Casper's posterous

contemplations of Mandarin & Apple, cool & hot, mince pies & Oriental allies
 

light at the end of the tunnel...

my undergraduate studies are drawing to a close. had a bloody wicked time so far. just a couple more papers to write and then i'll have completed my BA in Political Economy.

here's the main reason I have not been online as much recently:

Click here to download:
[final] diss - Chinese Foreign Direct Investment into the EU - Trick or Treat?.pdf (599 KB)
(download)

any comments or feedback on my dissertation are very welcome. 

---
Casper Oppenhuis de Jong
嘉仕博












Posted March 27, 2011
 

Photos for Hudson River Adventure 2010

Media_httpwwwvintagef_czagf
via vintageflying.com

how could one not like private aviation after seeing this. USA must be one of the best countries to fly in. wonder when china will further open up its airspace to let more aviators marvel at its stunning landscape.

Filed under  //   aerospace   aviation   private   usa  
Posted January 11, 2011
 

on podcasts (and deleting my entire itunes library)

three days ago i accidentally deleted my entire music collection. no backups. no restoring. no excuses. just sheer stupidity. perfect.

it took me 5 years to compile that collection. when i realised i had deleted everything, i felt one good boost of anxiety. and then i realised i had just freed up 50gb+ on my harddrive. perfect.

80% of the songs had a play count of 1 or 0. i rarely used itunes in the first place. spotify has a much wider collection. empty itunes library restored my focus. perfect.

one thing i did use itunes for regularly: podcasts. those were also all gone. but some twitter friends quickly filled that library with recommendations. perfect.

here's a quick overview of awesome podcasts. mostly politics, culture and current affairs.

- The Economist
- Freakonomics Radio
- BBC World Service Documentaries
- Monocle
- The Moth
- New Yorker: Out Loud
- New Yorker: Political Scene
- NPR: Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
- NPR: World Story of the Day
- PRI: Selected Shorts
- PRI's The World
- Sinica
- Slate: Culture gabfest
- Slate Political gabfest
- Stuff You Should Know
- Thomas Crampton
- WNYC Radiolab

all available from the itunes store. updated regularly, to function as my personal radio station. perfect.

(massive thanks to @kaiserkuo for supplying the majority of this list!)

Posted April 19, 2010
 

Help Casper Get to Asia for the Summer!

Beloved followers & followees,

After 2 amazing years of travelling and working in China, I'm currently studying in the United Kingdom for my BA in Political Economy at the University of Birmingham.

To put my enthusiasm for Asia to good use I'm looking for an internship for upcoming summer (June-September), preferably in/around China. Would any of you have any leads/ideas for me?

I've attached my CV for you to have a gander. Maybe something crazy/awesome springs to mind. Please know that I'm a skilled coffee/photocopy maker. :)

The person that offers the winning lead will be awarded copious amounts of beer/tea/串儿!

Thanks for your time!

Best wishes,

@casperodj
Casper Oppenhuis de Jong
嘉仕博

casperodj [at] gmail [dot] com

Click here to download:
[pdf] CV Casper Oppenhuis de Jong 180210 - blog.pdf (33 KB)
(download)

Posted February 18, 2010
 

Beijing selling China to the world

2009-12-01 07:37:25.0Jin Zhu and Ding Qingfenadvertisement,CNN,Made in China,MOC11020263Foreign and Military Affairs2@webnews/enpproperty-->

The government has started a global charm offensive aimed at getting more consumers to reach for "Made in China" products.

The groundbreaking ad campaign is seeking to boost the image of Chinese goods around the world.

The initiative is believed to be the government's first foray into branding, something experts are hailing as "a PR breakthrough".

The Ministry of Commerce said the initiative was designed to promote Chinese-made products "in a fair and objective way".

The campaign started on Nov 23 with a 30-second spot on CNN International, CNN US and CNN Headline News, the ministry said in a statement.

Related readings:
Beijing selling China to the world MOC urges to promote service trade in economic recovery
Beijing selling China to the world China suffers from protectionism: MOC
Beijing selling China to the world China's MOC sets conditions on GM-Delphi deal
Beijing selling China to the world MOC: Anti-dumping probes 'based on facts'
Beijing selling China to the world Made-in-China light rail train taps European market

The ad, which carries the hook "Made in China: Made with the world" shares the message "co-operation and participation" and highlights the fact that Chinese companies work with overseas firms to produce quality products.

In the ad, a series of goods with the "Made in China" label are shown being made with the help of top foreign firms.

An MP3 player is described as "Made in China with software from Silicon Valley". A fashion shoot includes clothes labeled "Made in China with French designers". And a refrigerator bears the text "Made in China with European styling".

The campaign "reflects the Chinese firms' attitude and aspiration of strengthening cooperation with other countries to provide quality goods for foreign consumers", the statement said.

Chen Na, a press secretary with the China Advertising Association of Commerce, said the campaign was commissioned by the ministry with participation from four industry groups.

The four groups are the China Advertising Association of Commerce, the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products, the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Light Industrial Products and Arts-Crafts, and the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Textiles.

The ad, which was created by DDB Guoan in Beijing, has been in development for months. The agency won the account last year.

China is known as the "world's factory". It is the planet's largest manufacturer of more than 210 industrial products.

"Chinese products can be found everywhere in the world now. However, some do not have a good reputation. The task of promoting the brand is imminent," said Huang Shengmin, dean of the Advertising Department of Communication University of China.

 

via chinadaily.com.cn

China Daily's take on the recent 'Made In China' campaign by the Chinese government. I doubt this 'global charm offensive' is going to make a difference. Does not in any way change the position China is in; razor thing margins and no innovation. It just tries to justify it by pointing the finger at others.

Posted December 1, 2009
 

China Spreads Aid in Africa, With a Catch

The New York Times interestingly reported about China's attempts to (financially) recolonize Africa, right after I have had some interesting talks about this last weekend. These neoimperialistic tendencies of China are nothing new, but easily scare viewers that are new to this show. 


I personally believe that 'The West' has waited to long to help - and in the end; benefit from - Africa. We have let Rwanda happen. And not to mention Sudan. The Chinese have another approach to the problem that we call Africa: stop seeing it as a problem. Start seeing the opportunities and reap them.

China Spreads Aid in Africa, With a Catch  (NY Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/22/world/africa/22namibia.html

Posted September 22, 2009
 

Free work the way to go?

2 very interesting pieces on how to secure (career) opportunities through doing free work.

Free work can offer job seekers and entrepreneurs(-to-be) great skills and contacts. I personally see this as more of a way to go than internships or placements.

How to Get a Job Without Experience (Harvard Business Review)

Recession-Proof Graduate (Charlie Hoehn)

Posted August 17, 2009
 

Hammer Pant

One of those classic internet/YouTube/marketing memes.
 
Everyone happy, clean hit & run, brilliant footage. Me likes.
 

(h/t @techfader)
Casper Oppenhuis de Jong
嘉仕博

 

Posted June 7, 2009
 

Michael Wolf in Hong Kong

http://www.photomichaelwolf.com/intro/index.html

 photography speaks a language that needs no translation.
michael wolf happens to be fluent in that language.

 persistent volatility in pictures from a culture that's hard to capture.

(download)

Posted June 7, 2009
 

TechCrunch Article on Sequoia/Zhang Fan

Is Sequoia China in Trouble?
from TechCrunch by Sarah Lacy
(via @niubi)

BEIJING, CHINA– Starbucks is a franchise in China that worked. The company opened locations at the bottom of all the major tourist hotels and downtown areas where returning Chinese, expats and business people traveling to China would pop in for some familiarity and to hold meetings, much like they do in the U.S. For people hoping to mix with that crowd, Starbucks became something of an aspirational brand in China. Tea was what your parents drank; a latte was something exotic and western.

No one thought Starbucks would work in China, but it did. Sequoia Capital, however, is not Starbucks.

There are a few ways to set up venture activity in China. One is to become a limited partner for a local firm. Another is to relocate an existing partner to build an office. The most common is to hire well-known, connected investors already in China, and Intel Capital, which has been investing in China longer than almost anyone, is one of a few farm systems for that. Typically this is known as  the “franchise model.” The hired China partners operate under the Kleiner Perkins or Sequoia brand name and typically share the same limited partners, but the funds themselves are separate. In exchange for that name and fund raising advantage, the Valley firms take a healthy chunk of the carry.

It seemed like the best of all strategies a few years ago. These firms want experts but don’t necessarily want to slow down or meddle in their deal making. But the cachet of the top Valley brands only goes so far over here. In 2008 Kleiner Perkins’ China partnership exploded, with two of its four partners quitting in a dispute that was far more contentious than a lot of Valley media reported at the time. In a week of touring China’s start-up scene, I’ve barely heard the KPCB brand mentioned at all. Now, it seems it’s Sequoia’s turn for some humble China pie.

It’s no secret Mike Mortiz has been traveling back-and-forth to China a great deal, and he’s fond of telling reporters that’s because of all the opportunity. I asked him at Kenshoo’s recent US launch party about the unique challenges of investing in China versus the US, Europe or Israel. He said he wasn’t trying to stonewall on the answer, but that all venture investing was just hard, no one place more than another.

Really? Several sources in China and Silicon Valley have confirmed Moritz has been in China this week addressing Sequoia’s so-called “China Problem.” In February, one of Sequoia China’s founding partners, Zhang Fan, resigned due to “personal reasons.” I’ve now talked to close to twenty sources in the venture scene in Beijing and Shanghai who say those “reasons” were that Zhang was well known for taking bribes, kickbacks and other unethical behavior. People are fond of pointing out that Zhang’s biggest hit was Asia Media Company, which later had to de-list from the Tokyo Stock Exchange under a scandal. Whether it’s true or not, he certainly didn’t do Sequoia’s brand any favors here.

That left the other founding managing director at the helm, the highly respected Neil Shen, who founded Ctrip.com, the so-called “Expedia of China,” and Home Inns & Hotels Management. I’ve talked to several VCs and entrepreneurs in China who say Shen is a prickly guy but his deal judgment is unparalleled in the country. He’s even a bit of a hero to some entrepreneurs. But unfortunately, Shen too is in hot water. U.S. firm Carlyle Group is suing Shen for more than $200 million in damages for allegedly blocking a Carlyle deal in a Chinese medical research firm. Said one person close to Sequoia in China, “Moritz will have to fire him. He has no choice.”

If that’s the case, it may not be obvious at first. Venture capitalists tend to fire partners gradually and quietly. Frequently they’re still given offices and assistants as they phase out of decision making.

Even the widespread speculation could be a big blow for Sequoia, which at one point seemed to be one of the better-adapted Valley names here. It still employs two other managing directors and several more vice presidents and associates in China, but for many Chinese entrepreneurs Shen represented the brand as much as Moritz does in the U.S. There are few China investors with solid operating experience, particularly in the Internet.

And it can’t be good news for Sequoia’s limited partners who haven’t taken too kindly to Sequoia’s pressure to make them invest in not only China, but in other unproven Sequoia funds aimed at India and later stage U.S. companies, according to very wide-spread reports and my own reporting.

Player hating is part of human nature, so it’s no surprise that other Valley investors have whispered with glee that the once-dominant Sequoia seems distracted by all this. The competition’s biggest fear: Moritz solves the problems and Sequoia starts to focus on what it does well again.

(Sequoia did not respond to a detailed request for comment or clairification of this story and has a long-standing policy of not commenting on the firm’s internal matters.) 

Posted May 17, 2009