I spent the last little while absolutely caught up in Mark Kitto’s essay on why he’s leaving China (H/T, Glenn) after 16 years of living and working there. And before that, he spent a stint there as a college student, including during the Tiananmen Square massacre. This guy knows China, and he has a great story to tell. If you have the time, I highly recommend reading the whole thing.
If you don’t, there is one bit that sticks out like a thumb that’s sore because you keep pounding it with a ball-peen hammer:
I must stress that this indictment has nothing to do with the trajectory of my own China career, which went from metal trading to building a multi-million dollar magazine publishing business that was seized by the government in 2004, followed by retreat to this mountain hideaway of Moganshan where my Chinese wife and I have built a small business centred on a coffee shop and three guesthouses, which in turn has given me enough anecdotes and gossip to fill half a page of Prospect every month for several years. That our current business could suffer the same fate as my magazines if the local government decides not to renew our short-term leases (for which we have to beg every three years) does, however, contribute to my decision not to remain in China.
How many hints does one guy need?
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