This recently published ranking is supposedly measures overall globalization, taken as some kind of composite of business activity, human capital, information exchange, cultural experience, and political engagement. New York, London, Paris, Tokyo and Hong Kong were the top 5. Beijing made it at #12, and Shanghai at #20.

Shanghai’s highest ranked aspect was business activity, at #8， while in the other aspects it didn’t too well, which, at least by their standards, makes sense: Shanghai has attracted a certain creative class to it, both local and foreign, but it’s not like they really wield that much influence. Don’t get me wrong, there are some good creatives here, meaning painters and poets, ad industry people, filmmakers, musicians, etc. etc. but maybe in terms of GDP they aren’t amounting to much yet at least compared to New York, London, Chicago, LA, etc. Cultural experience has improved, with more festivals and biennales and international galleries opening up branches here. Rock stars don’t think it’s altogether that strange to insert a Shanghai or Beijing dates into their concert tours. But as far as cultural experience and political engagement, Shanghai is not going to do that well, for one, Beijing is going to wield more political clout for obvious reasons.

The next few pages present some different groupings. Open cities have a free press, open markets, easy access to info and tech, cultural opportunities: and of course you get NY, London, and Paris at the top there.

Lifestyle centers: where you enjoy life: Toronto and LA. As mentioned before, in terms of best cities to do business, Shanghai ranks 8th and Beijing 9th. A shout out to my bruthas in Taipei–you made it in the top 20 (#19). You guys could learn a thing or two from the communists about how to do business. Technorati Tags: london, beijing, politics, lifestyle, culture, business

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OK, so internet addiction is old hat but I am continually amazed by the stuff that people will do just to get their fix. There are other, perhaps extenuating circumstances: broken homes, parental neglect, problems at school—but some young people in China are really falling through the cracks. Read an article about how an 18 yr old boy lived in an internet cafe for three years; he basically played games until he was too tired to go on and then would sleep. He developed some kind of pelvis infection and things finally caught up to him recently when he tried to get up to go the loo and could not move. They rushed him to the hospital and that’s how his story got picked up by the media. Internet addiction makes people do strange things. A third-year student at a Kunming university spent so much time on the net that he neglected to shower for three days.

A more in-depth story about the “black” net bars that cater to underage consumers with little cash is a bit more shocking. Xiao Xing, a middle school student, became so addicted to the internet that his parents were forced to get rid of the computer. With nowhere to get his fix the boy turned to the illegal net bars that are ensconced within regular apartments. There is obviously no signage: people who know, know where to go. Adults are not allowed in. There are often more than 10 computers stuffed into these apartments. Kids can surf the internet for 2 rmb/hour sans ID card.

When Mr. Chen, Xiao Xing’s father, went looking for his son, he went into one of the first net bars and a saw several computers, but no kids. Then he went to a second one, and again saw a bunch of computers, but no people. He noticed that the monitor lights and mouse lights were blinking. He sensed that these computers had recently been used. He heard a sound and opened a curtain to find several boys hunched and hidden behind it, staring out at him in fear. Xiao Xing wasn’t there. He told them “go home, your parents are going to get worried.”

The reporter managed to interview a kid (it might have been Xiao Xing, on the way home) and discovered that this was standard protocol at the illegal net bars: whenever someone knocks or comes in, the kids have to hide, behind curtains, in the bathroom, on the balcony, etc. People know about the existence of these places, but the strong arm of the law hasn’t done much to clamp down on this phenomenon: at most they took away some of the computers and restricted the number of computers able to access the internet from that apartment—but never were these people arrested or ordered to stop, which is, in my mind, what ought to happen.

One time when asked who all these kids surfing the internet were, the boss lady replied “these are all my relatives…oh and that boy is a friend of theirs.” Shameless. Just shameless.

These places mushrooms, you stamp them out in one place and they pop up somewhere else. All the parents that are trying to curb the excessive net addictions of their kids had best beware. If the heat is on one of the places, the kids can just go to another one nearby.
I really think they ought to just not let the owners of those apartments ever get online again, ever—or limit their connection to one computer.

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