Contrary to what you might think, it is quite common to exchange written contracts to ensure "fairness" in China. Indeed, the Chinese are very particular about whether things are "fair or not." For example, if there is only a slight difference in salary from someone else despite the good results one has made through their tremendous efforts, it is considered unfair. This is the sense of fairness of the Chinese. For this reason, it is considered important that an employment contract clearly indicate what will be evaluated, what will lead to a promotion and how salary will increase, in addition to stating what kind of penalties one might face for being late, making a mistake or failing to achieve results.

Contracts are effective in making individuals aware of their range of responsibilities as well. While responsibilities such as serving tea, making photocopies or arriving at the office five minutes before the start of work are performed without complaint in a Japanese office, a contract can help avoid the performance of such duties being rejected with curt utterances such as "That's not my job" or "No."

It is also necessary to repeatedly explain the importance of teamwork in order to have the simple tasks often seen in a Japanese office such as "Could you give the table a quick wipe? It's dirty" or "The reference materials in the division office are a mess. Sort them out," or "Please ring and confirm if they received my fax" completed without a fuss.

Mr. Kanbayashi has been working for a long time as the general manager of the production division at a plant run by a Chinese owner, where he is the only non-Chinese employee. He says, "You will definitely fail if you resort to a strategy of respecting others and relying on their good will. Comforting them with words will also never work. It was only after I made my attitude completely clear and explicitly defined what a carrot was and what a stick was in the form of rewards and penalties that things started to go smoothly."

The "carrot" that Mr. Kanbayashi refers to is a monthly event where prize money is awarded in front of all the employees after evaluating work conduct such as "taking good care of equipment," "demonstrating good cooperation with friends and colleagues," "being independent without causing inconvenience to others" or "handling raw materials with care." He says, "Judging fairness systematically based on the work regulations helps to improve conditions more quickly, since individuals will have no illusions about receiving special treatment." According to Kanbayashi, the trick is to take advantage of the Chinese psychology of placing importance on how they are seen by others and their strong sense of competitiveness.

This may be a difficult task for a Japanese company, which aren't equipped with any such criteria to evaluate employee work performance or attitudes toward work in minute detail. Nevertheless, this is what leads to a successful business in China. We hear that there are an increasing number of incidents of employees abusing the right to take a case to court. Even those incidents, which would be tolerated under "implicit consent" in Japan, may lead to court cases in China. To prevent this from happening, companies need to quickly prepare contracts that can be understood flawlessly by anybody and cover any circumstance.

In the last 10 years or so, the sugarless food market in China has grown rapidly. Even in only Guangzhou, from which the saying comes that "food is in Guangzhou," sales of sugarless food have reached a yearly amount of over 3 billion yen, and the "sugarless" mark has expanded into not only beverages and snacks, but into all other food areas, such as moon cakes and drinking appetizers.

The driving force behind this sugarless food market has been the number of diabetics in China, which is the second highest in the world behind India. From the improvement in standard of living that has accompanied economic development, consumption of high-calorie foods has increased, and with it the number of diabetics in China. According to the WHO "Chronic Disease Study," the number of diabetics in the world is predicted to reach 100,000,000 by the year 2025, making for a grave situation.

Additionally, China's young women, sensitive to the "sugarless" mark, have been a large part of the sales of such items. One newspaper article reads "'I like sweet things but I don't want to get fat,' say these women, among whom there is a trend of selecting products with the 'sugarless' mark." Indeed, Ms. Liu, a 22 year-old living in Guangzhou's largest city, Shenzhen, says "The most important thing in dieting is to limit calories. I not only strictly avoid obvious items such as candy or chocolate, but also others such as fruit and yogurt," giving her secret for having successfully lost 6 kilograms in 4 months as not taking in any "sugar."

However, in this situation where products sell when given the "sugarless" mark, awareness of the standards for what constitutes "sugarless" is unclear, making regulation confusing. The popular national newspaper "Nanfang Daily," which is popular for its keen view and powerful coverage, has sounded a warning about this unsubstantiated belief in sugarless products, saying "If a product contains such high calorie ingredients as cacao oil or resin, starch, butter, cheese, or others, it will not have the effect that these young women seek." 
 
On the other side of this sugarless food market in the urban coastal cities exists the inland life, where scarcely even a corn cob is to be found for food. While preventing chronic diseases due to abundance, today's China must also place its power behind preventing diseases caused by nutritional deficiency.

It was from a Japanese magazine that I learned about a grievance against the authorities that led to a riot in China. Living inside China doesn't let you see part of its domestic affairs. Under such circumstances, it is inevitable that workers, which is what most of the nation's population is made up of, are not aware of the absurdities and inconveniences in their lives. They do see price hikes and feel the gap between the rich and the poor grow day by day. That being said, I have never come across anyone who would point a finger of blame at the government. They have given up, either believing "I'm uncultured" or being satisfied with the status quo, since "the quality of life has improved dramatically compared with the old days." Still others are obsessed with money and are busily amassing personal fortunes.

Although some pundits in the Japanese media have expressed concern over "China after the Olympic Games," things look different to someone who has been dealing with China for a long time and is actually living in the country, like I am. There is no way that ordinary citizens can resolve all the various problems they face in Chinese society, even if they stand up and tackle them. They know it is wiser to remain silent, since they are not sure how much influence they can exercise against the authorities or whether there is anybody with power on their side. A clear-cut attitude seems more beneficial than inviting trouble and strife.

I also read an article titled "Chinese bubble bursts." However, China is earnestly pursuing an industrial transformation, holding up slogans such as "tenglonghuanniao (to transform low-value added industries into highly-efficient, high-value added industries)" and "zhuchaoyinfeng (to build a nest to summon a phoenix)." The requirements for residency in China are becoming stricter and a number of foreigners were forced to leave the country since they were unable to obtain visas. Under such circumstances, the number of requests for information is increasing at JETRO Guanzhou from Japanese companies considering alternative locations such as Vietnam. Following a series of news reports on the Vietnamese economy ceasing to function smoothly, however, investment appetite for Vietnam is weakening. It seems that few companies will move out of China altogether.

Now that the Beijing Olympics are over, the patriotic feelings of the Chinese people are at their highest. Everybody is satisfied. Ahead of this fierce momentum, foreign-affiliated companies will have to adjust their restructuring plans toward the direction that China is heading, even though the business environment may become increasingly severe. If we do not face this fact now, the day that China simply ignores us is not far off.

*(photo at the top) The Olympic torch relay ignites Chinese patriotism. / (photo at the right) Migrant workers / (photo at the left) A slogan reading "Value and protect environmental hygiene. Let's compete to become civilized citizens."　

In Dailan, a place in Northeast China where I once studied as an exchange student, there were heaps of coal used in school heaters during the winter. At the time, I did not know that this coal and its dust were the culprits of the abundant soot I saw around. This was 15 years ago.

In old Beijing homes, coal briquettes were used for cooking and heat until recently. The smoke that resulted was simply released to the outside, polluting the sky. In fact, a blue sky was detected a scarce 100 days or so during the year 1998 in Beijing City. This situation lies behind such comments as "Air pollution blocks the blue sky" and the existence of the "Blue Sky Movement." Though the situation has seen improvement through planning, complaints voiced regarding air pollution have not stopped. With that, China's government has enacted control measure after control measure to try and bring about a "Beijing Olympics under blue skies."
 
First, a change has been made from familiar coal energy to natural gas. In 2007, Beijing City led the nation in the number of households using natural gas. In addition, the 132 companies that lie to the east of the city in Shandong have been notified that if they do not meet standards for pollutant emissions, they will be shut down during the Olympic Games.

Further, the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau has mandated the shutting down of operations or limiting of production to 21 companies that have been identified as air pollution sources, for the three week period from July 20 to the conclusion of the Games. Also, the pollutant emissions of fossil-fuel power plants, metallurgical plants, and oil refineries in the city will be limited starting in August.

Recently, public service announcements by the government have appeared encouraging smiling handling of foreign visitors and better manners. While masterfully instilling patriotism in the people, the Chinese government is making a feverish dash to the finish-line to achieve the slogan "One Dream, One World." Though the rush might be criticized as too heavy-handed, China is quite amazing in its ability to achieve its goals, and this same ability might be one of its fear-instilling characteristics as well.

There is an expression, "Beijing's autumn heavens," which glorifies the autumn sky in Beijing, and we similarly hope to see "Beijing's blue heavens" during the upcoming Olympics.

*(photo at the right) Excepting those used for hauling fresh food, trucks will not be allowed to enter the Beijing Administrative Zone. During the Olympic Games might be a tough time to move to a new place. / (photo at the left) The names of Olympic host cities, which from the 1st Athens to the 29th Beijing, are written in order on the stairs of a subway station.

In China, there is a group of people known as "80 hou", or "after 80". The term refers to the 19-28 year-old generation who were born after the enactment of China's "One Child" policy in 1979. The members of this generation, also cynically called "little emperors", are not given much respect by society, as they are said to have been doted on by their parents and grandparents, raised without experiencing having to wait or let others have things, do not have to make efforts, and give up easily. A Japanese executive working at a Shenzhen factory where this author lives also complains, "Young people these days simply cannot persevere. When they tire or come to dislike something, they quit immediately."

To these people, who have grown up with China's rapid economic growth, a job is something "to make life more fun". With that philosophy, there are many who take their monthly pay, and spend it all instead of saving it. A newly coined phrase here is "ta jinji", meaning "female economic sense", and it refers to the product advertising wars being waged to win the hearts of female consumers. It is evidence of the consumer activities of women who have achieved greater economic power.

This has changed, however. This 1980s generation, previously looked upon with antagonism and resignation as "something hard to understand", has been praised during the Sichuan Earthquake disaster. Its members have not only proactively donated blood and performed charitable work, but have also rushed to affected areas as volunteers, carrying relief supplies and generally tried very hard to find ways to help.

Also, as phrases such as "Let's give our energy to the disaster areas", "We can change the world if we start by doing whatever we can, no matter how small, and combine our strength, starting with those around us", and "Let's show that our hearts are with those in disaster areas by wearing yellow ribbons" were proclaimed on the internet by the 1980s generation, people wearing yellow ribbons immediately began to appear all over China.

These relief efforts drawn from the conveniences of modern civilization were both precise and effective. Further, they showed that this generation has compassion for others, and changed the prevailing social view that they "Dream without having responsibility, have no sympathy, and are selfish."

As their messages - "It is our duty to think of what we can do for the disaster-affected people, share their pain, and offer our hands to them", "When a disaster occurs, it is our responsibility as Chinese people to act for our country" and others - were transmitted through the media, voices could be heard saying such things as "The 80 hou have grown up", and even "the 80 hou are our nation's strength".

There are said to be approx. 200,000,000 80 hou in China currently. China is in a state of great despair at this sudden tragedy, but conversely, it has provided moments where the future of China is seen as one filled with hope.

*(photo at the top) The high divorce rate of the 80 hou generation is becoming a social problem / (photo at the right) The cosmetics industry, which was a 200,000 Yuan market around 2001, has grown at a rapid pace to five times that in the past few years / (photo at the left) More people are concerned with style, and sports clubs, etc., are booming