256 CultureShock! China
Comments
Because people in China have become accustomed to living
so closely with others, they have a more relaxed set of social
boundaries when it comes to personal space. It is likely that
the repairman has the good intention of demonstrating his
dedication to fixing your problem and it would not occur to
him that his frequent, unannounced and untimely visits to
your home would cause you discomfort. He likes you and
wants to help you fix your problem, he is a little embarrassed
that it has gone on so long without being solved and so is
making up for lack of progress by showing great enthusiasm.
The appropriate answer is , because you live in two
different social contexts, you need to sit down with him
and his manager and while thanking him for his dedication
to fixing your problem, explain that there are rules that you
would like him to observe when helping you. You can explain
that you have a very busy life and require private time to
prepare for it and to relax. You need to do it in a way that
gives him ‘face’ for his efforts, but provides the outcome that
you require for your own sanity.SITUATION 7
It is 2:00 pm and you are sitting at your desk in the office
putting the finishing touches on next year’s budget, which
is due to your regional headquarters in an hour. Your
receptionist calls to inform you that a delegation from the
district government is at the reception and would like to
meet now. You tell her that she should inform them that you
are unavailable right now, but if they would like to make an
appointment, you would be happy to meet them later. She
calls back and says that they insist on meeting you because
they are in the building now. They are explaining the changes
in the labour laws to building tenants and need to inform
you of the new regulation that requires your company to
form a labour union within the week. You quickly email
your boss saying you will be an hour late getting the budget
to her and agree to meet them. During the meeting, they
pointedly explain to you the regulation change and tell you
that you will need to nominate a labour union leader within