Results tagged “laws”

No food, drinks, or bikes on the Shanghai subway?

Sina reports that the city is going to hold a hearing in early July on subway regulations in Shanghai, specifically on issues of whether or not you can bring on food and drink, skateboads, or folding bicycles into the station. There is still too much confusion about what the rules are and how to implement them. The article mentions that if found in violation you could be charged 50-500 RMB fines. We don't know of anyone that has been fined, though one person did get off with a warning after being caught with some kind of drink. Food is prohibited on the Guangzhou and Beijing subway lines. Any readers know of anyone that's been fined? Would you supoort a ban on food? What about skateboards? How would you feel if you were a hungry skate rat? If you want to speak for skate rats, starved white-collar workers and other oppressed groups, you can do so by being applying to become one of the eight citizens that will be allowed to speak their minds at the hearing. The instructions are here.

China edging closer to creating its own movie rating system

China has completed the first draft of a long-discussed movie rating system, according to Xinhua. The draft has been submitted to the State Council, though whether the law will be reviewed or approved this year is still up for grabs.

Someone once said 'an unjust law is no law at all,' but perhaps a more accurate rephrasing would read 'an unenforced law is no law at all.' This has largely been our experience, at least, when it comes to navigating our way through the complicated legal terrain of the PRC. No approved foreign media outlets, but a hundred (illegal) satellite dishes on every apartment complex (and hotel for that matter). Only a handful of state-sanctioned (and censored) foreign films released in theaters each year, but literally thousands more (pirated and uncut) are available on almost every urban street corner. And it is also technically undocumented migrants to reside and work in Shanghai, never mind that they've literally built the place. You get the picture.

So we know that scientists get paid peanuts in China, but there's hope yet: China Daily ran article about an amended national law which allows scientists to report failures.:

The law, for the first time, allows scientists to report failures during the process of innovation without harming their records in future funding applications.

For those of you wondering what Shanghaiist's founding editor Dan Washburn has been up to for the past half year or so (other than not posting very much on Shanghaiist) there was some evidence last week that he is alive and well and doing more than sitting on his couch counting his Shanghaiist money (really, that would only take around five minutes). Go to ESPN.com (here, here and here) for stories related to his book...

Last weekend, we told you that Yahoo! is now apologizing for not telling the full truth to Congress at the February 2006 hearing where Yahoo! was taken to task for its role in the conviction of Chinese journalist Shi Tao. Now both Republicans and Democrats have launched scathing attacks on Yahoo. San Mateo Democrat Tom Lantos has called Yahoo "moral pygmies", and New Jersey Republican Chris Smith compared Yahoo’s cooperation with the Chinese government to companies that cooperated with Nazi Germany during World War II.

Li Heping, an outspoken Chinese lawyer said Wednesday he was abducted and beaten for hours, and accused of causing unrest by representing clients with complaints of official corruption and police abuse.

The word is out. Shanghai's first nature reserve in Nanhui District's Dongtan area has officially been established. The 40.3 km long beach area will be a haven for birds such as white cranes and little stints. Many migratory birds also nest there each year.

With the dust now settled on last week's APEC summit in Australia, we came on a juicy tidbit of news that either didn't get much mileage in the Chinese press or escaped the news that we read. Shanghaiist reader Fergus Ryan filled us in:

Gosh. With the third allegation of hacking by the Chinese military into government computers in Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom surfacing within two weeks, the guys at the Foreign Ministry have been kept busy! Fons Tuinstra points to past cases of bored teenagers who have successfully hacked into other governments and surmised that the German government could not have said that they had an issue with millions of bored Chinese teenagers! Richard Spencer made the erudite argument that if the "US and other western governments are busy infiltrating the computer systems of foreign governments... it is disingenuous to complain too vigorously when those same foreign governments become good at doing it back". Hmm...

Experts in Mongolian studies who have spent the last year compiling Genghis Khan's code of laws, which is believed to be the world's first constitution say the legendary Mongolian conqueror banned homosexual acts. Under article 48 of the code, the experts say, men who "committed sodomy shall be put to death". Other acts punishable by death under Khan included "damaging grassland with unauthorized excavations or starting fires".

Thou shalt not collude on pricing, the regulatory god said unto the Moses of industries in most countries, including China. But the instant noodle cabal either did not hear it or turned a deaf ear. In late July, noodle makers joined forces in raising prices by about 20 percent, and as much as 40 percent for some products.After less than three weeks of regulatory pressure, media assailing and public discontent, the industry backed down, apologized and initiated an across-the-board price cut. Is this a triumph of consumer rights and regulatory protection? Yes ... hmm maybe.

I turned to several government departments, including the local police station and the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau Yangpu District branch, but no one would solve the problem. I know the residence problem will affect my daughter's whole life, so I still asked authorities for help, but I was shocked by the result. They suggested I send her to an orphanage.

The novel tells the story of a teenage boy who receives a special notebook. Whenever he writes the name of an enemy in the book, along with a description of how and when that person dies, the enemy dies exactly as described.

If we’re a day late picking up the buzz on Xu Haojia—the 16-year-old girl auctioning her breasts for charity—it's because the story was so baffling, it took us 24 hours to sort it out.

Sichuan food addicts beware! China’s food safety inspectors have found some startling news (well, actually it’s not that startling at all, as you can see here, here, and here), 13% of recently tested chili products have been found to be unsafe. The reason for the health concern is too much preservatives and improper labeling.

Is it us or have there been a lot of political news stories and incidents in recent weeks? A few weeks ago, the restive group of villagers in Guangxi rioted over fines relating to the one-child policy, a glimpse of which you can see in the video on the left. Then maybe on Thursday or Friday night of last week, hundreds of Zhengzhou students rioted in the streets, after a student vendor was beaten by some inspectors. Down in Shenzhen, thousands of workers protested outside a plastic Christmas tree factory, citing long working hours as the source of their discontent. (Note to self: get real tree and throw away plastic tree currently hidden in closet before December.)

From the Scotsman:

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Chinese quality watchdogs have seized 46 toy guns from a Wal-Mart store in Shanghai because they looked "too realistic", state media reported on Thursday.

Summer is here and everything is heating up. Leading up to this weekend, this is what Shanghaiist thinks is going to be hot today and tomorrow.

If you are familiar with drinking heavily or going to Chinese banquets (basically the same thing), you've probably been forced to chug try some Maotai. Deemed "China's national liquor" by Reuters, Maotai or máotáijiǔ (茅台酒) is one of the most famous brands of Chinese rice wine (or báijiǔ). Although dignitaries like Margaret Thatcher and Richard Nixon have put this put-hair-on-your-chest drink to their conservative lips, the popular liquor is now threatened. You see, Maotai is...

Thanks to a tip from vadaga, Shanghaiist learned that now you only have one option to login to your existing MySpace 麦斯贝 account page in mainland China - use of an anonymising proxy.



  • "...the February surge was caused by exporters shipping goods early to beat an expected change in taxes, leaving less to ship in March."




  • "Mak was convicted on two counts of attempting to send sensitive material to China, acting as a foreign agent without notifying the US government and making false statements to federal agents."




  • "The serious accidents should be taken as 'lessons that have come at the cost of blood and lives,'"




  • "A stock-market bubble has been building rapidly,... The risk is getting higher that it will burst".




  • "China may face a shortage in its work force in two years time because the amount of surplus labor will not be as great as has been estimated"




  • "Finding and retaining good personnel was ranked the second- most difficult aspect of the Chinese banking industry by the 40 foreign banks polled, behind regulation."




  • "...deposits for land bidding can now not only be paid with RMB, but also US dollars, Hong Kong dollars, Japanese yen and euros, payable to the municipal land bureau. This was not the case in the past."




  • "A Chinese government spokeswoman, Jiang Yu, told reporters that Yasukuni was an “important and sensitive political issue” and asked Japan to “strictly abide” by its pledges to cooperate with China."




  • "China should give priority to a manned space flight, lunar exploration, new launch vehicle, high-resolution earth observation"




  • "The authorities declared this case domestic despite Cho's legal status as a Korean citizen, while the media plastered the front pages citing "Korean" as his national origin."




  • "The dogs will first receive tranquilizers to keep them calm before they are injected with a special medicine..."




  • "the rehabilitation effort for the Songhua River, one of the most heavily polluted rivers in the country, would remain in effect for 10 years"




  • "The water that leaves the plant will still not be drinkable, however, and the city will still have a long way to go before all of its river discharges are properly treated"




  • "... tests to determine if the (Chinese) disease is porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, a viral disease... it is the costliest virus for swine herds in the United States."



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  • "But four years after she retired at 26 with nothing but an elementary school education and a body crippled by sports injuries, the former marathon champion says she has been duped."




  • "Beijing's waterways suffer from severe pollution. But even if they did not, the residents of the capital might present an even greater threat, writes Dongting Lu."




  • "The report shows that the price of second hand houses in most large cities including Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai and Hangzhou soared in 2006 while the renting price were stable."




  • "China’s aggressive posture was on display this week at a UN meeting on climate change in Bangkok, when Beijing’s representatives tried to ensure the conference communiqué specifically blamed industrialised nations for global warming."




  • "A police officer with the Dalian Railroad Department fired five shots to kill a family of three who had showed up to demand compensation. The local government and publicity department censored all news."




  • "Gym staff recognized Freeman immediately from his photo posted on the Department of Justice Web site; computer records showed he registered under the name John Freeman and listed a Suzhou cellphone number as a contact."




  • "Hong Kong's commissioner for transport Robert Footman refused to allow the number plate Zestra because it is the name of a feminine arousal oil used widely in the city of 6.9 million."




  • "In fairness, much of the mainstream Chinese press refrained from using the April 16 tragedy as a vehicle to criticize the United States."




  • "Posters telling travelers how to behave appear in almost every train station, bus stop, hotel and scenic spot. 'We are treated like little kids,' Luan said."




  • "It is not forgotten any more, thanks to a band of internet campaigners who have exposed the shameful truth: the schoolchildren perished because they were ordered to sit down in their theatre seats so that Communist party officials could leave first."




  • "China's smog-choked capital and the financial hub of Shanghai have agreed to close their roads for the country's first "no car" day, along with over 100 other cities." Mark Sept. 22 on your calendars.




  • "Local media report that Google (GOOG) China will make a major adjustment on its regional functions and move its marketing headquarters and client service department from Beijing to Shanghai and its engineering institute from Shanghai to Beijing."




  • "... China’s total power generating capacity doubled to 700 gigawatts! The fruits of those efforts are now dazzlingly manifest: by the end of next year, China will have an electricity surplus. Shanghai will once more be a ‘switched-on city’."




  • "Police found a body in Xinkaihe watercourse on Friday. It was later identified as a driver surnamed Shen, who had been missing since April 15. The three suspects ... stole Shen's motorcycle, phone and cash, and then forced him to jump into the water."




  • "Citing unnamed sources briefed on the talks, the New York Times reported Saturday that preliminary exchanges have started and that league officials would prefer the arch-rival New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox to be the teams going to Asia."




  • "China's top family planning body has warned that the world's most populous country could face a "population rebound" because the newly rich are ignoring population control laws and because of early marriages in rural areas, state media said Monday."




  • "China's State Council Work Safety Committee issued an urgent circular on Sunday, requiring the transportation, chemical and mining sectors to take strict precautions against serious accidents."




  • "While many say it's an unworkable plan, the country is seeking a more sophisticated approach to recycling."




  • "The sequel approach to Shanghai’s resurgence is certainly seductive ... and it captures some aspects of what is going on. But the Shanghai-is-back-as-a-Paris-of-the-East line can obscure some key contrasts between past and present."




  • "The fitment expense accounts for 42.16 percent, goods for a new house take up over 18 percent, wedding cost 19.70 percent, other expenses like wedding clothing, the honeymoon travel account for about 15 percent."




  • "Sydney FC are on course to attract their biggest attendance of the Asian Champions League campaign - and perhaps their biggest home crowd in 15 months - at next Wednesday night's must-win match at Aussie Stadium."


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  • "Almost half of counter-espionage efforts in Canada target Chinese spies, the head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service told a senate committee on Monday."




  • "In the prosperous metropolis of Shanghai, migrant workers even joined in performances, singing and dancing and taking part in games to show their talents."




  • "The century-old Hershey, synonymous with chocolate in the United States but relatively unknown abroad, must learn how to get products to shelves in countries where most shoppers buy from small family-owned grocers and street vendors."




  • "The Food and Drug Administration is enforcing a new import alert that greatly expands its curtailment of some food ingredients imported from China, authorizing border inspectors to detain ingredients used in everything from noodles to breakfast bars."




  • "A popular buzzword on the Internet these days is the Japanese phrase for 'orgy party' -- Google the term ranko party and you'll come up with hundreds of thousands of hits." NSFW.




  • "An incident of burning dogs in the city of Nanjing drew nearly 17000 comments from web users on Thursday and triggered a huge debate about dog rights."




  • "On March 16, 2007, China adopted a new Property Law, set to become effective on October 1, 2007. This post will be the first in a fairly long series of posts explaining China's real estate laws."




  • "The current stock market mania in China's mainland has as much in common with the Tulipmania of the 17th century, as it does with the Internet boom of the late 1990s."




  • "The dogs yelped in the middle of night and disturbed the sleeping humans. The problem can be solved by killing them."




  • "The Shanghai-based News Times reported Wentworth Miller as having been invited by Zhongbo Media Group, who have bought the rights from Fox to shoot an online video adaptation of the American hit TV drama."




  • "It is probable that melamine is not the major or only culprit in the pet food illnesses and deaths. So then what exactly is causing the recent spate of pet illnesses and deaths?"




  • "One stroll through M50 leaves me marveling over Shanghai’s capacity to take a novel or original idea, and turn it into absolute crap."




  • "China has inaugurated what is believed to be the world's tallest pagoda, which at almost 154 metres reaches even higher than the Great Pyramid of Egypt, state media said today." It's in Changzhou, which we think is in Jiangsu.




  • "Canada's Foreign Minister Peter MacKay said he was assured by his Chinese counterpart Monday that a Canadian Muslim activist serving a life sentence in a Chinese jail for alleged terror links was not tortured."




  • "Only one in a 1,000 children in China's financial hub want to grow up to be a common worker, once hailed as the vanguard of class struggle, a Communist Party newspaper said on Monday a day before the Labour Day holiday."




  • "The 17th China International Bicycle & Motor Fair is scheduled on May 4-7, 2007 in Shanghai New International Expo Center. The theme of 2007 edition is 'Science makes dream come true, Innovation creates incentive'."




  • "Any doctor found to be involved in such activities will have their licences revoked, while clinics or hospitals will be suspended from doing organ transplant operations for at least three years, it said."




  • "Paul, Hastings, Janofsky &Walker is putting its stamp on China. Literally.The firm is paying at least $40,000 toward the construction of a facility in China's remote Longqui village that will soon bear its name: the Paul Hastings Hope Elementary School."




  • "U.S. Congress members [criticized] Beijing's test of an anti-satellite weapon, its military buildup, its policy of forced abortion, its support of ruthless regimes, and its repatriation of North Korean refugees in violation of international law."




  • "The man, in his 50s, was reportedly hit in the neck by a bullet from a police warning shot as he rode a motorbike with his son 300 metres from the scene of the demonstrations Tuesday afternoon."




  • "Alibaba, which is part-owned by Yahoo! Inc, plans to list its core business-to-business operation that helps match suppliers in China and elsewhere with purchasers over the Internet, the China Financial Online website said."




  • "After years of suffering, powerless 'victim' states have turned pollution forecasting into a fine art, setting up sophisticated systems to predict transnational pollution invasions."




  • "Dr. Zhang Xiaopeng, a leading researcher in world table tennis, explains the sport's playing styles ahead of the world table tennis championships."


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    Pornography charges against a 36 year old woman arrested three years ago after taking off her clothes and chatting with other Internet users via webcam have been dropped in Beijing's Shijinshan district after prosecutors found that nude chat rooms were not defined in China's pornography laws. This case is understood to be the first of its kind in Beijing.

    Gay in the city and want to meet new people without A. Consuming unseemly amounts of alcohol, B. Making a Gaydar or Fridae account, C. Begging friends for introductions, D. Gyrating on the dance floor?

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    A 23 year-old Henan woman named Qiu Zi (秋子) may become the center of China's first appearance-related work discrimination case after accusing a company of firing her because her head is too big.



  • "This window was on a nondescript building near my new office. The characters mean 'laser' and 'quit smoking,' begging the question: how exactly do you use lasers to quit smoking?"




  • "Among the affected areas, sections of Xizang Road S., Minli Road W. and Dalin Road in Luwan District were shut down yesterday because of Metro Line 8 construction, according to the city's Engineering Administrative Bureau. They are expected to reopen in June."




  • "Beijing's censorship of language is a serious obstacle to democratization, but it would be a mistake to overemphasize this point. In China, the Internet has already set into motion a core component of democratic consciousness."




  • "Suicide Rabbit, introduced in August by Liu Gang, a 35-year-old cartoonist, has attracted a swiftly increasing audience by portraying with gentle humor the million little abuses suffered by Chinese people as their society endures a bumpy transformation."




  • "Asked whether he regretted the decision, Mr Brin admitted yesterday: 'On a business level, that decision to censor... was a net negative.'"




  • "But Liu Chunquan, a lawyer with the Shanghai Office of Beijing Guangsheng & Partners Law Firm, told Shanghai Daily yesterday that 'a price alliance of such kind is seen as unfair competition and is defined as illegal according to China's laws.'"




  • "China's economy surged in 2006, moving it closer to overtaking Germany as the world's third-largest economy. Now it may have No. 2 Japan and No. 1 U.S. in its sights, if it doesn't succumb to the pitfalls of an overheated economy, like soaring inflation and rampant debt."




  • "The bull market is so dramatic — the Shanghai index hit a record high this week before falling back slightly — that one senior Chinese official has warned against 'blind optimism.'"




  • "Campaigners for freedom of speech on the internet have hailed a major breakthrough after Google, Microsoft and Yahoo! agreed to join a working group to draw up a code of conduct for protecting human rights online."




  • "A Chinese man has persuaded his new bride to have plastic surgery to make her look like his first wife who died in a car crash. Zhao Gang, 32, from Chongqing, wed six months ago." That's the entire story.


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    The report, in Chinese gives us a brief glimpse of a bunch of new regulations called, in Chinese, 《上海市民公共行为条例》, or something like "Shanghai citizens' public behavior regulations." The million dollar question is whether or not this thing has any teeth, or put in more everyday terms, how much will we have to fork over if we are caught doing something "bad"?

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