Ex-Google China chief Kai-fu Lee thanks online supporters after cancer diagnosis

[CityFarmer]

All are equal in-front of cancer... Wish you all the best, Mr. Lee Kai-fu...

Ex-Google China chief Kai-fu Lee thanks online supporters after cancer diagnosis

Kai-fu Lee, founder of Innovation Works and one of China’s most influential social critics, is fighting cancer.

The 51-year-old former president of Google China issued a statement on Friday thanking his more than 51 million followers after revealing he had been diagnosed with lymphoma.

“I am touched after reading the warm comments you left for me,” Lee wrote on Friday, “although lymph cancer doesn’t sound optimistic and it makes my family and friends worried, this is life. It comes as a surprise, but I should face it calmly. Pain is part of life, I will face the ups and downs of life with a more positive attitude.”

Lee didn’t reveal more details about his illness.
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http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1...ter-cancer

[CityFarmer]

Mr. Lee's illness triggers a concern on work-life balance in China, the same has been discussed in Singapore recently...

Singapore's annual leave is 7 days minimum, while China is 5 days. Both public holidays are around 11 days...

The work-life balance dilemma in China

BEIJING — The public disclosure by one of China’s best-known technology entrepreneurs that he has cancer and how that has changed his view of life, has led some business people to re-evaluate their aggressive pursuit of wealth and success.

Mr Kai-Fu Lee recently revealed his lymphoma diagnosis in a message to his 50 million followers on Sina Weibo. But what has resonated far wider is his repudiation of the work-comes-first mentality that drives so many Chinese business people.

“It’s only now, when I’m suddenly faced with possibly losing 30 years of life, that I’ve been able to calm down and reconsider,” wrote the 52-year-old founder and CEO of technology incubator Innovation Works and former President of Google China. He said macho efforts like seeing who could sleep less were naive.

The number of people diagnosed with cancer every year in the country is expected to almost double to 6.6 million in 2020, according to the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Pollution and unhealthy lifestyles are among the main culprits, research shows.

The long working hours in the region has something to do with the Asian culture, said Ms Justine Campbell, a counsellor and coach at Mindquest Group.

“There is a hidden rule that you can’t leave the office until your boss leaves. Work-life balance is hardest for middle management. It is about how to fit it all in.”

Her advice for these workers is “to delegate and outsource work, schedule relaxation time and try not to be so hard on themselves”.

Chinese workers report that they are feeling increasingly stressed out, with 75 per cent saying their stress level has risen in the past year.

In the rest of the world, an average 48 per cent of workers said they felt more stress, according to a survey by temporary-office-space provider Regus.

One factor that works against the Chinese is many workers get only five vacation days a year, among the fewest in the world, according to Mercer, a human-resources consulting company.
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http://www.todayonline.com/chinaindia/ch...emma-china