Why China and Japan need closer ties – Zhang Lijia

 

Zhang Lijia

Relations between China and Japan have been tense since the end of World War II, and the annual remembrance of the rape of Nanking,  this year 86 years ago, marks those tensions. Author Zhang Lijia argues that nowadays both countries need better relations, she argues in the South China Morning Post. “An amicable Sino-Japanese relationship is vital for regional stability and prosperity. If the two remain hostile, it will play into the US’ hands,” she writes.

The South China Morning Post:

Back in the 1990s, plenty of Japanese politicians would have liked to befriend China as they saw that their future was in Asia. Beijing’s hostility, however, pushed them to embrace America wholeheartedly.

It’s time for Beijing to walk out of the past and forge closer ties with Tokyo. Beyond the fact that China is Japan’s largest trading partner, it has many reasons to be on good terms with this neighbour. As an Asian country with a long history with China, Japan can potentially play a role in softening crises, such as over Taiwan.

Reduced tensions would lessen the overall threat perception and allow a relaxation of all actors’ security positions in the region. An amicable Sino-Japanese relationship is vital for regional stability and prosperity. If the two remain hostile, it will play into the US’ hands…

I am not suggesting that Chinese people should forget the pain we suffered at the hands of the imperial Japanese. I, for one, shall not forget. As a Nanjing native, I still remember the harrowing stories my grandma told me. Back in 1937, as she tried to flee the city, her infant daughter in her arms, a bomb fell nearby. A neighbour only metres away disappeared, blown to pieces by the blast.

Tokyo should apologise unequivocally and unreservedly for the atrocities committed in China and apologise specifically for the Rape of Nanking.

While it is understandable that so many Chinese feel resentful towards Japan, it is unwise to let this anti-Japan sentiment spiral out of control. National interests should come before personal feelings, and it is in China’s best interests to improve its relationship with Japan.

More in the South China Morning Post.

Zhang Lijia is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need her at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

Are you looking for more political experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.

Comparing Covid-uprisings with Tiananmen – Zhang Lijia

 

Zhang Lijia

Author and journalist Zhang Lijia answers questions from viewers at Sky News on the protests against China’s zero-covid policies and the Tiananmen uprising in 1989 when she organized protests in Nanjing. Also joined by political scientist and economist Francis Fukuyama.

Zhang Lijia is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need her at your (online) meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

Are you looking for more experts on cultural change? Do check out this list.

How can China deal with the anti-Covid protests? – Victor Shih

 

Victor Shih

China’s leaders face unprecedented protest against its rigid anti-covid policy after earlier this week ten deaths in Urumqi were to blame for that. Political analyst Victor Shih sees China’s Communist Party walking on a tight rope, he says in the Hindustan Times.

The Hindustan Times:

An expert on China said Beijing has missed maintaining a balance between Covid control and economic growth, leading to citizens’ anger.

“Basically, what the (Chinese) leadership wants, a fine balance between growth and Covid control, is beyond the capacity of grassroots level enforcers. Instead, they are using draconian measures which invite popular anger,” Victor Shih, Associate Professor, School of Global Policy and Strategy, UC San Diego, expert on Chinese elite politics, said.

There is apprehension that the ruling Communist Party of China could respond with hard measures against the protesters.

“In the short term, the government walks a tight rope between too little repression, which may lead to more protests, and too much, which triggers backlash protests. Unfortunately, with the pervasive surveillance in China, the government will be able to arrest and punish the ring leaders after things have cooled,” Shih added.

“However, with Covid policies still unclear, popular anger may persist for a long period of time, something the regime has not had to deal with for decades,” Shih said.

More at the Hindustan Times.

Victor Shih is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your (online) meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

Are you looking for more political experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.

What Shein has been doing right – Matthew Brennan

 

Matthew Brennan on Shein

E-commerce firm Shein from Nanjing has been operating much under the radar, until last week it last week came with plans of an IPO in New York with a valuation of US$47 billion. E-commerce expert Matthew Brennan, author of “Attention Factory: The Story of Tiktok and China’s Bytedance” explains at Yahoo Finance what Shein has been doing right.

Matthew Brennan at Yahoo Finance:

 This company is a very savvy operator in terms of acquiring users through social media platforms. They were early to Pinterest. They were early to TikTok. They were actually the most talked about brand on TikTok globally the last year. But to be honest, price is a bigger driver. This platform, Shein, the prices on there, it makes Amazon look positively expensive. I don’t know if you have any personal experience of this, but if you talk to anyone on there, the prices are significantly lower than you would expect. And that’s really attractive to their target customer base…

Their model is actually quite innovative. And it’s difficult for their competitors to copy because the thing about fashion is, fashion is very volatile, especially fast fashion. And so if you’re able to operate faster than your competitors in terms of assessing and identifying new trends and getting those garments spinning up, SKUs that are doing well, faster than other people, then you are able to reduce markdowns. And you are able to lower your costs and increase– reach more customers.

That’s what Zara’s done, essentially. From the 1990s, they basically invented fast fashion and created their system, which works for a store network. In the last, say, decade, we’ve seen a new breed of DTC platforms. Brands like Fashion Nova and, in the UK, Boohoo and Asos– which are already publicly listed companies– are doing quite well. Shein, we can view as just taking this up another level. They are faster than the ultra fast item in real-time retail.

In terms of the– they’re taking the data that they’re seeing on their app in, say, America and using that and connecting that directly to the Chinese factory floor. In terms of when people start putting items in a basket in America, they know, OK, we’re going to sell more of this. And they immediately run that through to the factory floor and start ordering more and ordering materials. And the algorithms automate everything. So it’s really quite an innovation that they’ve managed to achieve…

The reason why they’re able to get that price is because the supply chain is unbelievably efficient. They don’t technically own the factories, but they’re so closely linked up with their supply chain management software, that it’s almost– it works effectively as they did, if they did. They’ve been criticized for a variety of things, as you rightly pointed out. There is questions over the sustainability of fast fashion and the environmental impacts. I think those are things that we do need to look at.

But in this context of the target consumer that they’re reaching, obviously, there are people concerned about these things. But it seems that, at least for the people who are buying on Shein, they’re less concerned about the environmental impacts and more concerned about their immediate needs to stay on top of the fashion trends within their social circle.

There’s also been complaints about suspicions of them using things like child labor. I think that those are a little bit hard to believe, given where they’re based in Guangzhou being one of the highest GDPs in China. And so, yes, we do need to look at these issues. But overall, I think these are wider questions about the fast fashion industry that could be applied to many, many companies.

Matthew Brennan is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need him at your (online) meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers’ request form.

Are you looking for more e-commerce experts at the China Speakers Bureau? Do check out this list.

Action needed for elderly parents - Zhang Lijia

Zhang Lijia

Earlier this month China's government took the extraordinary step of forcing children to visits their parents regularly by law. Author Zhang Lijia looks in The Guardian back on how filial relations in China have been changing dramatically over the past two decades. Action is needed, she writes.

+Lijia Zhang:

When I called my mother and asked for her take on this mental need of elderly people, she said: "Old people often feel lonely and empty in their empty nests and sometimes feel abandoned if they hear nothing from their children." She added that if her children can visit her when they can, call a couple of times every month and send her postcards when they travel – anything that makes her feel that they care – then her emotional needs are fulfilled. 

My parents live alone in my hometown Nanjing. I myself have long migrated to the capital. Every year, I make the 1000km journey home (actually only four hours by the speed train) about half a dozen times, dutifully and slightly grudgingly (given half a chance, mother would nag me to find a husband and a proper job). Luckily, my sister and brother live nearby and pop over frequently. 

In the next 10 to 15 years, people reaching old age will have fewer children as the family planning policy bears its fruit. The demographic trends will cause increasing constraints to the family-centreed old age support system. The government will have to invest vigorously to improve its poor social provisions for the elderly, building affordable retirement homes, expanding the rural pension programme and offering subsidised, if not free, medical care for the old. To combat China's grave task of caring for the grey population, a joint effort by the government, society, family and individuals is needed. Otherwise, millions of old people will face a bleak future of poverty and loneliness.

More in The Guardian.

 Zhang Lijia is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need her at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers' request form.

China Weekly Hangout Chinese have traditionally kept a close relationship with their hometown and their relatives, even when they moved away. But China's labor force is changing very fast, as the +China Weekly Hangout discussed on May 24, making visiting parents harder and harder. In this installment +Dee Lee (Inno), of the NGO Inno in Guangzhou, who is running a workers' hotline, mainly funded by big brands who want to keep an eye on working conditions, discusses those changes. Economist +Heleen Mees, in New York, entrepreneur +Sam Xu and +Fons Tuinstra, of the China Speakers Bureau, ask him questions.

The +China Weekly Hangout will hold on Thursday 18 July an open office where you can drop in to discuss upcoming subjects, panelists and current affairs in China. Here is our announcement, or you can register for participation right away on our event page. 

'Flowers of Wars' better as a novel - Zhang Lijia

Zhang Lijia

Zhang Yimou's movie 'Flowers of War' plays strongly on the nationalistic feelings in China, but is no classic propaganda movie, tells author Zhang Lijia to the BBC. But she did like the novel more than the movie.

BBC:

Lijia Zhang, a commentator based in Nanjing, says that when she went to see the film, the audience reaction was "very powerful". 

The book was originally called 13 Flowers of Nanjing 

"I wouldn't call it a propaganda film but I think it passed the censorship very easily," she said. "It's a positive story... and it puts the Chinese in a good light. It's part of history and for understandable reasons, China wants the world to understand it."... 

Lijia Zhang - who is also a friend of [the author of the novel] Geling Yan - says she thinks the film had much potential that was unfortunately not quite realised. "The original novel is I think more interesting, it focuses very much on the women's story. "But in the film I think too much emphasis has been placed on the Hollywood star."

More at the BBC.
Zhang Lijia is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need her at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers' request form.

More about Zhang Lijia and China's moral crisis at Storify.

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Why Zhang Yimou's movie did not convince me - Zhang Lijia

Zhang Lijia

Author Zhang Lijia reviewed for the BBC film director Zhang Yimou's latest movie The Flowers of War. On her weblog she explains why the movie did not convince her.

Zhang Lijia:

[The film] certainly stands head and shoulder higher than most of the Chinese films. Yet I found it unsatisfying despite its enormous potential to be a truly great one. 

I don’t think it is a propaganda film but rather China’s effort in pushing its film industry onto the world stage and more importantly, director Zhang Yimou’s bid for Oscar, something he got his eyes on for a while. When he read the novelFlowers of the War by famous writer Yan Geling, he became very excited. I remember Yan, a friend, talked about this. I think Zhou saw it as his ticket to Oscar. He had wanted to produce a Chinese version of the Schindler’s list,something profound that reflects the insight of human mind set against a dramatic backdrop, such as a war.

I am afraid that he’ll be disappointed. To me, the film lacks depth. It places far too much emphasis on the American fake priest, played by Hollywood star Christian Bale, brought in perhaps to attract the international audience. But the character is unconvincing as the plot itself: his transformation from a ‘jerk’ to an unselfish noble man is far too abrupt. And we audience don’t know enough about where he was coming from to feel connected with him.

More on Zhang Lijia's weblog

Zhang Lijia is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need her at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch or fill in our speakers' request form.

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Eulogy to my Grandma - Zhang Lijia

Zhang Lijia

Celebrity author Zhang Lijia went recently to her home town Nanjing and recalls the found memories of the place where her grandma used to live when she was alive. Her memories and a her eulogy to her grandma at Zhang Lijia's weblog.

 Zhang Lijia's eulogy from 13 years ago:

One thing I must mention is her good looks. In her youth, grandma was stunningly beautiful with a perfect oval shaped face where two lovely dimples danced as she smiled, ever so readily. When my sister and I saw her old photos, we always felt sorry that some of her beauty had not passed down to us! Even when she was old, she aged with grace. By the time she passed away, her skin was still smooth and her hair was mostly black. And she was famously clean and tidy. I am very glad she went as a neat person, though worn and thin. The doctor warned there could be some unpleasant discharges. But there was none, no mess, not even bed sores, although she was bed-ridden for a long time. 

Despite what she had gone through in life, the war, the ‘Rape of Nanjing’ in particular and turbulent personal life, grandma always felt she was a lucky person. Like many people from her generation, she had this amazing ability to take suffering without bitterness. She pinned her hopes on us three children. Now, we all turned out fine. My sister Huang Weijia has a fairly important job at the local government and she is driven around everywhere; my brother Zhang Xiaoshi works at a bank and recently passed his exam as economist; I myself work as a journalist, a profession I love and have dreamed of. And we are all married with kids. Though the second child, I was the last one to have a child of my own. One year ago, when I returned home to show off my one month old daughter May, grandma was absolutely thrilled. She confessed to me: “I really thought you two could not do it! You never know about a foreigner. Now, my heart is at ease.” 

In grandma’s last hours, all the family members in four generations gathered around to send her off. The Buddhist chanting music was played day and night. Always a non-practice believer, she formally converted to Buddhism in the last six months of her life After she had left so peacefully, my brother’s Buddhist friends came to chant to release her soul from purgatory. It was very touching as they sat chanting the same mantra through the whole night without stopping, amituofu, amituofu, amituofu… Being such a good person all your life, grandma, I am sure you will be living blissfully in heaven. In this world, you’ve done everything you could, leaving no regrets. And there is no unfulfilled wish, is there? Please go well, my good grandma.

More at Zhang Lijia's weblog

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Useful corruption - Zhang Lijia

Zhang Lijia

Officially corruption is not done, also in China. But a bit of corruption can be very useful, explains author Zhang Lijia on her weblog. For example, when you have to catch the train to Nanjing on 9 a.m. and you do not have the right ticket.

It was now 8.40 am. The gate to the 9 am train wasn’t open yet. Tailing behind the woman, we came to a side entrance. She told people guarding the entrance that I was on her tour. They just opened the gate without even checking my ticket. The granny obviously knew her way around as she chatted with people along the way. On the top of the stairs that led down to the platform, she pointed at the train and said: “That’s your train. You go. Now, 30 yuan.” As simple as this? “No, please take me to the train as you promised,” I pleaded. Granny eyed at me up and down. “What do you do, reading books in foreign language?” she pointed at a novel in English I was holding, Amitav, Gosh’s Glass Palace. I had to take it out of my small back pack because it was bursting with presents I had just bought for my family. “I am a writer,” I said. “Writer! Wow, my daughter loves literature,” a smile blossomed on her winkled face. “Come on then. I am wasting so much time here. I could have signed up more people on my tours but you are a writer,” she talked garrulously. 

We got on the train where the attendants were getting things ready. Granny told one of them to keep an eye out for me. The girl suggested that I go to carriage 4 – the dinning car to wait – since the train was full. In the dining carriage, I found two tall round tables but no seats. In a few minutes, passengers burst onto the train and occupied their rightful positions; uniformed staff briskly walked past the dining area. I avoided eye contacts with them – I still wasn’t sure what would become of me. I anxiously waited for the departure of the train. Only then would I feel safe. I was very glad to receive a phone call from a French friend. We chatted and laughed until the train started to move. Then I let out a sigh of relief. To justify my presence, I bought a cup of tea. A sweet young girl serving behind the counter smiled brightly at me: “Are you a Chinese? Your English sounds so good!” I confirmed that I am Chinese, from Nanjing. I nursed my tea, leaning against a rail by the window. There were a few others hanging out at the dining car. I wondered what their stories were. The girl kindly informed me that there was still one free seat among the seats that allocated to the dinning passengers, right behind the dinning carriage. I nodded gratefully. Just as I picked up my bag, my coat and shawl, a man in a fine suit dashed out. By the time I reached the seats, I found the man in suit sitting among the diners, his head leaning against the seat, eyes closed. 

I returned to the dining car. No big deal, I told myself, as long as I could stay on the train, I could handle standing for an hour. But the sweet girl was determined to help me. She went out and returned with the news that one of diners said I could take his seat in carriage 7. Off I went, with a seat and an almost legitimate status on the train. With my own ticket, I passed the ticket checkout point at Nanjing station without a hiccup. The granny scheme worked! I guess that’s the thing with corruption in China: everyone hates it and everyone is also willing to be part of it.

More at her weblog.

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Zhang Lijia is a speaker at the China Speakers Bureau. Do you need her at your meeting or conference? Do get in touch, or fill in our speakers' request form.  

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