Love China and Get a Green Card

Tesla boss Elon Musk met with Premier Li Keqiang in Zhongnanhai, Beijing

China is hoping the upcoming Tesla factory in Shanghai will help keep the country's economy going.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang met Tesla founder CEO Elon Musk on Wednesday at Zhongnanhai, headquarters of the Chinese Communist Party, two days after Tesla broke ground at its Gigafactory 3 project in Shanghai, its first production base outside of the United States.

The first overseas Tesla factory will be built in Shanghai

Perhaps Musk is looking for a more efficient and hardworking workforce and believes China is the ticket to help him fulfill all those orders for the Tesla 3.

"I love China and want to come here more often," Musk was quoted as saying in a report by Gov.cn.

"If you do, we can issue you a Chinese green card," the premier replied.

There was no word on what Musk's reaction was, though he can very easily apply for a 10-year visa, or however many more years are left in his passport...

Sounds like Li is keen on making Musk happy, as the factory will be the first car plant to be wholly owned by a foreign company -- all previous ones were joint ventures -- after Beijing relaxed this requirement last year.

 Li offered Musk a green card... did he take up the offer?

Tesla must be the envy of other car manufacturers in China for being able wholly owned... we shall see if it all works out for Musk.

In the meantime, is he going to take advantage of Li's green card offer?

China Loses a "Good Friend"

George and Barbara Bush at the Gate of Heavenly Peace in 1974

For China, the death of George HW Bush today is a sad one, as it lost what it considers as "a good friend". He had a long relationship with China that dates back over 40 years.

Bush Senior was one of the first prominent Americans to go to China in the early 1970s and was tasked with building diplomatic relations with China after President Richard Nixon's historic visit in 1972.

Two years later Bush headed the US liaison office, and for about a year he established relationships with senior Chinese leaders and diplomats, including Deng Xiaoping.

Secretary of State Henry Kissinger would criticize Bush for being too soft on power diplomacy, but the latter's cultivation of relationships behind the scenes proved valuable later on -- Bush obviously understood the Chinese play the long game, and he followed that strategy.

Bush's 1989 visit to China with a young Yang Jiechi translating

When Bush became Vice President in 1980, President Ronald Regan dispatched him to Beijing to deal with the issue of Taiwan. And then when he was elected president in 1989, Bush made an official trip to China a month after being inaugurated.

However, later that year the Tiananmen Square massacre erupted and the following day Bush condemned the killing of innocent people and suspended military sales as well as exchanges with high level Chinese officials.

But in the background, Bush sent national security adviser Brent Scowcroft twice to Beijing, as well as deputy secretary of state Lawrence Eagleburger. When senators found out, they felt Bush was being two-faced.

"At that time, the President was saying there could  not be business as usual with a Government that took such actions," said senator George Mitchell, Democrat of Maine. "Yet this is increasingly what seems to be happening."

He said the trips "make a mockery of our profession of concern for human rights and the stated ideals of our democratic system of government."

The Bush family with Yang Jiechi at the 2008 Beijing Games

Bush's relationship with one of Xi Jinping's top advisers, Yang Jiechi, also goes back to 1977 when he acted as a junior interpreter to the American official on his trip to Tibet.

Fast-forward to 2008 when Bush's son became President, then Chinese President Hu Jintao rolled out the red carpet for the entire Bush family to visit during the Beijing Olympics, and even dine in Zhongnanhai.

That was probably the warmest point in China-US relations, and now we're in the midst of a trade war (over 130 days) between Xi and President Donald Trump.

Unfortunately not everything changes for the better...

Security, Everywhere

Beyond these gates is Zhongnanhai, the headquarters of the CPC

It was nice to be back in Beijing, a city I had lived in for three years.

However the growing anxiety over safety is growing more paranoid. Before the Olympics 10 years ago, it was mandated that everyone had to have their bags scanned in machines before entering the subway system.

We assumed it would just be for the Olympics, but no, the practice continued. At the time the roped off area was large enough so that some people with bags could slip through, but this later tightened up and everyone had to have their bags checked.

Intense security checks just before entering Tiananmen Square

During rush hour, those not carrying anything could go into a faster line. Kind of discriminates against women...

Then this year security was stepped up even more with metal detectors at every subway entrance -- and if that's not enough, some even have staff with metal detector paddles just in case the metal detectors weren't enough.

Many of the people manning these security check points are young people, which makes me think this is a make-work project for kids who couldn't find a job or aren't university graduates.

Twice this week my friend had to open up his bag to be checked because the person manning the screening machine saw a bottle in his bag. He had to demonstrate it was cologne and not some kind of Molotov cocktail in a black flask.

The young people are just doing their job, but it is a hassle. Not even New York or Paris have these kinds of security checks.

The square wasn't packed, but there was lots of surveillance

Security was extreme near Tiananmen Square when we visited on Tuesday. Our plan was to walk east from Xidan along Chang'An Avenue, make a pit stop at Tiananmen Square and then head to Wangfujing.

Before we were even close to Tiananmen Square, we encountered one of many check points. Everyone was corralled into a single file metal maze so that there was no getting out of the line. Citizens had to have their ID cards scanned into a machine, while foreigners like us had our passports checked.

After that check point we passed by a brightly coloured building with the Communist Party of China round logo at the top and the Chinese sign below "Xinhuamen (新华门)" or "New China Gate" which is actually the entrance to Zhongnanhai, the headquarters of the CPC and where Xi Jinping, the General Secretary of the Communist Party works. Too bad we weren't allowed in.

The biggest check point just before Tiananmen Square had its own stand, complete with digital messages on a ticker tape screen, saying people had to go through checks for safety reasons, complete with screening our bags.

Food trucks like these sell snacks, drinks and souvenirs

Finally we made it into Tiananmen Square, where parts of it were covered with floral designs for Mid-Autumn and/or National Day. These decorations give a lively atmosphere, but gone were the residents who flew kites in the large open space. We only saw one person attempting to fly a kite.

Swept off the street were the migrant workers selling Chinese flags and snacks like water and popsicles. They were replaced with mini food trucks on the square selling the flags, Pocky sticks, cookies and a variety of drinks.

For some reason Mao Zedong's mausoleum wasn't open -- it was barricaded off and looked dark inside. Maybe he was getting a touch-up.

Who knows how many undercover policemen were in the square, but definitely lots of cameras at every lamp post...
 

No More "Weird" Architecture

Does the CCTV headquarters qualify as "weird" architecture in China?

More directives are being issued by Beijing these days and the latest one was an interesting edict -- no more "weird" architecture, gated communities or illegal structures are to be built in China.

The directive from the State Council came two months after leaders met for the Central Urban Work Conference -- which was left held in 1978! One wonders why they procrastinated this long.

One of many "White House" replicas in the mainland...

Forty-eight years ago only 18 percent of the population lived in towns and cities, compared to 55 percent as of last year at 750 million people.

Nevertheless, the directive says urban architecture should be "suitable, economic, green and pleasing to the eye", in contrast to the "oversized, xenocentric, weird" buildings with no character or cultural heritage, that Chinese President Xi Jinping said reflected "a lack of cultural confidence and some city officials' distorted attitudes about political achievements".

One big building that might fit the bill is the CCTV tower, the Rem Koolhaas-designed building that locals nickname da kouchar (大裤衩) or "big underpants". Others are replicas of famous landmarks like the White House, Eiffel Tower, and London Bridge.

... Oh and Eiffel Towers can be spotted in around China too

Liu Shilin, head of the Institute of Urban Science at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, said while "weird" has yet to be defined, the new policy was heading in the right direction.

"These buildings do not have much value in terms of use, and cost a lot to operate and maintain. Quite a few were torn down soon after completion," he notes.

However, the big concern is the opening up of gated communities that were built for expatriates and the wealthy to keep the riff raff out.

"Residents have all paid their share to use the roads in these communities. How can you open them up just like that? Opening them up will bring in noise pollution, air pollution and security risks. How can residents' safety and health be ensured?" said one online commenter.

Residents of gated communities are worried about opening up

By the way -- does Zhongnanhai also qualify as a "gated community"? Or perhaps it's in a category of its own...

David Tang Vocalizes his Discontent

Sir David Tang voiced his discontent of the Leung administration at the FCC

Sir David Tang has been busy designing high-end restaurants and luxury products for his store Tang Tang Tang Tang, but he's also found time to criticize Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying and his administration for not representing the interests of the Hong Kong people.

At the Foreign Correspondents' Club, Tang gave a rare but fiery speech stating how the city is in a sad state of affairs, from how the Umbrella Movement was handled, to the stalemate in the Legislative Council.

While he was sympathetic with the students and members of the public who protested in the fall of 2014, Tang said the government made a series of missteps, most crucially that Leung did not meet with the students.

Tang says even Li Peng met with Wu'er Kaixi in 1989

"Throughout the 'Umbrella Movement' our chief executive steadfastly refused to meet the protesters. We should remember that even Li Peng -- even Li Peng, the hardcore, hardline Chinese premier at the time -- received Wu'er Kaixi, and, what's more, in full view of national television."

That is definitely a stinging indictment of Leung, though funny Tang should point this out almost a year and a half later...

The businessman loves to use big words to show off his expansive vocabulary which is amusing to hear in his strong British accent. Perhaps the best quote was of him describing Leung a leader who was not strong enough and turn himself into "a puppet on a string dancing obsequiously to the tunes and echoes of Zhongnanhai".

Touche.

In the beginning of his speech, Tang complained about Leung's 2016 policy address on how idealistic it was.

"Whoever wrote that for the chief executive... must be a comedian or perhaps a monkey who accidentally typed up those words on a typewriter," he said.

Tang described Leung as a "puppet" dancing to Zhongnanhai

The policy address -- which Tang forced himself to read twice -- mentions "One Belt, One Road" 50 times.

"Quite apart from the embarrassing unctuousness towards the Chinese president, what on earth would an ordinary resident of Hong Kong care or understand about 'One Belt, One Road'?"

He questioned whether any Hong Kong tycoon would be able to name even two countries in the supposed silk road.

As for bookseller Lee Po, Tang said it was quite sure that someone high up had arranged for Lee to be moved onto the mainland, and that it was not a good sign for people to be disappearing.

Tang claimed of knowing at least two businessmen who refused to go to the mainland to assist in criminal investigations, insisting the authorities come to Hong Kong instead to question them.

But did Lee have a choice in the matter? We have yet to find out.

Nevertheless, it was very refreshing to have Tang speak out what we have all been thinking, despite him sounding pompous at times.

It is evident through his speech that the entrepreneur and restaurateur cares deeply about Hong Kong and hopes things will get better through reconciliation and talks.

Now if only people will heed his advice...

Or should we start campaigning for Tang for CE?