Blogs » Society » Protecting Your China IP. Me Thinks Thou Dost Worry Too Much.

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• Protecting Your China IP. Me Thinks Thou Dost Worry Too Much.
• ‘How China Flouts Its Laws’: Chen Guangcheng’s New York Times Op-Ed
• Listen: Tim Cook addresses Apple's China factory controversy
• Gallery: Martin Yan whips up a storm in Gary Locke's kitchen
• The Utopia Within: In Which Phaedrus and Wilbur Wait for a Bus
• ASEAN's China problem
• Zimbabwe seeks new trade agreements with China
• Viral Video Of The Day: Hamster Plays Dead When “Shot” By Owner
• Here’s How One Prominent Chinese Website Chose To Censor Boobs
• What If Kickstarter’s “Topless New York” Project Were Brought To Beijing?
• Paradox: New coffee spot in Jing'an
• Presented By:
• Advocate for sex workers Ye Haiyan attacked
• Mid-Week Links: Sina Weibo pushes censorship onto users, a Good Samaritan is saved by surveillance tape, and be better, foreigners
• Chen Guangcheng: China does not lack laws, but the rule of law
• Video of the Week: Mark Zuckerberg's Cameo in the Chinese Police Documentary
• Photos: Massive sinkhole appears on road in Xi'an
• Pollution in paradise
• Beijing to encourage the moral development of minors
• This Is What It Looks Like Outside In Beijing Right Now

Protecting Your China IP. Me Thinks Thou Dost Worry Too Much. Posted: 30 May 2012 08:52 PM PDT Okay, so the title is a bit of an exaggeration, but it is true, at least to a certain extent.  I just read two articles that got me to thinking about this. The first article, "The footwear firm that gave counterfeiters the boot," is by BBC reporter Kim Gittleson. Ms Gittleson extensively interviewed me for the article, but I ended up getting two small quote lines.  One had me repeating my usual mantra on how if you do not register your IP in China, you are not entitled to complain when it gets taken from you in China: Dan Harris, an international lawyer with Harris & Moore and author of the popular China Law Blog, says that while American companies have got smarter about protecting their products, there is still one golden rule. "The key is if you don't register you're intellectual property – your trademark, your copyright, your patent – you have pretty much no chance," says Harris. For more on the need to register your IP in China meme, check out "China IP Protection. Deja Vu All Over Again" and "An ABC To Losing Your China IP." My other quote is more interesting: But, he [me] adds, focusing on how to protect your business can drive you crazy – and at the end of the day: "Sometimes you have to ignore it and focus on making money." I like that one and here's why.  Far too often foreign companies come to our firm almost debilitated with fear about doing business in China, to the point that they have left big money on the table seeking to protect what simply does not need protecting. Of course you should be concerned about protecting your IP in China, but at the same time, you should weigh that concern against the money-making or money-saving opportunities China can give your company. The second article, "Retirement Living World China 2012 – Day 1," has Ben Shobert writing on the Retirement Living Conference that just started in Shanghai.  Ben writes about an "interesting insight" on China IP revealed by Kevin Ryan of Waterbrook Xian: He [Kevin Ryan] also offered up what I found an interesting insight into one concern he had that has been alleviated over the last year; specifically, his concerns over intellectual property theft in the service realm related to senior care have not proven out. Kevin shared "my thinking on IP has changed 100% … I now think that the ongoing management expertise is what will create long term value, that is something that can't be thrown away."  Western operators have this IP and while some Chinese developers and prospective operators may believe they can easily copy this, Kevin is confident his long term capabilities and know-how are components of his business model that he can continue to leverage and protect. For those who think that Kevin's comments on IP make too little of this potential issue, it is worth pointing out that while China does have a well-earned reputation for IP theft, the country's ability to take IP in what are commonly known as service or highly intangible industries has not been as much of a problem for foreign operators.  The best example of this, and one that is quite relevant to the senior care sector, is of course the hospitality industry in general.  As I was reminded during a meeting Monday, the hospitality industry in China is still dominated by foreign operators whose primary point of distinction is a brand that offers foundationally better customer experiences than what their Chinese competitors can offer. Ben's and Kevin's comments surprised me a bit in that it would not have occurred to me that a senior living facility would be so concerned about IP protection.  I too do not want to make light of this industry's IP protection needs (especially since I am certainly no expert in this industry), but it seems to me that about all they would typically need would be strong protections against others stealing their trademarks (their name, their brands, their logos, etc.) and good employee contracts setting forth the trade secrets their employees cannot take with them. Not saying that you should stop worrying entirely about your IP in China because protecting your China IP is obviously important. Just saying that you should not allow yourself to put too high a priority on this one aspect of your business. What do you think?

‘How China Flouts Its Laws’: Chen Guangcheng’s New York Times Op-Ed Posted: 30 May 2012 06:49 PM PDT Authors are often told to write about what they know. In 'How China Flouts Its Laws,' Chen Guangcheng does this based on long experience. He begins by discusseing his call for the Chinese government to investigate the persecution he and his family endured: I have come here to study temporarily, not to seek political asylum. And while I pursue my studies, I hope that the Chinese government and the Communist Party will conduct a thorough investigation of the lawless punishment inflicted on me and my family over the past seven years. suffered, the nature of laws in China, and the lack of enforcements. He sums up his take on China's system of law and enforcement: The fundamental question the Chinese government must face is lawlessness. China does not lack laws, but the rule of law. As a result, those who handled my case were able to openly flout the nation's laws in many ways for many years. And, concludes: China's government must confront these crucial differences between the law on the books and the law in practice. This issue of lawlessness may be the greatest challenge facing the new leaders who will be installed this autumn by the 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. Indeed, China's political stability may depend on its ability to develop the rule of law in a system where it barely exists. China stands at a critical juncture. I hope its new leaders will use this opportunity wisely. As an ancient Chinese proverb says, "If one is not righteous oneself, how can one rectify others?" However long he and his wife decide to stay, they are, in my book, welcome to stay as long they want. But, I would guess that after fully recuperating, Mr. Chen will return to pursue his objective of uniting Chinese law and practice into single entity that defines, defends, and protects the rights of all China citizens.

Listen: Tim Cook addresses Apple's China factory controversy Posted: 30 May 2012 06:00 PM PDT At the ongoing D10 Conference by All Things Digital, Apple CEO Tim Cook addresses the China labour controversy that has dogged the company over the last year. Apple, he said, was making great headway in cutting down overtime at its plants -- no easy feat, he says, because many workers want to work more, earn more, and remit more back to their families in their hometowns. [ more › ]

Gallery: Martin Yan whips up a storm in Gary Locke's kitchen Posted: 30 May 2012 04:00 PM PDT          Nothing brings people together like food. Last Tuesday, celebrity chef Martin Yan (of Yan Can Cook fame) was invited to the residence of US Ambassador Gary Locke to whip up a showcase dinner for Chinese media pairing American produce with Chinese cuisine. [ more › ]

The Utopia Within: In Which Phaedrus and Wilbur Wait for a Bus Posted: 30 May 2012 05:30 PM PDT

ASEAN's China problem Posted: 30 May 2012 02:25 PM PDT ASEAN has a China problem, writes Trefor Moss of The Diplomat, and it's a place where "individualism swiftly trumps collectivism whenever contentious issues arise." [ more › ]

Zimbabwe seeks new trade agreements with China Posted: 30 May 2012 12:27 PM PDT Via Al-Jazeera: "Zimbabwe's prime minister, Morgan Tsvangirai, is on a week-long trip to China to boost trade. Back in Zimbabwe, the labour minister has led calls for a boycott of Chinese goods, following claims of the exploitation of workers by Chinese firms." [ more › ]

Viral Video Of The Day: Hamster Plays Dead When “Shot” By Owner Posted: 30 May 2012 11:59 AM PDT Here's video of a hamster that plays dead when his owner pretends to shoot him with his finger. The video was posted on Sina only yesterday at 11 am, but it's already received nearly 372,000 views there, not to mention 5,127 forwards on the Sina Weibo page of @YouTube萌宠 as of this moment. Netizens have dubbed the hamster the "ying di" — literally, "emperor of film," but really meaning simply "Best Actor." Sina video for those in China after the jump. [UPDATE, 3:10 am: Original wording on this italicized part might have implied the video was posted on Sina first; I've not confirmed that yet.]

Here’s How One Prominent Chinese Website Chose To Censor Boobs Posted: 30 May 2012 11:00 AM PDT We just gave you our take on Topless New York, a Kickstarter Project that (desperately) needs your help. Now we'd like to un-ironically inform you that while America doesn't seem to give a left tit about boobs in public — there's risk of overexposure, kind of like having candy corn every week instead of just Halloween — Mister Topless New York (only $9,550 short of his goal of raising $10,000) just might find an unlikely ally in the netizens of China. NetEase, one of biggest online portals, posted a slideshow yesterday about the Kickstarter project, introducing it as an effort by young women to "defend their right to go topless." They failed to provide a link, but there were pictures — 16 of them, to be precise. Now, NetEase, being a family online portal (it's not a family anything, actually), couldn't just leave those breasts exposed for all to ogle. No, what they chose to do instead was much more ridiculous. (Thanks to Alicia for uncovering these.) Reading, or posing? One of these blurs actually looks like her nipple! I'm almost positive I see part of her left nipple poking out of the censored area. But how do we explain this? The breasts aren't even censored! What gives? While you ponder that, here are some more for you:

What If Kickstarter’s “Topless New York” Project Were Brought To Beijing? Posted: 30 May 2012 09:43 AM PDT I swear I was not the one who blurred out this girl's breasts to make it look like she has big gray tits. For that, you can credit the editors of NetEase. Recently, under attack for questionable levels of decency, the foreigners of Beijing have felt the sting of tiddly bits of media criticism, being called such poignantly awful names as "self-centered yuppies," "packs of whingers," and "shrews" following "lifestyle choices inappropriate to Chinese morals." (By which he means drugs.) And who's really to blame Yoichi Shimatsu for saying such things? If American expats were to return home to the "crap place it's become," they would find breasts… in public. !!!! The Kickstarter Topless New York has 14 days and $9,550 to go (started at $10,000). The project's aim is to raise money to display a series of photos taken by Mr. Topless New York of everyday ladies taking their big apples out for a romp in the city. I'm not sure I would call the body of work "art," and I'm not sure I would call it a "protest," but it is, from all soft angles, interesting. And thoroughly enjoyable to look at. If you were not aware, it is legal for women to bare their breasts in public in the state of New York.  There are clubs for reading pulp fiction topless, men painting on topless girls, and now a Kickstarter. (Naturally, it's been given the NMA [Apple Daily] treatment). If you have never taken advantage of the gender-blind titty laws and would like to know what it feels like, click here for a firsthand account from a bashful blogger who sunbathes, eats a hotdog, and takes a topless tinkle. It all leads one to wonder… what would happen if this phenomenon were brought to China? One would be tempted to tab Ai Weiwei as Mr. Topless Beijing, though we suspect he'd take things too far. I mean… We could get in touch with the ringleader of a nude performance in Chengdu, in which 41 students lined together to form the @ symbol before domino-ing down. The People's Daily's insightful comment: "Young students, especially those from academies of fine arts, are desirous, emotional, impulsive, outgoing and nomadic." Hear, hear! But really, Chen Zui is our man, described by China Daily as a "trailblazer of Chinese nude art." His academic treatise published in 1988, On Nude Art, sold 200,000 copies. An art book. Surely he could raise the measly $10,000 — 63,575 yuan, as it were — needed to bring his pics of topless ladies to light. Chen Zui didn't take this photo, which first appeared in the Shanghai Star, but apparently it caused a "social earthquake" in 1937 You might think China is an unlikely place to see boobs in public, but you'd be wrong. You know we devoted a whole post to nude art, right? And from this very site, there's this, this, and this. So yeah, Topless Beijing is a project that can happen, and I know certain guys at BJC would certainly like it to. The only concern is that censors would put a kibosh on the whole thing before anyone could even unfasten a bra. Actually… that's probably the only realistic outcome. Not in the New York though. The man behind the photos, Mr. Topless New York, has "never been called a pervert," according to Gothamist, but posts his work on DeviantArt. Snicker. So, for all you Stateside ladies (or any who are willing to meet Mr. Topless halfway), "if you are interested in donating your time and services, and supporting a great cause, by modeling for the Topless New York project, please feel free to contact [him] at toplessnewyork@gmail.com." Lola B is an artist in Beijing who writes the Yishus (art) column for BJC. She can be reached at lola@beijingcream.com.

Paradox: New coffee spot in Jing'an Posted: 30 May 2012 08:38 AM PDT As a former denizen of New York City's Lower East Side, I'd grown to associate hole-in-the-wall establishments with culinary goodness. So naturally, I was excited to see that a small coffee shop/cafe called Paradox had taken root across from the Pancake House in Jing'an, the Shanghai neighborhood perhaps most like the Lower East Side. But would it actually live up to the "Paradox," and serve good coffee in Shanghai? [ more › ]

Presented By: Posted: 30 May 2012 08:38 AM PDT

Advocate for sex workers Ye Haiyan attacked Posted: 30 May 2012 07:53 AM PDT Outspoken advocate for sex workers Ye Haiyan (叶海燕), who raised eyebrows in January by turning prostitute for a day in order to dive into the world of the so-called "10RMB prostitute", says she was attacked by eight unidentified men and her office ransacked in an incident which occurred last Friday evening. [ more › ]

Mid-Week Links: Sina Weibo pushes censorship onto users, a Good Samaritan is saved by surveillance tape, and be better, foreigners Posted: 30 May 2012 05:00 AM PDT An accident that killed eight people on Monday afternoon, via NetEase There's a "Beijing Creatives" meeting happening right now at Great Leap Brewing, winner of the "Place in Which You're Most Likely to Hear the Phrase 'You've Probably Never Heard of Them'" award in the BJC Bar and Club Awards. Go check it out and show them how creative you are by reading these links. On being a "foreigner," etc. "I would like to propose the following – that we expats living in China improve our efforts to police ourselves. When we hear our friends talking about looking for work, we push them to get the proper visas. When we see obnoxiously drunk expats staggering out of a bar, we get them into a cab and on their way home. When we hear of teachers sleeping with their own students, we take action to protect their students. You can also focus on your own behavior- like withstanding the pushing on the bus without screaming and maybe even give up your seat when no one else is willing. Reply to as many 'Haalllooows' with a friendly smile and wave as long as you can stomach. As unfair as it is, remember that wherever you go, you're not only representing yourself or even your country, but all waiguoren, all ~5.6 billion of us." [Seeing Red in China] This comment about sums up my reaction: "I'm so upset, the citizens of our country…": "In Linyi city of Shandong province, a post-80s generation young man who helped an injured elderly person who was trapped under an electric tricycle due to a traffic accident was instead wrongly accused as the perpetrator. Fortunately, after the Hedong district police of Linyi city checked the surveillance footage of the intersection, the entire course of the young man's good deed in aiding the old man was restored." [chinaSMACK] Luckily, it's not like we at BJC are fans of puns or anything. "The service, Sina Weibo, imposed 'user contracts' that award each of its 300 million microbloggers a starting score of 80 points. // Points can be deducted for online comments that are judged to be offensive. When a blogger reaches zero, the service stated, a user's account will be canceled… // Most notably, the contracts also will punish time-honored tactics that bloggers have used to avoid censorship, like disguising comments on censored topics by using homonyms (where two different Chinese characters have nearly identical sounds), puns and other dodges." [NY Times] On China's Internet: "As reader #3 says, 'the question is whether or not China can build a world-class society while building a giant intranet that is China-specific.' By my lights, the answer to that question must be No. Everything I have learned about the world tells me that 'world-class' powers must be open to the world." [James Fallows, The Atlantic] Cop breaks car window to administer breathalyzer. "We assume the result was not favorable, which begs the question: What did the driver think was going to happen?  Then again, the driver was likely not in a state conducive to lucid, rational thought.  Or perhaps he knew all too well the new, beefed up penalties in China that have made drunk driving a criminal offense." [Tea Leaf Nation] The end of the grand experiment to take 300 shots of baijiu. "I started my blog by confessing that I did not like baijiu, and now I end my journey with another: I started liking baijiu months ago. By 'liking,' I don't just mean 'tolerating,' either. I mean enjoying the taste of baijiu, enjoying the ritual of baijiu drinking and enjoying the surprising fact that it rarely produces a nasty hangover. I could tolerate baijiu very early on, after, say, 50 shots. By around 100 my feelings were neutral and by 200 I happily downed just about anything put in front of me. Sauce aroma, strong aroma, Erguotou, whatever. I could drink it all. I don't believe it takes 300 shots to start liking baijiu – it takes far less." [300 Shots at Greatness] To castrate or not castrate? "The South Korean Ministry of Justice announced last week it would use chemical castration on a repeat sex offender, who violently sexually assaulted four children under the age of 13… Do such measures work? Should they be introduced in China? The Global Times invited three commentators to contribute their thoughts." [Global Times] At least this knockoff iMac looks good. "But if you turn it on and use it, you will find out it's a slow, underpowered and cheap PC." [MIC Gadget] Your Nescafe "coffee" interlude: Finally… "Most Chinese support patriotism." [Global Times] Craft beer festival in Beijing on Saturday, 1-6 pm. [Beijing Boyce] Where all the women bloggers be? [Stan Abrams, China Hearsay]

Chen Guangcheng: China does not lack laws, but the rule of law Posted: 30 May 2012 05:30 AM PDT Blind dissident and self-taught lawyer Chen Guangcheng, now in the US as a special student at the New York University School of Law after his miraculous escape from home detention, has written an op-ed in the New York Times urging the Chinese government to confront its own lawlessness and to demand justice for his family and others like them who have been subject to kidnapping and illegal detentions by local authorities: [ more › ]

Video of the Week: Mark Zuckerberg's Cameo in the Chinese Police Documentary Posted: 30 May 2012 04:16 AM PDT Date: May 30th 2012 11:27a.m. Contributed by: clairebared This week we're playing a game we like to call "spot the Zuckerberg". Remember when Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg paid a visit to China a few months ago? Well while he was roaming the streets of Shanghai, he was accidentally filmed during the making of a CCTV documentary about China's police force. Ready to play? Check out the short documentary below.

Photos: Massive sinkhole appears on road in Xi'an Posted: 30 May 2012 04:30 AM PDT     The sudden collapse of a road in Xi'an, Shaanxi province on May 27 has created a gaping sinkhole 15m long, 10m wide and 6m deep. It is unclear if anyone was injured in the incident but police have cordoned off the area to prevent mishaps from happening. [ more › ]

Pollution in paradise Posted: 30 May 2012 03:36 AM PDT The idyll of Kashmir is ill prepared for an influx of tourists, writes Athar Parvaiz from north-east India. Environmentalists fear the features that attract visitors could prove the region's undoing. India's seventeenth century Moghul emperor Jahangir is probably best known for his comment on the valley of Kashmir: "If there is paradise on earth, it is this, it is this, it is this." For 20 years, few outsiders have seen this paradise, as insurgency-related conflict rendered Kashmir a global trouble spot. But now that the violence is on the wane and there is talk of paradise regained, haphazard hotel construction and rubbish threaten to spoil this heavenly abode. Regulations to manage rubbish – or solid waste, as the experts like to call it – were almost totally ignored during the atmosphere of violence that reigned for 20 years. The few hardy tourists who did venture into Kashmir despite the danger were not large enough in number for this to become a major problem. Recent improvements in the security situation have led to a surge in tourism. Some 1.4 million tourists visited Kashmir in the summer of 2011, according to official figures. With half a million people directly or indirectly involved in the valley's tourism industry, this is now easily the biggest contributor to the local economy. So the boom in tourist numbers is cause for joy, and has also led to a boom in hotel construction, especially in the famed resorts of Pahalgam, Gulmarg and Sonamarg. But there is little overall planning in the construction process. Most hotels try to maximise the number of rooms, even if they block the best views of the Himalayan peaks in the process. The three major resorts are fast becoming concrete jungles. With tourists from all over India and the world moving into Kashmir in droves, rubbish now threatens not just the ecology but the tourism industry itself. Environmentalists are already expressing their concerns about the policy paralysis.  Environmental experts maintain that construction should be prohibited within these resorts. But the government has not only allowed construction of hotels right on the most scenic spots, but has also failed to provide adequate disposal systems for solid and liquid waste.   Similar destruction is visible in the state's other famous tourist area of Ladakh, the cold desert in the high Himalayas that abuts the Kashmir valley. Few of the 400-odd hotels and guest houses in Ladakh have a sewage disposal system. The only saving grace is a total ban on polythene bags. To make things worse, the state also suffers from major electricity shortages, which means hotels, restaurants, shops and commercial enterprises all use highly polluting diesel generators for hours every day. Environmentalists are fearful of the effect on the surrounding glaciers and endangered animals – like the snow leopard and the red deer – in the state's protected forests. The Jammu and Kashmir state government's Environment and Remote Sensing Department recently released a report calling for immediate measures to undo the environmental damage caused by unplanned construction at the famous resort Sonamarg, which lies some 90 kilometres north-east of the summer capital Srinagar. "While development of modern infrastructure is of paramount importance for meeting the needs of the tourism industry, it is important to design such development in an eco-friendly fashion to preserve and conserve the fragile ecology and environment of Sonamarg," the report warns. "The development which has already taken place at Sonamarg or is in progress has a serious adverse impact on the ecology and environment." The waste generated by hundreds of thousands of tourists is thrown around without any treatment or scientific management, according to the study. And all untreated effluents find their way to the Indus River, which straddles this beautiful resort, often called the "golden meadow". "This causes extensive pollution in the river because no Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) is in place," the report says. In terms of popularity, Sonamarg is a relatively recent addition to Kashmir's tourist map. Areas outside the town remain idyllic. But many people worry the area will soon suffer a similar fate to the better-known tourist resorts Pahalgam and Gulmarg, where unconstrained tourism has caused havoc. Citizens have started to take action. Local NGO Pahalgam Peoples Welfare filed a public interest lawsuit in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court against illegal construction in Pahalgam. As a result, the court served several notices to the government and its official limb, Pahalgam Development Authority. "We said that building permission laws have been thoroughly violated," said Reyaz Ahmed, member secretary of Pahalgam Peoples Welfare. "We further said that the bureaucrats and influential businessmen had converted the green zone into an area permissible for construction in the master plan of the tourist resort after purchasing chunks of land in Pahalgam."  In Srinagar, the sorry state of the famous Dal Lake has been widely reported. Now the court has directed the government to hasten its efforts to clean up the lake which – long famous for its flotilla of houseboats – has turned into a cesspool. Last year's revelations by Wikileaks included a cable in which an American diplomat said Kashmiri politics were "as filthy as Dal Lake". Dal Lake bears the brunt of human activities for a major part of the year with around 600 houseboats permanently anchored for tourists and many smaller boats used as ferries and mobile shops, as well as for cruises. "So you have both home toilets and the toilets of 600 houseboats. We tried installing STPs in the houseboats, but they failed because of operational and monitoring problems," said Sabah ul Solim, senior scientist at Kashmir's Lakes and Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA). Gulmarg, the high-altitude meadow that turns into a golf course every summer and a ski slope every winter, has no waste treatment facilities either. Thousands of tourists throng to the meadow, which lies 50 kilometres north of Srinagar, throughout the year, especially in summer. Now an influential local businessman is building a huge hotel here, having chopped down hundreds of trees to make way for the project. Another worry for Kashmir's environmentalists is the increasing number of pilgrims that visit the Amarnath cave – at an altitude of 3,900 metres, above the snow line – in July and August every year. An idol of Hindu god Shiva that is formed by an icicle in the cave is considered sacred. More than 630,000 pilgrims visited the shrine in the two months of 2011 when it was open, up from about 460,000 over the same period the previous year. Environmentalists say the growing number of pilgrims has contributed to growing pollution problems in an area which is an important watershed in the Himalayas. So while the booming tourism industry may bring fresh opportunities in the short-run, environmental groups fear that, before long, the very features that attract tourists to Kashmir will work as agents of its destruction.  Athar Parvaiz is an environmental journalist based in Kashmir. Homepage image by watchsmart shows houseboats on Dal Lake.

Beijing to encourage the moral development of minors Posted: 30 May 2012 01:56 AM PDT by Allison Carroll Goldman on May 30, 2012 The Beijing Morning Post is a commercial daily under the Beijing Daily Press Group, controlled by municipal authorities. Today's top headline: "City to encourage the moral development of minors." The article says the Beijing municipal government yesterday launched a new action plan: the "Promote Beijing spirit through developing the ideological and moral construction of minors action plan." Accordingly, the "Beijing spirit" will be promoted through 27 newly revised school regulations, or "academic moral education guidelines," which will require "Beijing spirit" curriculum in elementary-, middle- and high-schools across the city. The city plans to strengthen the social education of minors through a "society education" class, establishing psychological counseling stations, setting up community exercise centers and creating a community center for kids from the countryside. It also hopes to promote a greater convergence between the education received at school and at home, as well as online. Efforts to this end will include improving primary- and secondary-school parent committees, running an online portal for family education and several other initiatives outlined by the "Beijing family education guidelines." (2011-2015) The end of the article contains a special section on kindergartens. The subheading reads, " 1000 kindergartens will receive 'spirit of Beijing' enlightenment readers."  These have been designed specifically by the Municipal Party Committee Propaganda Department to familiarize children with the 'Spirit of Beijing' from an early age. The volumes include stories, songs and interactive games with titles like, "love the national flag, the national emblem." They are intended to help children develop good ideology, moral character and behavior. The city has issued 100,000 copies to be distributed to 1305 Kindergartens across Beijing. The picture shows the launch of the reconstruction project of the Xiangshan Yongan Temple, which will repaint the main building and restore its original brilliance. The project is expected to be completed in 2014. Links and Sources Beijing Morning Post: 本市推进未成年人道德建设 ; 香山永安寺复建

This Is What It Looks Like Outside In Beijing Right Now Posted: 30 May 2012 01:14 AM PDT Why are you indoors? Pictures via myself, Alicia, Piper, The Good Doctor, E, Evan, Katie, Alicia, William Heathershaw; hover with mouse for location details.

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