In The News

Inglish as She's Spoke

Gurcharan Das May 3, 2005
The worldwide spread of English has seen a rise in colloquially "blended languages," from Franglais (French and English) to Spanglish (Spanish and English) to Taglish (Tagalog and English), and so on. This Outlook India piece suggests a new addition: Inglish (Hindi and English). As the author writes, English is the ticket to a good job and middle class status in India. It unites...

Business: A Jack Welch of Communists

Sarah Schafer May 3, 2005
While China is already a world economic powerhouse, it has produced virtually no global companies. Haier, arguably China's most respected business leader, aims to change this. With over US$10 million in debt in the early 1980s, the firm started from humbled beginnings. Today, though, Haier is one of the world's top five producers of household appliances, with 30,000 employees and more...

India's IT Prodigals Return Home

Harsh Kabra May 2, 2005
"Brain gain" is booming in India as highly-skilled expatriates are returning home. A recent mini-migration of some 25,000 engineers, software designers, managers, and other professionals has taken place between the United States and India in the past four years. The numbers are still growing. The decision to uproot after decade or more of life in the US is motivated by a new land of...

Don't Tell Liz, but the Sari's So Out

Amelia Gentleman April 29, 2005
When British actress Elizabeth Hurley donned a sari recently in New York, she unknowingly committed a fashion faux-pas: The sari is the last generation's fashion. India's growing urban elite is fast abandoning the national dress for more comfortable clothing, like jeans. "It requires a lot of maintenance," says Hindol Sengupta, author of Indian Fashion. "Modern women don...

Nationalism Pits Shanghai Against its Global Ambition

James Farrer April 29, 2005
As China's center for foreign investment and cosmopolitan culture, Shanghai provides an intriguing case study on the intersection of globalism and nationalism, writes James Farrer. During the recent wave of anti-Japanese protests, demonstrators' voices alternated between an intensely nationalist rhetoric and a more subdued, moderate internationalism. And as for government reaction to...

Not Your Average Chinese Worker

Edward Cody April 29, 2005
NBA player Yao Ming can add a new award to his collection: the title of "vanguard worker." The honor, bestowed every five years upon people whom the Chinese Communist Party believes to be exemplary, selfless workers, has ignited debate over what it means to be a Chinese worker. For many in China, the 7-foot-6-inch (2.28 meter) millionaire does not fit the tradition of blue-collar...

Quietly Sprouting: A European Identity

Katrin Bennhold April 27, 2005
Recent debate over the ratification of the EU constitution indicates that the political unification of Europe may lag behind its cultural, educational, and economic unification. Today, many Europeans, from countries far in the west to newly-admitted EU member states in the east, admit to feeling more "European" than any distinct nationality. While strong associations with a home country...