$$$$*** CHINA BACKDROP - BEIJING ***$$$$
CONTINUED............
We departed Shanghai without event, no documents to show as we were traveling within China. From the moment we arrived Beijing displayed a different feel. More reserved, farther away from the West and..... COLDER!! The temperature was well below freezing and the wind chilled as it blew. Beijing, the old Peking, had an expanded airport, but it was not the showplace of Hong Kong and Shanghai. I can't really put my finger on it, but I just didn't feel as welcome here as in the first two stops. More uniformed presence, not intimidating, but present nonetheless. We gathered our bags and rounded the carts around our Beijing guide, a very young lady called Jessie (my spelling). After boarding the bus we made our way through the vast expanse that is Beijing. Such a history here the old inner city and a huge city area. There are now six Ring Roads around Beijing and we were traveling on the third tier. Our guide was not as experienced as the prior two but she did her best to answer the swirl of questions presented. We went straight to our hotel and the prior feeling was reinforced. While everyone was reasonably pleasant they did not display the same enthusiasm for our presence. Our passports were collected and our rooms slowly doled out. One key per room...only. The rooms, while billed as five star, were nice but not the same level as the Regal Hong Kong. Again, our bags were collected downstairs instead of delivered to our rooms, just another signal. The group was hurried to get checked in, beef up the clothing for the Great Wall in the lowered temperature with a strong. ever present wind. I had, weeks before, been invited to attend a banquet hosted by Hartcourt and I had quickly accepted asking for details later. I had brought my dark suit and was ready for the event. We had originally thought that we might be able to go to the Great Wall and have a private car return us to the hotel prior to the time needed to transfer to the Shangri-La Hotel across town. That was not to be, we had to say behind and prepare for the trip across town leaving at 3:30 PM. That gave us a couple of hours to prepare. We opted to visit the MacDonalds adjacent to the hotel for a snack of fries and coke. Afterward we walked back to the hotel to make pretty for the "event". After resting then dressing up we were escorted to the Shangri-La. We were early as our driver managed to master the Beijing traffic. We were told that half an hour later we would not have made it in time. I used the time to visit the Business Center to retrieve my email and post to the RB. Back in the lobby the group had been joined by Dr Yang and the conversation was active. Not long after I returned we were escorted upstairs for the presentation of the banquet guests. The room was called a VIP room and was furnished with a large sofa in the far wall and stuffed chairs on each side past the middle of the room. Regular chairs were placed behind the stuffed chairs. One by one the guests were lead into the room for presentation, first to Dr Yang then to each of the hosts. Business cards were exchanged and the various conversations erupted as the guests began on the couch and then moved down the line on the stuffed chairs. I met many interesting Chinese and the business cards I collected are numerous. The guests included business heads, government types and those who headed the "High-Tech Gardens" where firms were incubated. I learned to dislike that term "incubated" as it became well worn and tiresome, especially during the conference presentations the next day. One gentleman I especially enjoyed conversing with was Xia Yingqi. Pronounced "Shaw". He was with the Beijing Government and administered the Zhongguancum Science Park. He was a little older than I but we shared 24 year old sons. He was well traveled having visited the US and Canada and Europe many times. I mused that he might have visited more major US cities than I had visited. He was astoundingly frank in his assessment of the prior periods of Chinese history and heaped great praise on Deng and his vision. When asked to describe Deng's philosophy he thought for a moment then launched into his explanation. Deng was nonpolitical he began. He did not ascribe to any particular political strain, but was a pragmatist. He had three points, which he was able to complete only the first two before we were interrupted by a high ranking official from the MII. His first point.... Deng would ask, you own a cat, what makes it a good cat, how do you know it is a good cat? He paused.... a good cat will catch mice, so you know you have a good cat if it performs its duties well. A good cat performs its functions well. Point two.... all implementation of decrees from the government should pass one test....Is it good for the people. Does it lead to their progress. If not, it should not be implemented. In other words Deng was an ultimate pragmatist in the middle of a government without leadership. Deng's imprint is all over the "new" China. This market driven economy was a high priority for Deng and he propelled it in every way possible. The opening of the economy in 1990 is a direct result of Deng and his pragmatism triumphing over political agendas. My personal view is that it is now firmly entrenched and reversing direction would be a very difficult task.
Another guest was William Zarit from the US Embassy. He is the Deputy Senior Commercial Officer and despite his obvious American heritage he spoke perfect Mandarin. Many of the guests commented upon his excellent language skills. Off we went to the banquet room where three large tables seating twelve each were prepared. In addition to Dr Yang, the host, was Mr Xia, Mr Zarit all the Harcourt invitees and several others seated at the main table. Our table was quite lively as Mr Xia and Mr Zarit exchanged respectful greetings to each other. The table was typical for a banquet, round with the rotating serving area in the middle, a glass of red wine, a glass of water and a large thimble size glass of a clear liquid. Chopsticks were supplemented by knives and forks The one menu on the table several seats down indicated that we were headed for eleven courses, but not until the toasts were given. As is customary whenever a toast is proposed, those at the table were to follow the lead of the person proposing the toast. If he took the wine glass, then wine it was, if he went "bottoms up" then everyone was to follow suit. We had some wine toasts then someone went to the small glass and some at the table emitted a moan. The toast was given and it was one shot. WOW! This drink was definitely related to jet fuel. I later learned that it was called maotai and is a pure rice liquor, 180 proof, I think. It burned all the way down. Usually this toast is piggybacked one upon another to the detriment of the rookies at the table. Fortunately, our honored guests waived the custom allowing everyone to participate or not based upon their wisdom. The food was exceptional, there was a beef dish prepared with very spicy peppers. There were many familiar dishes with shrimp, chicken and a whole fish that Dr Yang proclaimed as a "Good Fish". I took what I wanted and passed on some other dishes. One platter was full of deep fried meat that looked like chicken pieces. I took a small amount on my plate and popped one piece in my mouth with my chopsticks. Chicken it was not I knew instantly. I managed to swallow it without chewing anymore and asked for the menu. After looking down the list I found it....FRIED EEL. I took a drink of the jet fuel to kill any remaining taste or effects it might have on my digestive system. The soup was good with a chewy meat I discovered were shark fins. It was Shark Fin Soup. For desert the fruits were presented and the pallets cleared. It was a wonderful feast, the eel excepted!! The event adjourned and we were off to our hotel. After a lengthy phone call home to calm some estate reservations I made my way to the hotel bar and found a few of my fellow travelers. I ordered a beer and nursed it the rest of the night. Our black friend started with his "HEY BROTHER" story and we roared over and over again. Then the group presented a new story that had just occurred a short time ago. They were returning from shopping down the street and walked past the MacDonalds into a dark area. Here they were accosted by a small Chinese woman and her small children. They grabbed the group begging for money. Even when presented with some yuan they persisted grabbing, pulling and not even thinking about ceasing their attack. Several gave there impressions of the mother who would grab her children and while pretending to pull them back, was actually pushing them into the group. The impressions were hilarious despite the sad nature of the attack. A guard from the hotel appeared and they disappeared like roaches when the light is shined on them. As soon as he turned his back, they were out again. It had to be a coordinated plan. We laughed and they dared me to make the trip from MacDonalds, I declined. Off to bed. The conference was the next day and I was to be taken early to meet the Vice-Premier of the Peoples Congress and the bosses of Mr Xia and Mr Zarit. We arrived at the Shangri-La and were ushered to another VIP room to meet Mr. Lu Hao, Director of the Zhongguancun Science and Technology Garden, Mr. Lee Boam, Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs, U. S. Embassy and the Vice Premier of the Peoples Congress whose name eludes me.
The Conference
Dr Yang chaired the conference and began by welcoming the participants. Since this is available in video on the TSS website I will not expound on the content of the conference. At the first break the mass of our group made their way upstairs for presentations by Beijing UAC, TSS and SinoBull Network. A handful of us stayed in the conference to hear Dr Yang make his speech followed by others, including a presentation from Microsoft Research China. At the break for lunch I joined the rest of the group up in the presentation area to hear the last part of the TSS presentation. While I received all the printed material for the three companies that presented I did not get to hear the presentations or the questions posed by our group. When I post on these companies I hope Lucky5ive or JFloyd will chime in and relay their recollections. We had lunch with the participants of the conference. I met and spoke with Mr. Harry Zhu who is a businessman in Shanghai. We chatted during lunch and I discovered his strong ties to the Boston area. One of his ventures supplies parts for heavy construction equipment to US manufacturers like Deere and Caterpillar. After lunch it was off to visit SinoBull and TSS. Both were fine examples of free enterprise in Beijing. TSS is a very interesting company and HRCT has just begun their relationship with TSS. I hope HRCT is able to add a larger percentage of ownership of this company.
The last of the day was a trip to the Summer Palace, north of Beijing. The weather was becoming even colder as we departed the bus for our tour. The lake was frozen and children were playing on it's surface. It was a vast expanse of property. Underdressed for this weather I cut the last part of the tour short and returned to the bus as the sun set over the lake. I hope those pictures do justice to the view. The next morning, after a night out on the town, came quickly. My room did not receive the appointed wake up call requested for 6:00 AM and I sat straight up at 7:00 AM knowing we were running late. Randy and I hurriedly packed our bags and got them into the hall to be collected for the trip to the airport. Dr Yang was holding an after breakfast meeting with our group collecting kudos for the journey and fielding questions about the possibility for the group to join together financially to make a possible private placement with Hartcourt. It is my view that everyone was impressed with their DD from the trip. The balance of the morning was filled with a sightseeing trip to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. It was a cold, windy morning as we departed the bus at Tiananmen. A huge open area surrounded by government buildings on three sides and by the Forbidden City on the fourth side. We were given time to explore and photograph. Then it happened to part of our group. While crossing the square a woman and young lady held up a banner protesting something. The police appeared and removed the banner and detained the two women. Then it was a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. One of our group had her camera out and the police noticed. She was taken into a mini-van and her film was removed. It was a startling reminder that we were not in the land of Free Speech. While our member was released sans film, it was an event not to be forgotten. We moved on, across the square to the Forbidden City. The vastness of this walled area was impressive. It was here that the emperors of old would hide from invaders and where they housed their staff and concubines. We walked and walked and walked. From temple to temple we trekked, freezing as we crossed the expanse. Finally our tour was completed and we found the bus for our departure to the Beijing Airport and the flight home. The massive 747 was waiting for us and when boarding was called I wondered how in the world this airframe could ever get off the ground with all these people on board. The flight was packed but as we accelerated down the runway the 747 did indeed take to the air. It was 4:00 PM in Beijing on Friday 1/5 and despite the over twelve hour flight to LAX we would arrive before we had taken off in Beijing. The plane landed about noon of the same day we departed. Our trip was now completed and it was good to be back in the good ol' US of A.
COMPANY PROFILES TO FOLLOW |
