have you worked in asia?

[kasia]

are you peter chung?


j/k. please share your experience.

[SunWuKong]

i've worked in HK.
i worked at a small startup that had a pretty international crew. about half ware local HKers, then there was a russian guy, an american guy, a british woman, an indian guy, and maybe some others, i forgot. there are two types of companies in HK, international firms and local firms. generally it's better to work for international firms. the pay is better, there's less office politics, it's not so uptight. my company would be considered an international firm, even though it was locally owned. i don't think my company was very typical of a company in HK, and even the local HKers who worked with me said so.


who's peter chung?



<!--EDIT|SunWuKung|Aug 12 2002, 10:35 PM-->

[Barbs]

i've worked in taiwan at a marketing research firm which was UK based. we had a mix of local and foreign (european and american) employees. it was a very unique work environment in terms of office culture and i'm really glad i had a chance to do that.

[SunWuKong]

man... i really want to go back to asia to work. the three main cities of interest are HK, Shanghai, and Beijing. i am planning on going to law school for corporate law. do you think i would have a good chance to go back to asia and work as a lawyer in corporate law?



<!--EDIT|SunWuKung|Aug 12 2002, 10:39 PM-->

[Barbs]

depends on ur language skills and which part of asia. it really varies in terms of what area of corporate law and what type of work you're interested in. i would go into some small detail but it isn't really relevant since you haven't even decided what school to go to. i'd say so long as you're willing to re-locate overseas and have some language skills it's a strong possibility.

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by Barbs@Aug 13 2002, 12:34 AM
depends on ur language skills and which part of asia. it really varies in terms of what area of corporate law and what type of work you're interested in. i would go into some small detail but it isn't really relevant since you haven't even decided what school to go to. i'd say so long as you're willing to re-locate overseas and have some language skills it's a strong possibility.
cool :)

yeah i definitely want to go back. i just moved back to the states from living in HK for about 2 years. i'm starting to feel like maybe i belong over there. not necessarily in HK, but a chinese speaking city.

[kasia]

yeh, i'm pretty set on moving to hong kong after i graduate as well. but my stay will most likely be temporary and funded by a grant.

this is a little off topic, but i recall swk talking about how people either grow to love hong kong or hate it. i just rewatched 'city of glass' last night which was filmed in 1998 (i think). daniel wu was in it--i think it was in the beginning of his career in hong kong. he said something like, "i hate this city and its people. everything's flashy, but they have nothing inside." i thought that was the first time i saw a true abc portrayal in an h.k. flick. then i watched 'beauty and the breast', filmed in 2001...and it seems he adjusted pretty well. i'd say he fell in love with h.k.

that was all off topic, i know. :P

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by kasia@Aug 15 2002, 06:47 PM
yeh, i'm pretty set on moving to hong kong after i graduate as well. but my stay will most likely be temporary and funded by a grant.

this is a little off topic, but i recall swk talking about how people either grow to love hong kong or hate it. i just rewatched 'city of glass' last night which was filmed in 1998 (i think). daniel wu was in it--i think it was in the beginning of his career in hong kong. he said something like, "i hate this city and its people. everything's flashy, but they have nothing inside." i thought that was the first time i saw a true abc portrayal in an h.k. flick. then i watched 'beauty and the breast', filmed in 2001...and it seems he adjusted pretty well. i'd say he fell in love with h.k.

that was all off topic, i know. :P
oh man, you've made me think about my life back in HK, and everytime i do, i get depressed, because i miss HK so much! :(

that line that daniel's character said, i think you will find that most local HKers feel the same way about HK. they feel that the city lacks culture and the people are very shallow. most don't even like HK, and want to leave if they have the chance. but the ironic thing is that HK, being a very consumer-driven society, lacks "culture" because people don't spend money on things with "cultural" values. when all is said and done, HK is a very homogeneous city, with 95% of the people being chinese, and who have grown up living in the same city all their lives. most people just have not lived anywhere else and i think that's why they cannot really appreciate HK. HK does not lack culture. the way that people live, and the way that HK society is, that is HK culture. yeah, sometimes it can get annoying that HK people are so shallow and don't appreciate things with "cultural" or "artistic" values. but on the flip side, they don't pretend to appreciate these things and you won't have any tom dick and harry coming around and pretentiously saying that they're "artistic". that's one particular thing that i don't like about hollywood and the american music industry. at the end of the day, they're still running a business but they try to sell it off as something more. in HK, there's never a doubt about that reality.

the most ironic thing in my experience of living in HK is that while many of my local HKer friends want to leave HK, there i was, an overseas chinese who does not want to leave at all. many of my friends have asked me what i like so much about HK, because they don't understand it. but i don't know how to answer them. i just do.

if you actually go to live in HK, i strongly suggest that you make lots of friends with local HKers. many overseas chinese living in HK get trapped into the whole expat and foreigner scene. i'm not saying there's anything wrong with those circles, and you should definitely not shun them. they're really fun and you'll get to meet many interesting people with very international backgrounds. but having been around local HKers alot and also expats in HK alot, i can tell you that people in the expat scene are very different from local HKers. it's almost like the expats are "shielded" from the real happenings in HK. if you want to know what the real HK is like and what real HKers are like, you've got to spend lots of time with local HKers. then there're the chinese canadians. they're usually from toronto or vancouver. there's practically a small community of them. most of them are "returnees" like me (or BOB if you will, "Back On the Boat") - those who emigrated when they were little kids and returned to HK when they've grown up. they usually are more in touch with the local HKer scene than the expat scene, so they're probably a good group to hang out with if you can find them.

and local HKers will invariably have an impression of you that you're a foreigner. don't worry about it, it wouldn't be because you're bi-racial because they'll treat any overseas chinese from western countries the same way, whether or not they're bi-racial. my advise is, take comfort in your uniqueness because overseas chinese have a perspective that neither local HKers have or expats in HK have. just like in america, we sit on two cultures at the same time. and hey, if you hang out alot with local HKers like i suggest, your cantonese will improve dramatically and you'll become very in touch with local HK culture. sooner or later they won't even notice you're any different from a local HKer. i know british people in HK who have grown up in HK and speak near flawless cantonese. hell, they're probably more chinese than alot of ABCs.

[kasia]

i'm not really mixed, you know. just 1/32. most people can't tell.

so, say i am in hong kong working...how would i go about making friends with local hk'ers? i'm having a tough enough time finding h.k. friends here in the states!

oh! and if i know how to play mahjong, do you think that will help my career as an attorney? i know that's a weird question.

thanks for all the info, btw. i love hearing about h.k.



<!--EDIT|kasia|Aug 16 2002, 03:09 AM-->

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by kasia@Aug 15 2002, 10:09 PM
i'm not really mixed, you know. &nbsp;just 1/32. &nbsp;most people can't tell. &nbsp;

so, say i am in hong kong working...how would i go about making friends with local hk'ers? &nbsp;i'm having a tough enough time finding h.k. friends here in the states! &nbsp;

oh! &nbsp;and if i know how to play mahjong, do you think that will help my career as an attorney? &nbsp;i know that's a weird question.

thanks for all the info, btw. &nbsp;i love hearing about h.k.
oh i thought you were mixed like 1/2 chinese! hell, i myself am 1/16th english. my great-great-grandmother was english.

making friends with local HKers. i guess the biggest thing would be if you work with them. the company i worked at was about half local HKers so i had no trouble making friends with local HKers. and even if your office is mostly expats, there are bound to be some local HKers. i don't know what a civil law office would be like in HK so i can't really tell you. but even without that, it's not difficult at all to make friends in HK. it just sort of happens because the city is so packed together. and being an expat in HK always gives you an excuse to meet strangers because people just expect expats to want to meet new people.

hey you know, i actually have a couple of friends from HK who will be going to grad school in LA this fall.

hahhah i don't know if playing mahjong will help your career as an attorney. but HK people like going out and doing things in the city, so socializing with your co-workers outside of work won't be a problem at all. i know alot of women like to play mahjong. not many men i know in HK like playing mahjong. but oh man when they play, they are really really i mean really fast. it's like they don't even think. and most of the time they play for money.

ahh... HK girls... sure they love to have men spend money on them, but i love their quick-wittedness and their rapid fire cantonese. ok, generalization. but many HK girls are like this and i love it.

and you know, it sounds like you have a genuine interest in HK. i hope if you do go, you'll get to stay there on a non-temporary basis. when i first went, i thought it would be for less than a year. by the end of 2 years, i didn't want to leave.



<!--EDIT|SunWuKung|Aug 15 2002, 11:32 PM-->

[deez nuts]

I hear Shanghai is the place to be. I am hoping to go back and visit next summer.

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by Chasiubao_Boy@Aug 16 2002, 01:49 PM
I hear Shanghai is the place to be. I am hoping to go back and visit next summer.
yeah shanghai is really expanding. i want to try working there too. they are always hiring new people. but salary rates there are still really low comparatively speaking. i mean if you just worked and lived in shanghai, then it all equals out. but i've got debts in US rates and i have to worry about my parents' retirement in the future. i don't think a salary in shanghai rates will be enough. but i think if you manage to work for a US firm there, your salary will be good.

[deez nuts]

Yep, I agree. What always strikes me as odd, is the lack of a middle class in China. I mean you have the very rich and everyone else. It probably is a good place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there.

My parents and my brother went on a tour of China, this last September. They loved it. But, they also got ripped off because they stuck out like tourists. My brother was shocked that dinner at a five star restaurant (a five course meal) was cheap compared to American standards. The two things they were pissed off about is 1)My brother got ripped off like mad and was naive about the prostitution there 2)The heavy emphasis on money people place over there.

For example: They met up with my uncle in Shanghai, and after hearing how my brother got ripped off, he set him up with this young actress in film school or something, that seemed down to earth, to show him around. You know as a favor. They had a good time, strictly platonic. But when my mom and brother left, she went looking for my dad and asked him for 10,000 rmb. My dad said no, so she went to my uncle gave him a sob story and asked him for 10,000 rmb. That basically left a sour taste in their mouths.



<!--EDIT|Chasiubao_Boy|Aug 16 2002, 08:31 PM-->

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by Chasiubao_Boy@Aug 16 2002, 03:11 PM
Yep, I agree. What always strikes me as odd, is the lack of a middle class in China. I mean you have the very rich and everyone else. It probably is a good place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there.
actually there is a rising middle class in china. well they all live in urban areas. and yup they do all the things that middle class people do like eating lots of fast food, working out at the gym, investing in the stock market, and owning dogs. and the middle class is a big reason that the PRC is now offering party membership to businessmen. this did not get much coverage at all in western media, but it's one of the biggest signs of political progress in china.

once you leave the urban areas however, you are in a different world.

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by Chasiubao_Boy@Aug 16 2002, 03:11 PM
For example: They met up with my uncle in Shanghai, and after hearing how my brother got ripped off, he set him up with this young actress in film school or something, that seemed down to earth, to show him around. You know as a favor. They had a good time, strictly platonic. But when my mom and brother left, she went looking for my dad and asked him for 10,000 rmb. My dad said no, so she went to my uncle gave him a sob story and asked him for 10,000 rmb. That basically left a sour taste in their mouths.
hahhah yeah everybody in china is looking to make money. but hey you know, the only people that think about money more than the rich does is the poor.

[deez nuts]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@Aug 16 2002, 08:36 PM
Originally posted by Chasiubao_Boy@Aug 16 2002, 03:11 PM
For example: They met up with my uncle in Shanghai, and after hearing how my brother got ripped off, he set him up with this young actress in film school or something, that seemed down to earth, to show him around. &nbsp;You know as a favor. They had a good time, strictly platonic. &nbsp;But when my mom and brother left, she went looking for my dad and asked him for 10,000 rmb. &nbsp;My dad said no, so she went to my uncle gave him a sob story and asked him for 10,000 rmb. &nbsp;That basically left a sour taste in their mouths.
hahhah yeah everybody in china is looking to make money. but hey you know, the only people that think about money more than the rich does is the poor.
Yeah man. My parents said my brother "dan kai tze" (excuse the pinyin), because he got played so many times.

They just were under the impression that everyone wanted a piece of the pie. But my brother said, it was a very humbling experience to see the poor work so hard for what we would consider for little money and see the rich live so lavishly.

And you hit it right on the money, when you said when you're in the big cities you see one side and when you hit the rural areas you see another side. He said it was kind of depressing.

If I were given the chance, after I get licensed, I wouldn't mind volunteering there for like a year or so. It'll definitely be a memorable and an eye opening experience.

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by Chasiubao_Boy@Aug 16 2002, 03:53 PM
Originally posted by SunWuKung@Aug 16 2002, 08:36 PM
Originally posted by Chasiubao_Boy@Aug 16 2002, 03:11 PM
For example: They met up with my uncle in Shanghai, and after hearing how my brother got ripped off, he set him up with this young actress in film school or something, that seemed down to earth, to show him around. You know as a favor. They had a good time, strictly platonic. But when my mom and brother left, she went looking for my dad and asked him for 10,000 rmb. My dad said no, so she went to my uncle gave him a sob story and asked him for 10,000 rmb. That basically left a sour taste in their mouths.
hahhah yeah everybody in china is looking to make money. but hey you know, the only people that think about money more than the rich does is the poor.
Yeah man. My parents said my brother "dan kai tze" (excuse the pinyin), because he got played so many times.

They just were under the impression that everyone wanted a piece of the pie. But my brother said, it was a very humbling experience to see the poor work so hard for what we would consider for little money and see the rich live so lavishly.

And you hit it right on the money, when you said when you're in the big cities you see one side and when you hit the rural areas you see another side. He said it was kind of depressing.

If I were given the chance, after I get licensed, I wouldn't mind volunteering there for like a year or so. It'll definitely be a memorable and an eye opening experience.
you mean in rural areas or in urban areas? i wish i had the luxury to not care about money. i would love to try teaching poor children in china.

have you read about the "peasant doctors" in china?

[deez nuts]

Originally posted by SunWuKung@Aug 16 2002, 09:24 PM

you mean in rural areas or in urban areas? &nbsp;i wish i had the luxury to not care about money. &nbsp;i would love to try teaching poor children in china.

have you read about the "peasant doctors" in china?
Weren't they also called "barefoot doctors."

Yeah I heard of them. The 1970's program designed to provide health care to rural areas. I think they also played a role in the family planning program?

My conscience tells me to go to the rural areas, but to be honest, I don't know if I can deal with the dramatic change of lifestyle out there. So we'll see, if it comes to fruition.

[SunWuKong]

Originally posted by Chasiubao_Boy@Aug 16 2002, 04:37 PM
Originally posted by SunWuKung@Aug 16 2002, 09:24 PM

you mean in rural areas or in urban areas? i wish i had the luxury to not care about money. i would love to try teaching poor children in china.

have you read about the "peasant doctors" in china?
Weren't they also called "barefoot doctors."

Yeah I heard of them. The 1970's program designed to provide health care to rural areas. I think they also played a role in the family planning program?

My conscience tells me to go to the rural areas, but to be honest, I don't know if I can deal with the dramatic change of lifestyle out there. So we'll see, if it comes to fruition.
yeah barefoot doctors. pretty honorable occupation. but yeah i'm not sure if i could handle being without the internet for too long. i'm too addicted.