INTRODUCTION
The understanding of any subject may be arised by a small detail, but it is only by looking at the entire picture that it is possible to achieve a wider underdstanding of that given subject. Then perhaps our individual views on a certain specific subject may have a wider ground of support.
This article tries to provide the cultural, economic and political backgrounds to support the more specific analysis of the products on the article by Adrian Ko, named The Manchurian Candidates.
By writing this article in my own website I am taking the responsibility of its contents and not binding anyone else, personally or at any organizational level, into it.
Having been born in Macau, a city in the Southern Coast of China, I was raised living side by side with Chinese people who, however, were and are different from what it is known as the Mainland Chinese.
Culture is one of the most important aspects to perceive with an open mind entirely freed of prejudices grown of fed unto us in an open or subliminal manner.
The immense country with the world's longest and continued civilization and culture had remained closed to me and the likes of me for political reasons. I must also take this opportunity to refer that what we call history is but a mere collection of events of political nature, because man is essentially a political animal whose acts cannot be dissociated and placed into compartments. To think otherwise is fallacious, to act otherwise is also taking a political stance.
This political animal is part of man's own circumstance, and a brief reminder that a look back into each of our countries own history will display contradictions, developments and changes that give history its meaning.
On the other hand we cannot also dissociate culture from politics for these and all other aspects such as economy are part of a system from where a country generates its identity and sees its evolution.

Culture
It is often forgotten that while the Chinese consolidated their agrarian based civilization and culture based in Confucianism, the earliest records of its history date from the Shang Dynasty. However it was the famous historian Sima Qian who wrote the Historical Records dating back to 1.300 years earlier from the period he lived in, 200 BC, with references to the Mythical Yellow Emperor until his own times, while the Qin Dynasty, founded by Qin Shi Huang, unified the core of the Han people and the Great Wall of China begun to be built.
The consolidation of Confucianism however brought together a reinforcement to the web of family and birthplace relations that lasts until today.
While China was, in its early times, exposed to different nomadic tribes and the Silk Road later brought about Persian merchants as well as Jews, Nestorians, which were much later followed by Marco Polo at the time of the Yuan Dynasty (1271 -1368 AD) it can therefore be concluded that the Chinese were not ignorant of the world outside. On the contrary, there were early contacts with Korea, Japan, Vietnam and all the surrounding states, some of which were often considered tributary states.
These roots of connections and links to other states and exchanges of ambassadors, marriage of princesses into different countries households certainly helped to create a spread of technologies that the Chinese possessed while most of the countries to the East adopted Chinese calligraphy and Confucianism.
This powerful culture that was capable of absorb and envelop in its own womb invaders such as the Yuan and later the Manchus, turning them into culturally Chinese, had by then a long history full of episodes of wise men who dealt with all kinds of difficult situations, be it in war or in peaceful times, while Chinese invented paper, the compass, silk, the water clock, the abacus, and concentrated in astrology and astronomy, from where their manuals and horoscopes developped.
There are traces of early Chinese immigration to countries such as Laos, Vietname, Thailand and Korea in as much as some of the 55 Chinese Minorities bear resemblances to their original homeland. Migration has always existed everywhere.
It was exactly due to the inheritance of their Past, and its reverence, the use of Wisdom and Caution, careful reading of the terrain, a habit inherited by the ancient Art of War by Sun Tzu, that prompted the Chinese people, used to endure difficult times, and able to survive in frugral conditions, to scatter themselves not only through South East Asia but also into other immigration destinations in later Qing days, in search for a better life.
The Chinese railroad worker, the restaurant owner, the laundry owner are the most well know clichés brought to us by the cinema.

IMMIGRATION AND ECONOMY
Not being an economist, I have nonetheless observed or witnessed episodes and changes that illustrate the pragmatism and the practicality of the Chinese, mixed with their behavioral pattern, very much different from Western ways.
Southern Chinese found it easier to immigrate, which led the Cantonese and the Fukienese to be among the two largest groups to immigrate.
THE WORK OF THE WEB
Having a strong culture and religion of their own, wherever there was a group of Chinese, a so called China Town was created and these still exist in the US, Canada, UK, while in other countries they may have adopted a different structure.
China Towns were very much the reenaction of a cultural environment that was familiar to its inhabitants but alien to the host country. This has a reason, similar to Little Italy, just to mention an example.

Guanxi or relationships are, still today, part of the rules of engagement for the Chinese. In immigration times, one would look for a hierarchy of connections when going somewhere. First it would be family, then it would be people from the same village, or the same region, then it would be people of the same Province. This mutual assistance was again a projection of the family web existing in China.
Considering that the Chinese are very good merchants and businessmen, it is not surprising that they would succeed as such in South East Asia, and one can observe today that Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia economies, just to name some, are mainly controlled by the so called Overseas Chinese. On the other hand, the last colonial cities that existed as such in the 20th. century - Hong Kong and Macau - nested some of the whealthiest Chinese businessmen in the world, an apparent paradox if seen lightly.
One of the richest man in Asia said the following in an interview:
- Vision is perhaps our greatest strength.. it has kept us alive to the power and continuity of thought through the centuries, it makes us peer into the future and lends shape to the unknown.
- We are approaching a new age of synthesis. Knowledge cannot be merely a degree or a skill.. it demands a broader vision, capabilities in critical thinking and logical deduction without which we cannot have constructive progress.
- The future may be made up of many factors but where it truly lies is in the hearts and minds of men. Your dedication should not be confined for your own gain, but unleashes your passion for our beloved country as well as for the integrity and humanity of mankind.
To a larger or smaller extent, it is imbued in Chinese culture the formalities that propitiate the use of both care and vision.
Presently world economy is facing what is considered a serious threat from China's Socialist Market Economy, while its leaders refuse to consider the country more than the developing country status that it has.

succeed before he would make changes.Wisdom and caution was required to guide such a highly populated country.
This opening has to do - in my own experience and perspective - with a careful growth control. In the late 1980's Chinese economy grew at a 15% rate and that could lead to disastrous effects so cooling down was needed.
From the days of the incipient Ping Pong Diplomacy of the Nixon era to today's results of a super modern Shanghai, it means that it took 30 years to go from a population whose major aspirations was to have a bycicle and a sewing machine to one other that is invading Macau's casinos and already help making its profits rise above Las Vegas'.
A quick search provided a very interesting remark by Jim Kilby, an American working in one of the American casinos in Macau: I think in Las Vegas and in the United States, if you were to talk to the average Las Vegas customer, they came to Las Vegas to eat and to see the shows and to gamble. When you’re dealing with the Asian gambler, my impression is it’s all business.
In other words, real tough gambling, real poker faces are here. In the past, some Mainland China provincial leaders were caught gambling with Government money. They were arrested, judged, condemned and shot. They knew what could happen to them, still they went ahead and gambled.
This has another important significance to the Chinese character of today, as it is generally perceived that only some are tough. One is either irresponsible or absolutely careless to dare play fortunes at the baccarat tables.
The Chinese don't talk much. They just do what they have to do. It is not a talk culture.

Shanghai is a bustling city of over 20 million people. Las time I consulted any list it was 13 million, already a staggering  number. While like all hugely populated cities it struggles with plenty of problems, modernization have shown a great deal of changes, including the night life.

I have tried to be as objective as possible. I recall the days where I rebelled against Run Run Shaw for just making Kung Fu films and stating: I give what the public wants. I thought he could do more, and better. He understood that movies are an industry and he was there to make money, not to educate people with better scripted films. I can now see his pragmatism, though I am not entirely convinced, but I respect his stance.
Just in front of my window they started to build a 30 storey hotel pertaining to a huge gambling complex. They started to work on the hotel and the complex around October 2004. By then there was little to be seen. Now it looks like this.

The photograph on the left was purposedly taken on a Sunday. Yes, everybody on the private sectors work on Sundays. It is incredible the speed and the combination of traditional bamboo scafolding with other technical means. The speed and efficiency of work is so great that the American Casino Company has already announced the opening of the huge complex to 2006, next year! The Casa da Música in Portugal, took six years to build and open and it occupies about 1/10 of the Macau complex whose remaining part can be seen in the right picture.
But while all this may be true, not all of China is the same. It is too large a population.
 

STRATEGY AS A TOOL FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH
China's perception of time is rather unique. It does not aim for a lifetime, or should I say short term, and I am deeply convinced that its agrarian roots have fed its civilization and culture with an understanding of how long a tree takes to grow or the cycle of crops and so forth.
Bearing this in mind, one can analyze Deng Xiao Ping's  strategy of a One Country Two Systems policy, as a way to create an economical development through a capillary effect from the coast line towards the interior. Therefore Hong Kong and Macau were part of the package, as well as Shanghai and other cities on the coast, that did not only qualify but would inspire, through their development, all the future potentialities.
Life is harder in inner China, as it is in many places in the world. Social inequalities and other issues still exist, but I can personally understand that China is taking its own pace to change in the most secure and stable way possible.
Not all cities bear resemblance to Hong Kong, Shanghai or Macau. Those cities are not just an inheritance of Communist China, but also of thousands of years of Chinese culture that, again, is mainly agrarian.
Understanding China and the Chinese is an experience on its own. Any vision from the outside without ever have experienced China, can be most deceiving, for many can thrive on information that has been fed to them, but not on experience.
Are the Chinese faultless and flawless? No, by no means. Many leaders throughout its long history failed, committed big mistakes out of absolute power or ill advice. But the world is now seeing the awakening of a immense giant and the reactions I see, are mainly signs of fear, disguised as noble causes.
China served their purposes when it was their factory. It was so convenient and mostly they looked upon the Chinese from their own perspectives which is erroneous. After all the British invented Ethnology to better study and control the people they Colonized. Indirectly it was a scientifical contribution.
I have contacted a friend and asked for his testimonial. He lives in the US, he is American and he has visited China briefly but very recently. Here is his own testimonial, untouched:

AN AMERICAN IN SHENYANG a testimonial

My immediate impression of Shenyang was made as the plane made its descent through the clouds. The land was arid and dry, with sparse, patchwork farms stretching out in all directions. Though it was December, from the plane one would not know the time of year as there was no snow on the ground. I could not help but be reminded of the hot days I spent in East Central Africa, traveling over the dry earth, from small farm town to small farm town. It was then that I realized that most of my ideas and visions of China were a creation, visions of Hong Kong that I have seen in a thousand movies. Visions of busy, bustling port cities standing tall against the ocean, buzzing under the hum of bright neon lights...these things were my expectation of China.

But the China that I came to know, was much different.

Shenyang is one of the 10 largest cities in China, and yet, standing on the street corner as my breath crystalized in the frigid air, I could not help but feel that the city was nearly empty. In the dark shadows cast by new sky scrapers and luxury hotels, stand burned out, condemned buildings that time has all but forgotten. The city is a product of industry, and it is not hard to see the remanents of the old communist China here, as rows and rows of identical buildings line the streets, equal in construction, and now equal in disrepair. People ride by on their bicycles, which is for most, their only means of transportation. They pedal miles and miles through the frozen city, often carrying loads shackeled to their bikes that are so large, it would be unthinkable to transport such cargo in anything other than a large truck to someone from a country where bicycles are a recreation, not a means of survival. These people are of all ages, and in the faces of old men and women that should have retired years and years ago, I see the hard lines of a frown that has been carved into their face over a lifetime of working 12 hour days, probably 7 days a week. I am struck by an immediate feeling of despair that such old people should still be toiling away at manual labor, hauling garbage and appliances across the city. I begin to wonder what their children are doing, and why they are not able to enjoy the last years of their life in relaxation. Then it hits me...their children are working, just like they are.

My experience of Africa was that many people are poor, because there are simply no jobs, and no opportunities. But in Shenyang, the poor are not unemployed at all...the poor are working. Working hard. They spend their days hauling materials across the city, cooking in sweltering kitchens, and selling their wares on the streets. The streets are dirty, and like my own hometown of Chicago there is a strange kind of pride amongst its inhabitants. They may be poor, they may lack a quality education and healthcare, but they work. These people know what it is like to work hard, until exhaustion topples them at the end of the day, and what it is like to wake every morning to do it all over again. They wear a badge of pride that is invisible to most people who have never had to work hard to survive. I can see it on their faces, and it reminds me that these people are really no different than any other, simply in a different circumstance. I have seen this look on many faces in my own country, and while I was born into a life of opportunity and luxury, I was always most at home with people who knew what that look meant. I came from a family of farmers and laborers, who became a family of educated professionals one generation before my own, and they have not ever forgotten their origins. Maybe I recognize this look so well, because I have seen it in the eyes of my father and grandfather ever since I can remember.

Over the next few days and nights, Shenyang opened its doors for me in many ways. I was treated to a few wonderful meals, whose taste and exotic flavors completely defied my knowledge of cuisine. I received a level of service, even at less expensive restaurants, which knows no equal in the US or most of Europe. Tea is filled the moment your cup comes to rest on the table, before your hand has even made its retreat from the cup. Napkins are unfoled and placed on your lap. The eyes of at least three waiters are constantly surveying the table, eager to ensure that any need is met the instant it arises. Dining becomes an effortless tour through the senses, rather than a simple mechanism of survival. To be sure, for every one restaurant like this there are thousands of street booths, vendor carts, and simple eateries where a meal is simply a way of nourishing the body, and nothing more. But I began to wonder how a culture of such hard working people develops this level of service. Maybe it is something historical, a remnant of a time when China had a very strong class system and royalty. Maybe it is a recent invention of business. But I like to think it is something more special. I like to believe that the very same people who work so hard, have come to appreciate and cherish such service on the few occaisions they are able to share a fine meal with their loved ones. I like to think that this kind of service, is born out of a culture that knows the meaning of labor, and appreciates those special times when family and friends gather in joy, to forget the days work and nourish their bodies and minds with good company and a fine meal.

My time in Shenyang was short, and just a few days after I arrived I found myself watching those patchwork farms that surround the city disappear below the clouds once again. But the thing that stayed with me, the thing that I kept from that place that I cherish, is a sense of connection. In this most different of worlds, where I could not even have a simple conversation with anyone who didn't speak my language, I found a sense of belonging that I find hard to put into words. I saw in the faces of those hard working people, the same proud, tired expression that I have seen on my father's face, and my grandfather's face. And it reminded me, that we are all a member of a much larger and more important community than our nationality. It reminded me of the basic, salient humanity in all of us. It reminded me that every person on this planet is basically seeking the same things. Family, safety, nourishment, connection to others who understand them. And by the time I left Shenyang, the place did not feel lonely at all.

Is this paradise? Far from it. All societies carry a large amount of contradictions. China is far from being perfect. But it seems that although a one party system - go and figure out other way to get a 1.35 billion people country stable - it has changed beyod the point of no return. Will it adopt Democracy as in the West? Why would it have to be compelled to do so the way others wish?
I recall Portuguese ex-President Mário Soares saying the obvious, when questioned on TV about the existance of the Portuguese Communist Party. This friend of Willy Brandt and François Miterrand replied: a real democrat must accept all inclinations if he is to be a real democrat, for democracy is exactly the respect for differences.

The Chinese people in general suffered much during most regimes, both in feudal times and in more recent times. It is nothing new to a country that is over populated and big. Generally all countries tend to forget the vast, silent and invisible majority, to focus their attention on the higher classes, be it now or before.
There are very important values that the Chinese cherish. No matter how humble, their lineage, the continuation of their name is sacred, and no effot will be spared to ensure that a boy will be born to continue the name. This may be one of the reasons why, since very early times, the Chinese multiplied and cherished family ties as not only a weave of affections but a bond that would help them in times of affliction.

Old Age
Caring for one's parents when they reached old age was and is part of the Chinese cultural tradition that continues to exist. It is part of Confucianism which also roots itself in the practical sense of a chain of responsibilities that are retributed, hence welfare is ensured, generation after generation. It is known as filial piety, which is a very poor translation in my opinion.

Elders, as in many cultures, have been treated with respect since long, as the boundary between knowledge and wisdom is difficult to define. Unlike many of their counterparts in Western countries, Chinese elders are active and practice Tai Qi or Qi Gong or just exercise and try to put their sorrows behind.

In the picture on the left, in a traditional old house, three generations sit together.


The wisdom of humbleness
Humbleness is another aspect of Chinese culture. While a master painter or caligrapher receives his guests at his exhibition, he will always say duo duo xi qiao meaning more or less "I thank you for all teachings you may wish to give me". This is a very ingeniuous way as well, to avoid criticism, for it disarms any envious artist. It is usually unthinkable that someone will brag about his doings.

Conflicts
The existence of conflicts is natural. However not too often are they displayed openly. The use of a friend as a mediator is common practice. Again a practice that has been used for many centuries. Very often, the common friend offers to mediate between the two parties, as being equidistant, he will try to sooth open wounds, talking reason into each party.
Many Chinese choose not to express their views in public as they don't feel the need for it, while others do. It cannot be viewed as a rule of thumb.

Face
One of the most prized values of the Chinese is face, which can be translated as honor. To give face to someone is to honor him. To loose face is to be dishonored, while to turn face or change face means the insult of changing from a friendly attitude towards a hostile one.

Tolerance
Chinese people are very tolerant and they usually mind their own business. I have witnessed a Westerner dressed in the robes of a hare krishna member and not one single person turned or stopped to stare.

This tolerance is based on a lack for a generalized need of personal affirmation. Other than tolerance, there is a character in Chinese for enduring which is a knife's edge pointed at one's own chest.

Friendship
The Chinese have learned to survive against all things and odds. Their ingenuity even made bamboo shoots a part of their diet.
Because of this, they may eventually look rude in the elevator, not allowing women to get in first, caring for themselves. They may look distant as they will not care for you. But once you get acquainted and start a friendship with a Chinese, independent of his degree of culture or learning, provided he is of good upbringing, he will be a most loyal friend.
It takes time and know how to develop a relationship, but once it is develop one will notice an unusual amount of commitment. I have too many examples in my life to vouch for. These are but some of the most cherished values of Chinese culture and behavior. There are, as everywhere, exceptions that just confirm the rule.

Time: Life as an understanding of Death
I will once again address the issue of time because it is of paramount importance.
The greatest Portuguese symbollist poet by the name of Camilo Pessanha, who lived in Macau in the beggining of the 20th. Century, wrote a ferocious article against the many forms of death that exhisted in China when he visited the execution grounds in Canton (Guanzhou), an inheritance of Imperial times.
Pessanha, albeit living in Macau for at least two decades could not penetrate in the Chinese spirit of both endurance and despise of life. This detachment from existence can be understood and interpreted in different ways. One is to view it as a fatalistic perspective, something that is accepted without great complaints. But while this can be one perspective, I am more inclined to the cultural inheritance of Buddhism and the belief of reincarnation. With this belief, time becomes extended, and combined with the family lineage in which the son will continue one's work, then it is better perceived that one's life is not that important, though long life is cherished greatly.
This paradox will also allow for a timely preparation for death. Chinese bought their coffins and chose their clothes with which they wished to be buried long before their expected time of demise. This conviviality with death, this almost acquaintance with death not only through these practices but also with immense suffering from wars and public executions witnessing generated a natural acceptance of death.
With these values in hand, and the sense of time different from the urgency of the West, Chinese and most Eastern people, and having had dynasties as long as the Shang (1700 - 1027 BC) it would be imperative and natural that the notion of time played and plays in favor of China.
 

Chinese artists and artisans have always shown a great amount of skill.
Since ancient times, Chinese Bronzes were made in unique shapes and patterns, indicating a great control over the technical skills required.
The same type of skills and investigative mind gave free hand to the flourishing of painting with very unique characteristics that not only demanded a great skill with the brush but also differences of styles, but always a reverence to past masters from the Tang and Song dynasties.
Chinese porcelain was another invention that flourished immensely to very high standards attaining very thin surfaces providing great translucency, and sought after by the West.
Ivory carving has been another area of examples of superb craftsmanship. This miniature bicycle that I owned, although being made in the 20th. century, is a perfect example of even more intricate work.
There are still so many areas that one could dwell in, from lacquer ware to paper cutting, to furniture to cloisonné, and silver jewelry, and so forth.
From my own design teaching experience, I see that the Chinese people has a natural inclination for expressing themselves, most possibly because of the way the learnt to write in Chinese calligraphy.
I would strongly advise anyone interested to buy a book called True to Form whose cover is seen here.
It covers the different crafts from the Chinese toggles called called chui'er in northern China which gave birth to Japanese Netsuke.
I would like, as a reminder, to state that I am not exalting Chinese culture, I am rather making a modest attempt to bring some little light about it.
One analyzes the characteristics of a certain culture and its art and crafts expressions, not against any other culture, but by their own intrinsic characteristics.
Once this is perceived, it must be also considered the fact that no culture has remained immune to influence and exchange. This is most clear with the hybridation of most of the pieces of the Beijing Astronomical Observatory built under the direction of the Jesuits.
Therefore, although bearer of a specific and heavy cultural heritage, China accepted Western visitors such as Marco Polo under the Yuan Dynasty, allowed the Portuguese to settle in Macau in the 16th. century, while Kangxi was open to the Jesuits Emperor Qian Long continued to engage with foreigners.
It is therefore nothing new in present day China that it is once more opening its huge market to world investors, including Taiwanese entrepreneurs.
It has its own policy in as much as the Chinese Republic was based on a Western concept and the Communist takeover in 1949 represented again the emergence of another westernized ideology that, however were not based on the proletariat, but on the farmers. China had always its own way to adapt things to their own way.
Therefore, it should not be surprising that among the thousands of investors in China, some came from Taiwan, and from these, some invested on the business of making swords, competing with other mainland sword makers who specialize in Chinese weaponry made in more traditional ways.

Though lenghty, this article barely touches the surface of the reality in China, both good and bad. But both have to be seen intrinsically from within, observed with non-contaminated eyes, and then conclusions can be drawn. Intensive labor, highly competitive prices, pragmatism, lack of need for ego-statements.
This is the scenario that provided for the appearence not only of Paul Chen, the Manchurian candidate, but for others such as Fred Chen.
The Chinese gave in by opening their market for the Western countries, while absorbing the know how. Again time was not a factor. Meantime Taiwanese enterpreneurs are selling swords made in a competitive production environment where workers do not ask for much, produce what they are told to do, and learn the skills of forging swords and so forth according to what they are thaught.
In this context, the price that the consumer pays is again a political price, because it is simply dictated by the prices of production and those of sale to the consumer. In other words, profit margin.
In the 1960's, Japanese cars and products were making their appearance in the world stage. Nowadays very few doubt of their overall quality.
South Korea followed and today many of South Korean products are of excellent quality and competitive price.
Production swords have to be seen first as a product, secondly as a profitable business for the larger companies, and finally they have to be assessed by the quality offered and its ratio vs. price.
Some things that can be thought as impossible in the West are entirely feasible in China. Chinese can excell in superb craftsmanship once they fully understand what is required of them.
Everything depends on different variables and they are certainly not responsible for the hype that exist around a factory product.
Intensive labour, cheap workmanship, obervation of Western market practices, led to the emergence of Chinese companies that are now following the path that the Western companies paved for them. There were signals all the way on eBay that signalled the real cost of a result of labour, steel and so forth.   

I am summing the parts of this article that has been written on my available time, and what do I find out? That in many cases there is an ideology based on usage, a row of exploitation of cheaper manufacturing countries which become inconvenient the moment they volley back the ball.
To understand how economics affect everyone, to understand and accept that economics dictate policies is now to understand the old Chinese saying: there is always a taller mountain than the one you know.
This being said, it is not surprising the least, that Chinese companies are directly offering their products. They didn't create the final price, they just want no intermediaries. Who is to blame for the inflated prices?

DISCLAIMER: This article is a personal analysis based on my beliefs on human fraternity and is not intended to denigrate any country, any culture but rather to focus on my own experience and views of China since the 60's. If it is political in some way, it is because it reflects my belief that everything is linked in a hollistic way.

Antonio Cejunior 2005 - Bladesign