Blogs » Politics » Sensitive Words: Beijing Flood (2)
Blogs » Politics » Sensitive Words: Beijing Flood (2) |
- Sensitive Words: Beijing Flood (2)
- Photo: Hongqiao to Beijingnan, by Joachim Quandt
- How Shady Agents Get Chinese into US Colleges
- Sensitive Words: Beijing Flood (2)
- ‘Pushing Boundaries With Cans of Paint’
- China’s New Political Class: The People
- Sensitive Words: Beijing Flood (2)
- Chinese Netizens React to Aurora Shooting: “Humankind Is Insane”
- Small Victory for Activist Cleared of Fraud
- Man has his penis cut off in his sleep
- iPad Trademark Dispute Addendum: Revenge of the Lawyers
- How Chinese Media’s Crisis of Credibility Lets “Fake News” Thrive
- The Daily Twit – 7/27/12: Fewer Jobs, Stimulus in Changsha, and More Rain
- A Luxury Cruise Ship With Chinese Characteristics
- Your Daily Dose of CNOOC-Nexen Political Hijinks
- Does China Really Need a New Organics Label?
| Sensitive Words: Beijing Flood (2) Posted: 27 Jul 2012 08:59 PM PDT  Guo Jinlong (right) and Wang Anshun publicly mourned the flood victims today. (Caijing) As of July 27, the following search terms are blocked on Weibo (not including the "search for user" function):
Wang Anshun and Guo Jinlong: Guo, who resigned as mayor of Beijing on Wednesday, has already taken the post of Municipal Communist Party Secretary as planned earlier this month. He and acting mayor Wang Anshun publicly mourned the flood victims today [zh].
See related lists of sensitive words from July 25 and 26. Note: All Chinese-language words are tested using simplified characters. The same terms in traditional characters occasionally return different results. CDT Chinese runs a project that crowd-sources filtered keywords on Sina Weibo search. CDT independently tests the keywords before posting them, but some searches later become accessible again. We welcome readers to contribute to this project so that we can include the most up-to-date information. To add words, check out the form at the bottom of CDT Chinese's latest sensitive words post. © Xiao Qiang for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us |
| Photo: Hongqiao to Beijingnan, by Joachim Quandt Posted: 27 Jul 2012 08:59 PM PDT  Hongqiao to Beijingnan © Samuel Wade for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us |
| How Shady Agents Get Chinese into US Colleges Posted: 27 Jul 2012 08:34 PM PDT While many U.S. colleges see a boom in applications from China, many applicants rely heavily on education agents who are sometimes not above using shady tactics to help their clients through the unfamiliar admission process. From Justin Bergman at TIME: This fall, David Zhu will join an exodus of Chinese students boarding planes for the leafy, beer-soaked campuses of American colleges and universities. Zhu, currently a student at Shanghai's prestigious Fudan University, will be enrolling at Oregon State University to pursue a bachelor's degree in business — a dream his parents have had since they started saving a $157,000 nest egg for his education. But like many Chinese students who don't speak English fluently, Zhu might not have been accepted without a little help. The 21-year-old hired an education agent in China to clean up and "elaborate" on the essay he submitted as part of his application. "Actually, the agency helped my application to some extent," he says. […] But many of these students would probably never make it to America without a middleman to pave the way. According to a 2010 report by Zinch China, a consultancy that advises U.S. colleges and universities on China, 8 out of every 10 Chinese undergraduate students use an agent to file their applications. And with such intense competition among agents — not to mention ambitious students and their overzealous parents — cheating is rampant, the group says. It estimates that 90% of recommendation letters from Chinese students are fake, 70% of college application essays are not written by the students, and half of all high school transcripts are falsified. "The world of higher education is becoming extremely competitive, much more so than it was even 10 years ago, and I think the kids are looking for an edge," says Tom Melcher, chairman of Zinch China. "Everyone is looking around and saying, 'Well, everyone else is cheating, why shouldn't I?'" For more on Chinese students struggling into US colleges, see Two-Way Street: Breaking Bad College Recruiting Habits in China, via CDT © Mengyu Dong for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us |
| Sensitive Words: Beijing Flood (2) Posted: 27 Jul 2012 01:30 PM PDT Guo Jinlong (right) and Wang Anshun publicly mourned the flood victims today. (Caijing) As of July 27, the following search terms are blocked on Weibo (not including the "search for user" function):
Wang Anshun and Guo Jinlong: Guo, who resigned as mayor of Beijing on Wednesday, has already taken the post of Municipal Communist Party Secretary as planned earlier this month. He and acting mayor Wang Anshun publicly mourned the flood victims today [zh].
See related lists of sensitive words from July 25 and 26. Note: All Chinese-language words are tested using simplified characters. The same terms in traditional characters occasionally return different results. CDT Chinese runs a project that crowd-sources filtered keywords on Sina Weibo search. CDT independently tests the keywords before posting them, but some searches later become accessible again. We welcome readers to contribute to this project so that we can include the most up-to-date information. To add words, check out the form at the bottom of CDT Chinese's latest sensitive words post. © Anne.Henochowicz for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us |
| ‘Pushing Boundaries With Cans of Paint’ Posted: 27 Jul 2012 05:39 PM PDT While the Olympic themed street-art of England's eminent and anonymous pop-cultural delinquent may soon disappear from the walls of London, Voice of America interviews graffiti artist Wang Mo on the chic and seditious sides of Beijing's developing graffiti scene:
Earlier this summer, a piece from The Atlantic's Cities website talks more of designer graffiti's popularity among China's stylish. While the VOA report stresses subversion in the works of China's graffiti artists, this piece explains how they must take pains to tread lightly in a society as politically sensitive as is China's:
A recent BBC article about how Weibo has changed lives in China interviewed a Chengdu based graffiti artist on the efficacy of micro-blogs in the development of a subculture. An older piece from BBC News contains a series of photos sampling the works of Beijing's street artists. The article briefly mentions the historical roots of graffiti in China, and how some modern artists (again represented by Wang Mo) see their artform being recruited into propaganda campaigns:
In Beijing, American expat Lance Crayon recently debuted Spray Paint Beijing, a documentary about the city's graffiti scene. For artist profiles and images from China's graffiti scene, see Fatcap's China page. Also see prior CDT coverage of street art, graffiti, and hip-hop. © josh rudolph for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us |
| China’s New Political Class: The People Posted: 27 Jul 2012 03:32 PM PDT In a post for the Council on Foreign Relation's Asia Unbound blog, CFR's director of Asian Studies Elizabeth C. Economy describes current trends in China's civic engagement. By referring to many recent events, Economy explains how the Chinese people are using both the streets and the Internet as venues to express their concern:
One of the events that Economy uses to underscore this trend is the flood that continues to wreak havoc on Beijing after last weekend's torrential rains. While the government's manipulation of death tolls and censorship of media and micro-blog coverage of the event led to serious public anger at the offical response to the disaster, the incident allowed citizens an opportunity to effectively stand up for themselves in the relief effort. China Media Project provides an in-depth media survey to show how the government has been trying to mitigate the fallout of negative public opinion by highlighting "positive" stories:
While Weibo has proven a potent means for civic interaction, it has also become a valuable government tool to survey public opinion. An op-ed run in China Daily and the Global Times calls attention to the need to reconcile a discrepancy in digital literacy between officials and the public:
The past year has been rife with incidents in which citizens have taken to the streets and to the Net to voice their concerns. For a few examples, see prior CDT coverage of the Wukan uprisings on the ground and in the blogosphere, or the Shifang protests and social media's role within. © josh rudolph for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us |
| Sensitive Words: Beijing Flood (2) Posted: 27 Jul 2012 01:22 PM PDT As of July 27, the following search terms are blocked on Weibo (not including the "search for user" function):
Wang Anshun and Guo Jinlong: Guo, who resigned as mayor of Beijing on Wednesday, has already taken the post of Municipal Communist Party Secretary as planned earlier this month. He and acting mayor Wang Anshun publicly mourned the flood victims today [zh].
See related lists of sensitive words from July 25 and 26. Note: All Chinese-language words are tested using simplified characters. The same terms in traditional characters occasionally return different results. CDT Chinese runs a project that crowd-sources filtered keywords on Sina Weibo search. CDT independently tests the keywords before posting them, but some searches later become accessible again. We welcome readers to contribute to this project so that we can include the most up-to-date information. To add words, check out the form at the bottom of CDT Chinese's latest sensitive words post.
© Anne.Henochowicz for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us |
| Chinese Netizens React to Aurora Shooting: “Humankind Is Insane” Posted: 27 Jul 2012 11:56 AM PDT The Chinese now have a word for a Colorado city thousands of miles away—Aòluólā (奥罗拉)—and they have a lot to say about it, too. The name made headlines around the world last week after a man opened fire at a July 20 midnight premiere of "The Dark Knight Rises," murdering 12 people and injuring 58 others. In the wake of tragedy, Aurora has become the focus of discussions worldwide, and Chinese microblogs are no exception.  Images of grieving friends and loved ones circulated on Weibo On the popular China microblog platform Sina Weibo, there is the inevitable contrast of tweets—from night owls wondering why they're still awake to others debating the nature of democracy. After sifting through a good chunk of these speculations, however, revealing themes began to emerge. Democracy is overrated Chinese bloggers expressed frustration, confusion, even outrage over apparent contradictions in American values, suggesting that "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" are simply incompatible ideals. The U.S., some argue, is so zealous about freedom and human rights that it compromises the most basic one: Safety. One of microblog operator Sina's (新浪) official accounts tweets, "Why doesn't China criticize America's human rights this time? American citizens aren't even guaranteed their own lives, so how can the American government discuss other countries' human rights? Ironic." @Softlove展 questions the value of democracy in the aftermath of the shooting: "I just can't understand why some European and American countries support so-called 'democracy.' Citizens can carry guns whenever they feel like it…and this is the evil consequence." @眯着眼睛看世界 tweets, "Factual proof. Liberty doesn't require that every person be allowed to carry a gun. If you think this is freedom, you should pay the price. America, feel free to go ahead." Reassured by China's ban on private gun ownership, @王腾飞王大帅 tweets, "If this were in China, he wouldn't have been able to buy all of that equipment." @Teacher王ww is also confident: "China is safe. This kind of thing couldn't happen here." Foreign countries are dangerous The horrific Aurora shooting unfortunately validates the stereotype held by some Chinese netizens that America is a haven for criminals, validating by extension the usefulness of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Sure, the CCP may exert too much control over Chinese citizens to secure its own power, goes this line of thinking, but it does so to maintain public order–a fair exchange in the eyes of many Chinese. @絲之悠夢 tweets, "The public safety record in foreign countries always makes one alarmed." @漾潇溢scu agrees, "Foreign countries are simply dangerous, be careful." Of course, Chinese tend to have a skewed view of life in the U.S., just as Americans tend to have a skewed view of life in China. When this author studied abroad in Beijing during high school, one Chinese host father wanted to know if Americans live in perpetual terror of guns because he was convinced that America must resemble its movies.  One netizen wrote, "Violence still overflows where freedom's back is turned" It's perhaps unsurprising, then, that some bloggers spoke in Hollywood tropes: @合壹甜品 wonders, "Where did Batman go???" Another implied that a real-life Batman was just what the U.S. needed. Chinese netizens did not, however, attribute superpowers to the Chinese government. Instead, they commented on how people are simply unpredictable and recognized the weaknesses of any political system. "A free market economy can't do everything," writes @华夏人, "violence still overflows where freedom's back is turned." Finding common ground Although Chinese netizens used the tragedy to draw distinctions between China and America–perhaps to reassure themselves of their own relative safety–many also reached out in sympathy. Resounding messages of shock, sorrow, and solidarity shook the Chinese blogosphere. "How terrifying," reflects @五麦. "Last night I saw the news," tweets @Cassiel G, "the youngest was only six years old!" @梁文懿_Wenny comments, "What a cruel person…" And @Kkkkkkkkkk_8 laments, "Humankind is insane." If the diversity of Chinese opinion on Aurora shows one thing, it's that we live in an increasingly interconnected world, where a city in Colorado can become a household name on the other side of the globe. Perhaps it's those kinds of bonds, not a fictitious superhero, that really can save the world. |
| Small Victory for Activist Cleared of Fraud Posted: 27 Jul 2012 12:03 PM PDT Activist Ni Yulan has been cleared of fraud by a Beijing court, knocking two months off an ongoing 32 month jail sentence imposed in April. Ni's legal battles against forced demolition led to the destruction of her own home, two earlier prison terms and a police beating in 2002 which left her in a wheelchair. From Reuters' Sui-Lee Wee:
Cheng also reported that Ni appears "terribly malnourished". The verdict follows US-China human rights talks in Washington earlier this week, in which Assistant Secretary of State Michael Posner says Ni's case was raised. Human Rights Watch's Phelim Kine pointed out on Twitter, however, that while he is "Glad Ni Yulan got fraud charge tossed, [… the] spurious 'disturbance' conviction keeps her in prison until late 2014". The disturbance charges, for which her husband Dong Jiqin is also serving a two year sentence, related to their refusal to check out of a hotel which Ni claims was actually a black jail. See also Paul Mooney's 2011 profile of Ni Yulan, and more on the activist via CDT. © Samuel Wade for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us |
| Man has his penis cut off in his sleep Posted: 27 Jul 2012 02:10 AM PDT
At around 4 a.m., July 19, a migrant worker from Sichuan province had his penis stolen when he was asleep in his rented flat in Niqiao village, Wenling city, Zhejiang province. The victim, surnamed Fei, in his 40s, told police in the hospital that four to five intruders broke into his flat and put a bag over his head. They ran off immediately after cutting off his organ. He said he did not feel a thing until he saw that he was bleeding underneath and his penis was gone. He then called up his fellow countryman who was working in the same factory in the village, and asked for help.
The local police attempted to search for his missing penis upon the report but failed to locate it. They are now hunting the attackers. Regarding the possible motivation behind the penis stolen, there were different sayings among the villagers. One rumor was that the victim had affairs with several local women, so their jealous lovers ganged up together to teach him a lesson.
See also Huffington Post for this weird story. |
| iPad Trademark Dispute Addendum: Revenge of the Lawyers Posted: 27 Jul 2012 07:45 AM PDT
I was trying to ignore this since it is a silly sideshow that will most likely prove meaningless. However, some folks are now spouting goofy shit about it, so a brief comment is in order. OK, first off, what's really going on here? Well, Proview is insolvent, but not yet in bankruptcy proceedings, and Grandall is trying to get paid. If they actually fronted costs for this case without figuring how to secure their fees, I have to question that move. But on to the main event. What is going on with the "IPAD" trademark? If you recall, Proview was paid $60 million, which it sounds like was paid in to the court by Apple. By this time, I also assume that the assignment paperwork has been deposited with the Trademark Office, which will process the transfer from Proview (Shenzhen) to Apple's designated corporate entity. This hasn't happened yet, but it's in process. Who owns the trademark at this very moment? Tough question. One could argue that until a new certificate in Apple's name is issued by the Trademark Office, it technically still belongs to Proview. On the other hand, Proview signed on to a court-approved (a Provincial High Court!) settlement, accepted their cash, and executed the transfer docs. Looking at this from an equity viewpoint, Apple is the clear owner. Moreover, we never saw the settlement agreement, so who knows what the two parties agreed on. Perhaps Proview acknowledged that it had already sold the mark to Apple. I have no idea, but that document might have an effect on the status of the title. Interesting, if rather esoteric, legal issue. Ultimately not very important though. What is Proview trying to do? Nothing special. It's suing Proview for money owed, and it has applied to the court to attach the only asset it can think of which is worth any money — the iPad trademark. Same procedure that any plaintiff uses to preserve assets for trial, which prevents the defendant from selling or otherwise transferring that asset to a third party before the case is finished. Usually this involves something like a house, car, equipment or even a bank account. If you've ever had a lien put on your house because of a court judgment, you know what I'm talking about. Apparently this is confusing some folks, like this guy writing for Forbes:
Good God. Wrong! Again, what Grandall is attempting is called an asset preservation — the same kind of thing goes on in civil suits in most countries, including the U.S. Even if it succeeded (and I don't think it will), the trademark would not be assigned to Grandall. It would be held/frozen by the court pending the resolution of the dispute. I'm not a litigator (and neither, by the way, are any of the folks out there talking about this), so I can't wade into an analysis of competing rights over the asset and when title is deemed to pass during a trademark transfer like this. I suspect the answer isn't at all obvious. However, all this talk is probably a waste of time. There is just no way that a judge in a Shenzhen district court is going to be able to fuck around with a high-profile settlement brokered by the High Court, particularly when money has already changed hands and the paperwork is already with the Trademark Office. It boggles the mind. A much more reasonable possibility for Grandall is that their fees are taken out of that $60 million settlement amount before it goes to Proview. I wouldn't bet on that either, though; it's not the (High) court's business to get in between Proview and its lawyers. I think Grandall, like Apple, simply got screwed by Proview here. When your client is insolvent, that tends to happen. Never say never, but I would guess that this little wrinkle won't amount to anything. © Stan for China Hearsay, 2012. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us |
| How Chinese Media’s Crisis of Credibility Lets “Fake News” Thrive Posted: 27 Jul 2012 07:10 AM PDT  At least the Tribune was trying (although failing) to get its facts right Chinese authorities' heavy-handed censorship often makes headlines, but another force does just as much to obscure the truth and control the media. That force is fake news. Something must fill the void left by the deleted, blocked, and discouraged content, and fake news is often that "something," as fiction is more flexible than fact, and less likely to reveal unwanted truths. For China's censors, the absence of news is not necessarily preferable to unpleasant news. A blank space itself can be a protest against censorship, as when popular blogger Han Han posted an entry that contained only a space between two quotation marks on his blog to mark the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Liu Xiaobo for his pro-democracy work. Over 60 years ago, Chinese newspaper editors would "open a skylight" (开天窗) to protest censorship by the Kuomintang, then China's ruling party, leaving a blank space on a newspaper page where an article had been rejected, instead of filling it with other content. Perhaps because China has such a rich tradition of creative protest of censorship, Chinese authorities have learned that deletion of embarrassing content is not enough. Fake news seems to help somewhat in guiding and shaping public opinion on controversial issues, and establishing official statements as the truth. Though Chinese readers may take all official statements with a grain of salt, even the BBC took as fact the official casualty count state-run media put forth for Beijing's recent flood, though a later article covered netizens' allegations that this number was too low.  You don't need to read Chinese to see something odd In its most recent incarnation, fake news about the number of people who died in Beijing's recent flood resulted in significant backlash in social media. Beijing officials reported that 37 people died, but virtually no one believed this figure to be accurate. Twitter user @yuanxinting posted a screenshot of search results for "37" on Baidu, China's most popular search engine, that resulted in at least 26 news articles reporting "37 dead," from completely unrelated natural disasters, diseases, car accidents, and bridge collapses. On Sina Weibo, China's Twitter, user @idzhang3 posted a screenshot of a post that Sohu CTO Wang Xiaochuan, in which he said he had heard the real figure for casualties from the flooding–an "unimaginably high" number. Police all over China "successfully resolve" hostage incidents A quick search of Chinese news aggregator Netease revealed some striking coincidences in news stories about hostage situations. From March of 2008 until May of 2012, these ten articles with nearly identical titles were published, covering hostage situations in various parts of China: Xi'an Police Successfully Resolve One Kidnapping Hostage Incident Notice any similarities? It is entirely possible that some or all of these incidents actually occurred, but it is obvious that the format and style for covering them is strictly controlled. The articles portray police as heroes, and emphasize that whatever danger once existed has been "successfully resolved." Similar pre-fab formats for writing on Party officials' accomplishments, bountiful harvests, and successful anti-corruption campaigns have appeared and reappeared throughout the years. The uniformity of such pieces makes it difficult to trust that they are true and unbiased. Even Chinese media outlets admit that fake news is nothing new–in 2009, the China Daily ran a story on the top 10 fake articles of the year. However, it stopped short of discussing the role that the government plays in such fakery, which is an integral part of China's state-run media. There have been no similar articles in years since. The Hong Kong-based China Media Project covered the subject in a 2011 piece that cited such popular fabrications as the story of Li Chunfeng, who was said to have traveled for a week without food to see her son. Crisis of credibility  Police in Nanjing, "successfully resolving" a hostage situation China's mainstream media knows it cannot escape this crisis of credibility. "We learned our lesson from SARS," the Wall Street Journal reported Beijing's city spokeswoman as saying, tacitly acknowledging its past transgressions. But did they? Post-SARS wisdom did not prevent authorities from trying to cover up last year's horrific Wenzhou train crash or prevent follow-up reporting, and Beijing's municipal government recently announced a program to "clean up" the Internet by more strictly regulating and monitoring activity in Internet cafes. Reality vertigo is no joke. Virtually all parties involved, including Chinese journalists working for major government publications, at least ostensibly want to regain their readership's trust. The most pressing question is, how? There is no quick fix for this problem, but hope for progress remains, and the Internet provides a space for China's more than 500 million netizens to crowdsource a solution. |
| The Daily Twit – 7/27/12: Fewer Jobs, Stimulus in Changsha, and More Rain Posted: 27 Jul 2012 06:49 AM PDT Some economic news to get you all thoroughly depressed for the weekend: Forbes: China's Slowdown In Coastal Provinces Forces Migrant Workers To Go Home– We've seen this before, most recently in 2008/9. Not something the government wants to see, for a variety of reasons. Associated Press: China steps up stimulus spending at local level– Details on the estimated $130 billion spending in Changsha, which were unveiled on Wednesday, got a lot of press attention for some reason, including this article. MarketWatch: China seen launching massive stimulus via provinces. Question: Who'll pay for it?– Another Changsha story. And as we enjoy another rainstorm here in Beijing, the commentary over the government's handling of the last one still trickles in: Global Times: Anger over non-local denied relief goods– Have flood victims been refused assistance because they don't have a Beijing residence permit? WantChinaTimes: Netizens brainstorm survival skills after Beijing's deadly flood — Some harrowing tales and how folks are preparing for the next disaster, which usually involves hoarding things that may/may not be useful for survival. Latest Sinica Podcast: A Torrential Rainstorm– Kaiser Kuo and pals address the flooding in this week's show. Etc., Miscellany, and Leftovers: The Interview: Joseph S. Nye | The Diplomat– Interesting chat with Joe "Soft Power" Nye on a variety of topics, including China's soft power and the U.S. "Asia Pivot" policy. Bloomberg: China's Biggest Brands Try to Raise Their Profile– Always a favorite topic. The branding strategies of Haier, Huawei, ZTE and other Chinese firms with global ambitions. Dow Jones: Volkswagen to probe China patent-violation reports — Oops. Looks like VW's local partner here was taking some liberties with their patented technology, a violation of patent law and the underlying license agreement. © Stan for China Hearsay, 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us |
| A Luxury Cruise Ship With Chinese Characteristics Posted: 27 Jul 2012 04:30 AM PDT
Things to Love About China's First Cruise Ship: 1. Planned name "Xiamen" will be deemed too boring, so something famous-ish will be chosen. Like "Titanache." 2. VIP passengers guaranteed not to be bothered by commoners, who will be locked away in steerage. VIP buffet dining accessible only via Real ID electronic security system. 3. Passengers will be treated to world-class entertainment in the lounge every night, acts like Jay Chou, Eason Chan or the best lip-sync equivalents that can be found. 4. Ship will only stop in Chinese territorial waters. Planned itinerary includes Xiamen, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Sansha and, time permitting, Okinawa. 5. Emergency lifeboats will be provided to all passengers (additional fee required). 6. Passengers will be kept up to date 24/7 on all storm and iceberg developments via SMS. 7. Free Taiji lessons every morning on the Lido Deck, followed by foot massages. 8. All Platinum Card passengers allotted additional cabins on the "Pleasure Deck" for their mistresses. 9. Free-flow karaoke and cigarettes. 10. Celebrity spokesman: James Cameron! I'm sure all will go well with the cruise ship, but if the worst happens and there is an accident some day in the future, some PR prep might be a good idea. Top Five Reasons Why the PRC TITANACHE Went Down After Hitting an Iceberg 1. Japanese anti-iceberg technology. 2. No one had seen an iceberg that big in the past 60 years. 3. Too many passengers queued for starboard-side all-seafood buffet destabilized the ship. 4. Pilot error, and anyway, he was just temporary (临时工) and has already been dismissed. 5. The official investigation is still pending. A public announcement will be made. Sometime. Maybe. © Stan for China Hearsay, 2012. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us |
| Your Daily Dose of CNOOC-Nexen Political Hijinks Posted: 27 Jul 2012 01:05 AM PDT
First up, Senator Chuck Schumer, who has been riding the RMB valuation issue for years and is not exactly pro-China:
Some bald-faced opportunism here. But don't take my word for it:
Funny thing, I thought that the CFIUS process was all about national security, not as a lever to be used to extract trade concessions from other countries. Well, to be honest, everyone already knew that CFIUS was not immune to political influence. Thanks to Schumer, we don't have to pretend otherwise anymore. Schumer was joined by his Democratic colleague in the House:
Pelosi is being eminently fair here, isn't she? If a non-SOE energy company wanted to do this deal, she'd have no problem with it. Plenty of huge, private oil companies in China that could swing a multi-billion dollar acquisition, right? Of course, the Republicans still see advantage on pressing on with this issue, particularly as it gives them an opportunity to accuse President Obama of inaction:
And our old friend Senator Hoeven, from his comfortable position inside the pocket of Big Oil, is still pushing this:
Even Hoeven doesn't really get how the oil market works or the role played by private companies. Then again, given his corporate benefactors, it makes sense that he'd find it difficult to separate the government and the public from American oil companies. "We" indeed. © Stan for China Hearsay, 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us |
| Does China Really Need a New Organics Label? Posted: 27 Jul 2012 12:26 AM PDT
What's the reason for the new label? Well, lots of cheating, that's why. It's been too easy to either fake a label (i.e., lie about the product's origin) or pay a certification firm to grease the wheels for an approval. Not good. If my shopping habits are indicative of anything, I stopped paying any attention to the organic label long ago, assuming everyone was bullshitting. I assume that the new label is more difficult to fake, which is a good thing. Moreover, consumers will be able to check a public database to verify whether a product sporting such a label has actually been certified. Sounds great. However, I'd feel a lot better if in the past we had seen any tough enforcement against certification bodies or violators of the old labeling system. Transparency and anti-counterfeiting measures are a great place to start, but ultimately this is going to come down to specific enforcement, which means administrative resources. So are local governments, starting with Shanghai, willing to spend money policing a new system or will it fall into disrepair like the old one? I hope that we aren't having this same discussion five years from now as the government unveils Organic Label #3, no doubt in 3D or with some other accompanying bells and whistles. © Stan for China Hearsay, 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us |
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