I'm sharing an e-mail from Al Trussell with his permission:
I keep up with the class of '58 with the web page you maintain. Thank you so much for all the work and effort you do to keep all our class mates informed.
I have made most of the reunions but had to miss the 50th because I had previous commitments I could not change.
Seeing all the pictures of old friends caused me to really regret that I missed the reunion. I look forward to the 55th.
I now live in Chiang Mai Thailand after living in China for 12 years. Living in Thailand is wonderful and the Thai people are some of the most gracious in the world. Chiang Mai is in the north of Thailand near some beautiful mountains. My plans are to move into a new condo I recently purchased that has a fantastic view of the mountains. The south of Thailand has some of the most beautiful beaches and islands in the world which I love to visit for a holiday. The south of Thailand is less than an hours flight from my home.
Last year I finally sold the home I owned in California and made my permanent residence in Thailand. My business interest are still in China but I only make about 2 trips of about 1 month each a year there now to oversee the business. Although I have "officially" retired I like to keep my hand in my business to keep busy but it does not require much responsibility.
Thanks again,
Al
In Celebration of MHS Class of 1958
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
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5 comments:
Thanks for sharing. It is truly amazing some of the things our classmates have done.
Please share some photos, stories and insights you have gained living in China and Thailand. I know the news media does not give us a true picture of what the rest of the world is like. It would be very interesting if you shared some of your insights with us.
John,
I leave on Sunday for a 4 week trip to China. When I return I would be glad to share what I have learned about China over the past 12 years. You are exactly right that the US press does not give you a clear view of the rest of the world. It is my opinion that China is a "house of cards"... both socially and economically. The Chinese government are masters of making them self look good and to create nationalism in everything they do. Every thing the communist governments does is to solidify its place in the country and defeat anyone or group that threatens their supremacy. No communism in China is not the same brutal barbaric people like 1950 and 1960 but the Party still operates under absolute control of news media, society, and politics. The only thing the Party has done is to liberalize the economy which is not referred to as free market or better Capitalism with Chinese Characteristics. The party is a master in propaganda.
This is a link to an article that will give you a little concept of how the Chinese government created their own real estate problem in Beijing just so the world would think Beijing was a commerce center during the Olympics. As a result of the excessive building prior to the Olympics, Beijing now has a 14 year supply of vacant office buildings. Remember there is no private ownership of land in China only private ownership of buildings and improvements build on land leased from the government. So if a new building goes bankrupt, the private individuals loose their investment but the government still owns the land. Check out this link. http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-beijing-bust22-2009feb22,0,5564951.story?page=1
The Chinese government refuses to reveal how many students were killed in Tienanmen square in 1989,how many were killed in Tibet last year or how many children died in the earth quake in May 2008 when many school collapsed but buildings around them did not. Those numbers are classified as "state secrets" therefore anyone revealing these numbers would be charged with revealing state secrets and imprisoned.
This is a good link for reading about some of this. http://www.thestar.com/News/World/article/612948
Let me say I appreciate the Chinese people and have many friends among my fellow Chinese professors and previous students.
So I love the people of China but I do not even like the government of China.
Now Thailand is completely different story and is a struggling democracy with the opposing political parties still trying to settle differences by public protest rather than legitimately using democratic processes. More on that later.
Al,
Thanks for sharing your insights. I really look forward to your views on Thailand.
I know I would find it very interesting to learn more about all the things you have experienced ... how the average person views the US ... what you see as the future course of business and politics ...
Do you have relative freedom to travel in China and Thailand? Are your business/personal actions restricted in any way? How to the people regard you?
There is an old joke "What do you call a person who speaks more than one language? Multilingual. What do you call a person that speaks two languages? Bilingual. What do you call a person that speaks only one language? American." I know the world is shrinking. But I am afraid that many American still hold the opinion that we are the center of the universe.
I know we need to expand our knowledge of what goes on in these emerging countries. China is so huge we simply cannot ignore it. So I know you will be doing a real service by sharing your knowledge.
Thanks and I look forward to many additional post from you.
John
Al,
Your life is full of interesting activities, a measure of intrigue and certainly quite a bit of danger! Let's hope the government doesn't read our blog! Keep us posted so that we can be assured you're still among the free!
What kind of a bike are you riding?
Jinny
Jinny,
Nice to hear from you.
I ride a Honda motorcycle similar to the Shadow Aero in the US market but a smaller version for the Thai market.
I leave in about 2 hours for a business trip to China and hope there is no problem at the Bangkok Airport. During the crisis in November, I was stranded in Beijing for 4 days because the airport was closed in Bangkok.
Thailand is in crisis at this time because most people want to have a democracy but a few continue to want to have control of the government. Neither the police or military have significant training for riots or crowd management. The Thais are mostly peace loving people and avoid conflicts at all cost. It is know as "The Land of Smiles" although their are not a lot of smiles today. In general the people are fun loving and laid back in daily life. Sadly there is a small segment that still takes to the streets to settle disagreements.
The "Yellow Shirts" which represent the current government took to the streets in November and finally replaced the government in power at that time. Now the "Red Shirts" which represent the opposing party are taking to the streets for replace the current government.
Thailand is a parliamentarian government similar to England and Israel and thus the Party in power can loose power if they can not have a collation government.
Not sure what will happen over the next few days but they are critical to see if the current government can end this crisis without loosing power.
Mean while I expect to be in China and observe what is happening in Thailand.
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