Close to tears at Cisco's shareholder meeting

An attendee to the recent Cisco annual shareholders' meeting wrote that he was close to tears after watching a video of Cisco CEO John Chambers' visit to the Sichuan Province of China, immediately after the area suffered a devastating earthquake last summer. Matthew Rafat writing in SeekingAlpha.com said attendees to Cisco's shareholder gathering last Thursday in Santa Clara, Calif., were shown a video of the effects of the earthquake and Chambers' efforts to help rebuild the infrastructure. According to Seeking Alpha Cisco donated $45 million to the rebuilding efforts.

Rafat writes:

The cynic in me says that Mr. Chambers is a PR genius. He knows China represents his company's best chance for growth with its 1.2 billion people. By going to China and lending a hand and funds, he hopes Cisco will be remembered down the line by the Chinese government. But Mr. Chambers has a way of winning people over. He appeared completely sincere when he spoke about his experience in China.

Rafat said Chambers was shown interacting with earthquake survivors in the midst of the rubble, including a "young Chinese boy who was bold enough to approach him would grow up to be a Cisco salesman," and a girl " who hadn't spoken since the earthquake but who spoke again after seeing new faces arrive."

Cisco's business in China and other regions were the focus of two shareholder proposals that were both shot down at the meeting. A shareholder John C. Harrington called on Cisco to create a board committee on human rights, while a proposal by Boston Common Asset Management wanted Cisco to publish an Internet fragmentation report. A full 98% voted against the Harrington proposal, while 68% voted against the Boston Common proposal.

More from the Cisco shareholders' meeting:

Chambers promises shareholders dividend but doesn't say when

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