James Osborn

I would like to start with my apologies for not writing to this blog for the past month or so. I have been busy with exams and the last few weeks of university fun. As I write I am sat in a bar in Spain piggybacking off the free Wi-Fi and sipping San Miguel.

I am posting a rare personal message today. In the past I have used this blog merely as an outlet for my musings on the financial, business and online world however I have big news which may affect my future perspective and so I thought it relevant. I would like to start writing more personal entries anyway and so I am breaking the ground so-to-speak with this.

My biggest news is that I have been accepted to spend a year at City University in Hong Kong for which I applied several months ago. I embark on the 20th of August and plan to continue with my management course which I started at Lancaster. I applied to study in the Far East because of the paradigm shift we have seen over the past few decades which has seen China, once a country which chose to isolate itself from the world seek the industrialisation similar to what we in Britain experienced in the 1800’s. 1.2 billion people now seek the same level of wealth and status as we in the west have enjoyed for centuries. In 1950 the average Chinese person earned $454 per capita (calculated at 1985 values) at sharp contrast to Western Europeans who were earning $4,902. Since the cultural revolution and Mao’s death however China has been on an unprecedented mission to catch up and has hurtled forward at breakneck speed causing many economists to predict that by 2040 China will surpass the US as the world’s largest economy. Experiencing business in an economy growing so quickly (even in the current climate) will undoubtedly be an invaluable experience.

The more historically or globally aware amongst you may observe that Hong Kong is in fact not a Chinese state. After the British surrendered the colony as recently as 1997 it became a ‘special administration district’ of China and as a result holds a unique position as an anchor between east and west making Hong Kong  - I hope - an ideal place to study Chinese culture without being uncomfortably detached from my own. English is also the second most spoken language (behind Chinese Mandarin).

I plan to continue with all my current obligations (such as the podcast – despite the time difference) and write more on this website perhaps about Hong Kong itself as well as my web-related interests and business observations.

Tagged as Asia, China, Hong Kong, Job, Job Search, United Kingdom + Categorized as Personal