Today's Links: Prepaid card woes in Shanghai, Skyscraper curse avoidance all over China, and patrol ships sent to the South China Sea

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  • Developers hope to avoid 'skyscraper curse' [China Daily] "Hoping to avoid the "skyscraper curse," China's cities continue to reach for the sky. While most of the world's major construction projects have been put on hold, new skyscrapers are under construction in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and several smaller cities, defying the global economic slowdown. Developers believe China will prove to be an exception to the "skyscraper index" - popularly known as the "skyscraper curse" - proposed by financial analyst Andrew Lawrence. In 1999, Lawrence noted that major financial crises often follow the construction of record-breaking skyscrapers."
  • Grape Wall Challenge: Top ten white wines under RMB100 [Grape Wall of China] "On March 13, a dozen expert and consumer judges met in Beijing for the Grape Wall Challenge and tasted 23 red wines that retail for less than RMB100 in China."
  • Prepaid card woes multiply in Shanghai [China Daily] "The Shanghai Committee of Consumers' Rights and Interests Protection yesterday urged consumers opting for prepaid cards to be on guard, in view of the rise in related complaints in the city. The committee said it received more than 4,000 complaints in 2008, up 14 percent than in 2007. Most of these complaints have to do with beauty and hair salons or fitness clubs that often shut down without notifying their clients, said the commission. The credit remaining on the cards issued by them thus becomes invalid."
  • Fake food cases in '08 at 76,500 [China Daily] "Industrial and commercial authorities across China investigated about 76,500 fake food cases in 2008, which involved 274 million yuan (US$40.3 million) in value, according to a high-level meeting on consumption held Saturday."
  • Police chief jailed over China nightclub fire [AFP] "A corrupt police chief has been sentenced to 13 years in jail for his role in a fire at a southern Chinese nightclub that killed 44 people, state media reported Saturday. Yang Zhouwu, former police chief for a district of the city of Shenzhen, was found guilty of taking 300,000 yuan (44,000 dollars) in bribes from the nightclub's managers and neglecting his duties, broadcaster CCTV said."
  • Beijing sends patrol ship to South China Sea [AFP] "China has dispatched its most modern patrol ship to the South China Sea, state press said Sunday, after an incident with a US naval vessel and a fresh claim by the Philippines to the disputed territory."
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By Elaine Chow in on March 16, 2009 9:00 PM Comment 1 Likes Like

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