2023 Is Almost Over, and I Do Not Miss It at All

In 4 more days, 2023 will be over. And yet, I do not miss it at all.

Professor has never been especially enthusiastic about year-end notes, but this year feels a little different. If I do not write something down, I fear I may regret it years from now. So I will roughly record a few episodes here, as material for future nostalgia.

Keyword of the Year: Chaotic Good

Before unpacking this year’s keyword, it is necessary to explain what “chaotic good” means.

“Chaotic good” comes from the game setting of Dungeons & Dragons. In the game, there are 9 alignments in total, and “chaotic good” is one of them.

“Chaotic good” is also known as the “rebel” alignment, the “free spirit” alignment, or the “cynic” alignment. Chaotic good characters support any change that makes the world better and despise all bureaucratic institutions that hinder social progress. They value not only their own freedom, but also the freedom of others. They believe in goodness and justice, but do not obey laws and rules; they hate coercion and the act of inciting others. They always want to do good, yet their theories and actions are often not accepted by the world.

However, in Professor’s keyword of the year, “chaotic good” is not meant in quite such an extreme game-defined sense. It only needs to be split into “chaotic” and “good.”

“Chaotic” represents changes in the external environment, while “good” means that throughout this process, one can still follow one’s heart and act with a belief in reason and integrity.

“Chaotic” seems easy enough to understand. From the lingering impact of the Russia-Ukraine war at the beginning of the year to the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict at year’s end, this year made people in China who had long grown used to peace and progress—Professor included—taste for the first time that something like “World War III” is not merely a story in a novelist’s imagination, but a practical political issue that could happen in the real world at any moment. The year’s character seemed to be full of chaos and turbulence. Beyond increasingly frequent regional wars and conflicts, the domestic economic environment also became ever more challenging, and the direct effect was that the chill of the industry winter cut even more deeply.

In recent years, people in the pharmaceutical industry have faced increasingly frequent and severe changes. From the “soul-crushing” price negotiations in the national reimbursement talks a few years ago, to the recent medical anti-corruption campaign sweeping the entire industry, it seems that practitioners across the whole industry chain, upstream and downstream, are facing unprecedented challenges. The era marked by VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity) has arrived, and I believe industry practitioners will use this word more and more often. Of course, there is no need for everyone to be anxious. These changes put practitioners more or less on the same starting line, and we will always be able to find solutions through cross-functional collaboration. If you do feel excessively anxious, I recommend watching Dr. Brene Brown’s TED talk, The power of vulnerability. I believe it will be enlightening.

Even so, we must also clearly recognize that the state’s guidance and reform of the medical industry is, overall, positive and progressive. The industry is undergoing a historic upheaval. Professor is more inclined to see this as an era full of enormous opportunities, rather than narrowly believing that current policies and external-environment challenges will hinder full competition in the industry.

In the middle of the year, the National Healthcare Security Administration released the 2022 Statistical Bulletin on the Development of National Healthcare Security. The data in it was quite encouraging:

By the end of 2022, the number of people enrolled in national basic medical insurance (hereinafter basic medical insurance) reached 134592 ten-thousand people, with the participation rate remaining above 95%; in 2022, total revenue of the national basic medical insurance (including maternity insurance) fund was 30922.17 hundred million yuan, an increase of 7.6% over the previous year; total expenditure of the national basic medical insurance (including maternity insurance) fund was 24597.24 hundred million yuan, an increase of 2.3% over the previous year; the current-year balance of the national basic medical insurance (including maternity insurance) fund was 6324.93 hundred million yuan, and the accumulated balance was 42639.89 hundred million yuan, of which the accumulated balance of individual accounts for employee basic medical insurance (hereinafter employee medical insurance) was 13712.65 hundred million yuan.

It should be understood that, as the largest payer in China’s medical market, national medical insurance plays an extremely prominent role in our public-hospital-led healthcare system. In 2019, about 50% of public hospitals’ medical and pharmaceutical revenue came from direct settlement by medical insurance, while in county-level hospitals and primary-level institutions, medical insurance fund revenue accounted for 56% and 65% of income respectively (Source: National Healthcare Security Research Institute). Looking at the changes in medical insurance fund revenue and expenditure over the past dozen or so years, we can clearly see that the scale of national medical insurance has maintained stable, high-speed growth. This means that the entire industry still has enormous room for development. Together with expectations of intensified population aging, the medical industry will certainly be a very important piece in the country’s economic landscape in the future—or rather, a pillar industry.

Think back to 10 years ago, when the scale of our medical insurance had only just crossed the 8000 hundred-million-yuan threshold, roughly a bit over 1000 hundred million US dollars. At that time, MNCs’ China businesses often accounted for less than 5% of their global revenue, and China’s market ranking was far behind markets like the “little devils.”

Over these 10 years, we have had national reimbursement negotiations, volume-based procurement, the two-invoice system, consistency evaluation, and a series of industry reforms that came down like thunder. At the same time, we have also been surprised to find that MNCs’ China businesses gradually began to exceed 5% of global revenue, even 10% or more, and the market ranking gradually caught up with the “little devils,” even rising to second place in the global market, behind only the United States.

More importantly, we have found that local BioTech forces are becoming increasingly strong. In many subfields, they have gradually shown a tendency toward global leadership. Compared with the excellent performance of First-in-Class products, an even more positive change may be that more and more multinational giants are planning China-in strategies at the new-product R&D and clinical-experience stages. The goal is also very clear: they hope new products can be launched in the Chinese market simultaneously at first launch, thereby fully unlocking the products’ commercial value.

All of this was once unimaginable to us, yet it is also happening in the present that we are personally experiencing, crystallized in the painful moments when industry people complain endlessly and even shed tears at negotiation sites.

It is precisely because of this that the second meaning in the keyword of the year emerges: “good.”

How does one follow one’s heart and do the right thing in a VUCA environment?

This is a very difficult question to answer, and each person may even have a different answer. The company Professor works for has always upheld high compliance and ethical standards. Imperceptibly, this has also become Professor’s requirement for himself in work and life.

At work, as an employee in a support function, Professor’s efforts in digitalization and innovation achieved a few modest results this year. By introducing innovative technology platforms, we improved business efficiency while simplifying processes and reducing compliance risks. In life, I continued making monthly donations to UNICEF this year. At the same time, as a happy bachelor enjoying singlehood and therefore possessing plenty of spare time, I also began writing a blog to share knowledge. In addition, I started actively embracing AI and seriously studied LinkedIn Learning courses related to AI ethics.

Professor has always firmly believed that technological progress will create a better future for humanity, and therefore will embrace innovation with a more open mindset. Of course, we should also repeatedly forecast and manage the risks that come with it. For that reason, an MVP (minimum viable product) is often a good start.

Doing the right thing and welcoming the future with a positive mindset—this is probably the portrait of this year. I hope that in the days to come, I can always keep my original heart.

Work: The Office-Politics Circle One Cannot Escape

In the blink of an eye, Professor has already been with his current company for 4 years.

I vaguely remember that 4 years ago, a headhunter recommended this company because it had just opened a new headcount for Customer Journey Excellence work. The purpose was to improve the company’s overall effectiveness in digital customer engagement, and they hoped the candidate would have experience related to Loyalty Programs. The headhunter felt that Professor’s background was, overall, quite a good match for the position, and this company happened to be one of the few industry companies Professor had long admired. So after an in-depth discussion, the headhunter forwarded my resume to HR.

HR’s call arrived as scheduled. Many questions were covered, but one question that still leaves a deep impression was: why do you want to join the company? Hmm, a good question. At the time, I communicated candidly with HR and expressed a strong desire to join the company and create value for the enterprise. The subsequent rounds of communication also went very smoothly. 2 weeks later, I joined at lightning speed, just in time to enter the company in 2020 on the first working day. Later, when chatting with colleagues, Professor would always jokingly say that he had “been working at the company since the 20’s.” This series of efficient processes also once left Professor with a strong impression of the company’s administrative efficiency.

It is an honor that, in the blink of an eye, I have already worked here for 4 years.

Over these years, everything seemed to be going reasonably smoothly. The working atmosphere was relatively harmonious, and colleagues came across in communication as very positive, enterprising, and inclusive. In fact, these were concrete manifestations of the company’s values. Honestly, such a working environment and office atmosphere are exceptionally rare. At least, that is how Professor once felt.

2023 may have been destined to be an extraordinary year. There were great changes and many transformations; the enterprising spirit remained unchanged, and the company was still highly inclusive.

Only, gradually, there came to be more of a taste of office politics. In fact, that taste had always been there. The only difference lay in how rich it became, and therefore whether each person would deliberately pay attention to it.

These changes were not merely evolving quietly within some department or team. More often, they felt like proactive transformation of the entire organization as the company faced challenges in the external environment. As a member of the organization, one should actively adjust one’s mindset and embrace change. On this point, Professor has not done enough. Although Professor has plenty of experience using change-management tools in project management, when he himself becomes one of the people who need to change, he still needs to be more agile.

Lately, I have gradually begun to enjoy reading books, especially books on history. By chance, I saw this passage of history:

On March (month 3) 10, 1912, Yuan Shikai announced in Beijing that he would take office as provisional president, and the victorious fruit of the Xinhai Revolution was thus stolen by Yuan Shikai.

You see, Lord Yuan understood very well how to embrace change.

Life: Rediscovering the Joy of Music

In life, the biggest change this year was probably rediscovering my passion for music.

Professor has a clay xun that he had not been able to make sound for years. This year, I finally seemed to find the technique for playing the xun. Though haltingly, I can now follow teaching materials and play the notes “do re mi fa sol la si.”

At first, my interest in the clay xun was probably because I loved Sojiro’s The Original Scenery of the Hometown. This extremely ethereal piece of music is mainly played on the clay xun that Sojiro personally fired. The piece is very famous and has been used as background music in many period dramas. Friends who have not heard it can find it and give it a listen; I believe it will sound familiar.

Let us talk a little more about the xun.

The ancient xun can be counted as an instrument from remote antiquity. The earliest archaeologically traceable ancient xun is said to come from the era when humans lived in communal tribes, more than 7 thousand years ago.

Imagine that the instrument being played today was, in some tribe 7 thousand years ago, picked up by a young person who went out hunting with the others and gently played it to imitate some wild beast that has long since gone extinct. I wonder whether that day’s hunt brought everyone a rich harvest. Hopefully they did not return to the settlement empty-handed; otherwise, someone would probably have gone hungry again!

When I studied in Xi’an in the past, I went to antique markets, and clay xun were everywhere. Yet whenever I looked at those black clay xun on vendors’ stalls back then, I always felt something strange in my heart. At the time, I probably never imagined that nearly twenty years later, I would pick one up and repeatedly study how to make it sound. This feeling is as if the present self shook hands with the self from another time and space.

Besides that, I also bought the new AirPods Pro, and Apple happened to include a 6-month Apple Music trial.

The AirPods Pro have already justified their price, and they are more than enough for listening to Apple Music.

In the official Replay ’23 recap, the artist I listened to most and loved most was still Tarcy Su. So many years have passed, from middle school to middle age, from the ignorant boy for whom days felt like years, to a middle-aged uncle whose hair remains robust. My favorite songs may often change, but whenever I hear your singing, a faint sense of happiness always appears.

Thank you for letting your singing accompany Professor for so many years, dear Ms. Su.

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Investing: Forget About It

The A-share market this year was truly beyond absurd.

This year’s economy was also full of challenging voices everywhere. It seems there was hardly any industry especially worth singling out for discussion.

I have long since stopped looking at my stock account. As long as I do not look, it cannot hurt me, hahaha.

As for investing, let us pretend it does not exist.

By the way, I wish all of you an early escape from being trapped in losing positions!

A Little Mystical Story

Finally, let me tell a little mystical story.

This year, I had 2 very special experiences. I cannot say clearly whether they were illusions, but they did feel rather supernatural, so I will briefly record them here.

Once, while Professor was scrolling through short videos, he happened to come across a “person” dancing.

At that moment, the first psychological reaction in my heart after seeing it was: “What kind of world is this now? How are foxes all coming out to livestream themselves dancing?” Then I realized something was wrong—the one dancing should have been a human! So I tried carefully to identify it clearly, yet what I kept seeing was the form of a fox. Only in the end, by reconstructing it little by little from the details of the facial features, did I finally restore it into the form of a normal person. Unfortunately, I did not take a screenshot at the time, so now there is no way to confirm whether it was merely an illusion caused by blurred vision.

The other time was an experience in real life.

On Shanghai Metro Line 1 during the evening rush hour, there were especially many passengers, and the crowded carriage was full of men and women anxious to get home. On one occasion, when Professor was transferring at Hanzhong Road, a group of passengers happened to get on and stood near the door. Originally, Professor did not notice anything unusual, until at one point he happened to look up and noticed that the figure of a person beside him looked slightly blurred while playing with a phone. When I looked carefully, it turned out to be a long-faced, horse-faced person, which truly gave me a fright! Later, when getting off, I deliberately and quietly stared again, and what I indeed saw was a long-faced, horse-faced person.

These two experiences were separated by several months, so they probably were not illusions caused by stress or emotional factors during a particular period. Yet the only reasonable explanation seems to be illusion.

Most likely, either something is wrong with this world, or, with even higher probability, something is wrong with Professor.

Later, while having a meal, I shared these two bizarre experiences with Betty. She thought it might have been influenced by having previously read books on physiognomy and the like. But thinking carefully, books such as Bingjian do not seem to contain descriptions this outrageous, and these two illusions seemed more like something felt through “observing qi.”

Still, there is no need to dwell on it. Let us treat them as illusions. After all, we must have a dialectical-materialist mindset; how could it be so easy in this human world to see demons and monsters?

New-Year Outlook: Safety & Health

2023 is almost over, and I do not miss it at all.

2024 is coming, and I am full of expectations for it. I hope that in the new year, my family and I can all be safe and healthy.

Finally, I send everyone a touch of sunset glow. May your new year be prosperous and fiery red!

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References

• https://zh.wikipedia.org/zh-cn/%E9%98%B5%E8%90%A5_(%E9%BE%99%E4%B8%8E%E5%9C%B0%E4%B8%8B%E5%9F%8E)
• http://www.nhsa.gov.cn/art/2023/7/10/art_7_10995.html
• https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%9F%99