asiamedia america boosing economy

IN-VEST-OR

Combiningentrepreneurshipand invention to

save lives– Page 31

Message from the Publishers

BOOST-IE can uplift

the American economy

PP resident Obama recently announced a call to action to

bring jobs back to America. We, as The Asian Heritage

Society and the magazine ASIA, have an initiative to

answer that call. Along with community and academic leaders

leaders and experts in business, science and technology, we are

inviting entrepreneurial talent in Asia to bring their innovative

ideas to us and we will nurture and help turn them into finished

products and American businesses.

It is our answer to outsourcing, which in the last ten years has

shifted thousands of low-paying jobs from America to countries

like China and India. We can’t fault companies shifting production

to areas where it can be done considerably cheaper. Those jobs, in

all likelihood, will not return to America. However, we are recruit-

ing a different commodity – talent – and encouraging that talent to

build their dreams here.

The initiative to do this is BOOST-IE™ (Business,

Organization, Opportunity, Science and Technology in support of

Innovation and Entrepreneurship) to help talented entrepreneurs

develop and launch new industries and products in fields of the

future while they learn all facets of doing business in America. We

call this “insourcing,” a word we coined in August of 2011.

BOOST-IE is also the title for a new magazine we are launching

and previewing in this issue. While the emphasis in ASIA, TheJournal of Culture & Commerce, will continue to focus on the

cross-fertilization of Asian and Asian American culture, issues and

events, along with features on business, beauty and buzz from an

array of columnists, BOOST-IE, the magazine, will provide assis-

tance in those important areas that entrepreneurs need to get their

projects off the ground.

Each issue, as outlined in this magazine’s supplement, will fea-

ture profiles of entrepreneurs, explore the burgeoning areas and dis-

ciplines of science and technology, help entrepreneurs organize and

promote their businesses and outline a variety of opportunities to

prosper.

“Outsourcing” as a trend has been a major force in devaluing

the American economy. The concept encourages business to hire

out tasks they believe can be done better, cheaper and more effi-

ciently. We can’t fault businesses for taking the initiative if it helps

turn out a better, more efficient product at a cheaper cost .

However, many of these businesses have gone further to relocate

their entire operation outside the U.S. in China, India and now even

Russia to escape taxes and circulating their incomes in the U.S. As

the President pointed out in his State of the Union address, the tide

is changing. The cost of doing business overseas in China, India

and elsewhere is increasing and will continue to increase as the

middle class grows in these countries, while companies are finding

out that outsourcing business to countries in Asia or elsewhere does

not save as much as they thought it would. If the President lives up

to his promise to end tax breaks for companies who outsource to

foreign countries, it will make outsourcing even costlier.

The world is flat, and we will always be competing more and

more in the global marketplace, not with thousands but with mil-

lions. We can’t change that, but we can create a new kind of excite-

ment in being the starting point for new ideas. BOOST-IE ™ is

one of them.

With BOOST-IE™ , we are encouraging talent from Taiwan,

South Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, India and, yes, China, to

bring their best ideas to America and we will help them create a

prototype and launch their product – with one proviso: What’s cre-

ated here stays here so that the slogan “Made In America” can

mean something again. If you want to learn more, email us at edi-

[email protected]

Vol. 11, Issue No. 2, Feb. 26-March 18, 2012/ Published by Asia Media America/ 619-683-7822/ [email protected]

2 ASIA

– Leonard Novarro and Rosalynn Carmen

See Pages 20-31

CONTENTS

The art of seductioncan be awfully

sweet, says BettyGuy-Wills.

See 3.

BEAUTY: Seeing eye to eye with feng shui expert AliceInoue is one way to get baby sleeping softly. See Page 34.

BIZ: Take stock of your pocketbook – and life. Dump thosecigarettes and save both, says Jason Alderman. See Page 32.

BUZZ: Republicans, move over for a true second party and let’s call it Republican,according to Tom Friedman. See Page 38.

BUZZ: ENOUGH SAID! Can overselling kill a good idea?Ask Wayne Chan. See Page 40.

BUZZ: Jeremy Lin has created a buzz. Now can he liveup to it? See Page 39.

THE LIGHTER SIDE: Our nation’s cartoonistshelp us cope with the good, bad and ugly. See Page 44.

Feb.26-March 18, 2012 ASIA 3

When the President calls, you come. UCSD’s Dr. Shu Chien dis-cusses sharing the stage with Barack Obama. See Pages 28-29.

Hong Kong, Asia’s entrepreneurial powerhouse, stalled by adrifting economy, reinvents itself. See Pages 4-5.

When Vienne Cheungturned her back on the

corporate world tolaunch a hosiery line, her

personal stock wentthigh high.

– See Pages 26-27

BY LEONARD NOVARRO

Nothing catches Hong

Kong better than its

own brand – a drag-

on with flowing ribbons of

blue, green and red.

Since its emergence as a

financial center after the

Communist takeover of China

in 1950, through its transition

as a major gateway to the main-

land after the British relin-

quished control in 1997, the

island of 7 million people

known as “Asia’s World City,”

has been in constant flux.

Through it all, it has never lost

its entrepreneurial spirit, sym-

bolized by flowing ribbons

evoking the blueness of an end-

less horizon, the green of a sus-

tainable environment and the

strength and the “red” character

of its “can do” spirit.

Once synonymous with the

word “outsourcing,” Hong

Kong’s preeminent position has

been supplanted by the main-

land, causing it to shift its

emphasis from manufacturing

to securing investment capital.

“We have plenty of money for

investment,” said Hong Kong

Commissioner Donald C.K.

Tong, in San Diego recently to

meet with business leaders.

With $250 billion handled by

the island state’s banks, “I

encourage San Diego to take

advantage,” he said in an inter-

view, during a break in a lunch-

eon hosted by the Hong Kong

Association of San Diego.

Hong Kong is guided by the

principle of “one country, two

systems," so it has a different

political system from mainland

China. The “Basic Law of

Hong Kong,” the state’s consti-

tutional document, says Hong

Kong shall have a "high degree

of autonomy,” and that was the

key ingredient Tong came to

town to sell. This independence

made it possible for Hong Kong

to emerge last year as the

world’s largest IPO market and

a venture capital center for bud-

ding industries. Hong Kong

last year jumped from fourth

place, passing London and New

York, to earn the top spot in the

World Economic Forum

Financial Development Index,

which rates 60 countries and

regions on several financial

indicators, including access to

capital, business environment,

financial services, transparency

and non-banking services

among them. Singapore cur-

rently ranks fourth.

Hong Kong remains the

major access to mainland China

– “We can cut down the cost of

doing business in China consid-

erably,” Tong explained – but

these days, the government

wants to be viewed as more.

Vibrant entrepreneurial activity

throughout Asia is positioning

Hong Kong as the “go to” part-

ner for American businesses

wanting to get a foothold in in

emerging Asian industries as

well as launching new indus-

tries of its own.

While Hong Kong has expe-

rienced fallout from the flag-

ging economies of the United

states and Europe – with its

GDP dipping from 5 percent to

1-3 percent last year, Tong says

the economy there is rebound-

ing with a 3.3. unemployment

rate being the best in the world.

He pegs growth this year in the

range of 4-6 percent. Thus, he

added, Hong Kong is ripe for

capital investment in new

industries, including one not

typically associated with Asian

markets – wine.

“Wine trading is becoming a

$1.1 billion industry. Hong

Kong is the third largest mar-

ket for U.S. wine,” said Tong.

“Why not start a wine industry

in Hong Kong?”

Hong Kong is also making

an extra effort this year to push

tourism. “Never put all your

eggs in one basket. So that’s

why we are expanding and not

just doing manufacturing, said

Tong,” explaining the region’s

emphasis on what it calls “the

four pillars” – launching IPOs,

serving as a financial hub,

boosting tourism and becoming

the world’s No. 1 wine market.

The region is still dedicated

to forging collaborations and

partnerships in providing access

to mainland China, which

remains the No. 1 manufacturer

and consumer in the region.

“China is like a big Boeing

jet,” said Tong. “Hong Kong is

one important engine. You can’t

fly a jet with one engine.”

Feb. 26-March 18, 2012 ASIA 5

HongKong Wants You

Outsourcing leader makes some bold moves

Nothing is as

it is cut out

to be, goes

the saying. And

nowhere is that truer

than in outsourcing.

For 15 years,

farming out low-

skilled jobs and relo-

cating countries out-

side the United states

have been heralded

by organizations such

as the Outsourcing

Institute as the only

way to meet the chal-

lenges of the new

global marketplace.

While some factors

support that notion,

more are not.

Outsourcing is a

process in which a

company contracts

with a provided out-

side the company to

perform a particular

service that might be

performed in-house.

President Obama,

in his state of the

Union address, and in

meetings with

American leaders, has issued a call to

reverse the trend many see as bleeding the

American economy. While the rush to out-

sourcing has been popular with many

American companies looking to save

money by having low-skilled functions in

billing and sales performed by workers in

English speaking countries such as India

and the Philippines. Meanwhile, China,

Mexico and now Vietnam have emerged

as manufacturing centers because of their

abundant supply of cheap labor.

However, with the rise of a middle

class in those countries, labor is becoming

more expensive. At the same time, the

Obama administration is pushing for

changes in the U.S. tax code that will ben-

efit industries that remain in America and

remove measures that protect businesses

that outsource.

How significant are the benefits and do

they outweigh the drawbacks? With input

from the PRLog, here’s a partial look.

Advantages:• Savings in overhead – Wage differ-

ential between the U.S. and other countries

make for cheaper labor. Plus, large compa-

nies are not obligated to pay medical and

other benefits, payrolls taxes, unemploy-

ment insurance and compensation for

working overtime since contracts are to

fulfill a specific function at a set cost.

• Quality – Third party provides,

because they are a specialized, usually

produce higher quality work.

• Access to specialized skills – A third

party is usually an expert in the service it

provides

• Less Liability –

Contractual obligations

place the onus on the pro-

vided to get the job done

accorsing to requirements

• Staffing – The pool of

a third party provided is

much larger than in-house

resources.

• Management –

Meeting a strict deadline

may require additional

help, which may not be

readily available in-house.

• Flexibility – While the

outsources manager is

expected to operate the

resources, company offi-

cials are freer to devote

time to expansion and out-

side issues affecting com-

petition.

Disadvantages:• Language – Even

though the company and

third party may share a lan-

guage, misunderstanding

cultural nuances can some-

times hamper communica-

tion

• Social responsibility

– Offshoring or relocating

a company outside the U.S.

reduces employment here, escapes tax

requirements and recirculates profits in the

economy of another nation

• Business culture – In house employ-

ee are more likely to understand of how

business operates in the U.S.

• Lack of creativity – While third par-

ties are expected to hold to specific tasks,

they are not called upon to provide cre-

ative input or solve in-house problems.

• Loss of confidentiality – Company

secrets or proprietary information

• Loss of direct management – The

further away geographically, the more dif-

ficult it is to control deliverables.

• Divided attention – The outsource

provider does not work exclusively for one

customer but for many.

6 ASIA Feb. 26-March 18, 2012

Outsourcing: Pros and consMore companies face more difficult decisions


By New America Media

SAN FRANCISCO – This city last week hosted the first

national Chinese-language public engagement forum, in which

federal immigration officials answered questions in Mandarin

and Cantonese about the U.S. naturalization process, aimed at

encouraging more Chinese immigrants to become U.S. citizens.

The forum included officials from the U.S. Citizenship and

Immigration Services (USCIS) in partnership with the

President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and

Pacific Islanders.

New America Media news anchor Odette Keeley spoke to

Daphne Kwok, who chairs the President’s Advisory

Commission on AAPIs about the forum and its importance.

Keeley: Why did the commission and USCIS officials feel

the impetus at this point in time to do this program in Chinese?

Kwok: Citizenship has long been a pressing issue for the

AAPI community. According to recent Department of

Homeland Security estimates, over 1 million AAPI legal perma-

nent residents are eligible to naturalize...According to the

USCIS, this is part of an ongoing effort to reach the diverse

communities it serves. In 2010 and 2011, USCIS began a

national engagement series in Spanish called “Enlaces” to meet

the needs of the Spanish-speaking community, which comprises

the largest population of non-native English speakers that come

before the agency. Chinese is the second most common lan-

guage, and as such, Jiao Liú sessions are a natural next step.

Keeley: Is this election year a factor in driving the commis-

sion and immigration officials to encourage Chinese immigrants

to become citizens?

Kwok: According to the USCIS, it is not a primary factor.

The agency explains, while citizenship is the primary topic for

the first, USCIS plans to focus on other areas of immigration

benefits in the coming months. Naturalization is one of the

areas where USCIS does the most work, receives the most

inquiries and processes the most cases. We at the commission

and USCIS, expect [to] meet the information needs of a large

percentage of the population we are aiming to reach with this

engagement.

Keeley: What kind of community and Chinese-media out-

reach did the commission and the USCIS undertake to let com-

munity members know across the country of this series of pub-

lic engagements? What kind of response did you receive?

Kwok: The USCIS reached out to the Chinese-American

community through the media, stakeholders and the general

public at large via the uscis.gov website… The USCIS’s role is

to serve as the official source for citizenship information and

resources so that individuals can make an informed decision,

and to ensure that those permanent residents who choose to

apply for citizenship are supported during the process.

Keeley: What has the commission and the USCIS found

out in terms of the most difficult obstacles to understanding and

accomplishing the U.S. naturalization process for Chinese

Americans, especially those who are not fluent in the English

language?

Kwok: The USCIS is committed to supporting those on the

path to citizenship with free and easy-to-use information

resources that help immigrants navigate the steps in the natural-

ization process. For non-native English speakers, regardless of

specific nationality, one of the most relevant issues is preparing

for the naturalization eligibility interviews and civics and

English reading and writing tests. USCIS provides information

in Chinese to assist applicants through the process.

Becoming a citizen: Forum provides impetus


(Editor’s Note: The following open-

ing is part of a report in the Los AngelesTimes on the visit of China Vice President

Xi Jinping to the United States. The

report was shared by the White House)

The Vice Presidents – Joe Biden and

Xi Jinping – sat down with a group of

governors from the U.S. and China in a

conference room at Disney Hall to talk

about trade and other economic issues.

Before the forum began, Biden, Xi and

California Gov. Jerry Brown were given a

tour of the main amphitheater at Disney

Hall by its architect, Frank Gehry.

Brown began by saying that good will

generated on Xi’s trip must be translated

into more concrete gains. “The good will

that is generated has to be made real and

operational,” he said.

Biden said increased trade with China

can help lift America out of its economic

doldrums. “It’s all about exports,” he

said, noting that trade with China has

increased by 200 percent in California

and more than 400% in Illinois. But with

the opportunities, there are also “impedi-

ments,” Biden said. “There are problems.

We’re going to overcome them.”

Xi said his five-day trip to the U.S.

had laid the groundwork for more coop-

eration. “A whole year’s work depends

on a good spring,” he said, quoting a

Chinese proverb. He said that at the after-

noon meeting, he hoped to “sow the

seeds” for more growth in trade between

the nations.

The relationship between the U.S. and

China is an important one for the future.

We know how President Obama and his

Administration feels about that. What

about the leading Republican candidates

opposing him? What are their views?

The following are taken from public

statements made by the candidates.

NEWT GINGRICH

He favors promoting economic ties

while taking a strong stand against

human rights abuses in China and else-

where (ABC). "We should be pressuring

everywhere," he said, "including Russia,

including China, including Cuba. We

should be pushing steadily and saying,

'America stands for

freedom.'"

He also advocates

student exchanges

and tourism. He told

PBS, "If the Chinese

people and the

American people

end up as friends we

will have a safer, freer and more prosper-

ous planet."

On the Fox program Hannity, Gingrich

argued that the United States should

worry more about itself than about

China's policies. "If we do the right

things in America, we can compete with

China and India for the next 100 years,"

he said.

RON PAUL

Paul, from Texas, supports free trade

with China and

noninterference

with China's inter-

nal affairs. "We're

much better off

talking to the

Chinese and trad-

ing with the

Chinese," Paul

says. He is skepti-

cal that trade imbalances between the

United States and China can be addressed

by strengthening the yuan relative to the

dollar.

Opposing the Currency Reform for

Fair Trade Act, which aimed to crack

down on countries like China with under-

valued currencies, he said lawmakers

needed to consider the benefits of U.S.-

China trade, "one of which is that

American consumers benefit from lower-

priced goods. Adopting the policy urged

by supporters of this bill would cause

consumer prices to increase, thus reduc-

ing consumers' wealth."

In December 2010, Paul opposed a

resolution condemning China's crack-

down on Nobel Prize - winning Chinese

democracy advocate Liu Xiaobo. "I do

not believe it is our place, as members of

the U.S. Congress, to dictate internal pol-

icy to the Chinese government," he said

on the House floor.

MITT ROMNEY

He promotes a

U.S. policy toward

China that encour-

ages "Beijing to

embark on a course

that makes conflict

less likely and con-

tinues to allow

cooperation with the

United States, economic opportunity, and

democratic freedom to flourish across

East Asia." He advocates strong military

capability in the Pacific, deepening coop-

eration with India and other regional

allies, a strong defense of human rights,

and incentivizing China to pursue fair

free trade policies.

In an op-ed in the Washington Post in

October 2011, Romney wrote that China

systematically exploits other economies

by enabling theft of intellectual property,

and favoring and subsidizing domestic

producers. In an October 2011

Republican debate Romney said as presi-

dent he would issue an executive order

declaring China a currency manipulator.

In the Republican foreign policy

debate in November 2011, Romney said

the United States has leverage over China

that it could use to demand better trading

terms.

RICK SANTORUM

Santorum sees

China as part of a

"gathering storm"

of security threats

facing the United

States, including

Iran and

Venezuela, he told

Secure Freedom

Radio in June 2011. He would like to see

the United States take a stronger stand

with China and wants to rebuild the

United States so that it can be a stronger

player on the world stage.

In an October 2011 Republican

debate, Santorum said in reference to

trade issues with China, "I don't want to

go to a trade war, I want to beat China."

Republican candidates speak out on China

10 ASIA Feb. 26-March 18,2012


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Thai American Association of San Diego

Sunday, March 18, 2012 (2.00 pm 5.00 pm)

Wat BuddhajakraMongkolratanaram 139 W. 11th Avenue, Escondido, CA 92025

Hosted by: Thai American Association of San Diego (TAASD)

Sponsored by: Dr. Charles

Chronic Hepatitis B is a serious disease and a silent killer in Asian population. Up to 2 million people in the US live with chronic hepatitis B, over half of them are Asian Americans. It is estimated that 1 out of 10 Asian Americans has chronic hepatitis B. About 1 in 4 people chronically infected during childhood may die prematurely from liver cancer or cirrhosis if not treated. Chronic hepatitis B is the cause of 80% of all primary liver cancers. Recent news reported that immunity from the 3 prevention Hepatitis

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THE GOOD

THE BAD

THE UGLY

In the amoral milieu of the corporate bottom line, you can't

blame Tokyo Electric Power Co. for trying. Tepco owns the six-

reactor Fukushima complex that was wrecked by Japan's March

11 earthquake and smashed by the resulting tsunami. It faces more

than $350 billion in compensation and clean-up costs, as well as

likely prosecution for withholding crucial information that may

have prevented some radiation exposures and for operating the

giant station after being warned about the inadequacy of its pro-

tections against disasters.

So, when the company was hauled into Tokyo District Court

by the Sunfield Golf Club, which was demanding decontamina-

tion of the golf course, Tepco lawyers tried something novel. They

claimed the company isn't liable because it no longer "owned" the

radioactive poisons that were spewed from its destroyed reactors.

"Radioactive materials that scattered and fell from the

Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant belong to individual landowners

there, not Tepco," the company said. This stunned the court, the

plaintiffs and the press. An attorney for the golf club said, "We are

flabbergasted...."

– Truthout

The 2011 Kyoto Prize in “Arts and Philosophy” was presented

to Tamasaburo Bando V of Japan, an actor who has created his

own unique world of traditional Kabuki theater and contributed to

many other genres of performing arts. He has delivered acclaimed

performances in onnagata (Kabuki female roles), establishing

himself as a tate oyama, or leading actor of female roles, in the

contemporary Kabuki scene. Tamasaburo has devoted his life to

the craft from childhood, making his stage debut at the age of

seven. At 19 he was selected to play the role of Princess Shiranui

in the Kabuki drama, Chinsetsu Yumiharizuki (“The Moon Like a

Drawn Bow”). Beyond the world of Kabuki theater, he has been

featured by the Metropolitan Opera and performed with renowned

artists from around the globe. His films include Gekashitsu (“The

Operating Room”), which he co-wrote and directed, and Andrzej

Wajda’s “Nastasja”. Tamasaburo’s artistry makes a multifaceted

world come alive in numerous different performing arts.

According to the New York Times, workers at a factory in

Shenzhen, China, owned by Foxconn (a company that manufac-

tures iPhones, iPads and other devices for Apple) regularly work

sixteen-hour, seven-day work weeks.

They stand until their legs swell and they can’t walk, and they

perform repetitive motions on the production line for so long that

some permanently lose the use of their hands. To cut costs, man-

agers make workers use cheap chemicals that cause neurological

damage. There has been a rash of suicides at the Foxconn plant,

and 300 workers recently threatened to jump off the roof over a

safety and pay dispute. In short, as one former Apple executive

told the New York Times, "Most people would be really disturbed

if they saw where their iPhone comes from."

Apple has tried to play an important role in ensuring safe and

fair working conditions for the workers at its suppliers, like

Foxconn. In 2005, the company released a supplier code of con-

duct, and it performs hundreds of audits each year in China.


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Business Demands

Experience shows that companies with a long-

term vision always prevail overthose that

emphasize short-term profitability, according

to Eric Viardot, author of “The Timeless Principles of

Successful Business Strategy.”

The economic reality of the last four to five years

has thrust many companies into unfamiliar territory –

bankruptcy. Those that did survive had to turn to gov-

ernment agencies for help.

Viardot says the fault is not with the economy but

with the managers of these corporations who “forgot

the basic strategic rules and steered their companies

towards disaster or a total collapse.”

Greed and free credit of course underlined most

make-a-buck-quick decisions. Coupled with a lack of

respect for customer intelligence, not noticing changes

in the global marketplace and underestimating risks --

failure was inevitable.

This should be a lesson for the future. And lesson

No. 1 – establish a strategy and be flexible about it.

“By invoking lessons learned from academic

research, from works undertaken by large consulting

firms on strategy, as well as the practical experiences

of companies that have stood the test of time,” busi-

ness leaders can learn a lot. To the benefit of those

who wuill listen, Viardot has chunked together much

of the teaching and built on them to create a set of

premises that he believes will work to reestablish the

footing or create new footing for business in the

decade ahead.

The smart company, says Viardot, sharp business

leaders don’t wait for a sunny economic climate to

plan new strategies or to revise old ones. In fact, the

best time to take action is when things look flat. That’s

precisely when to look for opportunity – in times of

Split

Thinking


crisis – when those businesses destined to fail do just

the opposite.

“Sustainable businesses have an ulterior purpose

beyond money. For them, profitability is a means but

not an end,” writes Viardot. “In fact they know that,

apart from financiers and some shareholders, few are in

love with profits…To sustain, they envision the world

differently and they share that dream with their cus-

tomers, their employees, future employees and all those

who at one time or another are in contact with them.”

The key question a business leader must ask: Do I

want to make a profit now, or can we wait?

If the answer is later, innovation and quality become

the priorities.

“Experience shows that companies with a long-term

vision always prevail over those that emphasize short-

term profitability,” says Viardot. “We have seen recent

examples in such industries as automobile, electronics,

air transport and banking, to name a few.

A grand design is also useful in the short-term to

channel energies in the right direction, especially in tur-

bulent periods of growth or crisis.”

Such as now.

But the situation would be much more complex for

large firms that annually recruit several thousand new

employees in ten different countries throughout the

world. In addition, when they are no longer able to find

the right profiles internally, they recruit externally for

managers to supervise these new hires. However, these

external managers seldom master immediately the cul-

ture of the company they have just joined, not any more

than the principles and values they need to communi-

cate to their subordinates.

This is when the corporate design plays a key role in

structuring the behavior and roles of all new employees.

Viardot argues that all firms know that when an

internal crises arises pitting stakeholders, shareholders

and employees against each other, having a “great com-

mon purpose” can be a catalyst for bringing people

together in a common cause.

“Sustainable businesses are those that know how to

make good use of economic crises and do not let them-

selves be destroyed by them,” writes Viardot, adding

that the lack of common purpose “can aggravate into

fratricidal conflicts in which division directors spend

more time quarreling among themselves than fighting

against external competitors.”

The result is disintegration.

Whether a company or business can do more than

just continue, but grow and prosper in the long term, “is

the result of a dream come true.”

Adds Viardot: “ This dream thrills the employees, the

investors and the partners of the firm. But this may hap-

pen only if it touches customers, since nothing is possi-

ble without them.”


o Organize thosebusiness cards witha purpose in mind

FROM WIKIHOW

Contact information is funda-

mental to networking and business

communications. When you receive

a business card, take the time to

make sure it ends up somewhere

that you can find the information

again when you need it. Whether

you own your own business or just

network a lot, by organizing your

business cards, you’ll be able to

find people quicker, which can lead

to more sales and more money in

your pocket. Here are some ideas on

how to organize your business

cards.

1. Look at the business card as

soon as you receive it. Reading the

business card is a good way to

remember someone's name and con-

nect it with their face. The person's

title is usually printed on a business

card, too, meaning that you have

one more clue about who they are

and what they do.

2. Have a place to put business

cards that you receive. If you carry

a notebook or bag with you to meet-

ings, set aside a place in it for busi-

ness cards. Or, use the second pock-

et on your own business card carrier

to collect cards you receive.

Whatever you do, don't stick them

in your notes willy-nilly or stuff

them in a pocket where they'll go

missing or go through the wash.

3. Organize contact information

on your computer. When you return

from a business lunch, trade show

or meeting, immediately put the

business cards you received in a

safe place, such a desk drawer or

something out of the reach of other

people is ideal. When you have

time, grab all the business cards that

have piled up in your desk drawer,

and type all of the information into

Outlook, Excel, Access or even

Word.

4. Use a “Notes” field or column

that goes with each business card’s

electronic file. Note

down any information that wasn't

on the card: what they do, what

information or prospects they

offered, when you met them, and so

on.

5. Create a rating system for

great business contacts, so-so or

potential business contacts and

those that you’ll probably never talk

to again. You could use a number-

ing system: all 1s are great, 2s are

so-so and 3s you’ll never talk to, or

you could use a creen, yellow and

red stoplight system respectively.

Use a system you won’t forget so

that you can categorize your con-

tacts.

6. Arrange the contacts the way

you need them. You could alphabet-

ize by last name, or you can also

categorize by alphabetical order of

name or company; city where you

met the person if you travel often;

or by category of industry. This way

you can just type in the info you

know into a Search box and come

up with a list of contacts qualified

for your search. Many computer

contact organization systems can

sort contacts any way you need

them and make them searchable, in

case you can only remember some

part of what's there. If you can use

one of these systems, you can save

yourself a lot of manual filing.

7. Organize business cards the

old-fashioned way. Keep the cards

in a Rolodex or business card hold-

er. You can find business card hold-

ers in office supply stores. The old-

fashioned way, even if it consists of

a rubber band in your desk drawer,

can be a good backup for the com-

puterized information.

8. Whenever you get a new busi-

ness card, write down the name of

the place where you met the person

on the back of the business card

within a few days of meeting. This

way, you won’t forget. Also jot a

brief note on the back about what

you talked about. Then when you

contact the person later, you can

remind him where you met and ask

how his kids are doing, or whatever

you talked about.

1

2

3

4

rganization

5



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Fashion

Her Way

pportunityO

Designer brings abold look to adainty garment


Doing business in Italy is culturally comfortable, said Cheung.

“There are a lot of similarities to Asian culture,” she explained.

“Loyalty, family and the friends aspect if it are very close to

home.”

Cheung sees her business doubling in the next year. The only

thing that could hold it back is the stigma sometimes attached to

stockings as being sexually provocative, unlike Europe, where the

undergarment is acceptable in everyday wear.

Even though ASPIRE is part of her past, its message motivat-

ing Asian women has remained with Cheung, who, on her own,

travels through

the Northeast

mentoring g col-

lege and high

school students

on entrepreneur-

ial careers. “It’s

my mission to

inspire young

Asian girls,” she

said.

BY LEONARD NOVARRO

Opportunity sometimes comes when you least expect it.

For Vienne Cheung, it came with the impending

agreement that the governance of Hong Kong would

pass from Great Britain to Communist China. With less than 10

years remaining, “everyone was trying to get out of Hong Kong,”

recalled Vienne Cheung, who was six years old when her parents

emigrated in 1988 to the United States, settling in Massachusetts.

The main resource they brought with them was an entrepre-

neurial spirit. “It was still in my mind – my father having his own

business,” recalled Cheung, who nurtured a dream she hoped to

achieve as well. Now, that day is here. Take that Hong Kong spir-

it, mix it with American ingenuity, sprinkle it with a touch of

scandal, top it with an Italian flavor and – voila! – you have

Vienne Milano. Less than a year old, the company specializing in

thigh high stockings in bold colors and designs, to paraphrase

“Star Trek,” had boldly gone where no one had gone before.

Prior to founding the company, working for others in the cor-

porate world, “I had always been doing fashion,” said Cheung,

now 30. “As a girl, I designed dresses and in college interned for

a fashion designer in Boston. The idea of starting a fashion busi-

ness came with a practical approach.

“Whenever I’d travel to Europe, I would always bring a lot of

fashion accessories back,” she told one interviewer. And that

included plenty of stockings “Stockings are a true fashion com-

plement, as they can define the outfit in every occasion. By wear-

ing thigh highs, a woman gains a little glamorous secret that pro-

vides her with an extra boost of confidence.”

Cheung loved the look of nylon stockings but could not find

them to suit her fancy. At the same time, she came across many

women who felt the same. For one, exposed legs in the middle of

a Massachusetts winter is not that appealing. She solved the prob-

lem by incorporating a strong material she calls 3D, making her

product suitable for winters in the northeast.

The next test – where to manufacture. She chose Milan, after

Paris the most fashionably conscious city in Europe, where she

had traveled often, to find the material and supplier she needed.

Hence the name for her firm. The stockings, which range from

$39 to $79 a pair, can be ordered online at viennemilano.com

“Pantyhose are very uncomfortable. I wanted to create a prod-

uct for women to feel elegant and playful and, at the same time,

sexy – a product that women can wear in winter and still be styl-

ish and fashionable,” said Cheung., who founded Vienne Milano

after spending two years as executive director of ASPIRE (Asian

Sisters Participating in Reaching Excellence.) Prior to that, she

worked as a web designer for a dot com company. “My career

there went from doing design to on-line marketing, then technolo-

gy,” she recalled. “I loved launching products, but after five years

of it in software products, it was not the right fit,” added Cheung,

who preferred being more creative.

This is not her first attempt at starting her own business. Eight

years ago, with a friend, she opened a photo studio. “The biggest

lesson I learned was not to go into business with a friend,” she

said.

Cheung’s fashion ambition was helped along by a venture cap-

italist firm with a multi-product portfolio. “They allow companies

with ideas to bring products to the States and market it to

Americans,” Cheung explained. “Most of the products in their

portfolio are from Europe – cigars, pharmaceuticals.”

Vienne Cheung in her role as mentor

cience

Dr. Shu Chien: Genial GiantGenial GiantS & echnology

His research on the

mechanical structure

of the cardiovascular

system is at the

heart of advances

tackling this nation’s

No. 1 killer

T

Dr. Shu Chien in his office at UCSD


Story by Leonard Novarro

Photo by Rosalynn Carmen

“Science is the founda-tion of our economy. Thestrength of a nation todayis no longer judged byhow much militarystrength you have, but byyour economic strength”and “the basis of that isscience and technology. Ifyou want a strong nation,you have to build scienceand technology.”

WWhen you’ve fled China

to escape

Communism…when

you’ve pioneered the

science of bioengineering as well as

groundbreaking research on the cardio-

vascular system… when you’ve served as

president of four leading organizations in

your field…when your work has been

regarded as seminal in your field for

almost 50 years …and when your office

wall is literally wallpapered in plaques

and awards – what does a medal matter?

Everything, if you are Dr. Shu Chien,

founding director of UCSD’s Institute of

Engineering in Medicine, especially if it

comes from the president of the United

States.

Dr. Chien, a humble man, almost to

the point of being shy, with a gentle and

genial demeanor, recently recalled the

experience of being summoned to the

White House in October of last year to be

among seven scientists receiving the

National Medal of Science in a special

ceremony. Third in line to receive the

award, Dr. Chien watched his first two

colleagues as they fixed stares on the

military officer reading each citation.

When his turn came, he turned to

President Obama and as their eyes met,

the citation took on a very special mean-

ing.

“It was a great honor and privilege to

meet the President and to be so close in a

very personal way,” Dr. Chien recalled.

“I thanked him for the support he has for

science. It is great for our nation to have

a leader who emphasizes science.”

Calling science “the foundation of our

economy,” Dr. Chien added: “The

strength of a nation today is no longer

judged by how much military strength

you have, but by your economic

strength” and “the basis of that is sci-

ence and technology. If you want a strong

nation, you have to build science and

technology.”

Looking back at 1948, the year his

father, a well-known chemist in Beijing,

decided to take his family to Taiwan,

being there in the White House would

have been the furthest thing from his

mind. In fact, it was unthinkable. But

Taiwan is where the path began. That’s

where he met Columbia University car-

diovascular physiologist Magnus

Gregersen, who invited him to join the

faculty of Columbia University in New

York.

By 1967, with an already established

reputation in research, he published three

papers in the journal Science, which

offered insights into how the blood flows.

Richard Skalak, a researcher in the fledg-

ling field of bioengineering, read the arti-

cles, contacted Dr. Chien, and it was the

beginning of a long collaboration that

only ended with Skalak’s death in 1997.

Both spent much of their lives study-

ing red blood cells, how they worked,

how they delivered oxygen. Eventually,

by employing various technologies in rel-

atively new fields such as nanotechnolo-

gy, biophysics and biomechanics, their

work led to an understanding of the phys-

iological paths and mechanisms of the

cardiovascular system, as well as how

blood cells grow and die.

In 1988, Dr. Chien left Columbia for

UCSD, where six years later he founded

the Department of Bioengineering. Since

then he has served as president of the

American Physiological Society,

Biomedical Engineering Society,

Microcirculatory Society and

International Society of Biorheology.

Last August, he also received the Asian

Heritage Award in the category of health

and Medicine.

Melding biology, medicine and engi-

neering into a practice of its own, Dr.

Chien’s research for the last two decades

has focused on the mechanisms by which

mechanical forces such as pressure and

flow affect blood cell behavior in blood

vessels and how they interact with vessel

lining, all of which has led to advanced

treatment of the nation’s No. 1 killer,

heart disease, and other cardiovascular-

related illnesses such as strokes and high

blood pressure.

“Shu’s work has been so important in

showing us the fundamental things that

can go wrong in the cardiovascular sys-

tem, particularly as it applies to disease,”

Frank Martin, executive director of the

American Physiological Society, told the

San Diego Union-Tribune in a story

about the medal.

Dr. Chien’s work is credited with the

establishment of bioengineering as a dis-

cipline, in itself, by looking at the human

body as a series of engineering mecha-

nisms. Studies in the field eventually led

to the invention of advances such as the

pacemaker, stents, magnetic resonating

machines and artificial joints, to name a

few.

“Today, bioengineering is becoming

very popular,” said Dr. Chien, 80.

A corollary of his science award has

been recognition from the Chinese and

Chinese American communities.

“Chinese people here say ‘This is an

honor for us.’ I go to China and they say

the same thing,” said Dr. Chien. “I am

honored to get this award not only for

myself but for our community.”


Innovation

In the 1960s Edward

DeBono, a British neu-

rologist, introduced the

world to the concept of ‘‘lateral

thinking.’’ In confronting prob-

lems, most of us think “vertical-

ly,” or in linear fashion, probing

until a solution seems evident.

Lateral thinking, at the heart of

innovation, however, involves

shifting the emphasis somewhere

else.

While lateral thinking is diffi-

cult, it is more rewarding. This

method has been termed “serious

creativity,” and I is at the heart of

innovation. In their book, “The

Power of Strategy Innovation,”

authors Robert E. Johnston Jr. and

J. Douglas Bate contend that inno-

vators have to think about think-

ing.

“Strategic planning in most

companies is a process that mere-

ly extends the previous strategy

into the future. Even when senior

executives invite ‘out of the box’

thinking, most managers do not

know how to go about exploring

beyond the existing strategic

framework.” So write Johnston

and Bate.

So how does a leader encour-

age the kind of true “out-of-the-

box” thinking that ends in new

and innovative ideas that can not

only propel a company or busi-

ness into the future, but elevate it

among its competition?

In their book, the authors use

as an example the success of the

Eli Lilly pharmaceutical company.

The company “speculated there

could be a dramatic shift in drug

discovery and development within

infectious disease.” Instead of

adjusting to that development, the

company decided to look else-

where to its future. While most of

Lilly’s product portfolio was tar-

geted to bacterial disease, senior

management saw the shift toward

viral or fungal diseases and com-

mitted to tackling them.

John Paton, CEO of Digital

First Media, last year began a con-

ference of newspaper executives

with this: “As career journalists

and managers we have entered a

new era where what we know and

what we traditionally do has final-

ly found its value in the market-

place, and that value is about

zero.”

Rather than deconstruct and

rethink to create a newspaper

strategy that adds new media such

as Twitter, Facebook and You

tube, to its print base, “there is no

general model for newspapers to

replace the one the Internet just

broke,” he said.

“In the United states our key

customers have abandoned us.

Now, more Americans get their

news via the web…The fact that

our industry, with few notable

exceptions, does not understand

that and continues to plow on by

slashing editorial, research, mar-

keting and even sales resources to

meet profit expectations is simply

stupid.”

This, in essence, is the short-

term strategy that ultimately leads

to failure, as Johnston and Bate

have pointed out.

Instead of decrying all the

competition filling the Web, says

Paton, embrace it: “Understand

the crowd’s value and add your

value to theirs and turn the crowd

from a competitor into a col-

league.”

That is lateral thinking. That is

innovation.

Thinkinglaterally

The powerof strategyinnovation


Awave came, and only one family member remained. It was

not a film or television show everyone was watching, but real

life as typhoon Ondoy ripped through the Philippines in

2009.

“No one is safe,” thought Danvic Briones, husband and father of

two children. With more super typhoons, earthquakes and disasters

like the combined earthquake.tsunami that struck Japan a year later,

something had to be done. “I was so affected by what I saw, that I

made it my personal project to prepare anyone for disaster, no matter

how severe,” said Briones. Last year, after many prototypes and sleep-

less nights, Briones launched his Rescue 72 vest, a floating-receptacle-

grab-and-go-vest-bag designed to meet the challenges of climate

change and natural disasters.

The device combines protection (a flotation feature for typhoons

and flash floods) and basic necessities (food, clothing and shelter) in

the event of disasters, natural or manmade. Features include a rain-

hood, durable shoulder strap that can link to the vests of other mem-

bers of a family or a tree, a pocket radio and cell phone, whistle,

strobe light, first aid kit, tool compartment, reflectors, identification

holder, adjustable waist strap, groin strap, food compartment, clothes

and personal effects bag, water holders and even a five-by-four-by-

four tube tent that doubles as ground cover or a dressing room.

Rescue72, as the name implies, helps a person survive for 72 hours

until help comes. It can also equip rescue workers with the capacity to

find, help and assist disaster victims, an invaluable asset to any local

government, rescuers and civilians alike.

Briones’ most daunting task was finding a pattern maker and man-

ufacturer. He finally found someone specializing in outdoor bags, but

he took three months to finish the first prototype. After several refine-

ments (and several prototypes), in a little over a year and a half, the

vest was ready for production. His most daunting task these days is

making production cost effective. Currently, he relies on a partner in

the Philippines, although he’d prefer to find someone closer to his

new home, Vancouver, B.C., Canada.

Briones, his wife Melissa, an attorney, and their two children, had

to move back to the Philippines from San Diego. “Under Section 245i

of the Immigration and Nationality Act, we could stay in the U.S., but

we couldn’t work. And this very impediment was killing us inside,”

said Melsisa Briones. “We could have waited for my immigrant or

work petition to be approved, but we weighed this with rosy prospects

in the Philippines,” she said. Returning to the Philippines enabled her

to obtain a law degree and inspired her husband to go into business for

himself. The couple left of their own volition and face a long wait if

they are to reapply for entry to the U.S. To his credit, President

Obama, recognizing the

loss of immigrant talent

like Briones, is trying

to relax the law to

allow entrepreneurs to

enter, create, develop

and remain in America,

where they may start

new industries.

For now, Danvic

and Melissa Briones,

with their children,

enjoy permanent resi-

dency in Vancouver.

“Despite returning

to the Philippines, we,

of course, wanted

opportunities for our

children. We know that if they are citizens of a first world country,

more doors will open for them. We know this was possible in the

U.S. if we could only have waited, but waiting was not an option,”

said Danvic.

“We were scared most of the time, although we knew we could

stay. Not being able to work, not being able to study, not being able to

grab opportunities – it could get really tiring living like that. We chose

instead to be proactive – to go home and upgrade ourselves,” added

his wife. “Besides, if we did not go home, Danvic could not have

invented the vest bag.

“The product is so important because of climate change,” added

Melissa. “Disasters will always be there, and it seems there are more

and more happening at the present time. The message is preparedness

and the vest gives that. It gives a person better chances of survival,

whether from natural or man-made disasters, because it contains the

basics – food, clothing, shelter. The plus factor is that it floats.”

While global warming advocates contend that water is seeping

inland as coastlines disappear, some land masses are disappearing

altogether because of the polar ice caps melting. “With the vest, a per-

son increases his chances to save himself, and the chance that he can

save another person,” Danvic said. “And because he is prepared, he

has presence of mind. When he has presence of mind, he commits less

mistakes so, hopefully, he will be alive when rescuers come.”

Entrepreneurship

VEST VEST PROTECTORPROTECTOREntrepreneur’s goalis to save lives


The Briones family outside their home

After four years

of coping with a stagnant economy, probably

the last thing you want to hear is how impor-

tant it is to sock away money for a rainy day

– you already know that. But hear me out,

just in case.

Those who struggle with long-term unem-

ployment or under-employment often simply

don't have spare cash available to save.

Others, worn out by years of being frugal,

just want to buy things again.

Even as we wait for economic recovery

it's still good to remember – or perhaps learn

for the first time – why saving is so vital:

• You could lose your job or see your

wages cut. Most financial experts recommend

having at least six to nine months' income

saved for emergencies, but even $500 could

help bail you out of a sticky situation.

• If you're approaching or in retirement,

your net worth has probably been hammered

by plummeting home and retirement account

values in recent years.

•I f nothing else, you can teach your chil-

dren good financial habits that will serve

them well during hard times.

So where can you learn sound savings

habits? One great resource is America Saves

(www.americasaves.org), a national campaign

sponsored by more than 1,000 non-profit,

government and corporate organizations.

Their goal is to encourage people from all

income levels to save money and build per-

sonal wealth using their free financial tools,

savings services, advice and other resources,

including:

• A Personal Wealth Estimator that helps

you calculate your current net worth and esti-

ma

This year's America Saves Week, "Set a

Goal, Make a Plan, Save Automatically," was

slated for February 19-26, 2012.

Here are some great ways to start saving

that first $500:

• Direct deposit part or all of your federal

tax refund into a savings account or savings

bond.

• Avoid overdraft and late fees by regular-

ly monitoring your bank and credit card

accounts.

• Brown-bag it to work more often. If you

saved $5 a week, you'd be half-way there.

• Kick bad habits. Smoking a pack of cig-

arettes a day might cost $2,000-plus a year.

• If you have low-deductible homeowners,

renters or auto insurance, consider raising the

deductible to $500 or $1,000. Many save 15

to 30 percent or more on their premiums.

Saving can be a tough habit to start, but

once you're hooked, you'll never go back.

(Jason Alderman directs Visa's financialeducation programs. To Follow JasonAlderman on Twitter:www.twitter.com/PracticalMoney )

Your Money Matters

by Jason Alderman

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BEAUTY/Looking Good by Betty Guy Wills

Love and seduction

The first Valentines

Day was celebrated in

England and France

during the 14th Century. The

date of February 14th was a tra-

ditionally the beginning of the

mating season for all birds.

By the time the 17th Century

rolled around it became a prac-

tice on this date for lovers to

refer to each other as their

Valentines. From this reference

grew the Valentines Day that we

celebrate today.

What a better time than

NOW to learn about love and

seduction. Seduction creates

sexual anticipation for both the

man and the woman and is

many times neglected when

people have been dating or shar-

ing the same bedroom for a long

period of time. Seduction can be

flirting, creating a mood with

romantic music with an environ-

ment of soft floral fragrances,

and low lighting. Caressing and

massaging the body,finger and

palm kissing and lovingly

stroking the back of the neck

and arms are truly seductive.

Try lightly touching the face,

playing tootsie up and down

your partners' leg while dining

or giving a coffee kiss by slowly

sucking coffee from your part-

ners' mouth into yours.

Discreetly squeezing your part-

ners' thigh or crossing your leg

over his or hers while sitting

side by side in a restaurant will

ignite those sparks. Whispering

words of love with your lips

brushing softly on the ear with

tiny licks lures your partner

closer to you. Teeny love bites

on the ear lobes is really electri-

fying. These a just a few things

to try and more will come to

mind as you proceed.

The perfect gift if giving sen-

suous pleasure to your sweet-

heart. Feed your lover his or

her favorite foods like: choco-

late dipped strawberries, pineap-

ple chunks, grapes, chocolate

truffles, etc., before, during and

after making love. Before kiss-

ing trace your partner's lips and

tongue with your tongue includ-

ing the corners of the mouth,

and just below the lower lip

working down the chin and

neck…you'll feel more sensual

vibes than the famous

French kiss.

The love act is

nature's mechanism to

release tension. When

there is sexual fulfillment

all the energies from ten-

sion are freed. Your

nerves can send electrify-

ing messages to all your

organs, cells and muscles,

signaling the blood to

notify every single

minute cell in the body

that you are being loved.

A glow illuminates the face and

eyes creating your good looks

and beauty from within.

Cultivate love! If you don't

have the time for your

Valentine, when will you have

the time? Your life can be really

busy at times, and you may be

the busiest person in the world,

but having a loving relationship

isn't about having the time, but

for you to find the time! When

you get a free minute and your"

important other" is really busy,

you can still devote the time to

send a poem, or e-mail a love

note or send a text message like

"you're da' man!", or" you're my

one and only!" The idea is to

prioritize like: a spontaneous

meeting, negotiate a compatible

time slot, or stay up a bit later

that usual for a little "good

lovin'". Valentines' day can start

right at this moment and with

practice can last the whole year

through! " Don't fight the feel-

in"! I guarantee you will keep

that smile on your face and be

very happy and much healthier!

(Betty Guy-Wills is a colum-nist/writer, consultant and moti-vational speaker. You may writeher at P.O. Box 10713 BeverlyHills CA 90213 )


Does feng shui apply to children’s

rooms or is it just an adult thing?” I

get this question quite often and

despite what many people may think, children

are even more sensitive to the energy in a home than

adults are.

Most of us know that giving children a lot of

sugar or caffeine makes them hyper and that when

children are hot and uncomfortable, they become irri-

table, but we often ignore the effects of environmen-

tal energy on children’s behavior and emotional well-

being.

In feng shui, energetic stimulation, although invis-

ible, has a tangible effect on children’s thoughts, atti-

tude, health, and work habits. The same way a remote control emits an

invisible signal that causes a television to react, the things in our envi-

ronment emit invisible signals to which we react.

Your child’s sleeping habits may be an indication that his or her

bedroom is energetically uncomfortable. So if you find your son or

daughter in bed with you more often than not, follow these guidelines

to help your child develop in the most positive way.

Sleeping position is important. In feng shui, how your children are

positioned in the bedroom is related to how they learn to position

themselves in life. The better the position, the more empowered they

feel.

• Position the bed as far from bedroom door as possible, but place

it so that the child can easily see the door.

• The headboard is best placed against a solid wall. If it is against

a window, make sure the window has drapes, and draw the drapes at

night.

• Leave room to walk around each side of the bed (don't push one

side against the wall).

Bunk beds are great space savers, but feng shui doesn’t promote

using them. The child on the bottom is confined by the energy of the

top bed “pressing down” on him or her, which is thought to limit natu-

ral expression and expansion in life. Energetically, the child on the

top bunk is so far from the ground that stability and security may

become issues.

EMFs are harsh energies emitted by electronic devices. They can

disrupt sleep, so keep your child’s body at least two feet away from

computer towers and monitors, televisions, and

power strips.

Bedrooms should be "yin" or quiet. Light,

mirrors, which reflect light, and aquariums, foun-

tains, and electronic buzzing, can create "yang" or lively

energy in a bedroom, making it harder to sleep peacefully.

What do your children see every day when they wake

up? Look at your children’s room through their eyes and

decorate it with comforting items that represent support,

unity and security—happy family photos and uplifting

images.

Clutter creates an energetic disruption, and for children

who study in their bedroom, it is distracting and hinders

focus. Make it easy for your children to clean up after

themselves by creating storage space for toys and books.

Use bright colors for play areas, but pastel colors are best for the

bedroom. Energizing and bold bright colors, especially red, can create

excess energy, making it difficult to fall asleep. Creating a comfort-

able, supportive bedroom makes for a good night’s rest, which makes

for a refreshed, healthy child, who just may grow up to be a happier

adult!

(Alice Inoue is a life guide that uses the modalities of feng shui,astrology and spirituality in her work. Her offerings include award-winning, mind-body-spirit themed books, as well as a series DVD's.For more information visit www.aliceinspired.com.)

Use energyto stimulateyour baby’ssleeping

FENG SHUI

BY ALICE INOUE


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Buzz/

Watching the Republican Party

struggling to agree on a presiden-

tial candidate, one wonders

whether the G.O.P. shouldn’t just sit this elec-

tion out — just give 2012 a pass.

You know how in Scrabble sometimes you

look at your seven letters and you’ve got only

vowels that spell nothing? What do you do?

You go back to the pile. You throw your letters

back and hope to pick up better ones to work

with. That’s what Republican primary voters

seem to be doing. They just keep going back to

the pile but still coming up with only vowels that spell nothing.

There’s a reason for that: Their pile is out of date. The party

has let itself become the captive of conflicting ideological bases:

anti-abortion advocates, anti-immigration activists, social conser-

vatives worried about the sanctity of marriage, libertarians who

want to shrink government, and anti-tax advocates who want to

drown government in a bathtub.

Sorry, but you can’t address the great challenges America

faces today with that incoherent mix of hardened positions. I’ve

argued that maybe we need a third party to break open our politi-

cal system. But that’s a long shot. What we definitely and

urgently need is a second party — a coherent Republican opposi-

tion that is offering constructive conservative proposals on the

key issues and is ready for strategic compromises to advance its

interests and those of the country.

Without that, the best of the Democrats — who have been

willing to compromise — have no partners and the worst have a

free pass for their own magical thinking. Since such a trans-

formed Republican Party is highly unlikely, maybe the best thing

would be for it to get crushed in this election and forced into a

fundamental rethink — something the Democrats had to go

through when they lost three in a row between 1980 and 1988.

We need a “Different Kind of Republican” the way Bill Clinton

gave us a “Different Kind of Democrat.”

Because when I look at America’s three greatest challenges

today, I don’t see the Republican candidates offering realistic

answers to any of them.

The first is responding to the challenges and opportunities of

an era in which globalization and the information technology

revolution have dramatically intensified, creating a hypercon-

nected world. This is a world in which education, innovation and

talent will be rewarded more than ever. This is a world in which

there will be no more “developed” and “developing countries,”

but only HIEs (high-imagination-enabling countries) and LIEs

(low-imagination-enabling countries).

And this is a world that America is hard-wired to thrive in —

provided we invest in better infrastructure, postsec-

ondary education for all, more talented immigrants,

regulations that incentivize risk-taking and prevent

recklessness, and government-financed research to

push out the boundaries of science and let our venture

capitalists pluck the best flowers. There is no way we

can thrive in this era without this kind of public-private

partnership. We need strong government, but limited

government, which enables our companies and individ-

uals to compete globally. It’s the kind of public-private

partnership that Republicans like Dwight Eisenhower

and George H.W. Bush embraced.

The second of our great long-term challenges are our huge

debt and entitlement obligations. They can’t be fixed without

raising and reforming taxes and trimming entitlements and

defense. We absolutely cannot just cut entitlements and defense.

That would imperil the personal security and national security of

every American. We must also reform taxes to raise more rev-

enues.

But when all the Republican candidates last year said they

would not accept a deal with Democrats that involved even $1 in

tax increases in return for $10 in spending cuts, the G.O.P. cut

itself off from reality. It became a radical party, not a conserva-

tive one. And for the candidates to wrap themselves in a cartoon

version of Ronald Reagan — a real conservative who raised

taxes, including the gasoline tax, when he discovered his own

cuts had gone too far — is fraudulent.

Our third great challenge is how we power our future —

without dangerously polluting and warming the earth — as the

global population grows from 7 billion to 9 billion people by

2050, and more and more of them want to drive, eat and live like

Americans. Two billion more people who want to live like us?

We can’t drill our way out of that challenge, which is why ener-

gy efficiency and clean power will be the next great global

industry. Real conservatives — like Richard Nixon, the father of

the Environmental Protection Agency, and George H.W. Bush,

the author of the first cap-and-trade deal to curb acid rain —

believe in conserving. The current Republican candidates are so

captured by the oil and coal lobbies that they can’t think serious-

ly about this huge opportunity for energy innovation.

Until the G.O.P. stops being radical and returns to being con-

servative, it won’t provide what the country needs most now —

competition — competition with Democrats on the issues that

will determine whether we thrive in the 21st century. We need to

hear conservative fiscal policies, energy policies, immigration

policies and public-private partnership concepts — not radical

ones. Would somebody please restore our second party? The

country is starved for a grown-up debate.

What we need is a second partyBY THOMAS FRIEDMAN


Can Jeremy Lin finally bury Long Duk Dong?

BY KY PHONG PAUL TRAN

New America Media

Pop culture traditionally has painted

Asians as awkward, unathletic and

never the leading man, like Long

Duk Dong from a 1980s film. In just a week,

Jeremy Lin has shattered the stereotype.

Since he burst into the national con-

sciousness just a week ago, basketball sensa-

tion and New York Knicks guard Jeremy Lin

has proved that he’s just not any old under-

dog story. His is a very specific one. It leads

me to a scene in the film “White Men Can’t

Jump” where Wesley Snipes tells Woody

Harrelson, “You can listen to Jimi (Hendrix),

but you can't hear him.”

Because to “hear” the story of Jeremy Lin,

you have to go back to 1984 ― four years

before Jeremy was even born ― and a

beloved film by John Hughes called “Sixteen

Candles.” It’s a cutesy high school drama

with quintessential 1980s actors Molly

Ringwald and Anthony Michael Hall.

Except, for no reason other than as racist

comic relief, Hughes inserts the nightmare

image of an Asian male foreign exchange stu-

dent from an un-named Asian country (and

thus all of them). The character’s name is

Long Duk Dong, and he alternates between

being goofy, accented and clueless, but

always, always, always lusting after

“American” girls.

To truly appreciate and understand the joy

of what Jeremy Lin is doing right now, to

know why so many of us Asian American

males are wearing his jersey and chanting his

name, you had to have cringed as that gong

sounded whenever Long Duk Dong came into

a scene. You had to be called his name at

school and pretend it didn’t hurt and then

laugh along with your “friends.” You had to

let that shame burn inside you until it bor-

dered on self-loathing.

You had to bear the cross of the “Donger.”

And what is that cross? Historically through-

out American pop culture, it alternates

between never being depicted and thus never

existing OR being depicted in the most

humiliating and emasculating light possible.

It means you can never be the lead but

always the sidekick (Kato, Sulu, Mike

Chang). To create an import culture car and

film franchise only to be relegated into a prop

or a villain (The Fast and the Furious). To

never front a band but maybe strum along at

stage left (Smashing Pumpkins and Airborne

Toxic Event). It means to never be depicted

as handsome or suave or a lady’s man. (Or a

gentleman’s man for that matter).

It means to never get to kiss the girl. (In

“Romeo Must Die” Jet Li does not kiss

Aaliyah and in “The Replacement Killers,”

Chow Yun Fat does not kiss Mira Sorvino. I

despised Hollywood for a very long time

after those transgressions).

Of late, there has been some breakthrough.

In sports, we have Ichiro and Yao, but since

they were still deeply entrenched in their

Japanese and Chinese cultures, that distanced

them from our American identity. Recently,

the rap group Far East Movement has been

the first Asian American pop music group to

get consistent air play. And pretty much

everyone now knows that many Asian

American guys are talented dancers due to

reality TV shows like “So You Think You

Can Dance” and “America’s Best Dance

Crew.”

Of course, we do have one icon in popular

culture ― probably the last Asian American

guy who made us proud to be who we are

and look how we do: Bruce Lee. I suspect

that some of us deep down inside thought to

ourselves, “Yeah, he’s great and all, but does

it have to be at martial arts? That’s not exact-

ly breaking stereotypes.”

Before Jeremy, Asian American males

were akin to vampires. We’d look into the

mirror of popular culture and see nothing ―

or negativity. Now 26 years after “Sixteen

Candles,” Jeremy Lin arrives to play basket-

ball on its biggest stage and in doing so, to

declare that we not only do we exist but that

we can succeed as a professional athlete in

one of the big three glory ESPN sports.

That’s the power of popular media, right?


You can probably chalk this story up to "Well, at least he had good intentions." This

fall, my son Tyler will be heading to high school. First off, I'm happy to say that our

high school is academically rated as one of the best high schools in the country. In

fact, one of the reasons we moved to this school district was because of the high school. I’m

also proud that my son will be heading into high school with the kind of grades he’ll need to

prosper.

The only problem is, Chinese is not listed as one of the languages available for kids as part of

their language skills requirements.

Of course, my wife and I are biased. We are both Chinese-Americans. Also, we both have

businesses that require us to travel to China frequently. We both speak Chinese. My wife

speaks it because she was born and raised in Taiwan. I speak it well so long as the conversation

doesn't go beyond the weather and ordering food at any Chinese restaurant.

But lthis isn’t about me. It’s about my son.

In my last trip to Shanghai, I decided to take a walk around the hotel I was staying and I hap-

pened to venture past a middle school, filled with kids leaving school to head back home. All

the kids were about the same age as Tyler, and as they walked past me I couldn't help but notice

that each and every one of them had a textbook with the word "English" written on the side of it.

We all know how China has become an economic powerhouse, and I'm sure everyone has

read various stories and reports that show Chinese students excelling in all areas of education,

but particularly in math and science.

Now that they're also all required to learn English, it makes you wonder how our kids back

here at home are supposed to compete.

So, being the good parent that I am, I took it upon myself to write a letter to the principal at

our high school, and share my observations of the situation and convey in no uncertain terms

that our kids needed to learn Chinese as seriously as those Chinese kids were learning English.

I wrote the principal and told him about my observation in front of that school, and why we

needed to add Chinese to the curriculum. Because I knew the school currently taught both

Spanish and French, I first mentioned that Spanish certainly made sense given our proximity to

Mexico. And while I said I would never push to eliminate French from the curriculum as it was

a beautiful language, I did say that I wasn't sure how imperative it was to prepare our kids for

the inevitable onslaught upon the U.S. that is the French economic juggernaut.

Despite my little dig at the French, I was pleasantly surprised to get a phone call from the

principal just a few days later.

The principal, who was certainly pleasant enough, thanked me for sending the letter and said

that he agreed with everything I said and in the next curriculum meeting would mention my let-

ter and suggest that the students would indeed be better served if Chinese language classes were

added as an option in the curriculum.

Bingo, right? I mean, what more could you ask for than that? I asked him to do something

and he said that he would work on it. Case closed, right?

The problem is, I have a tendency to oversell things past the point where I already got some-

one's agreement. I'm fortunate that there are very few dead horses in our neighborhood because

I would be the one standing over it, dutifully beating it.

If I recall, the rest of the conversation went on with me saying something like:

Me: Well, thank you so much. I'm glad to hear that. In fact, I think we'd really better hurry

up because at this pace, not only do they get better math and science scores, but their kids will

probably speak English better than our kids too! Um...I...uh...I wouldn't be surprised if their sci-

ence classes haven't already figured out that nuclear fusion thing. The other day I saw a Chinese

student levitating and he figured out how to do it with just a ball of string, pantyhose and a pair

of chopsticks.

We all know how

China has become

an economic pow-

erhouse, and I'm

sure everyone has

read various sto-

ries and reports

that show Chinese

students excelling

in all areas of

education, but

particularly in

math and science.

You have to know when enough is enough

Wayne’sWorld /

byWayneChan


Watch out: Those inactiveservice fees can come back to bite you in pocketbook

Inormally bank at California Coast Credit Union but

opened a savings account at the East County Point

Loma Credit Union (PLCU) in 2003 because it was

closer to my house. Credit unions allow a customer to

make transactions within the shared network so it was

convenient for me to deposit and withdraw money from

my California Coast account through the Point Loma

location.

I never paid much attention to

the savings account at PLCU and

didn’t look at the quarterly state-

ments sent to me because they all

pretty much said the same thing.

Recently, I opened a statement

from PLCU and it showed a series

of service fees charged against my

savings account: Inactive Fees for

$10 a month and Saving Maintenance Fees for $3 a

month. I only had maybe $80.00 in the savings, but my

balance showed $9.55 after the fees.

I went into the branch and spoke to the manager, who

informed me that these fees had been assessed monthly

since 2010. They had sent letters notifying customers that

savings account balances that fell below $300 would be

charged $3 a month in Savings Maintenance Fees.

Savings accounts in which there had been no deposits or

withdrawals for 18 months would be charged $10 a month

in Inactive Fees.

The first set of fees had been charged to my account

going back to November 2010. The second set of fees

began in October 2011. I had incurred losses of $72.00 to

my savings account.

The manager told me that he could waive the $30 of

Inactive Fees if I deposited enough money to increase my

balance to $300.00 but that the credit union would be suf-

fering a loss if he waived the series of $3.00 Savings

Maintenance Fees. He said the credit union had sent out

notices and they were “legitimate fees.”

I failed to see how the credit union would be suffering

a loss because the fees were obtained from my savings

account. We agreed to disagree, and I closed out what

remained of my savings account before further fees could

be levied.

I sent an e-mail to the upper management at PLCU

regarding the service fees and received a reply from the

vice president of retail operations defending the fees. She

stated that the credit union strives to be the primary finan-

cial institution for its members and that

they incur expenses if a customer only has

a savings account.

I asked for a face-to-face meeting to dis-

cuss this and have not heard from her in

two weeks. At this point, I have sent anoth-

er e-mail to the PLCU Supervisory

Committee to meet with me regarding the

fees and I’m waiting to hear back.

I accept responsibility for failing to read

the notices regarding the initiation of service fees, but I’m

more than a bit disillusioned by a credit union that doesn’t

seem willing to meet with a former member about their

policy.

Family tip: Check your bank’s policy regarding serv-

ice fees and minimum balances. If you are affected by

service fees, ING Direct is an internet banking site that

offers higher yield, FDIC insured savings and checking

accounts with no minimum balances and no service fees.

They can also provide a direct link to your checking

account at other institutions. I’ve been banking with them

for years and have always received excellent customer

service.

Family quote: “Everybody has to throw up some-

times.” 8-year-old Kristie.

(Ray M. Wong is a freelance writer whose stories haveappeared in “Chicken Soup for the Soul” books, the“USA Today,” and his memoir, “Chinese-American: AJourney of Discovery,” will be published by KitsuneBooks in 2013. E-mail comments to [email protected] orthrough his website: www.raywong.info.)

Family Matters/ by Ray Wongby


Barnard Mandarin Chinese MagnetSchool students, with principalEdward Park leading, kick off theannual Lunar New Year celebration atthe school in early February.

Students and teachers, above right,enjoyed the musical message suppliedby visiting students from ChonggingPrimary School in China, who spentthree days visiting Barnard, their sister

school, where they welcomed theNew Year and observed a Chinese tra-dition American style rendered by theThree Treasures Lion Dancers.

– Photos by Barnard Magnet School

Honored locally Honored locally –– Union Bank and KPBS in early February hosted the 2011 Local Heroes Awards at the Balboa Theatre, honoring 17 communityleaders for making a difference in the lives of others. Hosted by, back row, Union Bank’s George Ramirez, left, and KPBS’ Tom Karlo, they included, seated,

Bill Brody and left to right, Tom Hom, Kathi Anderson and Robin Tarr. Hom and wife Loretta, right, were also welcomed to a scholarship applicationmeeting of the Jonathan Tarr Foundation by the charity’s founder Robin Tarr and former San Diego Councilwoman Donna Frye.

Lunar

Heroes


Children, above,Children, above, were the center of attention during the annual San DiegoChinese Historical Museum’s recent fundraiser at Pearl in Escondido. Organizersincluded, upper right, museum executive director Alex Chuang, flanked by boardpresident Dr. Lilly Cheng, left, and Agnes Chuang and, right, Dr. Polly Liew, whoproduced and directed the children’s performance of Lunar New Year traditions.

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A Walk on A Walk on

the Lighter Side the Lighter Side ––

Nothing has stirred America’s rancor more in the

last two years than the inequity in our society

and the effect it has had on our economic sys-

tem. And nothing signifies that inequity more

than the fat cats behind the bank bailout and Wall

Street stimulus packages.

As we steam ahead toward election 2012, these

issues, along with where we are going as a soci-

ety, will inevitably play an important role in the

discussions to come. Here, our nation’s top car-

toonists share their views of these current

events.


-more-

Local Water Districts Invite Customers to

Showcase Water-Wise Landscapes California–Friendly® Landscape Contest Entries Due April 6

SAN DIEGO –Is your home landscape both water-efficient and the most stylish on the block? Then put it to the test. Twelve water districts invite customers to showcase their water-wise landscaping in the Water Agency California–Friendly Landscape Contest. One winner in each district will receive a $250 gift certificate and recognition on the agency websites and in newsletters. Last year’s City of San Diego winner, Robert Smith, said he made landscaping changes to save money on his water bill. But the North Park resident got an unexpected bonus. “It looks great,” he said of the new landscape, which features many desert plants. Even during the hot summer months, he only has to water his landscape about a half-dozen times, he said. In the winter, he never has to water. “We are pleased to join with other water agencies in sponsoring the annual California-Friendly Landscape Contest and we highly encourage homeowners to enter,” said JoEllen Jacoby, Supervising Landscape Conservation Designer for the City’s Water Conservation Program. “Studies have shown that more than half of the water people use goes towards irrigating landscapes, which is why our program continues to encourage San Diegans to use California-Friendly® plants as a way to “waste no water.” Jacoby offers a few suggestions to enhance the chances of having a winning landscape. “The judges need to see the big picture and the details. So, be sure to provide pictures that show both the landscape and some or all of the house to give a sense of proportion and scale. Look before you shoot! Are there trash cans in the sight line? Is a garden hose showing? Are tools, weeds or nursery pots visible? Be careful to angle your shots to avoid the neighbor’s parked car, overhead utility lines or other less than inspiring elements that you have no control over.” “Focus on special design ‘vignettes’ such as a little sitting area, stream bed or sculpture,” continued Jacoby. “Does your landscape frame your door from the street? Be sure to show that in a picture. Finally, include close-ups of plant combinations that show the color, texture and variety of your plant palette. Of course, yank the weeds and make sure your landscape has a mulch cover over any open soil. These pointers will make your front yard picture perfect and make you proud.” The deadline to enter is April 6, 2012. Each water-wise landscape entry will be judged for overall attractiveness, appropriate plant selection, design, appropriate maintenance, and efficient methods of irrigation.

This contest is open to customers of the cities of San Diego and Escondido, Helix Water District,Olivenhain Municipal Water District, Otay Water District, Padre Dam Municipal Water District, SanDieguito Water District, Santa Fe Irrigation District, Sweetwater Authority, Vallecitos WaterDistrict, Vista Irrigation District, and California American Water.

For official contest rules and anapplication form, visit: www.landscapecontest.com. For questions,contact Mike Ismail with the City of San Diego at (619) 533-5312 or your local water agency.For ideas, expert advice, exhibits and classes, visit the Water Conservation Garden, located at1212 Cuyamaca College Drive West in El Cajon, or go to www.thegarden.org.information on those programs, contact (619) 533-7572 or visit www.sandiego.gov/water/recycled orwww.purewatersd.org.


Photos by David Henley

A little bitA little bitof China inof China in

ThailandThailand

The southern Thai province of

Trang, tucked away on the

Andaman Coast between Krabi

and Satun on the Malaysian fron-

tier, is rich in history, providing a

fascinating showcase for the

south’s flourishing Sino-Thai cul-

tural traditions, architecture and

food – and the proud locals love

to prepare and share it with visi-

tors. Its lovely and unspoiled

coastline consists of more than

forty offshore islands. Trang is a

place to experience the delights

of the deep south in an authentic

and relaxing atmosphere.

Trang – formerly called Thap

Thiang – is a quietly prosperous

town with a long history as a

trading port dating back more

than a thousand years to the time

of the Srivijayan empire.

While rural Trang is decidedly

southern Thai in character, Trang

city retains a distinct Sino-Thai

feel. This is manifested in the

population, in the architecture of

the shop houses, Chinese shrines,

and Trang’s distinctive cuisine.

In its present incarnation, the

town only developed as an

important commercial centre in

the 19th century due primarily to

the settlement of Han Chinese

migrants from southern China.

For more than a century its peo-

ple have prospered from exten-

sive rubber plantations, rich fish-

eries and fertile agricultural land,

attaining one of the highest

provincial per capita incomes in

Thailand.

Chuan Leekpai, who became

leader of the Democrat Party and

prime minister of Thailand

between 1992-95 and 1997-2001,

is a native of Trang. Chuan put

Trang on the tourism map. A

third generation Sino-Thai,

Chuan was born in Trang in

1938, the son of a local teacher

of modest means. Now retired

and a popular father figure for

the Democrat Party, he remains

one of Trang’s favourite sons.

Trang is a model of cosmo-

politan coexistence. Thai

Buddhist temples, Chinese

shrines and a distinguished old

Christian church exist side by

side, reflecting the city’s cultural-

ly diverse past.

There are several Chinese

shrines scattered across the city

including Kuiyong La and

Paokong. Both are a riot of red

and gold lanterns, characters and

san jiao images from the Chinese

triple religion of Buddhism,

Daoism and Confucianism.

TRANGTRANG

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