Category Archives: Commentary

Safe in the Police State

Posted on July 23, 2012 by btay200

Columbine. Virginia Tech. Aurora. When are we going to learn? Reading about the recent tragedy in Colorado last week, the story of a man gone mad and a defenseless crowd of theater-goers forced to play witness to their own horror … Continue reading →

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Beidaihe: Silicon Valley of North China

Posted on December 3, 2011 by btay200

This is the seventh post about a recent business trip I took to northeast Hebei province Near Qinhuangdao in the northeastern tip of the province, the beaches and streets of Beidaihe provide everything that can be expected of a small, … Continue reading →

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Living Behind the Great Firewall

Posted on November 28, 2011 by btay200

The photo is a typical screen I get when trying to access Facebook, YouTube, Twitter or any Western social media website in China It seems cheap sneakers, iPads and iPhones, and a Christmas wish list of consumer goods won’t be … Continue reading →

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Qinhuangdao: Parks and Innovation

Posted on November 24, 2011 by btay200

This is the fourth post in a series about a business trip I took to northeast Hebei province Tangshan had heavy industries. Luanzhou had tourism. Qinhuangdao, the next city on our tour, had hi-tech parks. Our government guides took us … Continue reading →

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Luanzhou: Manufacturing Culture

Posted on November 21, 2011 by btay200

This is the third post in a series about a recent business trip I took to northeast Hebei province Like Tangshan, Luanzhou relies on its resource-guzzling heavy industries as its main economic driving force. Now, the city is trying to … Continue reading →

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Caofeidian: Emerald City by the Sea

Posted on November 18, 2011 by btay200

This is the second post in a series about a recent business trip to Hebei province China, now in the midst of an epic national construction boom, is building many things. It’s building forests of apartment towers. It’s building malls … Continue reading →

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Tangshan: The Phoenix City

Posted on November 15, 2011 by btay200

This is the first post in a series about a recent business trip I took to northeast Hebei province Tangshan, a two-hour drive east of Beijing in Hebei Province, is a city of industry. The site of China’s first coalmine, … Continue reading →

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When Good People Do Nothing

Posted on November 11, 2011 by btay200

The world for those of us who bleed blue and white has been turned upside down. No one could have predicted the nightmare of the last week that has befallen Penn State, that words like “honor”, “prestige” and “class” would … Continue reading →

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Happy Birthday Brandon, Happy Birthday China

Posted on October 11, 2011 by btay200

The People’s Republic of China turned 62 this year to a modest celebration. Instead of parading its nukes, Cold War-era tanks and aircraft carrier-killing missiles up and down Chang’an Avenue, Beijing’s main east-west axis, China’s leaders laid flowers at the … Continue reading →

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