The McDonald’s at Citic Plaza. It is mid-afternoon. Two Chinese males in their mid-20s snack on a medium pack of fries. They are clad in t-shirts, cargo shorts and flip-flops. A tall, albino white male sweeps by with his smoking hot girlfriend in tow.
Chinese Male #1: (whistles)
Chinese Male #2: Damn.
Chinese Male #1: That girl is hot.
Chinese Male #2: How did he manage that?
Chinese Male #1: Think about it this way. Even the old, ugly, fat white guys can get good looking girls, right?
Chinese Male #2: Yeah …
Chinese Male #1: So, did you see how white that guy was? He was super white! He can only have a super hot girlfriend.
Chinese Male #2: Good point.
Cutting in Line
Wednesday, August 12th, 2009This recent New York Times article “American Graduates Finding Jobs in China” has drawn lots of attention. It’s been making the email rounds since its release this morning and is currently the most popular article at New York Times Online.
（Side note: I deny having read “Pain of Being a Redhead.”)
Anyway, it’s a quick read which I recommend. But, since I know our readers don’t read, here’s the executive summary:
American Graduates are coming to China predominantly for three reasons:
I agree with all the three points but will ignore the first two because they don’t interest me. As for point #3, I see it all the time, sometimes even in the mirror. My question is, how much of it is merit based and how much is preferential treatment for foreigners? What would it take to change this reality? Thoughts or personal anecdotes, anyone?
On a related note, Junde wrote “9 reasons why Singaporeans should live and work in China” several months ago. It is more thorough and accurate than anything the New York Times could write. He also shorted Wall Street all last year and marks 2017 as the date North Korea opens up.
Tags: American in China, China Jobs
Posted in Food Reviews, Social Commentary | 5 Comments »