When I saw this article the other day on how there is a plan to bring a Universal-like(key word being like) theme park to southern Taiwan my snark meter went off the scale. I’ve been here too long and heard to0 many idealistic glorious plans only to see them all become glorious mud fences in their execution.

Firstly, the best of the local amusement parks are mediocre with the worst being totally lmae and that si the majority of them. Here in central Taiwan the big myth for years was how Disneyland was coming to Houli where there is a huge tract of TaiSugar land(TaiSugar being the largest property owner in Taiwan and also owned by the government of Taiwan). Of course I never believed that knowing only too well that Disney was way to savvy to locate there. However, the real possible deal was with Warner Brothers. They actually sent people here and were getting close to going forward when the whole thing was submarined in red tape because a favor was owed to Yang Tien Sheng who really wanted to do a racetrack but was surreptitiously floating a plan for his own amusement park on that site. His racetrack dream probably took too much power of positive thinking and payoffs, much more than he had budgeted no doubt and was scotched. We did in fact get the underwhelming Mala Bay Yamay Resorts a water park not quite on steroids-yawn. No pizazz or sizzle of an internationally successful entertainment company to wow the rubes. No Disney not even a Warner’s. Sad because the Taiwanese are such family people and don’t mind spending money on their families. It’s too bad they get so few quality options locally and usually have to go overseas to enjoy something decent.

So here we are again(full story here):

“We will build a theme park next to our film studio. It will something like Universal Studios, ” said Tsai Yueh-hsun, who is currently turning his award-winning police drama Black and White into a full-length motion picture.

“We have already sent people to Universal Studios and other theme parks to learn from their expertise, ” the director of Taiwan’s first Hollywood-style TV drama said during a recent interview with Taiwan’s Chinese-language daily Liberty Times.

OK color me cynical not even guardedly optimistic that this thing even if it happens and I sense it probably will, should just be another empty box or fizz-less can of soda. One can only hope…

Today over on Peking Duck I read some disturbing news about one of my favorite authors from pre-Internet days: John Naisbitt. He wrote Megatrends which was kind of like the Freakenomics of its day, answering many questions you’d never think to ask but were fascinated knowing the answers to. I had no idea he and his wife were even living in China.

According to the Duck’s post they are coming out as “we really drank the koolaid” everything in China that is official must be good cheerleaders. That is sad. I know John and his wife are both very intelligent people with their spheres of influence. I’m not purporting that they be China haters since there is so much to be impressed by over China, historically and of late. However, it’s sad how many people will turn a blind eye to some significant problems or become a tour guide and point you to the fake Disneyland town diorama like Pyongyang has for the outsider to glimpse their contrived utopia.

I would truly love to see China demonstrate it’s greatness as a world citizen and leader but know that nothing is gained when we pretend the elephant isn’t in the room. It is encouraging to me that 1,000 brave souls from Shanghai have ventured to Beijing to protest the demolition of their houses to make way for the World Expo grounds. Hopefully they’ll be given some consideration by the government and a fair and reasonable plan can be made.

I wonder how the Naisbitt’s would handle,”Quake activist jailed for 5 years?”. It seems rather appalling when the man was speaking on behalf of the tens of thousands of unfortunate souls who lost lives, livelihoods and property in the devastating earthquakes.

I look forward to China’s increasing role as a world power and hope that there will be more and more meaningful dialogs with the Chinese government and it’s greatest resource-the  one billion plus people that it represents.

One of the saddest incidents during my stay in Taiwan was the kidnapping and subsequent murder of Bai Bing Bing’s (local singer and TV variety show star) daughter-Bai Hsiao-yen.

One of the most macabre details of the highly publicized event was Bai’s public threats and and taunts directed at the kidnappers while her daughter was in their possession. As a father it was hard for me to rationalize why a parent would dare to be so provocative when dealing with hardened criminals. Unfortunately, they raped and killed her daughter and mentioned that Bai’s goading was a motivating factor for having it end this way. This case also enabled DPP former Presidential candidate Frank Hsieh to steal the spotlight from Bai as a self appointed negotiator for Chen Chin-hsing’s surrender. Hsieh later used it to gain attention to begin his political career.

Bai’s attitude and actions seemed like a real disconnect for a mother who’s child is in serious danger. I encountered Bai Bing Bing once at the air port and she strutted around like a peacock so that might give some insight into her detachment. Anyhow, now she is outraged over talk of abolishing the death penalty mentioned here.

In an interview with local media, popular singer and entertainer, Bai Bing-bing said she will commit suicide if the majority back the policy during a national referendum.

Bai, who is currently taking law courses at the National Open University, even said she is willing to take up the job of executing convicted offenders sentenced to death.

I am not advocating the removal of the death penalty but this is a sensitive issue. I don’t think Bai’s histrionics are the appropriate forum for dealing with the deep array of issues that this encompasses. I only hope the people of Taiwan’s voice is heard clearly on this important issue.

I’ve heard it said before that if you live long enough you’ll get to see and hear all kinds of wild things. Today it was delivered to me via The Peking Duck here. It gave a link to a Forbes article here by Shaun Rein.

Despite having a wonderful 5,000-year history, China is in many ways like a teenage boy. It has just gotten its seat at the adults’ table and is trying to learn how to deal with other nations as not just a fellow G20 member but as a superpower.

Mr. Rein a frequent China apologist/cheerleader outdid himself on the reality disconnect time/space continuum today when he tried to claim how well China was doing on the open society score but slips up with the occasional gaff due to their adolescent male temperament. In fact I think Rein feels he served China well by stating that. I wonder if I can get a job at Forbes writing that kind of pulp fiction?

Unless you live in a cave somewhere or simply have no contact to the internet or mass-media you’ve probably heard umpteen dozen times on the Google/China showdown, etc. Obviously the drama is heightened by the actors being  the largest country in the world’s gov’t and ruling party and one of the largest and richest corporations in the world. What is of most interest to me is how the China expatriate bloggers so readily jumped to defend China against Google saying how Google’s poorly run China operation was an embarrassment to them and they seized the opportunity to pull out by making it a politicized human rights issue. Many of the tech bloggers and bloggers else where all seized the moment to take Google’s part, the darling of the tech world who has pledged, “Don’t be evi”‘ as their motto. Well in the theme of Kurasawa’s Roshomon the truth falls somewhere between both of those sides.

What I like here is that both sides have to think more about the big picture and issues-the Chinese side on how it is and will be perceived by the rest of the world. It needs to overcome it’s sensitivity towards criticism and learn from it. China has made strides in some areas and needs to learn the part of superpower a little more thoroughly if she chooses to play it out. Also Google which has done many impressive things in a very counter-intuitive against the business administration text book kind of way can also be a little sanctimonious. Let’s face it-they’re motto is worthy of a religious sect. Is it conceivable that any corporation that is motivated by profit can  maintain clean hands throughout their corporate life? Ironically, that motto sounds much like the Chinese in their history of idealism and Confucian values aspired to but never actually realized.

In essence, when two giants huff and puff and put their hands up above their heads like bulls horns it is both humorous and a little un-nerving. Time will tell how the drama plays out. One thing is certain, Chinese people’s appetite for information will only get stronger. The more they get of it the more they’ll make better informed decisions about the course of their nation and it’s part in the rest of the world. Google is now clearer on the true cost of doing business in China. They will still offer the best served meals out of any corporate cafeteria paid for by clicks. Do you ever wonder who the people that actually click on those links are? I mean I’ve only done it once or twice…

On several of my early business trips to southern China I would always notice that the Chinese gas stations all had these brightly colored plastic pendants festooned above their stations. No doubt to catch the eye of the passing motorists and make them think about stopping for gas. I get that. These triangular pieces of flapping plastic started to have a different meaning for me. After numerous trips I would get this feeling that those colored strips were fading into gray.Let me emphasize,this was a feeling, an impression not something literal that my eye saw. It was almost kind of dreamy even,albeit a little ominous (cue up the Bernard Hermann soundtrack).

So I decided to discuss it with George. George was a friend from Taiwan that had been living in mainland China for almost 10 years by that point. When I mentioned this to him he smiled at me. Then he said, “That is communism.” Well more accurately totalitarianism or oppression.

Instantly I knew he was right. I had met a lot of people in China. All different kinds and most of them were just:people. No special feelings one way or the other. Some were really nice. Yes I had been the participant with some political/official types but those were all pretty mild and I got the sense that they didn’t really have religion as much as a chip in the crazy poker game life dealt them into. The thing that came into focus the minute George spoke those words were the under-current of heavy handed control that was very prevalent and real like electrical power but also like electrical power virtually invisible other than what it powered and moved before your visual plane. This was kind of a novel sensation-not one that I loved of course but it definitely made it to my mental file cabinet of significant subliminal impressions.

There was one time I was in Seoul, Korea prior to their hosting of the Summer Olympics in fact. I was there on my visa run since at that point South Korea and Taiwan still had diplomatic relations. When I got to the airport I queued up for a taxi. Now Korea had an interesting system with there taxis. I believe there were 3 kinds-one you haggled the price with and 2 different metered systems. I waited in the haggling line since I knew the going rate for my trip. A cabbie asked me where I was going, we discussed price and he said no. No biggie I backed away and looked for next cab when some guy in a leather coat coldly asked me, :what’s the problem sir?”  I was like what the… and then I realized, hmm bet he’s a plain clothes cop. Very dour ultra-serious and not letting it go. I told him it was nothing just wanted another cab. He asked me again, ready for this-”What’s the problem sir?” OK, now I was beginning to feel uneasy. I had been to Korea before always just to renew my Taiwan visa,don’t speak the language, don’t mind the food but not really sure what to so in this scenario. Feeling even more certain he was a cop, I politely told him what had just happened. He said he’s take care of it. I said thanks but that’s not necessary I’ll just catch the next one. He replied icily, I’ll take care of it sir.” OK so comforting to know the big issue of my life in that tiny moment was being managed for me by this leather clad member of Seoul Airport’s finest. After rattling of a few lines of terse Korean between the  cop and the cabbie Mr. Plain Clothes informed me I can now get in the car. Oh boy, I didn’t want to waste my time having already decided this cab is not for me but I wanted to offend this stern faced cop even less. I still offered a mild objection saying another cab would be OK but thanks. He replied,”GET IN SIR.” So now I say,”OK” and I quickly get in. The cabbie took me outside the airport main gate and then asked me to get out and get another cab. Great! Now I get to do this again but at least I don’t have hatchet face breathing down my neck on my choice of hacks.

The return trip to the airport was quite a different experience altogether. I rode in on an airport bus. I was one of a few foreigners on the bus with mostly locals filling the seats. We came to a check point at which time M16 armed soldiers got on the bus and made a beeline for the few foreigners riding it. They wanted to check our passports,did that and quickly got off the bus.

What were we discussing originally? Oh yeah colored flags…

OK,while I was never a big Taipei 101 fan (mostly because I think it is an ugly building) and still have never been there I liked the idea of living in a place with the world’s tallest building, just like when I was a kid in Brooklyn with the then still extant and very visible WTC towers were visible from my bedroom window. I’ve been to the WTC and not long before they were brought down on that sad and ominous day. However,now I’m living in a “has been” tallest building place again. The new bragging rights and biggest erection (architecturally speaking of course) go to that lovely bubble city with the zombie real estate market-Dubai’s Burj Khalifa.

This shall prove interesting since the economy of Dubai is in shambles and the  frenetic growth that was taking place there has all but come to a standstill. Never the less-Dubai has the biggest one. Now all the ooh’s and ahh’s will be directed their way. That is until the next young buck with a bulging sky scraper comes along to sweep us off our feet…

Besides the obvious pun of the post title,  am I the only one that feels communication culture has changed significantly because of the Internet, and in particular to be much less receptive to using the phone? I used to be quite a regular phone user and enjoyed the good chat with my friends, keeping in touch with the family and business associates. It seems that after the adoption of e-mail and later Instant Messaging technologies I got spoiled by the time-shifted breathing room and add something when you have something to add nature of IM in particular. The phone started to seem much more pushy and obnoxious. Oddly many of the early contacts I had on Skype were either Chinese-speaking business associates evenly split between English IM chats and voice chats (in Chinese) or with podcaster friends where we primarily IM text chatted (in English) and the occasional voice chat (also in English but used much podcaster jargon) but that was like for special occasions.

My timing is impeccable because it seems that Skype is now going to change hands. Skype is still frequently used by me, more for voice than IM with GTalk being more for IM but now adding voice-confusing?  Now with the addition of Twitter it seems the urgency to voice chat is lower still. I do really enjoy talking with people in real time face to face though.

One last thought I had-it’s much harder to multi-task with someone on the phone. With IM or Twitter or e-mail (the least time sensitive of the group) it seems well suited to the ADD drift where you start browsing links or other web content while messaging with web friends. You certainly can’t get away with spacing out like that in a face to face conversation… Did I mention Facebook?

Comments especially welcome on this post.

PS-According to TechCrunch E-Bay did better than most people think on Skype deal.

Lately, I’ve been a little burnt-out on the new media or specifically “social media” space. I think it’s great that so many are tweeting and friend feeding and commenting on blogs or leaving utterz,etc. However, I’ve been kind of maxed out on the abundance of white noise that seems to be accumulating. No I’m not saying my words are inherently better, more meaningful or deeper, but at least I have some control over them and have a better handle on the reality factor of my own contributions.

Maybe that is why I’m gravitating more to the use of images (my own and viewing other peoples) since it is much more of a pure WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) medium. Don’t get me wrong-I’m not advocating that everyone stop chatting because I’m in a dark mood, bored or didn’t get the joke, I don’t suffer party-poopers lightly. In fact, I’m elated that so many people are finding tools and channels to express themselves. I simply feel the need to modify my own participation.

It seems to me many seek out encounters on the web as a replacement for actual activity or social engagement; either because they lack the opportunity or find this method easier. I can certainly appreciate that point of view, particularly the latter. However, I realize that there is no substitute for meeting and reacting in the “meatspace.” I guess that is where I’ll be spending more time these days.

Didn’t we all kind of know that Facebook and all the hype and invites and linking and the early joy and wonder were too good to be true. Not to mention the fairy-tale valuation of $15 billion(albeit shrinking) dollars. Well Humpty Dumpty had a great fall and the damage control is in effect as customers begin deserting Facebook’s Beacon program. First Coca Cola, now Overstocked and Travelocity are fleeing the rat ship claiming ignorance of what the evil Facebook was up to.

Should Facebook be held accountable for violating it’s users privacy and going overboard with sharing and collection of data and being generally creepy? Of course, but we need to hold the advertisers that encouraged them and joined them accountable as well.

Om Malik has a piece titled, “Beacongate…” and PC World addresses the privacy issues in detail.