Eight+ Things to Read About China and Other Things, Part 3

This is part 3 of our (relatively) new series on listing out eight+ things to read about China and a lot more. We constantly get emails from readers asking what to read on China and all sorts of things related and even barely related to China and the plan of this series would be to constantly and consistently answer this very question. We also have a few very loyal readers who often send us truly great articles on China (and other things). We owe these unpaid and truly superb researchers a big debt and this week’s post is dedicated to them!

As I said in our initial post on this, our plan is to list out eight (or so) articles we benefitted from reading and think you our readers would also benefit from reading, along with a very brief explanation why the particular article was included. More specifically:

The articles will likely include many on China and on Asia and a few on international trade, international politics, Spain and Latin America, economics and really just anything else we believe might benefit our readers or even that we just want people to read. We do not plan to choose articles that push our or any other political agenda or any other agenda for that matter, but having said that, we are not objective and our views may creep through. Our goal though is to focus on articles that are important or helpful or — most importantly — that make you think. Our posting of an article will NOT mean we agree with all of it or even any of it. Most of the articles will be from the week preceding the post but we will also sometimes throw in older articles (classics if you will) as well.

And though I have said this previously, it is important enough that I feel compelled to state it again: Please do not hesitate to comment at the end of this or any other post. We cannot tell you how much we appreciate your comments, good, bad and indifferent.

Here we go, in absolutely no particular order

1.Let Go of Your Grudges. They’re Doing You No Good. New York Times.  Because the older you get the more you realize how true this is.

2. The Preachers Getting Rich from Poor Americans. BBC. Because if there is a hell, there has to be a special place there for those who (1) steal from the poor (2) in the name of religion. It is also troubling how many Americans fall for this sort of thing. Is there any other country where this goes on as much as in the United States? This is not a rhetorical question; I would love people to answer it.

3. Iraq’s Christians close to extinction. BBC. Speaking of religion, why is the world being silent as the Arab world moves apace in getting rid of pretty much anyone who is not a Muslim. Within 25 years, there very well might be no Christians nor Jews left in any Arab country, but for an expat or two in a place like Dubai. For a somewhat more uplifting flip side, read this BBC article, The man who might have stopped Sri Lanka’s Easter bombings, on a Muslim in Sri Lanka who acted on his belief that “people of different religions should get along.”

4. What Four Decades of China Trademarks Says About Chinese Trademarks. Managing Intellectual Property. The data say that the number of trademark filings are exploding in China and the reason is because they are super-important and they work. See China Trademarks: Register Yours BEFORE You Do ANYTHING Else.

5. Five Reasons Why Valencia, Spain Should Be Your Next Holiday Destination. Because I spent a summer in Valencia, Spain, working on my Spanish and I loved living there, but if you are going to Spain for a week or two, there are easily 20+ places you should visit before going to Valencia. Valencia is a really nice city the way Grand Rapids, Michigan (45 minutes from where I grew up) is a really nice city, but if you are a tourist in the United States and you go to Grand Rapids over New York or San Francisco or Las Vegas or Santa Fe or Yellowstone National Park or…. you are making a mistake.

6. Bart Starr was the toughest football player who ever lived. ESPN. Because, along with Walter Payton, he was. And because I get to use this Bart Starr article as an excuse to cite to a 1999 article I read on Walter Payton at least once a year, entitled, He Was the Rock of the Bears, because it is maybe the singular best/most moving piece/most accurate piece of sports journalism ever:

Walter Payton always got up. Always.

For 13 years with the Bears he took every hit, survived every collision, confronted every menace, shook off every tackle, always gave better than he got. Walter Payton always got the extra yard. Always.

He was the rock of the Bears, the one to take the ball every time anyone wanted to hand it to him, and he outlasted a full dozen Bears quarterbacks, any one of whom can claim no higher accomplishment than having handed the football to Walter Payton.

Because I would watch Payton on TV every week and when he retired my football consumption decreased by about 98%.

7. Why Business Schools are Shutting Down their MBA Programs? Because there is a lot of talk out there about how MBAs are neither relevant nor worthwhile, but all I know is that my clients with MBAs always strike me as exceedingly well educated in a wide range of areas relevant to operating a business. At the same time, what’s the deal with all of these one year practical Master’s Degrees springing up that look more like certificate programs. Is this degree inflation?

8. How to Pack a First Aid Kit for Extended International Travel. New York Times. Not because I don’t think it’s possible to easily secure Ibuprofen at a Oaxaca or Hohhot pharmacy, but because there is a lot to be said for being able to reach into your carry on to pull out bandages to stanch the bleeding you get from a badly constructed/maintained Qingdao Airport security scanner or to give your kid Ondansetron when she wakes up at 3:00 a.m. in a Seoul hotel throwing up.

9. China won when Trump blindsided Mexico with tariffs, says former Mexican ambassador to China. CNBC. Because Trump’s proposed tariffs on Mexico are stupid/incoherent/unnecessary/bullying/etc. and they give China the ability to argue that the tariffs against China are no different, even though they are. Because they make the world further question how much they can trust the United States. Everyone better hope these tariffs never go into effect, but even if they don’t there will be long-lasting damage from this.

10. Want to Keep Your Business in China? Do These Things Now. This is the first time (and it very well may be the last time) I’ve listed another China Law Blog Post on here, but I feel compelled to do so because the post came out late on Friday afternoon (not exactly prime time) and it was the second post of the day and I worry not enough people will see it. Yesterday, China’s Ministry of Commerce announced it will kick out of China “foreign enterprises, organizations and individuals that do not comply with market rules, violate the spirit of contract, block or cut supplies to Chinese firms with non-commercial purposes, and seriously damage the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises” and I take that threat exceedingly seriously. This post explains the things foreign companies and individuals need to do now to minimize their chances of being shut down and/or booted out. So yes, it is important!

Your thoughts?