This seminar is part 1 of SPRIE's 5-part series on "Greater China: Entrepreneurial Leaders."

For a long time, researchers have asked whether the success of Silicon Valley can be replicated elsewhere. There have been various levels of attempts and various levels of success outside the United States.

Depending on how success is measured, one can draw different conclusions. How do we evaluate Hsinchu Science Park? Have they created innovative products? Have they produced entrepreneurs? How do they stack up to Silicon Valley? What is their competitive edge? As China joins the WTO, what should its strategy be?

On a long-term basis, what are the factors that will drive and deliver sustainable competitive advantages? With changes in global economic conditions, how does one re-evaluate the Silicon Valley model? As China joins the WTO, what should its strategy be? And as China becomes the manufacturer of the world, what is its impact on Taiwan and Silicon Valley?

This talk offers an analysis of experiences in Silicon Valley and Asia in the past twenty years. It also offers some reflections on the model and strategy for Greater China.

Since November 1998, Sha has been a managing partner at Spring Creek Venture, which specializes in early-stage venture investment and business consultation with Internet and infrastructure companies. Sha is currently serving on the board of directors of several start-up companies, including Appstream, Acela, Aduva, E21, LiveABC, Optoplex, Mediostream, and Tom.com.

Sha has extensive experience as a leader of high technology companies. He served as CEO for Sina.com and senior vice president of Commerce Solutions at Netscape Communications. While at Netscape, he served concurrently as president and CEO of Actra Business Systems, a joint venture formed by Netscape and GE Information Services. A company Sha built from scratch, Actra was the first company to focus on business-to-business e-commerce and e-procurement application systems. Prior to Actra, Mr. Sha served as vice president and general manager of business-to-consumer integrated application business at Netscape Communications and vice president of the UNIX Product Division at Oracle Corporation.

In his community service, Sha served as chairman of the Monte Jade West Coast association from 2000-2001. Sha currently is serving as chairman of the Monte Jade Global Association, the premier technology entrepreneur association with twelve chapters in the United States, Canada, Singapore, and Taiwan.

Mr. Sha holds an MS in EECS from the University of California at Berkeley, an MBA from Santa Clara University, and a BS in EE from Taiwan University.

Ambassador Kato will give a brief talk after which he would like to spend the rest of the hour answering your questions about the relationship between the United States and Japan. Brief Biography of Ryozo Kato, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the United States of America Ryozo Kato was appointed ambassador of Japan to the United States on November 8th. Ambassador Kato graduated from Tokyo University, faculty of law, in 1965, whereupon he entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Japan. He has held numerous posts in the Ministry, including posts director of the Security Affairs Division (1981-1984), Treaties Division (1984-1987), General Affairs Division (1990-1992), North American Affairs Bureau (1992-1994) and as director-general of the Asian Affairs Bureau (1995-1997) and the Foreign Policy Bureau (1997-1999). Most recently, Ambassador Kato was the deputy minister for Foreign Affairs at the Ministry from 1999-2001. He is married to Hanayo and they have three children.

Lin Shu-ya will discuss the Taiwanese government's reserved land policy that is aimed at aiding indigenous people to be self-sufficient and integrate into mainstream society. This policy has been the main government policy for 50 years even though Ms. Lin argues that collective management might be a better option for the indegenous communities, allowing them to collectively manage their traditional territory. Varamon Ramangkura will discuss te impact of recent WTO free-trade versus the environment disputes on industry in Thailand. Ms Ramangkura will show that pressure from the WTO on the Thai government is forcing the closure of local shrimp farms and reducing the sustainability of this industry in Thailand. Shimamura Kazuyuki will analyze the problems of the land use system in Japan. Even after recent reforms in land use, the municipalities enact undemocratic, informal and opaque local ordinances for land use. Mr. Shimamura argues that the reforms must be adopted by the local governments and made fiscally transparent, be based on the needs of the citizens and that there is a necessity to create a legal foundation for broader delegation, particularly regarding the comprehensive planning system at the municipality level.

The success of India's export-oriented software industry is well known. Whether information technology (IT) can contribute to development beyond the obvious income effects generated by software exports depends on how pervasive are IT's impacts on the economy, ranging from improving the efficiency of existing businesses, to enabling new kinds of goods and services. In a developing country such as India, it is of particular interest whether such benefits can reach the poor, and even help in directly reducing the deprivations associated with poverty. Professor Singh's talk and paper will examine two ongoing experiments that aim to provide IT-based services to rural populations in India. Several features distinguish these experiments from others: a combination of public and private efforts, with "nonprofit" organizations acting as catalysts; goals of commercial sustainability, both for the local entrepreneurs and the nonprofits; and an eclectic approach to the services that are sought to be provided. The paper's main contribution is to draw some preliminary lessons from comparing two different approaches in localities that are geographically close and economically similar. While the ultimate goals of the two organizations studied are quite similar, he identifies some important differences in implementation that may have more general implications for the success of such experiments. Nirvikar Singh is currently Director of the Business Management Economics Program at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he is Professor of Economics. He teaches courses on business strategy, technology and innovation, and electronic commerce, as well as graduate microeconomic theory. He has consulted for the World Bank and for high-tech start-ups in Silicon Valley. Professor Singh's current research topics are electronic commerce, business strategy, technology and innovation, governance and economic reform in India, federalism, international water disputes, and economic growth.

As 39th President of the United States, Jimmy Carter's significant foreign-policy accomplishments included the Panama Canal treaties; the strategic arms limitation treaty (SALT II) signed with Soviet president Leonid Brezhnev; the Camp David Accords between Israeli premier Menachem Begin and Egyptian president Anwar el-Sadat; and the establishment of full diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China.

A graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Mr. Carter's naval career took him to many parts of the world, including Asia. He rose to the rank of lieutenant, working under Admiral Hyman Rickover in the nuclear submarine program. President Carter's rise to political prominence began when he chaired the Sumter County School Board in his native Georgia. After serving as the first president of the Georgia Planning Association he was elected to the State Senate in 1962, followed by his election as state governor in 1971. He announced his candidacy for the United States presidency in 1974 and won the general election in 1976, thereby completing the most rapid ascent in modern American politics.

In 1982 Mr. Carter became University Distinguished Professor at Emory University in Atlanta. In partnership with the university he also founded The Carter Center, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization actively promoting human rights, international conflict resolution, agriculture advancements in the developing world, and the prevention of disease. President Carter is the author of sixteen books, many now in revised editions, including most recently Talking Peace: A Vision for the Next Generation. President and Mrs. Carter are also regular volunteers for Habitat for Humanity, earning national recognition for an organization dedicated to building affordable housing for the needy.

The Oksenberg Lectures honor the memory of Professor Michel Oksenberg, who was a senior fellow at the Institute for International Studies. A pioneer in the field of Chinese politics, Mike was an important force in shaping American attitudes toward China, and was consistently outspoken about the need for the United States to be more thoughtful and informed in its engagement of Asia.

Professor Oksenberg was a cherished colleague here at the Asia/Pacific Research Center, and a beloved mentor to generations of China scholars. As a tribute to his legacy, the Shorenstein Forum has established The Oksenberg Lectures, to be delivered annually by a distinguished practitioner of America's affairs with Asia.