The tale of China’s tainted exports—from pet food to Thomas the Tank Engines and Barbie Dolls — turned even grimmer today. Southern Metropolis, a Guangzhou based daily, reported that Cheung Shu-hung, the owner of Lee Der Industrial Co., the Hong Kong based company that had shipped toys containing lead paint to Mattel, the maker of …
Asia
Let us know when the 08 ‘charm offensive’ begins…
Wouldn’t it be nice if, as part of a charm offensive in this, its ostensibly historic Olympic year, the Chinese government would allow those of us who live here to access websites like this–
The widening gap between rich and poor in China–see the ADB report I posted earlier–has set off of a debate among China hands as to just how big a deal it is, and whether it’s unusual given where China is in its economic development. What follows is what Michael Pettis, a finance professor at Beida (Peking University) had to say … From my colleague Jodi Xu, some thoughts on Beijing’s temporary car ban, which was announced yesterday: In one week Beijing expects to have some clearer skies and emptier streets. This is by far the best news I’ve heard recently, even better than someone telling me the price of pork is going to go down. Officials announced yesterday … In China, according to the latest survey by the Asian Development Bank, the income gap between rich and poor widened sharply last year—more than in any other country in Asia save Nepal. Now it’s true that academic studies suggest that this is fairly normal for a rapidly growing, newly industrializing economy. And anecdotally, my … Or, on second thought, don’t. The following is from the Beijing based Global Environmental Institute….
Panda Dung Makes ‘Green’ Souvenir Ling Li – August 7, 2007 – 5:00am China Watch Home … The amazing thing about the Chinese river dolphin is not its extinction so much as the fact that it has survived this long at all. It simply beggars belief that a sensate mammal was able to inhabit that viscous spillway of heavy metals, sewage and other toxins that goes by the name of the Yangtze River—but the poor things hung on … Political leaders everywhere—whether elected or unelected (as in China) –obviously care about public opinion. In this Olympic year, China’s leaders are arguably more attuned to foreign perceptions of their country than ever before. They should thus be interested in the following survey results from John Zogby, who runs a well known … Whoa! One year away and Jumpin Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, goes off the talking points! He tells a CNN interviewer Wednesday morning that some events next year could be postponed if the air quality is too poor in Beijing. We’re now one year away from Olympics 08, and, as if responding to the crack of a starting gun, a group of prominent dissidents in China have come out of the blocks with a tough, open letter calling for “universal human rights” in China. China’s basketball super star Yao Ming got married yesterday here in Shanghai. His wife, Ye Li, also plays hoops for the national team, and is herself six feet two inches tall (Yao’s 7’6”) which has led to all sorts of jokes about their forthcoming 12 foot tall children. (Ever mindful of guests with special needs, the Shangri … You can get a sense of the bureaucratic infighting within the Chinese government over the need for stronger environmental protection versus the need for continued strong economic growth in the following dispatch, which notes that the government has postponed “indefinitely” the release of the latest “green” GDP figures (for the … Ok, maybe my post a few days back about why China’s an environmental disaster area (corruption, corruption, corruption, I believe I wrote) was a tad too cynical. Herewith an observation from Stephen Green, an economist at Standard Chartered Bank based here in Shanghai. It is from cases like this–albeit lots and lots of them–that … Mind the Gap–II
Curing the China Cough
Mind the Gap…
Step Right Up and Get Your Panda Souvenir!
About China Watch
The Research and Breeding Center for Giant Pandas in Chengdu, the capital of southwestern China’s Sichuan So Farewell, Then, Chinese River Dolphin
What US Consumers Think of Chinese Products Now…
One World…One Dream…One Gas Mask
There is, of course, next to no chance this will happen. There won’t be a … Let the Games Begin…
Herewith the letter from “Chinese Human Rights Defenders (who are identified below.) This … Yao Ties the Knot–and Slam Dunks the Paparazzi
The (Bureaucratic) Enviro Wars in China intensify…
The Environment in China–am I too cynical?