Remembering Charles Hwa

Posted: 29 May 2012 08:43 PM PDT

Ed's note: Our expat community is a little poorer today for the absence of Charles Hwa; below, one of his friends offers some words.

On Saturday 27 May 2012, Charles Hwa, Class President of the current graduating Tsinghua International MBA class, respected member of the Beijing start-up community, and dear friend to so many of us in Beijing, passed away tragically at the age of 34. Charles was playing basketball with friends in Chaoyang Park when he collapsed. Despite the best efforts of friends, medics and passers-by to give him CPR and revive him, Charles' heart stopped and he did not regain consciousness. It was his 35th birthday this weekend coming.

It's hard to find words to describe this tragedy. Charles was the most beautiful person, never angry, never unkind to anyone. He was always ready to help with a problem, and always had time for others. He was so smart, and generous, and caring, and we loved him. Charles, you touched our lives with your spirit and your kindness, and we will never forget you. It's so hard to accept that you've left this world now, but you will live on with us in our memories always.

It's impossible for us to know what happens after death, but at least we can be sure that whatever it is, wherever we go, Charles must be in a better place, because someone so special and always so good to all those around him couldn't be somewhere bad.

Rest in peace Charles, you are in our prayers.

‘China’s Geoeconomic Strategy’: London School Of Economics

Posted: 29 May 2012 07:52 PM PDT

Alert reader, Dave Miller, once again has uncovered an unusual source. In this case, web materials from the London School of Economics. Of interest here, 'China's Geoeconomic Strategy':

As the world continues to experience the fallout from the 2008 financial crisis, it is increasingly turning towards China. The outsourced 'workshop of the world' has become the world's great hope for growth, and the source of the capital the West's indebted economies so desperately need. Simultaneously, and in the United States in particular, commentators and policymakers have increasingly voiced concerns that the economic clout of a communist superpower might pose a threat to the liberal world order. These contradictory impulses – China as opportunity and China as threat – demonstrate one clear truth, exhibited in the Obama administration's much-trailed 'Asian pivot': that China is important.

It is in this context that this report attempts to provide a systematic assessment of the economic bases of China's foreign policy and the challenges the country faces as it makes the transition from rising power to superpower. In doing so, it is informed by a central question, of to what extent China's remarkable growth has given rise to a geoeconomic strategy for China's future.

A little confusing is when you read 'Full print copy: £7.50 including postage.' In fact, you can get the whole content by viewing separate chapters online:

Executive Summary Nicholas Kitchen, Editor, IDEAS Reports

China's International Future
Odd Arne Westad

Does China have a Foreign Policy? Domestic Pressures and China's Strategy
Jonathan Fenby

Access: China's Resource Foreign Policy
Shaun Breslin

China as a Trading Superpower
Xiaojun Li

Firms with Chinese Characteristics: The Role of Companies in Chinese Foreign Policy
Jie (Cherry) Yu

China's Strategy towards the Financial Crisis and Economic Reform
Linda Yueh

China's Approach to US debt and the Eurozone crisis
Nicola Casarini

What Power Shift to China?
Guy de Jonquières

Picture of the Day: A Load Of Rubbish

Posted: 29 May 2012 06:30 PM PDT

Courtesy of Transnormalcy.com

|Picture of the Day Gallery|

Asia's biggest wine expo opens in Hong Kong

Posted: 29 May 2012 12:48 PM PDT

Via AFP: "The who's who of the wine world is in Hong Kong for Asia's biggest wine and spirits fair, hoping to tap the booming but still relatively young Chinese market." [ more › ]

A Stimulus By Any Other Name

Posted: 29 May 2012 01:20 PM PDT

When is stimulus spending not a stimulus package? When it is previously planned projects just being brought forward, apparently. State media are reporting that Beijing is saying that it is not going to stimulate the economy in the way it … Continue reading →

Public Singer Will Sing, Willy-Nilly

Posted: 29 May 2012 01:00 PM PDT

I've encountered my fair share of amateur singers, mostly of the older set, at public parks in China, but none have given a performance quite like this guy, captured on video Saturday at the Summer Palace by YouTube user BeijingShenghuo. He gets an A for effort, definitely.

But how bad is he, really? Bad enough to be good? Because as we all know, if one sings poorly enough, he or she comes out the other side as — if not quite good — at least popular. See: Hung, William; Wing.

Still doesn't quite beat great, though. Youku video for those in China after the jump.

Pole Dancers Galore, On Beijing Subway And In Zeta Bar

Posted: 29 May 2012 10:10 AM PDT

Where to begin?

Zeta Bar in Hilton Beijing held its fourth pole-dancing competition on Saturday in collaboration with Love Show Studio, the self-proclaimed "Beijing's No. 1 pole-dancing school." Local nightlife blogger Jim Boyce informs us the winners were "Ms. Zhenzhen," as chosen by judges, and "Ms. Vivi," as chosen by the audience. We're not sure who they are. I'm equally confused by this country's apparent fascination with pole dancers, but that's a story for another time.

And the video? The title reads, "Hot girl show pole dancing in Beijing subway," and the timestamp is May 26, 2012. What else do you need to know? Youku video for those in China after the jump, along with pictures from Pole Dancing Competition Season IV.

[Beijing Boyce]

De Refter: Beer-ocious

Posted: 29 May 2012 09:25 AM PDT

It was Saturday night and we hoped to rinse our mouths of last night's canned piss-water with some prime beer. Luckily, if such coincidences are to be believed, we were passing by De Refter, a fairly new Belgian tap house offering abbey ales, dubbels, trippels, lambics, and more from Belgium and other European brew-topias. [ more › ]

Doing Business In China By Starting A Business In China. The Legal Basics.

Posted: 29 May 2012 05:53 AM PDT

One of the most common calls my law firm receives is the one from someone saying that they want to "start a business in China." The first thing we do with that sort of caller is to seek to ascertain whether a China business is actually necessary. Forming and then operating a business entity in China is not fast, is not easy, and is not cheap. I usually convey this by asking the caller if they find it easy running a business in the United States (or Europe), what with having to figure out and pay taxes, rent, wages, vendors, etc. I then point out that having a business in China means they will have to do the same thing over there. So whenever possible, we seek to determine whether there is some way the caller can conduct business with China, achieve its goals with respect to what it is seeking to do with China, while not having a business in China at all. For potential alternatives to forming a China business, check out the following:

But if forming a China business does make sense, the next issue is what kind of business makes sense. On this, you typically have three choices: a Wholly Foreign Owned Entity (WFOE), a Joint Venture (JV), or a Representative Office. These days, the overwhelming majority of foreign companies seeking to do business in China go in as a WFOE, but there are definitely still instances when a Joint Venture or a Representative Office makes sense. For more on the differences between these three sorts of entities and on what it takes to form each of them, check out the following:

If you are going to have a China business entity, you are going to have employees (indirectly in the case of a Rep Office). That means you are going to need written employee contracts (it virtually always makes sense to have these in both Chinese and in English) and a written employee manual/employee handbook (again, in English and in Chinese). You probably will want your employee agreements to speak to issues like trade secrets and non-competes (which are limited in China) and overtime. For more on employee contracts and employee handbooks, check out the following:

The last thing you need to focus on if you are going to be doing business with China, particularly if you are going to be doing business in China, is protecting your intellectual property. In nine out of ten cases, this means registering your trade name and your other important trademarks in China. On some occasions, this also means registering your patents or copyrights in China as well. For more on registering your trademarks in China and protecting your IP there, check out the following:

The above are the four main issues confronting foreign companies seeking to do business in China. 1) Determine if a China company is necessary. 2) If a China entity is necessary, form the right one. 3) If you are going to have a Chinese company, you should have the proper employment contracts and employee manual. 4) If you are going to be doing business in China, you are going to need to take certain steps to protect your IP.

That was easy, wasn't it?

An Open Letter To The City Administrators Of Xi’an

Posted: 29 May 2012 04:58 AM PDT

Dear Xi'an,

Your roads are not safe. A month ago, we introduced a video of a woman falling through a sidewalk, and while this provided many of us endless laughter, leading me to create a GIF, we were reminded, at the same time, that falling through the street is not normal. In fact, it can have horrifying consequences.

So, three days ago, when a burst water pipe caused one of your streets to suddenly collapse, caving in like, we imagine, the planet Vulcan from Star Trek, we naturally had questions. Fellow contributor Katie asked after the last snafu, "What is it with people falling through the sidewalk in China?" Now we wonder: how many people can fall through a hole that is 15 meters long, 10 meters wide and 6 meters deep? How many cars? What if there had been a massive traffic jam? How does one repair a road with a 150-square meter gap? All things to consider, methinks.

Of course, your job is difficult enough as it is. We don't mean to pressure you. It's not like 300 of your residents have had no access to running water in three days or anything. Carry on.

Yours sincerely,
Alicia

We’re all farmers now

Posted: 28 May 2012 09:54 PM PDT

Fans of Community Supported Agriculture don't care about certificates, write Yin Chuntao and Zhou Wei. For rising numbers of Chinese citizens, "organic" means trust and support between buyer and seller.

At a monthly "friends of farming" dinner held by Green Heartland, an NGO based in Chengdu, west China, Chen Xia quietly reads an ode to the land against light background music. It's a simple thanksgiving ceremony the hosts conduct before leaving the diners to tuck into a feast of organic produce and listen to farmers talk about their lives and land.

Green Heartland was formed by a group of urban residents who buy their food directly from farmers, and their dinners give the two groups a chance to get together. Chen, who is one of the founders, was prompted by health concerns into thinking more seriously about the origins of her food. In 2007, together with two friends, she organised an organic market and heard about a village called Anlong, which was said to be working to protect its land and rivers through sustainable farming. The group started to buy food from the village.

One of her co-founders, Xia Lu, had been working for an NGO in Anlong, but stayed on after her project finished – as a friend, volunteer and consumer. She had plans for a website through which the farmers could reach out to urban consumers, and hoped to arrange customer visits, farmers' markets and dinners. Her overarching aim was to bring farmers and customers closer together and encourage a return to healthier farming methods. Xia's ideas got a warm response from people already buying food from Anlong – and Green Heartland was born.

Gradually, the number of customers has grown. Against the backdrop of ever more frequent food safety scares, growing numbers of Chinese citizens are looking for safe and healthy alternatives. The popularity of the organic methods practiced at Anlong is soaring. Zhang Ming, a journalist at local paper Chengdu Daily, became both a customer and Green Heartland member after reporting on the village's activities.

Some customers have befriended the farmers and help to organise sales and distribute goods. Chen said that the organisation hopes to improve understanding and trust between farmers and the people who eat their produce.

Green Heartland also helps customers link up to make bulk orders and organises markets to boost sales – as well as the farmers' confidence in the value of organic methods. The group now works with farmers in 10 places around Chengdu and has built up a core customer base of more than 100 people.

This kind of direct participation by consumers in the production of their food is commonly known as Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). It originated in Japan, Europe and the United States and, since 2003, has been actively promoted in China by Hong Kong-based NGO Partnership for Community Development (PCD) and global advocacy group Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP).

CSA provides a new way of thinking about food safety, rural economies, environmental damage and urban alienation, as well as creating the possibility of a different way of life. Through local trials, overseas experience and the pressure of food safety scares, CSA has taken root in several Chinese cities as one option for shoppers on the hunt for safer food.

There are many examples. Even before 2003, a group of residents from the city of Liuzhou, south China, were moved to establish Farmers' Friends following a trip to the countryside where they saw first-hand the threats to traditional agricultural methods and farmers' struggle for survival. Their social enterprise now takes city dwellers to the countryside to eat at village restaurants and purchase local products.

The meals are delicious and made with produce fresh from the fields. The farmers that the group works with grow rice in their backyards, in the same ponds they use to raise ducks – a traditional organic method. And the seeds they plant are traditional crops handed down from generations past. These ways of working allow the farmers to escape the constraints of commercial agriculture and boost their appeal to customers.

The rise of CSA in China is helping farmers to understand the wider choice organic agriculture can give them, in terms of both technology and markets. It allows them to see that they have options beyond genetically modified crops and industrial farming, which will only relegate them to the bottom rung of a supply chain.

As the number of customers has increased, Farmers' Friends has opened a museum of traditional farming techniques and a restaurant serving healthy and organic farmhouse fare.

The restaurant, which brings together rural producers and urban consumers, is more about spreading the news and spirit of CSA than serving top cuisine. It works to nurture the traditional crops that are disappearing, provide diversity of income for small-scale farmers, protect farming culture and promote links between city and countryside. The association pays stable prices for produce and has established a fund to help farmers continue to plant traditional crops, organise themselves and promote rural cooperation.

The past three years have seen a surge in cooperation between consumers and farmers outside of commercial markets. All around China, consumers are opening organic shops, holding regular organic markets, setting up collection or sales points and organising bulk purchasing – all activities that bring together consumers and farmers. And, unlike normal markets, consumer advocacy is a big part of what they do. They even arrange for farmers and consumers to negotiate prices together in order to build understanding and trust.

Beijing Farmers' Market was founded by a small group of consumers in 2010, since when it has expanded to serve an average showing of 2,000 shoppers. Some 20 farmers and farms and more than 10 NGOs and craft workshops attend every event. Natural and handmade everyday goods and processed foods are on sale alongside agricultural produce.

The majority of the products on sale are not actually certified as organic, but consumers can talk to the producers about their goods and how they grew them and build up trust in that way. A core group of volunteers pays regular visits to producers to look at their land and talk to them and ensure their products are qualified for the market. The markets started out as a monthly event, but are now held once a week.

Similar activities are flourishing in many other places across China, including Shanghai, Guangdong, Guangxi and Sichuan.

For participants in CSA, "organic" isn't about certification, but the trust, support and sharing involved in simple business transactions.

And farmers, as well as consumers, are working to build that trust. In Anlong, the organic farmers are even picky about whom they sell their produce to. Gao Yicheng is in charge of deliveries and liaison: "If you want to buy our crops, you need to come here first and have a look around. We won't give you anything until you've actually visited," he said. The farmers here think it's crucial that buyers meet producers.

Since 2008, the Shanxi Yongji Farmers' Association has been working to develop organic agriculture through farmers' cooperatives. It has attracted plenty of buyers from many places, but is most preoccupied with finding local customers. Zheng Bing, an association official, said that selling locally helps boost trust with consumers.

Supermarkets and big food companies are now pushing "green" and "organic" products. But CSA advocates say that they are in search of something different: nature and health.

At a recent forum on rural development, as experts and NGO representatives were fretting over how organic agriculture could be scaled up, Hebei farmer An Jinlei spoke out: "As a farmer, I don't like the term 'organic'. It's become a buzzword and lost its meaning. The rich folk in the city drive their cars to the supermarket and buy organic food – they're just worried about their own health. But what are their lifestyles and values, their excessive consumption of resources, doing to the health of the planet?"

An prefers to call his farming methods "natural agriculture", which he describes as looking after the land in accordance with natural principles. "The land can't take any more," he said. "We need to look after it, to help it recuperate. You need the land to be healthy if you are going to get food for a healthy life."

An believes many modern agricultural ideas go against the laws of nature. That's what prompted him to quit his job at a state-owned farm 10 years ago and return to his home village. Together with his wife, he sought out natural farming methods that would restore the land. He believes that even pests have a place. "If humanity doesn't stop its exploitation of the land, there'll be no way back," he said. His determination has seen once lost birds and insects return. A pharmaceutical firm pays a premium for his cotton and corn, while a number of CSA consumer groups in Beijing buy his crops.

An laments that more farmers in his village aren't following his example. They generally recognise the harm done by fertilisers and weed-killers, he said, but believe they have no choice because they can't afford the initial costs of going organic. Without external support, it is almost impossible for farmers suddenly to switch to sustainable farming.

While many farmers cannot afford to go organic, some urban residents have taken matters into their own hands.

Green Mothers Alliance was founded by a group of housewives concerned about their children's' health and development. In 2006, food safety scares prompted these women to experiment with growing their own food, but they soon found they lacked the necessary knowledge to make it work. Inspired by CSA outfits like Little Donkey Farm and Taiwan's Housewives Alliance, they started making bulk purchases from likeminded farmers. Today, their organisation has more than 200 members.

De Run Wu Organic and Natural Store is one of Beijing's oldest instances of urban residents taking control of their food supply. The owners have a small organic farm outside Beijing, where they grow and sell their products. The shop only sells organic goods, both its own products and those it imports from Taiwan and elsewhere.

Wang Tianxiang of organics products business Ecolourful told chinadialogue that similar operations existed in China as long as 20 or 30 years ago, but were very rare and generally supplied only senior officials and foreigners. Operations with a wider market have only become more common in the past few years. The market is still small, but demand outstrips supply. And prices aren't high when compared with the costs: half a kilogram of organic vegetables at De Run Wu costs 10 yuan (US$1.60).

Outside of China, CSA got going thanks to concerns over food and land quality. But here, the rise of new approaches to farming has been catalysed by food safety problems. Although most people rely on "organic" labels to make their choices, due to the influence of marketing and the lack of alternatives, more and more shoppers want to know – to really know – where their food is coming from.

Yin Chuntao is a part-time CSA evaluation consultant to Partnership for Community Development in Hong Kong and founder of the Fragrant Fields Cultural Academy.

Zhou Wei is assistant editor in chinadialogue's Beijing office.

This article is published as part of the project EU-China Civil Society Dialogue, a collaboration between chinadialogue and the Institute for Civil Society at Sun Yat-sen University.

Homepage image by Zhou Wei

Calculate how much your wife is worth

Posted: 28 May 2012 07:09 PM PDT

May 28th, 2012 by Key | Posted in Life Style | 4 Comments »

20120528-worth-03

How much is your wife (girlfriend) worth? Recently many Chinese websites and forums had the following viral post, calculating the worth of a woman as a marriage partner base on a series of questions. Some netizens posted scores as high as 9500, but some as low as negative scores, thus crated fights between husbands and wives. Most men found it entertaining and just for fun, but women think marriage is not a product, cannot put a price on it. The survey used the Chinese currency (yuan) as the measuring units which angered women who got negative scores even more. "Are you buying vegetables in the market? How can you calculate how much I am worth?"

Of course, love certainly is not to be measured by any data. The so-called calculation is just for entertainment.

20120528-worth-02

Taller than 160 cm, for every 1cm +100

Shorter than 160 cm, for every 1 cm -100

Long hair +150

Can dance +100

Can sing +100

Weights over 110 Jin, for every 10 Jin -100

Weights under 100 Jin, for every 10 Jin -100

Near sighted, if more than 300 degrees, for each 100 degrees over –100

If had relationship before, for each time being dumped –100, each time dumped other +100

Never had a boyfriend before +100

Older than 23, for each year -100

Has medical history, for each one -100

Doesn't know how to play Majiang +100

Doesn't know how to drink +100

Heavy drinker -200

Smoker-200

Has pet(s) +100… Like pets +50

Can cook +300

Gentle and lovely +100

Childish and Stubborn -200

Always tells you she misses you +100

Likes to bring you to her classmate get-togethers +100

Knows how to care for you… don't let you smoke and drink +100

Does not disturb your personal life +100

Always bugs you to go shopping -100

Puts up makeup the way you like it +100

Doesn't know how to do laundry -200

Fights with you everyday -200

No matter whose fault it is, always contact you first after a fight +100

You talk her into asleep every night +100

Well-behaved +100… only well-behaved to you… and not good to other people +200

Will cry for you +100

Always makes you cry -100

Independent; does not always want you to buy things for her +200

Not being difficult in front of your friends +100

Knows how to put on make up +100

Does laundry for you +100

Mature +100

Does not like to laugh when being with you -200

Wants you to ditch school (work) to be with her -200

Fails exams, for each -100

Gives you things made by her +100

Always says you are ugly -200

Never took sticker pictures –200

—

1500 – 2500: normal

2500 – 3500: excellent

Over 3500: Your life is set… hurry up and marry her… before it's too late.

Source: Sina Weibo

Tags: Chinese women, Funny, Internet, Internet meme, Love, Marriage, Weibo

Return of the Roommate

Posted: 27 May 2012 06:00 PM PDT

The hardest thing about Andy's transition to university was adjusting to life with a roommate. Having become accustomed to studying through the night, sleeping in late and otherwise treating his living space as exclusive personal territory, sharing his day-to-day routine with someone was a new experience. And while it was nice to have company in some ways, it was an adjustment putting up with his roommate's eccentricities, and it seemed the semester would involve many lessons in not only applied maths but also in compromise.

Learning Chinese? A lot of people trying to learn Chinese feel that they're missing out from not having a Chinese roommate, and lament all the time they spend in expat circles. Because of this, we're happy to announce a new program aiming to mimic the experience of studying at Tsinghua: for only $1000 a month Popup Chinese will send a Chinese person to live with you in your flat or apartment. No guarantees on hygiene or personal behavior, but it will probably work out. To take us up on this generous offer, just email Echo!

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Watch: Kim Jong-un visits the Pyongyang Zoo

Posted: 29 May 2012 01:30 AM PDT

Yet another day in the life of North Korea's young paramount leader Kim Jong-un: An excursion to the Pyongyang Zoo! [ more › ]

India wants to reopen Lhasa consulate

Posted: 29 May 2012 12:16 AM PDT

Now this get interesting -- India wants to reopen its consulate-general in Lhasa, Tibet that has been closed for fifty years following for the war between the two countries. Jayanth Jacob of the Hindustan Times reports: [ more › ]

Watch: Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan's brief cameo on Chinese TV

Posted: 28 May 2012 05:40 PM PDT

We spotted Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his then-girlfriend (and now-wife) Priscilla Chan on vacation in Shanghai late March, and while they tried their darndest best to stay away from cameras, it appears they've unwittingly ended up on a CCTV documentary on the hi-tech crime-busting ways of the Chinese police. The first couple of Internetdom were spotted by eagle-eyed viewers on the show walking behind two police officers. You'll catch their brief cameo at 0:30 in the video above, wearing the exact same clothes as we saw here. [ more › ]

Alleged British Rapist Being Deported To An Uncertain Fate

Posted: 28 May 2012 11:39 PM PDT

By RFH

Will the UK media be waiting at the airport to greet the British "attempted rapist" (or molester, drunk lecher or whatever you believe) – or will he slip away into obscurity?

That's what we're left wondering as the book closes on one of the ugliest chapters in foreigner-China relations in recent months, which has included a 100-day foreigner crackdown, a wave of anti-foreigner nationalistic sentiment on the Web, a hilarious flame war between an American blogger and a dim-witted CCTV host, and a vacant first seat in the cello section of the Beijing Symphony Orchestra.

The bald Brit who trailblazed all this clusterfuck? Having spent the last 20 days under some sort of administrative detention, he is now being quietly deported back to Britain. Multiple seats were reserved on multiple flights from Beijing to London today, and as we speak, it's likely he is on the 1:30 pm Air China to Heathrow.

Here's what we've heard through the expat grapevine: 1) He's a mid-20s British passport-holder of Egyptian descent; 2) he has a brother who's lived in Beijing for several years; 3) er… that's it. It is beyond surprising that in this day and age of human flesh search engines and wall-to-wall media coverage – no fewer than three dozen media outlets in this country alone have reported this story – we still don't have so much as a name.

According to a foreign lawyer in Beijing, authorities had 15 days to take the next step in the Chinese legal process, but "if the individual being detained would admit to an infraction of the Chinese law or administrative regulations, he or she could accept whatever punishment could be levied against him or her for that violation." That appears to be what happened.

Under English law, the penalty for sexual assault (the crime for which we thought he was being charged) of this sort – i.e. where there was "contact between the victim's genitalia (naked or otherwise) by a part of his/her body and/or genitalia (same)" – is a custodial sentence of between one and two years, but probably a year in prison (suspended for six months) if this was a first offense. He would almost certainly be placed on the Sexual Offenders' Register (SOR) at the judge's discretion (lawyers, please correct us). Being drunk is not considered a mitigating factor.

The SOR is a database of those deemed at risk to the public and requires offenders to annually provide full registration details of their identity and inform the police within three days if there are any changes in their name, address or vehicle details, and if they intend to leave the United Kingdom for a period of three days or more.

Prior to the video that overnight made this guy the most hated foreigner in China – and there always was and will be pretty stiff competition – an eyewitness claims he was also seen on the subway jabbing his groin at about five young women and asking, "Was it OK?" Outside the Xuanwumen station, he apparently asked an 18-year-old woman the time before following her to a flowerbed, where he allegedly proceeded to molest her. And no, it was not OK.

We've heard all manner of responses to this video – the editing and content of which, it has to be said, raised a lot of unanswered questions – ranging from batshit conspiracy theories (from people we'd usually consider quite rational) to jingoistic fury and calls for calm. Now we wait to see if this story has another chapter: his flight is scheduled to land at 5:45 pm BST (12:45 am here).

Presumably the man will be met at the airport by the relevant British authorities to determine what – if any – risk he poses to the UK public. Perhaps we might even get some sort of explanation.

The Story Of The Stray Dog And His Eventual Owner

Posted: 28 May 2012 11:13 PM PDT

On May 4, a stray white dog accepted a chicken leg from a cyclist in Sichuan, and when the men left, he followed. And followed. And followed. And 1,700 kilometers later, he was on the Tibetan Plateau. On the evening of May 23, he arrived in Lhasa and checked into a hotel with one of the riders, Xiao You, who updated the dog's Sina Weibo page. Named Xiao Sa, which means "Little Bodhisattva," he went in for a complete checkup, which revealed no problems. The veterinary hospital, after hearing Xiao Sa's story, decided to foot the 1,000-yuan bill.

The cyclists, who are from Wuhan, found out that the train doesn't allow pets on, so they're doing the next best thing: letting the dog ride in the backseat of their bikes all the way back — where a movie deal awaits, we can only hope. Youku video, where the above information was gleaned, for those in China after the jump. (H/T Alicia)

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