Skip the travel agencies. Reserving hotels online on your own is the key to saving yourself some hard earned cash. After all there are many reliable online travel agencies today to choose from. But which one truly offers the best hotel rates? That’s what we’re going to discover today.

When it comes to choosing which companies to use to book hotels online you should find a company that specializes in the hotel market for the country you are planning to visit. It is really that simple. Normally we would book our hotels using the services of the biggest and most well known Internet travel agencies such as Travelocity or Priceline. But these companies dabble with plane tickets and car rentals, plus they are based in the United States and without a doubt get you best hotel rates in Florida, but not Shanghai or Egypt.

Here are some localized reliable hotel reservation agencies you should check out:

• Europe, Middle East and Africa: From France to South Africa, one of the biggest and most well known and trusted hotel reservation agency for these regions is Booking.com. They have multiple offices throughout Europe and have excellent hotel connections with regions around the continent.
• Asia: The undisputed champion hotel agency in the Asian market is Agoda. Though if you need a hotel specifically in Japan I recommend Rakuten Travel.
• North America and South America: There are many agencies based in the United States which also provides discounted room rates in Canada and south of the Texas border. But one particular company that outshines the rest is CheapOstay.

The main reason why local based hotel reservation agencies are able to get the best deals is because they have a much better understanding about the region they represent and have a closer partnership with the hotels they are partnered with. They are the masters of marketing and have a better presence on the Internet and therefore able to reach more prospective guests. Hotels realize that these agencies have a greater potential of getting their properties known.

Even though you may not have heard of any of these companies before they are certainly well known throughout the regions they are based in. Booking a hotel online is simple and easy these days. Remember to think local and book local. It’s one of the best ways of landing yourself the best hotel deals.

Globalization has made this world much smaller and customers can easily purchase goods made in other countries. Outsourcing is inevitable and many U.S. multinational corporations recognize and take the advantages of outsourcing. These corporations open offices, factories, or subsidiaries in countries such as China and India. Large IT corporations, including Apple, Microsoft, Oracle, and Google, have opened offices and hired employees in Asian countries. Similarly, retailers and chain restaurants have opened stores outside of the United States. American multinational corporations take advantages of outsourcing to maximize their profits by cutting costs, increasing sales, and avoiding taxes.

Outsourcing can help manufacturing corporations cut production costs by lowering labor costs. American manufacturing corporations like to hire employees in Asian countries because manufacturing wages are much lower there. In his Forbes article on January 25, 2012, Baizhu Chen has pointed out that Apple relies on Foxconn, which hired 230,000 assembly workers to make iPhones in China. The average manufacturing wage was seventeen times less in China, and Apple has saved billions of dollars in 2010. Similarly, Oracle, the third largest international software corporation, outsources thousands of jobs to different offices worldwide to save labor costs.

As outsourcing cuts production costs for U.S. corporations, it also makes them more competitive by increasing sales and providing outstanding customer service as well. There is a large population in China and many Chinese people like to buy famous brand products like the iPhone. It is essential for Apple to make iPhones in China. It not only saves time and money by making products there, it also improves their customer service by providing repair and maintenance services locally. American chain restaurants have open stores successfully in China, such as KFC, Pizza Hut, and McDonald’s. They usually open stores in big and rich cities, such as Shanghai and Wenzhou, my original hometown. Chinese people in these cities like shopping and eating a variety of foods outside. Many people eat outside more than at home. In China, whenever I visited a KFC restaurant, it is always filled with customers. These American chain restaurants definitely increase their sales and profits since they are popular and have large amount of customers there.

Outsourcing gives U.S. multinational corporations many opportunities to avoid taxes by taking advantage of low taxes or no taxes in foreign countries. Because the U.S. Tax Code allows multinational corporations to make profits earned by foreign subsidiaries without paying U.S. income taxes, corporations try to find loopholes between the US and international accounting rules to avoid taxes. As Robert Oak noted in the Economic Populist article on September 21, 2012, the corporate tax accounted for 32.1% of federal tax revenue in 1952, but it only accounts for 8.9% of federal tax today. U.S. multinational corporations make more than $1.7 trillion in profits without taxation and they retain these untaxed profits as undistributed foreign earnings. Outsourcing does benefit U.S. multinational corporations by helping them to avoid taxes.

As you can see, outsourcing is largely driven by competition, and it has benefited U.S. multinational corporations tremendously by helping them increase sales and maximize profits. Although outsourcing has caused a reduction of income taxes to the U.S. government, it gives the U.S. lawmakers a signal that they need to rewrite the U.S. corporation tax code, lower tax rates, and fix loopholes in the corporate tax law. The trend of outsourcing allows customers to purchase quality goods at lower prices. Thus, outsourcing can benefit customers greatly in the end.

O’er desert sands, o’er gulf and bay, O’er Ganges and o’er Himalay Bird-like I fly, and flying sing, To flowery kingdoms of Cathay And bird-like poise on balanced wing Above the town of King-te-tching. A burning town, or seeming so, – Three thousand furnaces that glow Incessantly, and fill the air With smoke uprising, gyre on gyre, And painted by the lurid glare, Of jets and flashes of red fire.

“Keramos”, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1877.

Like Longfellow more than a hundred years before, we journeyed the summer of ’87 to the same porcelain factory town of Cathay. Today it is called Zingdezhen and Cathay is China, but the town still has the thousand furnaces, some more than a thousand years old. Zingdezhen is known as the Porcelain Capital of the world.

It wasn’t simple, our trail to Zingdezhen. First, we booked ourselves on the daily Yangtze River steamer out of Shanghai. It was romantic and exciting to board the relatively modern passenger and freight boat at sunset. Rail-birding outside our cabin with a cup of fresh tea in hand, we sailed down the Whangpoa River, shutter- snapping until the light gave out. The scenes were of the Shanghai skyline and of ships of the world at terminals or mid-channel anchorage and modern cruise ships attired in gay flags, emitting ant-link traffic flow of passengers onto the famous Bund. Ferries plied the shores endlessly. Ungainly container ships bulged with their toy-like boxes stacked, then handed across by cranes and loaded onto barges and trucks. Rusty freighters and small river craft of a thousand varieties added to the eclectic mix, while we sat by the rail and exchanged pleasantries with our new friends in the next cabin.

Two days later in the early afternoon we disembarked at Jiujany, a busy, ancient port where the Emperors and entourages also docked centuries before. They were going to their favorite mountain resort of Lushan. Even Mao Tse Tung had a villa up in the cool forest of Lushan. If time permits when you visit, spend a few days there. You can fantasize yourself as one of the royal staff, or sit at Mao’s desk, still fitted with rice paper and brushes awaiting further “sayings”. Mao’s slippers and robe hang from a clothes rack nearby.

On to the city of porcelain, purported to be but three hours away by road. We engaged a tiny red taxi (which was a Polish car assembled in China) and in a mere six hours of travel over partially finished roads, and a half-dozen river crossings by barge, we reached the ancient city of Zingdezhen.

The hotel complex high on a hill above a small lake was China-modern in a forest glade. The lobby, dining room and entranceway were bustling with businessmen from around the world, but mostly Hong Kong We were greeted and ensconced in a delightful VIP suite. The living room was crowded with overstuffed furniture, tables and cabinets and offered the inevitable hot water thermos complete with local China tea service. The bathroom had hot water from 5:00 to 9:00 and the tub with ancient clawed feet was welcomed as we soaked out the cramps of the road journey.

Our local guide spent the next few days escorting us through the factories to view the exquisite porcelains that have been created in this remote city for more than a thousand years. Enjoyed by Chinese emperors, Arabian princes and the royalty of Europe, the porcelain art ware has found its way into every corner of the world. The Ming Emperors had their own appointed factories, which used the deep cobalt blues, while the Qing preferred the garish yellows decorated with brightly plumaged Phoenix birds. Eggshell porcelains of incredible delicacy are still produced. Classic figures of Kwan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy, Shou-Xing Lao with his baldhead and long beard symbolizing the desire for long life, and Confucius are favorites, each sculpted by talented artists.

The art form of porcelains is to be enjoyed by everyone. Porcelains are available as modest decorative vases as well as the “show pieces” now allowed with modern innovation. Zingdezhen porcelain heirlooms grace the homes and museums of the world.

To care for your porcelains, try the following:

For Bisque Porcelain, which has no glaze, you need to be careful on how you handle it. They can pick up hand oils and dirt very easily. Handling them as little as possible is recommended. For occasions when you must handle them, make sure to wash your hands very carefully first. These bisque porcelains must never be soaked in water to clean, they will absorb the moisture. An option is to use a very slightly damp cloth or soft rag to clean if necessary.

Ceramic Porcelain has a glaze (meaning it is shiny). You should clean Ceramic Porcelain the same way you would for Bisque porcelain.

The important note here is to try and not get these porcelains dirty. You can accomplish this by handling them with care, or handling them very little with care.

It is nice to have a background on where some of the world’s best porcelains come from. If you ever get one of these pieces of art, I know you will enjoy it as much as I do.

China is a destination that has simply so much to offer its visitors who often return home with unforgettable memories of this unique country. The different regions and cities of China have their own unique selection of sights and sounds that would fascinate you regardless of whether you are into nature, architecture, culture, shopping or food. To plan your China travel tour well and select the right tour for you, you have to figure out what you are most keen to see in your limited time there.

While there can be infinite possibilities on where you can choose to tour, here are my recommendations for three must-see places.

Visit the majestic Great Wall of China

One of the China’s most visited and much raved about destinations is the famous Great Wall of China. The sheer grandeur of the longest defense wall in the world, and the fact that it was constructed over several dynasties is sure to impress you if you have not seen it up close.

You can visit a number of sections of the Great Wall which have been opened to public access, each possessing its own unique scenery. The Badaling section is probably the most visited by tourists due to it being accessible via only an hour’s drive from the capital Beijing. The terrain is generally friendly for walking, while the views from the top are simply incomparable.

If you are rugged and adventurous, you can take a hike between the Simitai and Jinshanling sections which also offer stunning views. However you have to overcome some rough and steep terrain.

Take an unforgettable cruise down the Yangtze River

To see some of the most majestic natural landscapes in China, you should take a cruise down the Yangtze River. You have a choice of cruising from Chongqing to Yichang, Chongqing to Wuhan or Chongqing to Shanghai. You will be treated to a plethora of wonderful scenery that you will not soon forget after your cruise.

A Yangtze River cruise will not be complete without passing by the Three Gorges, which are appreciated not only for their aesthetic beauty, but also for their historical, cultural and religious background. The Three Gorges Dam is also a prominent sight that you cannot miss.

To truly appreciate the Yangtze River, it is recommended that you also learn about its culture. One such opportunity would be the International Tourist Festival of Three Gorges in Chongqing in the month of June, which will be an educational and entertaining experience for visitors with its trade talks, folk art displays and performances.

Embrace history and modernity in Shanghai

If you want to experience urban life while having easy access to cultural and historical sites, Shanghai is the place for you. You will be impressed with the city’s eclectic blend of history and modernity, especially if you visit the following popular sights below.

Showcasing the pinnacle of modern developments in the city, the Pudong area is home to two of the most impressive modern structures that you will ever see – the Oriental TV Tower and the Jinmao Tower.

To revisit the city’s colourful past, what better place to tour than The Bund? Situated along the city’s waterfront, you will be fascinated by the famous row of colonial buildings which are ample reminders of a bygone era.

To immerse yourself in a calm and relaxing atmosphere while admiring ancient architecture and relics, I recommend a visit to the Jade Buddha Temple. Here, you can marvel at the beauty of some notable relics including a collection of the finest jade Buddha statues.

The climate of Pakistan is continental as a whole but the high mountains to the north of it gives its climate a peculiar shape.

The High mountains ranges of Himalayas in the North of Pakistan influence the climate of Pakistan in several ways.

Mild Winters

Probably the most pronounced effect of the great mountain ranges to the North on the climate of cities of Pakistan is that the cities of Pakistan are saved from the intense cold of Central Asia during the winter season. To cite a typical example, Multan and Shanghai are located on almost the same parallel but there is a huge temperature difference between their winter temperatures. Multan records a winter temperature of 54 F while at Shanghai it is 38 F. This is because the very high mountains of the North do not let the Cold air to penetrate down into Pakistan. Whereas in case of Shanghai, there is no mountain barrier to protect it from the cold and fierce Siberian wind of the North.

Similarly Tashkent, in Uzbekistan, located on the other side of the mountains faces the full fury of Central Asian wind with temperatures going down as much as 30 F in winter while in Islamabad the winter temperature around 50 F -thanks to the protective shield of Himalayas to the North.

Monsoon Rains

The other most important influence of the high mountains is the steering and containment of monsoon winds. Had there been no mountains to the North there would have been no monsoon. The monsoon coming from the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean are blocked by the high mountains to the north and are forced to rise, thus reaching condensation temperature and copious rainfall results.

Other neighboring countries located on almost the same latitude do not have any rainy season like monsoon. Afghanistan and Iran are the examples. In these countries the summer heat continues to increase till late July and in some cases up to August and then decrease gradually in the subsequent months. While on the other hand due to the influence of very high mountains to the north of Pakistan, monsoon winds are able to bring the temperature down considerably by the end of June and the subsequent month of July, August and September are much cooler than if there had been no monsoon.

In short the Himalayan Mountains to the North of Pakistan influence and alter the climate of the country to a considerable degree.

FROM THE BOOK: “PIERCING THE REICH”

AUTHOR: JOSEPH E. PERSICO

They learned the art of silent killing, perfected by W.E. Fairbairn, the legendary British Major, sometimes known as “Delicate Dan.” Knife strokes taught, should be upward, from the testicles to the chin. The hand in a “tiger claw” position was most effective for gouging out eyes. A single sheet of newspaper, they learned, could become a crude dagger. Fold the paper to approximately six inches by two inches. Then fold it diagonally to form a sharp point at one end. Drive the pointed end hard into the stomach or under the jaw, just behind the chin.

FROM THE BOOK: “BEHIND JAPANESE LINES”

AUTHOR: RICHARD DUNLOP

British Major Dan Fairbairn, who had been chief of police in Shanghai before the Japanese capture of the city, taught the Fairbairn method of assault and murder. His course was not restricted to Camp X but later given at OSS camps in the United States. All of us who were taught by Major Fairbairn soon realized that he had an honest dislike for anything that smacked of decency in fighting.

“To him, there were no rules in staying alive. He taught us to enter a fight with one idea; to kill an opponent quickly and efficiently,” said Ray Peers.

Fairbairn had invented a stiletto as precise as a surgeon’s scalpel. He wielded it with a flashing, slashing vigor that invariably proved fatal to an opponent.

“Why is it so long and thin?” I asked him one day in a question period during my own course of instruction. “It doesn’t have a cutting edge.”

“It doesn’t leave any marks on the body,” he replied. “Scarcely more than a tiny drop of blood.”

Fairbairn taught his trainees to fire anything from a pistol to a BAR at close quarters, by aiming with the body. In unarmed combat he overcame one hulking trainee after another. With a wry smile the wiry major would admonish his bruised and bleeding students, “Don’t let anybody lead you down the garden path.”

FROM THE BOOK: “THE FIRST COMMANDO KNIVES”

AUTHOR: PROF. KELLY YEATON, LT. COL. SAMUEL S. YEATON (USMC)

AND COL. REX APPLEGATE

On January 24th, 1933, he wrote me:

“This man Fairbairn is beyond the shadow of a doubt the greatest of “the greatest of them all.” I’ve had about 12 hours of conferences with him and done a couple of hour’s work on the mats. His stuff is not jiu-jitsu or judo – he gave us an exhibition of judo using five men, two third-degree black belts, two second, and one first, to prove it. He uses some of their falls and a few holds, but not more than about 20% of it and most with variations. It’s not Chinese boxing, of which 80% is mere ritual. It’s a collection of all the known methods of dirty fighting and it will beat them all. He knows it will, he’s done it. Judo is to clean on every hold a judo man’s eyes and testicles are vulnerable. But it is awful fast; still, it’s not as fast as boxing. We proved that, and to the Japanese, at that. Given men of equal speed, it’s the man who is not surprised by the others method of attack who will win. We put Sam Taxis [the third Sam] who boxes featherweight now against a third degree judo man [the punches not to be delivered and the throws not to be carried out] and it was a draw. But we had a man hold up his hand as a target and Sammy Taxis put a one-two on it while a man stood beside the hand and tried to grab his hands. All they got was his necktie. The remarkable thing about Fairbairn is that although he damn near does know it all, he doesn’t seem to think he does. If you’ve got an idea, he’ll not only listen to you and point out what’s wrong, if anything, but he’ll admit if it’s new to him and as good as or better than his own current methods.”

One of the motivating causes for the interest in the fighting knife was the discovery that even Fairbairn (“The Greatest of Them all”) had no real defense against a knife in the hands of trained fighters. We knew a number of ways of disarming men with pistols, some of them relatively safe. Even trying to disarm a person with a knife is dangerous, unless the person attacks with the dramatic “assassin’s stab” holding the knife like an ice-pick overhead. For that kind of stupidity there is a clear and positive response, fortunately. But even for the Paris “Apache’s” style coming in low, with the knife edge upward and aiming at the guts, Fairbairn had only two suggestions

A. RUN

B. “With a lighting-like kick of either foot, kick him in the testicles or stomach.”

But when my brother asked him to demonstrate this move, “Willie never even got up from his desk he just said, ‘You missed the phrase lighting-like I don’t do lighting-like any more.'”

FROM THE BOOK: “SOE ASSIGNMENT”

AUTHOR: DONALD HAMILTON HILL

“Another or our distinguished instructors was a tall spare man – who looked like a bishop – with steel-rimmed spectacles, a soft voice and wrists of iron. He was Captain Bill Sykes – formerly of the Shanghai Police – and he taught unarmed combat and quick shooting reactions such as how to kill four people in a room whilst falling down on the ground near the door lintel to make oneself a difficult target. His methods of unarmed combat and silent killing were such that many were able in the years to come to save themselves entirely owing to his instructions. The Germans in 1942 published a pamphlet, which portrayed his methods, and used it in neutral countries to enlist sympathy against the diabolical British. ‘Our man’ in Lisbon picked up one or two and sent them to me for comment with a request for a UK posting, and training with Bill Sykes.”

CAPTAIN PETER MASON, A RETIRED BRITISH INTELLIGENCE OFFICER, NOW LIVING IN CANADA WRITES:

“So, E.A. Sykes had far more of an interesting career in the Far East, than just being a volunteer special sergeant attached to the sniper squad of the Shanghai Municipal Police! “As to any ‘yarns,’ I only recall two stunts that he performed, and both involved the Government .45 auto. The first was demonstrated with a proved empty Colt’s auto. To illustrate how pushing a prisoner along with a .45 will push back the slide and perhaps disconnect the firing mechanism, should the prisoner know his pistols (!) allowing him to wipe the handgun aside, etc., etc.

“And the other example, which I saw demonstrated, was after we did the combat pistol course, and all were felling rather over-confident with the knock-down power of the issued Colt cartridge, Bill called a greatcoat-clad sergeant over to stand at the fifty-yard target backstop. The ‘target’ stood with feet about thirty inches apart, hands in overcoat pockets, and holding the garment away from his body. A loaded ‘Thompson’ was set at repetition fire mode, and Bill tapped-off single shots that struck the center of the man’s coat. At each shot I saw his coat ‘flick’ and I, like everybody present, assumed that the bullets just hit the multi-layers of cloth and dropped to the earth. Our greatcoats were double breasted heavy woolen material, with a same cloth lining, plus a heavy-weave horse hair-like spacer, so that’s six layers. But to this day I wouldn’t want to try it!

NANCY FORWARD (SOE) (CODE NAME “WHITE MOUSE”) WHO WAS FAMOUS FOR HER WORK WITH THE FRENCH MARQUIS, IS ONE OFTHE FEW SOE AGENTS STILL LIVING. SHE WRITES:

“I have already told you that Sykes was the instructor who taught me ‘silent killing,’ amongst other things. Poor Sykes was forgotten like many other people in Great Britain, and elsewhere. My impression of Sykes was very favorable and I would have liked to have known him better. I was the only female in our class and I remember that whenever he addressed me, or gave me an order, his tone of voice was not so ‘crisp’ – to coin a common old phrase – ‘a thorough gent!’ I have always regretted that I was unable to thank him for all the things he taught me.”

BILL PILKINGTON, WHO WAS ONE OF THE FIRST CLOSE COMBAT INSTRUCTORS TRAINED BY FAIRBAIRN AND SYKES FOR DUTY WITH THE HOME GUARD, STILL LIVING IN ENGLAND, WRITES:

“Of course, we must remember that in 1939-45 there were still some ‘deadheads’ in our forces, officers who had not advanced professionally in civil life, and when called to service life, they were reluctant to acknowledge they were ‘behind’ in knowledge. “This was one of the aspects with both Fairbairn and Sykes; they both openly criticized the Top Brass, for ‘Dog in the Bloody Manger’ attitude. These comments were, in my hearing, openly said to Staff Officers, by both Fairbairn and Sykes. And they were quite right, the ‘Old Guard’ of Whitehall Wafflers who had slept soundly from 1918 to 1939, failed to appreciate how advanced other nations were, compared to Britain, but the worst part was the Old Guard were reluctant to allow others who had kept abreast of the times to circulate their knowledge. Obviously, this was to protect their image. This may well have some bearing on the lack of written work available today, much has been deliberately destroyed out of jealousy.”

ANOTHER LETTER BY PILKINGTON DATED OCTOBER 10, 1995. HE WRITES:

“Following the disaster of the Norwegian campaign, and then Dunkirk in 1940, Britain anticipated that Hitler would invade. Desperate measures were called for, because there was little left in the way of arms or ammunition, also the nation had suffered a blow to its spirit. “The Local Defense volunteer Force became, officially, the Home Guard, a body of willing but untrained men, mostly ex-servicemen from the 1914-18 war. In desperation the Government of the day called in two officers from the Shanghai Municipal Police. These were Captain W.E. Fairbairn and Captain E.A. Sykes. “I was introduced to these officers because I had already qualified in Jujutsu to a Brown Belt. Also I was about the only man who had been taught Kendo and Indian Lathi. Captain Fairbairn explained he intended to train a dozen men to become instructors in killing tactics, who would then go out to teach other men to become instructors in the Police, Home Guard, and Civil Defense Corps. These would become the defense of Britain in the event of the invasion. “I found that Captain Fairbairn was very much in charge. Captain Sykes had equal authority, and great ability. He was the finest rifle shot I have ever seen, as well as being very good with the .45 Colt 1911 Automatic pistol. Both officers were very skilled in unarmed combat also, Fairbairn was obviously the master of various disciplines and the first team of 12 potential instructors, including me, soon learned to respect both our tutors. “Captain Fairbairn was very strict, he insisted that the training he gave aimed at perfection. In retrospect, I feel both officers gave us all very good ability to impart knowledge to others. “Captain Fairbairn was a hard man, so was Sykes [now called Bill Sykes, but most certainly NOT to his face] but he had a lot more patience. They were two different men, of course. ‘Bill Sykes looked like a village person, round faced, he had a mild look, unlike Fairbairn who looked hard, despite white hair, horned rimmed glasses giving him the look of a schoolmaster. Bill Sykes was friendly, but never familiar, he would be a bad man to cross. Once or twice he did show temper, but then only for a few moments. “We all learned Fairbairn was married, but we never learned if Sykes was. Apart from his disclosing that before joining the police, he had been a representative for Remington Arms and Ammunition organization, we learned little about him. He did have medal ribbons on his tunic, as did Fairbairn, but I never tried to remember what these were for. “Sykes had a very good knowledge of Martial Arts, and like Fairbairn, he was physically very powerful, and a good boxer. In knife fighting, both Fairbairn and Sykes were excellent. I thought Fairbairn was the better of the two, he was a Master of the blade. Sykes was always relaxed, his moon face was pleasant but you never knew what was on his mind. He was full of surprises in training. “I did teach a few hundred people the killing arts, and I am grateful for the training I experienced with Fairbairn and Sykes, they were really masters of their craft.

FROM THE BOOK: “MAQUIS – THE ACCOUNT OF A FRENCH-AMERICAN OPERTIVE”

AUTHOR: GEORGE MILLER

Such training in these schools had saved his radio operator, he told me. When his circuit got “blown” the Gestapo had captured his operator, a young Frenchman. They searched him, but failed to find the small automatic hidden in a special holster. [Note: a Colt .380 in a crotch holster] The pistol following the rule of his master was ready cocked and at “safe.” When they had handcuffed him they took him away in a car. There were three Germans in the car. One beside him in the back seat. The radio operator had never fired a pistol except in England at the school where he had been taught like us to snap shoot at cardboard targets. He was afraid that he would miss. But he was more afraid of what would happen when he arrived where they were taking him. Despite his manacles he opened his buttons, pushed down the “safe” lever on his [gun] and brought it to the point where it would draw freely. A glance around, he held his breath, drew, and fired as he had been taught. “Bang-bang.” Two holes sprang red in the back of the driver’s neck. The car overturned. He shot the other two.

ELSEWHERE MILLER RECORDS:

We were taught to use the forward-crouching stance and the quick, snap shooting method. Some of us got so accurate with the pistols that we were like King George V knocking down driven grouse. The French-American danced. His legs were tense and springy, but above the waist, except for his straight right arm, his body was loosely balanced. As the targets popped up, or darted from one screened side of the range to the other, his stiff arm leaped to the horizontal and the automatic, a blue, shining continuation of his arm, spoke “crack-crack,” and again “crack-crack.”

FROM THE BOOK: “AMATEUR AGENT”

AUTHOR: EWAN BUTLER.

EWAN BUTLER, AN SOE AGENT, RECALLES HIS TRAINING AT THE HANDS OF E.A. SYKES. BULTER GIVES A PARTICULARLY GOOD ACCOUNT OF THE SOE ASSAULT COURSE AT ARISAIG, JUST WEST OF LOCHAILORT:

This system involved what was called the “battle crouch position.” The gunman crouched slightly, held the pistol in line with the center of his body. Soon is became a second forefinger to him. After several periods on a more or less orthodox range, the students were shown quite an elaborate little village, which lay at the foot of a steep bluff. At the top of the cliff a soldier stood beside a set of levers, which looked somewhat like those in a railway signal-box. The village, we were informed, was full of Germans. It was our business to kill them all. We were given two Colt .45 automatics, already loaded and two spare clips of ammunition apiece. Then, one by one, we were to attack each house in turn. The door of the first house sprang open in response to a brisk kick, and the signalman on the top of the bluff went into action. The houses were fully furnished and fully occupied. No sooner had a dummy, impelled by wires, leaped out of bed to tackle the intruder and been shot for his pains, than a trapdoor opened, “men” emerged from beneath tables, bottles and chairs came hurtling disconcertingly at the gunman’s head. Pistols blazing, one dispatched, as one hoped, all the occupants of the first house, and dashed to the second, where a fresh set of hazards presented itself. By the time I had gone through five houses in a matter of forty-five seconds or so, and had been told that I had scored a creditable number of hits, I was inclined to feel quite pleased with myself. Then came the chilling thought that the dummies, however lifelike their movements, had not been armed.

Copyright 2003 thetruthaboutselfdefense.com ©

This is an autobiographical account of Nien Cheng who, after her husband died, became an assistant advisor to the manager of Shell Oil in China. Shell was one of the few companies that stayed on in China after the Communists came to power in 1949. Chinese by birth, Nien Cheng and her husband had been educated in England. Her husband was head of Shell Oil for many years. He died of cancer in 1957. Nien was then asked to assist in the running of Shell in China.

In 1966 The Chinese Cultural Revolution burst onto the streets like the 1938 Nazi Crystal Night. It was a highly organised, political movement, aimed at removing all opposition, all disagreement to Mao Tse-tung. Anyone who showed the slightest opposition to his authority was murdered by the Red Guards. If you have read George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, then you have a very good idea of The Cultural Revolution in China. The similarities are uncanny.

As the attack on intellectuals, teachers, artists, became more intense Nien Cheng was denounced. Her daughter, a member of the Communist Youth, selected for a position in the National Film School as an actress was allowed to go free.

In the following weeks Nien Cheng was questioned often. It was hinted that Shell had done something wrong, something illegal, but no one knew what or by whom. The ex-staff had to write out criticisms of themselves and Shell, then they were questioned about their actions. Nien had amazing mental strength, despite great psychological pressure, she always maintained neither Shell or herself had taken any action harmful to the Chinese Government.

The Cultural Revolution was a struggle for power between the Maoists and the less radical faction led by Liu Shao-chi and Deng Hsiao-ping. To assist in this power struggle the Red Guards were created, they were mostly teenagers, manipulated by older Maoists. They were formed into roving bands, like Vikings, attacking everyone, and becoming more and more extreme in their views and self-righteousness.

In the beginning the Red Guards’ enemy was the “capitalist class”, so most people felt safe. Before long, it widened to include anyone who was not a Red Guard, and even then, suspicion could come to them for not shouting loudly enough.

Those in professions, like university staff, were required to denounce everyone else within the organisation. If they could not come up with criticism, and lists of betrayers, it meant that they must be protecting enemies of the state. So people made up false stories about other members of their organisation to protect themselves, which led to more and more people being questioned and imprisoned.

It was not long before people were indiscriminately attacked by the Red Guards. Houses were smashed, people dragged through the streets by ropes, beaten, accused of all kinds of sabotage, and then came looting and murder. Maoists congratulated the Red Guard, encouraging them to accuse, destroy, steal, and murder.

The Red Guard was now recruiting everyone they could, schools and universities were closed. If you did not wish to join the Red Guard it meant that you must be against the teachings of Mao Tse-tung. The country was falling into ruin. Farmers became revolutionaries and left for the cities, Red Guards took what they wanted, factories were closed down, law and order decayed. The Red Guards felt important and declined to pay for travel or goods. Food became scarce, banks ran out of money, no one was paid; everyone was the enemy. Schools and universities were shut down. Intellectuals — people who had been to high school — doctors, teachers, skilled people, were sent to the countryside to work as farmers.

The cultural revolution, lasted for about ten years, in which time a million people were murdered by the Red Guards, thousands committed suicide, and hundreds of thousands of people were beaten, interrogated, robbed, tortured, and imprisoned.

As the war against intellectuals, rightists, capitalists, artists, continued in ever widening circles, it came to include children of capitalists. This meant that Nien’s daughter was no longer considered innocent, but was denounced as a class-enemy. Like others, she had to spend her time writing confessions and self-criticisms over and over in an attempt to purge herself of impure political thoughts, even though she was a member of the Communist Youth.

In September Nien Cheng was called to a large meeting, where she was blamed for every bad thing that had ever happened to China. Shell was denounced as a spying company that took exorbitant profits out of China. The audience was encouraged to shout slogans of Mao. She was accused of spying on China for foreign powers. At the end, the enraged crowd spat on her, shook their fists in her face, and screamed insults. The Red Guards demanded that she confess.

Remaining calm she told them that Shell was in China because they had been invited by the Premier Chou En-lai. She tried to explain things, but it was hopeless, the crowd ready to lynch her. The smiling officials, said they would now extend mercy and give her a chance to confess, rather than kill her.

At 51 years of age, she was handcuffed and taken to prison, placed in solitary confinement. She had previously decided that she would not make any false confessions. She was placed in her cell, a bucket for the toilet, cobwebs on the ceiling, the walls yellow and mouldy. There was a wooden bed, dust thick everywhere, mosquitoes, the cell damp and cold.

She came to realise that the only laws that applied were from the teachings in Mao’s Little Red Book. She decided to study the book so she could quote from it when necessary. Although life was harsh in prison, what hurt her the most was missing her grown-up daughter, who she knew was being interrogated, accused of some crime or other.

After two months, she had her first interrogation, full of defiance, she argued with her interrogator, who told her she must write out a full confession, an autobiography of crimes she had committed. People she had worked with, or knew socially, were accused of being spies that had collaborated with her.

But within a week there was another revolution, the first of many occurring within the country. It seemed anyone could put on an armband, collect a group together, proclaim they were the true Maoists, march into the streets, take over factories, and issue orders.

Winters were cold; inside the cell it was zero degrees Celsius, the winds were persistent and strong enough to penetrate the loose window. Her clothes and food were poor, but she managed to stay alive. After sixteen months of harsh detention she developed a continuous cough and was taken to a hospital, she spent a week there recovering from pneumonia. Sent back to prison she never fully recovered because of the cold, the poor watery food, the lack of sunshine and fresh air. Mentally, she found it difficult to think clearly. Her interrogator had been moved on, and the new one, simply screamed political insults at her, not asking her questions. She realised the purpose was to impress his seniors, not to gather information.

After two-and-a-half years locked away, the interrogations became more regular, there were always threats of being shot for spying. Some days she was questioned from morning to evening, standing up, without even a drink of water. She was required to write out her self-confessions over and over, then sent to “struggle meetings” which were a longer version of the Two Minute Hate meetings described in George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four.

The remarkable thing about Nien Cheng was despite all the pressure, the exhaustion, the rough treatment, the pain, the illness, and the claim that if she confessed they would go easy on her, she never confessed. Instead she repeatedly told them she was innocent, and someone had made a mistake. She told them she had full faith in the Chinese leadership, and knew that she would be released when they examined her case properly.

The truth is they didn’t know what to do with her. They wanted her confession to incriminate other officials, they didn’t care about her, it was part of an elaborate political plan. When she was accused of being a spy, she told them that if they had the proof they should stop wasting time and shoot her. Because she was continually reading Mao’s books she was able to quote his words to them. She was politically and historically educated and could argue any point with them. She knew they had no evidence, just false confessions obtained under extreme duress.

Physically she was deteriorating, she had extreme menstrual bleeding, and heavy bleeding from her gums, making it difficult to chew bread crusts. In the cold of prison, her joints ached with pain. She was sent to a hospital for brief stays when she developed pneumonia, or bleeding.

Interrogators came and went, often becoming angry at her steadfastness, her political shrewdness, but they never got what they wanted from her, a confession of wrong-doing, or a denouncement of someone else.

In 1970 things became more serious, they now increased the pressure on her. It started with physically pushing, face slapping, throwing her against a concrete wall, while five interrogators screamed insults. When she did not confess, they put special handcuffs on her. Her hands were behind her back, and they were so tight the circulation in her hands was cut off. They told her they would take the handcuffs off when she confessed, if it took a month, then she would have to wear them till then. If she never confessed, then she would die with the handcuffs on.

Then they put her in a totally black cell, with no window, thick dust everywhere. During the first night her hands became hugely swollen and she began to worry that they would be permanently damaged, or have to be amputated. In the morning they took her back to the interrogation.

Confess! Confess! But she said nothing. She was returned to her own cell, still wearing the handcuffs behind her back. To drink water she had to pick the cup up in her teeth, and lift it slowly. Going to the toilet was awkward and painful. And all the time her swollen hands gave her great pain. Eating was difficult, she had to try and dig the rice from a small tin with a plastic spoon held by her teeth.

As days passed, her hands became pus-infected and bled. She grew weaker and weaker, unable to get to the prison door to receive food. Eventually, she collapsed on the floor. The guards came and after yelling at her for pretending, removed the handcuffs. They wanted a confession, but if she died they would not get it.

One day in October 1971 the guard came to her cell and demanded she hand over her book of Mao’s quotations. When it was returned, the preface had been torn out. It had been written by Lin Pao, lavishing praise on Mao. Now it seemed that Lin Pao was in disgrace, everything he did was now explained as a betrayal of the Chinese revolution. Pages of history had to be removed. Does this sound familiar? Yes, that was the same job that Winston Smith performed in the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, re-writing history after a political figure had been uncovered as a spy, a revisionist, or a traitor.

It was soon after this that it was announced that President Richard Nixon was coming to China to meet with Mao Tse-tung. This was controversial, since the United States had always been presented as the worst opponent of China in the world. Now they were to be brothers.

After Nixon visited China in 1972, she was interrogated again, and asked to write out her personal life story, including her family, her friends, her associates. Theses interrogations lasted months, but now there was no more shouting or arguments. The interrogators had a milder attitude, after all there could be another revolution on the way.

In March 1973, she was told her to pack her things. In the interrogation room she was told that she was to be released, but first they would read out her case conclusion. It stated that she had divulged information to a foreigner, and that she had defended the traitor Lin Pao. However, because she was politically backward and ignorant, they decided to give her a chance to realise her mistakes. After six and a half years of political education in the detention centre, and because they were magnanimous, they were refraining from pressing charges against her.

Hearing this she became furious at the hypocrisy. She told them she could not accept the conclusion and would remain in her cell until a proper conclusion was reached. It should contain a declaration that she was innocent of any crime, and an apology for wrongful arrest. Furthermore the apology must be published in newspapers in Shanghai and Peking.

They had never heard the like of it before; they had to forcibly remove her from the prison.

When she left the prison, she was hoping to see her daughter, but it was her god-daughter that met her and took her to a house. The god-daughter told her that her daughter had committed suicide shortly after Nien had been arrested. During the long six-and-a half years of imprisonment, it had been the thought of her daughter that kept her alive, now she learnt that she had been dead all that time.

After her release she began having nightmares where she saw the bashed, tortured, and blood-splattered body of her daughter. She thought she needed to investigate the circumstances of her death, since she was not convinced it was suicide. Nien had been told that her daughter jumped from the 9th floor of the Shanghai Athletics Association building. When she went there to see it, she noticed that there were bars on the windows. Speaking to a tenant, she discovered that the year of her death, the building had been surrounded by scaffolding.

In 1978, 12 years after her arrest, she was officially rehabilitated and declared a victim of wrongful arrest and persecution. Eventually a man was arrested for the murder of her daughter, but sentenced to a suspended death sentence, meaning he was set free after two years imprisonment.

Although Nien Cheng had been released, the Public Security Bureau had people spy on her, report what she did, where she went, who she talked with. They sent agents who tried to trick her into condemning officials, but she was always careful about what she said. This aspect of her life went on until 1980, when she was finally granted a permit to go to the USA to visit her sisters. Of course she never returned to China. She lived in Canada for a while, but found it too cold for her arthritis. Eventually she settled in the US.

This autobiography is fascinating in its battle between an individual and the state. It is essential reading for anyone interested in the political background of modern China. There is much more to the story than this outline here. For me, it was a wonderful story of courage and determination outlasting hate, fear, and lies.

So it should come as no surprise that there is great Japanese food to be had here. And while countless budget options are available, if you really want a good meal, plan on spending some money. Mediocrity abounds in Tianzifang, but the quaint little noodle house Akurah is one of the few places in the gentrified longtang that’s worth a visit. It specializes in udon, a thick noodle made from wheat flour, and offers it in a variety of styles: soup, stir-fried and then there is our favorite, the zaru udon which is chilled and served over a bamboo basket with a light soy sauce – simple, elegant, delicious.

Spend enough time in Shanghai and you’re bound to consume an all-you-can-eat-teppanyaki. Most of them range from mediocre to downright awful. Gintei, however, is one of the better in town. RMB 180 gets you unlimited helpings of katsu, sushi, stirfry and sashimi, washed down with all the beer and sake you can drink. It’s perhaps not the most memorable dining experience in town (in fact after six sake bombs, you may forget some of it), but it’s a sweet deal.

Slick, sexy and immensely popular, Haiku by Hatsune might be accused of Californicating their menu with cutesy sushi creations like the ‘Moto-roll-ah’ or the ‘1-1-9 roll’, but the quality is there nonetheless, especially when compared to the countless all-you-can-eat sushi slop buckets in town. Legendary up-market Japanese chain Nadaman has its Shanghai home in the Shangri La, Pudong Hotel. The specialty here is kaiseki, the Japanese equivalent of a multi-course prix fixe menu. Some may find Nadaman’s staunchly traditional style somewhat uninspired, but we say that’s part of the appeal. Expect floppingly fresh fish, flawless presentation, and an ambiance that verges on satori.

Sun with Aqua is everything you’d expect in a Bund restaurant: posh, glamorous and a tad flashy. The ingredients are super fresh and expertly prepared, the sake menu is encyclopedic and the service is spot on. Just be sure to come with a full wallet. This is, after all, the Bund. Don’t let the food court setting fool you, Sushi An is the real deal. Behind the counter, three chefs meticulously mash, slice, twist and roll everything to order. Every request is met with a friendly “hai!”, a smile and a bow.

The menu features a comprehensive list of fresh nigiri and sashimi, and refreshingly gimmick-free makis. It’s all pure and simple. What’s more, this place really isn’t that expensive. Provided you don’t splurge on the toro or their fine sakes, two people can expect to have a filling meal for two for roughly RMB 350 – remember, we’re talking sushi here. The microscopic Sushi Oyama sushi bar is like nothing else in the city. Everything about it, from the gracious Kimono- clad hostess to the mismatched clay sake cups, exudes simple, exquisite elegance.

But more importantly, the food is stellar. Chef/owner Takeo Oyama imports his own fish from Tokyo and Nagasaki, pickles his own ginger (most places purchase it pre-pickled), he even brews his own tamari. And believe us it shows in the quality of the food. It also shows in the price – anywhere from RMB 600-800 depending on what’s on offer. But it’s well worth it.

Introduction:

In China many young girls dissatisfied with the traditional Chinese man are seeking a foreign boyfriend, love and eventually a husband. In this article we will examine some typical case studies as seen in counselling sessions where young women come to seek solace, explanations and support after breakdowns from relationships with foreign men. To protect the identities of the clients some details have changed and names but the essential psychological trauma are common.

So why do many Chinese girls want foreign men? To answer this would take an article in itself so here I will just precis a short over-view. (See Dr. Myler’s article the Chinese Patient) First many of these girls come from the main cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan and Guangzhou (we discount Hong Kong as it is too Westernised) they have been exposed to a variety of Western media, movies, magazines, fashion and life-style influences. This media show the Western men as romantic, kind, supportive, handsome, sexual and strong, all very appealing attributes to many young girls ideas about Mr. Right. The Western men they meet daily in China are however not typical of the average American, Englishman or Europeans but are the educated, from higher social classes, above average income and alone in China for the most part. If you add these two elements together you get a good idea of how Chinese girls view Western men as something special. However as in cognitive dissonance they tend to ignore all the warning signs that they would normally associate with other relationships. In the West we would phrase this as rose-tinted-glasses or the “Halo Effect”. Also most Chinese girls are less mature than similar aged girls in the West. They tend to have less experience with men in general and no sex education at school. It is amazing to ask even basic questions about pregnancy and sex and find they are unclear, confused and ignorant of even the basics of protection and disease. (Speaking to a 24 year old here is like talking to a 15 year old in the West – that is the best analogy for their maturity). In conclusion you may ask why they do not want to be with a Chinese man. Most have already had boyfriends finding that on average Chinese men are too traditional, controlling, uncaring and put their mother before the wife or girlfriend in all things. So with disappointments already in their mind they go off and seek the ideal Western man who they think will deliver them from their unfulfilled lives. One other important aspect with age is social pressure in China for a girl to marry before she is 26 years old. If they miss this deadline, then parents, friends and others all start a fear process of men will not want old women (they mean 30) and your babies will die if you have them too late. Of coarse this is all a non-sense in the modern world, but the girls all seem to believe beyond doubt that is you are 27 and above you have no chance of a good marriage. So many almost panic and marry the first man who asks – even if love is not in the equation. They quickly have a baby and then tell everyone how miserable they are in a love-less marriage with a man they can barely stand to touch them. Sad but often true here in China. So for these older single girls, Western men who care little about their age seem like manor from heaven.

The Scenario:

Most girls find a Western man in five distinct ways, first the work-place, many International companies set up offices in China to take advantage of cheap labour, inexpensive rents and huge potential home markets. Along with this they send their senior managers and staff to guide the Chinese workers in their practices. Many Chinese want to work for foreign companies as the pay is higher on average and have better working environments. The second is the teachers, at language schools, universities and other educational outlets the native speaking teacher is king. Teachers tend to be more out-going, confident and have a charisma that young girls do not usually see in their own teachers. Third is the club scene where young Western men, on short-term contracts, are looking for entertainment and company. Fourth the bars, much like the clubs but more relaxed atmosphere and less noisy. Finally the fifth and most popular way of meeting Western men is the internet. Chat sites and dating sites are in the hundreds here. Many girls from 18 years to 100 looking for Western boyfriends via this medium. Often with little of no English except written, so even when they arrive for that coveted date they cannot communicate sufficiently to make an impression. So with all these ways of meeting Western men why are so many of the girls frustrated by not finding a suitable man or date? Here we have to break the myth of Western men in the eyes of Chinese girls.

The Myths

The first myth concerns money, most Chinese girls think western men are rich. This is because on average even a teacher in a low income school will earn three times the monthly average of a Chinese teacher. However in many companies the foreigner is paid via his home-office at the rate he would be paid in the normal home position. In this case he will be earning considerable income compared to a Chinese worker doing the same task. This gives the false impression to girls that the man is wealthy at home. However for most foreign workers here at home they are middle class at best and many of course just working men. At home they would in a social scale of income be lower to middling at best. (I exclude the businessmen here). So while in China they can afford the best apartment, the best restaurants and clothing – at home this is clearly not the case in general.

The second myth is handsomeness. When you first come to China as a man the first thing you see is hundreds of pretty, delicate girls who are like spring flowers. In time familiarity tends to tone this down by noticing many are far too thin for western tastes, many have pock-marked faces and bad complexions. Then you begin to discriminate between the ok, the pretty and the beautiful. This is a natural process of becoming familiar with any race. So you have to imagine this in reverse, the Chinese girls tend to think most foreign men look handsome, however because the exposure is quite small and limited – they do not tend to become so familiar to them from a perception point of view. So they continue to see most of them as handsome, even though to the Westerner’s eyes the attractiveness seems to be an illusion. However if enough pretty girls tell you, you are handsome – then you may start to believe it. Often that calls for a dose of reality on the part of the man to stop vanity taking over your thinking.

The third myth is intentions. The Chinese girl listens to the Westerner’s sweet words, praise, support and caring attitude but unlike a Western woman who may be able to sift the salt from the sugar, the Chinese girls takes it all in as perfectly reasonable. Many are later shocked by the idea that he did not actually mean a lot of what was said and was in fact seducing them. Seduction by a Western man is more subtle over-all than a Chinese man’s approach. The Chinese man is more practical talking about security, family, home and long term goals. Where-as the Westerner is thinking more often about short-term goals of sexuality and companionship. Very few Westerners are looking for a wife, long term partner or commitments – they are here today, gone tomorrow.

The fourth myth is about a twist in history. Western men always have a good storey to tell of woe and misery in their love life. Chinese girls find this irresistible, their mothering instincts fairly bound into play. You can almost hear them saying, “oh poor you, let me comfort you”. What they fail to appreciate is that these men already have failed relationships in the past or have girlfriends and wives waiting back home for them but this of course is rarely mentioned. So the history they hear is a fabrication on the truth for the benefit of their-would be suitors. You may think I am being a little harsh here on Western men’s integrity but this insight comes mainly from Chinese women who have a broken heart and a story of their own to tell.

Myth five – it is better in the West. From the media depicting life styles of the rich and famous you could forgive the Chinese girl for believing this is how everyone lives. Just as before I came to China I thought they would all be wearing Chairman Mao suits and short hair only to find modern western dress and a McDonalds at very street corner next to KFC. While certainly living standards in the West are over-all more advanced than China as a whole, this is not true of China’s main cities. Shanghai for example would rival any western city such as New York, London or Rome for night-life, art, events and living standards.

Examples:

Lily: 24 – Westerner (France) Met in bar, she was a virgin, he single and looking. After three months – he left her for another girl. After the relationship Lily discovers she is his 30th girl in two years.

Sophia: 22 – Westerner (American) already she had left an older man (50) who she loved but knew her family could not accept – so found a young man of 24. After six months his contract ended and without a goodbye left China. He told his French friend he could have her as he did not need her anymore and she was easy. The girl accepts the next man and marries him – despite the fact she is not in love.

Dolly: 27 – Western (Italian) after many promises of marriage she gives up her virginity to what she believes is her future husband. Two months later he is bored with her sexually and leaves her for another girl. Dolly makes a suicide attempt to try and keep him. He has no interest in her games of drama and goes back to Italy.

Elaine 25 – Westerner (English) having met when she was 21, she fell in love with a man of 51. After four years they are still together and happy. However he is her number one secret. She does not tell her work colleagues or her family and friends. He is unhappy being her secret but accepts the culture and tries to be patient. He knows at some point she will leave him under family pressure to marry a traditional boy.

Margaret 37 – Alone (No-one) despite some boyfriends when young she continues to dedicate herself to her business interests with little time for men. She is still living at her family home despite her success at work. She does not date. Recently she has met an English man who likes her – but she cannot commit as her family would never accept her even dating a foreigner. At her age no Chinese man is interested in her as she is seen as no longer viable for a baby. She sees her future as being alone.

Joan 32 – Westerner (Australian) having dated one foreigner after another she is alone most of the time. She believes that a Mr. Right is out there for her if she can just find him on the internet. Every night she searches for men – offering marriage and her sexual contact. Recently she has dated an Australian man (27) but he only wants a sex partner and so she agrees in the hope he will get to like her.

Daisy 23 – Westerners’ (many) she drifts from one man to another in the hope of finding the right one – most use her sexually and then dump her quickly. She talks of getting married to them almost in the first date and the first conversation. Western men quickly realise she is a desperate girl and easy to use her. At the moment she is alone after therapy to give her insight into her behaviour.

Conclusion:

The conclusion is obvious, Chinese girls get hurt and often. Many Chinese girls will read this paper and say, “well these girls are stupid” and maybe they are right, however when talking to these women they all have the same traditional thinking and want simply to find a good man to be with and more important to marry. The Western men love them and leave them in quick succession. It is not that Western men are bad people, they simply put less emphasis on relationships that they see as simply short term dating and that sexual contact is a normal part of a relationship even if it is not one they see as lasting or leading to something more. Of course many Western men enjoy the company of a gracious, sexy, smart Chinese girl and they too can fall in love and completely commit to the relationship like any other. Many do go on to marry their Chinese girlfriends and produce offspring (that are considered to be very beautiful in their looks having a mixture of East and West). Many of Asia’s top models, singers and actresses have mixed parentage and are seen as exceptionally good looking. This may also explain there psychological appeal to both Western and Chinese audiences. Another aspect of course is once the couple do try to make a go of things – the Western man now has to face her family. Westerners’ underestimate the power of family in China. If he cannot be accepted by the family he may find despite her deep love for him she will in fact end the relationship rather than lose her family. For a Chinese girl being ostracised by the family is about the worse thing that can happen to her. So if it is a choice between her Western boyfriend and her mama and baba – you can bet she will do as her family demands of her. Many Western men get very angry about how their girlfriend puts her family first and them second – they are not used to the situation where when her mama says do this and do that – the girl obeys – even if she is deeply in love – she will on most occasions do what the family tells her.

This article is not to put off Chinese girls and Western men having relationships but perhaps it will help to open their eyes to the realities of dating and falling in love with someone who has a different take on the world of relationships and love. Cultures can mix successfully and a happy future can pursue. However with divorce rates at an all time high in the West relationships can be seen as disposable and not permanent as in the past. Also as stated with strong family ties in China, Western men can too become victims of love and rejection when family takes a hand in the relationship. Some Chinese girls are strong enough to defy the wished of their parents in the knowledge that under the one baby policy in China, her parents only have one daughter – and they may not risk losing their future support when they are old because of a prejudice against her choice of husbands. Life is never easy and love is not always smooth.

Introduction:

In a world where ideas drive economies, it is no wonder that innovation and entrepreneurship are often seen as inseparable bedfellows. The governments around the world are starting to realize that in order to sustain progress and improve a country’s economy, the people have to be encouraged and trained to think out-of-the-box and be constantly developing innovative products and services. The once feasible ways of doing business are no longer guarantees for future economic success!

In response to this inevitable change, some governments are rethinking the way the young are educated by infusing creative thinking and innovation in their nation’s educational curriculum. In the same vein, they are putting much emphasis on the need to train future entrepreneurs through infusing entrepreneurship components within the educational system, especially at the tertiary level.

Some countries have taken this initiative to a higher level by introducing entrepreneurship education at elementary schools and encouraging them to be future entrepreneurs when they are of age. In a series of survey funded by Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, it was found that nearly seven out of 10 youths (aged 14-19) were interested in becoming entrepreneurs.

Being an entrepreneur is now the choice of the new generation as compared to the preferred career choices of yesteryears such as being a doctor, lawyer or a fighter pilot. In a recent visit to the bustling city of Shanghai in China, an informal survey was carried out among Chinese youths by the author. The results of the survey showed that being an entrepreneur, especially in the field of computer and e-commerce, is perceived as a ‘cool’ career and is an aspiration for many Chinese youths Prior to the ‘opening up’ of modern China, being an entrepreneur was perceived as the outcome of one’s inability to hold a good government job and those who dared to venture, were often scorned at by their peers. Times have indeed changed.

With this change in mindset and the relative knowledge that entrepreneurs bring forth increased job creations, the awareness and academic studies of entrepreneurship have also heightened. In many tertiary institutes, many courses of entrepreneurship and innovation are being developed and offered to cater to the increasing demand. The term “entrepreneurship” has also evolved with numerous variations. The proliferation of jargons such as netpreneur, biotechpreneur, technopreneur and multipreneur are coined to keep up with the ever-changing times and business conditions that surround us.

In view of these changes, it is important that the definition of entrepreneurship be refined or redefined to enable its application in this 21st century. To put it succinctly, “Good science has to begin with good definitions (Bygrave & Hofer, 1991, p13).” Without the proper definition, it will be laborious for policymakers to develop successful programs to inculcate entrepreneurial qualities in their people and organizations within their country.

The paper will provide a summary of the definitions of entrepreneurship provided by scholars in this subject area. The author will also expand on one of the definitions by Joseph Schumpeter to create a better understanding of the definition of the term “entrepreneurship” as applied in today’s business world.

Entrepreneurship through the Years:

It was discovered that the term ‘entrepreneurship’ could be found from the French verb ‘entreprende’ in the twelfth century though the meaning may not be that applicable today. This meaning of the word then was to do something without any link to economic profits, which is the antithesis of what entrepreneurship is all about today. It was only in the early 1700’s, when French economist, Richard Cantillon, described an entrepreneur as one who bears risks by buying at certain prices and selling at uncertain prices (Barreto, 1989, Casson 1982) which is probably closer to the term as applied today.

In the 1776 thought-provoking book ‘The Wealth of Nations’, Adam Smith explained clearly that it was not the benevolence of the baker but self-interest that motivated him to provide bread. From Smith’s standpoint, entrepreneurs were the economic agents who transformed demand into supply for profits.

In 1848, the famous economist John Stuart Mill described entrepreneurship as the founding of a private enterprise. This encompassed the risk takers, the decision makers, and the individuals who desire wealth by managing limited resources to create new business ventures.

One of the definitions that the author feels best exemplifies entrepreneurship was coined by Joseph Schumpeter (1934). He stated that the entrepreneur is one who applies “innovation” within the context of the business to satisfy unfulfilled market demand (Liebenstein, 1995). In elaboration, he saw an entrepreneur as an innovator who implements change within markets through the carrying out of new combinations. The carrying out of new combinations can take several forms:

The introduction of a new good or standard of quality;

• The introduction of a novel method of production;
• The opening of a new market;
• The acquisition of a new source of new materials supply; and
• The carrying out of the new organization in any industry.

Though the term ‘innovation’ has different meanings to different people, several writers tended to see “innovation” in the form of entrepreneurship as one not of incremental change but quantum change in the new business start-ups and the goods/services that they provide (egs, Bygrave, 1995; Bygrave & Hofer, 1991).

In the view of Drucker (1985), he perceived entrepreneurship as the creation of a new organization, regardless of its ability to sustain itself, let alone make a profit. The notion of an individual who starts a new business venture would be sufficient for him/her to be labeled as an entrepreneur. It is this characteristic that distinguishes entrepreneurship from the routine management tasks of allocating resources in an already established business organization. Though the definition tends to be somewhat simplistic in nature, it firmly attaches the nature of entrepreneurial action with risk-taking and the bearing of uncertainty by the individual (Swoboda, 1983)

In a Delphi study, Gartner (1990) found eight themes expressed by the participants that constitute the nature of entrepreneurship. They were the entrepreneur, innovation, organization creation, creating value, profit or non-profit, growth, uniqueness, and the owner-manager. The themes could be seen as a derivative and expansion of Schumpter’s earlier concept.

Expanding on Schumpeter’s Definition:

After digesting the numerous definitions of entrepreneurship, one would tend to see a strong link between these two terms: entrepreneurship and innovation. In retrospect, most of the definitions tended to be, to some extent, a re-work and expansion of Schumpeter’s definition of entrepreneurship (which is that of innovation being applied in a business context).

As defining the term of ‘innovation’ is highly debatable and would merit a paper on its own, the author has thus, for convenience, summarised the definition of innovation. Innovation can be perceived simply as the transformation of creative ideas into useful applications by combining resources in new or unusual ways to provide value to society for or improved products, technology, or services.

In the author’s opinion, the difficulties of defining “innovation” could be the reason for the quandary one finds in attempting to arrive at a clear-cut definition of the term ” Entrepreneurship”.

Take for example, if someone starts another run-of-the-mill hot dog stand in the streets of New York, will he termed as an entrepreneur? According to Drucker’s definition, he will be seen as one. However, if the above definition by Schumpeter was used as a guideline, the answer is probably ‘NO’.

Why? The core of the matter lies in what is so innovative about setting up another hot-dog stand which are in abundance in New York. On the contrary, if he is the first one to start a stand selling hot-dogs with Oriental Sweet and Sour sauce topping; he could be termed as an entrepreneur (even based on Schumpeter’s requirement) as he has done what others have not done before. In the context of entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation are key points in the whole scheme of things.

In this manner, by adding “innovative” features to a product or services and setting up a business based on these additional features to compete in the existing market, new entrants may be able to gain this competitive advantage over existing market players.

In the case of the hot-dog seller, it may be argued that his addition of Oriental Sweet and Sour sauce toppings may be seen as nondescript. This runs in contrary to some scholars’ definition of entrepreneurship as requiring quantum changes in the products/ services to be justified as being entrepreneurial (Bygrave, 1985; Bygrave & Hofer, 1991).

Consistent with creating new products for sale, someone who starts a business by providing a totally new way of serving his customers/ clients is considered to be entrepreneurial too. Though, it is often argued that there are no real new products or services in a case where one does not look to the past products and services for ideas for improvements. Thus, the notion of incremental improvements should be accepted as being innovative too.

Innovation in the business sense may not necessarily involve, in the physical sense, the introduction of a new product or service. It can be in the form of what is commonly known as creative imitations. For example, if an individual starts selling a product that is already common in his area or country, he will not be seen as being entrepreneurial. However, if he is the first to sell the same product in a virgin locale or to an untouched market segment, he will be seen as an entrepreneur in his own rights.

Take Muhammad Yunus, for example. Yunus became an entrepreneur when he started a micro-loan program for the poor villagers in a rural part of Bangladesh named Grameen, with only US$26. The loan was divided among 42 villagers to assist them to buy small items such as combs, scissors, needles and other necessities to start their own home businesses. In the past 22 years, Grameen Bank has grown with over $2 billion loans granted. It has now become a model for several micro-loan facilities.

>From the following example, Yunus created banking and lending facilities in Grameen specifically for the poor villagers. Banking and lending money activities are not new but Yunus was the first to provide such facilities in a rural part of Bangladesh and that is definitely innovation and risk-bearing on his part as a social entrepreneur. In short, innovation need not arise mainly from a new product or service but it could be an old product or service finding a new market for penetration.

An individual could be termed as an entrepreneur if he or she sells a product or service using new systems and/ or mediums of marketing, distribution or production methods as a basis for a new business venture. A good example will be Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, the successful Web-based bookstore. He was one of the first to sell books on a large scale using an online store and also patented the one-click system for online buying. Though selling books is not an innovation in itself, Jeff Bezos was innovative in the use of the Internet then as a viable marketing and sales channel for selling books.

Another example from the field of e-commerce is Stuart Skorman, the founder of Reel.com [http://Reel.com]. Reel.com [http://Reel.com] is essentially one of the first cyber movie store with a very large inventory of over a 100 000 videos. Though setting a movie store was revolutionary then, Reel.com [http://Reel.com] main distinction was being known as the first online store to expand by opening an offline store. The founder felt that by doing so, the online store could be an advertisement for the offline store and vice versa, thus strengthening this click and mortar business venture- an example of creativity and innovation applied in a profitable business context.

Conclusion:

This paper has started as an attempt to redefine the term of entrepreneurship but ended up ‘updating’ the wheel, based on the definition as proposed by Schumpeter. The paper expanded on this influential work by giving examples to illustrate what innovation in entrepreneurship was and hope that along the way, new insights were unearthed in the study of defining entrepreneurship.

In summary, the author hopes that this paper would further encourage the infusion of creative thinking and innovation within the educational system to nurture future entrepreneurs with a competitive edge. In the author’s view, the characteristics and capabilities to set up a new business venture based on doing things that have not done before should be encouraged. Innovation needs to be the cornerstone of entrepreneurship as opposed to the mere setting up of another new enterprise without implementing changes or adding features of improvements to the products and services provided and/ or its business processes.