Results tagged “walmart”

• Another Wal-Mart Shoplifter Is Killed [Huffington Post] "You steal, you die. That's the international policy apparently at Wal-Mart stores, where reports indicate another alleged shoplifter has died at the hands of a gang of overzealous Wal-Mart workers -- this time in China. According to the Associated Press report this week, Yu Xiachun, a 37-year-old woman, died 500 yards from the Wal-Mart store in Jiangxi province. Based on the local police report, Yu had exited the store and was on her way home on August 30th when she was surrounded by five Wal-Mart workers, who accused her of shoplifting... The police say that the Wal-Mart workers fought with Yu, and she was knocked to the ground. She was taken to the hospital, where she died three days later."
• Ethnic groups united in hostility towards leaders [Financial Times] "The government in Xinjiang has been caught off guard by the anger it faces from its own people. For decades its rulers brought in millions of people from China's Han ethnic majority to colonise the ethnically diverse far western region. They kept a wary eye on the Uighurs, the biggest local ethnic group, as the main security risk. But since Wednesday it has been Han marching in the streets of Urumqi, the regional capital, calling for Wang Lequan, Xinjiang's Communist party secretary, to step down."
• U.S. Company and China Plan Solar Project [NY Times] "Chinese government officials signed an agreement on Tuesday with First Solar, an American solar developer, for a 2,000-megawatt photovoltaic farm to be built in the Mongolian desert. Set for completion in 2019, the First Solar project represents the world’s biggest photovoltaic power plant project to date, and is part of an 11,950-megawatt renewable-energy park planned for Ordos City in Inner Mongolia."

• The fortunate lives of reunited Beichuan Earthquake families [QQ News] A series of photos on the Chinese web of 20 or so families that are now living, reunited and happy, in Sichuan province a year after the devastating earthquake hit.
• Year After China Quake, New Births, Old Wounds [NYTimes] "One year after the earthquake in Sichuan Province killed about 70,000 people and left 18,000 missing, mothers across the region are pregnant or giving birth again, aided by government medical teams dispensing fertility advice and doing reverse-sterilization procedures. Because of China’s policy limiting most families to having one child, the students who died were often their parents’ only offspring. Officials say they hope a wave of births will help defuse the anger that many grieving parents harbor over the collapses of so many schools on May 12, 2008, while nearby buildings often remained standing."
• Report: 10 Worst Countries to be a Blogger [Committee to Protect Journalists] "Relying on a mix of detentions, regulations, and intimidation, authorities in Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and Egypt have emerged as the leading online oppressors in the Middle East and North Africa. China and Vietnam, where burgeoning blogging cultures have encountered extensive monitoring and restriction, are among Asia’s worst blogging nations. Cuba and Turkmenistan, nations where Internet access is heavily restricted, round out the dishonor roll."

"Guns N' Roses released a new single today as a preview to the album ``Chinese Democracy,'' ending a 15-year wait for fans of the U.S. rock band. The title track is available for streaming on Internet sites such as www.q1043.com. The work is being advertised by www.bestbuycom for release on Nov. 25 through Interscope Records. "

Dan Harris of China Law Blog brings us an interesting take on the new pay deal Wal-Mart struck on Friday with the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) in Quanzhou, Shenyang, and Shenzhen. As reported by Forbes, the U.S. retailer operates more than 100 of its namesake stores throughout China and employs 48,589 people. Its new agreement with its employees in Shenyang calls for an 8% pay increase in both 2008 and 2009. Harris remarks that a pay increase of the same amount next year sounds strange, since there's no telling what inflation will be a year from now: "Is this an admission by Wal-Mart that it wasn't paying enough?" he asks. The deal further marks Wal-Mart as "something of a poster child" for the Chinese government's drive to get all foreign-owned enterprises to recognize the ACFTU, Forbes writes, since it comes two years after Wal-Mart allowed the union to organize at its local outlets. "What happened to Wal-Mart is no surprise," Harris adds. He continues:

It is just another step in China's efforts to move away from being a destination for foreign companies seeking super low paid workers. Just as with so much else in China, we are seeing foreign companies getting out in front in terms of going along with what China wants to do with its economy. Domestic companies are and will continue to follow in terms of having to deal with unionized and higher paid employees... anybody who still thinks China will do anything for foreign investment is living in the past. Times have changed and China is getting more and more selective in terms of the foreign (and even domestic) companies it wants.

Londonist prepares a Happy Birthday bath for Buddah this week and then things get all cliched. A madman goes on a rampage while axe-wiedling and London's mayor warns an American diplomat to avoid the kitchen if the heat bothers him so much.