FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Question:
What is the difference between Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese characters?
Answer:
Simplified Chinese Characters are officially used in Mainland China, Singapore, Malaysia and the United Nations. They are one of two standard sets of Chinese characters of the contemporary Chinese written language. They are based mostly on popular cursive (caoshu) forms embodying graphic or phonetic simplifications of the "traditional" forms that were used in printed text for over a thousand years. The government of the People's Republic of China has promoted them for use in printing in an attempt to increase literacy.
Traditional Chinese is currently used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. Overseas Chinese communities generally use the traditional characters, but simplified characters are gradually gaining popularity as more mainland Chinese emigrate and travel abroad. At the same time, the prestige of traditional characters is increasing in the People's Republic of China.
Simplified character forms were created by decreasing the number of strokes and simplifying the forms of a sizeable proportion of traditional Chinese characters. Many characters were left untouched by simplification, and are thus identical between the traditional and simplified Chinese orthographies.
Question:
What is the proper Asian business card etiquette?
Answer:
It is customary in Asia to hold your business card with both hands when presenting it. Make sure the Asian language side of your card is oriented towards the recipient. At the same time, you should bow or nod. Bowing is a universal gesture of respect especially when introducing yourself to senior level business people. Being aware of hierarchy is very important. If you are presenting your card to several individuals at once, be sure to start with the highest ranked individual first and then repeat the same protocol based on the descending order of rank. When handed a business card, it is considered rude to put it away immediately without attentively studying it for a moment. Never play with or scribble notes on business cards given to you. Always handle and treat cards you give and receive with care and respect.