The worst of Asian values was on display at the Olympics in
London, and I was embarrassed. Eight female badminton players
from China, Korea, and Indonesia tried to lose their games, so
they would reserve their energy, have good positions in the next
round, avoid matches against other players from their countries,
or secure sure wins or medals. It was painful to watch not
because their games did not excite me but because of how "losing
to win," a game strategy that, I believe, exists all over Asia,
made some question the values of Asians as far as integrity,
honesty, honor, and sportsmanship are concerned. I wrote about
this strategy in one of my early blog posts about business
anthropology. I believe it is of Chinese origin. Sun Tzu wrote
about losing a battle but winning a war. Buddhism has personal
sacrifice for spiritual merit. I don't really wonder why Chinese
couples can kill their female babies just so they will have
chances to have sons under the child policy of their government.
Having a son is a big