Flying from HK to LAX is just like going to the moon. American in general, and LAX in particular is like visiting a miniature UN, a fat farm, and a shock-therapy treatment center all in just a few hours. First person off the plane that I talk to is

I was out of Guangdong Province last next week making some factory visits on behalf of clients. I was in Jiangsu, Anhui, Shanghai, Zhejiang and Fujian visiting with about 10 different manufacturers over a 7 day period. So this is a good time to make some general observations between the

Reports of an “Internet War” between China and the US. China is apparently developing a new internet (CNGI) to increase “innovation” and global competitiveness in China. My first thoughts (ok, my second thoughts after—“considering recent trends this certainly means more government control”) are: Why is this a “war?” Why

Apple got busted. Not because Apple itself was doing anything illegal, as the evidence finally bore out—although their subcontractor may have been a little iffy on a few minor issue. Nor were Apple or their subcontractor doing anything that most other factories in China aren’t also doing. They

I spent 12 hours in a factory on Monday resolving concerns, fighting with resistant engineers, negotiation with managers, hobnobbing with the owners over lunch, discussing solutions with line managers, reviewing standards with QC/QA folks and generally working though every single production issue imaginable to try and jump start a