A Bryson in China

The Last 60 Years

Labels: China

posted by A Bryson (formerly) in China @ 11:27 PM Comments: 0

From Dongguan

• St. Georges Night Party at One for the Road

• Guangdong Takes Opening Win in CBA League Finals

• Restaurant Issues Noodle Eating Challenge

• China to Build Five New Nuclear Plants This Year

Labels: China, China News, Dongguan

posted by A Bryson (formerly) in China @ 8:53 PM Comments: 0

In the News in China

• Jackie Chan does the Orientalist Thing
  

• I Didn't Look After My Child
  

• Parents of Kidnapped Children Take to the Streets in Dongguan
  

• Exports fall by 20% in February, versus fall of 31% in January.

Labels: China, Dongguan

posted by A Bryson (formerly) in China @ 8:25 PM Comments: 0

Breaking News

Labels: China

posted by A Bryson (formerly) in China @ 9:54 PM Comments: 0

Kidnapping & Extortion on Rise in China

• Recently, incidents of foreign businesspeople, including American citizens, being detained against their will by workers or hired gangs for the specific purpose of extorting money or to intimidate have increased. Typically, the foreigner is threatened with violence and detained at a factory, hotel, or private residence until payment is negotiated and delivered. Sometimes the foreigner is physically assaulted or abducted.

Labels: China, Crime

posted by A Bryson (formerly) in China @ 9:42 PM Comments: 0

Post-Chinese New Year Business Blues

• Thousands of migrants apply for only a few jobs at labor market

• Factories use emails and other tactics to solicit new needed business

• Labor unions vow to maintain jobs for workers

• China government takes efforts to maintain "social stability"
  

Labels: China, Dongguan

posted by A Bryson (formerly) in China @ 11:25 PM Comments: 0

Internet, Gambling, Fake Yuan, and The Economy

• You can't read everything in China. Government crackdown of websites has been expanded again, and has even included MSN!

• Guangdong officials have been punished for gambling almost $3M in government funds.

• Fake 100 Yuan notes are being circulated in Guangdong.

• Economy good for one law firm in China anyway. Read about that here.

Labels: China, Dongguan

posted by A Bryson (formerly) in China @ 10:36 AM Comments: 0

More Trouble in Dongguan

• Protesting China Workers in Standoff with Police

• China Says Investment in Assets Slows in November

• After 30 Years, Economic Perils on China's Path

Labels: China, Dongguan, Economy

posted by A Bryson (formerly) in China @ 4:50 AM Comments: 0

Recent Headlines & News from Dongguan

• China helps capital-thirsty small businesses tide over difficulties

• China boomtown withers as Buyers push workers rights

• Factory owners protest in China

• Beijing bails out exporters, but not golf caddies

• Job market tough for university grads in China

• Mission Hills a multiple winner at Asia Golf Monthly Awards
  

Labels: China, China Business, Dongguan, Mission HIlls

posted by A Bryson (formerly) in China @ 10:46 PM Comments: 0

Riots in Dongguan

• Workers Riot at Toy Factory in Dongguan

Labels: China, Dongguan

posted by A Bryson (formerly) in China @ 10:29 PM Comments: 1

World Kidney Day - March 13

Labels: China, Kidney Disease, kidney transplant, World Kidney Day

posted by A Bryson (formerly) in China @ 2:55 PM Comments: 1

Chinese New Year in Thailand

Thailand….. HOT! And I love it! Yes! I’m finally warm!

Okay I was surprised to find rain on arrival in Bangkok, but that didn’t last too long. In fact, it has cleared off and gotten extremely hot. And that is the usual conditions here this time of year. This is typically too early for the rainy season, and that is okay by me.

Meanwhile, China continues to suffer from the worst blizzard in 50 years. Just, when the country was all primed for this being the year of China with the Olympics in Beijing, instead the coverage it is getting is all about the travails of the migrant workers caught trying to get to their homes.

I even had the chance to catch both sides of the news on the subject too. In Hong Kong, the newspapers were freely reporting the unrest and dissatisfaction of so many workers in their difficulties in going home. While the newspapers in China and releases from the government sanctioned news agency, Xinhua, was reporting how things were coming together and that migrant workers were happily not going home. That is the way news often gets reported. It is probably a little of both sides of the issue, and neither is wholly accurate.

And believe me I’m sure a lot of workers definitely want to get home. They often do not have a factory home any longer to go back to, particularly in Dongguan. Recent actions by the government have increased costs substantially, and reportedly as many as 1000 shoe factories alone in Dongguan have closed and moved to other regions or countries.

Couple that with the fact that many workers use the Chinese holiday break to change jobs, and you have a lot of workers that have quit their jobs and no longer have anything to stay for in their home away from home. A newscast reported that as many as 38% of white collar workers alone use the break to change jobs! I knew that every year I have gone back to the factory only to find several of the office staff had not come back. I didn’t know the numbers were quite as high as reported, but that’s what they said on a CCTV newscast.

Labels: Bangkok, China, China Weather, Chinese New Year, Guangdong News, Newscast, Thailand

posted by A Bryson (formerly) in China @ 5:53 PM Comments: 0

China Report in North Carolina

Are my eyes deceiving me? I don’t believe what I’m seeing! Here I go half way around the world, traveling for 30 hours, finally find a hotel, turn on the TV and what is staring at me? The red flag of China!! Ahhhhhh!!! Didn’t I leave China behind me?? I am in North Carolina! Aren’t I???

Sure enough, I turned on the television in a Chapel Hill Days Inn, where I finally found a room last Friday night, and there was a big red flag with golden stars! It just stayed there for several minutes. And I just stared at it in disbelief! I was really tired and wasn’t sure my mind was functioning on all cylinders. I was in such disbelief I didn’t change the channel.

But then it changed to the screen below and the “China Report” started in Mandarin! Unbelievable. China news was being shown here! In North Carolina! ……….. Okay, it is Chapel Hill. Not exactly the bastion of southern roots.

Turns out the local Chapel Hill station (so my daughter later explained), shows news from around the world at different times. Ironically, I timed my arrival and switched on the television just right. A little eerie. Or surreal at the least.

At least they showed the whole newscast without a censor pre-empting it for Samantha Brown to climb to the top of the cathedral in Seville!

Labels: China, Television

posted by A Bryson (formerly) in China @ 8:17 AM Comments: 0

Motorcycles in Dongguan

Today is the last first day of a month that motorcycles can legally ride the streets of Dongguan. Come September 1 they are banned. It wasn’t a good start for at least one rider.

There were two major wrecks along the way to work this morning. At least we stayed out of harm’s way. One truck had plowed into a light pole with major damage. In the other, a motorcycle was under the wheel of another truck in a more serious accident. I’m not sure how the driver fared, but id didn’t look good.

September 1 all motorcycles, and even the e-bikes – those pedal and stored energy types – will be banned from the highways here. That should cut down on these accidents. And the way they drive – carefree and reckless – I won’t miss them.

I wonder what all the motorcycle taxi drivers will do. Did you know that you pretty much barter the fare on those rides? And they can often cost more than an regular taxi! Because in congested traffic, they can scoot through and get you to a location quicker. Just not necessarily safer.

The motorcycle taxi drivers do wear helmets. Seldom do you see anyone else wear a helmet. But, by the way, passengers on a motorcycle taxi never get a helmet. I just can’t quite imagine jumping on a motorcycle with a half crazy driver wearing a helmet, when I would not be given one!

And speaking of accidents, I came very close to being in one this past Saturday. Coming home from work, I was almost asleep in the car, when my driver came to a rather abrupt stop at one traffic light. It startled me a little and I looked up to see that we were at a stop light. Not a big surprise there. But then……….

I heard something squeal to our left. Looking past my driver, I saw a large transfer truck was braking and bouncing rather hard on an angle to our side. As I looked back out the rear of our car, I could see that his long flat-bed was in our lane! And he was practically at an angle over our car!! He must have not expected us to stop and probably wasn’t planning to stop himself. When we stopped, it took all his power to use the lane to the left of us to stop and just avoid us only because he was over us!

At least we were lucky on this one! All in a day’s fun of riding the roads of Dongguan!

Labels: China, China roads, Dongguan

posted by A Bryson (formerly) in China @ 6:27 PM Comments: 0

Still HOT!!

Let’s see, whats the news? IT”S HOT!! I mean really HOT! A week ago I said that temperatures and humidity were unbearably hot. It just continues to get HOTTER! Today it’s cresting 100° F while humidity has remained around 80%. That’s very HOT!!

Usually this time of year, we would have a couple of breaks due to typhoons in the area. I don’t look forward to one of those, but some rain or winds from one would be nice.

What’s with things anyway? Floods in Texas and England. Even in China. But not even close to me. No here it’s just HOT!

And in North Carolina, its been announced that Baker is closing my former plant in Mocksville. It’s not a surprise. I think we all expected that sooner or later. Plants continue to close in the US. China is HOT! Some things just don’t change.

Labels: China, North Carolina

posted by A Bryson (formerly) in China @ 5:44 PM Comments: 0

One Year Already!!

One year already? How could that be? No way! …………. But yep! Right there it is, One for the Road, our local British pub, has been open for a year! Grand Opening seems like it was just yesterday, but its been a year already.

So, we do what we do best in China: WE CELEBRATE!!

First Anniversary Party was last Saturday! In typical OFTR fashion, it included plenty of finger foods, hourly shots, and the famous confetti poppers! And this time it even included a special DJ and plenty of dancing.

The confetti got pretty wild. OFTR is getting renowned for the popper guns. They were blasting everywhere, and soon there was confetti deep on every table as well as down everyone’s shirt and in all our hair. Still trying to get those sparklies out of my hair!

We do know how to party! (For pictures click here!)

Labels: China, Dongguan

posted by A Bryson (formerly) in China @ 6:19 PM Comments: 0

A Long Hot Day & Only 4:15

It’s 4:15 PM on Tuesday, and I am just sitting down to my desk for the first time today! What a day! Monday was a holiday here. Did you see the news about the 10^th Anniversary of the Handover of Hong Kong to China? Well, that’s a big deal.

Every year the first day of July is celebrated as SAR Establishment Day. And of course, since I work for a Hong Kong company, I get the day off. The factory still works mind you, but no Hong Kong management is on site. It is amazing how well things move along without all the management in place daily. But it does.

I did have to come into the factory for an hour on Monday. My luck, that some samples were running that required me to check them prior to shipment. Being the only person in management living in China, I often get that opportunity on holidays. It’s not fun to come in on a holiday when everyone else is off, but I’m not really into celebrating SAR Establishment anyway.

But what about today? Well, of course, after any day off, things are hectic. Today has been no exception. Guests arrived early from Greece, and I provided tour of the facilities. Three hours later, we have lunch, and then I commence another tour with Hong Kong staff to inspect products. After two rounds of this over 1.1 million square feet facility, I’m finally setting down to check desk items.

And in this heat, touring this big factory is no cakewalk. Ten interconnected buildings. Most up to six floors high. Up and down floor after floor. Over 3000 employees running around everywhere. It takes a lot to see it all. And temps are again over 90°F with humidity in the same numeric range! Translation = HOT!

Well, I’m finally back now. At least the office is air conditioned! I better check email.

Labels: China, Hot Days

posted by A Bryson (formerly) in China @ 5:31 PM Comments: 0

From the USA to China

So much fun! Sitting in a seat for 14 hours! Who came up with this exhilarating ride? I’ve had more fun watching grass grow.

Okay, I shouldn’t complain. At least this flight is not one of the 16 or 19 hour flights. But it did start an hour late, and that was after a flight to San Francisco from Denver that started 7 hours earlier. To say the least, it has been a long day already! I figure it will be 27 hours between my leaving my sister’s home until I walk into mine in Dongguan.

Hey! I got Business Class Upgrade too! This upper cabin is pretty nice. The seats sure are BIG! What a change that is! But getting a window seat with poor kidneys is not so good. It is pretty tough to climb over these extended seats all around me. You can’t have everything, but this is still a better alternative than downstairs in a cramped Economy seat.

It’s been a great trip. Chicago, Grand Rapids, Charlotte, Waynesville, Winston-Salem, High Point, Chapel Hill, and Longmont, CO. Six different beds in two weeks. Thanks to all who shared their space and homes during the time. And great to see so many friends and family!

Now it’s back to real humidity. After a dose of 7% humidity in Denver, I could use a little moisture. …………. Probably not gonna want as much as I’m gonna get though! I’m going from Colorado’s 99°F and 7% humidity weather to temps of only 88°F, but with humidity constantly over 75%, the heat index is always over 100°F!

And I thought Michiganders were funny talking about high humidity! Can you believe the Coloradans saying they had “haze on the mountains!” And how could they complain about temperatures in the 90’s? With wind and the dry humidity, it was like sitting by a warm fireside. It felt soooooooooo good!

Well, now back to China’s daily dose of tropical rainforest weather! Here we go again! Hopefully, I’ll be back to writing regularly again soon.

BTW, photos are posted in links on the right. There’s NEOCON business pics! Then there’s Grand Rapids photos from Sam’s! Several albums are from North Carolina visits to Cataloochee in the Smoky Mountains, to Winston-Salem and even Chapel Hill. And of course, there are many of my great niece and nephew and our time around Denver including a few with the gorilla at Casa Bonita. What a great trip!

Labels: Air travel, China

posted by A Bryson (formerly) in China @ 6:49 PM Comments: 0

Humidity??!!?? Ha Ha!!!

Ha Ha! Michiganders! Such humor! “High humidity today.” Hahahaha!! What a blast! “High humidity!” Are you kidding me! This ain’t high humidity. This is GREAT humidity! It’s FANTASTIC!! Ohhhhhh! How I miss this! Blue skies! Warm days. Cool nights!

I’ve been asked several times what I enjoy most here. The weather is high on that list. But you know the elbow room is too! I mean I can stretch out most anywhere. I am driving (a little scary at times, after not being behind the wheel in over six months!) and there are no froggers jumping across the road. It is just so comfortable to drive without extra obstacles of walkers, bicycles, and just millions of people.

But the stores! OHHHH! WOW! I mean I can walk in a store with an aisle to myself! My elbows are not being banged by thousands of shorter shoppers bumping me from all sides. It is just soooooo comfortable! You just can’t believe the difference between the huge numbers of people in China and the comfort of the extra room in stores and all walks of life in the US.

And it has been GREAT being back. I had dinner and drinks last night with about 20 friends from my past in Grand Rapids. And we had great Sam’s ribs. Didn’t even use chopsticks! What great pleasures here!

Labels: China, Michigan, weather

posted by A Bryson (formerly) in China @ 11:48 PM Comments: 0

Boot Camp Training for Guards and Hair Dressers!

My sister spotted a very interesting Reuters article and video about the hair industry in China. (Click here for the website.)

It’s typical of most training over here. They like to do it more to a “boot camp” than some conference room presentation. I even saw similar marching by the guards for a hotel near my apartment the other day. Can’t you see asking guards at a hotel in the US to line up and march for a couple of hours on a Saturday afternoon!

Labels: boot camp, China, Hair

posted by A Bryson (formerly) in China @ 6:16 PM Comments: 0