rogerluli

Sounds like the banks IN China! Seemed like every bank I visited in China did that, banking in China was like visiting the DMV, SLOW! When paying the visa fee in Guangzhou, we visited the CITIC bank, waited 35-45 min to get to a teller just to pay the fee and get a recipt, only to find out that we needed Yu's passport which was left back in our room, so we had to walk back to our apartment to get it, I "Took an Number" before we left the bank, and by the time we were back to the bank they were just calling our number. I remarked to Yu about this, must banks around Rochester I have ever dealt with tend to be a few minutes to get to see a teller. It's unbelievable how there is absolutely no concern for the customer...We once spent an entire day in GZ trundling around to 2 BOC branches for some reason that escapes me...In the first one we got a number that was more than 100 away from the one they were servicing but there are only like 20 people in the place...Turns out they come in, get a number, GO OUT TO LUNCH, come back and that's just about right... It's the third world folks...

Exactly ... I did not even know who D&G or Prada were (along with numerous other fashion designers) until I came to China. For some reason (called Sex in the City) the chinese people thought everyone in USA has all this famous designer goods. I am amazed at how much money means to the younger culture and I do not see them saving money but getting themself into debt for face (same as keeping up with the Jones in USA). I've noted that with young people getting a car is first and foremost on their big ticket items wish list...makes one wonder about the real estate market down the road...

Hadn't seen that before Tsapper... I'll be stuck there for FIVE YEARS... and then we'll decide where to go... But in that 5 years we plan to travel extensively in China and asia... Tony you've been around here long enough to have seen the good, the bad and the ugly about China...I would just add one thing that I have learned from members here...If you are going to be involved in operating a business in China you are choosing the most difficult road possible... Best of luck... B)

A nice reading of The Declaration of Independence by well known folks...With an interesting intro by Morgan Freeman... B) http://videos.komando.com/2009/07/04/ That King George was a BAAAAD man...

What he said too... B)

What he said...

I'll give you and David this... The Chinese are different than westerners... For them the center USED TO BE the family...For westerners it is the individual... After the cultural revolution, after Deng said "to get rich is glorious", after the one-child policy...There has been a sea change in the Chinese mind and the 5,000 years of history thingmie has gone out the window...As China has "opened up" and been assimilated into the world culture and economy the old China is disappearing with much greater efficiency and speed than the Red Guards ever imagined possible... You may fire when ready Gridley... B)

I am not arguing anything about China's place in world history...I will happily give them the position of firstest with the mostest... But to believe that all of that baggage is carried along with every Chinese person as they go about trying to scratch out a living every day is beyond any reason I can fathom... Look at it this way...4 generations back I am of European (German/Polish) ancestry...To imagine that that fact has any bearing at all on the way I have functioned through my life is absurd...

ARRGGGHHHHHH...David you're lost in the mists of pre-ancient time... Authoritative sources I checked claim that China's history goes back 4,000 years although a 5,000 year claim is often made...You have now doubled the most generous guesstimate... You need to expand beyond just history and look at archeology or even paleontology. Pottery and graves date back even as far back as 16,000 years... I'll stayed conservative and I already gave you 5,000 year compromise. Their population is estimated at 5 million around 5,000 B.C... Are you saying 5 million were born overnight and capable of instantly recording history too? Maybe we should ignore such parts of science because no one could 'write' it down yet? I find the planet's population is 5 million in 5,000 BC...Give or take a few dozen... http://www.atgc.org/TimeLine/timeline_data_file_11.txt

ARRGGGHHHHHH...David you're lost in the mists of pre-ancient time... Authoritative sources I checked claim that China's history goes back 4,000 years although a 5,000 year claim is often made...You have now doubled the most generous guesstimate...

Bribery, graft, corruption... Never happened before in China...

I was having an arguement about religion with a family member one time and they brought up the fact that another family member had been killed at the Battle of the Bulge, "protecting our right to practice the religion of our choice" and I replied, "and also died protecting our right to not practice any religion."

One thing people often overlook about returning to China to live with their wife as a Chinese citizen and USGC holder is that if there is ever any police/court/legal problems she is enmeshed in she is still a Chinese citizen...end of story...

China has 55 officially recognized "nationalities" or "ethnic minorities" within its borders. They comprise some 9% of the total population of the PRC and Taiwan. Everyone is well aware of the recent clashes in China involving the majority Han and minorities in Tibet and now Urumqui. I thought this article was particularly insightful concerning the history and why's and wherefor's of these troubles. The central government's predictable response to these flare-ups is, of course, "outside agitators"...pure rubbish... Large scale uprisings like these do not occur without the presence of deep-seated and serious problems...Trying to sweep it all under the rug is not useful for either side... http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/KG08Ad02.html <article text separated from personal comments using quotes>

In China one time a fellow was informing me about Mao and how he was the founder of their country...And then he said..."Just like George Washington was the founder of yours"...and I didn't say anything, I only smiled and thought about the many SIGNIFICANT differences... We have been very blessed in America with the men who were our founding fathers...their deeds and the framework of government they gave us... Thanks for your great post Larry... B)

They still go for that much with it laying on the ground? Pre-collapse pricing...

Is this the official America bashing forum now??? Just want to get it right... its about; This forum is simply for all things about life in the US after the visa. For both the USC and the Chinese spouse, this is the place to relate, learn and share all things American. hope this helps you Hey wait a minute here... I wrote that intro and it wasn't for this forum...

The family of the lone migrant worker killed in the collapse is receiving 775,000 RMB in compensation... About half what it cost to buy an apartment in the complex...

Is this the official America bashing forum now??? Just want to get it right...

We've seen lots of programs on Chinese TV in which someone in a family gave another family member a loan to their eternal regret... Bye bye RMB... Maybe banks aren't such a bad alternative...

If that would be true then the Chinese better start buying a whole lot more of their own stuff than they do now because the western countries will not be able to afford to import Chinese goods...What was the size of the Chinese export market in 1980???

uNcA cUzZin' rogGiE, what is a guy to do? We gots social unrest and buildin's fallin' over in Chinertucky...America has fallen to it's knees. Chairman Mao is dead, Superman is a comic book character (I found out last week) and we've got all yore happy news reportin' on the current happenin's in Chinertucky. Shucks, I don't know rather to shit, or jest go blind. I gots me a house over in Chinertucky, but who knows it may fall over tomorrow and make your palaces fall down too so now I'm afraid to move to China...what with me being an American and a carrier of the dang "pig trouble". I know yore crystal ball is full of bad news, but I don't know who else to axe??? Should I sell my lil' tiny shack in China...before it falls down, it's got lot's of equity (while it's still standin)? Should I jump the good ship America before it sinks the rest of the way? Where...oh where is a man and his lil' family safe these daze? You've got me afraid of China and the rest of these guys have me afraid of America....should I take the family and run off to sumplace safe like Antarctica....nope, scratch that...they've got x-rays from the sun blastin' it everyday....should I take the lil' family and run off to Vietnam and grow me a patch of smoke, eat rice, and sell me a couple of fish in the market each day....I jest don't know!!! tsap seui I hear Dalat, Vietnam is real nice with great highland weather...Or I'm checking out Cuenca, Ecuador myself...At 8200' and on the equator = great weather and houses are CHEAP...And Ecuador uses the $$$ for its currency... B)

Was it CNN that said China suffers 80,000 riots a year, or was it Fox? In this case, I don't believe either one. Though, CNN has a long history of latching on to what it considers "human rights" stories. This might give CNN an excuse to break away from Michael Jackson coverage; course, I don't think their audience would appreciate it. That number came from some obscure blogger somewhere, who made the statement of some 80,000 unreported riots happening every year in China. http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/malcolmm...ice_in_Shishou/ CNN...Fox...obscure bloggers...ouside agitators...80,000 "mass incidents"...What craziness... Wait a minute though... "China strives to handle mass incidents (Xinhua) Updated: 2006-12-09 17:54 The Communist Party of China (CPC) is exerting efforts to actively prevent and handle mass incidents, and such a move shows the Party's clear recognition of China's current social and economic development and its courage to confront realities. The Resolution of the CPC Central Committee on Major Issues Regarding the Building of a Harmonious Socialist Society, adopted at the Sixth Plenary Session of the 16th Central Committee of the CPC on Oct. 11, is the first major Party document that addresses the issue of mass incidents and makes it an important task in the process of building a harmonious society. China is harmonious and stable in general, but it is undergoing profound changes in social and economic structures with many destabilizing factors. The number and scope of mass incidents have become the most outstanding problem that seriously disturbs social stability. The mass incidents reflect the various social conflicts and problems popping up at the crucial stage of China's reforms. The prevention and proper handling of mass incidents is a major test for the CPC's governing ability. China's booming economic development has largely improved people's living standard, but in the meantime the gaps between the rich and poor, urban and rural have been widened. Against this background, major mass incidents have been increasing and having wider impact. Among these incidents, some economic disputes had been politicized, and violent confrontation has increased so much that any inappropriate dealing would cause bloodshed. Meanwhile, hostile forces inside and outside China are trying all means to intervene and take advantage of mass incidents to instigate and create turbulence. The Party should put priority to solving the problems and difficulties of laid-off workers, land-lost farmers, emigrants from the Three Gorges Dam area, migrant workers, and the poor in both urban and rural areas. The Ministry of Public Security reported 87,000 mass incidents in 2005, up 6.6 percent over that 2004 and 50 percent over 2003. Local governments and CPC committees should stay cautious in deploying police force, using weapons and exercising forceful measures in handling mass incidents, to avoid improper force use that will intensify conflicts and aggravate the situation." It seems the number comes from the Ministry of Public Security but it is well out of date being from 2005...I'm sure with the economic downturn the number is much, much higher today... Have a nice day...

My office is located in a new car district in Nanjing. Seems every single day they are delivering new Chinese cars. It's hard to find an American car dealership. Too expensive. You see a lot of Peujot, Santana, Lexus, Mercedes, and then, for the very rich, there is the Maserati and Ferrari. I've seen a lot of advertsing/sponsorship on Chinese TV for the Chevrolet Aveo...Perhaps its everywhere except Nanjing...