Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo recently pointed to gold mining on the island of Mindanao as a possible solution to her country's chronic financial problems. Philippines gold reserves are among the world's largest, and gold prices are near a six-year high. But the metal is no panacea; damage to the environment and battles over land rights are among the risks and impediments. The president is not the first in her country to have focused on gold. In pre-Hispanic times the metal was both a medium of exchange and a sign of status. Ferdinand Marcos' rise to power is still widely, if credulously, attributed to his discovery of a famous hoard of gold. This lecture will show how scholarly attention to precious metals, including silver, can yield a perspective on Philippine history that challenges conventional narratives. By foregrounding precious metals, the archipelago's past can be relocated--away from the peripheral position it occupies in most world histories and toward a strikingly central role in global events and trends. About the Speaker: Martin W. Lewis came to Stanford in Fall 2002 from Duke University, where he co-directed the Program in Comparative Area Studies. His first book examined the interactions of economic development, environmental degradation, and cultural change on the Philippine island of Luzon. His other publications include The Myth of Continents (1997), coauthored with Karen Wigen. He received his PhD in geography from the University of California, Berkeley in 1987.

Lunch will be served to those who respond to Okky Choi by Wednesday, April 9 by 12:00 noon. You can reach Okky at 650-724-8271 or via email at okkychoi@stanford.edu.

Seeking to tap the huge potential of Greater China, many in Asia seek to replicate the Silicon Valley model. Yet, as much art as it is science, successful VC investing has proven to be uneven in Asia. Why? With respect to innovation, why is it that Asians have good reputations for replicating but not creating cutting edge technology? Is there a disconnect when this is compared to the experiences of U.S. high-tech icons, such as Intel and Apple, filled with Asian-born -- and in many cases educated -- scientists and businessmen? How does the Silicon Valley experience track with Singapore's determined efforts to promote creativity? What lessons, if any, are applicable to Greater China? With respect to entrepreneurship in Greater China, it is clear that Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Mainland are full of hard-driving individuals seeking to build wealth and prosperity. However, in some ways, is there perhaps an overabundance of entrepreneurship? Are there too many in this part of the world who want to be in charge and too few to follow and implement? How can a more productive form of entrepreneurship be fostered?

About the speaker
Dr. Ta-lin Hsu is chairman and founder of H&Q Asia Pacific (H&QAP), a premier private equity firm investing in Asia and the U.S. since 1985. Through ten offices in the region, H&QAP invests in a variety of high-growth sectors, including technology, biotech, financial services, media and branded consumer products. H&QAP manages sixteen funds with approximately $1.6 billion in assets invested in over 250 portfolio companies. Three of these funds comprise $1.1 billion in assets and invest on a diversified basis across the Asia Pacific region while the remaining thirteen funds are country funds.

Dr. Hsu holds numerous advisory positions with governmental and industry organizations. He was a founding member of the prestigious Technology Review Board of Taiwan, a group established to advise the Executive Yuan on all technology matters. Dr. Hsu was also a founder of the Monte Jade Science & Technology organization, the premier nonprofit organization promoting technology exchange between Taiwan and the U.S. He was also a founder and first president of the Bay Area Chapter of the Chinese Institute of Engineers, the largest Chinese-American engineering society in the U.S.

Dr. Hsu received his Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley following a M.S. in electrophysics from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn and a B.S. in physics from National Taiwan University. He was a staff scientist at Allied Chemical for two years before joining IBM Research Laboratories in 1973. Dr. Hsu worked at IBM for twelve years, reaching the position of senior manager in the research division -- with corporate responsibility for advanced research and development of mass storage systems and technology -- before joining Hambrecht & Quist as a general partner in 1985.

Dr. Hsu is an Advisory Board Member of the the University of California, Berkeley, Haas School of Business, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Asia Foundation.

In January last year, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld declared that the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization would henceforth be known as the Missile Defense Agency. More than just a name change and an elevation of bureaucratic status, Rumsfeld's reorganization made changes that altered the way the new agency would manage its programs and that signaled a radical departure from the way business is done in the rest of the Defense Department.

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

With China's fast growth pace, the build-up of its communication network is one important factor to ensure continuous growth. However, with the gloomy economy in the rest of the world, China's service providers are adjusting their investment strategy. Understanding the dynamics in the Greater China region will help capture market opportunity.

Mr. Gwong-Yih Lee is a distinguished entrepreneur, leader, and visionary in the emerging telecom market. Currently, he serves as a senior director of Global Solutions at Cisco Systems. Prior to Cisco, Mr. Lee was founder and chairman/CEO of TransMedia Communications, Inc. Acquired by Cisco in 1999 at the value of approximately $500 million, TransMedia builds products that capitalize on the opportunities created by the convergence of data, voice, and video. In 1999, TransMedia was selected as "Best of Breed" startup by the industry's top venture capitalists.

In May 1987, Mr. Lee founded Digicom Systems, Inc., a company devoted to high-speed modern communications applications in both software algorithms and hardware. Digicom has developed, manufactured, marketed, and supported a full continuing line of high speed communications products and was acquired by Creative Technology, Ltd. In 1994, prior to Mr. Lee's founding Digicom Systems, he held positions as a senior engineering manager with Silicon Valley firms including Anderson Jacobson, Racal-Datacom, and Cermetek Microelectronics.

Mr. Lee received a bachelor's degree from National Chiao-Tung University in Taiwan and a master's degree in electrical engineering from New York State University.

Japanese themselves describe the habitat for entrepreneurship in Japan as a "wasteland", a "desert." It has been decades since the world has seen the growth of Japanese corporate giants from start-up seeds. Where are the Microsofts, Oracles, SUNs, Ciscos, E-Bays? The Japanese entrepreneurial "habitat" is dysfunctional in many ways--cultural, social, personal, educational, governmental. Fixing the "habitat" is not easy because it is so multidimensional and requires coordinated industrial and governmental policies and much cultural change. What is needed now is one (or a few) experiments in "habitat" design to demonstrate that successful "habitats" can be established in Japan. In a recent book (published in Japanese), Brunner and I proposed that Special Entrepreneurial Zones (SEZs) be established. We gave some rather specific recommendations for "habitat" design (i.e. the rules of the SEZ). The timing of our SEZ proposal is fortunate because the Japanese government and Diet are now earnestly considering the establishment of special economic zones, so there is some hope for an SEZ that will (experimentally, at least) make the "desert" bloom.