Catshanghai

John C Dvorak’s recent ranting and raving about China is highly entertaining, but his analysis has more holes in it than a lump of Swiss cheese.

To those who are unfamiliar, John C Dvorak is a well known tech writer, blogger (http://www.dvorak.org/blog), podcaster and curmudgeon who hosts Cranky Geeks and NoAgenda. No Agenda is an hour long dialogue between John C Dvorak and foul mouthed Internet millionaire, Adam Curry. The podcast is an hour long rambling rant with a great deal of swearing, paranoia and conspiracy theories about nothing in particular. The most recent episode from April 19th had John C Dvorak spouting his observations about China (Link: http://www.mevio.com/shows/?mode=profile&show=noagenda).

Here are some highlights:

• China is getting contracts for civil engineering projects in Africa, which it is using to sell computers and equipment at knockdown prices to locals through the grey market
• Malaysian Chinese businessmen are all triads and ruthless deal makers who are much more cut throat than their counterparts in Taiwan
• White people visiting China are treated much better than overseas Chinese
• Chinese artists cannot paint clouds properly, because the air is so polluted
• Everything in Shanghai is really cheap compared to Hong Kong, especially Coca Cola
• Mao suits and memorabilia are very difficult to find these days
• North Americans should visit Shanghai for a weekend to enjoy the restaurants and architecture by flying from Vancouver

To his credit, Dvorak says that the western media knows very little about everyday life in China and that you should come here to get a better understanding. He also confessed to hamming up the negative comments on his blog to elicit a range of responses, which he uses to broaden his understanding. Call him a wind up merchant or a class A devil’s advocate. I recommend that Dvorak reads Duncan Hewitt’s excellent account of modern China called Getting Rich First: Life in a Changing China. Unlike Dvorak, Hewitt has lived in China for over 20 years, speaks good Chinese and used to be the BBC correspondent so he knows what he is talking about.

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Tags: Dvorak, NoAgenda, China, Hewitt, Getting Rich First: Life in a Changing China