Happy 2K8 everybody! I came back from my HK vacation with my mom on January 1st and I must say it has been one of the best vacation that I have had for a while. First of all, I was able to travel around HK like I did in SF with the MTR. In addition, I was able to enjoy many great food with thanks given to my Uncle Danny and his family( They were definitely a great host).
Besides the vacation, I was able to take note of some observation on this most capitalistic city of China and I must say it is not easy to live as a Hong Kong resident. When I was there, I noticed that the power supply for the Hong Kong Island is controlled by Cheung Kong which is controlled by Lee Kah Shing and his family. In addition, the Lee family also controls the Park'N'Shop chain grocery store in Hong Kong through their Watsons group. In other words, I had a feeling that they control a lot of the major necessities of the people of Hong Kong. I am not sure if this is a good thing but this truly reflects that "Capital is King" in modern market economies.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Sunday, December 16, 2007
"Treat people the way that you will like them to treat you"
"Treat people the way that you will like other people to treat you" is a golden advice that I have learned for the pass few years. There are times people treated others in a good manner and they were treated in the same way in return. Of course, there are many exceptional cases. However, I remember my father told we should always treat people in a good and fair manner. I guess with the principle of "margin of safety", there is nothing bad about treating people well without thinking about how people will treat us in return.
The reason why I brought up this phrase is because I am currently witnessing some family matters that involves the application of the phrase. Well, let's say it was somewhat of a tragedy to see things happened this way and I am lucky to say that I will be able to learn from what I have witnessed. Anyways, in this family tragedy, a cousin of mine was forced to have a divorce with his wife due to financial constraints and, as a result, his only child will have to live with his mother for the rest of his life. At this moment, the only advice that I can give to this little nephew of mine is to grow up "strong" since he represents the forth generation of my maternal grandfather's family. Sometimes, I feel that kids who are involved in a divorce are the most unfortunate people in the world. These kids may have lost the family love that most people fail to realize how lucky they were to be brought up by their mom and dads. However, as long as these kids are able to grow up strong and to learn from the realities behind their parents' failed marriage, they will be able to cherish their marriage life more dearly than others.
The reason why I brought up this phrase is because I am currently witnessing some family matters that involves the application of the phrase. Well, let's say it was somewhat of a tragedy to see things happened this way and I am lucky to say that I will be able to learn from what I have witnessed. Anyways, in this family tragedy, a cousin of mine was forced to have a divorce with his wife due to financial constraints and, as a result, his only child will have to live with his mother for the rest of his life. At this moment, the only advice that I can give to this little nephew of mine is to grow up "strong" since he represents the forth generation of my maternal grandfather's family. Sometimes, I feel that kids who are involved in a divorce are the most unfortunate people in the world. These kids may have lost the family love that most people fail to realize how lucky they were to be brought up by their mom and dads. However, as long as these kids are able to grow up strong and to learn from the realities behind their parents' failed marriage, they will be able to cherish their marriage life more dearly than others.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Rediscovering my Asian History Interest
Recently, I have been reading heavily on Word War II History materials. Well, at first, I was trying to reread "Hirohito:The making of modern Japan" but I found another good book which is "Bankrupting the Enemy" that is written by Edward Miller off Amazon.com .
Anyways, after reading this book about the financial wars between the USA and the Japanese Government. I have discovered a number of details that I have never thought about the in these two great participant in the second World War. For example, there was this act in the US after World War I that was created to restrict the US from the directly involving herself in a foreign war. The rationale for the creation of this act is to prevent the US from getting herself in war because some of her greatest financiers like Jp Morgan etc. had provided vital loans to the warring nations and the financiers begged for the US government's involvement in the war because their financial interests was in stake. This little example makes me think about the many financial interests that the US government takes into account before they involve themselves in a war which seems to disregard their position as the "Good Guy" in a war.
In addition, the book gives a good picture on the economical analysis of Japan by the US government. The economical analysis was carried the calculate the the economy of Japan at the time and the impact of the potential financial embargo of the US on Japan which aims to bring "Japan on its knees" for her aggression on China. I find it fascinating for the research of the US government because it was able to try to learn about their enemy before they go straight into a financial war that may eventually lead to war with Japan. I wonder if the Chinese government of today may have the same profiles of the many countries of the world. The Chinese government seems to resemble the US on the early 20th century because they were both the largest market of the world of their time. It is definitely not be a good to be the bad side of China today because a potential embargo by China on a country that is heavily dependent on its export to China will definitely "bring the country to its knees".
Anyways, I am looking forward to re-reading this book because it seems to provide a good insight on how governments used their financial weapons in a war against their enemy.
Anyways, after reading this book about the financial wars between the USA and the Japanese Government. I have discovered a number of details that I have never thought about the in these two great participant in the second World War. For example, there was this act in the US after World War I that was created to restrict the US from the directly involving herself in a foreign war. The rationale for the creation of this act is to prevent the US from getting herself in war because some of her greatest financiers like Jp Morgan etc. had provided vital loans to the warring nations and the financiers begged for the US government's involvement in the war because their financial interests was in stake. This little example makes me think about the many financial interests that the US government takes into account before they involve themselves in a war which seems to disregard their position as the "Good Guy" in a war.
In addition, the book gives a good picture on the economical analysis of Japan by the US government. The economical analysis was carried the calculate the the economy of Japan at the time and the impact of the potential financial embargo of the US on Japan which aims to bring "Japan on its knees" for her aggression on China. I find it fascinating for the research of the US government because it was able to try to learn about their enemy before they go straight into a financial war that may eventually lead to war with Japan. I wonder if the Chinese government of today may have the same profiles of the many countries of the world. The Chinese government seems to resemble the US on the early 20th century because they were both the largest market of the world of their time. It is definitely not be a good to be the bad side of China today because a potential embargo by China on a country that is heavily dependent on its export to China will definitely "bring the country to its knees".
Anyways, I am looking forward to re-reading this book because it seems to provide a good insight on how governments used their financial weapons in a war against their enemy.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Year 24, the second 12 year cycle of a human life
In the Chinese Zodiac, there are 12 different animals that represent each individual year. My Chinese Zodiac happens to be the 12th animal which is the boar. By looking back the past 12 years, many things have happened. In these past 12 years, I was able to finish most of my education which includes my elementary education, secondary education and my college education. In the process, I believed that I was able to go through many changes in my personal life that I think not many people will be able to experience in their lifetime. Although it was sad to see many good things comes to an end, I am sure that I will be able to take these many bitter and sweet experiences that I have gained over the past 12 years and I am confident that better things are on their way for me in my next 12 year human life cycle.
Monday, November 5, 2007
"Chew in the Good, and Spit out the bad"
This phrase has been used on my MSN personal message for a while. I really admire this phrase because it really reflects the really essence of human evolution.
A few years ago, I have read "Taiko" by Eiji Yoshikawa that talks about Toyotomi Hideyoshi who was the second great man in the Sengoku period in Japan. In this great book, it talks about the many foreign influence that Japan has encountered during Oda Nobunaga's era(Tensho period).
At the time, the Japanese merchants were concerned about the impact of the influxes of foreign goods and foreign cultures into the Japanese society. In the book, it talks about a conversation in between Oda Nobunaga and a well known Japanese Merchant. In the conversation, Nobunaga was amazed by sugar which was brought in by the "Gaijins" to Japan. When Nobunaga was enjoying some desert made with sugar, the merchant points out that the sweetness of a dessert has been greatly increased with the application of sugar and there maybe some harmful effects on the human body if the dessert was to be consumed in a long period of time.
After listening to the merchant's observation, Nobunaga used the phrase "Chew in the Good, and Spit out the bad" to describes the Japanese should hold when they accept foreign influence into their traditional cultures and values. In other words, the Japanese needs to learn from the west, to adapt the best from their foreign business partners and then innovate from what they have learned.
A few years ago, I have read "Taiko" by Eiji Yoshikawa that talks about Toyotomi Hideyoshi who was the second great man in the Sengoku period in Japan. In this great book, it talks about the many foreign influence that Japan has encountered during Oda Nobunaga's era(Tensho period).
At the time, the Japanese merchants were concerned about the impact of the influxes of foreign goods and foreign cultures into the Japanese society. In the book, it talks about a conversation in between Oda Nobunaga and a well known Japanese Merchant. In the conversation, Nobunaga was amazed by sugar which was brought in by the "Gaijins" to Japan. When Nobunaga was enjoying some desert made with sugar, the merchant points out that the sweetness of a dessert has been greatly increased with the application of sugar and there maybe some harmful effects on the human body if the dessert was to be consumed in a long period of time.
After listening to the merchant's observation, Nobunaga used the phrase "Chew in the Good, and Spit out the bad" to describes the Japanese should hold when they accept foreign influence into their traditional cultures and values. In other words, the Japanese needs to learn from the west, to adapt the best from their foreign business partners and then innovate from what they have learned.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
YesAsia Sucks for their response time!!
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