Blogs » Society » Submerged Shanghai

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• Submerged Shanghai
• China’s First Aircraft Carrier Not Expected To Be In Service Until 2017
• Escape Shanghai: Discover Sophisticated Urban Delights in Yangzhou
• ‘As a Harvard Alum, I Apologize’: James Fallows
• Watch: NMA's funny take on the Anhui orgy pictures
• Firewind Get Heavy at MAO Livehouse this Saturday
• Apparently A Baby Siamese Crocodile Was Found In Beijing
• Chinese consumers look to imported food in response to food safety concerns
• Man Stands, Lays Across Motorbike While Zooming Down Road
• Watch: Thousands trapped by landslides in Sichuan
• Blood and tears of childhood behind gold medals
• Beijing, Tokyo and Seoul Chat Chummily About An FTA
• Homemade Lamborghini In China Dubbed “Most Awesome Sports Car Ever”
• Gu Kailai and the trapped mouse
• Three Foreign Correspondent Clubs issue joint statement on abuse of journalists
• Presented By:
• No Fat Chicks, Says Collared Denim-Wearing Boy
• China NDAs/NNN Agreements. What Your/We Need To Know.
• Chinese News Show Uses Frogger And Mario To Illustrate The Perils Of Jaywalking
• Ordering Up Innovation

Submerged Shanghai Posted: 21 Aug 2012 09:25 PM PDT A new research paper* into the vulnerability to coastal flooding of the nine major world cites on river deltas makes grim reading for Shanghai however you look at it. No city of the nine is worse situated. Shanghai has the longest … Continue reading →

China’s First Aircraft Carrier Not Expected To Be In Service Until 2017 Posted: 21 Aug 2012 08:14 PM PDT China's first aircraft carrier won't be ready to be put into active service until 2017, state media report. The reports, accompanied by a set of mix'n'match pictures mostly of the Varag at berth in Dalian, go to some length to … Continue reading →

Escape Shanghai: Discover Sophisticated Urban Delights in Yangzhou Posted: 21 Aug 2012 07:00 PM PDT Date: Aug 22nd 2012 9:50a.m.

‘As a Harvard Alum, I Apologize’: James Fallows Posted: 21 Aug 2012 06:52 PM PDT An hour before I sat down here to write a post on a then unknown topic, I happened to be in the waiting area at a law firm. The lawyer I was scheduled to meet was running late. And for once I was glad for the delay. The reason: I had noticed a Newsweek magazine with the cover story, 'Obama's Gotta Go,' by Niall Ferguson of Harvard, and I really wanted to read it. I did read it, quickly. By way of full disclosure, I am a long-time supporter of Mr. Obama and a long-time skeptic about Mr. Ferguson (with whom, like James Fallows, I had a heated discussion about China, mine at a Harvard Business School conference). I had hoped that neither of these factors influenced me in thinking what a crappy piece of reasoning Dr. Ferguson's analysis of the Obama presidency and the merits of Mr. Romney and Mr. Ryan was. But, I feared they might have. For that reason, I take some support and comfort in the lambasting James Fallows gives both the article and Dr. Ferguson in 'As a Harvard Alum, I Apologize.' Mr. Fallows especially addresses Dr. Ferguson's comments about Mr. Obama and China. Well, worth a read, as is the rest of Mr. Fallows comments and Dr. Ferguson's article. By the way, like Mr. Fallows, I am also a Harvard alum, but I don't apologize. I didn't hire Dr. Ferguson; would not have hired at the time; and would fire him now (except for that sticky tenure thing) if I could. In other words, 'HIT THE ROAD, NIALL.' 'FERGUSON'S GOTTA GO.' Here's Mr. Fallows on the China part: 'You should read the [Dr. Ferguson's] article for yourself, but a few other highlights:' - "In Tokyo in November 2009, the president gave his boilerplate hug-a-foreigner speech… Yet by fall 2011, this approach had been jettisoned in favor of a 'pivot' back to the Pacific, including risible deployments of troops to Australia and Singapore. From the vantage point of Beijing, neither approach had credibility." The "from the vantage point of Beijing" assertion is based on no adduced evidence, and based on my experience and interviews there is more or less the opposite of the truth. Again, note that a Harvard professor of history uses the phrase "boilerplate hug-a-foreigner speech." - He presents an ominous chart showing that, if Obama is reelected, China's economy might become bigger than America's around the time he leaves office: What this chart demonstrates is not "a nation losing ground" but the reality that China has four times as many people as America does. When its overall economy exceeds ours, its per capita output will be only one-quarter as great. A historian would presumably know that the conscious strategy of every president from Richard Nixon through Barack Obama has been to encourage rather than thwart China's continued development, on the reasoning that a poor and festering China would be more dangerous to the United States than one that is becoming richer. … A little earlier I had a testy on-stage exchange with him about the United States and China. He said that U.S. budget deficits would lead to the certain collapse of the U.S.-China relationship, since China would cut off further credit to the spendthrift Yanks. I said that might sound like a neat theory but reflected no awareness of actual Chinese incentives and behavior, and that the showdown he considered "inevitable" in fact would not occur. As it has not. … The big claims and conclusions Ferguson has offered in recent years, with the extra authority of his academic standing, have been attention-getting and mostly wrong. Joe Weisenthal of Business Insider has an analysis here (and please also see this from Noah Smith). For instance: - U.S. budget deficits were going to lead to a US-China breakup. They didn't. - U.S. budget deficits were going to drive bond rates sky high. The opposite has occurred. - U.S. budget deficits would make us like Greece. They have not. - A year ago, Ferguson warned that we were on the verge of a damaging new round of inflation. We were not. Mr. Fallows concludes with: You can say these things if you're a talk-show host or a combatant on some cable-news gabfest. To me this is not what the tradition of Veritas and the search for scholarly enlightenment is supposed to exemplify. Seriously, I wonder if one of Ferguson's students will have the panache to turn in a similar paper to see how it fares. Not likely, Mr. Fallows, not likely.

Watch: NMA's funny take on the Anhui orgy pictures Posted: 21 Aug 2012 06:00 PM PDT For more NMA hilarity, click here. [ more › ]

Firewind Get Heavy at MAO Livehouse this Saturday Posted: 20 Aug 2012 11:39 PM PDT Date: Aug 21st 2012 2:34p.m. Contributed by: danielshap Greek metal quintet Firewind are coming Shanghai on August 25. They'll be playing at MAO Livehouse for the first time.

Apparently A Baby Siamese Crocodile Was Found In Beijing Posted: 21 Aug 2012 05:00 PM PDT Photo via Beijing Daily A Beijing property management staffer recently found a baby crocodile in a pool of water inside a residential complex, according to Xinhua. He called in the Beijing Aquatic Wildlife Center, which has confirmed the animal is a 40-centimeter young Siamese crocodile, native to southeast Asia, capable of growing to three meters. Apparently it had been raised as a pet and abandoned — shitty pet owners, I'm looking at you — and its new home will be the Beijing Aquatic Wildlife Center. Officials from there have issued a statement saying these sort of aquatic animals found outside their habitat shouldn't be set loose in the water: "Please promptly contact the animal protection unit to avoid unnecessary death or injury to the animal" if you find one. Lord forbid those urban legends about crocodiles (and alligators) living in the sewage prove to be true.

Chinese consumers look to imported food in response to food safety concerns Posted: 21 Aug 2012 04:00 PM PDT While many parts of the West look to local, organic food to ensure quality, Chinese consumers are starting to buy imported food in response to China's seemingly ever-present food scandals. China Daily reports: [ more › ]

Man Stands, Lays Across Motorbike While Zooming Down Road Posted: 21 Aug 2012 02:00 PM PDT A show on Guangxi Satellite recently showed footage of a man just a bit too cool to ride his motorbike like a normal human being. Apparently he was doing these stunts going at an excess of 60 kilometers per hour (37 mph). We've seen this before, of course: most notably, a man standing on a motorbike as a cop car pulls up next to him, but also a man in a car on the highway, and this guy GTA racing on a Beijing ring road (and crashing). There's a lesson here, we think. What could it be? Hmm. Youku video for those in China after the jump.

Watch: Thousands trapped by landslides in Sichuan Posted: 21 Aug 2012 02:06 PM PDT "More than 8,000 tourists have been escorted to safety after being trapped for three days by landslides after heavy rain in southwestern China's Sichuan Province. The landslides damaged more than 300 houses and blocked several roads in the region. They also caused power outages and interrupted water supply." [Euronews] [ more › ]

Blood and tears of childhood behind gold medals Posted: 21 Aug 2012 12:04 PM PDT From IFeng: At the London Olympics games, post 90s generation shined.  However, what is not known behind the gold medals is a childhood filled with blood and tears.  Look at these little faces with tears, hands and feet covered in scars, worn exercise bars and training pants, do you feel the pain? Little body not yet fully developed being forcefully stepped on everyday. The tearing little faces are easily seen in the training room. Hold back tears and practice. Kids endure pain and practice. Behind them is coach with "the ruler". Must finish even with crying. Four "little bats" hanging there and resting. Work those abs. Children's hands. Children's feet. Training pants that were worn out, Worn exercise bars Socks with holes. In order to point the toes, kids need to painfully walk on their toes everyday. Crawling. Childhood of handstands The huge character "gold" is posted on the wall, glowing red and blazing, it has been burned into the hearts of the young children. "There is always a dream, but only a few children will last, most parents feel sorry for their kids (and stop the training), so many good seedlings are buried like that." Coach said with pity "If a child can successfully go down this road, we have to thank his/her parents the most for persisting."

Beijing, Tokyo and Seoul Chat Chummily About An FTA Posted: 21 Aug 2012 11:46 AM PDT Despite the diplomatic tensions over disputed islands in the East China Sea, trilateral talks between China, Japan and South Korea on setting up a Northeast Asia free-trade agreement (FTA) are continuing. The second round of working talks among officials from … Continue reading →

Homemade Lamborghini In China Dubbed “Most Awesome Sports Car Ever” Posted: 21 Aug 2012 10:30 AM PDT By Alicia This "Lamborghini" made with spare parts from other cars and steel pipes is the ultimate passion project. Wang Jian, 28, from Siyang, Jiangsu province reportedly spent 60,000 yuan to construct this life-size replica model of the classic Italian sports car (maybe the Gallardo?), and slapped on the license plate "王NB0001" (the character is Wang, and "NB" is slang for "awesome"). Chinese netizens have dubbed it the "Most Awesome Sports Car Ever." We're told it's functional by at least two TV stations (obviously taking information from Sina Weibo et al.), and that it's able to reach 160 kilometers per hour. Absent of video proof, however — we've yet to find any — we're going to go ahead and not believe that last part. But perhaps it really is able to chug along at an indeterminate speed, and turn and go up slopes, as has been claimed, which would make it pretty awesome indeed. It "shouldn't be hidden from the public," as a commentator on Liaoning Satellite TV said (video embedded after jump). And what does Wang intend to do with his awesome creation? Use it to deliver fertilizer. Yes, in rural China, there's an operational made-at-home Lamborghini, and it's transporting fertilizer. Of course it is. For comparison:

Gu Kailai and the trapped mouse Posted: 21 Aug 2012 11:31 AM PDT by Joel Martinsen on August 21, 2012 In a courtroom in Hefei yesterday morning, Gu Kailai 谷开来 was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood. Like many of today's newspapers, Six O'Clock This Morning (今晨6点), a commercial paper based in Yantai, Shandong Province, noted the outcome in a front-page headline. The paper also quoted Gu's assessment of the case: "I feel that the verdict is just, and that it demonstrates the court's particular respect for the law, for reality, and for life." Gu's appearance at yesterday's sentencing (shown in the photo), and during the 9 Aug trial, seems far less glamorous than how she looks in older photographs circulating online. Even if rumors of a body double are paranoid conspiracy theories, there's no question that she's grown fatter and more fatigued during her detention. Beneath Gu's photo, in an interesting layout decision that captured the attention of media-focused microbloggers, the paper ran a teaser for a quirky news story about a mouse that somehow got itself trapped inside a beer can. The headline: Slim down to get out. Links and Sources Six 6 O'Clock This Morning: 薄谷开来故意杀人判死缓, 偷油吃的小老鼠改喝酒了

Three Foreign Correspondent Clubs issue joint statement on abuse of journalists Posted: 21 Aug 2012 09:35 AM PDT The Foreign Correspondent Clubs of Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong have issued a joint statement expressing alarm at the nature and frequency of "incidents in which international journalists have been threatened, harassed and even beaten while gathering news in China". [ more › ]

Presented By: Posted: 21 Aug 2012 09:35 AM PDT

No Fat Chicks, Says Collared Denim-Wearing Boy Posted: 21 Aug 2012 08:41 AM PDT Via Imgur, at the Bawangfen South bus stop near Dawanglu in Beijing. Atari, yo. That's the new old image of badass for the 2000s generation. What's that, that's not the Atari logo? Fuck it, I'm a pimp. Gonna go back to reading this now. (H/T Alicia) UPDATE: Picture by Natalie Litofsky!

China NDAs/NNN Agreements. What Your/We Need To Know. Posted: 21 Aug 2012 07:15 AM PDT Probably 99% of the Non Disclosure Agreements we see that have been used "quickly" by American companies with their potential Chinese counter-parties are defective, usually terminally so.  One of the things that most frequently makes them defective is that they call for disputes to be resolved in the United States. The problem with that is that Chinese courts do not enforce US court judgments and so even if the American company were to prevail in the United States, they typically have no recourse against the Chinese company unless the Chinese company has assets in the United States. Knowing this, the Chinese company feels free to violate the NDA with impunity. A China NDA should not be simply pulled "off the shelf" because an "off the shelf" U.S. style NDA is just not going to work.  I am not going to tell you that NDAs with China need be super complicated, because they don't.  But I am going to tell you that they need to be done right and that means not just pulling something off the shelf. In fact, when we do these sorts of agreements with Chinese companies, we nearly always do them as an NNN (Non Disclosure, Non Use/Non Compete, Non Circumvention) Agreement, not just an NDA.  We also ask a fairly long list of questions to our NNN client so as to tailor the NNN to its specific situation and to thereby maximize the likelihood that it will not be breached by the Chinese counter-party and to provide the best chance of recourse if it is.  To a certain extent, these two goals are the same in that providing the best chance of recourse against a Chinese company is what is going to have the most impact on preventing that company from violating the agreement. We ask the following questions before we begin work on NNN Agreements for our clients (along with follow-up questions based on the answers): Please provide us with a one or two paragraph description of what you will be doing in China that you want to be covered by the NNN agreement. Note that what what we mean by an NNN agreement is: 1) Non-disclosure, 2) non-use/non-compete and 3) non-circumvention. For China, 2) and 3) are far more important than 1). The danger with Chinese manufacturers is that they will use the idea you provide them for their own production and that they will then attempt to sell that product to your own customers. These actions are what we seek to prevent through the NNN agreement. Provide the full legal name of your company, including state/province/country of formation. Provide the address and related contact information that you will want for the agreement. Provide the name and title of the person from your side who will execute the agreement. Does your company have a Chinese name? If so, what is it? Will you use this agreement for a single product or for multiple products? What is the best way to identify the products for which the agreement will be used? Please provide us with a clear, descriptive name that does not require attaching specifications or other proprietary information. Sometimes, even the name is proprietary. So we want to develop a designation that is clear but that does not reveal more than you want to reveal. Will you use this agreement with a single potential manufacturer or with multiple manufacturers? What types of information will you be providing to the Chinese side that would be protected by the NNN agreement. Our clients range from providing a general concept all the way to providing the full production specifications as the preliminary to a hard price quote. Will you expect the Chinese side to do any design work during the initial discussion period? Is your product protected by trademark, copyright or patent anywhere in the world? Where? What about China? After you disclose this product in China, are you interested in preventing the Chinese side from contacting any of your existing customers concerning your product or related products? If so, do you want a general prohibition or do you wish to attach a specific list of persons/companies that the Chinese side should not contact (a "No Contact List"). We normally require the Chinese manufacturer NOT contact any potential sub-contractors who would work in the production process. Please advise if you believe that this would be a concern in your situation. Note that some Chinese "manufacturers" are not actually manufacturers. They serve only as a "middle man" for the actual manufacturers. If you use that kind of company, they will need to be able to discuss your product with their subcontractors and we will need to allow for this. Please advise on any specific technology items that you wish to have protected in a heightened manner. Note that this Agreement will apply only to PRC China manufacturers. It does not cover Taiwan or Hong Kong or Macau companies that may handle manufacturing for you as intermediaries. If you will be dealing with companies from Taiwan or Hong Kong or Macau (or from any country other than the PRC), please let us know so we can make allowances for that. Note that the NNN agreement applies only to the preliminary negotiation stage for your product. If you move on to production, you will need a formal OEM agreement. If you will engage the Chinese side to do design, you will need a formal design agreement. The NNN agreement is NOT a replacement for these other agreements. For more on China NNN Agreements, check out the following: Why Non Disclosures (NDAs) Alone Are Not Enough For China. Why Non Disclosures (NDAs) Alone Are Not Enough For China, Part II. At Least Make It Enforceable.

Chinese News Show Uses Frogger And Mario To Illustrate The Perils Of Jaywalking Posted: 21 Aug 2012 06:55 AM PDT We've seen, on more than one occasion, people here play real-life Frogger to disastrous results. A news show in Heilongjiang Province called Xinwen Yehang (新闻夜航, literally "News Night Flight") has connected the dots — Frogger… real-life… BAD — and compiled several dozen examples of jaywalking pedestrians risking their health to get across a street in Harbin called Edmonton Road. If not for the 8-bit music, the running commentary is best: "In the last half-hour, 392 people chose to cross the street, 66 cars crossed the double-lines to U-turn." And the vox pox from atop a nearby pedestrian bridge: Journalist: "Aren't (your bags) heavy?" Man: "Heavy. But paying attention to safety is best. Of course I understand the traffic rules." At the very end, the earnest journalist — bless her — says, "Life isn't as simple as video games. When you pass in the game, you can level up. If you fail, you can try again. But as for people's lives, they only have one." Youku video for those in China after the jump.

Ordering Up Innovation Posted: 21 Aug 2012 06:01 AM PDT If there is one thing that officials and employees of state-owned companies are creative at it it is filing quotas. In a bid to change Made in China in to Designed in China, Beijing has set quotas for patent filings. … Continue reading →

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