News » Society » Stormy weather ahead

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• Stormy weather ahead
• Cambodia says China made plea for arrest
• Human error blamed for bridge collapse
• Apple feels heat over 'unfair' clauses
• Bus plunge kills 17, injures 28
• Life-giving mushroom found in Chinese village is an anus sex toy (video)
• Have You Heard… Obama Meets Hu on Security, Trade as G-20
• Obama Meets Hu on Security, Trade as G-20 Summit Ends
• China says rare earth price gap based on quality, customs
• Associate of Bo Xilai’s Wife Arrested
• Leadership Coaching Takes Hold in China
• Bird flu `epidemic' sparks chicken cull
• Record dive follows space high
• A submarine descended to 6,908 meters in the Pacific's Mariana Trench to break the record for the deepest dive by Chinese. It came a day after China's first manned space docking.
• Bo twist as French associate held
• Guangzhou expats rally outside police station over man's death
• 15,000 food safety cases handled in China in first 6 months
• China spots 15,000 illegal food cases
• Drogba signs for Shanghai Shenhua
• Dangdang online mall mired in fake watch crisis

Stormy weather ahead Posted: 20 Jun 2012 10:15 AM PDT Officers help fishermen secure vessels in Lianjiang County in China's southeastern Fujian Province yesterday as they brace for tropical storm Talim. Amid strong wind and heavy rain, more than 40,000 fishing vessels have been called back to harbor. Talim, the fifth tropical storm this year, prompted meteorological authorities to issue a typhoon blue alert for China's southern regions. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Cambodia says China made plea for arrest Posted: 20 Jun 2012 10:14 AM PDT CAMBODIA'S government said yesterday that China had requested the arrest of a Frenchman over possible links to a murder case connected to an ousted Party official in China's southwestern Chongqing City. However, asked about the arrest at a daily news briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said: "I have no information about that to provide to you." On Tuesday, Cambodian authorities acknowledged they had arrested Patrick Devillers, but declined to say why. Yesterday, Information Minister and government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said China had requested Devillers' arrest because of possible involvement in the murder in China last November of British businessman Neil Heywood. Kanharith gave no details of the alleged involvement, but said that Cambodia was studying whether or not to extradite him. Heywood had close relations to the family of Bo Xilai, ousted former Party chief of Chongqing. But those ties had soured. Bo's dismissal in April came after his former police chief fled to a US consulate and divulged suspicions that Bo's wife, Gu Kailai, was involved in Heywood's death. Gu and a household aide have been named as suspects in the death. News reports have said that Devillers was closely linked to Bo, Gu and Heywood. It is not clear if he is accused of any crimes in China or elsewhere. Kanharith said Devillers had been living openly in Cambodia. French embassy officials there said they had been informed of the arrest, but no reason had been given. It is understood Devillers was arrested on June 13 and that the French consul has had daily visits with him.

Human error blamed for bridge collapse Posted: 20 Jun 2012 09:21 AM PDT AN under construction bridge collapsed in Fushun City, Liaoning Province, only six weeks before it was scheduled to open. The Fushun government said workers violated construction rules, which caused part of the steel girders between two piers to fall during a rainstorm on Monday. It ruled the collapse a workplace accident without casualties. The bridge had cost nearly 30 million yuan (US$4.7 million). Surrounding roads have been cordoned off and work has been suspended. Inspectors have been sent to examine the damage and the remaining structure of the bridge, the government said. Workers have started to clean up the debris and set up supports to prevent other collapses. Government officials have rushed to the scene and Fushun Mayor Wang Guifeng ordered a further investigation into the cause. Two other newly built bridges in nearby areas were scheduled to be checked in the wake of the collapse. The collapsed bridge was 416.4 meters in length and was one of two bridges being built to Crescent Island Ecology Park. Construction started in November and was expected to finish next month. Fushun Road Construction Group Corporation was under contract to build the bridge and the Fushun Urban Management Bureau monitored work at the site, Liaoshen Evening Post reported. Dozens of recently completed bridges or those still under construction have collapsed in the last 20 years. Heavy rainfall, improper construction and substandard materials have been sited as the three main contributing factors for the collapses. Last August, a bridge being built in Hainan Province collapsed and killed two people. Qianjiang Third Bridge in Hangzhou collapsed last July. The bridge, costing more than 500 million yuan was built in 1997 and had been overhauled in 2005 and 2006. The frequent collapses of modern bridges triggered public complaints about corrupt officials. It has been claimed that officials have taken bribes to give contracts to inferior companies while turning a blind eye to construction violations.

Apple feels heat over 'unfair' clauses Posted: 20 Jun 2012 09:21 AM PDT The China Consumers Association yesterday accused Apple Inc of having "unfair" repair clauses regarding the use of spare parts, the ownership of old spare parts and compensation. One of Apple's repair clauses states that customers allow Apple uses either new or retreaded spare parts in repair, and the replaced spare parts belong to Apple Inc. The association said companies should use new components or parts rather than retreads during the guarantee period, according to national repair and return rules regarding computers. During the guarantee period, Apple's repair clause states that it owns old spare parts, but that once this warranty period is over they should be returned to customers as they pay for the repairs, the association said. "This is an infringement of the rights of customers," the association said. Another Apple clause states that the company is only responsible for the cost of repairs if damage is caused while the product is being repaired. "Apple's rule limits the scope and amount of money involved in repair compensation and alleviates and even exempts the responsibility of operators, which should be deemed invalid," the association said. The association also criticized clauses that Apple isn't responsible for repairing products broken during transportation. A number of customers complained the clauses are difficult to understand. Most of the products that need to be repaired have problems like keys failing to work, battery charger glitches and screen damage. The repair fee can be between 2,000 yuan (US$322) and 3,000 yuan. "The clauses are too complicated," said Sophie Liu, who once had her iPhone repaired in Shanghai.

Bus plunge kills 17, injures 28 Posted: 20 Jun 2012 09:21 AM PDT A BUS plunged into a ravine, killing 17 people and injuring 28 others in Fujian Province yesterday, local authorities said. The accident happened on an expressway viaduct in Xiapu County, Ningde City at about 2am. The bus overturned and fell more than 50 meters into a ravine, said Yang Peiqin, secretary of the Xiapu County Committee of the Communist Party of China. The vehicle was traveling from Wuxi in Jiangsu Province to Xiamen City in Fujian with 45 people aboard, including two children, Yang said. Of the injured, three were hurt seriously. They are being treated in hospitals and their identities have been confirmed. Passenger Wu Aiquan said: "I was half asleep when the accident happened. I felt I was falling from the sky. "I heard a big bang, just like an earthquake, when the bus hit the ground. All the windows were smashed to pieces." Wu, who sustained as fractured rib, said people were crying and shouting loudly. He added that he crawled out of a broken window to exit the bus. Xiapu is a hilly coastal county.Police, firemen, border troops, expressway and medical authorities have launched a rescue operation. The bus with two decks of beds had capacity for 45 people. It was not overloaded, rescuers said. "It was raining hard when the crash occurred and the bus was traveling downhill and turning. The vehicle rolled over the viaduct's guardrail and its front end hit the ground first," a rescuer said. Police and transport authorities are still investigating.

Life-giving mushroom found in Chinese village is an anus sex toy (video) Posted: 20 Jun 2012 08:29 AM PDT TO China, where TV show Xi'an Up Close has broadcast a reprot on a "mystery mushroom" found in Liucunbu village whilst digging a well. Reporter Ye Yunfeng spoke to a local: "When we dug down to about 80m deep, we fished out this long, fleshy object. It's got a nose and an eye, but we have no idea what it is! Even our 80-year-old neighbour here says he has never seen anything like this before." Adding "As we can all see, this looks like a type of fungus, on both ends of which you'll find mushroom heads. On this side, you can see what looks like a pair of lip. And on that side, there is a tiny hole which extends all the way back to this side. The object looks very shiny, and it feels really fleshy and meaty too. I've done my own research on the internet. It's a type of lingzhi mushroom, called the taisui." Yummy! Ye had more:  "When the Emperor Qin Shi Huang was on the hunt for the secret to longevity, it is said he discovered this lingzhi was the answer." Emperor Qin Shi Huang died aged 49. And he'd have died earlier had he eaten this mushroom, which turned out to be a artifical vagina / anus combo made of plastic. The TV station duly issues a notice: "An open letter to all netizens and viewers: Hi everyone, one of our news reports which aired last night has made everyone laugh. This incident has been widely followed, shared and commented on. As our reporter was still very young and unwise to the ways of the world, this report has brought great inconvenience to everyone. We'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts for your criticism and correction. Please forgive our oversight!" Still, easy mistake to mistake. If we had a penny for every time we've seen the a customer ask the greengrocer for a sex toy, we'd be rich, I tell yer. Rich… PS – Who buried the sex tube, and why?

Have You Heard… Obama Meets Hu on Security, Trade as G-20 Posted: 20 Jun 2012 09:25 AM PDT Have You Heard…   Obama Meets Hu on Security, Trade as G-20 Summit Ends China says rare earth price gap based on quality, customs Associate of Bo Xilai's Wife Arrested Leadership Coaching Takes Hold in China

Obama Meets Hu on Security, Trade as G-20 Summit Ends Posted: 20 Jun 2012 09:23 AM PDT Source: Bloomberg News By Mike Dorning and Hans Nichols  | Photo: Xinhua U.S. President Barack Obama praised "significant progress" in expanding trade and commercial opportunities with China as he opened a meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao. Obama said the session, on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit of heads of major industrialized nations, was "a good opportunity to recap the work" between the two nations. The agenda included U.S. grievances that China keeps its currency artificially low to bolster exports, according to an Obama administration official, who briefed reporters and asked to not be named to describe the private meeting. Obama said he also plans to discuss efforts to curb Iran and North Korea's nuclear ambitions as well as violence in Syria. China has protected Syrian President Bashar al-Assad with its veto on the United Nations Security Council. Hu said China "is willing to work with the United States to build a cooperative partnership." Obama's Republican challenger in this year's election, Mitt Romney, says he'd be tougher on China trade policy, as the president seeks Chinese assistance on Iran and North Korea. China is undergoing its own once-a-decade political transition and today's meeting was the last scheduled between the chiefs of the world's two largest economies before Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping is to take over as the country's leader next year. The Chinese economy has shown signs of slowing during recent months. China's Commerce Minister, Chen Deming, said yesterday that growth may be improving this month after government measures, including its first interest-rate reduction since 2008. Political Pressure China's trade and currency policies have long been a source of friction between the two nations. Romney has said would direct the Treasury Department to list China as a currency manipulator and slap sanctions on China for unfair trade practices. As the U.S. seeks to exert pressure on Iran by restricting its oil exports, China — the the world's leading importer of Iranian crude — remains exposed to possible penalties. China was not among the nations the U.S. included in a list of countries qualifying for an exemption from financial sanctions on Iranian oil imports announced on June 11. The exempt nations "have all significantly reduced" the volume of the oil they buy from Iran, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement accompanying the announcement. Under the U.S. law enacted Dec. 31, nations have until June 28 to demonstrate they have "significantly reduced" the volume of their Iranian crude purchases. If they fail to do so, their banks that settle oil trades with Iran will be cut off from the U.S. financial system.

China says rare earth price gap based on quality, customs Posted: 20 Jun 2012 09:17 AM PDT Source: Reuters By Michael Martina (Reuters) – China denied on Wednesday that it interferes with prices on the global rare earths market amid a trade dispute with other major economies, saying product quality variations account for the price gap between the metals it produces for export and domestic use. In March, the European Union, United States and Japan complained to the World Trade Organization that Beijing, which has a monopoly over world supplies of the mineral, illegally choked exports while holding down prices for domestic manufacturers. Su Bo, a senior official at China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said that higher quality demands by foreign firms and customs costs – not a decree from Beijing – partly explained the steeper prices paid by foreign companies. "It's like an article of clothing. It could cost 10,000 yuan or 1,000 yuan, depending on the product quality," Su said, citing industry experts. Still, Su stopped short of a full explanation for the price difference that has upset trading partners. "We need to search for an answer, because our government has never interfered with market prices," he told a press briefing. Rare earths are key elements in producing modern technologies from iPhones and disk drives to wind turbines, as well as components for the defence industry. China, which accounts for about 97 percent of world output of the 17 rare earth metals, imposes strict export quotas in what it says is an effort to curtail environmental pollution and resource exhaustion. Su sought to emphasize the environmental impact of mining by showing large photos of barren hillsides apparently stripped during the mining process. In a similar case on raw materials in January the WTO ruled against China, saying that environmental protection is only a valid reason to curtail exports if China is giving the domestic and international markets equal treatment. Refining rare earths requires large amounts of acid, and also produces low-level radioactive waste. Beijing is quick to note that other countries, notably the United States, have closed their own rare earths refineries, citing pollution concerns. "The Chinese people believe, after years of supplying so much of the world's rare earths, that we deserve some appreciation," Su said. Despite a 30,184 metric ton (33,272 ton) export quota in 2011, China says it shipped only 18,600 metric ton last year. The squeeze on supply has led, in part, to a fourfold increase in export prices over the past two years. The government has said the quota will remain steady in 2012. As a result of the curbs, the European Union has said foreign firms pay up to twice as much as Chinese firms for rare earth metals. Ministry official Jiao Yinsong, said excessive extraction was leading to a depletion of China's rare earth reserves. He said China held 23 percent of known reserves, not the 36 percent that the United States has cited for China.

Associate of Bo Xilai’s Wife Arrested Posted: 20 Jun 2012 09:15 AM PDT Source: Wall Street Journal By Jeremy Page BEIJING—Police in Cambodia said they have arrested a French architect who was close to the wife of Bo Xilai, the ousted Chinese Communist Party leader, in the latest twist in a case that has triggered the worst political crisis in China in more than two decades. Patrick Henri Devillers was arrested about two weeks ago in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, said the city's police chief, Touch Naruth. He said he couldn't give more details as the case was in the hands of the national police's immigration department. France's Foreign Ministry confirmed that a French citizen had been arrested in Cambodia, but declined to identify him and said it was trying to find out what he was accused of. China's Foreign Ministry didn't answer telephone calls. Mr. Devillers, had close ties to Mr. Bo's wife, Gu Kailai, who the Chinese government said is in custody as a murder suspect in the death in China last year of Neil Heywood, a British business consultant also close to the Bo family. Ms. Gu's husband was dismissed as Communist Party chief of Chongqing city in March and from his remaining party posts in April. Messrs. Devillers and Heywood were part of a small circle of friends and advisers around Ms. Gu in the 1990s when they lived in the northeastern Chinese city of Dalian, where Mr. Bo was mayor from 1993 to 2001, said people who knew all four of them. Ms. Gu and Mr. Devillers were consulting partners for Horas Consultancy, which advised businesses investing in Dalian and elsewhere in China in the 1990s, according to that firm's publicity material. When Ms. Gu moved to Britain in 2000 so her son, Bo Guagua, could go to a private boarding school there, Mr. Devillers appears to have moved there, too, and to have shared an apartment with her in the southern seaside city of Bournemouth. Ms. Gu, using the name Horus Kai, and Mr. Devillers are both listed as directors of a company called Adad Ltd. that was set up in the town of Poole in 2000 and dissolved in 2003, according to British public records. In those documents, Ms. Gu and Mr. Devillers both list the same apartment in Bournemouth as their residential address and people who knew them at the time said they saw them together in Bournemouth. It isn't clear how long Mr. Devillers had been living in Cambodia, but he left China several years ago, said people who knew him there. Bernard Valero, a French Foreign Ministry spokesman, said the French government was in contact with Cambodian authorities "to determine what exactly he has been accused of," he said. "We are bringing him every assistance possible within the framework of the Vienna Convention," he said. "We are in contact with his family and we are making sure if he needs a lawyer, he has one." A person who answered the telephone at the home of Mr. Devillers's father, Michel, hung up without leaving time for questions.

Leadership Coaching Takes Hold in China Posted: 20 Jun 2012 09:11 AM PDT Source: Wall Street Journal By Euan McKirdy China's rapid development has left it with an acute problem: a lack of skilled, experienced leaders. Both foreign- and locally owned businesses are finding that ready-for-deployment upper-echelon managers are in short supply. A growing number of businesses are seeking to address the issue through leadership coaching, a relatively new phenomenon in the country. Over the past decade, as multinationals operating in the world's second-largest economy have begun finding locally based candidates for top positions thin on the ground, they've sought to develop their Chinese staff for those roles—rather than rely on expensive outside hires with limited understanding of Chinese corporate culture. Leadership coaching has since gained a foothold in the country, and is seen by both overseas companies and an increasing number of Chinese companies as an effective way of preparing high-potential employees for life in the boardroom. "Coaching would be extremely beneficial for high potentials," says Jon Echanove, program facilitator at Academy of Executive Coaching in Beijing. "Helping a person that has been identified by the organization as a future leader to better understand what they want and need for their lives [both personally and professionally] will always benefit the organization in the long term." Leadership coaching, both in China and elsewhere, aims to help senior executives look at both their strengths and weaknesses from different angles. Unlike training, says Alex Eymieu of CTPartners, an executive search firm, "leadership coaching is purely a way to enhance someone's performance by increasing his [or her] knowledge of self and increasing their ability to manage their external environment." Its focus is on guiding and developing leadership skills, rather than simply providing solutions to management problems. "Leadership coaching is aimed at helping a leader be more effective," says Beijing-based Frank Gallo, chief leadership consultant for Aon Hewitt, Greater China. "The coaching may be aimed at helping to develop a corporate strategy, helping the leader to effectuate and implement change, how to redesign the organizational structure or helping to improve the leader's style of dealing with others to make it as constructive as possible." The process varies from one company to another, but usually involves significant one-on-one time between coach and executive. Typically, it starts with assessment, which can be a combination of online elements and interviews, says Jack Lim, managing director of Korn/Ferry International's Leadership and Talent Consulting business in Greater China, whose clients include McDonald's Corp., Kraft Foods Inc.and Dow Chemical Co. "So the key focus is diagnostics—what the [candidate's] current status is, and what the stakeholder's viewpoint is on this executive." "We come up with a basic understanding of the current status, then we discuss this with the executive to provide feedback and also to discuss his or her personal interests to decide upon a coaching goal," Mr. Lim says. "After this is set up we'll typically conduct eight to 10 sessions over the next nine months. After these sessions are complete we'll conduct more stakeholder interviews to compare the progress. The sessions are typically one-on-one and last for about 90 minutes." The goal is to learn to develop know-how—not only what a leader should do, but also why and when he or she should do it. Key to learning is to identify and develop the executive's leadership style. Interpersonal skills are essential, as is an understanding of how to behave, and how this behavior is perceived by others. Many experts working in China agree that the content of leadership coaching in China doesn't differ at its core from the overseas leadership-coaching models that it's based on. "Leadership development needs are universal," says KornFerry's Mr. Lim—though he adds that Chinese educational culture may impede coaching. "Traditionally, in Chinese education the emphasis is more on telling students the right answer, while the Western [model is based] more on asking students good questions so that they can work out the answers themselves," he says. "Some Chinese leaders are not used to coaching, they tend to look for advice instead." Cultural cues and country-specific practices can go a long way to making the coaching process easier to grasp and implement. "I firmly believe that one of the keys to successful leadership in China is to be able to blend Western best practice with Chinese cultural practice," says Aon Hewitt's Mr. Gallo. As Chinese businesses become more internationalized, there is a feeling that the structures and positions that define Western companies can be adapted for them. In these new Chinese companies, says Y.C. Tong, vice president of talent acquisition at Hong Kong-based China Executive Group, often the first questions asked—and the first assumptions made—are very basic. "When you become a CEO, what is the responsibility?" he says. "Being a leader doesn't just mean higher compensation. When one becomes a leader, that person inherits real responsibilities. If [the leader] has shown the right direction, that is to the benefit of the company. This is the responsibility of an executive." Local businesses are willing and eager to adopt coaching as a strategy, says CTPartners' Mr. Eymeiu, because they are already looking to the future and understand that strong leadership gives a competitive edge. "I think they know they need to compete internationally and they're growing very fast and they have a lot of ambitions—so they're looking at building their talent," he says. Leadership coaching is almost by definition a one-on-one experience, and due to the high cost involved with this sort of program it is usually a development strategy reserved for the top level of management—a way to hone and improve the skills of existing high-ranking executives. Because of the high cost of such individual leadership-development training, and because the results are sometimes long-term and intangible, says Mr. Eymeiu, "a lot of companies have difficulties providing quality executive coaching to younger executives. They might spend the money for a very high-level executive but for the second layer or third layer they tend to prefer to use group coaching." The need for leadership coaching, Mr. Gallo says, shows China's maturation as a global power. "Chinese managers [will] become such a large part of a multinational's labor force, the need for developing Chinese leaders becomes a critical growth factor." Korn/Ferry's Mr. Lim agrees. "Leadership is a key bottleneck for companies operating in China, and thus for China's development." And the practice is already beginning to bear fruit, Mr. Lim adds, with many of the first companies to offer leadership coaching in China seeing changes in the in the first executives to get the training—they've "matured, and won promotion to higher or more important roles in their companies." There is a Chinese proverb that states, "An army of a thousand is easy to find, but, ah, how difficult to find a general!" In today's rapidly evolving China, the solution might be to grow and develop these generals, rather than hope to stumble across them.

Bird flu `epidemic' sparks chicken cull Posted: 20 Jun 2012 08:55 AM PDT

Record dive follows space high Posted: 20 Jun 2012 08:55 AM PDT

A submarine descended to 6,908 meters in the Pacific's Mariana Trench to break the record for the deepest dive by Chinese. It came a day after China's first manned space docking. Posted: 20 Jun 2012 08:55 AM PDT

Bo twist as French associate held Posted: 20 Jun 2012 08:55 AM PDT

Guangzhou expats rally outside police station over man's death Posted: 20 Jun 2012 02:44 AM PDT POLICE in Guangzhou, capital of southern Guangdong Province, dispersed a crowd of foreigners who gathered outside a local police station and caused traffic jams in protest of the sudden death of an expatriate at the station. According to local media, the male expat took the service of an electric bike cabbie surnamed Sun on Monday afternoon. When they reached the destination in Yuexiu District, the two fought on the street in a fare dispute. Yuexiu police brought them to the Kuangquan police station nearby. The unnamed expat fell into a coma suddenly and died at the police station despite rescue treatment. There was no trauma on the corpse. An unspecified number of local foreign residents gathered outside the station to demand an explanation yesterday afternoon, causing severe congestion on Guangyuan Road. Police managed to send them away after two hours of persuasion. Police said the cause of the man's sudden death is still under investigation.

15,000 food safety cases handled in China in first 6 months Posted: 20 Jun 2012 02:01 AM PDT China has detected 15,000 cases of substandard food and shut down 5,700 unlicensed businesses since the beginning of 2012, as it continues its efforts to improve food safety. The State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) said today at a press conference that the irregularities were discovered after authorities across the country launched 9.97 million inspections on food businesses, which included wholesalers and sellers at market fairs. Dairy products, edible oils, seasonal foods and alcoholic beverages were among the major food categories targeted during the inspections. Li Yujia, deputy head of the SAIC's food bureau, said that the SAIC will continue to step up checks on sectors, including dairy products, food additives and edible oils. The Chinese public has become increasingly concerned over food safety after a slew of scares -- from melamine-tainted baby formula products to pork contaminated with clenbuterol -- exposed the vulnerability of the country's food sector.

China spots 15,000 illegal food cases Posted: 20 Jun 2012 02:01 AM PDT CHINA has detected 15,000 cases of substandard food and shut down 5,700 unlicensed businesses since the beginning of 2012, as it continues its efforts to improve food safety. The State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) said today at a press conference that the irregularities were discovered after authorities across the country launched 9.97 million inspections on food businesses, which included wholesalers and sellers at market fairs. Dairy products, edible oils, seasonal foods and alcoholic beverages were among the major food categories targeted during the inspections. Li Yujia, deputy head of the SAIC's food bureau, said that the SAIC will continue to step up checks on sectors, including dairy products, food additives and edible oils. The Chinese public has become increasingly concerned over food safety after a slew of scares -- from melamine-tainted baby formula products to pork contaminated with clenbuterol -- exposed the vulnerability of the country's food sector.

Drogba signs for Shanghai Shenhua Posted: 20 Jun 2012 02:53 AM PDT Former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba joins Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua on a two-and-a-half-year deal.

Dangdang online mall mired in fake watch crisis Posted: 20 Jun 2012 12:54 AM PDT CHINA'S online shopping site, dangdang.com, has been accused of selling counterfeit watches, becoming the second online mall to be hit by the fake watch sandal after Taobao. Online stores at dangdang.com were found selling Casio electronic watches made in Japan at only 40 percent of normal market prices. They promised their watches are genuine, but Casio said it never authorized them as retailors. Japan's leading electronic goods producer said the website has infringed on its rights and the customers' rights as well, and it will send a formal letter to Dangdang to stop selling any Casio products and get rid of fake dealers. It will also file a lawsuit against Dangdang, CCTV reported today. A Beijing customer surnamed Li bought a Casio watch for 568 yuan (US$89) from a retailer on dangdang.com, about 70 percent cheaper that its usual price. But he found a watch dial didn't move and the code on the digital chip didn't match that on the package. Dangdang insisted that all the Casio watches sold on its website were real and they were cheap because Casio store employees or licensed dealers secretly sold them on the web. It even pledged to compensate any unknowing victim with five genuine watches. With pressure from the CCTV coverage, Casio ultimately agreed to check five samples bought from the website and they all turned out to be fakes.

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