[Rhodes22-list] Leaving China

[Chris Geankoplis]

David,
        Don't worry about it!  Your time (and Brad's) spent hunting the rare
and endangered (perhaps even mythical) Chinese Boom Room and Spotted Pop Top
Cover is greatly appreciated. As are all Reports from the Middle Kingdom.

Chris G
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bradley, David" <david.bradley at sap.com>
To: "The Rhodes 22 mail list" <rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org>
Sent: Sunday, September 04, 2005 5:33 PM
Subject: RE: [Rhodes22-list] Leaving China


To all, I'm sorry this stirred up a political debate.  It was not my
intention to do so, and I gracefully bow out.  I was trying to share the
energy I felt upon leaving China.

Dave



-----Original Message-----
From: rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org
[mailto:rhodes22-list-bounces at rhodes22.org]
Sent: Saturday, September 03, 2005 10:56 PM
To: rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org
Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Leaving China

This will be quick, I have to pack and have one last
family dinner before catching United to ORD.  I'm
ready to re-pollute my nose with Memphis pollen versus
Beijing dust.

Ed, Dave, Shelly - you each got part of the puzzle
right.  Ed - Never underestimate the power of Party to
go nuts when threatened.  Shelly - couldn't agree
more. If people think population control is such a bad
thing, they should feed them.  Every time I have to
drive through an abortion demonstration in Memphis I
lose control, roll down the window and ask, "how many
adopted children live in your household"? Dave - yes,
there are lots of eager and talented young Chinese.  I
hope your company didn't pay for the briefing from the
Economist Intelligence Unit.  The Economist is a
wonderful magazine but it seems they might have gotten
a bit lazy in their research and need some new
batteries for their calculator.  The number the EIU
quoted is from a recent study by the Chinese Academy
of Social Sciences (CASS).  CASS revised their
previous estimate of "middle class" from 15% to less
than 5%.  I'm all for correcting mistakes but that's
an adjustment of 130 million people.  You quoted 12
million "middle class".  Multiply 1.3 billion by 5%
and tell me what number you get. Look at the new car
sales figures intra-China for the last five years and
tell me if those numbers add-up.  Me thinks the EIU
may be reading the People's Daily a bit too much and
not consistantly at that. The very definition of
middle class is a sensitive subject with the Party and
gets revised to suit the political concern "de jeur".
Do you smell a rat?  It would have been difficult for
me to have sat through that briefing without raising
the bullshit flag.

Happy holiday, y'all.

Brad



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