Mishap of the MP3 Player Posted by Transparent Language on Jul 20, 2009
Today I was charging my MP3 player as I prepared to go to the gym. This one was an 二手 (second hand) one, not purchased from 国美 (Gome) or 苏宁 (Suning). So I continued to 充电 (charge) through my computer’s USB 接口 (port) until I’m satisfied that the 电池 (batteries) are charged. I must add…
Big Negotiations Posted by Transparent Language on Jul 17, 2009
This post is for the business-focused readers of the blog. When you’re negotiating in China, there are several things to keep in mind. 人不为己, 天诛地灭 – “Every man for himself, and the devil takes the hindmost.” (also said as 人不利己， 天诛地灭) People are not usually magnanimous when it comes to negotiations, and it takes two…
Korea Pt. 2 Posted by Transparent Language on Jul 14, 2009
While in Korea, I saw a sign that said 人民币升值了, 抓住机会 (the RMB is rising in value, seize this opportunity!). In fact, the island of 济州岛 (Jejudo/Jeju Island) has rolled out many 措施 (measures) to attract 游客 (tourists) from China. Even the 路牌 (road places) have Chinese names of places (this is unrelated to Korea’s…
Charity in China, part 1 Posted by Transparent Language on Jul 11, 2009
It is a fairly regular occurrence that I see 乞丐 (beggars) and 要饭的 (beggars – see below) on the streets of Beijing- particularly in areas with high tourist traffic. This got me to wondering- how do people help others in China? Of course, in many cases it is 信用 (credit) which restricts individuals from getting…
Fundraising Posted by Transparent Language on Jul 8, 2009
If your company needs seed funding to make it to the next step, you need to understand the process of 筹款 (fundraising). Investors are going to be vigilant in their questioning of your 市场定位 (market position), your 目标客户群 (targeted customer group), and their 回报 (return on investment) quantified by 利息 (interest). Your best bet is…
Korea Part 1 Posted by Transparent Language on Jul 5, 2009
I wrote this post while on the 高速铁路 (high speed rail) to 釜山(Pusan). I departed from 首尔(Seoul), formerly known as 汉城 (old name for Seoul) with a friend. We have enjoyed some great 拌饭 (bibimbap) so far here. What surprises me the most in Korea is the clearly high 效率 (efficiency）of most systems, not least…
Michael Jackson Posted by Transparent Language on Jun 27, 2009
As nearly everybody in the world knows, the other day a famous 歌星 (music star) 逝世 (passed away). Yes, it was 迈克尔 杰克逊 (Michael Jackson), the creator of the record-holding best-selling 唱片 (album) in history. Nobody expected for him to 去世 (pass on) at such an early age. Thousands of 歌迷 (fans) lined up all…