International Law
China Hearsay 
Commentary and analysis of law and business in China.
Post Frequency: 2.9/day Last Entry: November 20, 2009 at 10:00:42 Recent Entries: 878
By Stan Abrams
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My Teaching Days May Be Numbered
Posted on November 20, 2009At least 12,000 teachers in Hubei province feel cheated as the diplomas they gained from a local normal college are recognized only within the province, and not nationwide. Li Ping (not a real name), a teacher from Yichang, Central China’s Hubei province, got a teaching job in Shenzhen in May...
That Offshore SPV May Not Be As Useful As You Think
Posted on November 20, 2009China?s crack down on tax anti-avoidance took another major step forward with the release of a new Circular by the SAT which may severely restrict the ability of offshore holding companies to take advantage of tax treaty benefits. The SAT?s ?Notice on Interpretation and Determination of Beneficial Owner under Tax Treaties? [...
IP as Loan Collateral: Another China Innovation Policy
Posted on November 20, 2009This is from last week, but I do like me some innovation policy news, so for the record, here is the latest attempt at creating an innovation society/knowledge economy: China has launched a national pilot project to provide loans to companies that are eligible to put up their intellectual property rights (IPR) like patent as collateral...
Opening the Floodgates to Freaky, Misogynistic Chinese Litigation
Posted on November 19, 2009Since my last post was a bit too much on the bitchy/preachy side, here’s something slightly more amusing. In Common Law countries, judges are often asked to rule on new causes of action/points of law, sometimes referred to as matters of “first instance...
Obama?s China?s Visit: Just Another Opportunity to Call Bilateral Relationship a Failure
Posted on November 19, 2009This is all normal for China bashers, I suppose. For those who wish to blame China for all of America’s economic woes, Obama’s China trip was another good reason to repackage the same tired Op/Eds. Case in point: Harold Meyerson at the Washington Post...
I?m Always Ambivalent About Chinese Stereotyping of Jews
Posted on November 19, 2009Interesting link picked up today by Danwei, from a Global Times interview with a US lobbyist. The excerpt is the intro and first question: American Jews are known for their formidable lobbying power in the US. How is this accomplished? What can Chinese learn to launch an effective lobby within US politics? The following [...
The Myth of the China Expert
Posted on November 19, 2009I was just reading a very good writeup of the Obama visit on China Beat when I noticed an odd reference there to a speech by US Ambassador Huntsman. Following the link, I found this interesting passage: “Don’t mistake me for being an expert, because I’ve been here for three months,” Huntsman said...
Microsoft Loses Chinese Font Case
Posted on November 18, 2009More on this later, but here are the basics as reported by the FT: A Chinese court has ruled that Microsoft infringed a Chinese software maker?s intellectual property rights in a surprise decision that has renewed worries among foreign patent experts about China?s management of IPR disputes...
Now This Is News! Obama Gets Props for Carrying His Own Umbrella
Posted on November 17, 2009I think they’re running out of things to talk about. In fact I just saw a headline that said (I am not making this up) that Obama went to the Forbidden City and thought it was “magnificent.” Newsflash. Anyway, here’s the umbrella thing: He had it clasped firmly in his left hand, a large black umbrella protecting [...
Why the Press Reports on the Hummer Deal and Government Approval Are So Confusing
Posted on November 17, 2009The deal between GM and Tengzhong over Hummer seems to be moving along, but every time someone talks about the transaction, you also get a press story about government approvals, or the lack thereof. Just today, China Daily had this: China’s Ministry of Commerce said Tuesday it has not received an application from Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy [...
Shorter David Brooks: After Living With Double-Digit Growth for Over a Decade, Chinese People are Optimists
Posted on November 17, 2009That’s some deep thinking there, Einstein. Brooks is a New York Times columnist whom I agree with once every six months or so. He is usually referred to as a moderate conservative when it comes to political viewpoint. Monday’s column tackled the difference between Americans and Chinese with respect to future outlook...
Krugman: Obama Better Be Talking Currency In Private Discussions With PRC Gov?t
Posted on November 16, 2009But why do I say that this problem is about to get much worse? Because for the past year the true scale of the China problem has been masked by temporary factors. Looking forward, we can expect to see both China?s trade surplus and America?s trade deficit surge...
Now This is What I Call Legal Reform! Hotpot Soup Standard Forthcoming
Posted on November 16, 2009The government must have been very happy with the standardization process for mantou, which was made fun of by lots of folks online. Whether mantou are round or oblong seems to be something private citizens can deal with on their own - call me a libertarian...
Obama?s Visit: Very Little Sound and Fury, and Signifying Very Little
Posted on November 16, 2009This is not a criticism, mind you. The trip seems to be going well so far. But these things aren’t really supposed to make a lot of news, at least beyond the usual vanilla stories currently being run in the major papers and wire services. And I do sort of feel sorry for the journalists out there [...
Obama?s Here, But Don?t Forget the Influence of the Paranoid Right in US Politics
Posted on November 15, 2009All the news is on Obama, and I’m sure he will get pretty good press. He will make a couple of great speeches and say a lot of reassuring things. But we shouldn’t forget some of the anti-China influences on US politics that are well ensconced in Washington, D...
What?s In A Name? Defining the US-China Relationship
Posted on November 13, 2009Well-written diplomatic piece in the Washington Post on the Obama trip and how his administration needs to “define” the relationship between the two nations. Some interesting history and talk of current policy issues, but what I found most worthy in the article was the argument that words really do matter in public diplomacy and that framing [...
China Margin Trading? I Just Got A Cold Shiver Down My Spine
Posted on November 13, 2009Does this frighten you as much as it does me? Chinese securities firms are expected to get a clear indication from the market regulator soon on when it would allow margin trading after completing the test runs of the trading networks. (China Daily) Eeek...
Global Imbalances and the ?Blame Game?: Media Seems To Enjoy Playing With Itself
Posted on November 13, 2009I’m a bit tired of the press hobby of endlessly debating which country was responsible for the Great Recession, or global trade imbalances, etc. There are several reasons why this is a waste of time. First, there is plenty of blame to go around, and many countries need to enact reform measures...
Hoist With His Own (Green) Petard
Posted on November 13, 2009I wrote the other day about the explosive growth in the auto industry, essentially bitching and moaning about the trade-offs between short-term economic growth and environmental damage. My one small silver lining was the recent announcement to raise fuel prices...
Morgan Stanley Parties On Without Garth, and His Guanxi, in Shanghai
Posted on November 11, 2009Really entertaining story from Reuters on the whole Garth Peterson corruption scandal. It’s an in-depth look at one man’s attempt to make as many high-level government contacts as is humanly possible in order to do as many real estate deals as possible...
Bubble, Bubble - Real Estate Price Data Released
Posted on November 11, 2009I don’t know about you, but despite all those rosy scenario stories out there in the press today following releases of various bits of economic data (hint: the numbers are on the way up), this news makes me a bit queasy: China’s urban housing prices rose in October by the largest amount in more than [...
China Gov?t Policy and M&A - Domestic Restructuring
Posted on November 11, 2009One of the overarching themes in my FDI Law class is the importance of understanding government policy. A lawyer can be quite competent just by learning the law, but if that lawyer can also understand government policy and its relationship to the content of laws and regulations, he/she can be a real expert...
Everyone?s Selling More Cars - So What?
Posted on November 10, 2009Quick rant. One big item in the news these days is the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen and whether the developed world (e.g. the US) and the developing nations (e.g. China) can come to terms on curbing greenhouse gas emissions. From what I’ve heard so far, the prospects appear dim...
Suck It Up, Beijing. This Does Not Qualify as a Snowstorm!
Posted on November 10, 2009China Daily ran the following photo and caption today: A residence community is seen blanketed in snow in Beijing November 10, 2009. Four to 7 centimeters of snow is expected in the next four days with a temperature drop of over 10 C. The headline was “Beijing Embraces Heavy Snow...
CNOOC to Finally Get in on the US Oil Biz?
Posted on November 09, 2009China’s CNOOC Ltd has agreed to buy minority stakes in four exploration licenses in the Gulf of Mexico from a Norwegian oil and gas producer, the first time for a Chinese company to tap reserves in the US waters. CNOOC will buy 10 to 20 percent share in the exploration areas from Statoil ASA, the Norwegian [...
Worker Retraining/Placement Assistance - Free Trade As It Should Be
Posted on November 09, 2009The U.S. Department of Labor says workers laid off in Utah by a business-services company will qualify for special federal assistance because their jobs were lost to foreign competition. The company, Modus Link Corp., shipped the jobs to an operation in China...
US Bank With China Ties Goes Bust
Posted on November 09, 2009United Commercial Bank, a big San Francisco bank with branches in China, was closed by state regulators on Friday and its banking operations were acquired by East West Bancorp Inc, also active in both nations. United Commercial Bank had 63 U.S. branches, a branch in Hong Kong and a subsidiary, UCB-China, [...
FT?s List of Major US-China Trade Disputes
Posted on November 09, 2009Not a bad list. Not comprehensive, of course, just a “Greatest Hits” as it were. I do think that a lot of journalists who have been given the task of writing about the state of US-China trade prior to the Obama visit might find this useful...
The Ongoing Gag Reel that is US-China Trade Rhetoric
Posted on November 09, 2009Here’s the latest. Do these guys have joke writers or is this improv? The US rejection of an anti-dumping inquiry against China-made steel fasteners was “rational”, a Chinese commerce official said Monday. An unnamed official of the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said the move by the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) accorded with “market [...
Latest US-China Trade Spats - Isn?t Obama Coming Here Soon?
Posted on November 07, 2009You’d think that the two countries would tone down the rhetoric and avoid these kinds of decisions (when possible) since Obama will be in China later this month. I sense that the atmosphere might get a bit tense. Anyway, here’s what happened late this week: China slammed new US tariffs on Chinese steel goods Friday and launched [...
Yet Another US Trade Action Against Chinese Imports
Posted on November 05, 2009The United States has said it set preliminary duties ranging from 2 percent to 438 percent on hundreds of millions of dollars of imported steel wire decking from China to offset government subsidies. It was the latest in a growing list of actions against imports from China, the US’s second-largest trading partner...
Legal Jargon, Legal Fees, and an Unexpected Summary of my Teaching Philosophy
Posted on November 05, 2009One of the many benefits of being a practitioner/professional thrust into the role of an educator is the self-examination process. I mean that both with respect to my own actions as a lawyer as well as my fellow professionals. When you prepare lectures to students on different areas of the law, some stuff just jumps [...
US, EU and MX Move Ahead With WTO Case on China?s Raw Material Export Restrictions
Posted on November 04, 2009This one was simmering for a while. Just got the news from USTR (they send me press releases for some reason): The Office of the United States Trade Representative announced today that the United States requested the World Trade Organization (WTO) to establish a dispute settlement panel regarding China’s export restraints on numerous raw [...
Novartis to Drop USD 1 Billion on a China R&D Facility
Posted on November 04, 2009Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG is investing $1 billion to build the largest pharmaceutical research plant in China, emphasising the importance of developing markets for future growth. Novartis and other drugmakers are keen to tap into markets such as China as they face slowing growth and loss of exclusivity on key products, including the [...
Ad Age?s China Blog List Also Includes 19 Others You Should Be Reading
Posted on November 04, 2009In a bizarre turn of events, it appears as though my readership has surged past that pesky single digit limit that has plagued me for so many years. No, seriously, some nice recognition for China Hearsay by being included on the China blog list compiled by Ad Age: Blogging has become a national obsession in China, with [...
This is a Priority Issue for US-China Relationship?
Posted on November 04, 2009You know, with global climate change, the situation with Iran, trade conflicts, and economic/trade imbalances, you would think that the US-China bilateral dialog would be focused on these very important matters. Apparently not. After reading this FT article, I actually got pissed off...
New Domain Name Extensions: Let?s Make Up Some News
Posted on November 03, 2009Ever since ICANN announced that non-Roman letter domain name extensions would be made available (i.e. top-level domains, or TLDs), I’ve seen lots of stories out there about how this will dramatically change the Internet, and how web surfing for all the poor, non-English speakers out there in the third world will finally be able to [...
Pepsico JV Dispute - Making My Dispute Resolution Lecture Easy
Posted on November 02, 2009So seriously, just today I taught a class on dispute resolution issues for China foreign invested enterprises. Went through the whole discussion on sources of disputes, including the many fights that can erupt between JV partners. This one is classic for Sino-foreign JVs...
Anti-dumping and Countervailing Duties - Another Primer
Posted on November 02, 2009Those of you wondering what the heck the difference is between anti-dumping actions and those challenging government subsidies (which may also (for different reasons) result in low prices on exports), and under what circumstances these things overlap, I direct your attention to a really useful blog post by Simon Lester at the International Economic Law [...
And Now For Something Completely Different - Snow
Posted on November 01, 2009Well, I didn’t expect to see this view outside my window this morning. In fact, I thought that snow had been essentially outlawed in Beijing as of a few years ago. Quite pleasant. However, let’s hope most of this melts before I have to schlep all the way to Haidian tomorrow morning...
Hogan & Hartson . . . and Lovells?
Posted on October 29, 2009Two international law firms are in high-level merger talks in a move that would create a behemoth with 2,500 lawyers, an individual with knowledge of the discussions said on Wednesday. Together, the two firms ? Hogan & Hartson, based in Washington, and Lovells, in London ? hope to capitalize on international [...
More US-China Trade Fallout From the Tire Tariffs Case
Posted on October 29, 2009Now China is going after US autos. I’m really interested to know what this one is all about. Is China going after US autos because of the bailout money? Those funds were not linked to exports (as far as I know), which is the most direct no-no under WTO law, so the real question would [...
Enforcing PRC Judgments: SPC Prez Speaks Out
Posted on October 29, 2009I’m currently preparing for next week’s lectures on dispute resolution for PRC foreign invested enterprises, so this is good timing. Note the frankness of Wang’s language: The enforcement of court orders of civil cases are challenged by corruption, government red tape and low efficiency, despite notable achievements, China’s top judge said here Wednesday...
Is Hollywood Trying to Sabotage ASEAN+3?
Posted on October 28, 2009Great deal of news recently about the EU-ish plans of ASEAN, Korea, Japan and China. Will we ever have an EU analog in Asia? Many folks in the US are scared as hell at the possibility, worrying that Asia might move on towards consolidation and minimize the US’s Asia power...
Concept of Justice and Economic Development in China
Posted on October 28, 2009No, this isn’t another one of my “Rule of Law” posts. A bit more esoteric, I’m afraid. I was reading Michael Gerson’s latest Washington Post column this evening, a profile of Harvard University prof Michael Sandel and his teachings on moral philosophy, and as usual I thought first of China and economic development...
More RMB Value Bloviating from US Politicians
Posted on October 28, 2009Does this make any sense at all? Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) and other members of Congress are pressing the administration to take a firmer stand with China on its currency policies. Ryan?s legislation punishing China for devaluing its currency has gained little momentum in this Congress, even though criticism of China?s currency policy has [...
Notes from FDI Law Class - Rep Office Taxes
Posted on October 27, 2009A quick comment from yesterday’s lecture on taxation. I must have had a hundred conversations with clients over the years about Representative Offices and taxation, and I always realized that the law as written and reality were not exactly in agreement...
Beijing Gives Green Light (Again) For Overseas Investment
Posted on October 27, 2009China has resumed approvals for institutions to buy overseas securities under its tightly managed offshore investment regime after a 17-month hiatus, suggesting Beijing believes the worst of the financial crisis is over. The resumption in approvals for outward investment also signals a return to Beijing?s earlier strategy of encouraging outflows to relieve pressure [...
Good Primer on ASEAN+3 From Forbes
Posted on October 27, 2009Lots o’ press in the past week on the revived idea of an expanded Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN), traditionally discussed in terms of Korea, China and Japan (a.k.a. ASEAN+3). Forbes has a very nice, simple editorial by Paul Maidment on the subject, and if you need an entry-level piece, this is it...
Google Should Consider Punching Bag Graphic For Homepage Icon
Posted on October 27, 2009Google has really been getting horrific press here recently. Reminds me of Microsoft earlier in the decade. After the Google Books settlement issue and the complaints from Chinese authors, now People’s Daily seems to be getting in the act with the following accusation: [T]he Web site of the People?s Daily is accusing Google of ?malicious [...
Another Perspective on the (most recent) RMB Debate
Posted on October 26, 2009Since the US Treasury issued its most recent report, in which it again declined to call out China as a currency manipulator, lots of ink has been spilled in editorial pages around the globe, including Paul Krugman’s New York Times column last week...
Resolution of EU-China Trade Dispute Hampered by Unintended Sexual Innuendo
Posted on October 26, 2009Well, one could make that assumption with headlines like this: WTO Probes EU Screw Duties Two important points here: 1. This is yet another dumping case. From what I read, it sounds like the EU is fairly confident in the numbers they have put together...
Another Reason to Like the USTR
Posted on October 25, 2009Amidst all the international trade rhetoric, including the finger-pointing and accusations of “You’re a dirty protectionist!”, here is some welcome sane talk from the US Trade Representative’s office, which is a rare place for adults to congregate: The United States is pressing China to change policies that overfuel its exports and led to President Barack Obama [...
First Time For Everything - I Agree With Gordon Chang
Posted on October 23, 2009Yes, shocking as it is, Chang’s column than ran in Forbes, which sort of debunks the Q3 GDP figures, is pretty good and makes sense. Credit where credit is due. Now it is clear that China will attain for 2009 at least the 8% target that Premier Wen Jiabao set in January...
Krugman On The RMB ? Problem Identified, But What About The Solution?
Posted on October 23, 2009China?s bad behavior is posing a growing threat to the rest of the world economy. The only question now is what the world ? and, in particular, the United States ? will do about it. (New York Times) Economist Paul Krugman devoted his latest column to a discussion about the RMB and the need [...
Google Books - I Don?t Think I Have A Problem With All This
Posted on October 22, 2009So Google has been, and is being, sued by a whole bunch of writers for scanning their books into the Google database. And now a whole bunch of Chinese authors are joining in. I sort of get that, but not entirely. I have looked at the description of the settlement agreement on the Google web site...
Update on FDI Law Class
Posted on October 22, 2009Week Two successfully completed. The last three classes included the “guts” of a classic study of China foreign-invested enterprises, including business structure options, establishment, corporate governance, etc. In some ways, one could end the course right now — the most important stuff has already been taught...
IP Problems With Volvo Deal
Posted on October 21, 2009Two auto industry posts in one day, a new record for China Hearsay. What’s the problem with this possible acquisition? Pretty much just a competition issue, with Ford not wanting to include certain kinds of trade secret information in the sale of Volvo to Geely...
Great Wall Motors? Embarassing Lawsuit Against Fiat
Posted on October 21, 2009China’s Great Wall Motors Co Ltd is suing Italian car maker Fiat for allegedly stealing its business secrets. The case appears to be the second round in a battle that began when Fiat accused Great Wall of copying one of its cars in 2007. In the latest barrage, Great Wall Motor, a Chinese sport utility vehicle maker [...
More Consumer Complaints About Credit Card Practices
Posted on October 20, 2009This is the second post I’ve run on this issue, so it seems like the Shanghai CBRC is serious about regulating in this area: Complaints about credit cards rose in the third quarter to become the biggest gripe about banking services, the Shanghai banking watchdog said today...
P2P File Share and Internet TVs
Posted on October 20, 2009I’m in catch-up mode so far this week with respect to the news, but this story made it to the top of the list: Internet-linked televisions, many containing peer-to-peer download tools, are winning buyers in China despite piracy concerns and a battle between government factions over how to regulate the industry, according to [...
Cashing in on Asset Bubbles - China Real Estate Edition
Posted on October 17, 2009Real-estate database operator China Real Estate Information Corp. proved there still is interest from U.S. investors in Asian growth companies. Friday, in its debut on the Nasdaq Stock Market, the company’s shares were at $14.20 in 4 p.m. composite trading, up 18% from the initial-public-offering price of $12...
US Treasury, Once Again, Gives RMB A Pass
Posted on October 16, 2009The U.S. Treasury Department declined on Thursday to label China a currency manipulator but repeated that it considers China’s yuan undervalued and will keep trying to persuade Beijing to let it rise. In a semiannual report to Congress on currency practices of key trade partners, Treasury said global financial conditions “have improved dramatically and signs of [...
EU Trade News: Further Evidence that Anti-dumping Makes No Sense
Posted on October 15, 2009The European Union?s executive is proposing to extend anti-dumping duties on Chinese and Vietnamese shoe exports for a minimum of 15 months, a compromise that aims to satisfy shoemakers and retailers alike in Europe. The European Commission, under pressure from shoemaking countries like Italy, first imposed duties on imports in 2006 for two [...
Innovate, Damn It!
Posted on October 15, 2009Chinese State Councilor Liu Yandong on Wednesday called for teaching faculty and students of a mining university to promote its fine traditions and embrace innovation. She called for efforts to build the university into a world-class institution of higher learning, deepen its educational reform, embrace innovation in its mode of personnel [...
About that East Asian Trade Bloc
Posted on October 14, 2009Their economies enmeshed as never before, leaders from China, Japan and South Korea said over the weekend that they would explore the idea of a free-trade pact, inching toward deeper regional integration. Prime Minister Wen Jiabao of China and the leaders of Japan and South Korea declared that they were ?committed to the [...
That Contract Review Can Wait
Posted on October 14, 2009I was supposed to be reviewing a Joint Venture Contract this evening, but after seeing the following headline, I am somehow wondering what’s the point, when armageddon may be close at hand (and as close as Nanjing): Artificial Black Hole Created in Chinese Lab Holy crap, Batman! But wait, this is actually a real story: [E]arlier this year, a [...
Thoughts About the First Week of FDI Law Class
Posted on October 14, 2009OK, I made it out alive after two (out of 20) classes. I was slightly worried about a class size of about 22, but I think it might settle down to under 20, which is more manageable. Around 15 would be the best. So far, nothing too surprising. Comparatively talkative group...
First They Came for My Electricity
Posted on October 13, 2009Not a lot of blogging this week thus far. Because of the National Day holiday, my FDI Law class was postponed one week, and yesterday kicked off the first class. In addition to the expected six hours of lectures this week, I have an additional five hours of lectures on FDI and IP law for a [...
Obama Gets Peace Prize?
Posted on October 09, 2009Still trying to figure this one out. My first reaction was that the story came from The Onion, but apparently it’s legitimate. In a stunning surprise, the Nobel Committee announced Friday that it had awarded its annual peace prize to President Obama ?for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between [...
Here We Go Again - US Investigates Chinese Steel Pipe Imports
Posted on October 08, 2009The US Department of Commerce announced on Wednesday that it would launch an investigation into the import of seamless steel pipes from China, a move that could lead to new duties being imposed and strain already sour trade relations between Washington and Beijing...
Taiwan Going the Way of HK?
Posted on October 08, 2009Taiwan?s position as a de facto independent state seems to be morphing very slowly toward the ?one country, two systems? status of Hong Kong. The process is not irreversible but the sentiments of those of mainland origin in the governing Nationalist Party, along with the self-interest of business groups and a [...
The Latest China Conspiracy Theory - Dump the Dollar!
Posted on October 08, 2009In the most profound financial change in recent Middle East history, Gulf Arabs are planning ? along with China, Russia, Japan and France ? to end dollar dealings for oil, moving instead to a basket of currencies including the Japanese yen and Chinese yuan, the euro, gold and a new, unified currency [...
My Worst Nightmare - An Overseas Chinese Newbie in Charge of FIE Setup
Posted on October 07, 2009Once again, Dan at CLB gives us some anecdotal stuff about some common problems with cross-border transactions. This is spot on commentary, folks. Here’s the gist of this particular problem: I have had it with US companies believing their Chinese-American Vice-President (or whatever) is somehow qualified to practice International law...
Time Again for the US Treasury Report - Semi-annual Much Ado About Nothing
Posted on October 07, 2009I didn’t do a search, but I wonder how many times I’ve written this exact post on this blog. Gotta be at least six times now. The US Treasury Department, every six months or so, comes out with a report that, among other things, calls out currency manipulators...
Minsheng Bank To Increase Stake in UCBH
Posted on October 07, 2009Minsheng Bank , China’s first privately owned bank, plans to seek U.S. regulatory approval to increase its stake in UCBH Holdings to at least 50% from 9.6%, a report says. Minsheng already has an option to raise its stake to about 20%, according to Bloomberg, which cited two people briefed on the [...
Update on the US-China Chicken War
Posted on September 30, 2009I first wrote about the US ban on China chicken exports back on March 12. That post had a fair amount of detail, so I’ll just link to it here and not rehash the history, which is kind of weird. I updated the story, including details on China’s WTO complaint and the US Food Safety Law, [...
Chinese Art and the Great Recession
Posted on September 30, 2009Not much to say here except enjoy this pic of Chen Wenling’s sculpture. The piece is of a bull (i.e. Wall Street) goring a devilish Bernie Madoff. I really like the imagery - no better way to describe how Wall Street was “propelled” during the boom years...
Pfizer Wyeth Deal Clears China MOC
Posted on September 30, 2009Drug developer Pfizer Inc. said Tuesday China’s ministry of commerce approved the company’s $68 billion buyout of rival Wyeth. Pfizer will divest certain animal health assets in China, the New York-based company said. The buyout deal still needs regulatory approval in the U...
Beijing Explosion Takes Me Back to ?87
Posted on September 30, 2009The aging rubber ring led to gas leak that caused the gas cylinder explosion at a restaurant in Beijing Friday morning, local work safety authorities said Monday. Two screw threads of a connector between the liquid gas storage tank and the evaporator were oxidized, which led to the gas leak, said Yao [...
Credit Card Regs: China 1, U.S. 0
Posted on September 29, 2009Something tells me I should email this Shanghai Daily article to all the members of the U.S. Congress, at least the ones who aren’t taking money from the credit card industry (if there are any left): Shanghai’s banking regulator, responding to rising problems related to a surge in the number of credit cards, says lenders [...
Holiday Conspiracy Weather Theories
Posted on September 29, 2009Anyone else in Beijing find it a bit too convenient that we have rain forecast for today and tomorrow, and then sunny in the mid/high 20s for the October 1 holiday? I have no definitive information on weather control efforts, mind you, but the timing is interesting, to say the least...
WSJ: Breaking News on the China-Iran Connection
Posted on September 28, 2009Not to be overly snarky on a Monday, but I thought the Wall St. Journal was a daily newspaper, not an annual publication. If my information is accurate, why is the following “revelation” being printed as if it was breaking news? China’s Oil Needs Affect Its Iran Ties Apparently the editor on that story has been on [...
October 1 and China Political Commentary
Posted on September 27, 2009As we approach the 60th anniversary of the founding of the PRC, I’ve noticed a bit of an increase in articles that address current Chinese politics and where things seem to be headed. At the same time, my Internet connection has been painfully slow (coincidence???), so I have not been able to see everything...
Trademark Infringers Say the Funniest Things
Posted on September 27, 2009Hat tip to Danwei for providing the link to this interesting little bit o’ China IP news: Yunnan-based coffee producer Hogood Coffee (????????????) is playing the victim after government employees confiscated Hogood non-dairy creamer which was illegally using the “Coffee-Mate” (????) name, which in China is a registered trademark of multinational food and [...
China Dispute Resolution Issues - The Company Seal
Posted on September 25, 2009Anyone who has done business in China knows all about the importance of the company seal (a/k/a “chop”). If you’ve ever seen a legal document from over here and noticed all those round red stamps, well, that’s what we’re talking about...
Dispatch From the Trade Wars - Australia
Posted on September 25, 2009Australia’s Defense Department vetoed Chinese investment in a proposed mine within an Outback missile testing range on security and safety grounds, the defense minister said yesterday. The rejection of state-owned Wugang Australia Resources Pty Ltd’s bid to buy half of the proposed Hawks Nest magnetite mine within the Woomera military range is [...
Last Word on Palin?s HK Speech
Posted on September 24, 2009I’m amused. On two previous occasions, I posted on the speech Sarah Palin was scheduled to give to a business conference in Hong Kong, one of those financial services gatherings. My posts were not too serious, mostly pointing out how stupid it was for: 1) the organization that was putting on the conference; and 2) the [...
FCPA and China - Why Paranoia is a Good Thing
Posted on September 23, 2009Dan at China Law Blog has a very good post on the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), specifically on who qualifies as a “foreign official” (apparently employees of State-owned Enterprises (SOEs) may be deemed foreign officials). The take-away point from an FCPA compliance standpoint is that conducting business or seeking new business in China [...
When Defense Ministers Attack
Posted on September 22, 2009China’s military now possesses most of the sophisticated weapon systems found in the arsenals of developed Western nations, the country’s defense minister said in comments published Monday. Many of China’s systems, including the J-10 fighter jet, latest-generation tanks, navy destroyers, and cruise and intercontinental ballistic missiles, match or are close to [...
WTO A/V Products Case - China Appeals on the Basis of . . . Something, I Guess
Posted on September 22, 2009China lodged an appeal on Tuesday over a World Trade Organization (WTO) panel ruling which said its regulations on the import and distribution of books and audio-visual products are not in compliance with world trade rules. The WTO’s seven-member Appellate Body will now have two to three months to reinvestigate the U...
US-China Tire Case Part II - US Politics
Posted on September 21, 2009I’m still plugging along on this case. I think it is shaping up to be quite important and may end up setting the tone for the bilateral trade relationship for the next 6-12 months, unfortunately in a bad way. To recap Part I, the Obama administration decided to use a special safeguard mechanism that China agreed [...
Sarah Palin: Old China Hand?
Posted on September 21, 2009I almost pissed myself when I read this, even though the story itself was no surprise. In fact, I blogged about this recently (check it out here). Consider this fair warning - do not read while eating or drinking. Former US vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin is expected to speak about US foreign policy and China [...
I?m Calling It: Wen?s PR Better Than Zhu Rongji
Posted on September 21, 2009I don’t think Grandpa Wen and his PR team gets enough credit. These guys are really good. Most politicians, even in China, cannot pull off stuff like this. With other guys, these events look stilted, engineered, and phony. Maybe it’s just me, but he pulls this kind of thing off on a regular basis...
Beijing is Wacktacular
Posted on September 20, 2009Or should that be “craptastic”? Seriously, WTF is up with this place? I go to Europe for four days and everything just breaks down. From China Digital Times: Following two stabbings in Beijing in two days during the run-up to celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the founding of the PRC, foreign big [...
Blame China for U.S. Military Spending
Posted on September 19, 2009and, of course, for the U.S. government’s budget deficit that China is, in part, funding. No really. Read this: China’s increasingly advanced weaponry could undermine US military power in the Pacific, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Wednesday...
Where?d All the Chinese Guns Come From?
Posted on September 19, 2009The police have been busy getting ready for the National Day celebration: Chinese police have confiscated close to 53,000 guns by the end of August in a nationwide crackdown started in March this year, and 9,849 suspects involved in gun-related crimes were punished, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) said Thursday...
Credit Card Defaults on the Rise in China
Posted on September 18, 2009Credit cards are still relatively new here (debit cards have been around much longer), but their circulation is increasing. No surprise, therefore, that default rates have risen, particularly during this recession. Credit card default in China more than doubled year on year in the second quarter, but analysts said the risk is still within control...
This Is Not Going To End Well
Posted on September 18, 2009Guess who President Obama plans to meet after his China visit? Hint: it’s a religious leader from Asia who is very popular with American college students. Read it and weep. Bad idea, but at least it’s happening after he comes here. If it was before, maybe the visit would be cancelled...
US-China Tire Case - Part I
Posted on September 18, 2009I am coming to this story very late, so apologies for that. I have a huge number of stories on this, so it will take me several days to get through it all. I considered researching everything and coming up with a consolidated, cogent and efficient post on the topic...
Where Did the Day Go?
Posted on September 17, 2009Believe it or not, but it is now 3:15 am, and I am just finishing up a marathon work session, having just wrapped up a long memo on a patent license dispute. Started writing this thing at about 2:00pm, so it was a (more or less) steady 12 hours of writing, if you take out my [...
Back in Beijing
Posted on September 16, 2009Still not caught up with work/news since I got back from the Netherlands, but a quick note on the IP conference is in order. Attendance was good - something like 50+ SMEs were represented. Lots of industries were there, although I noted a strong contingent of greentech and engineering firms...
Blast From the Past II - That Was A Great IP Conference
Posted on September 10, 2009For everyone reading this, it should be Thursday (China time), let’s say sometime late in the evening. In reality, for me, it is Wednesay early morning, and I am still wasting time blogging while my wife keeps reminding me every 45 minutes that I should pack my suitcase for my trip to Amsterdam that leaves in [...
Blast From the Past I - Not Another IP Public Education Campaign
Posted on September 09, 2009I’m speaking to you from the past, sort of. I’m writing this in the wee hours of the morning Wednesday as I count the hours down to my morning flight to Amsterdam. As I’ll be off the Net, most likely, until Monday, I figured now was a good time to use that wonderful little feature of [...
Hummer Deal (Almost) Officially Dead
Posted on September 09, 2009China?s Ministry of Commerce rejected Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co.?s application to acquire General Motors Corp.?s Hummer unit, the Beijing Youth Daily reported today, without saying where it got the information. The ministry rejected the application because Tengzhong didn?t say if it was buying Hummer?s brand or its technology, the [...
Whither Hong Kong?
Posted on September 08, 2009Enjoyable post on the Reuters Changing China blog on where Hong Kong stands these days in the financial community: Many Asia bankers and dealmakers are based in Hong Kong but nowadasys many of them only stay in the territory for weekends. So where are they during the rest of the week? China, of course...
This is How Couch Potatoes ?Get Involved?
Posted on September 08, 2009Angry fans of Hot-Blooded Legend staged the blockade to disrupt the launch of The Legend Returns, a new version of the popular massively multiplayer online (MMO) game. The protesters massed their avatars at the gates of cities to prevent new people from entering...
Wal-mart May Be In Need of a China Business Consultant
Posted on September 08, 2009A woman in eastern China was allegedly beaten to death by five employees of a Wal-Mart store who accused her of shoplifting, a police report and state media said Tuesday. (AFP) I’m a lawyer, not a business expert, but it seems to me that beating suspected shoplifters to death is a bit on the [...
China Implements New Online Music Rules
Posted on September 07, 2009This is news to me, and I’ve heard nothing except the press reports: China’s Ministry of Culture has implemented a new set of rules governing the online sale and distribution of foreign songs in the country, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday...
Real Name System For China Sites - meh
Posted on September 07, 2009News Web sites in China, complying with secret government orders, are requiring that new users log on under their true identities to post comments, a shift in policy that the country?s Internet users and media have fiercely opposed in the past. (NYT) Nothing much to see here, move along...
FDI Law Class (update)
Posted on September 07, 2009Well, I finally finished up my syllabus, including class topics and reading list, and it has been approved by the program director. So that’s the good news. Now I have to move forward with lecture notes/Powerpoint slides for each class, which will take quite a bit of time...
Notes on China FDI Law Syllabus - or why I haven?t been blogging much this week
Posted on September 03, 2009The syllabus for my China Foreign Direct Investment Law class is due Monday, so as the deadline approaches, I’ve been putting extra time in to iron out reading and topic issues. I think I’ve pretty much sorted out most of my reading assignments and topics at this point, so I thought I’d share and see if [...
Sarah Palin and the Excesses of the Financial Services Industry
Posted on September 01, 2009The former Alaskan 1/2-term governor and noted mentally challenged politician is coming to Hong Kong to talk to fund managers. The appearance suggests to me than the recession is officially over for our pals in the financial services industry, who are once again participating in a blatant display of conspicuous consumption...
China WTO Auto Parts Case - effective delaying tactics
Posted on September 01, 2009Looks like final closure on this tariff dispute: The Chinese state media reported Friday that Beijing was expected to scrap the higher tariffs next week and that the Chinese government would issue a statement Tuesday abolishing the rule.(More) © Stan for China Hearsay, 2009...
Gotta Love The Onion
Posted on September 01, 2009Just for the record, this article in The Onion on China is the best thing I’ve read in quite some time. It goes after one of my favorite targets. My only regret is that something like that wasn’t written in the run-up to the Olympics. Alas...
GAPP Smacks Down Game Operators
Posted on September 01, 2009Tough to regulate an industry that is growing this quickly, but they’re trying. Check out the latest news, with my comments after the excerpt: The General Administration of Press and Publication of China has blacklisted 71 types of computer games and issued warnings to 27 game operators during its campaign against vulgar online content...
Someone?s Mutant Power Appears to be M&A
Posted on August 31, 2009Just saw this news: The Walt Disney Co. said Monday it is buying Marvel Entertainment Inc. for $4 billion in cash and stock, bringing such characters as Iron Man and Spider-Man into the family of Mickey Mouse and WALL-E. Wow. This is huge, and not just for all us geeks out there...
International Trade, Offshoring & US Wages
Posted on August 31, 2009Good article at VoxEU on the effect of offshoring on US wages, reporting on a study by Berkeley’s Ann Harison, et al. Here is a summary: This column revisits the heated debate over international trade, offshoring, and US wages using new data. It says that increased international exchange with low-income countries has depressed US wages...
Goldman Sachs and the Importance of Good Timing
Posted on August 31, 2009Both of these stories came into my Inbox today: Goldman Sachs Says China Stocks Remain ‘Bright Spot’ China stocks remain ?a bright spot? among global equities because of the nation?s strong growth potential, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said...
Seriously, Why All the Fuss About Taking Executed Prisoners? Organs?
Posted on August 28, 2009Since China announced a new organ donation system this week, the amount of press coverage of the story has been overwhelming. The more sensational bits discuss the “scandal” that has been confirmed about China’s reliance on executed prisoners for transplant organs...
China WTO Accession Retrospective - some good reading
Posted on August 28, 2009It seems such a long time ago now, but China?s joining of the WTO only occurred eight years ago, in November 2001. Today it is taken for granted. However, without doubt there was a pre-WTO China, and a post-WTO China, and the two beasts have proven to be very different...
A Trade Twofer - Chinese Company Violates Two Kinds of US Trade Laws
Posted on August 28, 2009Half of my readership always writes to me complaining that I spend too much time on product quality disputes. “Why so many posts on contaminated toothpaste and toxic dog food? Stick to the sexy trade stories, like anti-dumping.” The other half says that anti-dumping and WTO disputes are too technical and boring...
Breaking China News: People Getting Older
Posted on August 27, 2009No real news here, but I was amused by the following article, which had the breathless headline: China’s Aged Population Growing At Fastest Rate in 60 Years Here’s the ’scoop’: China’s aged population is growing at its fastest rate since 1949, the China National Committee on Aging said Wednesday...
?Curbs on Overcapacity?: What Year is This?
Posted on August 27, 2009I don’t know about you, but I think that this new government initiative could have been instituted anytime during the past five years (if not longer): China’s Cabinet said yesterday it will try to curb overcapacity and excessive investment in industries including steel and cement - a possible side effect of its massive stimulus [...
End of An Era ? RIP Edward Kennedy
Posted on August 26, 2009A very sad day. Senator Ted Kennedy, dead of brain cancer at the age of 77. I am proud to say that while I was a Massachusetts resident in the 1990s, I had the honor of voting for the man for reelection to the US Senate. They really don’t make them like they used to...
China?s Stock Market Fetish
Posted on August 26, 2009I finally saw a story on the stock market that made me realize the complete disconnect between reality and fantasy. This is not a China story — one could find lots of loony speculators, brokers and market analysts in the U.S., or UK, etc. But the recent gyrations of the market here tell me that it [...
Pierre Cardin China IP Deal Sounds Fishy To Me
Posted on August 26, 2009A Shanghai-based company said yesterday that it is buying the Chinese licenses of French fashion giant Pierre Cardin, but other media reports indicate the deal may be clouded by prior agreements with other potential purchasers. Shanghai Century Star Imp & Exp Corp, a unit of state-owned China National Garments Group Corp, reached an initial agreement with [...
New Organ Donation System in China
Posted on August 26, 2009The Red Cross Society of China and the Ministry of Health Tuesday announced the launch of an organ donation system in 10 provinces and cities in a pilot initiative to speed up organ transplants. The pilot regions are the provinces of Liaoning, Zhejiang, Shandong, Guangdong and Jiangxi and the cities of Tianjin, Shanghai, [...
Whither China Outsourcing?
Posted on August 25, 2009Has the recession changed global manufacturing and trade so much that companies may be rethinking how and where they make products? This was the focus of a recent WSJ article: Farouk Shami, a Palestinian-born hairdresser who built a $1 billion manufacturing company around a popular line of hair irons, is moving all of his production [...
Online Copyright Infringement: The View From Hong Kong
Posted on August 25, 2009IP Dragon, now coming to you from Hong Kong, reports on the following data: 60 percent of young people in Hong Kong download films or music illegally, according to Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups (HKFYG) survey. 17 perent of 559 respondents aged 10 to 24 were unsure whether they were breaking copyright law...
China Online Infringement ? Future Looking Brighter For Owners
Posted on August 24, 2009Notwithstanding some well-publicized enforcement cases involving foreign IP owners, the path to success involves domestic copyright owners. This is obvious. Before we can move to an enforcement system that has sufficient resources, has well trained officials, and is devoid of political interference, we will have to deal with the present flawed (but improving) framework...
An Exception To My Usual Rule ? Some China Patent Statistics
Posted on August 24, 2009I usually don’t bother posting the latest statistics from the State Intellectual Property Office, the Trademark Office, or the Ministry of Commerce. Too hard to decipher, too easy to question, and not enough detail from which to make useful conclusions...
Tomato Garden Windows Piracy Case
Posted on August 24, 2009This case broke late last week, and I’ve been trying ever since to figure out something significant to say about it. The global software industry was on Friday celebrating what it said was a landmark victory against Chinese piracy after a district court sent four men to prison and handed them hefty fines for [...
1st Web-based Court in Shanghai
Posted on August 24, 2009Shanghai No.1 Intermediate People’s Court has launched the first Internet court in China to turn the traditional face-to-face trial into a “keyboard-to-keyboard” one of the information age. This Internet lawsuit service platform covers various convenient legal services and the entire legal proceedings, including online registering, online inquiries, contacts with judge, online mediation, [...
Keeping the Bubble Inflated
Posted on August 22, 2009Shanghai-listed Chinese stocks on Thursday won back all of the previous day’s steep losses but volatility likely means regulators are considering what else they can do to support the market. Fearing that the abundant flow of new loans in the first half of the year will taper off, investors knocked down the Shanghai [...
WB Study on Beijing?s Suburban Sprawl
Posted on August 21, 2009Beijing’s transit development is at a crossroads. The capital of the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases is in danger of locking itself into a pattern of Los Angeles-type sprawl with ever-rising CO2 emissions, a new World Bank study finds...
Rule of Law: The Internet and Public Pressure
Posted on August 21, 2009Been sitting on this issue for a couple weeks as it is not time sensitive. Two things set me to cogitating on this recently. The first was all the ink spilled on the Green Dam web filter story, specifically how the government’s decision to pull back and not mandate that all PCs sold in China would [...
Obama Admin and Compulsory Licensing in China
Posted on August 21, 2009This issue comes up every now and then. Several laws in China, including the Anti-monopoly Law and the Patent Law, allow for compulsory licensing of IP. This essentially means that under certain circumstances, the government may grant a third party a patent license even without the approval of the IP owner...
China Supreme Court Gets in on the Corruption Game
Posted on August 21, 2009A former Chinese supreme court vice president was stripped of his membership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) for corruption, the CPC disciplinary watchdog said Friday. Huang Songyou, former vice president of the Supreme People’s Court, was also dismissed from all his official positions, said a statement from the Communist [...
Beijing Graffiti - What?s the Real Message?
Posted on August 21, 2009Here’s AFP’s take on the growth of graffiti in China’s cities: [U]nlike their counterparts in the West, who have sometimes used the art form to convey political messages, Chinese artists offer a message that has little to do with revolt or protest...
Pushing China Judges to Clean Dockets (Again)
Posted on August 20, 2009This must be the third time this summer I’ve read something about how judges should move cases along, either because of full dockets, because a lot of contentious litigation does not comport well with the notion of the Harmonious Society, etc. A senior Chinese official Wednesday called on the country’s courts and law enforcement organs [...
Live By the Bubble, Die By the Bubble
Posted on August 20, 2009You know, the financial community recently got all excited about the stock market here in China, even knowing full well that 1) a serious amount of money has been leaked from the government stimulus program into securities; and 2) a great deal of hot money has flowed into China recently, a lot of which ultimately [...
Gotta Love Kissinger?s US-China Op/Ed
Posted on August 19, 2009Slight exaggeration, but virtually all the articles you read about US-China relations gravitate towards one of two policy poles. Either the advice suggests strong engagement with the other party, or the author preaches alarm, confrontation and disengagement...
New Record for China Outward Bound Investment
Posted on August 19, 2009Sinopec Group said Tuesday it has completed its $7.5 billion acquisition of Addax Petroleum , obtaining new reserves in Africa and the Middle East in China?s biggest foreign corporate takeover to date. (Yahoo) Seven and a half billion — nothing to scoff at...
Happiness Is . . .
Posted on August 19, 2009Finding a guy outside the gate of your new apartment building selling a quite passable jian bing, and for only 2 1/2 kuai. That’s actually a very good price these days. Tags: China News © Stan for China Hearsay, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del...
Rio Tinto Phase II: Non Sequitur About Shanghai Legal Market
Posted on August 19, 2009This is really appropos of nothing, but as I was reading a recent article in the WSJ blog about the case against four employees of Rio Tinto, I thought it really illustrated the difference between the Beijing and Shanghai legal markets very well. Specifically, if the case were being handled in Beijing, I almost guarantee you [...
China Environmental Problems Apparently Worse Than We Thought
Posted on August 18, 2009The following, from Caijing, found its way into my Inbox recently: Tap Water Not Contaminated By Chemicals To be fair, the “Not” was not emphasized (e.g. Not) in that headline, so my interpretation of it is not exactly fair. However, my first reaction honestly was that somehow it was newsworthy that tap water somewhere in China was [...
This Is Not What They Teach You In IP School
Posted on August 18, 2009Beijing-based intellectual property rights agent Guang Li Xin has been ordered to pay RMB 100,000 to competitor Ji Jia Company by the Beijing Dongcheng District People’s Court for unfair competition in Google China keyword search ads, reports Beijing Business Today...
Best Green Dam Web Filter Headline (So Far)
Posted on August 17, 2009You may have read a lot of news stories over the past few days about the Chinese government’s decision not to mandate that all PCs sold here come with the Green Dam web filter software pre-installed. Lots of articles, most rather boring. This is my favorite headline, from the Gizmodo blog: China Scales Back Fight Against Online Dissent, [...
Protectionism? Censorship? U.S. Papers Not Sure How To React to WTO Case
Posted on August 17, 2009A few editorials today about the WTO A/V case won by the US against China. Seems like the major papers prefer the theme to be anti-protectionism: It should serve as a warning to the Chinese government to restrain its growing economic nationalism, which poses a serious threat to international trade and the chances of a global [...
Rio Tinto and the MNC History of Corruption in China
Posted on August 17, 2009The sense of outrage in the West that greeted the arrest in China of four Rio Tinto executives last month was predictable. The subsequent trial may indicate whether or not the outrage is misplaced. For the case of the Rio four follows a lengthening list of overseas companies allegedly doing in China [...
WTO A/V Products Case ? No, There Really Isn?t Any News Today
Posted on August 17, 2009China said on Monday it will challenge a World Trade Organisation ruling against its restrictions on imported films, books and audio-visual products, continuing its sparring with Washington over trade access. (Reuters) Just for the record, there has been no news on this case...
Moving Day Blues
Posted on August 14, 2009It seemed like an easy move a couple of weeks ago. We went from the west side of the San Huan at Shuang Jing Qiao to the east side. Literally across the street and within a ten minute walk (over either the pedestrian skyway or the underground subway route)...
China WTO A/V Products III: Some Thoughts
Posted on August 13, 2009Good news and bad news. The bad news is that the Panel report on this case is so long, so technical, and so detailed, that I cannot simply list the findings. Wouldn’t make any sense, and it would probably take me another four days to do so anyway...
WTO A/V Products Case II: Content Review Provisions
Posted on August 13, 2009OK, this is another intermediary post, no overall conclusions yet. I wanted to break out one important issue since I have a feeling that the reporting on this might be a little fuzzy. One of the US complaints was that foreign companies were barred from certain activities in China, including distribution and importation of these A/V products...
WTO A/V Products Case I: Don?t Try This At Home
Posted on August 13, 2009I’m halfway through the opinion of the Audio/Visual Products case won by the US against China. I can’t say I’ve paid attention to each word, though; this is quite mind-numbing. Kids, for God’s sake, don’t try this at home...
PSB and FBI Bust Software Counterfeiting Ring
Posted on August 12, 2009Nice bit o police work, and the PSB and FBI get points for getting the bad guys, having something to talk about in a press conference, and being able to cooperate with one another. The details: A joint anti-counterfeiting campaign coded as “Operation: Summer Solstice”, launched by China’s Ministry of Public Security and America’s FBI, has [...
WTO Decides for US Over China in A/V Products Distribution Case
Posted on August 12, 2009This was the “other” case filed way back in April 2008, if my memory serves me correctly. I just saw the news on this, so nothing of substance to say at this point. I’ll take a closer look tomorrow probably, including any stupid comments I might have made on this blog as to the probable disposition [...
Headlines We Could Do Without
Posted on August 12, 2009China’s Green Leap Forward This is apparently how some editors show off their deep knowledge of Chinese history. Mommy, please make it go away. By the way, the article itself is pretty good and worth a read. Don’t judge a book by its cover...
Japan With Nukes? I Beg to Differ
Posted on August 12, 2009Funny who can be considered an expert on a subject these days. A newspaper in Japan interviewed one of the two surviving crewmembers of the Enola Gay (plane that dropped the first nuke on Japan in 1945). So of course they asked him about Asian foreign relations, military strategy, Japan’s interaction with China and North Korea [...
US Senate Goes After Foreign (esp. Chinese) Manufacturers
Posted on August 12, 2009Bipartisan legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate aims to help victims of tainted Chinese drywall hold foreign manufacturers more accountable for their defective products. The Foreign Manufacturers Legal Accountability Act of 2009 would cut down on the red tape Americans face when they try to sue foreign companies...
The Market for Entry-level Expats in China
Posted on August 11, 2009Article in the Times yesterday will no doubt get a lot of play in the expat community. The premise (my comments after the jump): Shanghai and Beijing are becoming new lands of opportunity for recent American college graduates who face unemployment nearing double digits at home...
China Emulating Big British Brother?
Posted on August 11, 2009The police have installed 2.75 million surveillance cameras since 2003 and are expanding the system into the countryside, the Public Security Ministry said Monday on its Web site. The cameras are the most visible part of police surveillance and notification systems around the country, mainly in urban areas...
Obama Administration Prefers Not To Rock The Trade Policy Boat
Posted on August 11, 2009Remember back during the US presidential campaign when American bloggers like me were endlessly speculating on what sort of trade policy an Obama Administration would follow? The worry was that things would lurch to the left, at least for a while, in a similar fashion to what happened during the first Clinton Administration...
Why the Chinese Government is Better Than the Republican Party
Posted on August 10, 2009Found this little gem in The Guardian, written last week during the US-China S&ED talks. The author compares Beijing to the Republican party in D.C. and concludes that the Obama Administration is making much more progress with China than the GOP, the reasons being:(More) © Stan for China Hearsay, 2009...
Stan Goes On A Tirade Against ?Fair Trade?
Posted on August 10, 2009I’ve been sitting on an odd little post from Shanghaiist for quite a few days now. I wasn’t sure how to respond since it made me so mad that steam came out of my ears for several days, and I wasn’t able to write a coherent rebuttal. Even now, I worry that I’ve crossed the [...
Would the Jury System Work in China?
Posted on August 10, 2009Saw this the other day on the FP Passport blog, and it got me thinking: For decades, all that Japan knew of jury trials came from foreign legal dramas. Now, for the first time since 1943, Japan is watching a real jury decide the fate of a criminal, as six “lay judges” join three [...
Rule of Law: Organic Food Edition
Posted on August 09, 2009It’s a wet and sleepy Sunday afternoon, so nothing too heavy here. Simple point: although I usually talk about rule of law in China within the context of unpopular criminal cases or intellectual property issues, I should emphasize more often that it touches a great many subjects and has a very profound impact on society [...
Nine Hours I?ll Never Get Back
Posted on August 08, 2009Today was the day my wife and I engaged in the annual pleasure fest that is apartment hunting. We do this just about every year for some reason, and next week we will be moving into our eighth (or ninth?) Beijing apartment. It only took a few days to find the right place this time, which [...
CCTV Bribery Case
Posted on August 07, 2009Another fun criminal case, my focus for the week. When I first saw the headline, I immediately wondered what could be so interesting about this specific instance of bribery in the news biz in China that it could be a criminal offense. Let’s face it, if you put every reporter in jail who had accepted money [...
Using Cultural Heritage to Promote Patriotism
Posted on August 07, 2009A senior Chinese leader on Thursday called for the use of historical and cultural heritage as a platform to promote patriotism, particularly among the country’s young people. (Xinhua) I’m not a big fan of either culture or patriotism, so I can’t say that this type of policy fares well with me...
Finally, A Verdict We Can All Believe In
Posted on August 07, 2009Justice, sweet justice. These freaky bastards should have been put in a labor camp a long time ago, but better late than never. (Photo lifted from Shanghaiist.) Tags: China News © Stan for China Hearsay, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del...
Romanticizing the Pre-tech Days
Posted on August 07, 2009As much as I enjoy reading about new technology and upgrading the toys I’ve collected at home, I do have major qualms about how that technology impacts us at work. That is to say, I’m no Luddite, and I’d be lost without a PC and a reasonably fast connect speed...
My Favorite China Plague Headlines
Posted on August 06, 2009Somehow I get the feeling that the press is enjoying this whole plague story just a little too much. Sure, it’s a virulent bug, but if treated with anti-biotics, the mortality rate is pretty low. But there is something strangely compelling about the Black Death in a nostalgic, Chaucerian way...
China?s Largest Bank Fraud Case
Posted on August 06, 2009To round out today’s crime news, here’s a fraud case that could involve as much as RMB 9 billion. Details are emerging of China?s largest suspected bank fraud after the former chairman of a company listed on London?s Alternative Investment Market appeared in a Chinese court last week...
Guangdong Student Has Very Bad Day
Posted on August 06, 2009I seem to be writing about criminal prosecution today. So be it. This one is kind of sad. A university student was sentenced to three years’ prison for accidentally killing a woman when he landed on her while trying to commit suicide by jumping from his 7th floor dormitory in Guangzhou...
China?s Response to Ponzi Schemes
Posted on August 06, 2009Bernie Madoff is lucky to be an American: China executed two business people for defrauding hundreds of investors out of more than $127 million, calling the scam a serious blow to social stability, state media said Thursday. Though usually reserved for violent crimes, death sentences are also applied for nonviolent offenses that involve large [...
The Trials and Tribulations of Outward Investment
Posted on August 05, 2009How’s that big outward investment program going? Er, not so great. About 100 Algerians and Chinese migrant workers fought with knives and bludgeons in the capital Algiers, witnesses said on Tuesday, in an unprecedented flare-up of local anger at Chinese immigration...
Today?s Market Report, Brought to You By Our Crackerjack Financial Press
Posted on August 05, 2009I had so much fun yesterday crapping all over the financial press that I thought I’d try it again today. What do you know, a cursory glance at the headlines revealed the following gems:(More) © Stan for China Hearsay, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del...
China?s Harmonious Legal System II: Harmonious Mediation
Posted on August 05, 2009The other day I commented on a speech given by the Chief Justice of China’s Supreme People’s Court, which discussed judges, judicial training and the principles of China’s harmonious society. My reaction was that we were headed into another period of time where the goals of the harmonious society would be emphasized by the government [...
Why the Financial Press is a Joke
Posted on August 04, 2009I guess it all depends on your point of view, but I just read two different articles, discussing stock market activity in two different parts of the world, and the conclusions are puzzling to say the least. Note: read no further if you are easily confused, are a member of the financial press, or if graphic [...
It?s Funny Because It?s True: Goldman Sachs Edition
Posted on August 04, 2009Sometimes “professional” investment research resembles little more than a day trader rag with nicer charts and fancier wording to make the reader feel less guilty and more professional about the kind of “investing” he or she is actually performing...
Too Early To Pass Judgment on China?s Competition Law?
Posted on August 04, 2009Well, we have been living with the Anti-monopoly Law for a year now, at least parts of it, so it makes sense for some folks to talk about how things are going. Today’s FT article on the subject attempted a progress report, but I think it succeeded more in showing how much we do not yet [...
Rebalancing US and China Economies
Posted on August 04, 2009An Op/Ed by Shen Minggao that ran today in Caijing (English) is well worth a read. It covers trade, currency, savings vs. consumption — all your favorite hot bilateral topics. It’s not technical, so sit back with a beer and enjoy. The Need to Rebalance Both the Chinese and U...
Holy Crap!, It?s An Asset Bubble
Posted on August 04, 2009I kinda thought this was common knowledge and had been so for many weeks now, but for some reason there has been a flurry of commentary on China’s asset bubbles over the past couple of days. Remember when the government came out last week and told us all that it would be slowing things down a [...
China?s Harmonious Judges
Posted on August 03, 2009Are judges cold, robotic bastions of pure logic or real human beings that live in a society and take life experience into account when making decisions? Which one is preferable? Looks like that argument has gotten air time lately in both China and the US...
My Application to the China Space Program Does Not Look Promising
Posted on August 03, 2009I had such high hopes for blasting into space as a Taikonaut, but it looks like it ain’t gonna happen. No scars, no history of serious illness in the last three generations of your family, and no tooth cavities. These are amongst the 100 health requirements for would-be astronauts vying to be part of China’s next space [...
Obama Beer Summit Offers Lessons For International Business?
Posted on August 03, 2009Last week, President Obama sat down with two gentlemen who had a slight disagreement. One was a Professor at Harvard University who had to break into his own home after misplacing his keys (he was back after a trip to Beijing), and the other was the policeman who arrested him for doing so...
Chemical Plant Protest Gets Some Results
Posted on August 02, 2009Last Friday’s satirical post notwithstanding, I have been interested to see whether the folks in Hunan protesting against the actions of a chemical plant will be successful. As of today, it looks like some movement from the government: Authorities in central China suspended two environment officials and detained a chemical plant boss after hundreds of residents protested, [...
China Foreign Investment Advice: When In Doubt, Use Common Sense
Posted on August 02, 2009For the past several days, I’ve been reading columns and blog posts commenting on one of the usual “China business horror story” articles, this time from the FT. I wasn’t going to write about it because there is nothing at all new or interesting in the original article, although I suppose the story is amusing as [...
Economist: Why Don?t More Chinese Support Torture?
Posted on August 01, 2009From The Economist: Opinions on whether the use of torture should be prohibited appear to vary widely around the world. According to opinion polls conducted early in 2008 respondents in western European democracies such as Britain and Spain were most hostile to the idea of even some degree of use of torture, whereas residents in big [...
US Professor Convicted of Sharing Secrets With Chinese
Posted on August 01, 2009This kind of story makes for great headlines, but once you dig in to the details, it becomes quite obvious that this was not an espionage case, the professor was not selling defense secrets, etc. In fact, the more I read about the case, the more sympathetic I become...
US-China Trade Friction Turns Into Food Fight
Posted on August 01, 2009Yes, get ready for food-related issues to come to the fore over the next several months. First, we’ve got both sides engaged in a cock fight — that is, a WTO dispute over Chinese chicken exports: China on Monday formally requested the World Trade Organization (WTO) to set up an expert panel to investigate and rule whether [...
Shocking Transcript Released of Hunan Chemical Factory Protest
Posted on July 31, 2009More than 1,000 people protested for a second day in central China on Thursday over pollution from a chemical plant that they say has sickened locals and poisoned surrounding farmlands, residents said. Residents of the town of Zhentou in Hunan province demonstrated outside local government headquarters and a police station, demanding greater compensation for pollution from [...
Environmental Litigation in China: A Glimpse of the Future?
Posted on July 31, 2009China is set to see its first lawsuit by an environmental interest group against a government department within a month, a local judge said Thursday. On Tuesday, Qingzhen municipal people’s court in Guizhou province accepted the suit by the All-China Environment Federation, an interest group under the Ministry of Environmental Protection...
China Worried About Abortion Rate
Posted on July 30, 2009From a China Daily report (h/t WSJ): At least 13 million abortions take place each year in China, compared to 20 million births. A report in the China Daily notes the high rate of abortion and flags it as a cause for concern in a rare critique of the prevalence of abortion in China, where it is [...
China Econ Update - Small Sigh of Relief
Posted on July 30, 2009Yesterday’s big news was that the stock market tanked and the government announced tighter lending. This made me happy. No, I’m not one of those people sitting around waiting for an economic disaster so I can sit back and watch the lovely chaos that ensues (e...
China Patent Porn from Tencent
Posted on July 30, 2009From JLM: A Tencent executive said that the company holds 400 patents, International Finance News reported July 28. Tencent research and development department’s Patent Team Director Wang Huotao told the paper that more than 50% of Tencent employees are engaged in research and development...
More China Scare Tactics From the American Right
Posted on July 29, 2009For years it’s been a closely held secret: The People’s Republic of China is an empire desperately trying to make the world think it’s a state. –Charles Hill, Hoover Institution (writing in Forbes) All I really need to say is that this guy is a douchebag, but I suppose that is already apparent from the above quote...
AmCham, Tell Us Something We Don?t Know
Posted on July 28, 2009Foreign companies should view China more as a competitive manufacturing base and as a hub for an Asian growth strategy and less as a low-cost provider of labor and resources, the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai said in a latest survey. It suggested that foreign manufacturers in China develop a strategy to capitalize on the [...
The Coming US-China War, and the People Working to Make It Inevitable
Posted on July 28, 2009Old subject, but I can’t resist sharing this batshit crazy language from U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas). Cornyn got into a little trouble a couple days ago for saying that the U.S. needed to continue funding a certain fighter jet for the coming conflict with ...
China Bans Online Mafia Games
Posted on July 28, 2009On Monday, the Ministry of Culture issued a notice banning online games that feature Mafioso kingpins, marauding street gangs or any sort of hooliganism predisposed to organization. Such games, the ministry said, ?embody antisocial behavior like killing, beating, looting and raping? and ?gravely threatens and distorts the social order and moral standards, easily putting young people [...
US-China S&ED - Confusing Talk About IP and Greentech
Posted on July 28, 2009I approach this topic with some trepidation as I am neither an expert in environmental matters nor government procurement rules. That said, Charlie had an interesting post today at CEL regarding the ongoing bilateral talks in D.C. There has been some speculation as to the meaning of some of Obama’s comments to the delegation, including this [...
China Growth, Decoupling, and Dishonest Economists
Posted on July 27, 2009Big subject, but only a small point I want to make about the misuse of statistics. First, a debate has raged on for years about globalization, interdependence, and whether developing countries are so reliant on export markets that they are stuck with whatever business cycle problems afflict the developed world...
Copyright Infringement and the End of the World
Posted on July 27, 2009OK, perhaps copyright infringement has nothing to do with the end of the world. You can’t blame me for conflating these two disparate things, though. The entertainment industry and their friends in the news media (part of the entertainment industry of course) are doing everything they can to show us how ruthless, evil, murderous and [...
And The Video Wars Go On
Posted on July 27, 2009Yeah, I’m still here, enjoying the Summer doldrums and the lack of anything remotely interesting on the China beat. But life goes on, and the longstanding fight over video sharing sites and enterprise liability continues to heat up. Remember what’s at issue here...
China?s Foreign Film Quotas Actually Too Generous
Posted on July 22, 2009A 14-year-old boy in China’s Sichuan Province has been drinking gasoline to become a ‘valiant fighter’ like his hero Optimus Prime in the movie ‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen’. That’s the problem with these transformer things...
China Judicial Survey and the Dangers of Snapshots
Posted on July 22, 2009A Xinhua survey published yesterday found that 14 out of 30 provincial chief justices have had no legal training. Of the judges surveyed, fourteen possessed no prior legal training or had previously worked in China?s court system prior to their appointments...
Australian Gov?t Looks Like A Bunch of Petulant Xenophobes
Posted on July 21, 2009As an American, I am more than familiar with xenophobic rhetoric. I know it when I see it, and when I see it, it makes me ill. The recent arrest of executives from Australian mining giant Rio Tinto has caused quite a stir in the foreign investment community, diplomatic circles, etc...
China?s GOP Going Strong in 2009
Posted on July 21, 2009Slightly misleading post title. There are two reasons for this: There is absolutely no substantive news out there at the moment, and I’m reduced to petty tricks to draw in readers. Misleading people is fun. Seriously, outside feels like an oven, lots of folks are on holiday for the summer, and news organizations are focusing on minutiae and [...
Editorial Decisions Remain A Mystery To Me
Posted on July 17, 2009Today is a really slow news day, at least at the China desk. Friday is usually a slow day for news, and we are now smack in the middle of the dog days of summer. So let’s turn to an issue about which I like to ponder once in a while: how editors choose stories...
Playing to the Home Crowd: USTR Announces New Trade ?Policies?
Posted on July 17, 2009I’m not sure whether this will raise any eyebrows over here in Beijing. It’s possible, as several of the statements made are direct shots at China, but all in all, the new initiatives announced by the US Trade Rep yesterday in Pennsylvania (in steel country) are a lot more PR than they are substantive policy...
Forecasting the Coming Stock Market Crash
Posted on July 16, 2009File this away in the “Weird Tales of Technical Analysis” folder. I have zero faith, and very little respect, for technical analysis, so this should be taken as snarky entertainment only, and not definitely not reasonable trading advice. If I ever choose technical over fundamental analysis, someone please put me out of my misery...
Creeping Global Protectionism May Lead to Doha Deal?
Posted on July 16, 2009I don’t think I’ve used the word “Doha” (as in the Doha round of WTO talks) in many, many moons. Since talks broke down, there has been little discussion about reviving negotiations and absolutely no news that any breakthroughs on agriculture have been made...
Follow Up on Rio Tinto: Is Bribery Necessary to Do Business in China?
Posted on July 16, 2009A couple of very good comments to my post yesterday on the government’s arrest of several Rio Tinto employees on charges of bribery/industrial espionage prompts me to tackle a recurring question about foreign investors and corruption. I can’t recall whether I’ve addressed this head-on before, but others certainly have...
Rio Tinto Reaction A Bit Troubling
Posted on July 15, 2009First off, apologies for being offline for the past few days. I was attending the Annual Buckaroo Banzai Revival Festival out in the suburbs of Beijing and there was no Internet available. Amazingly successful event. I particularly enjoyed the afternoon workshops, live performances and (of course!) the evening encounter sessions...
Jim Cramer ? China Foreign Investment Expert
Posted on July 10, 2009So there’s this US stock market TV show hosted by a fellow named Jim Cramer. I’ve never actually seen it, since I live in China, but I’m not that keen anyway on watching a bunch of traders and analysts tell each other what stocks to buy...
Global Trade Has Fallen Over A Cliff
Posted on July 09, 2009Maybe this isn’t news to anyone, but if you’re into international trade and do not shy away from a few stats or a graph, I highly recommend this post at VoxEU. It’s a short article that tracks trade flows and compares individual country stats to some aggregate numbers...
Which Country Is More Stable - China or US?
Posted on July 09, 2009Excellent post by Will Lewis on governance issues. The discussion stems from some World Bank rankings, but Will muses about what factors a Chinese government official would most value. No surprise that stability is the first thing that pops into his mind (me too)...
China?s Faustian Bargain With the Auto Industry
Posted on July 09, 2009OK, the post title is a tad melodramatic. However, two related newsish items found their way into my Inbox at the same time. Both were disturbing. First was a straightforward news item from the FT on June car sale numbers, up 48.5% from last year. Yeah! A nice boost to GDP, more indications that domestic consumption [...
Does the Green Dam Web Filter Violate WTO Law?
Posted on July 08, 2009After proclaiming several days ago that I was sick and tired of all the news about Beijing’s attempts to have all PC makers pre-install web filter software before making any China sales, I put a moratorium on further China Hearsay posts on the subject...
Is Nothing Sacred? Trademark vs. Branding
Posted on July 08, 2009First I find out that F = ma only works some of the time. Then I get the news that the Sci-Fi Channel will now be called Syfy. I guess nothing lasts forever, even the immutable laws of physics. IP lawyer wonk that I am, however, the first thought that popped into my pea brain was [...
The Importance of Ethnicity
Posted on July 06, 2009In Washington, D.C., there is something called the “Revolving Door.” This refers to the practice of folks that move from government job to private sector job (and back again). There is a negative connotation to this term, as it presupposes that when these people are in the private sector, they are trading on influence with [...
?Reciprocity? Seems to be the Trade Policy Word of the Day
Posted on July 06, 2009China’s government and companies should learn to apply the World Trade Organization dispute settlement mechanism in a “rational” and “practical” manner to protect interests of companies and deal with complaints, an official said yesterday...
More On the Fallows-Ferguson US-China Relations Discussion
Posted on July 06, 2009Jim Fallows has posted more information and links (here and here) on the moderated discussion he had with Niall Ferguson (I commented on this last week) on US-China relations. I just viewed a clip that included a question from the audience and Fallows’ response...
Coincidence? I Think Not
Posted on July 06, 2009You remember when a lot of stuff was being blown up a couple years ago in Iraq and the US military blamed it all on foreign terrorists? I’m starting to wonder whether those are the same outside agitators that were responsible for the recent unrest in Iran and the current situation in Xinjiang...
Niall Ferguson Displays His Dickishness on U.S.-China Relations
Posted on July 04, 2009A nice bit of reporting by David Brooks in the New York Times. Brooks attended one of those intelligentsia meetings (this one was the Aspen Ideas Festival — I wonder if Tom Friedman was there?) where China policy was discussed. Luckily for the reality-based community, Jim Fallows was there providing counterpoint to Niall Ferguson, who was [...
FIE Listings in China: Don?t Hold Your Breath
Posted on July 03, 2009China may allow foreign firms with investments inside the country to list domestically, as part of efforts to boost trader confidence during the global downturn, according to an official. “We will continue to actively work with relevant authorities to study and complete the policy of allowing foreign-invested companies to list in the country,” Vice Commerce Minister [...
Auto Purchase Tax and China?s Policy Priorities
Posted on July 03, 2009This is a very complicated policy area. Vehicle tax policy impacts the overall economy, the important auto industry, air quality and pollution, and of course applicable revenue usage by parts of the government. Looking at things like emissions standards, incentives given to the auto industry, trade issues in this sector, and infrastructure/transportation initiatives helps to understand [...
Racial Preferences in China: Not Just an American Issue
Posted on July 03, 2009Lots of online chatter this week regarding the plight of a Chongqing student: In the latest development of a case that has received quite a bit of attention over the past week, the admissions office of Peking University announced yesterday that it would not accept the application of He Chuanyang to study at the university’s Guanghua [...
Let Them Eat Cake
Posted on July 03, 2009During a serious recession, I don’t think this sort of behavior supports the idea of a harmonious society (h/t FP Passport): If there were still any doubts about capitalism’s arrival in China, this puts it to rest. Wealthy mainlanders are increasingly taking to the grassy fields as polo becomes yet another mode of expression: The founder of [...
This is Not Going to End Well
Posted on July 02, 2009I have no idea whether this is accurate. The report is from MSNBC News and sounds bizarre: How can an airline pack 40 percent more passengers onto a plane, trim costs by 20 percent and lower airfares for its customers? By offering “standing” seats...
China Trademark Problems for iPhone?
Posted on July 01, 2009This is certainly interesting, although I think that there is more going on here than what made it into the news. From Computerworld: A Chinese company that owns the trademark “i-phone” has said it is not in talks with Apple, even though Apple may need the company’s blessing to sell its similarly named iPhone in China...
Tales of Web Editing Gone Awry
Posted on June 30, 2009You ever hit the “send” button prematurely and allow an email with embarrassing content to go out to the wrong person? That’s the nearest analogy I can come up with for this tale of woe about an editor at the People.com.cn site, but even then it does not do this story justice...
Virtual Currency Regs
Posted on June 30, 2009Been waiting for some guidance from the government on this issue for several years now, ever since Tencent was smacked around by the government regarding QQ Coin related practices. At the time (2003?), the banking regulators were freaking out, worrying that virtual currencies were acting too much like the RMB...
I?ve Had Enough of the Web Filter Stories
Posted on June 29, 2009As of last weekend, I am officially sick and tired of all the stories about the Green Dam web filter and the government’s attempts to restrict access to porn sites. With the exception of a later post (probably tomorrow) on the merits of a WTO case in this area, I think I’m going to leave [...
Friedman Watch: Master of the Obvious
Posted on June 29, 2009I was at a conference in St. Petersburg, Russia, a few weeks ago and interviewed Craig Barrett, the former chairman of Intel, about how America should get out of its current economic crisis. If I hadn’t already mentioned the name of Tom Friedman, columnist and international man of mystery, in the post title, you could figure [...
No Sichuan Hummer?
Posted on June 29, 2009A Chinese firm’s bid to buy the gas-guzzling Hummer car brand will be blocked on environmental grounds, according to Chinese state radio. Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery emerged as the surprise buyer for the brand earlier this year...
Quality of Life in Beijing Gets Boost (from Shanghai government)
Posted on June 29, 2009Now this is great news (from China Briefing): The local government is set to launch a program that will give foreign finance specialists incentives to work in Shanghai including lowered taxes, reports Shanghai Daily. The financial talent award is just one of the government?s policies aimed at turning Shanghai into an international financial and shipping hub [...
Some JVs Are Doomed From the Start
Posted on June 27, 2009I generally avoid any jokes with racial overtones, but in this case, I’ll make an exception. From the BBC: Russia’s energy giant Gazprom has signed a $2.5bn (£1.53bn) deal with Nigeria’s state operated NNPC, to invest in a new joint venture...
Would This Be Legal in China?
Posted on June 27, 2009To go along with last post’s racist humor, I’ll now dive into a pit of juvenile depravity. I’m doing well today — I’ve no doubt attracted lots of teenage skinheads to my readership. Question: if Burger King decides to sell its new sandwich, the “BK Super Seven Incher” (yes, that’s really the name) in China (it’s [...
First Rule of Boycotts: Feasibility
Posted on June 24, 2009Elaine Chow at Shanghaiist reports on Ai Weiwei’s call for an Internet boycott to protest the government’s mandate that all PCs be sold with Green Dam Net filtering software: On micro-blogging website Twitter, Ai called for the low-key protests to mark a day that is also the anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party...
Pollution Problem Will Not Be Solved By Enlightened Consumers
Posted on June 24, 2009This one is a little preachy and esoteric towards the end, but bear with me. Interesting, if not surprising, results from a J.D. Power study on Chinese auto consumers: A new study by market research firm J.D. Power suggests that the country?s consumers are more interested in appearance and comfort than fuel economy when they make auto [...
Is Google Down?
Posted on June 24, 2009I remember when this shit happened five or six years ago, for about a day. It was tough getting work done, and at that time, I was just relying on The Google for search. These days, it’s search, email and RSS. Thank heaven for proxies, but either way, I hope this is over soon...
My New Zero Tolerance Policy for Trademark Clients
Posted on June 23, 2009Dan at CLB posted some good comments on trademark filing concerns. He is finding that with the economic downturn, some clients are cutting corners and perhaps making some poor decisions when it comes to PRC and U.S. trademark registration. As someone with a much smaller readership than Dan’s and a blithe willingness to piss off prospective [...
Global Business, Local Life, and Communication
Posted on June 23, 2009For the last couple of days, I’ve been following the events in the Middle East with some fascination. All over the foreign press, hardly a peep in the local Chinese press (to be expected). The turmoil in Iran has actually made me, for the first time since the U...
China Export Tax Kerfuffle
Posted on June 23, 2009Cause: U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk is expected to launch a WTO case against China on Tuesday when he holds what his office called a major news conference regarding U.S.-China trade. Kirk’s office gave no details in announcing the 9:15 a.m...
Corporate Charity and the Earthquake Coke Boy
Posted on June 20, 2009Little Red Book looks into the Sichuan “Earthquake Coke Boy” story (original stuff with some translated Net comments courtesy of Chinasmack): Named ?Earthquake Coke Boy? by netizens, Xue Xiao became famous when after being rescued from the SiChuan earthquake, the first words he muttered through the pain was ?Uncle, please give me an ice cold Coke...
China?s Stock Bubble: Sounds Good To Me
Posted on June 19, 2009Everybody already knows about this, but it is interesting to see the issue discussed in the mainstream press: [S]ome players suspect that Beijing has been giving markets an invisible helping hand, with the intention of minimizing investor panic over the upcoming share supply...
If It?s Friday, It Must Be Time To Discuss Net Porn
Posted on June 19, 2009Yes, in addition to all the talk about the Green Dam net filter software debacle this week, whereby the government is attempting to mandate that every PC sold in China includes the program, now Google has been slapped around because you can access porn sites via the mega-search engine...
Why Is New Lethal Injection Policy Getting So Much Press?
Posted on June 17, 2009China watchers have probably seen several articles over the past few days reporting on the new policy that adopts lethal injection over firing squad. I would hope that most of you have given these boring treatments little attention. Why the snub? First, unless you are a death penalty afficionado, the distinction between getting shot multiple times [...
China Legal News As Cheap Thrill
Posted on June 17, 2009My post earlier today about press accounts of China’s new reform of State executions ended with my belief that some articles had been written purely to feed on readers’ interest in violent subject matter. I take it back. Compared to the articles written in the past 24 hours about newly-passed rules in China governing sex change [...
A WTF Weather Moment
Posted on June 16, 2009Seriously, WTF just happened with the weather here in Beijing? It was already an overcast day, but five minutes ago, the sun just cut out on us as the thunderstorm rolled in. Pretty cool, actually. Tags: China News © Stan for China Hearsay, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del...
Rule of Law: ?Harmonious? Result in Deng Yujiao Case
Posted on June 16, 2009I wrote about this assault/murder case almost a month ago and discussed how an instance of self defense turned into a politically charged matter that had many folks very unhappy about local officials covering for each other. The defendant was found guilty today of “intent to harm” and not, as many feared, murder (China Digital Times [...
News From the Front Lines of the International Trade War
Posted on June 16, 2009Since the global economy hit the skids, everyone has been decrying protectionism, with China the loudest in its criticisms of trade practices. Everyone wants to maximize both their exports to overseas markets as well as domestic purchases of local goods — local products compete against imports of course...
Bill O?Reilly, China Scholar?
Posted on June 12, 2009Referencing New York’s Upper West Side, the infamous right wing Fox News talk show host opined that: You can’t get more left unless you go to Beijing Apparently the continued use of the “Communism” label and propaganda over here are still fooling some folks out there into thinking that this country still adheres to pre-1987 political and [...
I Don?t Think ?Rebalancing? Means What They Think It Means
Posted on June 12, 2009Lots o news recently about the negative export numbers here (over 26% drop from the May numbers last year). As this is a huge sector in China, this of course is something to be concerned about as GDP and employment are hit hard when trade is down substantially...
Maintaining Radio Silence
Posted on June 12, 2009Off to Tianjin for the weekend. If I regularly posted on Saturdays and Sundays, I would note my trip as the reason for bloggus interruptus. In light of the fact that I rarely post on the weekend, however, I will simply point out that this post is entirely unnecessary...
The Cynic Prevails: Why I Don?t Trust Goldman?s Long-term China Forecasts
Posted on June 11, 2009The latest China forecast from Goldman Sachs: Goldman Sachs now forecasts that the China economy will overtake the US as the world?s largest economy by 2027. Several emerging market countries are predicted by Goldman to overtake key developed market countries in the not too distant future...
Taiwan Judges Hopped Up on Goofballs
Posted on June 10, 2009I can’t come up with another satisfactory explanation for this (h/t FP Passport): Concerned toupee wearers everywhere will be heartened to hear the latest hairpiece news from Taiwan: A man who tore the wig off a telegenic Taiwan legislator last year was sentenced to five months in jail for depriving the MP of his freedom to look [...
Republican Outreach to the Asian Community
Posted on June 10, 2009A quick comment on U.S. politics. The political dialogue in D.C. these last two weeks has been dominated with discussions about President Obama’s nomination to the Supreme Court, which is the highest court in the country. The candidate in question, Judge Sonia Sotomayor, is very well qualified as well as being politically attractive (female, Hispanic, nice [...
What Happened to Rebalancing the Economy?
Posted on June 10, 2009China has raised export tax rebates on some goods including machinery, furniture, toys and plastic products - another move to help weather the sagging international trade in the global economic recession. The Ministry of Finance said [Monday] that the export rebate for machinery such as sewing machines was expanded to 17 percent from 14 percent...
Net Filtering Software ? The Plot Thickens
Posted on June 09, 2009No great surprise that yesterday’s big story, that the government is mandating that all PCs sold in China come pre-installed with a web-filtering program, has been picked up by the foreign press and is being discussed ad nauseum here in China. Far be it from me to avoid a popular story...
New Site Filtering Software Pushed By Gov?t ? It?s the Nudity, Stupid
Posted on June 08, 2009The big story of the day, as picked up by quite a few of the blogs I read, is this new software touted by the government that would allow parents and teachers to filter out pornographic web sites from the impressionable eyes of today’s youth. Rebecca MacKinnon is all over this story (this is her area [...
Update on the Chengdu Bus Crash
Posted on June 08, 2009Some news has already leaked out on this horrific bus crash/explosion/fire that was responsible for the death of 23 people. The bottom line thus far: ?????????????????????????????????????? Essentially, someone brought combustible/flammable stuff on the bus, causing the explosion...
Yet Another Set of Bilateral IP Talks
Posted on June 08, 2009It’s not that I’m against discussions amongst interested parties. In fact, this kind of thing can be quite useful. But how many of these ongoing bilateral dialogues are we going to end up with? Japan and China on Sunday agreed to launch annual talks on jointly cracking down on copyright infringement and trademark piracy, the Japanese [...
Too Many Unemployed Law Grads May Lead to Education Reform
Posted on June 05, 2009If, like everyone else who hasn’t been living under a rock for the past twenty years, you think that legal training in China focuses too heavily on the acquisition of knowledge at the expense of practical training, you’d be absolutely correct...
Looking Forward to Tomorrow
Posted on June 04, 2009Nothing particularly interesting will be happening tomorrow, but I’ve really had my fill of all the nostalgic, emotional press coverage of 6/4. It seems like anyone who was in Asia anytime that year claims to know what went on in Beijing that summer, has a strong opinion, and had very close friends that were directly [...
All?s Fair in China Litigation
Posted on June 04, 2009Dan makes a good point about the concept of “fairness” in dispute resolution: Chinese courts tend to give large account to what is “fair,” not just to what the law says. This means that if a Chinese company is late on a contract because its own supplier was late in delivering it a necessary component part, [...
I Declare A Coffee War
Posted on June 04, 2009McDonald’s yesterday introduced its McCafe to China’s seven major cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin. McCafe, the freshly boiled coffee sold at about one-third the price a cup in Starbucks, is expected to raise a turf war against other coffee chains specialized in brewing fresh coffee but sold it at a higher price...
Pettis on Trade ? It?s More Complicated Than It Appears
Posted on June 04, 2009Another great post by Michael Pettis, this time on policies/factors that have an effect on international trade, with the GM bailout as the main illustration. Here is his main point: One of the reasons why trade-related discussions can seem so off-the-mark, I think, is because the conditions governing international trade are much more complex than we often [...
Getting a Hummer in Sichuan
Posted on June 03, 2009Not really sure what to make of this development: The bankrupt US carmaker GM is reported to have an agreement to sell gas-guzzling brand to China’s Sichuan Tengzhong The bankrupt car manufacturer General Motors has struck a tentative deal to sell its gas-guzzling Hummer brand to a Chinese company, raising the prospect of quasi-military American vehicles becoming [...
Geithner?s Beijing Trip: Mission Accomplished
Posted on June 03, 2009Geithner’s first trip to China as United States Secretary of the Treasury has come and gone. Before we fill out our scorecard, how about a quick look at my predictions from a couple weeks ago: We?ll see what happens with Geithner?s first visit. I?m sure the press attention will be formidable, and I?m also certain that [...
Should the West Fear China? (or should we all just fear columnists?)
Posted on June 02, 2009Simon Winchester’s recent LA Times column, at first glance, is a decent and thoughtful piece about China’s domestic security concerns (in the run-up to the 6/4 anniversary) and the country’s designs on the rest of the world. The title of the piece, “Is There Anything To Fear From China?” is provocative, to be sure, but the [...
Scary Chinese Cyberattack Stories
Posted on June 02, 2009The Pentagon plans to create a new military command for cyberspace, administration officials said Thursday, stepping up preparations by the armed forces to conduct both offensive and defensive computer warfare - or even shut down the internet. The military command would complement a civilian effort to be announced by President Obama on Friday that would overhaul [...
The Dreaded Site Update
Posted on June 01, 2009Be afraid, be very afraid. I used up all my writing time today working on site admin. No rest for the wicked. Anyway, if I did a good job, visitors will not notice much of a difference, save for a slightly cleaner sidebar. Now that this is done, I can wait another three years before the next [...
Dragon Boat Festival - Let?s Not Make This An International Incident
Posted on May 29, 2009I hope everyone out there is enjoying the Duan Wu/Dragon Boat Festival. The actual holiday was yesterday, and the official holiday runs from yesterday through Saturday, with many people coming back to work on Sunday. Yes, this is another one of those utterly bizarre things that is claimed to be a three-day holiday but is [...
Scientists Brand China An Environmental Serial Offender
Posted on May 29, 2009Not only is China on the hook for a significant amount of increases in global pollution levels these days, but now we find out that this sort of irresponsible behavior is nothing new. A mass extinction some 260 million years ago may have been caused by volcanic eruptions in what is now China, new research suggests...
Rule of Law: Public Opinion and Criminal Sentencing
Posted on May 28, 2009Before anyone gets too excited by that post title, don’t expect the following to be some sort of statistical analysis or in-depth treatment of criminal sentencing in China. Unless someone wants to give me a grant to study that stuff, I’ll keep my comments within the realm of light commentary...
A Cynic?s View of the New Fuel Economy Standards
Posted on May 28, 2009Keith Bradsher, auto industry guru in HK for the New York Times, gives us the good news: Worried about heavy reliance on imported oil, Chinese officials have drafted automotive fuel economy standards that are even more stringent than those outlined by President Obama last week, Chinese experts with a detailed knowledge of the plans [...
Don?t Stare at the Other Monkey: Getting Your Cross-Border Deal Done
Posted on May 27, 2009This blog primarily concerns news of the day, or if I’m busy or hungover the news of the week. It is not focused on business advice — I’m not very comfortable telling people how to use chopsticks properly, whether they should eat duck’s brain, or how many toasts of baijiu one needs to keep down [...
Hu Xingdou Net Censorship Case: Much Ado About Nothing
Posted on May 26, 2009A Beijing judge has ruled that an internet hosting company was wrong to close a prominent government critic?s website over allegedly illegal content, in the first-ever case won by a victim of internet censorshipin a Chinese court. Hu Xingdou, an economics professor who regularly discusses topics ranging from corruption to police brutality on his web page, [...
Chinese Group to Buy Stake in NBA Team
Posted on May 25, 2009The Cleveland Cavaliers have signed an agreement with an investment group from China to become minority owners of the NBA franchise and its arena, a partnership that could impact superstar LeBron James’ future with the team. The Asian conglomerate, which includes JianHua Huang, a Chinese businessman who has brokered sponsorship deals with the New York Yankees [...
Gang Shootings in Shanghai ? WTF???
Posted on May 25, 2009Police in Shanghai have detained 10 suspects in the fatal clash between two gangs that left two dead on Friday, local authorities said Saturday. An argument over debt dispute between two gangs became violent and shots were fired Friday noon at the entrance of Huilihuayuan Residence on Changshou Road, Putuo District, [...
Apple Responsible for Reseller Copyright Infringement?
Posted on May 22, 2009A word to the wise: pay attention to what your distributors/dealers are doing in China. So there?s this lawyer from Yunnan who represents media companies, specifically acting as an ?entrustment agent? with respect to copyright for specific movie titles, including such stellar theatricals like ?Red Cliff? and ?Pleasant Goat and the Big Bad Wolf? (wasn?t [...
Cynicism Loves Company
Posted on May 21, 2009Earlier today I was feeling like a miserable old cynic, but after reading Charlie’s post on the “super double secret” breakthrough climate change talks between the US and China, I feel much better. I am surprised, however, that the New York Times, ultra lefty rag that it is, would ever get suckered into printing a fake [...
U.S. Congress Has an Anti-Piracy Caucus?
Posted on May 21, 2009Before I go off on my usual rant about the ridiculous amount of power the entertainment industry has over the US government, let’s take care of the China angle here first. An informal group of US legislators, organized to specifically address IP enforcement issues, has come out with a report that specifically names China, as well [...
Sound Advice for the China Job Crowd
Posted on May 21, 2009David Wolf with some pearls of wisdom: [M]ost hiring decisions for China and Asia positions - even for multinational companies (PR, advertising, and others) - are made on the ground here in the region. If anything, this is more the case now than it was a decade ago, as most firms have so expanded their operations [...
Mixed Feelings on Microsoft?s IP Deal With Hangzhou
Posted on May 20, 2009Last week, Microsoft announced a cooperation agreement with the city of Hangzhou that would, among other things, boost IPR enforcement. Since the announcement was made, I’ve been trying to figure out whether this was a good thing or a bad thing...
Rule of Law Cases: A ?Murder? in Hubei
Posted on May 19, 2009I have the tendency to talk about this grand concept called Rule of Law in terms of foreign direct investment, IP enforcement, anti-trust cases, M&A — basically areas in which I have direct experience. This is not useless information of course...
U.S. to Allocate More Resources to International IP Efforts: A Cynic?s View
Posted on May 19, 2009Another piece of evidence (h/t IP Watch) suggesting that the U.S. wants to be even more aggressive on the international IP front (press release from last week): Congressman Howard Berman (CA-28), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, today introduced wide-ranging legislation to improve and support U...
When Not To File A Trademark (yes, you heard me)
Posted on May 18, 2009From IP guru Duncan Bucknell: Here are five reasons not to file a trade mark, in no particular order: 1 - your business is only ever going to be confined to a subset of a country (and not extend to the whole country); 2 - you can’t afford it just yet; 3 - you don’t actually care if people [...
A Few More Words On Huntsman
Posted on May 17, 2009Since yesterday’s announcement that Obama had chosen Governor Jon Huntsman of Utah as the next ambassador to China, I’ve been wading through quite a few stories that have been put out in the major papers. As I said yesterday, from all accounts it appears as though this was an inspired pick...
So Where Is All That Export Demand Going To Come From?
Posted on May 17, 2009Another excellent article by Sebastian Mallaby in the Post, this time on exchange rates. Mallaby is concerned that even if the current international trading regime staves off high levels of protectionism (à la Smoot-Hawley), nations will still be able to use exchange rates to compete, in an ever-downward spiral of devaluation...
Survival of the Fattest
Posted on May 17, 2009Something tells me that your average cave man would have a problem fitting in with China’s Harmonious Society. This is creepy (h/t Americablog): One of science’s most puzzling mysteries - the disappearance of the Neanderthals - may have been solved...
Utah Gov Huntsman Looks to be Next U.S. Ambassador to China
Posted on May 16, 2009This story is just coming in, and it isn’t confirmed. However, the U.S. papers are already writing about it, so I guess it’s 99% certain. I’ll post on this later today. First reaction is that this guy looks eminently qualified, in fact more so than any other ambassador the U...
China Critics Ratchet Up the Rhetoric in U.S.
Posted on May 15, 2009Looking at the foreign press headlines today, I sense a disturbance in The Force — I mean, some bad juju in the bilateral relationship between the US and China. Several reasons for this, including a new espionage accusation, continued allegations of cyber warfare, and a ramp up in the currency manipulation/trade protectionism/job loss stories out [...
How KFC Benefits From China Health Care Spending
Posted on May 15, 2009China biz newbies may wish to check out this article by Slate business columnist Daniel Gross. The content is quite familiar — the usual talk about the huge potential of the China market for foreign companies. However, Gross does a decent job of updating the subject with talk of government health care spending and connecting [...
To U.S. Expat Voters: Uh, About That Last Election
Posted on May 14, 2009A few short months ago, November 2008 to be precise, a large group of American expats congregated in the ballroom of the Renaissance Hotel in Beijing. I remember it fondly. I arrived there early, early enough to watch the first election returns come in on CNN, and I waited around long enough for the major [...
The Yellow (Cyber) Horde is Coming to Get You: a US Military Perspective
Posted on May 14, 2009All right, we’ve all read countless stories over the past few months about the shadowy world of Chinese hackers, their government support, and their quest for global domination. (Well, I didn’t say that we necessarily believed any of these stories...
Quote of the Day
Posted on May 14, 2009H/T FP blog: I am increasingly convinced that there is a factory in China that does nothing other than come up with beguiling statistics about factories in China. There are just too damn many such statistics to be explained any other way. Tags: China Business & Economy © Stan for China Hearsay, 2009...
China Currency Bill Update: Yep, Just What You?d Expect
Posted on May 14, 2009Quick update on yesterday’s post about a new punitive tariff bill floating around the US Congress. The bill would raise tariffs on Chinese goods in retaliation for alleged currency manipulation. My whole point of bringing it up yesterday was to comment on Secretary Geithner’s upcoming trip to Beijing, noting that in my opinion he does not [...
Why Is My Inbox Full of Idiotic Articles on the U.S. Dollar?
Posted on May 14, 2009The life of a blogger is not quite as glamorous as it may appear to a typical outsider. Sure, you get to write whatever you want, with few if any repercussions when you write something stupid. The pay isn’t so great, but on the other hand there’s no boss yelling at you to make a [...
Geithner to China and Currency Manipulation: Just Another Day in U.S.-China Relations
Posted on May 13, 2009Well, this should be interesting: US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will make his first official visit to China for talks June 1-2 as the two nations step up a high-level economic dialogue, his office said Tuesday. The visit will be Geithner’s first to China since taking office on January 26...
Comments on the AmCham White Paper - Part I
Posted on May 13, 2009Thanks to a timely reminder from IP Dragon, I downloaded the latest AmCham White Paper, a document published annually that includes feedback from the American business community in China. This includes current business sentiment, challenges from both the public and private sector, and recommendations for both the US and China governments...
Bizarre Advice for Lawyers From a Twisted Industry
Posted on May 12, 2009After my experience with the VC industry, beginning in the year 2000 and China’s Internet boomlet, it’s no great surprise that I have a bit of a chip on my shoulder when it comes to these guys. On the other hand, it’s always good to know what’s going on and what folks are thinking, particularly when [...
International Tax Policy (for insomniacs)
Posted on May 12, 2009If you are having trouble sleeping, this post is for you. Not the most exciting topic, but important nevertheless. The issue of offshore tax havens and multinational (MNC) profits tax has been big news in the U.S. recently as the Obama Administration considers pushing new rules to make it more difficult for MNCs to defer tax [...
Preparing Chinese Students for the Global Economy
Posted on May 12, 2009I’ve been following an interesting discussion over the last few days on Jim Fallows’s blog regarding Chinese education. My intent was to steer clear of this conversation, seeing as how it is a perennial favorite amongst ex-pats, and I’m sure I’ve probably commented on this several times in the past...
Friday Photos: Tiantan
Posted on May 08, 2009I first came to Beijing in the beginning of 1999, and at the time, my wife and I made the rounds of the usual tourist attractions: the Great Wall, Tiananmen, etc. With some chagrin, I will admit that I haven’t been back to many of those places over the past ten years...
U.S. Double Standard on China Military Spending
Posted on May 08, 2009This post could apply to any country’s military spending, I suppose, not just China. However, since China is the favorite “foreign menace” for American right-wing nutjobs these days, let’s limit the discussion to just the one scary rising military behemoth...
China Law Humor
Posted on May 08, 2009A h/t to Danwei for this nugget o’ gold, although I don’t think the story they picked up was meant to be humorous: When asked if state-owned companies were exempted from antitrust review, the Anti-Monopoly Bureau under the MOC responded in writing that the Law was applicable to all companies in China, and that both domestic [...
Whither Family Names?
Posted on May 06, 2009A light, throwaway post, but thought provoking nonetheless (h/t Foreign Policy): Germany is renowned for fighting inflation, but the battle extends beyond money and into the realm of names. In a split decision on Tuesday, the German Constitutional Court upheld a ban on married people combining already-hyphenated names, forbidding last names of three parts or more...
Fiscal Stimulus and China Bashing
Posted on May 05, 2009I was just listening to the Bill Moyers program on iTunes (this is a U.S. newstalk show with a very left-leaning point of view). The discussion was on the economy and the challenges of the recovery. What got my attention was talk of the fiscal stimulus and the need to spur consumption...
Yes, Diplomacy Seems Like A Good Idea
Posted on May 05, 2009WASHINGTON (AFP) ? Chinese fishing boats engaged in “dangerous” maneuvers near a US Navy ship in international waters off China, the Pentagon said Tuesday, in the latest provocative encounter with American surveillance vessels. Spokesman Bryan Whitman said a pair of Chinese vessels last Friday approached the USNS Victorious, which he said was engaged in “routine operations,” [...
Swine Flu Nationalism, or How I Spent Labor Day
Posted on May 04, 2009The one article that jumped out at me this weekend while I was enjoying the Labor Day holiday was this report on the origins of Swine Flu from Wired: Scientists have traced the genetic lineage of the new H1N1 swine flu to a strain that emerged in 1998 in U...
China?s Muscular Competition Law
Posted on May 04, 2009Excellent article in the Financial Times on the still-relatively new Anti-monopoly Law. Part of the article is a standard “You (foreign companies) really need to sit up and take notice of this new law,” complete with quotes from foreign lawyers about why this is so important — and, I suppose, why you need to consult [...
Special 301 Report Out ? China Still on Priority Watch List
Posted on May 01, 2009Today is Labor Day, the first day of a three-day holiday in China. I wasn’t planning on doing much blogging, but if I wait until Monday to report on this, I may just blow it off entirely, and it’s too important. This is perhaps the most important government document of the year with respect to [...
The Next Big Thing in the Swine Flu Story
Posted on April 30, 2009Any day now, I expect to be hit with spam from a China consultant who is selling his services to foreign-invested enterprises here to help them prepare their operations for the coming pandemic. The consultant, I assume, will be selling in-house training to management and the HR team, will be more than happy to speak to [...
Shanzhai Gets Its Own MMORPG?
Posted on April 30, 2009Somehow, I don’t think this is going to end well (h/t WSJ blog): Is a battle brewing in China over ?World of Warcraft?? Last week, the Web site wofchina.com went online, advertising a familiar-sounding game called ?World of Fight.? ?WoF (World of Fight), a new game by The9 Ltd...
Reports of a PRC ?Virtual Court? Are Highly Exaggerated
Posted on April 29, 2009Can’t tell you how excited I became when I saw this headline from JLM: E-Disputes to be Settled in Virtual Court Images ran through my mind of virtual courtrooms designed for online games such as Second Life, with plaintiffs, judges and defendants attending with bizarre avatars...
Pig Panic Even More Stupid Than I Thought
Posted on April 29, 2009From Countdown to Beijing: Nevermind that the H1N1 ?swine? flu, which has killed more than 150 people in Mexico, is not directly caused by pigs and has so far not led to any outbreaks among pigs. Nevermind that the World Health Organization has ruled out any risk of infection to humans from eating pork...
The Ambitious RMB
Posted on April 29, 2009Can’t say I agree with this Caijing commentary on the future of the RMB: The yuan is expected to gain popularity as a regional currency as China expands trade with Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau[.] China?s trade already surpasses Japan?s in the region...
About That Rebalanced Economy . . .
Posted on April 29, 2009One of the “must do” goals these days is to shift China’s economy from being export based to being consumption based. This has been a goal for many years, as pushed by academics, but has not really been taken all that seriously by the government until recently...
Swine Talk is So 2003
Posted on April 28, 2009The swine flu panic is getting annoying. Sure, if this turns out to be a huge deal, I’m going to look pretty stupid. On the other hand, I remember 2003, when an admittedly nasty bug, SARS, made everyone crazy without even killing that many otherwise healthy individuals...
Why I Don?t Care About World IP Day
Posted on April 27, 2009I have long railed against public awareness campaigns designed to educate people about intellectual property rights infringement. My basic problem with such campaigns is that they are all fluff. People will buy fakes and download/buy pirated copyrighted works for one major reason: they can...
Wangzhihe Trademark Case: More Media Sins
Posted on April 27, 2009I was a bit critical last week regarding the Financial Times’s reporting on the Wangzhihe trademark case in Germany. My problem was their suggestion that cases of IP infringement between two Chinese companies was somehow a new development (it isn’t)...
SIPO Pats Gov?t on Back for Protecting Olympic IPR
Posted on April 25, 2009China’s State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) has issued a White Paper on protection of Olympic IPR last year. It is self-congratulatory, giving kudos to other government agencies, such as AIC, Customs and the PSB. As I wrote last year, my big “take away” from the whole Olympics period with respect to IPR protection is the standard [...
Belated Friday Photos: Liu Li Chang
Posted on April 25, 2009Excellent weather this weekend so far, apart from the (very normal) Beijing Spring wind. I’ve been living in Beijing off and on for 9 years and never paid a visit to Liu Li Chang culture street (??????), a/k/a Liu Li Chang market. Today was the day...
Unveiling Warships is Sign of Transparency, Not a Show of Force?
Posted on April 24, 2009You will rarely see me comment on a military topic. It’s something I know little about. However, sometimes the news reporting on, or PR spin of, a military issue makes it too tempting. Case in point. China is getting ready for the 60th anniversary extravaganza this year, and I guess military parades are being ramped up...
Rolls-Royce Knockoff Makes Splash at Shanghai Auto Show
Posted on April 23, 2009I’m not really a car guy, so this story would have sailed right by me if not for the IP angle. You be the judge whether the term “knockoff” applies in this case (h/t CDT): 1. The real deal, a Rolls: 2. The alleged knockoff, the Geely GE (great name, that): To my untrained eye, I see two [...
Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don?t: China Airlines Criticized for Fuel Hedging
Posted on April 22, 2009You gotta feel sorry for these guys. Just consider the volatility in oil prices over the past couple of years. Hedging, a tool used by airlines to stabilize jet fuel costs, has been blamed as the culprit behind huge losses for China’s biggest airlines...
Who Knew There Was a Market for Ebooks in China?
Posted on April 22, 2009This is all news to me: Pearson PLC’s book publishing division Penguin said Tuesday it has signed a deal to make a number of its English books available in electronic book format to readers in China, as the company prepares itself for the rapid rise in the use of electronic book readers like Amazon...
Financial Times Seems to Think Chinese Infringement of Chinese IP Is a New Trend
Posted on April 22, 2009Chinese companies are falling victim to Chinese trademark pirates in foreign markets ? a twist to the intellectual property problems frequently suffered by foreign companies in China. In one of the most dramatic cases, two Chinese individuals have applied for trademark registration in Canada for the names and logos of more than 60 Chinese companies...
Entertainment Industry Makes New U.S. Commerce Secretary Its Bitch
Posted on April 22, 2009Well, that didn’t take long. Scant days after assuming his position as Commerce Secretary, Gary Locke is already kissing the ass of the entertainment industry. From IP Watch, referring to a Washington, D.C. industry meeting: The Obama administration will fight for the movie industry and work to aggressively enforce its intellectual property protections both at home and [...
More Indications that Obama Will Have Reality-based Trade Policy
Posted on April 21, 2009This sounds reasonable and might bode well for the US-China bilateral trade relationship: The administration has no present plans to reopen negotiations on the North American Free Trade Agreement to add labor and environmental protections, as President Obama vowed to do during his campaign, the top trade official said on Monday...
Short or Fat Need Not Apply to PKU Med School
Posted on April 21, 2009This story from Danwei is highly entertaining. Here are the particulars: The Peking University Health Science Center, the university’s medical school, recently released admission standards that disqualify applicants deemed overweight, short (1.6m for men and 1...
National Service: G2 Seems to be In Sync
Posted on April 21, 2009Interesting that we see the following on the same day: Obama to Sign National Service Bill Today The AmeriCorps program started by President Bill Clinton will triple in size over the next eight years, and tens of thousands of other Americans will soon see new opportunities to give back to their communities...
China?s Other Demographic Time Bomb
Posted on April 21, 2009The world?s third-largest economy is aging so rapidly that by 2050, there may be only two working-age people for every senior citizen, compared with 13 to one now. That increases the urgency of the government?s pledge to expand the Chinese social safety net and make retirement benefits and health care accessible to as many of [...
When Celebrities Attack: Why It?s Always Best to Ignore Their ?Political? Statements
Posted on April 20, 2009I pretty much always ignore celebrities when they start talking politics. They usually say something stupid and uninformed, and they get a lot more attention from the press when doing it. Richard Gere anyone? So it probably goes without saying that it doesn’t make a lot of sense to listen to Jackie Chan on political philosophy, [...
GM?s China Expansion Plans
Posted on April 20, 2009Call me crazy, but I don’t think this is going to play well in Michigan (or Ohio, or Indiana, etc.): General Motors Corp., shuttering U.S. plants in a bid to avoid bankruptcy, is ?likely? to build a new factory in China on surging demand. ?Operations in China are profitable and in the future China can finance its [...
Don?t F&@# With the Mouse: Disney Schools Go After Customers Early
Posted on April 20, 2009I don’t know, I guess there’s nothing wrong with Disney getting into the early education business in Shanghai. So why does this feel so wrong? Mickey Mouse has a new job in China: teaching kids how to speak English at new schools owned by Walt Disney Co...
Environmental Protection, Economic Growth and the Recession
Posted on April 20, 2009Environmentalists say they worry that the government has squandered a chance to use the downturn to put China on a cleaner growth path, and has instead laid the foundation for another toxic cycle of hypergrowth. (New York Times) Good article in the NYT about a worrisome issue...
Jim McGregor Gives Obama?s China Team Thumbs-up
Posted on April 18, 2009After a meeting in D.C. with administration officials talking China policy, here’s a summary from Jim (I omitted the intro — full text is on the JLM site): The Obama administration officials who served under Clinton — and sat on the sidelines watching Rumsfeld and Cheney for the past eight years — have taken the lessons [...
Why Do People Infringe on Copyrights? Because They Can
Posted on April 18, 2009More evidence that public awareness campaigns are a waste of time and that only strong IP enforcement will solve the problem. People will continue to download copyrighted content because they can, it’s human nature. Simply telling them it’s wrong is insufficient...
Speaking of Lazy Journalism
Posted on April 18, 2009China?s engine of economic growth, the envy of the world for years, has finally lost some of its steam, posting its worst quarterly GDP growth in nearly two decades. But private equity investors who have bet heavily on that country?s breathtaking growth remain positive about its recovery...
Friday Photos: Beijing Horticultural Experiment
Posted on April 17, 2009No exciting excursions this week, so no breathtaking views of a Beijing tourist attraction for your viewing pleasure today. On the other hand, this week saw the culmination of a long-awaited scientific experiment that took place right here in capital city, specifically my apartment...
What?s Wrong with Western Press Coverage of China?
Posted on April 17, 2009Timothy Garten Ash poses this question in a really interesting Op/Ed in the LA Times. Ash ultimately pronounces the biggest problem being a lack of volume of China stories. I agree that is a big problem, but I’m not sure that is the most significant one...
Is the Recession Over? Check Back at the End of the Year
Posted on April 17, 2009I’ve been critical of all the happy happy news items of late crowing about China’s rebounding economy. Why? Because a lot of this is based on incomplete data, much of it a result of some good March numbers. It goes without saying that we need to wait a few months to see if these positive economic [...
Wow! Blizzard Switches WoW Licensee in China
Posted on April 16, 2009This has been rumored for some time now, but it’s still big news (h/t China Tech News): The rumors have proven true: Blizzard Entertainment Inc. is not renewing its online game contract in China with The9, choosing instead to move the World of Warcraft game to a subsidiary of Chinese Web portal NetEase...
Geithner Blinks: US Says China is Not a Currency Manipulator
Posted on April 16, 2009This is a follow up to yesterday’s post on Treasury’s semi-annual report on international exchange rate policies. We go through this “will they or won’t they?” dance every time with respect to China, and all throughout the Bush administration, the answer was “no, they won’t” label China a currency manipulator, much to the chagrin of some [...
Real Pirates Take Back ?Piracy? from IP Community
Posted on April 16, 2009All the talk of pirates from Somalia has this IP lawyer a bit miffed. I’ve gotten used to using the terms “piracy” and “pirate” to describe activities and people related to infringement of intellectual property rights. Unfortunately it looks like I will have to curtail my pirate language in the future so folks do not [...
Schneider Patent Case to be Settled
Posted on April 15, 2009You remember this one? The largest ever patent decision against a foreign company in China? It’s been a while, so here’s a reminder (from Reuters): France’s Schneider Electric lost a patent infringement lawsuit in China on Saturday and was ordered to pay 335 million yuan ($44...
Bilateral Trade and China Bashing
Posted on April 15, 2009Intriguing post by Will Lewis on a study about the relationship between U.S.-China trade stats and China bashing in the US of A: A few weeks ago, George Mason University economists Carlos Ramirez and Rong Rong gave us a handy tool, available free of charge at SSRN, for predicting the US news cycle on bad stuff [...
Well, You Don?t See Something Like That Very Often
Posted on April 15, 2009Seriously, some folks have too much time on their hands. If you do too, check out the latest in advertising weirdness from Little Red Book. Tags: China News © Stan for China Hearsay, 2009. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
The Allure of the ?China Recovery? Story
Posted on April 14, 2009Since March stats here had some bright spots, some folks (inside and outside government) have been talking up the Chinese economy, some going so far as to say that the bottom has been reached and that recovery is just around the corner. I think this is a bit premature for a variety of reasons, not the [...
China IP and Obama?s RIAA Mafia
Posted on April 14, 2009Readers of this blog know about the Recording Industry Association of America, the RIAA. They are an industry group that represents a lot of copyright owners, a lot of very large and wealthy companies. The RIAA is very active politically and is one of the loudest/most influential when it comes to lobbying the U...
Those Must Be Some Magical Mushrooms
Posted on April 14, 2009From the AP: Cornell University is giving China back a precious trove of mushrooms smuggled to the United States at the start of World War II. Shu Chun Teng (tung) was China’s premier expert on fungi after studying at Cornell in the 1920s. He spent a decade traveling on horseback through his homeland, gathering up molds, lichens, [...
Idiotic China Stock Market Blather
Posted on April 14, 2009I guess making fun of Wall Street is a relatively easy thing to do these days since the financial services sector has driven the world economy into a ditch. We’ve fallen, and it’s going to be difficult to get back up again. Anyway, I think it’s still important to point out when the Wall St...
Greentech and Foreign Suppliers in China
Posted on April 14, 2009That post title is a bit ambitious. I only want to make one substantive point about foreign companies in China doing business in the greentech/cleantech area. The topic came to mind when I read a great post (as usual) at CEL on the subject today. Charlie was passing along the following news: The State Council on Monday [...
Will They Or Won?t They? The Annual U.S. Report on Currency Manipulation
Posted on April 14, 2009We go through this every year. The Bush administration was never able to pull the trigger and label China as a currency manipulator, despite some very aggressive lobbying by industry groups. For the record, I’m not in favor of purposely embarassing China on an issue over which they have no feasible policy options at the present [...
China Uses Soft Power with ASEAN
Posted on April 13, 2009One of the big recent themes in the international press regarding China is the notion that the Middle Kingdom will come out of the Great Recession in much better shape than other nations, particularly the U.S. I wrote on this recently (see previous post here), disagreeing generally with this notion...
China Official Goes Off Message
Posted on April 13, 2009Forbes reports on a pessimistic comment made by a Bank of China official. This is in marked contrast to the positive “the China economy has turned around” pronouncements we have heard the last few days. I wonder what the punishment is for not maintaining PR discipline? China’s economy is unlikely to hit bottom soon and needs [...
Texas and Asian Names ? follow up
Posted on April 12, 2009Quick follow up to my post from last week on the sad story of Rep. Betty Brown, who unfortunately was caught in the act of suggesting that Asians change their names (i.e. use English names) when in the U.S. to make the voting process easier. My comment was that while my preferred policy choice is to [...
Happy Happy China Economy Stories
Posted on April 12, 2009That’s all I’ve been reading this weekend, articles talking up the Chinese economy, which is “showing signs” of a recovery. We’ll see what happens over the next few months, but at the moment, the press is generally being kind...
Friday Photos ? Houhai
Posted on April 10, 2009To balance out that boring/esoteric post on the global reserve currency debate, here are some photos taken last night at Houhai. For the uninitiated, Houhai is a lake in the central part of Beijing that was developed several years ago. It now has a large number of bars and restaurants surrounding the water and is [...
Texas to Chinese Residents: Use an English Name
Posted on April 10, 2009This story popped out of my usual US politics reading, but as it has a China connection and is fun, what the hell, let’s talk about it. The context: a Texas state committee hearing on election fraud issues. The people were debating voter ID systems, one topic being how to appropriately handle foreign names...
Bergsten on the Reserve Currency Issue
Posted on April 10, 2009There has been a huge amount of commentary out there on the issue of whether the world needs a new reserve currency (currently the US dollar), and if yes, what that would look like. This comes after the idea was publicly floated by Zhou Xiaochuan, the governor of the Bank of China...
China FDI History Repeats Itself
Posted on April 09, 2009You may recall a recent post of mine about Venture Capital and Private Equity, wherein I pointed out, among other things, that the preferred investment structures have been a bit more risky than you might think. I also drew a comparison between the standard Joint Venture problems we see in China and the disputes between VC/PE [...
In the Burbs, Checking Out the Flowers
Posted on April 08, 2009Spent yesterday afternoon at the Beijing Botanical Garden (???), which is outside of town right next to Xiang Shan (??). Seems like I missed the optimal flower-watching season by a couple of weeks, which was kind of a bummer, but at least I dragged myself out there...
Household Savings Rate in China ? politics vs. economics
Posted on April 08, 2009Very boring post title, but bear with me here for a second. Very interesting article in the FT by Pei Minxin (with co-author Ali Wyne), a very well known China expert at the Carnegie Foundation. He focuses his research and writing on China’s political structure and is a staunch democracy advocate...
New Version of Stanza for iPhone!
Posted on April 08, 2009This is definitely one of my non-China related posts, but I wanted to show my appreciation for this new tech. When I got to China, I had very little entertainment available. Lack of TV was bad enough, but it was the scarcity of good reading material that almost drove me insane...
China Sees Record Bank Lending in March
Posted on April 08, 2009I’m a terribly cynical and negative person. In the middle of a credit crisis, the first thing that pops into my dark mind when I see a headline like that is how much of this lending represents reckless or risky loans. On the other hand, apparently I’m not the only person who sees this as bad [...
Car Restrictions in Beijing to Continue
Posted on April 07, 2009So far this Spring, the air here in Beijing has been excellent. The cold weather broke a few days ago, and it has been warm with blue skies ever since. I was out in the suburbs today — you wouldn’t want to change the weather even a little bit...
SAIC Promotes Model Contracts For Rural Land Transfers
Posted on April 07, 2009It probably comes as no great surprise that a lot of very dodgy stuff goes on with land transfers in China, and I do mean nationwide. This includes a lot of collectively-held land being transferred to private developers for way lower than its value and a lot of other questionable transactions that end up screwing [...
China, Luxury Brands & Tattoos
Posted on April 07, 2009This will be my last post of the night as Google Reader is having a series of seizures on me, and I can’t get at my RSS feeds. Damn technology. What’s the tech equivalent of an anticonvulsant drug? (Before I motivate anyone to write me an email, please don’t tell me to restart my PC [...
Anti-monopoly Litigation Phase II ? China Mobile
Posted on April 06, 2009This story is interesting to anyone following the implementation of China’s still relatively new Anti-monopoly Law and the implementation of a competition law system in this country. Everyone at this point knows that the most famous case so far was the recent rejection of Coke’s bid for domestic juice company Huiyuan on the grounds of market [...
Krugman on China?s Dollar Dilemma
Posted on April 06, 2009I didn’t get to Paul Krugman’s NYT column about China and the dollar last week, so I’ll take the opportunity provided by the holiday weekend for a short comment. Here’s the intro: On one side, the world?s appetite for Chinese goods has fallen off sharply...
Basics of China?s Health Care Reform Announced
Posted on April 06, 2009Details are still forthcoming, but this at least states categorically that health care is a public service, and is an implicit admission that the pendulum has swung too far in the direction of privatization and (high) fee-for-service. From Xinhua: [Today's announcement] will be supplemented by a more detailed implementation plan for the three years until 2011...
Quiet Holiday Weekend
Posted on April 05, 2009Not much going on this weekend, blog or otherwise. At least the Beijing deep freeze is over, and the weather has turned more seasonable. With no heat over the past few weeks, things have been uncomfortable at home to say the least. This is no exaggeration — a couple of days last week saw me [...
The New SED: the China Lineup
Posted on April 03, 2009I’ve talked recently about the new China-U.S. bilateral dialogue mechanism being put into place. I’m a bit skeptical of the whole thing as it sounds like just another gimmick, or an attempt at re-branding. Moreover, one of the U.S. players, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, has a full plate these days and has already run afoul [...
Seems Like Nationalization is a Global Trend
Posted on April 03, 2009I thought it was just banks in the U.S. and Europe, but apparently this nationalization thing is getting quite popular, even in China: Privately-owned Chinese airlines that sprouted up during an industry deregulation are now facing nationalization as they suffer a cash crunch and their state-owned counterparts got cash injections to weather the global economic downturn...
Foreign Law Firms in China: Mind the (Time) Gap
Posted on April 03, 2009Tom Chow gives us the news on Loeb & Loeb’s new PRC office: Well, at least the economy hasn?t completely stopped U.S. based law firms from entering into the promised land of China. The National Law Journal published an article today entitled ? Firm Delivers Chinese Practice?...
I Don?t Much Care for the ?China Benefits From Global Recession? Theory
Posted on April 02, 2009I’ve seen this argument a lot recently, and while I certainly agree that China has a great deal of upside and is in much better shape than some other countries, some of these writers seem to be smoking a lot of happy leaf. Case in point, a post on Seeking Alpha, a stocks blog: Now, all the [...
Questions About China?s Unemployment Rate
Posted on April 02, 2009Great post on the WSJ blog about the uncertainties with China’s unemployment statistics. The problem most often discussed is how to account for the gigantic migrant worker population: The most readily available and most official statistic on unemployment in China is the one that just about everybody ? including government officials ? agrees tells you the [...
No Comments on Empty ?G-2? Discourse
Posted on April 02, 2009OK, I didn’t really expect anything of substance to come out of the G-20 meeting or the so-called G-2 discussions between Obama and Hu. So no surprise that the public statements that came out of both camps were entirely devoid of anything tangible...
Another Reason Not To Watch China TV
Posted on April 01, 2009Sky Canaves at the WSJ blog describes the coming of the apocalypse: The NBA and Chinese brewing giant Tsingtao will launch a cheerleading-themed reality show on China Central Television?s sports channel next month, according to the Hollywood Reporter...
China Banks Not Too Interested in Additional FDI?
Posted on April 01, 2009China is reportedly planning to increase the lockup period for foreign investment in the country’s commercial banks. The increased lockup period, from three years to five, would apply to future investments, the Shanghai Securities News said today, citing Liu Mingkang, head of the China Banking Regulatory Commission...
Trying to Decipher U.S. Taiwan Policy
Posted on April 01, 2009I don’t usually write about Taiwan — don’t really care about it too much, to be honest. Once in a while, however, I do notice what the U.S. is doing with respect to cross-strait tensions. I recently wrote about the U.S. decision not to sell additional F-16s to Taiwan, a move which I consider quite prudent [...
New Rules for China?s NASDAQ
Posted on March 31, 2009With the private equity and venture capital markets cratering, there are a ton of startups here that are in need of capital. Hopefully by the time the exchange actually gets up and running, the economy will be in better shape, allowing it a chance of success...
China?s Shampoo Shenanigans
Posted on March 31, 2009Paul Midler’s been on top of this baby shampoo case for a while. Looks like it’s heading into freaky territory: It seems that a number of Chinese families are looking to launch a class action lawsuit related to shampoo. From ConsumerAffairs...
ADB?s Growth Forecast ? Bleak, But No Surprises
Posted on March 31, 2009The FT reports: The Asian Development Bank on Tuesday halved its 2009 growth forecast for developing countries in Asia, warning that an anticipated rebound in 2010 was heavily dependent on a broader recovery of the world economy. The Asian lender said that Asia excluding Japan was likely to grow 3...
China IPR Tribunals: An Update
Posted on March 30, 2009Some additional details from my recent post on the subject from the National Working Group on IP. The possibility of an IP appeals court and the ability to consolidate multi-jurisdictional cases is great news. I know that most people do not follow this stuff close enough to track changes on the ground, but the progress [...
China?s Economic Nationalism
Posted on March 30, 2009There are two things that annoy me to no end: religion and nationalism. Both are fundamentally irrational and lead to a lot of nasty shit. I’m therefore not happy at all that the global economic crisis has (as it always does) ushered in a new era of nationalism...
Chinese Cyberspies Watching Me On My Webcam
Posted on March 30, 2009Seems to be one of the big stories this weekend/today (from the FT): A Chinese spying operation has obtained sensitive data from hundreds of government computers in more than 100 countries, according to a new report. University of Toronto experts found 1,295 infected computers around the world and observed the operation stealing documents and watching and listening [...
Private Equity, Venture Capital and ?Fake? China Joint Ventures
Posted on March 29, 2009I wasn’t planning on writing a detailed post about cross-border financing structures for a while, although it was on my To Do List. Dan’s latest post at CLB on “fake Joint Ventures” requires a response, although I’ll save some issues for later when I have time for more...
Great Recession Watch ? Living With Mendacity in China
Posted on March 28, 2009“You said it yourself, Big Daddy. Mendacity is a system we live in.” –Brick, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof As usual, Tennessee Williams is a good place to go for wisdom. As the Great Recession rolls over us, information about the financial system, built on a lot of mendacity, is coming to the fore...
Subways vs. Cars in China
Posted on March 27, 2009It was obvious that China’s big cities were going the LA route years ago, meaning more expansion, outlying suburbs, more roads, and more traffic. An an LA native, I can’t say I’m in favor of this sort of development strategy for a host of reasons, including air quality...
China Looks For Creative Ways to Piss Off Evangelical Christians
Posted on March 26, 2009I couldn’t help it. This one was way too enticing. Forestry officials in far western China have resorted to scattering abortion pills near gerbil burrows in a bid to halt a rodent plague threatening the desert region’s fragile ecosystem, state media said Wednesday...
Geithner?s Dysfunctional Relationship With China
Posted on March 26, 2009The other day I wrote about a new diplomatic initiative being tossed about by China and the U.S. that allegedly will replace the Strategic Economic Dialogue. I mentioned at that time that this might not be such a bad idea, seeing as how the SED on the U...
China to Extend System of Special IPR Courts
Posted on March 26, 2009Sounds good to me: On March 25, the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) issued the “Third Five-Year Reform Outline of People’s Court (2009-2013)”, which proposes that municipalities and medium-sized cities with large amount of IPR cases shall explore the unified setting of comprehensive IPR tribunals...
Youtube Hyperbole
Posted on March 26, 2009Quick post on Youtube’s being blocked in China. Yes, it’s happening. No, we don’t like it. But a couple of comments: 1. Anyone who is shocked or surprised is just making themselves look stupid. Stop it. 2. Let’s put this into perspective...
China Federalism in Action
Posted on March 26, 2009The Fall semester is approaching fast, and I need to start updating my FDI and IP lectures. I’ve been looking for some good examples of how Chinese federalism works, particularly instances of disagreement over policy authority between State and local governments...
Arrests (Finally) Announced for CCTV Fire
Posted on March 25, 2009Surprised it took so long. Looks like they are spreading the blame around, too. From Xinhua (this will be in all the major papers): Police have arrested 12 people, allegedly involved in causing an accidental fire at China Central Television’s (CCTV) new building in February, a court official told Xinhua on Wednesday...
China to Liberalize Film Import Regime?
Posted on March 25, 2009Interesting news out of Filmart in Hong Kong (h/t Hollywood Reporter): Asian film industry executives and media policymakers from Beijing, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore and Macau will gather Monday to unveil a proposal to reform China’s strict film import and export rules and increase the outflow of Chinese cultural products to markets overseas...
What I Learned At School Today
Posted on March 25, 2009Well, yesterday, and not exactly at school, but it is the most interesting thing I learned over the past 36 hours, thanks to the learned Elaine Chow at Shanghaiist (click on the link to see the appropriate and entertaining (if you’re into that sort of thing) Japanese anime-ish artwork): Everyone in China probably knows about the [...
Matt Drudge Is An Idiot ? Reserve Currency Edition
Posted on March 24, 2009Comments by PBOC governor Zhou Xiaochuan have gotten a lot of press over the past couple of days. China is not happy that they are stuck holding a lot of dollars, and frustrated that there continues to be no alternative. That’s life. The dollar continues to be the world’s reserve currency, and that ain’t changing anytime [...
Names Are Important
Posted on March 24, 2009Shanghai-based peer-to-peer streaming media provider PPStream has released a webgame channel at g.pps.tv. I saw this on JLM, so I assume that this is a real company. On the other hand, the name is something I would expect Bart Simpson to make up for a prank phone call...
China Data Privacy Update
Posted on March 24, 2009About a week ago, I wrote about the need for a national data privacy law in China in light of changes to the Criminal Law with respect to government disclosure of private data. As a follow-up, I would recommend reading an excellent article out in the China Economic Review on the subject, which goes into more [...
Another US-China Diplomatic Layer - Part II
Posted on March 24, 2009I wrote about the possibility of yet another diplomatic platform for bilateral talks between China and the U.S. in February — see that post here. Looks like they are definitely putting something together and will announce it soon (a heads-up from the Washington Post): China and the United States have agreed in principle on the form [...
Thumbs Up For PLA?s PR Initiative
Posted on March 23, 2009I’m going to go out on a limb on this one, but hear me out. The People’s Liberation Army has certainly been on the receiving end of some bad press in the West since 1949. Probably the Korean War had something to do with it, and since then, it’s been all downhill...
Breaking China News: Government Stats Show That Government Policy Is Working
Posted on March 23, 2009I know, I was also shocked at this Xinhua article: The number of Chinese online game players under the age of 18 has declined to 15 percent of total respondents in 2008 — a 7 percent drop from the 2007’s figure of 183 million — according to a nationwide survey by the China [...
Trade Protectionism Du Jour
Posted on March 23, 2009Not sure how long this is going to go on, but it appears as though the strategy of most countries over the next couple of years is to publicly decry protectionism and talk up free trade, and at the same time vehemently defend its own protectionist policies...
Protectionism Watch
Posted on March 22, 2009Another country not being protectionist (h/t Americablog): France was embroiled in a protectionism row yesterday after the government announced that the assembly of some Renault cars would be shifted from Slovenia to the Paris area, creating 400 new jobs...
CSIS Report on U.S.-China Relations Focuses on Dialogue and Multiple Contacts
Posted on March 20, 2009I’m 3-for-3 on U.S.-China relations posts today, including this one. The report in question is entitled Smart Power in U.S.-China Relations and was substantially drafted by folks at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. This is formally a commission report, co-chaired by former U...
Looks Like U.S. Will Get Its First ABC Commerce Secretary
Posted on March 20, 2009From the Associated Press: The Senate Commerce Committee has approved President Barack Obama’s nominee for commerce secretary. Former Washington Gov. Gary Locke won unanimous approval from the Commerce panel Thursday. Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va...
Should the California Legislature Develops Its Own China Policy?
Posted on March 20, 2009Of course not. Unfortunately, some folks with too much time on their hands would like California lawmakers to waste some time on issues that don’t concern them. Longtime readers of this blog already know that I am supremely apathetic when it comes to certain China-related “causes,” particularly those that are championed by Hollywood types that have [...
Comments on the Coke-Huiyuan Deal
Posted on March 19, 2009This is definitely the story of the day. The MOC rejected Coke’s bid to take over domestic juice company Hui Yuan. The deal was nixed because of competition concerns, with the MOC subjecting the deal to scrutiny under the still fairly new review process formulated under the Anti-monopoly Law...
Chinese Real Estate Tours to the U.S. ? enough already
Posted on March 19, 2009OK, these stories about hordes of Chinese folks traveling to the U.S. on house-buying sprees are starting to annoy me. Here’s the latest in Shanghai Daily: Yin Guohua, a 45-year-old lawyer in Beijing, just completed a 10-day, five-city tour of the United States that didn’t include the Statue of Liberty, the Golden Gate Bridge or any [...
World Bank Report Calls Out Protectionists
Posted on March 18, 2009Just downloaded this report from the WB (the World Bank, not Warner Bros). If there is anything particularly fun in there, I’ll post later. I’m looking for clear examples of protectionism by nations that have recently preached free trade. I wonder if the U...
Coca-Cola?s Huiyuan Deal Goes Bust?
Posted on March 18, 2009Just saw this in Shanghai Daily, I assume nothing has been corroborated yet: FLASH: CHINA’S MINISTRY OF COMMERCE BLOCKS COCA-COLA’S BID FOR HUIYUAN JUICE I guess the promise to spend a couple billion dollars on China FDI didn’t do the trick...
Avast Ye Pirates, IP and Otherwise
Posted on March 18, 2009Wired has an excellent, fun little article about techniques used to foil modern piracy. What kind of pirates? Both the ones stealing copyrighted works and those stealing seaborne cargo. This is useful, since I’m getting quite tired of seeing all those “pirate” headlines, hoping to find a useful IP story to blog about, only to find [...
Holy Crap, Look What Scientists Found In The Gobi Desert
Posted on March 17, 2009I don’t usually write about biology and paleontology, but this story is rather big: Horsing around without adult supervision, a large group of adolescent and pre-adolescent dinosaurs died en masse 90 million years ago when they ran pell-mell into a mudhole, sinking to their doom as they frantically tried to pull themselves out...
More China Problems for Foreign Game Licensors
Posted on March 17, 2009From JLM: The General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) intends to tighten approval criteria for online game imports in an effort to protect the development of domestic online game enterprises and avoid the excessive penetration of foreign culture among Chinese youth, reports Sohu quoting GAPP Technology and Digital Publishing Bureau Director Kou Xiaowei on March [...
China Takes Advantage of the Great Recession
Posted on March 17, 2009Excellent article in the New York Times by one of my favorites, Keith Bradsher. It’s not exactly news, but it is a great summary of what Beijing is doing to not only prop up its economy during the downturn, but also to spend the money wisely to spur future economic development...
Tough New Rules in China for Computer Games - Part II
Posted on March 17, 2009Some additional information on this topic, which I posted on yesterday. From China Tech News: The General Administration of Press and Publication of China will soon fix a new measure to regulate the cooperation between Chinese and foreign online games service providers and the new measure may focus on punishing foreign game operators who adopt arbitrary [...
China Business Tip: Use Your Time Wisely
Posted on March 16, 2009This seems like an obvious truism, but you would be surprised at how many folks waste time over here, old China expats included. To be specific, my advice is to not spend several hours playing World of Goo when you should be doing something productive...
The Great Recession and Part II of the China Model Debate
Posted on March 16, 2009You remember back when China’s economy was humming along at 10+% growth, year after year, and a favorite story in the politico-economic press was the success of the “China model”? This was the manufactured debate between the “Communist” system in China and the “Capitalist” system in the U...
Comparative Risk and China?s Dollar Investments
Posted on March 16, 2009I haven’t commented on Grandpa Wen’s recent concerns about the dollar and China’s exposure in this area. Lots of reporting on this story in all the major papers, including the back-and-forth between Obama and others in D.C. as well as folks here in Beijing...
CNBC: U.S. Should Emulate China on Unemployment
Posted on March 15, 2009If there are any Americans out there questioning their political affiliations, here is a story for you. CNBC is a cable network in the U.S. that focuses on business. It was a major cheerleader for the various types of business (real estate, securities) that led to the economic bubble we are all now dealing with...
U.S. Will Not Sell F-16s to Taiwan
Posted on March 15, 2009I’m sure this will piss off some of my readers, but to me, this is good news. It also suggests that the Obama administration knows how to prioritize on the foreign policy front. The U.S. government has declined to make a long-awaited sale of F-16 fighter jets to Taiwan for fear of upsetting China, Taiwan’s parliament [...
China?s Courts, Rule of Law, and the Recession
Posted on March 15, 2009Very interesting policy issue discussed in China Calling (Newsweek blog). Here’s the key passage: In any economic downturn, there is much to keep courts occupied?bankruptcy and fraud cases are currently on the rise around the globe. In China, however, the economic crisis comes hand-in-hand with the threat of social instability, and every bankruptcy case and labor [...
China Job Sites Selling User Info ? Can We Please Have A Data Privacy Law Now?
Posted on March 14, 2009From JLM: Several online recruitment sites are selling their job seekers’ personal information in an effort to pad profits during the economic downturn, reports Information Times quoting Liu Hao, the CEO of Beijing-based online recruitment site Zhaopin...
One Last Post On Chas Freeman
Posted on March 14, 2009Earlier this week, I posted about the withdrawal by Chas Freeman for the position of head of Obama’s National Intelligence Council. I originally became interested in this story because of Freeman’s sterling China credentials, and then as a storm of protest arose over his opinions about Middle East policy...
China Luxury Goods Market Gets Boost From Bribery
Posted on March 14, 2009Excellent New York Times article (h/t China Digital Times) on bribery of government officials, with the background of the recent National People’s Congress meeting thrown in for context: Though sales spike in March during the national congresses, executives of luxury goods companies say that lavishing government officials with such products is a year-round practice that reflects [...
China Visa Follies
Posted on March 13, 2009One of the all-time favorite topics of expats in China — visas. Jim Fallows announces his most recent success: Got my Chinese visa renewed! These things are never a gimme, and the outcome isn’t always easy to predict by what we might call logical factors...
Taipei Rail Link
Posted on March 13, 2009Yes, I know that this is fundamentally a political story. However, I can’t stop that fanboy part of my brain that just gets really excited about new technology, including nifty new rail lines. Let’s face it, it would be pretty cool to be able to take a train to Taiwan...
China?s Best Buddy, Tim Geithner
Posted on March 12, 2009Remember a few weeks ago when new U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner accused China of manipulating its currency? He was smacked around quite liberally in the press and of course by Beijing, and he’s been backpedaling ever since on China policy...
WTO, China & Chicken
Posted on March 12, 2009This story is a bit complicated. Let’s start with the latest news: China said Wednesday it will file a World Trade Organization case challenging a U.S. ban on Chinese poultry imports, criticizing the measure as protectionist. (IHT) How did we get to this point? This sordid tale (well, I’m not sure how sordid it is, but you never [...
Internet Priorities
Posted on March 12, 2009I think we can all agree that among the grey areas existing in China’s Internet and e-commerce laws (e.g. online transactions, adverts, data privacy, copyright violations), the issue that could potentially do the most harm, and therefore most in need of regulation, is porn and gossip...
Freeman Bows Out
Posted on March 11, 2009I wrote about Chas Freeman, Obama’s nominee for the U.S. National Intelligence Council, a while back. I never heard of this guy but was impressed by his stellar CV, particularly his China track record. Although he is much more of a realist than I am, I explained that after 8 years of the Bush Administration, [...
China Feb Export Numbers
Posted on March 11, 2009Ouch. Double ouch. Chinese exports slumped 25.7 per cent in February, much higher than analysts had expected, as the global economic crisis began to take its full toll on the country’s export sector. (FT) The January numbers were also awful, but not quite as bad as some had predicted...
Better Without the Clients
Posted on March 11, 2009A running joke with some lawyers is that the practice of law wouldn’t be so bad if it were not for all the clients one has to deal with. (Yes, we are nasty, ungrateful people.) Anyhow, Dan at CLB relates the circumstances of one client’s China business experience, and it is ugly...
Let?s F&@% the Working Man
Posted on March 10, 2009Why is this even an issue? Apparently some have been debating this: China will not revise the Labor Contract Law to compromise workers’ rights as suggested by some people to help enterprises cope with the global financial turmoil, a legislator said here Monday...
Bad Idea
Posted on March 10, 2009OK, this proposal is not going to get any traction. However, just the thought of any linguistic change is enough to get me thinking of leaving the country: One of the proposals being presented before the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference is a plan to "restore, resume, resurrect, or return" to [...
Underwhelming Column on Free Trade
Posted on March 10, 2009I’m generally a fan of Charlene Barshefsky, who used to be US Trade Rep under President Clinton (when I first came to Beijing). I’ve also heard her speak at conferences since the ’90s, read her columns, etc. No ideological or political differences with her, so the following relates solely to the content of one particular [...
Somebody Call Tom Clancy
Posted on March 10, 2009Is any of this starting to sound 1980s-ish? China Says U.S. Navy Ship Was Breaking the Law U.S. Says China ‘Harassed’ Navy Ship Here are the basics, if anyone cares: China has accused a U.S. Navy mapping ship of conducting illegal activity inside China’s exclusive economic zone, a Hong Kong television station reported Monday — Beijing’s first response [...
Locke and Load: Protectionists Go After Obama Appointee
Posted on February 26, 2009I take personal umbrage when China FDI lawyers get smacked around. Here’s a heads-up from Bloomberg: Gary Locke, President Barack Obama’s pick to be commerce secretary, persuaded Chinese President Hu Jintao in 2006 to visit Seattle, where he was feted at the mansion of Microsoft Corp...
Obscene Letters From Home
Posted on February 26, 2009This is way off topic. Way, way off topic. As an expat, you get used to two things about politics: first, the politics of all other expats are very similar (liberal socially, moderate fiscally, free trader), and second, all the weird stories from home about political extremists seem to be about other folks...
Did Someone Call for a New World Order?
Posted on February 26, 2009From CEL: Here’s something from the “I hope they didn’t spend too much money on that study” department: “West blamed for rapid increase in China’s CO2“. The Norwegian’s are set to drop this bombshell old chestnut in a soon to be released report according to an article in the Guardian...
What?s Not For Dinner
Posted on February 26, 2009Note to self: do not eat pig’s liver for dinner tonight. A dish of stir-fried pig’s liver served at a dinner party in Guangzhou, China, poisoned 14 people with what authorities think was an animal feed additive, a Chinese state-run news agency reported...
Uh Oh ? Low(er) Salaries Coming
Posted on February 26, 2009Not what I wanted to see: COMPANIES on China’s mainland are expected to face less resistance from expatriates on localization of compensation packages amid the economic downturn, an industry survey said yesterday. Corporations are still optimistic about the Chinese mainland’s economic growth and still see cross-border movements into the mainland increasing, said PricewaterhouseCoopers International Ltd yesterday in [...
Hilary Clinton - Old China Hand
Posted on February 24, 2009Tim Johnson with some good advice for Hilary: It’s probably best for Westerners not to try to out-proverb the Chinese, especially when speaking with Premier Wen Jiabao. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has just passed through China, and she displayed a propensity to throw Chinese proverbs into her public statements, exclaiming at one point: “I love [...
The Cyborgs Are Coming
Posted on February 24, 2009You may have noticed the huge onslaught of stories about the "Human Flesh Search Engine" phenomenon in China over the past year or so. I’d just like to know if anyone else sees that term and immediately thinks cyborg? Flashes from Videodrome? Anyone? No? Must be just me.
The World is Watching Your China Factory
Posted on February 24, 2009If you didn’t already realize that every single part of a company’s global operations are now under a magnifying glass, check this out: The University of Michigan announced on Monday that it was ending its apparel licensing agreement with the Russell Corporation, becoming the 12th university to do so in response to the company’s decision to [...
China iPhone Alert
Posted on February 24, 2009Hot off the presses, from China Tech News: China Unicom has reportedly reached an agreement with Apple on iPhone’s entry into China and the 3G iPhone may appear in the Chinese market in May 2009. Foreign media are quoting representatives from Ovum, a British consultancy, as saying that China Unicom and Apple will achieve cooperation soon and [...
IP Policies Abound for China Net Firms
Posted on February 20, 2009First it was Tudou announcing a new takedown policy (after it had been sued by a big group of IP owners), now we have Baidu putting a lovely-sounding anti-counterfeiting program together. I’m not going to criticize any of these guys. Whether they are motivated by fear or by more pure intentions, it’s a good thing...
Let?s Buy Some Commodities
Posted on February 20, 2009The market is certainly more attractive for Chinese purchasers than it was a couple of years ago, hmm? I wonder how many of these we’ll see over the next 18 months or so. Mining, petroleum, what’s next? From Bloomberg: Petroleo Brasileiro SA, Brazil’s state-controlled oil company, agreed to a $10 billion loan from the China Development Bank [...
The Pros and Cons of Investing in China
Posted on February 20, 2009A better than average discussion of the good and bad of China’s current economic situation, geared towards investors: http://www.moneyweek.com/investments/stock-markets/the-pros-and-cons-of-investing-in-china-14630.aspx
Positive Trends in Patent Stats?
Posted on February 20, 2009All right, first off I should say that I am a skeptic when it comes to China stats, and that includes IP registration and enforcement statistics. These numbers are often way off, and those that are fairly accurate may not even present a coherent message...
Shanghaiist is No Fun Anymore
Posted on February 20, 2009Say it ain’t so. Please. Remember that incredibly entertaining (if somewhat morbid) story about a woman who lost a best mistress contest and then drove her lover and his four other mistresses off a cliff? Well, apparently it might have been complete fiction! Crap...
Loving That British Sense of Humor
Posted on February 18, 2009As a well-educated American, I am genetically predisposed to British humor, which sometimes (but not always) avoids slapstick and draws its content from more sophisticated sources. American humor sometimes (but rarely) avoids the childish. A notable British funnyman is Peter Mandelson, who as EU Trade Commissioner was a welcome voice of sanity on China trade policy [...
The Next China Reality Show Concept?
Posted on February 18, 2009You know, my blog has lately been kind of a bummer. It’s either depressing economic news or boring legal analysis. Thank heavens that there is entertaining news out there, or I might completely flip out. Case in point: A married Chinese businessman who could no longer afford five mistresses held a competition to decide which one to [...
Chinese Investment and Overcapacity
Posted on February 18, 2009Funny, I can almost see the eyes rolling and heads nodding off just by typing that headline. Wake up! This stuff is important. Every once in a while, it’s a good idea to revisit some of the macro issues that are causing problems here in China. Lack of consumer demand as a structural problem is finally beginning [...
Trademark Applications May Be Submitted Online
Posted on February 18, 2009From the SAIC: The State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) recently released the Trial Provisions for Online Trademark Application, which clarifies the relevant procedures for online trademark application. Applicants may directly submit their trademark applications online, or entrust trademark agencies to handle it...
U.S.-China WTO IP Dispute IV - final thoughts
Posted on February 17, 2009This is meant to be a wrap-up of my series on the IP case. Check out the other parts of the series for the details on the legal arguments. A few major themes here: 1. The ruling was not earthshattering. 2. The mainstream press totally bungled the reporting on this case...
One More Nail in the Hukou Coffin
Posted on February 17, 2009From China Briefing: China’s State Council has announced that it will abolish the permanent residency requirement, or hukou, to allow job seekers to move easily between cities and alleviate unemployment. I’ve been predicting the demise of the hukou system for years now...
CCTV Fire - Theory 1
Posted on February 17, 2009I’m sure there will be lots of theories to play around with in the months to come. This one is the first, from an internal investigation: CCTV held a high-level meeting on February 13 to review the findings from its preliminary investigation of the fire that burnt its high-rise tower on February 9...
Uncertainty in these Troubled Times
Posted on February 16, 2009Every once in a while, you get an opportunity to consider what effect the downturn will have on certain industries and specific transactions. This is in addition to some of the more personal incidents that occur (e.g. people you know that have lost jobs, lost homes, are freaking out generally, etc...
CSR and the Economic Crisis
Posted on February 16, 2009This is more of a question than an informative post, but an article about GSK got me thinking: The world’s second biggest pharmaceutical company is to radically shift its attitude to providing cheap drugs to millions of people in the developing world...
Buy Local
Posted on February 16, 2009This will be short and sweet, or at least short. (Note that all of my stuff today relates in some way to the global meltdown, so if you are prone to depression, take a pass on China Hearsay today and tune in again tomorrow for the exciting wrap-up of my series on the WTO IP [...
US-China WTO Dispute III - criminal thresholds
Posted on February 13, 2009OK, so we’ve already taken a look at a copyright claim (ruling: insignificant victory for US) and a customs measure (ruling: hollow victory for US). The last one relates to the criminal law as applied to trademark and copyright infringement. This one doesn’t really come out much better for the US either in my opinion, [...
CSRC, CBRC Not Going to Like This
Posted on February 11, 2009The latest in virtual fun: Shanghai-based online game company Giant Interactive (NYSE:GA) released a "stock trading" platform for gamers of its in-house developed 2.5D MMORPG Giant Online to trade virtual coins in January. Transactions, including exchanging gold for silver coins, will be charged 2% commission...
What?s New on the Labor Front
Posted on February 11, 2009If you are a foreign company mulling over a series of layoffs, be very careful. The government is not going to be too happy about that, although in most places, they will not outright deny your ability to order layoffs. Here’s the latest, which is not so much news (from a substantive point of view), but [...
U.S.-China WTO Dispute II - customs issue
Posted on February 10, 2009I’ve been putting off this post, mostly because the first one (on copyright) was so lengthy, and also my schedule has not been kind lately. I will try to keep this post concise and chock full o’ quotes, saving my strength for a bit of commentary...
No Comment, Really
Posted on February 10, 2009Big story today is the CCTV hotel building fire. Internets are full of chatter, Twitter is humming, and the entire staff of DLA Piper Beijing congregated in four offices this morning (across from my office) to take in the view. (We are at the Kerry Centre, just across the street from the CCTV complex...
Rule of Law, I Hardly Recognized You Anymore
Posted on February 09, 2009Hard to believe this is coming from a sitting U.S. President, but I guess sometimes things do change: President Obama signaled yesterday that he would seek to remove the controversial "buy American" clause from the Democrats $900 billion stimulus bill...
Better than Working at Wal-mart
Posted on February 09, 2009Can’t help but be amused at this heartwarming tale I saw on Danwei a few days ago that has been making the Net rounds: Today’s Beijing Times reported on a fraud case which Involves a 99-year-old man named Zhou Zhiping who is charged with fleecing the victim, a Mr Chen, of 749,000 yuan...
Anecdotal Evidence
Posted on February 09, 2009Last week’s blogging fell off a cliff due to work-related demands. Such is life. Hoping to get to Part II of my write-up on the WTO IP decision — look for that tomorrow if I can get my ass out of the office at a reasonable hour tonight. On a less esoteric topic, the economy is [...
Life During the Recession
Posted on February 04, 2009For those of you in precarious employment positions, here’s a delightful quote to keep you sane: WESTLEY: Finally, Roberts decided something. He said, "All right, Westley, I’ve never had a valet. You can try it for tonight. I’ll most likely kill you in the morning...
U.S.-China WTO Case I ? copyright claim
Posted on February 04, 2009I’ve been wading through this case over the last couple of days (difficult to do in the evening when you’re still struggling with jet lag). I am writing up a summary for work, but I thought that a few blog entries might help to clarify my thoughts...
Relocating to China?
Posted on February 04, 2009From CLB: Got a somewhat weird email today, but it makes sense, on some level, so here goes: Dear Mr. Harris: A question you may want to answer on your blog: If you were 25 again — crisp J.D. in hand but, alas, no job — which city in China would you move [...
Shoe Commentary
Posted on February 03, 2009The big news is about shoes: A protester threw an athletic shoe at the Chinese prime minister, Wen Jiabao, during his speech at Cambridge University’s concert hall on Monday, seven weeks after a similar incident involving President Bush in Iraq...
More Opinions on Obama and China
Posted on February 03, 2009I have about 15 articles on this topic in my Inbox, but I’ll start with this one today since it is "fresh". This column was in the IHT and begins with the following: In contrast to the general rush in most parts of the world to congratulate Barack Obama and hail a new era of American [...
Another US-China Diplomatic Layer?
Posted on February 02, 2009Still going through my Inbox from the holiday (238 articles flagged so far for later reading!), but this is worth a quick post: The administration of U.S. President Barack Obama has decided to launch a new comprehensive strategic dialogue with China that includes high-level discussions on political, economic and security issues, it was learned Sunday...
Spring Festival Deep Thought
Posted on February 01, 2009The greeting that is making the rounds these days — "Happy Niu Year" — makes me believe in true evil and could force me to turn to religion for the answers I now so desperately need. [FYI: I'm back in town after a couple weeks. Will start posting again after I get caught up...
In Praise of Sweatshops
Posted on January 16, 2009OK, one substantive post before I take off for the weekend. Nick Kristof at the Times wrote a good one this week. Here’s the basic argument: Mr. Obama and the Democrats who favor labor standards in trade agreements mean well, for they intend to fight back at oppressive sweatshops abroad...
Last Post of the Week on Porn
Posted on January 16, 2009I know, way too much on the topic of the government’s anti-online porn campaign recently. But hey, it’s a gift that keeps on giving. Any subject that covers government regulation, IT, law, and nudity — gosh, how could you not talk about it? Actually, this is not a substantive post...
End of a Very Long Week
Posted on January 16, 2009Well, actually last week was longer, but even so, I’m exhausted. In addition to having too much work to do, there are a lot of deadlines coming up (before Spring Festival). Moreover, I am traveling next week and need to get stuff done between now and the end of Monday...
Forcing Creativity
Posted on January 14, 2009Since I attended kindergarten, I have had a loathing for cutesy, interactive classroom activities. Perhaps it’s my cold personality (a Chinese colleague, showing off his English vocab, called me ‘cadaverous’ the other day. I just shrugged it off)...
Economy, Unrest and Porn in 2009
Posted on January 14, 2009Thanks to Danwei and People’s Daily, yesterday I was able to connect the dots and integrate most of the major China stories of the day — in my twisted mind, at least. First I read a linked People’s Daily article, which to me represents all those doom and gloom/bad economy stories...
Economic Crisis and the Black Death
Posted on January 09, 2009When a screenwriter puts pen to paper in hopes of crafting a tale about heroes and villains, there is one fundamental that hasn’t changed in 50 years or so: throw in some Nazis as your bad guys. You can’t lose with Nazis. For novels about medieval Europe, nothing compares to the Black Death as a backdrop...
Tudou Definitely Looking for that Safe Harbor
Posted on January 08, 2009Yesterday’s post on copyright infringement litigation and video file sharing sites would have been better served if I had waited a couple of hours and seen this bit of news: Shanghai-based video site Tudou.com is testing a reporting system for copyright owners that is expected to launch after China’s week-long Spring Festival holiday, which begins January [...
Google Trademark Case is Interesting After All
Posted on January 08, 2009(I just re-read this post. It is extremely wonkish, so if you aren’t an IP lawyer, I would not suggest reading this.) This bit of cryptic news came in yesterday: Google Inc, owner of the world’s most-used Internet search engine, won a lawsuit in China over its subsidiary’s name and trademark in Chinese, ending an 18-month dispute [...
Cyberlitigation Update - Looking for a Chinese Safe Harbor
Posted on January 07, 2009This is a follow up to several posts last year on IP litigation involving online service providers. You can read background here and here. As a refresher, current litigation in the U.S., China and other countries involves the following: A huge ongoing issue in cyber-litigation is liability for platform operators...
Slow, Yet Racy, News Day
Posted on January 06, 2009Still catching up from the holiday, so nothing exciting from me on the blog front. In addition to being generally busy, the news itself has not been much of a source of interest thus far in 2009. Today, for example, the top story seems to be about the government’s attempts to eradicate Internet porn...
Best China Stories of 2008
Posted on December 31, 2008On second thought, I’m much too lazy to go back and research the top stories of the year, review them, and add new comments. Sounds like way too much work this close to another holiday. Do your own research. (Hint: keywords/phrases like "Olympics," "financial crisis," and "labor contract law" might be helpful...
Predictions for 2009
Posted on December 31, 20081. The stock market will, for the first time in history, move into negative territory. Yes, companies will be paying you to hold their crappy shares. 2. Commercial leases will become so inexpensive that the guys selling lamb chuan(r) on the street will be able to move into storefront operations (without raising their prices)...
There Are No Coincidences - trade edition
Posted on December 30, 2008You will either find this very interesting or come away thinking that I’m a conspiracy theorist that hides in the basement with tin foil on my head (so as to block alien transmissions from Mars, of course). Here’s the deal. Earlier this month, the US Trade Representative complained to the WTO about China’s support (more specifically, [...
China Branding Tip #17
Posted on December 30, 2008As a trademark lawyer who has worked for a lot of foreign brand owners in China, I usually like to tell horror stories of companies that failed to register their Chinese names, companies that failed to choose good Chinese names, and companies that are lazy and have let their distributors/licensees/the market choose their Chinese names...
More Product Quality Problems?
Posted on December 30, 2008Story originates from Florida (a West Palm Beach tv station), so I’m not sure how widespread this is. I also cannot vouch for the accuracy. Martin and St. Lucie counties are two of nearly a dozen counties where complaints of possible exposure to the contaminated drywall in new homes have arisen...
Delphi Shutdown Presages Crappy 2009?
Posted on December 29, 2008OK, there is a decent Oracle at Delphi allusion to be milked here, but this is a serious topic, so I’ll move on without indulging. Here’s the bad news: U.S. car parts maker Delphi has suspended work at a factory in Suzhou due to shrinking demand amid the global economic slump, a media report and a staff [...
Obama, Labor and China
Posted on December 29, 2008Now that the Obama trade and foreign policy team is in place, there are new stories floating around out there about his China policy. The one thing everyone is nervous about is summarized quite well in this Reuters piece: President-elect Barack Obama may face pressure early in his administration to use the threat of trade sanctions [...
Grandpa Wen?s Photo-op
Posted on December 29, 2008I don’t know about you, but whenever the economy gets bad, my thoughts go back to past recessions and periods of unemployment. For me, those things coincided with graduation from college and law school. Bad timing for me (twice). I fondly recall getting out of college with a very useful degree in history (!) and looking [...
Merry Christmas from China Hearsay
Posted on December 24, 2008But I am sure that I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round… as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely...
In the Spirit of the Holidays
Posted on December 24, 2008I do not always agree with Tom Friedman (mostly b/c of the war), but it’s hard to argue with this: Landing at Kennedy Airport from Hong Kong was, as I’ve argued before, like going from the Jetsons to the Flintstones. The ugly, low-ceilinged arrival hall was cramped, and using a luggage cart cost $3...
Samsung Gets Whacked
Posted on December 24, 2008Don’t know anything more than this (from JLM): Samsung was fined RMB 50 million for violating Holley Telecommunication’s GSM/CDMA dual-mode handset patent in the Hangzhou Intermediate People’s Court on December 19, reports Sina. The lawsuit was brought to court in early 2007, so the fine covers only part of the more than 700,000 GSM/CDMA dual-mode handsets [...
USTR China Report
Posted on December 24, 2008The 2008 report to Congress by the US Trade Representative has been issued. The sucker is 115 pages, which means weekend reading for me. Here’s the link for anyone else with no life.
Still Confused About China?s Consumer Demand
Posted on December 24, 2008This remains puzzling to me (h/t China Briefing): China’s retail sales for 2008 are expected to reach RMB10.8 trillion, an increase of about 21 percent year-on-year. According to a report released on Monday by the Ministry of Commerce, sales figures broke the RMB10 trillion mark earlier this month...
In Defense of Due Diligence
Posted on December 23, 2008Yes, this post is self-serving to a certain extent. I get involved in due diligence from time to time, and certainly the firm I work for does a lot of these investigations. Regardless, since I have been thinking and talking about risk a lot recently, the latest big story from Wall Street, whereby a hedge fund [...
Not So Optimal Anymore
Posted on December 23, 2008Fallows with a useful reminder: Yesterday I mentioned a summary of the latest John Boyd conference, which included the argument that today’s lean, hyper-efficient, "just in time" economy was magnifying the effects of today’s economic collapse...
Don?t Worry About ?Creeping Protectionism?
Posted on December 23, 2008Fear not, international trade watchers. Incremental increases in trade barriers are a thing of the past. We are now entering the age of galloping global protectionism. Start the tariff increases, non-tariff barriers, in-your-face protectionism, and the WTO lawsuits that will follow...
Chinese Language and Technology
Posted on December 23, 2008Very cool article on Chinese language writing and the effects of technology. Not a new subject, but the article is good and worth reading. H/T to the WSJ Blog. I would be remiss if I failed to point out that the main gist of the article, that technology may be eroding the ability of native speakers [...
Too Busy to Play Games
Posted on December 22, 2008Time to cut my losses blogging today and save my energy for tomorrow. Some days you just don’t have what it takes to be even remotely interesting or informative. Before I sign off, however, I can’t resist this issue about online games and the sagging economy...
Once Again Making Fun of the Southern Diet
Posted on December 22, 2008As I said in my last post, I am finding it difficult taking things seriously today. Must be the holidays or something. Here’s another less-than-important topic to discuss: feasting on felines. As my wife’s family is from Liaoning Province (in the North), I feel compelled to decry the eating habits down South...
Time Magazine and Zhang Yimou
Posted on December 22, 2008I took a couple of days off last week and am just getting back to the blog today. For some reason, I can’t take anything too seriously, as you will no doubt see in any other lame posts I manage to pump out this evening. First up is Time magazine, telling us that Zhang Yimou was [...
Big 3 U.S. Automakers Suck at PR
Posted on December 17, 2008Lots of news floating around about the U.S. automakers and their sad financial state. Bad enough, but it’s the PR blunders that make me cringe. When the three CEOs went to the U.S. Congress recently, asking for money, and had to admit that they flew to D...
U.S. Trade Priorities
Posted on December 17, 2008From Politico: Rep. Xavier Becerra tells the editorial board of La Opinion that he has turned down the job of U.S. trade representative, having concluded — trade watchers take note — that trade won’t be the first, second, or third priority of the Obama administration...
Attack of the Nasty TB
Posted on December 17, 2008I wish this was a surprise, but it isn’t: Levels of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) in China are nearly twice the global average. Nationwide research published in the journal BMC Infectious Diseases has shown that almost 10% of Chinese TB cases are resistant to the most effective first-line drugs...
New Word of the Day
Posted on December 17, 2008Z - I - R - P ZIRP Yes, ZIRP What does it mean? What am I, freaking Wikipedia? Look it up yourself. Hint: it’s all rather depressing, so of course it has to do with the economy.
Stimulating Inefficiencies
Posted on December 16, 2008Important article in the FT last Friday about how fiscal stimulus plans can unfortunately prop up inefficient enterprises. The article addresses the steel industry as an example: Tangshan steelmakers acknowledge that their unexpected revival is built on flimsy foundations...
Games Games Games
Posted on December 16, 2008I knew what this article was about just by reading the headline, "One Boom Market Remains in China." Enjoy some good news for a change: How do you make money as an investor in China when the nation’s economy seems to be falling off a cliff? The one growth story that seems not to be flagging is [...
Econ Stats All Over the Place These Days
Posted on December 15, 2008A lot of numbers coming out these days, most all of which are scary. Trying to tell how scary things are, and what is actually going on, is really difficult. Case in point. Comments recently on the drop in imports from my favorite China econ guru (i.e...
Offline World Creepiness
Posted on December 11, 2008From ChinaTechNews: [T]he world’s first online game theme park, the Universal Digital Carnival Valley, is planned for a location by the Tai Lake in Jiangsu province’s Changzhou. The theme park, which is expected to complete construction in 2010, focuses on the themes of anime games and e-sports...
CBRC Rules on M&A Loans
Posted on December 11, 2008Just saw this and haven’t digested it yet, but FYI: CBRC recently released the risk management guidelines on merger and acquisition loans of commercial banks, permitting qualified commercial banks to make M&A loans. The guidelines aim to set standards for commercial banks’ M&A loans, encouraging banking institutions to explore innovative way through M&A financing to meet [...
Crappy Expat Lawyer Salaries
Posted on December 10, 2008CLB on the expat market: The always interesting BizCult is in the midst of a decidedly unscientific expat salary survey. In its post, "The Real Slim, Shady Expat Wages Stand Up," BizCult reveals that of "15 respondents so far, the majority are 26-30 year old professionals from North America making US$10,000-$19,000 a year...
Thomson Reuters Report ? China Patents Looking Good
Posted on December 10, 2008This one’s a bit geeky, sorry about that. Just read the patent report by Thomson Reuters. Some problems with the content, but well worth the read. Here’s the gist regarding China: The Scientific business of Thomson Reuters today published World IP Today: "Patented in China — The Present and Future State of Innovation in China" which [...
Bad Research
Posted on December 09, 2008A bit of weirdness and fun with which to end the day. From Wired: Dogs know when they’re getting the short end of the stick, according to new research out of the Clever Dog Lab in Austria. When a dog doesn’t get the same reward for doing a trick as another dog, he’s less likely to perform [...
Why I Should Stop Reading IP Case Summaries in the News
Posted on December 09, 2008First, a hat tip to IP Dragon, who is tearing up the blogosphere with great posts recently. I made the mistake, unfortunately, of following a link to a Xinhua news story on the recent Apple trademark win. Before I bitch about it, here’s the entire text of the article to set up my gripes: U...
Confused About International Trade
Posted on December 09, 2008Something tells me that the folks at the Foreign Ministry need to catch up on their newspaper reading: China said it will actively join the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Doha round and play a constructive role, so as to promote negotiations to achieve a comprehensive and balanced result...
Drop in Purchase of Fakes II
Posted on December 09, 2008An interesting comment to yesterday’s post on the drop in purchases of pirated goods. I thought this warranted a separate post: Very interesting entry! A few things: -How much is the fall of the mainland market affected by the lowered number of tourists this year? If it’s only SZ and HK, then this isn’t a factor...
Some Amusement for Your Monday
Posted on December 08, 2008This is rather inspired stuff, I must say: In a landmark deal that could provide much-needed cash to America’s anemic economy, China agreed today to acquire the naming rights to the U.S. for a reported $1.4 trillion. The deal, which is expected to be signed by President George W...
Piracy, Luxury Goods, and Recession
Posted on December 08, 2008This article from FT last week (which I finally read today) is thought provoking. Here’s the interesting part: Not even the black economy, it seems, can escape grim news. Over in Shenzhen and Hong Kong, one perennially thriving “black market” has been experiencing leaner times...
An Obama Trip to China ? leaping off the bandwagon
Posted on December 08, 2008A small bit of buzz over the past few days from this article in Newsweek by Jeffrey Garten, who makes the following suggestion: Barack Obama’s first overseas trip should be to China, and it should occur within a month after his inauguration on January 20...
Investigation Orders in IP Cases
Posted on December 04, 2008We’ve come a very long way with civil procedure here in China: Recently, Wuhan Intermediate People’s Court plans to try new measures in its IP tribunal, according to which, the court can issue investigation orders to lawyers to authorize them the right to investigate to some extent...
Stupid Market Monkeys
Posted on December 04, 2008This is a few days old, but since it made me smile when I saw it, I believe that it warrants a post. He makes a good point (FP blog): How could investors possibly be surprised that the U.S. economy is in recession? This is animal spirits in action, folks: Investors were in full retreat yesterday, [...
Great Case for Law School
Posted on December 03, 2008As soon as I read this article in Wired, I immediately thought it would make an excellent case study for a law school class. Haven’t seen anything this good in a while. (Sorry, this has nothing at all to do with China.) The Supreme Court of Canada has upheld a regulatory ruling requiring the country’s airlines [...
Some Positive China Biz News - R&D
Posted on December 03, 2008Looks like the R&D sector is doing well despite the Big Slowdown. Nice article on this in Shanghai Daily, which includes not only great publicity for David Wolf, but also this nugget: In an indication that it is looking to further expand its R&D operation, Dow is set to move into a new state-of-the-art facility [...
Perspective
Posted on December 03, 2008First I saw this headline: "China’s Economy, in Need of Jump Start, Waits for Citizens’ Fists." I thought the article was about unemployment, instability, labor unrest, lots of negative nasty stuff. Then I saw the entire headline: "China’s Economy, in Need of Jump Start, Waits for Citizens’ Fists to Loosen...
The Music Gap
Posted on December 02, 2008Another excellent missive by my favorite columnist: America outspends China on defense by a margin of more than six to one, the Pentagon estimates. [1] In another strategic dimension, though, China already holds a six-to-one advantage over the United States...
Doomed to Repeat It?
Posted on December 02, 2008Anybody else with a passing familiarity with Qing Dynasty history feel weird when you read this? China’s Ministry of Railways (MOR) will encourage the foreigners to invest in China’s railway construction or passenger and freight transportation businesses which shall be controlled by the State...
Income Inequality, Salaries & Greed
Posted on December 01, 2008Apologies in advance for a post that may, before I’m done, become a bit disorganized. So I’m currently reading the World Bank China Report (Q3-2008). Lots of the usual stuff about the economic downturn, along with many instances of the word "balancing"...
China Blog Awards Time
Posted on December 01, 2008Yes, it’s time for needless self promotion from your favorite China bloggers, motivated by the annual awards thing from Chinalyst. I’m a cynical bastard, so I don’t go in for the usual competitive stuff, but when the voting starts, I do like to write a preemptive post before people send me emails and ask which blogs [...
Desperate Times
Posted on December 01, 2008Doesn’t happen often, but I disagree with Rich over an economic policy issue. Here’s his take on part of the fiscal stimulus package: With many looking to China to buy up demand that has fallen off, I thought I would highlight one of the recent articles that I think frames some of the poor decisions that [...
China Staff Stuff
Posted on November 27, 2008From Dan at CLB: Interesting article by James Hudson over at China Success Stories. Article is entitled, "Want Committed Employees? Learn to Trust Them." Its thesis is that if you want your Chinese employee to work hard for the company, like the company, and do what he or she can for the company, you, [...
Neither a Drunkard Nor a Pirate Be
Posted on November 27, 2008Diageo finally won its case against Blueblood this week in Shanghai court. The unfair competition case was a fairly straightforward one, involving similar packaging, including color and style, misleading ads, and so forth. Diageo had earlier prevailed in what I believe was an administrative action, for which Blueblood paid a fine...
Getting a Bit Crowded in Here
Posted on November 26, 2008Has anyone else noticed that on an average day, roughly 1.3 new Chinese MMORPGs (one suspects history-based games) are being rolled out? Not sure how these are all being funded, although it does seem that any decent sized IT, advertising, or media/entertainment company is developing and/or operating their own game these days...
Comparative Thoughts on Infrastructure Spending
Posted on November 25, 2008Just a brief thought that popped into my mind. This doesn’t happen very often, so it’s worth writing down. Both the U.S. and PRC are considering massive spending on infrastructure in the coming months and years. China has been ramping up such projects for years now and has a gigantic workforce to draw upon, in particular [...
Misc. China Stuff from Newsweek
Posted on November 24, 2008Newsweek is chock full of China-y goodness this week. To wit: 1. Why Beijing is in a Risky Place This is a doom and gloom article that says China’s economy is not even close to being decoupled from the U.S. (and presumably the rest of the West), that the shock to exports/manufacturing sector will be horrendous, and [...
Harmonious Litigation
Posted on November 24, 2008Keeping with my recent litigation theme is this nugget from Xinhua: A senior official of the Communist Party of China on Wednesday urged relevant departments to clear up long-delayed court verdicts to maintain social stability in face of the global financial crisis...
Prioritizing the Environment
Posted on November 23, 2008Saw the following post title a few days ago on Crossroads: Environment to suffer for sake of short-term economic growth? I wondered why Crossroads was doing a post on U.S. economic and environmental policy. Silly me, it was about China all along. Funny how so many countries around the world right now are experiencing the exact same economic [...
Games, Vomiting & Litigation
Posted on November 18, 2008I’ve been writing a lot about computer game litigation in China, and while there are a lot of lawsuits out there to enjoy, I thought it might be worth a post to speculate on possible future litigation. No, I’m not trying to drum up business...
More Sympathy for Microsoft
Posted on November 18, 2008I’ve been a bit of a booster for Microsoft’s recent anti-piracy efforts and have even praised on a number of occasions the Black Screen of Death. Others have followed suit, the latest being Imagethief: This is one of those unusual occasions on which I feel genuine sympathy for Microsoft, which has a hard time catching a [...
Why Do I Have to Put Up With Niall Ferguson?
Posted on November 17, 2008From the guy who taught us why empire was a good thing (during the invasion of Iraq, if I remember correctly), comes this bit of insipid nonsense about the G20 meeting and the need for international cooperation: More than anything else, it has been China’s strategy of dollar reserve accumulation that has financed America’s debt [...
Even You, China, Can Not Avoid Pressure
Posted on November 17, 2008Dan goes after Newsweek for labeling all of us in the PRC stress cases: But when one out of 1.3 billion Chinese loses it and commits murder, there are apparently all sorts of things we can and should extrapolate. In "Murder at the Drum Tower," Newsweek uses the knifing of the Minnesota couple inside Beijing’s [...
Tencent and the Labor Contract Law
Posted on November 12, 2008Litigation is a whole lotta fun, particularly if you are looking at it from a good distance away. Game co. Tencent is getting in on the merriment in Shenzhen (h/t Chinatechnews): Chinese instant messaging and online game company Tencent has confirmed to local media that the company has formally sued 15 former employees who are suspected [...
Virtual Currency Tax: Who Will Declare?
Posted on November 12, 2008Saw this a few days ago and just now figured out what was bothering me: Individuals will be taxed 3% on income earned from virtual currency trades, as specified by property transfer regulations, reports Beijing Evening News quoting a Beijing Local Taxation Bureau employee...
Getting Kind of Tired of the Beijing Bashing
Posted on November 12, 2008Had enough of this during the run-up to the Olympics. From a really negative Asia Times article: With China’s opening up, more and more Westerners have come to work and live in Beijing. Many cherish the chance to witness its dramatic modernization, yet others have mixed feelings about a city which suffers from [...
Can They Keep Doing This With No Funding?
Posted on November 11, 2008OK, "no funding" is not exactly an accurate picture of where things are at the moment. I was just wondering generally if these video sites can continue doing stuff like this now that the bottom has dropped out of VC/PE. From Pacific Epoch: Beijing-based online video site Youku...
Important Note from CDE
Posted on November 11, 2008The economic situation is getting scarier, and we are seeing some of the social effects. China Briefing keeps this issue up front and center: Across China, multiple problems are arising with social unrest issues. Recent riots in Shenzhen over the accidental death of a bicyclist and outbreaks of minor, yet disturbing incidents in Shanghai and other [...
First Note on the Spending Package
Posted on November 11, 2008As usual, the FT goes to the heart of this and what the underlying goal of the stimulus package should be: After the co-ordinated rate cut in October, the Chinese cut interest rates in a show of solidarity. Now the rest of the world is talking about fiscal stimulus, and China is charging ahead...
It?s IP Lecture Time Again
Posted on November 10, 2008I’m off tonight to teach my IP class. A few hours tonight and a few hours tomorrow morning. This is the second year I’ve taught an overview of China IP law to LLM students, and this weekend I sat down with last year’s Powerpoint to review my updates...
Not A Great Day For China Commentary
Posted on November 07, 2008There are really only two stories out there today: the probable effects of the upcoming Obama presidency on U.S.-China relations, and the worsening China economy. Both of these stories have been beaten to death so much over the past several months that very little remains to be said...
What Games Can Teach Us About the Legal Profession
Posted on November 03, 2008From an excellent Wired article on gaming: Because really, who needs people? People suck. I’m joking, of course — but only a bit. The truth is that, in online multiplayer worlds, dealing with the delightfully unpredictable behavior of "real" people can be an absolute chore...
Thumbs Up for U.S. Declinism
Posted on November 03, 2008Caution: rambling post ahead. I was goaded by Dan into reading an article by Robert Kagan, a neocon I usually avoid (by ‘goaded’ I mean that he mentioned it — I am easily influenced): As good a foreign policy article as you will find in a US newspaper is a piece is by Washington Post "World Columnist," [...
Black Guy, Not Old Guy
Posted on November 03, 2008Tomorrow morning at 8:00 I will be sitting in a room at the Renaissance hotel watching CNN, pouring cups of coffee down my throat and trying not to let my blood pressure get too high. (I refer to the AmCham election-watch event — see more info here...
Obama Speaks Up on China Currency Manipulation
Posted on October 31, 2008(Subtitle: I never have anything nice to say about anyone, even people I like.) This is not exactly surprising coming from Obama, but the timing is not the best: China’s huge trade surplus with the United States is "directly related to its manipulation of its currency’s value," Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said in a letter released [...
Joss Whedon Was Right
Posted on October 31, 2008We’ll all be speaking Mandarin in the future, or so it appears.
Winner of the Funky Lawsuit of the Year Award
Posted on October 31, 2008I hardly know what to say about this one (from the FT): Backers of a shuttered Chinese business weekly have launched a highly unusual challenge to the country’s media censors by filing a lawsuit against the regional government that ordered its suspension over reports critical of a major state bank...
We?ll Always Have Litigation to Talk About
Posted on October 30, 2008Yes, lawsuits are always fun to discuss, particularly when the markets are down and everyone is worried about getting downsized from work. Here’s a good one brought to us from the always litigious Danwei (comment after the quote): Today’s Beijing Times reports on a legal case in which Huang Jing, a young woman who had earlier been [...
Questions You Really Shouldn?t Ask
Posted on October 30, 2008"What Makes Chinese Wine Red?" Made be shudder just thinking about it. But I read the story anyway (h/t Digital Times). Reminds me of a job I had in law school. I was an intern at the Department of Health in Boston, the legal affairs office, which covers not only the health department but Boston City Hospital...
That?s Great, But What Aren?t You Telling Me?
Posted on October 30, 2008From Shanghai Daily: Banks on China’s mainland had reduced their exposures to bad loans in the third quarter of this year as they boosted risk controls amid the global financial turmoil, the industry regulator said today. The average non-performing loan ratio at banks on the mainland was 5...
GFW Groupies
Posted on October 30, 2008For some reason, I do not find this amusing (h/t Shanghaiist): For all of you outside of China right now who have no idea what the internet is like over here and are curious enough to meet the Net Nanny face to face, here comes the ultimate Firefox extension for you, the China Channel Firefox Add-on...
Quick, Print Some Bumper Stickers
Posted on October 27, 2008Rich passes on one of the best lines I’ve ever heard regarding guanxi: Guanxi either retires or it goes to jail This is brilliant. My longstanding advice to clients (back before such advice was fashionable) is that they do not want to get caught in the trap that is reliance on guanxi...
MOC Regs to Focus on Virtual Currency Issue
Posted on October 27, 2008Interesting conjunction of financial, social and IT regulations here: The Ministry of Culture (MOC) plans to release new regulations banning online games that place excess importance on virtual currency exchanges and leveling, reports Sina quoting MOC vice minister Tuo Zuhai...
Trade Talks Collapse ? A Footnote to a Depressing Day
Posted on October 27, 2008Wasn’t sure what to blog about today. The news has been depressing as hell, and many of my fellow bloggers have chosen to discuss one of the numerous "China’s economy is heading downward" articles in the major papers. This story in the NYT caught my attention, not because I was surprised that the Doha Round was [...
MS Anti-piracy Campaign: let the frivolity ensue
Posted on October 23, 2008With an emphasis on "sue". Yes, it did not take long for the frivolous lawsuits in response to Microsoft’s Black Screen anti-piracy campaign, which I wrote about the other day: An angry Chinese lawyer accused Microsoft of perpetrating the biggest ever hacker attack in response to the software giant’s controversial move to trigger hourly screen blackouts [...
China Unemployment Benefits
Posted on October 23, 2008Not only does this article discuss important issues relating to our current economic woes, but I find this interesting as it highlights some of the defects in the current social safety net over here: A toy factory in southern China has gone bankrupt leaving 900 workers jobless, a report said on Wednesday, just days after a [...
China?s Newest Tainted Dairy Export: Litigation
Posted on October 23, 2008A lot of this kind of thing going around these days, huh? Here’s the latest incarnation of the milk story: Parents of Chinese children who died or became ill after drinking infant milk formula contaminated with melamine say they will sue a subsidiary of a Chinese milk powder manufacturer based in the U...
China Boosts Export Tax Rebates
Posted on October 21, 2008What a difference a recession makes. Wasn’t so long ago that everyone was looking for ways to slow down the growth of exports, particularly low-end stuff. Now it comes to this. Tis a strange time to be alive. China will raise export tax rebates on some industries on November 1, the second hike in three months, [...
Microsoft?s Latest Anti-piracy Efforts ? I like it
Posted on October 21, 2008Here’s what they’re doing these days to fight against illegal copies: Several dozen users of Microsoft’s XP operating system and its Office software took to the Internet today to say that their desktop backgrounds had begun turning black...
Sympathy for Factory Owners
Posted on October 20, 2008Whatever your stance on free trade and companies that have relocated manufacturing operations from their home country to a lower-cost jurisdiction, you have to admit that it’s tough out there for the unabashed capitalists these days. In addition to all those blue collar types in the U...
Getting the Monkey Off My Back
Posted on October 20, 2008Since the October 1 holiday, I have been spending my time working and following two major issues: 1) the U.S. presidential campaign; and 2) the global financial meltdown. As neither of these two huge media events have centered on China, I have found it quite difficult to focus on local issues...
Happy National Day
Posted on September 28, 2008Starting tomorrow, we will be observing the National Day holiday, which confusingly lasts seven days. Wait, let me back up. This deserves some explanation, and I know you care about things like this. A simple breakdown of the facts here should straighten you out: Next Saturday and Sunday count as "holiday days" in most people’s minds, even [...
Miscellaneous China Litigation
Posted on September 28, 2008Been waiting on this one for a while now: A Chinese farmer who claimed to have taken photos of a rare tiger was sentenced to two and a half years in prison on Saturday for faking the pictures, a court official and state media said. Zhou Zhenglong was tried for fraud in Xunyang County People’s Court in [...
It?s Been a Tough Year
Posted on September 28, 2008Slightly off topic here on a weekend. First, it was George Carlin, my all-time favorite comedian, who died recently. Now we have my all-time favorite actor, Paul Newman, who succumbed to cancer last week. Rest in peace. Not only was Newman tops in my book for a variety of films, but Cat on a Hot Tin Roof ranks [...
Microsoft Holiday Sale to Thwart PRC Piracy
Posted on September 26, 2008Sorry to keep banging on the same nostalgic drum today, but wasn’t this a really great idea that was endlessly debated many years ago? Why the new policy, and why wasn’t this done earlier when domestic critics were savaging Microsoft for pricing Windows out of the reach of most Chinese consumers? Whatever...
China Learning from U.S. Bad Practices?
Posted on September 26, 2008This Shanghai Daily article is one step away from being a candidate for The Onion: CHINA’S economy can’t overly rely on growth in the real estate industry, said a report by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences after some of its economists visited the United States to study the subprime mortgage crisis...
Games Proves Validity of ?China Model?
Posted on September 26, 2008Allow me to be blunt. This argument is complete tripe: It had been some people’s view that the Olympics, both closely related with Western countries in terms of its ancient origins and its modern revival, would possibly carry Western cultural values to China...
How to Say ?Nader? in Chinese
Posted on September 25, 2008Rich touts the need for a Chinese Ralph Nader: Now, before anyone bemoans the role that Ralph Nader played in Florida 8 years ago, the article China says dairy firm knew of toxic milk for months highlights the need in China for a consumer advocate who can catalyze and rehaul the way that product failures in [...
China Internet Death by 2010?
Posted on September 25, 2008Interesting story in China Tech News, although that first sentence is a bit melodramatic (as is my post title): The Internet in China may soon run out. According to the China Internet Network Information Center, under the current allocation speed, China’s IPv4 address resources can only meet the demand of 830 more days and if no [...
DRM Hell
Posted on September 25, 2008So you got IP problems with your digital media product? Here’s a cool idea. Let’s figure out a way to piss off all your customers, limiting sales and killing the buzz you’ve spent years developing about the release of your product. Excellent, but how to do it? How about slapping on some severe digital rights management [...
Why Not Just Sue the Bastards?
Posted on September 23, 2008Excellent post by Tom Chow on litigation and the recent milk scandal. This is in response to a nice little article in the Christian Science Monitor: A case that in the United States would attract swarms of lawyers eyeing the prospect of millions of dollars in damages is [...
There Goes the Neighborhood
Posted on September 23, 2008China Investment Corp, the nation’s sovereign wealth fund, is seeking to hire 30 people with global investment expertise as part of expansion plans. The manager of China’s US$200 billion fund is recruiting for positions in equity and fixed income investment and alternative assets, up until October 5, Bloomberg News said...
Pirate Server Operators Busted in Jiangsu
Posted on September 23, 2008Five people in Jiangsu province’s Donghai county were arrested for the illegal sale of items from Shanda’s (Nasdaq: SNDA) in-house developed MMORPG "The World of Legend" after downloading client-end programs and running private servers for the game, reports Xinhuanet...
Eichengreen on the Financial Crisis
Posted on September 23, 2008Along with everyone else, I have been reading countless articles and political diatribes on the U.S./global economic crisis. This is not entirely a new set of circumstances, so a lot of this stuff is familiar. However, for someone who is not a finance guy, I can get lost in the tall grass pretty quick...
Feeling a Bit Queasy
Posted on September 22, 2008The journalist’s new best friend — any story involving Chinese food and illness. Get used to it. Here’s an example from our friends in Tokyo, courtesy of Yahoo: Two employees of a Japanese confectionery company fell sick after eating China-made bean paste in the latest apparent food scare here, police and the firm said Saturday...
Fun with Reciprocity
Posted on September 22, 2008Fund managers associated with the Chinese government have indirectly confirmed they were interested in picking up the stakes, probably at distress prices, in Morgan Stanley, which is battling for survival. But they worry that the US government will block any such move by the newly created China Investment Corporation...
Well, That Was Fun
Posted on September 20, 2008I refer of course to the entire Olympic/Paralympic period. Over and done with, let’s get back to work. But first, one tangential post. I spent most of this week in Lijiang, a great little tourist trap in Yunnan. I don’t mind tourist traps all that much, unlike the cultural purists out there who really dig squatting [...
What Exactly Did You Expect?
Posted on September 11, 2008My question is not rhetorical, and it is addressed to foreign companies doing business in China. From the Wall Street Journal: “Our members felt the regulatory climate has failed to keep pace with China’s growth, and there’s growing economic nationalism that’s of concern to us,” said Joerg Wuttke, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce [...
Choice of Law & China Enforcement
Posted on September 11, 2008Since I smacked Will Lewis around a bit yesterday, it is fitting that I send out a recommendation for his post on choice of law clauses (in the sales context). As a practitioner, I usually do not delve this deeply into the academic arena on this sort of issue, but it certainly is interesting...
Best Summary of U.S. Politics Ever
Posted on September 10, 2008This is off topic for me, but this political analysis (which applies not just to the current U.S. presidential election, but to democracy in general) is so cogent that I’m making an exception: When faced with a choice between the guy that’s telling them that nothing has to change and everything is okay, and the guy [...
A China HR No-no
Posted on September 10, 2008Dan at CLB, in discussing the dangers of hiring individual contractors over here, gives up prematurely on his post: [I]f you are using Chinese nationals for your business in China and doing so by any method other than by using a third party company, you run a substantial risk of having these people be deemed to [...
But Will Anyone Care?
Posted on September 10, 2008IP Dragon reports on an IP rights protection program in Shanghai: Next month you can find in Shanghai 100 shops that have a ? (zhen1) sign in their window, which means that they only sell genuine products. The Shanghai Intellectual Property Administration will control and coordinate the distribution of the signboards...
How Chinese View the U.S. Election
Posted on September 08, 2008These sorts of articles are usually amusing, and this one in the LA Times does not disappoint. Chock full of oversimplification, unclear as to the thesis, and unintentionally funny in several instances. Let’s take a look: The Americans are doing it again, mystifying the masses here with their weird, weird presidential elections...
The Lexus and the Loony
Posted on September 08, 2008I don’t think Thomas Friedman understands how governance in China works. What a shock. From his Meet the Press appearance yesterday: MR. BROKAW: You have an intriguing proposition in this book. You’d like to be China for a day, just one day...
AML Rollout Proceeding According to Plan
Posted on September 08, 2008Well, that’s my opinion on our experience with the new Anti-monopoly Law thus far. Here’s the latest news: The No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court of Beijing on Thursday rejected an anti-monopoly case considered the first of its kind in China, the Beijing Times reported...
Follow Up to Huiyuan & the US Election
Posted on September 08, 2008Just a quick explanatory note to my earlier post on the Coke-Huiyuan deal, protectionism, and the US election. Seem to be a lot of links floating around out there to that post, and for some reason (Will Lewis, I’m looking in your direction and shaking my fist in a sardonic, Jon Stewart-esque mock anger gesture), [...
Brief Note on Coke-Huiyuan
Posted on September 04, 2008I finally found something interesting about this deal. (If you haven’t heard, Coke announced a takeover deal of a big Chinese juice company. Big money, big brand, big news the last two days.) What’s interesting is the news coverage, which varies considerably depending upon, I believe, the experience of the reporter writing the article...
Wanfang Data and the Benefits of Copyright Infringement
Posted on September 04, 2008The facts: According to Beijing Chaoyang People’s Court, 480 academics have sued Wanfang Data, an Internet information contents provider in China, for illegally including their dissertations in Wanfang’s data resource system and its dissertation database called Dissertations of China...
Microsoft Plays the Piracy Card
Posted on September 03, 2008Not a lot of news today, aside from the mega-acquisition announced by Coca-Cola of a Chinese juice company. Exciting, but not much to talk about, for me at least. On the other hand, we have Microsoft, which is an early target of China’s new Anti-monopoly law, potentially using software piracy as a defense...
Thoughts on the SCO
Posted on September 02, 2008Not much in the way of interesting China news today for some reason. This article on the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (take a look at the Wiki on it) is worth a read, however. Here’s a taste to whet your appetite: The current disagreement between Russia and the United States over the Georgian conflict has strengthened [...
Wisdom from the Hutong on China Biz Books
Posted on September 01, 2008Gotta go along with David’s comments on China biz books: [T]he longer you live here, the more difficult it becomes to find a book on business in China that adds much to your own store of observations and conclusions[.] To be honest, I don’t read that stuff anymore...
Kristof Goes Online in China
Posted on August 28, 2008Kinda surprised me reading Kristof’s latest China column in the New York Times. His recent stuff has been very heavy into the whole Darfur-China connection, some criticism centered around the Olympics, etc. Frankly I tuned out after a while — the press treatment of China was becoming so heavy over the last couple of months [...
Links of the Day
Posted on August 28, 2008Been playing around with Google Reader since I moved back from Bloglines recently. I’m trying to use the "sharing" function to some advantage, but it’s a work in progress. For the time being, links to my shared items are being displayed on the right side of the page, fairly near the top, under the imaginative title [...
Olympics Post-script
Posted on August 28, 2008Seems like it is finally safe to climb out of the self-imposed cave I’ve been hiding in the past two weeks. All the media coverage of the Games was too much for me, so I sat it out for the duration, more or less. As to the Games themselves, I mostly stayed away from them...
Parade of Horribles (China Law edition)
Posted on August 21, 2008Ten Worst PRC Laws, According to FP (Warning: wonky law post ahead. This is your last chance to bail out.) Interesting list of what Foreign Policy considers to be the worst of the worst. I generally like FP a lot, and since I am a part-time foreign policy wonk, you gotta keep up with the literature...
Someone Should Lose Their Job Over This
Posted on August 21, 2008I’ve tried to maintain radio silence during the Olympics. Let the games go on, and all that. I am forced to break that rule because of this headline: King Kobe Rules "Bling Dynasty" in China from our good friends at the Guardian. This is unspeakable editorial misconduct that deserves a very loud groan at the very [...
Annual tradition
Posted on August 16, 2008Once again, probably for something like the 426th time in the past 10 years, I am enjoying the process of looking for and renting an apartment here in Beijing. The search was relatively painless this year, although prices are certainly higher. As usual, unfortunately, the negotiation with the landlord and the broker is (as of [...
So Far, So Good
Posted on August 15, 2008I’ve been laying low (from a blogging perspective) during the past week. As I’m not much of a sports fan, at least in the absence of the NFL, it makes sense for me to leave the field to folks who actually know something about the Olympics...
Let the Games Begin
Posted on August 08, 2008I’m not going to discuss the weather, I’m not going to talk about politics, Bush’s statements today, etc. I’ve seen this whole Olympics thing through from the beginning. When I first heard that Beijing was trying to get the Games, I thought it was a ludicrous idea, but as things moved forward, I got excited anyway...
Chalk Up One More For Wahaha
Posted on August 07, 2008It’s like a train wreck. I want to look away but can’t. More silly litigation between Wahaha and Danone: Groupe Danone SA has lost another round in a trademark battle with its estranged Chinese partner, a key ruling that may further diminish the French company’s position in the year-long legal fight...
Sweating the Details
Posted on August 07, 2008This really looked weird when I read it on the Foreign Policy blog: Whatever considerable flaws China may have as Olympic hosts, you can’t accuse them of not sweating the details. Just ask Brazilian triple jumper Jadel Gregorio: His Chinese hosts, who are wowing foreign guests with their organizational feats, had already figured out Gregorio’s 2...
Dearth of Interesting News
Posted on August 06, 2008Very little going on today worthy of a post, even on this blog, which tends of late to specialize in useless trivialities. The torrent of Olympics-related stuff out there, which had the potential to be quite interesting given the sheer number of journalists running about in Beijing, has devolved into a ridiculous discussion of two [...
PRC Trademark Practice Tip - use it or lose it
Posted on August 05, 2008Nanjing MG Automobile Co Ltd, which produces the MG brand passenger cars in China, has been sued by a Chinese citizen for alleged copyright infringement. The Zhejiang Province native surnamed Xu has filed a law suit against Nanjing MG, claiming the Chinese car maker illegally used the MG trademark on cars without his permission...
PRC Moving On Up the Value Chain
Posted on August 05, 2008Great little article in the New York Times Friday on PRC economic development policy. To readers of China Hearsay and, frankly, readers of most other China blogs that deal with development issues, the Times piece will not tell you anything you don’t already know...
Forbidden Cliches - classic yuks
Posted on August 05, 2008Extremely entertaining stuff from Ogilvy’s Kaiser Kuo, and no, I can’t help but throw in my two cents here. Forbidden Clichés: A Guide for Visiting Journalists Welcome to Beijing, friends from the foreign press! I greet you on behalf of the many expatriates who’ve lived in Beijing for years...
U.S. Neglecting Asia? Perish the Thought
Posted on August 04, 2008President Bush has countered critics who claim his global war on terrorism has lessened Washington’s role in Asia and allowed China’s influence to grow in the region, news reports said Friday. Preparing to embark on a three-country Asian trip, Bush said in interviews with senior Asian editors in Washington on Thursday that "our foreign policy [...
IP Enforcement vs. Education, Again
Posted on August 04, 2008Well, this topic just keeps coming up over and over again. This time, we visit the lovely British Isles, where the government is going about getting rid of digital piracy in the wrong ways (from Screen Daily): The UK government took its swig from the poisoned chalice of film and music piracy this week...
Silicon Hutong on the IP Beat
Posted on August 02, 2008As another follow-up to my posts last week on cyber-litigation and its future in China, David had an excellent post a few days ago that touched on some of the same issues. This part about Youku is particularly worth a read: Youku is particularly happy about that the statistics suggesting that people spend more time [...
I Thought Use of Olympic Symbols Was Obvious
Posted on August 02, 2008From Shanghaiist: Carrefour is in a bit of trouble again — but not the same sort of trouble as what happened a few months ago. This time, its Nanjing outlet has been caught by regulators for "illegally" using the Olympic rings and the Five Friendlies together with its own logo in the [...
PRC Cyber-Litigation II
Posted on July 29, 2008As a follow on to yesterday’s post about cyber-litigation and the next wave of challenges, we have this interesting (if not unexpected) development, courtesy of ChinaTechNews: Ifeng.com, the authorized online broadcaster of Phoenix Satellite TV’s programs, has sued Ku6...
PRC AML - Sound & Fury, Signifying Nothing (yet)
Posted on July 29, 2008Yes, I’m aware of all the breathless press reports on the looming Anti-monopoly Law. I’ve read several articles, including this one from the FT. Why no blogging? Essentially, there is nothing to blog about here. The law was passed some time ago, we have no implementing regulations (i...
As An Expat in China, I?m Offended
Posted on July 29, 2008This sucks balls in a number of ways: Barack Obama’s half-brother has been helping to promote cheap Chinese exports in a low-profile business career while the Democratic senator has been winning worldwide fame in his race for the White House...
China Throws Weight Around at WTO
Posted on July 29, 2008As seven years of global trade talks approach another climax, China is emerging as a central player — and coming under heavy criticism from the United States and others for its tactics. Uh oh. Sounds like the Chinese are up to no good again. Or are they? If you read a few of the [...
Coming Soon to a China Courtroom Near You
Posted on July 28, 2008I’ve been posting a lot of sarcastic silliness today, so perhaps something substantive to round things off will help to redeem me in the eyes of all three of my readers. A huge ongoing issue in cyber-litigation is liability for platform operators...
If It?s A Joke, It?s Not Funny
Posted on July 28, 2008Charlie decides to make everyone in Beijing feel sad: I’m a bit tied up today, but feeling quite cheerful. Enjoyed a beautiful blue sky Sunday here in Shanghai and we’re having another nice day today. The picture below was taken at noon–yes, that is real blue sky and real clouds...
I?m No Art Critic, But
Posted on July 28, 2008This CNN piece on artist Cai Guo-Qiang forces me to be judgmental (yeah, me): The Chinese artist is about to show the world what he can do with a spectacular pyrotechnics display at the opening of the Olympic Games in Beijing. Despite not having lived in China since 1986, Cai has been selected to [...
Ich Bin (finally) Ein Beijinger
Posted on July 28, 2008I haven’t been all that excited about the Olympics thus far, at least from a blogger’s perspective. Half of the stories are about the air quality, the rest are navel gazing articles written about the treatment of journalists (written by journalists)...
McCain?s Subtle China Policy
Posted on July 27, 2008With the Beijing Olympics just two weeks away, Sen. John McCain brought China to the forefront of the foreign-policy debate Friday by meeting with the Dalai Lama. [WSJ Article] McCain: Hey, everybody in Pennsylvania and Ohio who have lost jobs in the last ten years, look, I’m "tough" on China...
The End is Nigh
Posted on July 25, 2008This shit ain’t right: Passengers make contact with robot Fuwa, the Olympics mascot, at the Beijing Capital International Airport July 15, 2008. Five robot Fuwa debut on Tuesday inside the newly-built Terminal 3 of the airport. The robots can provide guiding services for passengers with language contact...
China?s Attitudes of the U.S.
Posted on July 25, 2008Dan at CLB calls it right on this: There’s a great scene in the movie Dumb and Dumber where Jim Carey is seeking a date with Lauren Holley: Carey: "What are my chances [of a date with you]?" Holley: "Not good." Carey: "You mean not good like one out of a hundred?" Holley: "I’d say more like [...
Had Enough of the Beijing Pollution Stories
Posted on July 25, 2008This is the last one I’m going to read, courtesy of the LA Times: The same mechanism that makes greater numbers of people keel over dead of heart attacks and strokes when microscopic air-pollution levels spike in cities across the United States has researchers voicing their concerns about the heavily polluted air in [...
Some Weekend China Reading
Posted on July 25, 2008Hot off the presses, in Foreign Affairs: 1. "A Partnership of Equals: How Washington Should Respond to China’s Economic Challenge" — Fred Bergsten 2. "China’s Olympic Nightmare: What the Games Mean for Beijing’s Future" — Elizabeth Economy and Adam Segal Neither one of these articles looks to be overly warm and fuzzy towards China, but Bergsten and Economy [...
All You Need to Know About China Espionage
Posted on July 24, 2008I’ve been writing a bit over the past few months about the never-ending procession of stories, mostly coming out of the U.S. Right-wing establishment, about Chinese government espionage. A lot of these focus on cyber-security, all of them owe their style and tone to cut-rate Cold War pulp fiction...
China Copyright Infringement Survey
Posted on July 24, 2008Nearly 71.3 percent of Chinese were aware of copyright, according to a new survey released on Wednesday. The figure was 10.7 percent higher than two years ago. In the fifth national reading survey conducted by the Chinese Institute of Publishing Science (CIPS) last August, the findings also revealed the purchase [...
Chinese Youth Big On Plastic Surgery
Posted on July 24, 2008Shanghaiist gives us the icky news: According to China Daily, more and more middle and high school students are taking advantage of the summer holidays to make the kind of changes that will impress their peers come fall. But it isn’t a summer class or even a new workout routine they are [...
Stupid China Headline of the Day
Posted on July 23, 2008"U.S. Women Gymnasts Denied Visa by China" — that was the headline for a while from MSNBC. Just a tad bit inflamatory and yes, kinda stupid. Here’s the background: [U.S. gymnastics] national team coordinator Martha Karolyi said the alternates for the women’s team — Jana Bieger, Ivana Hong, Corrie Lothrop — would train in Tokyo because of [...
Small Delay on China Car Parts Case
Posted on July 23, 2008I was asked today why I haven’t posted on the recent WTO ruling against China on import tariffs for car parts. My lame excuse is, essentially, that I’ve been busy. The more reasonable excuse is that I want to take a closer look at this case and what’s going on...
Book Reviews
Posted on July 23, 2008I get a lot of press releases, PR invitations, and general urgings to do reviews on books and TV shows with China themes. Fair enough, and I’m flattered to an extent that anyone out there (even a PR firm) thinks that my opinion of a book written by a bona fide China expert is worth [...
Horse and Buggy Thinking
Posted on July 22, 2008I think a non-China post to end the day is forgivable. As an IP and technology lawyer, I have a passing interest in technology. I deal with lawyers and business guys on a regular basis who are clueless when it comes to new tech, and some of these folks are supposed to be experts...
Beijing Tourists - lock up them laptops
Posted on July 22, 2008From the Wall Street Journal: A debate is brewing in the U.S. government over whether to publicly warn businesspeople and other travelers heading to the Beijing Olympics about the dangers posed by Chinese computer hackers. According to government officials and security consultants, U...
Obama on China: Stay the Course
Posted on July 22, 2008From a recent interview with Fareed Zakaria (wearing his CNN hat): ZAKARIA: You talked about the other threats we face. In dealing with these threats, how should we approach other nations? John McCain has talked about a new G-8, the group of the richest countries in the world, which would exclude Russia, expel Russia, and not [...
Beijing Olympics Going to the Dogs
Posted on July 22, 2008This story got a fair amount of play a week or so ago when I was busy playing lawyer. The following is from the WSJ China blog: Restaurants at the 112 Olympics-contracted hotels in Beijing have been ordered not to offer dog meat during the Games, while other restaurants in the city are being [...
China?s ?Occupation? of Africa
Posted on July 21, 2008This Daily Mail article is quite over the top: In the greatest movement of people the world has ever seen, China is secretly working to turn the entire continent into a new colony. Reminiscent of the West’s imperial push in the 18th and 19th centuries - but on a much more dramatic, determined scale - China’s [...
Best Line of the Day
Posted on July 21, 2008From Lore Sjoberg at Wired: We can safely stop calling Star Wars a movie and recognize it for what it really is: a virulent media infection. It’s a great movie to be sure, but there are many superior movies, and none of them have inspired, say, thousands of people to dress up as faceless, [...
China Advertising Law Roundtable - postscript
Posted on July 21, 2008As requested, here are some comments on last Friday’s roundtable discussion on China advertising law issues. A couple of general items first. This was a small group discussion that included several clients, some government officials, members of a quasi-governmental body, a PR professional, and several of my firm’s lawyers...
Consistently Inconsistent
Posted on July 17, 2008This describes my blogging schedule of late. Seems to be one day on, one day off. I’m trying, folks. Today’s excuse was an Internet advertising contract that took up a big portion of the day. I’m also trying to get ready for a roundtable discussion the firm is hosting tomorrow afternoon on China advertising law...
Sexual Harassment Case in Chengdu
Posted on July 16, 2008According to Reuters (h/t Shanghaiist): A Chinese man has been given five months in detention for kissing a female colleague against her will, a local newspaper said on Wednesday, the first time punishment has been meted out under a new sexual harassment law...
Real Americans Only Speak English
Posted on July 16, 2008This might be of interest to expats: From a recent Barack Obama speech (h/t Crooks & Liars): “You know, no, I’m serious about this. We should understand that our young people, if you have a foreign language, that is a powerful tool to get a job...
Danone vs. Wahaha - in it for the long haul
Posted on July 16, 2008The dispute that just wouldn’t die (courtesy of Shanghai Daily): GROUPE Danone SA’s requests for interim measures against estranged Chinese venture partner Hangzhou Wahaha Group Co and its Chairman Zong Qinghou were rejected by an arbitration tribunal in Sweden...
Last Word on Kung Fu Panda
Posted on July 16, 2008OK, this must be at least my third post on this stupid "controversy" about the movie, so consider this the last one. But I can’t let this sentence on the Time China blog go without comment: Before the American movie "Kung Fu Panda" debuted in China, it seemed destined to set off controversy that foreign filmmakers [...
Kung Fu Panda - Part Deux
Posted on July 14, 2008This story in Danwei is, well, I suppose "bizarre" is the only way to describe it. Apparently a professor at Beijing University is all hot and bothered about the film Kung Fu Panda. I wrote about this earlier with regard to Zhao Bandi’s ridiculous protests - this represents a new level of weird...
I Wish to Register a Complaint
Posted on July 14, 20081. The Kansas City Star Both the U.S. government and the American Lung Association have published travel alerts for American tourists warning them about pollution. After reading this article, I felt like packing up and moving somewhere, anywhere. But, hell, my lungs are already shot from growing up in LA in the 70s, so I guess I’ll [...
Ted Koppel on China
Posted on July 14, 2008I think everyone is already aware of the Discovery Channel series on China, hosted by Ted Koppel, which aired last week. I haven’t seen any footage yet, although I will at some point and share my thoughts (if I have anything remotely important to add, that is)...
Why You Should ID That IP Early
Posted on July 08, 2008Nifty article received from McKinsey recently: The Internet and new social-networking technologies are allowing companies and their customers to interact with unprecedented levels of richness. Some leading organizations are using this opportunity to draw customers into the heart of the product-development process...
The Future of Chinglish
Posted on July 08, 2008This is perhaps the funkiest Chinglish article I’ve ever read, and it is quite thought-provoking. The following is the concluding paragraph: Any language is constantly evolving, so it’s not surprising that English, transplanted to new soil, is bearing unusual fruit...
Sticky China Operations
Posted on July 08, 2008Rich posted this thoughtful reminder about globalization and its limitations last week: Now that everyone has come off their China high, and it seems like an endless stream of editorials about China’s days being over, I think it is time to ask a critical question...
How to be a Successful Blogger
Posted on July 08, 2008I love reading the Freakonomics Blog at the New York Times. Sometime you get wonderful nuggets of wisdom like this: People who make millions of dollars doing one thing often come to view themselves as being experts in subjects far afield from those in which they made their wealth...
Big Ambitions for US-China BIT?
Posted on July 07, 2008Just for the record: The United States and China agreed to launch negotiations of a bilateral investment treaty (BIT) today [a couple weeks ago] during the fourth meeting of the United States-China Strategic Economic Dialogue. In negotiating the BIT, the United States would seek to secure for U...
The (U.S.) Tax Man Cometh
Posted on July 07, 2008U.S. citizens, if this tidbit from China Briefing doesn’t scare you, then you have my respect and admiration: The U.S. Internal Revenue Service is opening an office and place an attaché within the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. The office, which will open “by the end of the 2008 fiscal tax year” according to Barry Shott, the deputy [...
Beijing Thinks ?Baby on Board? Is Good Idea
Posted on July 07, 2008This is old news that was stuck in my drafts folder when my PC committed suicide - no reason to waste a serviceable post. Felt slightly ill when I saw this: Beijing on Tuesday started handing out buttons reading "to-be mum" to pregnant women in hope they would be protected in public places...
Recent Excuses Not to Blog
Posted on July 07, 2008Several days since posting. See if you can figure out why: 1. Weather too hot 2. Office too cold 3. Too much work 4. Too much pollution/too little oxygen 5. Bricked PC 6. Boring news 7. Olympics fatigue 8. All energy devoted to office politics 9...
Who Owns that Brand, Anyway?
Posted on June 27, 2008Dongwon Group of South Korea announced that it will buy a controlling stake in StarKist from Del Monte Food for more than $300 million. StarKist is a very well-known brand of canned tuna in the U.S. (not sure if they have other products). This is not the first time a foreign company has picked up a [...
The (Sadly Elusive) Olympic Spirit
Posted on June 27, 2008After all that we’ve been through this year with the Olympics, I find this sentiment from Cathy Freeman refreshing and welcome: "When you become that focused, you don’t really pay that much attention to elements that you can’t control like weather or pollution,” she said...
American vs. Chinese Sheep
Posted on June 25, 2008You’ll have to read most of this post, I’m afraid, before you get to the "sheep" part. Just a warning. For those who are either very interested in the issue of Internet censorship or, alternatively, just want to catch up on the world of Kaiser Kuo, his latest blog post is highly recommended...
China, India and Oil Prices
Posted on June 25, 2008Lots of folks these days are looking to lay blame for spiking oil/gas prices. Some of them gaze towards China and India, which do represent a large part of new growth, although not the majority of aggregate demand. Others have blamed the oil companies, oil speculators, and so forth...
Get Thee to a China Tort Litigator
Posted on June 25, 2008Recommendation and brief comment on a recent post by Charlie McElwee at China Environmental Law. I’ve probably been remiss in saying that this blog is one of the best issue-focused China blogs out there. Very substantive and thorough. It helps to be either a law or environmental wonk...
Fiat Apologizes to China Over TV Ad
Posted on June 23, 2008Someone should win a Darwin Award for this ad campaign: Italian car maker Fiat has apologized to China over its new television commercial featuring U.S. actor Richard Gere and a reference to Tibet after Chinese newspapers carried reports about it. Its shows Gere driving the car from Hollywood to Tibet, whose autonomy from China he supports...
Obama?s China Hands
Posted on June 23, 2008Thomas Crampton posted a list I have been waiting for: the China teams for the candidates. Here’s the Obama group: Directly in charge of the Asia team is Amb. Jeff Bader, ex-State, NSC, USTR, also in charge of China, and administering the team via Mona Sutphen, of Stonebridge International, directly to the Campaign via Denis McDonough, [...
Preposterous (Kung Fu) Panda Protest
Posted on June 18, 2008H/T to the WSJ China blog for sending us this bit of nonsense, which is bound to get me in trouble: Dreamworks’ “Kung Fu Panda” has proven to be a champ in the U.S., where the film has grossed close to $120 million since opening on Jun...
Giving Up That Moral Highground
Posted on June 18, 2008Many people ask how lawyers can advocate for a position they don’t believe in or, for criminal defense attorneys, advocate on behalf of someone they know is guilty. And then we have the case of U.S. government officials advocating for deregulation of the financial sector in China...
Industrial Policy for China?s Entertainment Industry
Posted on June 18, 2008From the Hollywood Reporter (yes, I read that, so what?): Chinese filmmakers should work on more co-productions with overseas partners, a senior film industry regulator said Tuesday at the Shanghai International Film Festival. "All co-productions will be treated the same as domestic films in China," Jiang Ping, vice chairman of the Film Bureau of the [...
FDA China Offices Still a Work in Progress
Posted on June 18, 2008Given that I first wrote about this many moons ago, I was starting to wonder whether this was ever really going to happen. There was such a huge push to put FDA inspectors on the ground here after the food and drug scares of 2007 that I thought maybe it was being fast-tracked...
Perhaps My Last Post on Rule of Law
Posted on June 17, 2008OK, I have written way too much on U.S. politics during the past couple of days, so consider this the last one for a while. I found the following in the Washington Post, a partial transcript of an interview Bush gave to Sky News during his recent European trip...
Chinglish Commentary on Obama
Posted on June 17, 2008Political commentary from People’s Daily that is getting some buzz, for the wrong reasons: The skin color of Senator Barack Obama poses the greatest focus of attention in the ongoing U.S. presidential election campaign this year. This Democratic nominee with half of the blood from the African stock in his veins has been commended as the [...
Cheney on China
Posted on June 16, 2008This is an instant classic (thanks AP) from that guy who done shot that other guy in the face: Vice President Dick Cheney’s office acknowledged on Thursday that he was mistaken when he asserted that China, at Cuba’s behest, is drilling for oil in waters 60 miles from the Florida coast...
Happy Money Party
Posted on June 16, 2008Let’s start off the campaign season with a bang. H/T to Danwei for the info: Greetings Americans in China for Obama: This week officially kicks off the general election campaign for Barack Obama. It’s been a rigorous primary, but we have our nominee, and he’s already begun taking on McCain...
IP Stats and China?s Innovation Society
Posted on June 05, 2008Time to get my IP lawyer geek on. I ran across an article a couple days ago on VOX EU, a great site for econ/trade policy issues. The topic here is innovation, specifically patents as an indicator of innovation. Great subject for China, since the government here decided a number of years ago that building [...
China IP Infringement and VC Risk
Posted on June 04, 2008This post by Tom Melcher is a few days old, but intriguing enough to dig its way out of my Inbox: Two of China’s biggest video sharing sites just raised lots of money from prominent American VCs. Yet these sites publicly admit that almost all of their traffic is due to pirated video...
Are Expats Stinky?
Posted on June 04, 2008Shanghaiist answers the age-old question: why can’t I buy a deodorant in China? And the answer will surprise you. It’s no surprise then that Unilever (the people who make Axe / Lynx, Sure, Impulse etc.) are dreaming of the 6 billion un-deodorised armpits across Asia with cash tills ringing in their ears and are currently cooking [...
People in Glass Houses
Posted on June 04, 2008Oops, this doesn’t look so good for the muscular democracy crowd: Companies with a board member who has ties to a winning political party enjoy a significant bounce in their share price following an election, according to a study released on Monday...
Chinese Innovation and the Fa Piao Process
Posted on June 04, 2008Great stuff from the Freakonomics blog at the New York Times: For a number of years I’ve been impressed with the wireless credit-card machines with which many European restaurants equip their wait-staff. This substitution saves workers time (and also that of their customers)...
Michael Milken, China Analyst?
Posted on June 03, 2008I’m speechless at this Bloomberg piece: Michael Milken, the controversial financier and philanthropist, said China will overtake the U.S. economically this century, though for now the U.S. should concentrate on Mexico. “Our projections show the United States will be the world’s second-largest economy and India will be the third,” some time this [...
Those Clever Ambush Marketers
Posted on June 03, 2008A New York Times reporter discusses his facility tour of sportswear company Li-Ning, including the interesting Olympics-themed posters on the wall: [M]ost of the posters feature Olympians who have endorsement deals with the company, including the United States table tennis team and dozens of Chinese athletes who will be hurdling and diving and somersaulting in Li-Ning [...
US Shakes Big Stick at China
Posted on June 03, 2008Some helpful suggestions to China from the U.S. military: Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates issued a set of thinly veiled warnings to China on Saturday, cautioning that it could risk its share of further gains in Asia’s economic prosperity if it bullied its neighbors over natural resources in contested areas like the South China Sea...
Fuwa Follies
Posted on June 02, 2008Upon returning home this weekend to ??100, I was shocked to discover that the courtyard had been infiltrated by these, uh, these things. I only freaked out a little bit, once I discovered that there were several of the creatures. My wife quickly pointed out that most of them were running out of air in their little [...
Hacker Hackery and the China Threat
Posted on June 02, 2008The story of Chinese hackers being responsible for the 2003 Northeast blackout in the U.S. has been making the rounds in the Intertubes. This ridiculous story has been run by several respected news organizations, pushed by the US government, and has generally been circulated much more than it deserves...
A New Low for U.S. Politics
Posted on May 30, 2008This is an amazing story, and even though it is way outside the scope of this blog, I gotta say something. Speaking in New Mexico on Memorial Day, Obama said a great-uncle had helped to liberate the Auschwitz death camp at the end of World War II. "I had a uncle who was one of the, [...
IP Enforcement and Unintended Consequences
Posted on May 30, 2008Nice IP enforcement article in Businessweek. The People’s Republic of China has long been a land of opportunity for copyright infringers. On Web sites such as Youku.com, unlicensed Western TV shows and Hollywood flicks are plentiful and free to all comers...
Jet Li Agrees With Me
Posted on May 30, 2008Noticed the following nugget today (h/t Shanghaiist): Jet Li (???) has stepped out to criticise the use of rankings to keep track of which corporations/celebrities have donated the most toward earthquake relief, saying charity should not be measured in purely monetary terms and that there are a lot of people donating RMB1 or RMB5 when that [...
China Laptop Espionage?
Posted on May 30, 2008This story was all over the Intertubes and Twitterverse today. U.S. officials are trying to determine of Chinese agents copied the contents of a Commerce Department laptop computer during a visit to Beijing by Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez...
China Net-activism and the Rule of Law
Posted on May 28, 2008A few hours after a message appeared on an Internet forum alleging relief tents destined for earthquake victims had been embezzled, millions of Internet users in China got outraged and prompted officials to investigate the scandal. A netizen who named himself “Peaceful Heart” posted a message exposing embezzlement of relief tents on a local Internet [...
The Value of a China LLM
Posted on May 28, 2008Law Professor Donald Clarke, of Chinese Law Prof Blog fame, has compiled an extremely helpful compilation of views on the pros and cons of Westerners’ securing an advanced law degree, or LLM, from a Chinese law school. The compilation can be found here (h/t to China Esquire)...
China Econ Growth and Asia
Posted on May 28, 2008Yet another fun post by Pettis, this one on China’s growth relative to other Asian countries. Pettis is looking primarily at data since 1949. China’s phenomenal recent growth rates look a little different from a comparative perspective when you look, for example, at countries like Japan, S...
Disabled Groups Not Happy With Beijing
Posted on May 27, 2008This one is definitely going to get me into trouble. This story is already getting some play on the Internets and the Twitternets: Disabled groups reacted with outrage yesterday to an official guide for assistants at the Beijing Olympic Games that describes them as unsocial, stubborn and defensive...
Skyrocketing Software Revenue in China
Posted on May 27, 2008This article raises a lot of questions in my very tired brain: China’s software industry revenue reached RMB 226.63 billion in the first four months of 2008 for an increase of 31.9 percent year-on-year, according to Ministry of Information Industry (MII) data released on Monday...
Sizzling Hot Forex Pours into China
Posted on May 27, 2008Checking out Michael Pettis’s latest on China’s forex reserves is well worth the effort. April numbers have come in, and this @(%$ is unnerving, to say the least. Hot money anyone? Instead of reducing foreign exchange inflows, the appreciation of the RMB is causing massive hot money inflows (which is not at all surprising, but it [...
High Times at Narita
Posted on May 27, 2008And now for something completely different. Meet me after the excerpt: A passenger who landed at Tokyo’s Narita airport over the weekend has ended up with a surprise souvenir courtesy of customs officials — a package of cannabis. Sniffer dogs failed to find the cannabis after it had been slipped into a passenger’s bag...
Forgiving Loans in China?s Quake Zone
Posted on May 26, 2008CBRC sez: If borrowers suffered huge losses that can’t be covered by insurance, or if the insurance or guarantees are not enough for the debts, the loans should be regarded as bad loans and written off in a timely manner. My first reaction is why this should fall on the banks’ balance sheets? Shouldn’t the gov’t step [...
China and Political Name Calling
Posted on May 26, 2008I pride myself on being open and honest, and I therefore readily admit that I detest Michael Ledeen, one of the chief foreign policy chest-thumpers at the American Enterprise Institute. It therefore saddens me to no end when I reluctantly say that his latest article in FEER, although kinda scary, has some elements of truth [...
Follow-up on Quake Donations
Posted on May 24, 2008After my post the other day on quake donations, I received some comments and emails about various aspects of this issue, including transparency, posted lists, and specific NGOs. One clarification I received relates to the Red Cross and that list of approved/vetted NGOs...
The Plastic Bag Problem
Posted on May 24, 2008Hey, if this is true, can I start getting free bags at Walmart again? (From Wired, of course.) Plastic takes thousands of years to decompose — but 16-year-old science fair contestant Daniel Burd made it happen in just three months. The Waterloo, Ontario high school junior figured that something must make plastic degrade, even if it does [...
Hello Kitschy
Posted on May 23, 2008Sonofabitch. We are all going to hell, or at least some of us in Asia. From the FT: In what might prove to be Japan’s most inspired step on the road to better relations with China, Tokyo has appointed its most famous feline, Hello Kitty, 33, as its goodwill tourism ambassador to China and Hong Kong...
Sovereign Wealth Funds & Income Inequality
Posted on May 23, 2008It seems reasonable that only citizens should be the beneficiaries of any payout from the SWF as the oil belongs to citizens of all generations. Interesting piece on Sovereign Wealth Funds (mostly deals with oil producing nations) in Asia Times...
Gitmo - the China Connection?
Posted on May 23, 2008Apparently U.S.-China relations are much better than I thought. From ABC News: U.S. military personnel at Guantanamo Bay allegedly softened up detainees at the request of Chinese intelligence officials who had come to the island facility to interrogate the men — or they allowed the Chinese to dole out the treatment themselves, according to claims in [...
China Quake Donations - some other views
Posted on May 23, 2008Follow up to yesterday’s post about social pressure and criticism of people who are perceived to have not contributed enough to earthquake relief, Danny posts on charitable NGOs here and the issue of transparency. Very important point to make. There are lots of possible destinations for your RMB, and some of them may not be [...
Forcing People to Be Good
Posted on May 22, 2008This will probably get me in trouble, but what the hell . . . I’m really not too keen on the whole public shame thing with respect to earthquake relief donations. Lots of stories out in the last couple days about public criticism of people and companies that have not donated enough...
Econ Impact of Quake
Posted on May 22, 2008I don’t know about you, but this news from the FT hit me even harder for some reason than more traditional quake coverage (I guess you get numb to that after a while). Anyway, the situation that these figures represent are quite disheartening. As the official death toll from the Sichuan earthquake hit 40,075 on Tuesday [...
China and the 911 Effect
Posted on May 21, 2008From Asia Times: From the rubble of the killer earthquake in Sichuan province another face of China, humane and steadfast, has emerged. The disaster, despite its tragic human cost, has provided a much-needed opportunity for Chinese leaders to repair the damage done to the country’s international image in recent weeks...
Best Behavior During Olympics
Posted on May 21, 2008Yesterday or the day before, I recall a Tweet regarding the PR fallout from a company laying off employees during our current mourning period. That’s an easy call. But what about the Olympics? Chris raises the issue in China Briefing today: During the build up to the Olympics - now little more than 12 weeks away - [...
Rich vs. Poor and the Earthquake
Posted on May 20, 2008I’ve had an article + commentary on the income gap sitting in my drafts folder for several days. The quake has made it difficult to write about the stuff I usually cover. Most of it seems kind of mundane in comparison to the drama out there. Anyway, it occurs to me that the quake itself gives [...
Mourning vs. Merriment
Posted on May 18, 2008The Sichuan earthquake is causing a lot of hand-wringing about what is/is not appropriate behavior for businesses and other organizations. I saw a bit of this over the weekend at the law firm retreat I attended. This was an internal group meeting of all the attorneys in our Asia offices, slightly less than 300 folks...
Twitter Updates for 2008-05-17
Posted on May 17, 2008Notes from conference: lawyers who are not naturally funny should not attempt stand-up comedy. Ugly. # More notes from conference: even worse than bad jokes is blatant self-promotion. I don’t need this from my colleagues. #
Twitter Updates for 2008-05-16
Posted on May 16, 2008Amazed at the lawyer bashing comments received re: conf I am attending. Why are all lawyers considered "ambulance chasers"? #