Megan Shank dot com

Ever seen the lackluster performance of China’s students performing their morning exercises? The poor dears are limp from late-night study sessions.
Well, beginning in mid-October, Chinese students have been required, by new government regulation, to add some distance to their morning runs – 2,000 meters for high school students, 1,500 meters for those in junior [...]

Another behemoth info tech company is buying majority shares of its Chinese counterpart.

Monster Worldwide buys 55 pct of ChinaHR for $174 mln
BEIJING, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Employment website company Monster Worldwide Inc said on Wednesday it had completed its full acquistion of ChinaHR by purchasing a remaining 55 percent stake for $174 million in [...]

For the October edition of Newsweek Select.
China’s Bush Years
The US Ambassador to the PRC recalls the administration’s challenges and triumphs
Only one sitting US president has ever attended an Olympic Games’ opening ceremonies (clue: it was Beijing’s), and only one US president has visited China more than once during their time in office. As the [...]

For the October edition of Newsweek Select.
Pilgrim’s Politics
First- and second-generation Asian Americans seek representation
By Megan Shank
Shanghai
With hard work and increasing equality, even the son of interned immigrants can achieve the American dream, Mike Honda a California Congressman and Vice Chair of the Democratic National Convention said in his speech on day two of the DNC. [...]

Mayor Potential
As a Taiwanese immigrant and New York City’s first—and only— Asian American councilmember, John Liu can identify with 2008 Democratic nominee Barack Obama’s unconventional American story and has championed the candidate in recent months. But after November’s battle is fought, many tasks remain for Liu, who has announced a run for an as-yet-unannounced citywide [...]

I’ve not posted any of my translations for quite some time; here’s one I did of a column written by my Newsweek Select colleague.
The Next American President in China
By Chen Xu
How will the Chinese people regard the next American president? No harm in looking back at the previous administrations.
As a child, because I [...]

(For the forthcoming “To Shanghai with Love” travel guide.)
On tiptoes, we scurried through midnight’s halls past portraits of famous dead men who had once slept here. Occasionally our fingers, still chilled by the October night of strolling along the Huangpu River, interlaced. Stifling giggles, we pulled them apart. Quick stops to tug at a [...]

Jimmy Choos they are not, but Chinese-inspired creations provide new kicks. Communism meets couture with Ospop sneakers ($75), designed, created—and worn!—by Chinese laborers, these high-tops feature tough canvas and an industrial look; the outside of each shoe is imprinted with the Chinese character for labor. Seeking fancier footwear? Adidas Originals has created a gold-emblazoned [...]

Another small piece from the play I’m working on here:
Poses
By Megan Shank
I told myself this Christmas we wouldn’t be like before. John says my daughter and I are like fire and oil.
“Just like fire and oil,” he says.
I don’t know. I suppose so. It’s been that way since she started high school. [...]

We love tall buildings. They bring us above ourselves and show us the landscape we’ve created, the stream of life to which we belong but from which we’re often so anxious to escape.
But in this world, new anxieties challenge us to view tall buildings in a new way; they dare us to overcome our [...]

Here’s a blog post and photo I provided for Newsweek.com.
On a clear-skied Sunday in New York City’s Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, a dozen Asian American teenagers scarf down hot dogs, fly kites and do their bit for the U.S. presidential race. Over the din of a crowd cheering rowers at the annual Hong Kong Dragon [...]

Companies have done their best to capitalize on the Olympics, whether via serving as an official sponsor or posing as one, amping up brand image, signing up stars or pushing new products.
A high-level PepsiCo Food manager recently revealed to me a locally developed snack set for a post-Olympic China release. She gave me a [...]

如果您在公司里面曾经遭受过性骚扰或认识遭受性骚扰的人请您打我的手机或者发给我e-mail.我想要更深入的了解您的情况。我会帮您匿名。
谢谢，
梅兰
If you have experienced sexual harassment at work in China or know someone who has, please call or e-mail me. I will protect your identity.
Thank you,
Megan

For Huffpo
Mao once purged the Chinese pursuit of superstitious practices and beliefs, including numerology. However, in using the date 8/8/08 for its biggest international event, the current government has instead embraced the way of the people and their beliefs, despite reservations about such ideas being unscientific.
Eight has traditionally been thought of as an auspicious number [...]

July
Enterprise Q&A
In China, 3M products may be as ubiquitous as the water one drinks or the air one breathes, but they’re also just as easily taken for granted. That is until the Sichuan earthquake in May, which threw even the expectation of basic necessities into sharp relief. Within the week of the quake, 3M [...]

I provide foreign-friendly recommendations for National Geographic Traveler.
More about my own recent travels soon.

I’m off to San Francisco to visit an old friend whom I haven’t seen in six years before flying to Maui to spend a week with my four brothers and parents on the beach in celebration of my mother and father’s 35th wedding anniversary. It will be the first family vacation we’ve had in years [...]

Here’s a little piece I did for Sprig.com.

June
Enterprise QA
China’s most recent tragedy in Sichuan has left untold thousands dead or injured, but each year in China, scores more Chinese die from otherwise preventable illnesses. In addition to donating over 10 million Renminbi and medical supplies to the earthquake victims, Glaxo Smith Kline has also provided life-saving vaccines and medicine to China during [...]

Dealing with It
MNCs learn to cope with the Labor Law
By Megan Shank
Shanghai
Last year, several multinational corporations, such as Microsoft and General Electric, fought a clause of the Labor Law that made it difficult to fire workers. The Labor Law, which went into effect January 1 this year, shifts power and rights from the employer [...]