And instead, they're paint-spraying your walls and hurling stones, and you're like, "What did I --?" You know, giving you molotov cocktails in your courtyard, things like that. So I think we're caught completely off guard by this kind of reaction...
This reminded me of how a lot of Americans felt re: 9/11. There are, of course, some significant differences (e.g. the freedom of the press and of expression in the U.S. versus state-controlled management of national identity in China), but there are some significant similarities as well (e.g. wholesale cluelessness about how one's own country is perceived negatively by large sectors of the rest of the world.) ... all progress depends on the unreasonable mensch.(apologies to G.B. Shaw)
A fair amount of my own work at present is discussing the state of the huge wind industry in China: where it is and where it's going. There is a disaster for windpower in the making there, of global proportions because it's in China. The hardware quality is very poor, infrastructure will take years to build, and turbines are performing poorly. A high-level colleague, reporting from Beijing, told me this week that the Chinese only care about megawatts installed, and are not concerned that MWhs are not being produced. (Should I be saying this in public?)
In order to craft some sort of solution to this pending black-eye to windpower, it is essential to have a better understanding of the Chinese culture and mind set. This diary is a good start for me. Skennah Kowa
I am not too surprised that the quality of wind power hardware is not that great at this point. On the other hand, I am wondering, did your colleague in Beijing say if there have been any noticeable improvements in this area? (As I mentioned in another comment a while back, similar criticisms were made about Japanese products back in the 50s and 60s, but of course, things have changed since then.)
Also, are there any other countries comparable to China in their level of economic development/industrialization that are players in the wind industry? If so, how does the quality of their hardware and output compare with China's? ... all progress depends on the unreasonable mensch.(apologies to G.B. Shaw)
