Beijing April 2007

Sandra is back in Toronto visiting friends and family before heading off to her Pre-Field Orientation for her new position at Morrison Academy starting in August. I'm here in Taiwan enjoying the opportunity to catch-up on work, rest and overall reflection time. At first, I was disappointed that I couldn't join Sandra in visiting Toronto, but I think I needed this time to be here in Taiwan and think a little. It's been a very busy two months. What happened? Lots and lots... A few posts ago, I mentioned that our trip to Beijing in the middle of April was a significant milestone. To me, it was symbolic because so much of our "exposure" and "experiences" in mainland China started in Beijing... it seemed fitting that this first extended work trip to Beijing was where there would also be new beginnings. Beijing was a turning point for new perspectives on work and work relationships.

Beijing with China STM Team

Beijing is truly an amazing place. It is truly one of my most favourite places in the world. The history, the change, the significance of this capital and the personal connection will always resonate with me. July 2005, with our short-term missions team, was the first time in my adult life that I've set foot in mainland China. Our STM team in 2005 and 2006 spent orientation time walking through the Hutongs and key sites of Beijing as a team, from a Christian perspective, was the foundation upon which we've build this journey to Asia and subsequent trips to China and elsewhere.

Here's a picture of our 2005 team experiencing the Beijing subway together for the first time and another one of us getting ready to climb the Great Wall:






Beijing Changing Quickly



Beijing has changed each of the two summers that we've visited. Once again, only months since our last trip to Beijing, Sandra and I were in awe of the the changes we've observed.


Beijing was extremely dusty when we were there in April. In conversations with the taxi drivers (at least the ones without the heavy Beijing "Rrrrrrrr" accent or the ones who didn't yell at us for cuing up for a short taxi ride!), they said that Beijing is especially dusty this time because of the intense construction. The construction, due primarily to preparation for the 2008 Olympics and the overall economic boom, but be completed by the end of 2007. If construction is not complete, too bad, you have to wait until after the construction ban has been lifted after the Olympics. The government literally wants the "dust to settle" and the "skies blue" before the world embarks on Beijing. So... everywhere you go, everywhere you look, literally 24 hours a day, there is heavy construction! Quite amazing!

Here's an example. Those of you who have been to Beijing and especially those of you on the STM teams in 2005 or 2006 will know the area south of Tianamen Square called Qian Men, literally the front gate and the front road leading up to the the center of the city. This main and historical street of Beijing, with all of its thoroughfare and shops has been closed down and will be -widened- and turned into a pedestrian street! Can this be done? Will it's happening. Here's some pictures of Qian Men that you would never expect and probably already looks different now as I type this in June! Qian Men will not look this empty probably ever again!







Here's another random picture of the changing and diverse face of Beijing!







One Saturday, we hired a van to make a quick day trip out to the Ming Tombs, on the way out, we were able to drive by the main Olympic site. I don't really have great pictures, but you could see thousands of migrant workers working on this huge site. The most interesting (and somewhat troubling) was seeing the planting of full-sized trees and other greenery around the more developed parts of the Olympic park. All of this is quite fascinating and "Chinese". Let's clean-up the house, agree to get along and make a good presentation for the guests because we want to show them how "together" we are as a family.









A Different View of Beijing

B and J, the leaders of our China STM team really wanted the team to observe some of the diversity of Beijing (and China). They showed us how relatively "wealthy" we were as "foreigners" even living in 2 to 3 star hotels in the hutongs. We experienced living on a few RMB (literally just a few Canadian dollars for a team lunch) yet also visited the luxury malls like Oriental Plaza and Wangfujing. It still boggles my mind to see living on the same street people who collect discarded plastic water bottles for a living and then also see a brand new Ferrari turning into a luxury apartment!


This two week long trip was primarily about work and spending time with people at work. Even when Sandra came, we made a conscious decision to explore the city and spend time together with my coworkers - from China, Taiwan and all over the Far East.


I got a deeper appreciation into the divide between the poor and the "richer" (definitely not the rich!). Even though we visited Oriental Plaza on our 2005 STM trip, I never would have thought that one day, less than two years later, would be involved in launching a course and reporting to work at Oriental Plaza! EY's offices are right on top of the mall, in building E3 of Oriental Plaza, one of the first, but definitely now not the only, luxury shopping and office complexes in Beijing. The trip was very different than what we experienced on our STM and "experiential" budget of the Hutong. One night, we ordered steamed fish (I believe garoupa) for a table of eight guests from the US, the fish alone, at this Cantonese restaurant in Oriental Plaza cost 1,200 RMB ($170 Canadian). Contrast this to a large hand cut noodle for $4 RMB (about 50 cents Canadian)! What a completely different side of Beijing we experienced with 10+ course Beijing duck meals, drinks at the Grand Hyatt and the most expensive sushi I've ever had at the Beijing Hotel (I won't even try to tell you how much this meal cost). While I'm thankful for this experience, I also felt that there was a lack of awareness of how "wealthy" we relatively were living compared to the "average" local Beijing person. At the same time, in our trips to Houhai 后海,, Sanlitin 三里屯 and some of the latest clubs and restaurants, I felt that there were also many local young and emerging professionals striving to live this lifestyle and "status" of being at these places. Beijing is an extremely diverse place and it was a blessing to see some of its extremities.


Here's a few random pictures of a different side of Beijing:







Yes, the name of that bar in Houhai is actually called "Sex in Da City" which we went to. This particular night we had a group of 40+ coworkers, male and female, in this bar... very interesting (e.g. there were pole dancers). I would have never thought that we were in the middle of Beijing. The other place of interest was the Lan Club / Restaurant. You'll see above some pictures of the bathroom and other parts of the restaurant. You'd think you were in Manhattan or Paris with its decor and clientele... but this could be some of the "new Beijing"! Check out the website - www. lanbeijing.com a fairly new restaurant designed by Philippe Starck. The manager told us how much they spent in renovations... I forgot the number, but I remember thinking that they were not going to make that money back by selling 4RMB noodles. This is a must do on the Beijing itinerary if you want to experience the diversity of Beijing before heading back to the Home Inns in the hutong!


I'm not saying that some of these luxuries and experiences were all positive. I'm just thankful for getting deeper into the spectrum of diversity. Some of the not so pleasant observations of Beijing was the noticable presence of females offering various services to male clientele. The very first night in Beijing, I arrived late and ventured for a short walk to Wangfujing area. Within the two block walk to Wangfujing, I was approached five times. This was certainly a side of Beijing I knew existed, but never really experienced! A very sad realization that one of the oldest forms of entrepreneuralism and exploitation exists in a very real way today. Even our coworker who was staying at the near the Grand Hyatt in Oriental Plaza was approached a number of times over the course of our two weeks!


In contrast to all of this was the discover of a small cafe, just off the of main bar strip in Beijing. This restaurant / cafe is owned by Christians and literally set-up as a "coffee house". We went on a Tuesday night, but on weekends, there is live Chrisitan music and the website clearly states that the purpose of this cafe is to offer people a safe place to discover and hear about the Gospel! Can you imagine? Clear signs of Christianity, all the staff are Christian and happy to talk about their faith and a website that boasts this as their vision! All of this within 10kms away from Tianamen Square? GY and I went with a coworker on a quiet weekday and it served as a wonderful quiet place for us to talk and share. However, I would love to go and see this place in action on a weekend! Email me if you're interested in the article or website that lead us to this place.



Also of interest was the opportunity to have dinner with various coworkers including some who have been transferred to Beijing on short-term assignments in Beijing. One particularly memorable conversation was highlighting that we (Sandra and I) had experienced more "local" experiences than most who are now living in Beijing. Interesting thought.. but perhaps true for many who decide to stick to their own comfort boundaries or their own social-economical circle.


All of this continues to raise the question in our minds - what will be the future of China? What will the young and aspiring students, like our young friend at Tsinghua University become in the future? Who is here to influence, mold, shape, challenge and love the people of China for such a time as this???


Maybe this is a bit idealistic or dreamy, but we are here today.. and all of us.. have some contribution and impact to culture and decisions of today. How will future generations view this period of history... whether this is in Beijing, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Canada or wherever you are??


We did a small last minute trip with some friends / coworkers to the Ming Tombs 明朝十三陵. The same Ming Dynasty emperor (Yongle) who moved the capital from Nanjing to Beijing is also credited with the early design and layout of much of the ancient Beijing we see today also picked this massive burial site and mausoleum north of Beijing. Quite amazing... I don't know enough about history to comment on the impact, but the resources and efforts placed into building these tombs is just unbelievable for the time. So many questions!







New Beginnings at Work


Just as our first trip to Beijing was a significant milestone in our journey to come here to Asia, these two weeks in Beijing were also significant for me from a work perspective - both my Far East role as well as my Taiwan role.


Both of these jobs have taken off since that week in Beijing. Not necessarily due to Beijing, but I think for myself, it was Beijing where I started to see the contribution that I could make. In some ways, for the Far East job, it was as simple as seeing that I needed to build a role for myself as opposed to wait for my team or my boss to "allow me" to make a contribution. Beijing was also significant because we were finally launching our audit tool in the Far East. Since then, there has been incredible satisfaction in giving people a tool that you know is significantly better than what they have. In Beijing and then followed by Singapore, Philippines and Taiwan, I saw how if we put together a well thought out program to equip people (we call them train the trainers) and give them a good tool, they can take it and run with it! We launched the tool in Taiwan and spent four days teaching some of our best people the tool and how to teach the program. Some people were very engaged and asked a lot of questions, but the majority, while attentive and completing the learning activities, were just listening along. However, give them a weekend and assign them the role of teaching the same course to other people and WOW, see the difference!


For Taiwan, it was while I was in Beijing that we announced our significant management changes. Coming into this job, I knew that there were challenges in Taiwan. Management simply could not agree on which direction they wanted to go... and some believed that they could go a direction that was contradictory, etc. In the end, the management changes happened quickly and to keep a complex story simpler - some people have been asked to leave. In the end, we have a leaner management structure, integration with China and a clear vision of where to go! In my naive mind, this change happened about a year before I expected it. My job in many ways was to infiltrate, lay the initial groundwork, etc. Now, literally overnight, I've gone from a somewhat isolated and unappreciated role to being in high demand! I won't go into all of the technical details or share any further information. What I will say is that it feels like we have a new firm in Taiwan with an appetite and drive for change. The current management is 100% empowered and supportive of change. What is also interesting is that they now realize that they lack the project management, implementation and change leadership skills to make this happen.


So... the last few weeks have gone from pulling together theoretical proposals and business cases for an audience that were not interested in investing or change to full scale implementation mode. I've met more people in our Taiwan office and am now on or leading more working groups than in the six months prior combined!


It's been an overwhelming few weeks and it looks like it will continue until we can build the appropriate processes to support that change that we're striving for. However, I have to admit that despite the volume of work, I am loving the nature and pace of the work. It is quite "fun" working with people who are now empowered to make changes... and more importantly, working with them to bring out ideas and skills that they have never used before. There's a lot of work ahead, but this is the fun stuff - helping people discover how they are wired and what they are capable of! God has made each one of us uniquely and there has never been so much creativity and energy in this place!


I think part of the reason I'm loving this so much is because I've been confirming my desire to be involved in and enable change. I also feel postive because there are new relationships in the workplace that I never imagined could be possible in a short period of time. Part of the change that has happened is the adopt of an English policy initiative - meaning that we need to significantly raise the English lanugage proficiency in the workplace. I've gone from the English speaking guy to be afraid of to the English speaking guy to get to know! :)


My biggest concern and prayer item in the midst of all of this change is to make sure that we build things properly! I've shared this before, but now that the pace has picked up tenfold, it is even more important than ever to make sure that we don't get caught up in the enthusasm and opportunity to "build" and just "build" without thinking about the downstream consequences. As I reflect upon Beijing and some of the changes, I cannot help but wonder if what some of the rapid changes in Beijing are sustainable and healthy ... and even more importantly, how will these impact future generations? So... I'm finding myself pausing and asking our leadership to pause more often to ask "why?" and "so what?" Are we building something like the Olympic site to say that we "can do it" or are we thinking about the long-term positive impact that our changes can have?


From a personal perspective, please pray for the relational opportunities and challenges ahead. As the opportunities and influence at work broadens to more people, there will be more opportunities to develop relationships (and hopefully friendships) and of course more opportunities to share my story of who I am. However, despite the new vision and direction of the management team, change is not always easy. Pray for wisdom of myself and the management team that we manage and navigate through the change wisely. There will be many who are scared, uncertain or even angry at some of the change from what they have been used to for years. Realistically there will be challenges, some hostile, some political and some just unavoidable. How can I represent Christ appropriately in the workplace yet contribute to building a working culture and working relationship that will outlast any of us and our tenure at any company??


New Beginnings in Relationships


In the midst of all of these new challenges and opportunities in the workplace, God continues to encourage and bless me. It is clear that each step of our journey is filled with - "I will not let you forget that I have called you here and that I am here every step of the way"!


The Beijing trip was a combination of coworkers from all over the Area, from the HK Learning team and our Taiwan team. This trip was a chance for both Sandra and I to get to know each of these groups of people better. It's true what they say about needing three or four visits before you really start to bond with people. These trips around the Area have been great. We also strategically picked Beijing because it was a fun and new place for many people. Lots of opportunities to visit sites, restaurants and bars together. Looking back, I don't know how we did it, but a typical day was getting up at 630am to head to the office to prep before our class start at 830am, class until 630pm, dinner until 9pm and then usually off to Houhai or another bar for drinks until 12am, 1am, etc.! Lots of opportunity to bond.


Some notes of blessing and thanksgiving to God...

1. GY joined us in Beijing for the weekend. Being a wonderful and faithful sister in Christ, she has been one who I've been able to share in confidence about situations about the firm or people and trust that she would pray! It was great to have her merged into some of our relationships and outings - how amazing and symbolic that she could share in this!
2. Sunday evening dinner with old friend SS and his lovely wife C. GY, Sandra and I paid a visit to this old CCF brother and his wife who are now living and ministering in BJ - what a symbolic but meaningful break from people at "work" to reflect on how God has brought us together to pray for this wonderful country and our new callings!
3. Other Christians in the workplace - Beijing was a time of discovery of other Christians in the workplace. What a wonderful feeling to know that there are others who share the same desire!
4. A very practical thankfulness for being able to build the Taiwan team - in numbers and energy. New people, new energy, new ideas and new resources to build.
   
   

Finally, I wanted to share (not too much to protect the confidentiality) a new coworker that God has placed in Sandra and my life. This person is not really sure where they stand in their religious belief, but often finds himself/herself with the desire to pray and to learn about God. This person is also not very interested (due somewhat to negative past experiences) in the rules and routines about religion, but still find themselves very much thinking about God. It's been a blessing to have this new friend, to think through what I consider the real foundation of religion and more specifically Christianity - a relationship with God. It has also been great to have someone to bounce ideas and challenges about the workplace off of. Most importantly, it is an affirmation to me, that God is working in people's lives and drawing them close to Him even if they do not know it or perhaps even deny it. What a refreshing new friendship!

At times, we still have people ask why we're here or whether we are "missionaries". I still don't have a good 30 second answer to that question. All I know is that both Taiwan/China and Far East Area are rapidly changing places. God has placed me in a role where we can have an indirect and often direct impact on building the culture and environment of this workplace. The people in the workplace may or in most cases may not be at this company forever, but for sure, they will be some of the the influencial and cultural shaping people in their respective cities and countries. I've given up trying to change the world (although at times still tempted), but praying that no matter how big or small, may we impact positively the people that God places in our lives. The rest... will not be understood or seen for years to come.

So.. that's my simple way of tying my faith into the work that I'm doing everyday. I do believe that the work we're doing here is more than for the firm or for the school, but for Christ. From that perspective, I'm yet once again reminded today of 1 Corinthians 15:58 that has been so influencial in my life:

"Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

Here's the core team at our training session in Taiwan: