiations before they run into their hosts' mealtimes. The message here is that the Westerner is a guest, and must respect local habits and timetables. On the other hand, the Westerner who hopes to do business in China cannot simply return to his or her hotel and relax at five o'clock. Banquets and karaoke sessions are, in many cases, needed to build the trust and friendship that the Chinese side will likely require before signing any deal.
Perhaps one of the m ost common causes of misunderstandings between Chinese and Westerners arises from the importance Chinese place on the concept of face, and the resulting belief that it is rude to say "no" or otherwise refuse a request outright. While most Westerners would characterize someone who says "yes" when the answer is definitely "no" as a liar, Chinese would disagree. To such Westerners, Thomm advises, "you will do yourself a service (and possibly save your company some money) if you are able to understand the different meanings of 'yes'."
These are just a few examples of the topics included in China: Mission Impossible?, which also covers negotiating, gaining approvals, and due diligence, among other aspects of investing in China. The volume is short, and according to the preface, is meant to be read in the plane on the way to China. But as part of the book focuses on preparations companies should make before coming to China, the reader would benefit more from perusing it while planning his or her business trip.
The book's conversational tone makes it easy to read, though in places it could have been better organized and edited. And many topics relegated to a subsection of a chapter could be explored in more depth. Nevertheless, China: Mission Impossible? is a good introduction to the complexities and nuances that characterize business dealings--and that often flummox foreign businesspeople--in China .
--Virginia A. Hulme
All Rights Reserved.