Language Hitches at Inaugural Consumer Electronics Show in Shanghai

Internet blocks and language hitches troubled international visitors to the first Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Asia, which is being held this week in Shanghai. This is the first time that the CES is hosted outside of the United States. Since 1967, the CES has been held in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Although the event itself went on according to plan, there were many complaints about the lack of news announcing the event. Many expressed frustration over the Internet restrictions in China.

Gary Shapiro, the President and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, the organizer of the show, spoke to the attendees on Monday. He said that they expect the event to flourish in the region and be a rival to the annual event held in Las Vegas.

But there were oversights and slips that were noticeable, which seldom, if at all, happen when the show is held in the United States. When Kirk Skaugen delivered the keynote address of Intel, an executive of Haier, a Chinese multinational consumer electronics group, announced the two company’s partnership for the production of wireless charging devices. However, the executive, Wang Ye only spoke in Chinese and showed slides annotated in Chinese. There were no explanations or translations provided for attendees who do not speak Chinese. The gaffe frustrated many foreign reporters and business executives.

Another keynote address was supposed to be presented in English, but it became apparent that it would not be the case when DC Chien of IBM delivered his presentation. Attendees had to scramble to the back of the hall to get their headsets to listen to the English translation.

Another glaring issue showing that the event likely forgot it had international participants was when the book, “Digital Destiny” that was written by Shawn DuBravac, the chief economist of Consumer Electronics Association, was handed out. The only version they gave out to guests was written in Chinese.

Aloysius Low of CNet forecast that the show’s first outing would define the foundation of the event’s future in the region. The prediction seemed to hit the mark, because there were many complaints about the lack of important partnerships and product announcements at the CES Asia. Throughout the history of the event in Las Vegas, attendees have seen the debut of many products, including compact disc players, HDTVs and the Xbox of Microsoft.

During the show, exhibitors were supposed to have an established brand or innovative product to exhibit, but according to reports, many of the items shown were copies of Western products. Others were quick to add that it was ironic that a technology and Internet conference has been held in a country were restriction on web access is very high. What could be more ironic than Twitter’s Shailesh Rao delivering his keynote speech during the conference despite the fact that Twitter’s service had been blocked since 2009 in China?

There was Internet access during the CES Asia but it was filtered and users had to access it via a virtual private network or VPN, which was very difficult.

Image Copyright: CES show held in Las Vegas by Kobby Dagan / 123RF Stock Photo