May 15, 2007
Today's Links: Prison Break, rats and robots
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"News Corporation's (NYSE: NWS.A) Fox Television denied that it has licensed Beijing based media company Zonbo Media to remake American TV series Prison Break or any related online activities in China, reports Beijing Youth Daily."
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"Anheuser-Busch Inc. sued USA Bai Wei Group Inc. in Arkansas' Pulaski County Circuit Court, seeking an injunction to revoke Bai Wei's corporate charter and require a name change."
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"Why are these experts, who supposedly know China better than anyone does, so eager to patronize China's leaders, and so reluctant to condemn Chinese repression of dissent?"
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"This is the cover to Brutus No. 616 (1 May 2007). ... The portrait of Mao wearing Nike is apparently the product of a Chinese artist, though I can’t verify this."
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"According to government figures, the overall profit margins in the textile industry are only 3.9% - the lowest of any major industry."
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"Some tramcars might be able to run in the Zhangjiang area in Pudong ... Even now, many old local residents in Shanghai still remember such tramcars, which the Shanghai people called 'dang dang che', or 'clanging cars'." Trolleys.
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"This first-ever tour is together presented by NBA and the world's leading express and logistics company, DHL. The two will also present other activities in China." Ripped straight from the press release, sounds like.
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"The winners will represent China at the Federation of International Robot-soccer Association World Cup in San Francisco on June 13."
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"Xinhua News Agency quoted animal husbandry officials in Altay prefecture in northern Xinjiang saying a warm winter had resulted in a 'baby boom' of rats in April, a month earlier than normal."
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"Ms. Zhang Xiaohua, marketing director for Forbes China, attributed the cancellation to the immaturity of charity in China. 'Chinese entrepreneurs haven't reached a consensus on charity and therefore it is immature to make such a list,' she said."
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"A private businessman has been fined 600,000 yuan (US$78,000; euro 58,000) for breaking China’s strict one child policy, state media reported." But is it really that strict?
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"China's largest non-state-owned carmaker, which has export agreements in place in Indonesia, Russia and Ukraine, declined to give details."
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"The top 10 countries in terms of number of employed foreign workers were Japan, America, Korea, Singapore, Germany, France, Canada, Malaysia, Australia and Britain." That leaves an awful lot of unemployed.
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At Starbucks.
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"This is the face of Shanghai these days. Not to be all mean'n shit, but how badly would you like to punch one of these Chads in the mouth?"
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"One of Shanghai's "undiscovered" shopping gems is Jim Dandies, tucked away opposite IKEA in the Xuhui District. It sells chic clothes and art by painter Yurika (Eureka) Nakae from Suzhou"
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"Located at Yandang Road, the Pudi Boutique Hotel Shanghai offers 52 rooms whose prices range from RMB4680 per night to RMB14000 per night." Ouch.
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"It notes that in 2006, the Shanghai Federation of Trade Unions surveyed employees in 250 enterprises. The data showed that 50.6% of employees had not received a wage increase in nearly three years."
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"A report in Beijing Times...has led to a remarkable photo essay on the People’s Daily society link at People.com. Beijing Times had orginally reported on an unidentifed demolition contractor that had moved in to demolish houses in the Chaoyang District."
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"The two websites are Uusee.com and Zol.com.cn. They have been required to publish formal letters of apology on their front homepages. The website owners have also been ordered to remove the offending content immediately."
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Does this story seem a bit late to you?
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"Excited and emboldened by the wealth of information they find on the Internet, Chinese teens are breaking centuries of tradition to challenge their teachers and express their own opinions in class."
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"Working 10 or more hours a day, almost no days off, no regular meals and lack of sleep - that's the life for 70 percent of the white-collar workers in four of China's big cities, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou."
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"The report is named《Analytical Report of Basic Science Literacy of County Level Officials in China 》." Explains a lot.
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"Police in southern China have detained a woman after she admitted killing her four-year-old daughter because the child could not count, according to news reports."
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"When the 'Chinamen' responded to 'His Excellency' with an open letter ... the result was general consternation, followed by support from a number of leading newspapers, and a consequent flurry of articles and editorials."
Photo by slow boat to china found via the Shanghaiist Contribute page.
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That's funny, the Shanghai Statistics Bureau says almost 100k foreigners in Shanghai with residence permits.
http://www.stats-sh.gov.cn/2003shtj/tjnj/nj06.htm?d1=2006tjnj/C0312.htm
100k with residence permits, but how many are spouses or drifting teachers or drift from company to company.
""Why are these experts, who supposedly know China better than anyone does, so eager to patronize China's leaders, and so reluctant to condemn Chinese repression of dissent?""
Because these "experts" would not be allowed into the country and therefore would not have a career anymore. In other words, their bread and butter is praising the devil.
"Seeing China as it's not"
- "Why are these experts, who supposedly know China better than anyone does, so eager to patronize China's leaders, and so reluctant to condemn Chinese repression of dissent?"
The mouthpiece of this delicious soundbite is Steven W. Mosher. Pretty tempered, really, for the author of right-wing chicken-hawk books like "Hegemon: China's Plan to Dominate Asia."
Who is Mosher, and what's his beef with China? He is president of the Population Research Institute, a pro-life lobbying organization dedicated to fighting against abortion rights and any population control. The organization has in past years received funding from The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, Inc., the country's largest and most influential right-wing foundation.
Extremist view from the fringe is understandably below mainstream media's radar screen, that's why it is only voiced through third-rate publications like "Washington Times". It is puzzling that Shanghaiist sees fit to help distribute such trash. Change in editorial staff? Dan becoming a gun-crazy right-wing pro-lifer?
While I thought the rest of the article was a bit over the top, the bit about crony capitalism being a problem in China (p.2) was quite accurate in my mind, particularly:
Crony capitalism[...]creates a political-industrial complex with a stranglehold on important sectors of the national economy. China does not just suffer from crony capitalism, however, but from a full-blown case of Communist kleptocracy.
A large part of China's much-vaunted "private sector" remains, directly or indirectly, under the control of Party bosses. Many of China's new class of capitalists are consanguineous to the old Party elite. This is why Jiang Zemin's July 2001 proposal to induct entrepreneurs (read: capitalists) into the Party did not spark a revolt among senior cadres.
Not only do they all have family members who have gone into business, but most used their political connections to help them get started. In this sense, China's economic reform has been hijacked by the current power holders, who are unremittingly hostile to letting the people have any say about their thievery.
Granted, a quick examination of the US for example shows that this is not an isolated phenomenon in the world, but I think that
1)the fact that there is a huge range in quality of education available to middle/upper class people in China and to everyone else; and
2)the fact that in the PRC, democratic elections are not a feasible option to remedy the above
tend to exacerbate the problem.
Let it not be said that I am bashing the government. I really believe that the Hu/Wen combo have the best interests of the people at heart and are doing a good job at running the country...just...somehow I feel that the corruption that is allowed by lack of democracy is a cancer that is eating away at the country...
"Extremist view from the fringe is understandably below mainstream media's radar screen, that's why it is only voiced through third-rate publications like "Washington Times""
Third rate W. Times vs 8th rate Xinhua or 15th rate "white papers" from Amscam, Britscam, Ozscam, EUscam, etc.