Loud Thoughts

The Beijing News (新京报: XinJingBao) reported on September 15th that 10.3% of people in Beijing are Wangs (王). That's 1.16 millions people: the largest family name in Beijing. I knew very few fellow Wangs, but am proud to be one of them. We Wangs are doing pretty good.

What's the rationale of I feeling cool?
Proliferation of our genes is only natural. After thousands of years, this instinct has evolved to the flourish our communities: family, villages, neighborhood, profession, employer, hobby, or whatever. We like our communities to thrive. We will go very far to make sure of it. It's genetic.

Contrary to communities themselves, their governance is nothing natural and almost purely political. Some of the communities are inclusive, outside members are welcome. Others are exclusive and even hostile to outsider. Human societies spend lots of energy to govern just the membership of communities. You learn a lot about the community observing just from this angle. Check out religions: how can a pagan convert? What rituals? Does it expel (usually by shunning, once in while by killing)?

It appears not at all instinctive for communities to be inclusive. That takes courage, leadership, open-heartedness, and open-mindedness.

For the nation, Wang (王), Li (李), Zhang (张), Liu (刘), Cheng (陈), in sequence, are the largest 5 last names. I learned that, over thousands of year, Wang is the most popular choice for foreigners to choose as their Chinese family name. The name is associated with royalty and is easy to write. So, openness and inclusion pay off for this community.

If mature societies legislate slower, China has certain reached adulthood. More than a decade of debate and many, many drafts
later monopolies will become unlawful this year.
Look closer. There are few concepts to send MN's (Multi-National Corporation) lawyers into study sessions.

In addition to the prevention of businesses squeezing out competition with predatory means, China's anti-monopoly laws prevent administrative monopolies: those protected by governmental barriers. Tobacco, transportation, stele-communication, and postal services are examples at national level, tourism and agriculture at regional. Is it an administrative monopoly, say, to stop issuing new taxi permits in New York city?

MN's worry the economic security clauses that govern foreign acquisitions. China now has a legitimate bureaucratic weapon to stall, or stop, acquisitions in name of national security. Does it sound familiar? Remember CNOOC's failed attempt to acquire Unocal? US Congress stopped it based on the threat to US national security. Funny that many US companies, Carlyle group for example, is now crying foul.

Overall, people welcome this law as a signal for modernization. China's latest major legislation is also paving ways for a society of lawyers and lobbyists. The era has arrived, the signs will become obvious soon.

Back in the good old days, few hundreds years ago, civilized and advanced people colonized lands far away from home. With their government's encouragement, they mined ores, exploited natural resources, enslaved natives, and left the wounded land to recuperate, if ever.

Who were those cold-blooded people? British? Spaniards? Dutch? Portuguese? Chinese, it seems, joined the accused list. International Herald Tribune headlined on the miserable state of Zambia. China has invested millions into Africa, like Britain did India, to extract minerals and other natural resources it needs for development. When Africans became wealthier, China then sold them goods made in China, usually at the prices that wiped out the local industries. These countries then entered the vicious downward spiral that has only one ending.

What about the well-known economic theories on comparative advantages? The extreme form of this theory will reach the conclusion that colonization is only economically efficient. The exploited, after all, is more efficient in producing cheap labor and raw materials. Is this where economy fails humanity? Or should those economic theoreticians consider non-renewable resources different?

I don't have an answer. I feel the whole planet earth is polarizing into haves and have-nots. China, India, and few emerging countries are fighting to join the right side. Many countries seem hopelessly stuck on the other side. Soon, the gap will be too great and they will be forever left in the poor.

It is not an alien concept to buy or sell intangible. Chicago hosts the largest exchange services for futures, options, and commodities. Internet, as expected, intensified this beyond traditionists' imagination and left the uninitiated bewildered and befuddled.

Korea, not USA, is the most advanced region in the world for online gaming. Gamers gain rock-star-like status. People gathered to watch game play and cheered with every impressive move. Superstar gamers get endorsement money from merchandisers not unlike sport stars in USA.

In serious gaming, a player needing an edge frequently turns to ItemBay — a web-sited serving, exclusively, the exchange of virtual items, such as weapons, armors, or even gold coins. Its moniker a pun on eBay, this company has over 35 million dollars of transactions every month. Several sources estimated that this RMT (Real Money Transaction) industry is nearly a billion dollars a year.

Entrepreneurs in China employ low-cost workers to sweep the virtual world for valuable items or laboring, virtually, for gold or other commodities. Once harvested, the company sell them for real money. Amateur gamers cried foul; wealthy gamers simply buy their ways into the prestige class, instead of earning it the honest old fashioned way. There is a law prohibiting professional gold-farming; it allows trades among true gamers. Honestly, I don't see how this law can be enforced.

Can I relate those companies with the textile industry sweat shops?

The phenomenon illustrates few points Jonathan ingrained on us during the recent executive pow-wow in Menlo Park.

• Business happens where people are. Rich as they are, only 300 million people live in USA. Internet activities and consumers now define the world economy, instead of supply chains and enterprises. This means that action will be in Asia.

• Innovation happens elsewhere. Different region chooses to invest on the infra-structures that benefit them the most. These investments will yield fruits relevant to the region. Smart businesses exploit and harvest those innovations.

• Business process innovations and technological ones complement each other. Wherever there is a demand, someone will design a business structure to exploit it.

How would we thrive in this new world? Think global ALL THE TIME. Opportunities and competitors are both waiting. Ignorance will definitely miss the opportunities; competition does not play fair and has no mercy.