The Atlantic: we get results!

Congratulations to the Atlantic's own Liam Casey, founder and CEO of PCH China Solutions and protagonist of my recent article about the factory-land of Southern China, "China Makes, the World Takes." (Article is subscribers-only; this slide show, which contains some pictures of Casey, is free.) Last week he was named Ireland's "Entrepreneur of the Year" by Ernst & Young.* Well done, Liam.

Casey informs me that in the last day or two he has received a number of congratulatory messages from contractors and business associates. These are not just about the august E&Y award but also about a long, detailed report on Casey's company and the larger Shenzhen economy, which has just appeared in the local Guangzhou newspaper. It's all in Chinese; it is illustrated with elegant photos by Michael Christopher Brown; in fact it is written by me; and it is a word-for-word translation of our original article. China' cavalier approach to copyright and the whole notion of intellectual property: this time it's personal.**

* Can't-say-it-often-enough policy note: Casey, who grew up in Cork and has built his business in China, hoped to become an entrepreneur in America but was driven out by visa rules. As the article says:

At age 29 he arrived in Southern California and worked briefly for a trading company. He says he would be in America still—“Laguna, Newport Beach, ah, I luvved it”—but he could not get a green card or long-term work permit, and didn’t want to try to stay there under the radar.

** Many other times too. In the 1980s, I visited Beijing and had a meeting with some officials from the defense ministry. As a gracious gesture they presented me with a special leather-bound copy of a book in Chinese. Indeed it was my own book National Defense, which they had (without asking, etc) translated for use in the some of their courses. They thought I would appreciate a copy. I told them I was pleased to have it.