Sunday, July 31, 2011

One more for the weekend ! HangZhou ZhongCe Rubber Co ,Ltd

In 1958 a LTD company was established in Hangzhou making rubber products - HangZhou ZhongCe Rubber Co ,Ltd.
I am not an expert - in 1958 there was already LTD companies existing in China ?
This is some "kind of advertisement" - enjoy:

Donald Tsang once again

So here is Donald Tsang once again talking about the civil servants etc.
By the way: The criticism was coming from Mr Wang Guangya the "Beijing watchdog for HK SAR & Macao". I can understand some of the complains of Mr Wang...but does your administration / civil servants give a good example to follow ? Think about it - its always easy to complain on the others - but better first check if your own house is under control.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Kubrick for your weekend !

You haven't watched a movie until you've watched Kubrick. Here an excellent cut of Kubricks movies. In perfect synch.
Have a nice weekend.

Update: Wenzhou train accident: Get the cash & shut up !

Oooops - quick money for the relatives / families of the Wenzhou train accident.
That S M E L L S !
Please read here
quote
Wenzhou Train Crash Families Paid Off by Authorities
Urged to sign quickly and cremate the bodies fast for a bonus
By Chen Yilian
Epoch Times Staff
Created: Jul 29, 2011

Family members grieve after identifying a loved one's body. (STR/AFP Getty Images)
The compensation agreement offered to families of victims of July 23’s Chinese bullet train collision by the Ministry of Railways has raised eyebrows. In exchange for the payment, the families must cremate the victims as soon as possible. And the agreement includes a “bonus” for quick cremation, which has inevitably been viewed as a means of trying to stem more negative fallout.

The Ministry of Railways stipulated that the families who accept the negotiation and sign the agreement shortly after the crash could receive an amount in the tens of thousands of yuan as a cash bonus.

So when a family member of Lin Yan, a victim of the crash, for example, signed an agreement with the Steering Committee of the Incident Management Task Force at 1:00 am on July 26, she received 500,000 yuan ($77,600): 450,000 yuan ($69,840) was compensation, while 50,000 yuan ($7,760) was a bonus for signing the agreement soon after the incident.

Family members that accept financial compensation are also reported to be signing away their rights to pursue legal action against the authorities in future.

After hearing about this, Shu Kexin of the Chinese People’s University Public Policy Research Center commented in his blog that using the term “bonus” gives the impression that the authorities are eager to finalize the incident quickly, with minimal fuss, and that they don’t care enough about the families.

A resident of Wenzhou City surnamed Cheng told The Epoch Times that this incident should be dealt with from a humanitarian perspective. He said: “Urging the families of the victims to sign the agreement as soon as possible is trying to smooth over the incident, so as not to make things worse. However, family affection is priceless, and it is meaningless no matter how much money is paid, as the beloved ones can never come back. Being a third party, I think the amount of the compensation, 500,000 yuan, is way too low.”

The family member of another victim named Li Jianzhong, 44, concurred: “Now that the identity of the victims has been confirmed, I wonder why the authorities do not allow the families of the victims to claim the remains. That’s the first thing that should be dealt with. Now that they are dead, the amount of compensation is of secondary importance.”
The handling of the disaster has faced much similar criticism. People wonder why the wrecked cars, along with victims’ remains, were buried so quickly and why names of the victims were not released promptly—and have still not been released. Though it had been announced that there were no signs of life in the fallen cars, an injured child was later rescued.

Another contested issue is why the Railway Ministry, which is responsible for the accident, should be allowed to conduct its own investigation; many are now calling for an independent investigation.
unquote
Nice !
I am quite curious how & when they will get this payout.
Cash ?
By TT from Beijing into their bank account if they have one ?
So in generally a persons life is less than USD 100,000 worth in China.
Good to know.
Here the list of the victims - it was said that 2 Americans also have died - this must be the number 6 & 26 on the list.

Sir Donald also talking now !

Here some response regarding the remarks of the Beijing General Manager for HK SAR Mr Wang. Donald Tsang is speaking. Honestly we do not need to love both of them.
Mr Wang ? I have no idea - but I guess he comes out of a political gang trying already to influx on Hong Kong as much as possible. One country - two systems ? 2046 is still some time to go guys !
This is from our beloved THE STANDARD:
quote
Tsang deflects Wang criticism of SAR teamDiana Lee and Colleen Lee Friday, July 29, 2011
Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen yesterday brushed aside criticism that the SAR's civil servants are weak in long-term planning.
His remarks came two days after Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office director Wang Guangya said in Beijing that local civil servants are not bossy enough. Wang urged the government to work more on long-term planning.
On his Facebook page, Upper Albert Road, Tsang said: "The team of the SAR government, be it political appointees or civil servants, has long been working for Hong Kong's long-term interests. We set out policies together.
"In the policy address to be delivered in October this year, we hope to put forth feasible short-term, mid-term and long-term measures to handle housing and home ownership problems, ease the income gap, raise the living standard of grassroots people, improve retirement protection schemes and provide better support for the elderly."
Tsang said in the past few years many of the policies introduced involved long-term planning, including the launch of major infrastructure projects, developing six industries, the minimum wage and putting forth political reform.
These, he said, pushed Hong Kong's development in the political, economic and social arenas.
The government will launch a joint consultation for this year's policy address and next year's budget which will help ensure policies set out will be financially supported, he said.
Meanwhile, Executive Council convener Leung Chun-ying disagreed with speculation that Wang's remarks were aimed at the chief executive.
"The central government has been supporting the chief executive's governance according to the law," he said. However, Leung did not say who Wang may have been referring to in his comments to a group of SAR university students in Beijing.
Leung, tipped as a contender in next year's chief executive election, praised civil servants as professional, capable and diligent, and had adapted to changing times according to the needs of society.
He said effective governance relies on long-term planning and professional execution along with understanding of social phenomena and structural conflicts such as poverty and economic development.
"In the past it was the British who mapped out the planning that was executed by Hong Kong's civil servants. Since the handover, it was Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong," Leung said.
"Hong Kong people need to plan as well as execute [policies]."
Leung said civil servants have faced a greater workload since the handover with the same manpower, as society has become more politicized.
unquote

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Mr Wang Guangya is talking..........

The general manager from Beijing overseeing the Hong Kong SAR & Macao made some comments about Hong Kong civil servants. The first hit out was indirectly against the 1997 ended british administration. But he did hit out more - very nice packaged and very indirect - but it seems he has meant the top of the Hong Kong "Government". So ? 2046 is still some time to go.......but guys like Mr Wang will mostly not have the pleasure to see that day of the 1st of July 2046 !
Here some of the news readings about that:
Very short message from RTHK - click it !
And here our beloved THE STANDARD - click it !
SCMP: Civil servants hitting back - click it !
China Daily: HK Edition - click it !
Harmony seems to be one of the most favourite words of chinese officials:
"On the upcoming elections, Mr Wang hoped that they could be conducted in a harmonious way."
With elections I guess he means the next HK CE "election" which is conducted by 1,200 people - isn't it ?
Happy (ahhh harmonious) elctions from my side then !
A harmonious cheers from Mr Wang himself here (but it looks like water only...............):

Update: Wenzhou train accident

Mr. Wen going there himself - then you need to consider the problem as serious or the other way around the concerns of the Government as very serious.
Please see the video here:

Up-date: Train accident


China wants to sell / export their train - technology ? Yes maybe workable - but do not export
your managers or officials please ! They are weak & corrupt !

Riot in south China after death of fruit vendor

It seems they never learn. Please read the below and think about it.
quote
BEIJING (Reuters) - Angry residents in a southern Chinese city went on the rampage after officials apparently beat to death a disabled fruit vendor, a state media said on Wednesday, in the latest incident of social unrest in the world's second-largest economy.

The China Daily said that thousands of people gathered on the streets of Anshun in Guizhou province on Tuesday afternoon, throwing stones at police and overturning a government vehicle.

The riot was sparked after urban management officers -- a quasi-police force that enforces laws against begging and other petty offences -- were suspected of beating the vendor to death, the newspaper said.

"The unidentified vendor died in front of the gate of a market ... which led to the gathering of the local people," it cited a government statement as saying.

"Before the incident occurred, urban management officers were working in the area," it added, saying the statement gave no other details.

The newspaper showed a picture of an urban management vehicle which had been overturned, along with smashed windows and doors that had been torn off.

Xinhua news agency said around 30 protesters and 10 police officers were injured in the unrest.

The elder brother of the dead man has "consented to (an)autopsy and asked police to seek justice", it added. "Police are questioning six city management staff members involved in the case."

Footage on China's popular Youku.com website, the country's answer to YouTube, showed a large crowed gathered in the street, and what seemed to be a body on the ground shaded by umbrellas.

An overturned vehicle could be seen in the distance, along with many police officers and a black armored car used by China's riot police.

Reuters could not authenticate the footage, nor when it was taken. Calls to the Anshun government seeking comment went unanswered.

"It was a total mess," one onlooker surnamed Jiang told the China Daily. "The people threw stones at the police officers and my feet were hit by flying rocks."

Hong Kong's Ming Pao newspaper said that the police used water cannons to disperse the protesters, who finally left the scene late in the evening.

In 2008, crowds stormed police and government headquarters in another part of Guizhou after allegations spread that police had covered up the rape and murder of a local teenage girl, seeking to protect the son of a local official.

China's stability-obsessed rulers get nervous about any sort of protest or unrest.

Earlier this month, a court in the southern export hub of Guangdong province jailed 11 people for their roles in riots that hit a city there in June.

In 2007, China had more than 80,000 "mass incidents", up from more than 60,000 in 2006, according to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Many involved no more than dozens protesting against local officials over complaints about corruption, abuse of power, pollution or poor wages.

No authoritative estimates of the number of protests, riots and mass petitions since then have been released.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Alex Richardson)
unquote
I am trying to find the related video footage of this riot. Here it is some footage at least:

See the police arriving here:

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

HILLARY CLINTON IN HONG KONG

2 days ago Hillary Clinton was in Hong Kong on a very short visit before travelling to Shenzhen.
Here some key-points from her speech in Hong Kong from THE ATLANTIC writer: Stewart M. Patrick who is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (where he writes the blog The Internationalist) and Director of the Program on International Institutions and Global Governance.
At the end of the post a YouTube video from Hillary's speech, where she is
promising the USA debt crisis will be solved.

quote
Clinton's first goal was to reassure her audience that the United States, despite its fiscal woes, remains fundamental to economic prosperity and regional security in Asia. She emphasized that the United States under the Obama administration "has made a comprehensive commitment to reinvigorate our engagement as a Pacific power--shoring up alliances and friendships, reaching out to emerging partners, and strengthening multilateral institutions." In sum, the United States is "a resident power in Asia.... And we are here to stay."


At the same time, Clinton insisted that the global economic crisis has underscored the need to "reach agreement on the rules and principles that will anchor our economic relationships in the coming decades." Those principles include:

1.The Asia-Pacific economic system must be open--shedding rules that restrict trade and create discriminatory markets. Exclusive trading arrangements fragment the regional economy. It is time for a broader Trans-Pacific Partnership that unites the region.

2.The regional system must be a free one, in which "ideas, information, products and capital can flow unimpeded by unnecessary or unjust barriers." Just as the United States seeks to attract foreign investment, so others must be open to U.S. and other foreign capital.

3.Economic regulations must be developed transparently and communicated to all parties, rather than conjured up when convenient.

4.Finally, rules must be applied fairly to all, since "fairness sustains faith in the system. That faith is difficult to sustain when companies are forced to trade away their intellectual property just to enter or expand in a foreign market, or when vital supply chains are blocked."

(This last critique was aimed squarely at China, which has alienated investors and trading partners through its "indigenous innovation" policies and its embargo on exporting "rare earth" metals to Japan.)

Clinton's four principles--which she first articulated at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) senior ministers' meetings in Washington in March--are hardly original. They have been part and parcel of the U.S. vision of an open, multilateral system of trade and payments since the end of World War II. Then, as now, the overriding U.S. strategic objective was to prevent the world's fragmentation into competing, discriminatory economic--and eventually political--blocs.

What is novel in Clinton's approach is her insistence that developing countries--which have often been granted special treatment--can no longer be exempted from binding rules.

unquote

SIXTHOUSAND

Yes ! As you all know each Hong Kong permanent resident is entitled to receive a one-time payment of HKD 6,000 from the government later this year. Now there is a webpage available to tell you
how to get that money - just click here.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Train crash - some up-dates here

So now is "blaming time" - 3 officials already sacked. Also blamed "foreign technology" - see following info here:
quote
Bombardier falls after Chinese train crash
A high-speed train crash in China that killed at least 38 people is dragging down shares of Bombardier Inc.

While the cause of the worst rail disaster in the country since 2008 is still unknown, the trains were built by a joint venture between Bombardier and China Southern Locomotive. The signaling system was manufactured by General Electric Co.

Shares of Montreal-based Bombardier fell more than 5% to $5.80 in Monday morning trading, but some Chinese railway equipment companies declined double-digits.

“Some industry participants believe that investment in rail infrastructure will be put on hold until an official safety review takes place,” Benoit Poirier, analyst at Desjardins Securities, told clients.

He noted that Bombardier has three JVs and seven Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprises in China, under which it manufactures rolling stock, propulsion equipment and signaling equipment. It has also delivered thousands of rail cars to the Chinese market.

Bombardier generated 13% of its Transportation revenues in the Asia-Pacific region in fiscal 2011, with the majority likely related to China, Mr. Poirier noted.

“It remains to be seen if development of new rail lines in China will be compromised given the accident,” the analyst said. “However, a slowdown in the development of the very high-speed rail system could be beneficial to Bombardier’s regional aircraft business. In addition, the train crash could reduce the nascent threat of Chinese manufacturers taking market share away from Western manufacturers in international train contracts.”

Chinese state media said a high-speed train hit a second train that had lost power after being struck by lightning. Reports suggest lightning also caused a failure in the signaling system that would have warned the second train about the one in front of it.
unquote
Here some YouTube footage of how the mess was quickly removed after the accident - somebody was saying: "Made in China buried in China"
Government buried the fragments of train before investigation. Bullet train crash in China. 

Monday, July 25, 2011

Dozens die as bullet trains collide in Zhejiang

Click here please
Accident with 2 trains - safety concerns coming up now. The speed of construction is too high.
The security is too low. Corruption is too high and favours un-safe solutions.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

KINGS CUBE - ABOUT LIVING IN THE CUBE



The idea for the above videa was triggered by this one (only in cantonese) - 400 sqf for HKD 6 Miliion - and it is already very small.

Lai Changxing is back home now

I did not find any footage about his arrival in Beijing today. I saw it on the news this evening - handcuffed directly out of the plane. He is back and surely immediately into the prison. If you dig a little bit deeper about Lai then you maybe will find out that according to the terms of what the government calls him a "criminal" is not the correct deal. He was just smart enough to use all the loopholes provided by the government itself. And all the so-called bribed officials - sorry this was the government itself. Now you tell me you are all the good people or what - here some propaganda clip about Mr. Lai. Beat me if I am terribly wrong - dig the internet about this case and you will find out more things.

R.I.P. AMY WINEHOUSE

just in the news Amy Winehouse was found dead in her home. Have a good journey.


Here at Glastonbury 2007 Introducing the Band:

Now Amy is a member of the 27 Club:
CLICK HERE FOR THE MEMBERS
Some more very detail info about Amy Winehouse here:
A lot about Amy click here
Here some older clip together with her ex-husband (was he really good for her - lets have some doubts on this....). This is somewhat quite nuts:
http://youtu.be/HWc0IGle45Y

Friday, July 22, 2011

Update Lai Changxing:Chinese fugitive faces quick deportation after Federal Court loss

Here the last news for the Lai Changxing case. It seems very soon he will be back to China - please read here:
quote
Chinese fugitive faces quick deportation after Federal Court loss
SUNNY DHILLON
VANCOUVER— Globe and Mail Update
Published Thursday, Jul. 21, 2011 8:50PM EDT
Last updated Friday, Jul. 22, 2011 3:03AM EDT

Hailing assurances from the Chinese government that it will not torture or execute Lai Changxing as “strict, clear and unequivocal,” a Federal Court judge ruled against the high-profile fugitive, setting the stage for his deportation and ending a legal saga that has long hampered relations between Ottawa and Beijing.

Mr. Lai, who’s accused of masterminding a multibillion-dollar smuggling network that imported consumer goods in the city of Xiamen, had asked the court to stay a deportation order issued against him. The 52-year-old feared that like his brother and accountant he would meet a mysterious prison death.

But Mr. Justice Michel Shore said the assurances provided by the Chinese government nullified those concerns, capping a deportation fight that began when Mr. Lai was picked up at a Niagara Falls casino in 2000.

“It is assumed that the assurances of the Chinese government, as per its written promises, will be kept, as the Chinese government’s honour and face is, and will be, bound and kept respectively, by the monitoring for the lifetime of the applicant...,” Judge Shore wrote in his ruling, issued late Thursday.

Judge Shore said a new contractual government to government climate has been created by the assurances and Mr. Lai’s life is in China’s hands. He said the assurances, which also allow Canadian officials to visit Mr. Lai and sit in on some of his court hearings, “augur hope for a different way to be taken, in a newly unfolded path to which the Chinese government’s signature has been officially affixed for the commitments undertaken. The future, yet to be seen by both countries and others, will stand as witness to the outcome.”

The judge isn’t the only one to recently address a new relationship between Canada and China.

Mr. Lai was arrested just days before Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird headed to Beijing to bolster ties between the two countries. During his trip, Mr. Baird called China an “important ally” and asserted a “strategic partnership” on matters such as energy, natural resources, and international affairs. It was a change in tone from the early days of the Stephen Harper government, when comments about human rights annoyed China, and Mr. Harper initially chose not to visit. Mr. Baird indicated the Conservative government felt little sympathy for Mr. Lai’s plight.

In a statement posted on the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s website, spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said: “We welcome the court's decision in Canada.”

When Mr. Lai will be deported remains unclear. The Canada Border Services Agency had first indicated it would remove him on July 25. But hours before the judgment was issued, a government lawyer said he could be sent back as early as Saturday. Judge Shore said Mr. Lai was scheduled to be “removal ready” on Friday.

“The CBSA does not share information about when a removal order will be enforced for the safety and security of all those involved,” a CBSA spokeswoman wrote in an e-mail. She said under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, removal orders must be enforced as soon as possible and that’s what the agency is committed to doing.

How long officials can keep the removal under wraps remains to be seen, with dozens of reporters following the case, creating a circus-like atmosphere at each hearing.

Darryl Larson, one of Mr. Lai’s lawyers, had indicated to reporters Wednesday that Mr. Lai might be able to extend his time in Canada by asking the court to weigh in on a certified question. But David Matas, Mr. Lai’s other counsel, clarified those remarks Thursday and said his client could only ask such a question if the court ruled in his favour.

When asked if Mr. Lai had any legal options left if the court ruled against him, Mr. Matas simply told The Globe and Mail: “No.”

During the federal court hearing, Mr. Matas had scoffed at the assurances provided by the Chinese government. He said they didn’t go far enough, wouldn’t keep his client safe, and wouldn’t ensure he received a fair trial.

He told the court Canadians were only promised access to “open court,” meaning officials couldn’t attend any hearings closed to the public – common practice for politically sensitive proceedings. He added that it would be next to impossible to find a lawyer to represent Mr. Lai who wasn’t influenced by the Communist Party, since the government had turned him into the “poster boy” for corruption.

But Judge Shore said none of the issues raised by Mr. Lai, due to the Chinese government’s assurances, amounted to clear and convincing proof necessary to support his irreparable harm claim.

“Mr. Lai has provided no evidence in support of his stay motion that he would now be at risk upon return to China, due to the specific assurances provided.”

“Furthermore, it is apparent that Mr. Lai has been negotiating his return to China with the Chinese authorities,” the judge wrote, referring to evidence put forward by government lawyers. “This willingness to engage in negotiations to return to China belies the alleged risk of return to China.”

Judge Shore called Mr. Lai a “common criminal fugitive” who had full access to Canada’s immigration process over the last 11 years.

In an interview with The Globe and Mail two years ago, Mr. Lai admitted skirting the law, but said he was merely taking advantage of perceived loopholes at a time of murky custom regulations.

He’s been held at a Maple Ridge jail since his arrest two weeks ago.

In 2007, the Federal Court came to Mr. Lai’s rescue by overturning an Immigration Canada finding that he faced no risk if returned to China. The judge in that case ordered a new report, with more emphasis on the risk of torture. It took the government agency four years to complete its assessment.
unquote

Thursday, July 21, 2011

The Story of Deng Wen Di

Here the details about Deng Wen Di - the wife of Mr. Murdoch. This has been published in 2000 - means shortly after she became Wendi Deng-Murdoch. Surely much more things to her benefits happended the last 11 years. People saying she is "unstoppable" - others say she is simply a "gold-digger". Whatever is the truth - gold she found anyhow and she will not let it go. Please read below - lets say this is another "China success story":
quote
Who is Wendi Murdoch?
The Observer, Sunday 5 November 2000
Last week the normally austere Wall Street Journal published an extraordinary investigation into the tangled love life and massive influence of Rupert Murdoch's wife, Wendi Deng. The paper sent reporters to Beijing, Singapore and Los Angeles to produce a story that has made headlines round the world. Here we print the original WSJ article by John Lippman, Leslie Chang and Robert Frank
The Observer, Sunday 5 November 2000
Article history
When NewsCorp officials gathered in the Hong Kong convention centre last March to unveil their latest Chinese internet investment, a tall woman handed out a business card that read 'News Corporation/Wendi Deng Murdoch'.

Deng is not a NewsCorp employee. Once a junior executive at the company's Star TV in Hong Kong, Deng, 31, quit her post before marrying NewsCorp chairman Rupert Murdoch last year. Since then, she has been portrayed - by Murdoch and the company - as a traditional housewife who attends to decorating, her husband's diet and the like.

But Deng is no homebody. Though she doesn't have a formal position with her husband's media empire, she has quickly asserted her influence over NewsCorp's operations and investments in Asia, its most important growth market.

Working with her stepson, James Murdoch, 27, Deng has initiated or advocated Chinese internet investments totalling between $35 million and $45m, according to a top NewsCorp executive. With her advice, the company has also formed partnerships with cable companies in the region looking to upgrade their systems for high-speed video and internet access.

Murdoch, who is 69, has never hesitated to put family members to work in his businesses. Last month, he named his eldest son, Lachlan, 29, deputy chief operating officer, in a move partly aimed at clarifying that he is his father's heir. James serves as chief executive of Star TV and has carved out Asia and the internet as his province. Even Murdoch's ex-wife, Anna Mann, whom he divorced last year, has an office and assistant at NewsCorp's New York offices, although she no longer has an active role with the company.

Now, Deng is rising to a place of prominence in the family business.

People within NewsCorp and outsiders involved in the Chinese internet and media industries say she identifies potential investments for her husband's company and acts as his liaison and translator in China.

These people say Deng is well suited for this unusual role. The daughter of a factory director in Guangzhou, China, Deng came to the US 12 years ago with the aid of a California couple. The husband in that couple later left his wife for Deng. She mastered English, climbed from a California college to Yale's business school and eventually landed at Star TV in Hong Kong.

Having left China in obscurity as a teenager, Deng is now returning in grand style, as the wife and adviser of a global media baron.

'Wendi gives NewsCorp a Chinese face in China,' says Joseph Ravitch, co-head of the global media practice at Goldman Sachs Group, which advises NewsCorp on its Asia strategy. 'She represents not just the company but the owner, and that's critical in a country where families are very important.'

Murdoch has long been fascinated by the potential of the Chinese market, and his Fox studio was a pioneer in the country. But at times, he has seemed to lack the feel for subtleties his wife is said to have. In 1993, shortly after he acquired control of Star TV, Murdoch made a still-notorious remark that satellite TV would prove 'an unambiguous threat to totalitarian regimes everywhere'. China immediately retaliated by banning private ownership of satellite dishes. Reception by private households of Star TV and its affiliate, Phoenix Satellite Television, remains illegal in China, though many cable operators and residential compounds defy the ban and carry the channels.

Murdoch gradually repaired relations with the Chinese. He pulled the BBC from Star TV, making the channel more palatable to the Beijing government. He sold the South China Morning Post to a pro-Beijing businessman. And at his behest, NewsCorp's HarperCollins publishing unit killed a book contract with the last governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten. Today, NewsCorp's officially restricted Phoenix channel is a favourite among urban Chinese households, and the company has greater access to the mainland market than any of its competitors.

With the exception of an odd mention in the newspaper gossip pages or a glossy magazine photo spread, Deng has stayed out of the public eye. She accompanies Murdoch on his worldwide jaunts and stayed at his side when he received prostate cancer treatment last summer.

Shortly after they were married in June 1999, Murdoch told Vanity Fair magazine that his relationship with his new wife precluded her from working for NewsCorp. Instead Deng was 'busy working on decorating the new apartment' in Manhattan. He said his bride, a graduate of the Yale School of Management, was 'a bit frustrated' by the narrow scope of her activities, adding, 'We'll just have to resolve that somehow'.

The resolution has taken Deng far beyond choosing upholstery. She has become a de facto diplomat on behalf of NewsCorp in China, a country where good relations with government officials is critical to success. Over the past year, she has met with politicians from President Jiang Zemin down. In one of her few answers to written questions, Deng said she had met the Chinese president only at large gatherings on 'formal occasions'. Deng also said she hadn't initiated any meetings with 'top level' Chinese government officials.

In recent months, Deng has appeared with increasing frequency at the side of her husband and stepson James in NewsCorp business meetings. She sometimes intervenes to smooth over potentially awkward situations. In March, for example, she and the father-and-son Murdoch team met a well-connected Chinese businessman in Shanghai, in the hope of advancing NewsCorp's push into the Chinese TV market. The meeting got off to an uncomfortable start, at least partly because of the language barrier between the Murdoch men and their host, according to a participant. But Deng used her bilingual fluency to put everyone at ease,.

Deng has become deeply involved in the company's analysis and negotiation of business transactions in China, according to people who have dealt extensively with NewsCorp. Entrepreneurs trying to interest the company in their ideas often go first to Deng, according to a person close to NewsCorp She has told this person she sometimes receives more than 100 emails a day from Chinese people with business proposals. She sometimes meets entrepreneurs at NewsCorp's offices in Beijing or at one of the city's business- gathering spots, such as the St Regis bar.

NewsCorp executives say that among the deals Deng has helped forge is a recent multimillion-dollar company investment in Netease.com, one of the most popular web portals that target the mainland. Earlier this year, she worked with James Murdoch to negotiate NewsCorp's investment of more than $10m in the Chinese-language internet company renren.com, according to Anthony Cheng, founder of the website. Cheng recalls that at one meeting about renren.com, Deng displayed her deep involvement when she grilled him on the difference between the site's marketing strategies in Beijing and Shanghai. She calls him with ideas from time to time on how to improve his company, Cheng adds. 'She's very keyed into all the News Corp and Star TV properties and how to better link them,' he says.

Deng initiated News Corp's investment last December in SinoBIT.com, a Beijing website that seeks to link entrepreneurs to investors online, according to Steve Sun, the site's co-founder. She did so by introducing Sun, whom she knew through mutual friends from Yale, to James Murdoch, Sun says. At the same time, people who have done business with Deng say she appears to take great pains not to overstep her unofficial role. Sun notes, for example, that she didn't attend a second meeting between him and James Murdoch, at which the terms of the investment in SinoBIT.com were finalised. 'She gave James the right to make the decision,' Sun says.

Deng hasn't neglected the business of minding Murdoch, who has undergone the kind of change in appearance often associated with a man's marrying a much younger wife.

Murdoch for decades preferred establishment addresses such as New York's Upper East Side and Bel Air in Los Angeles. But after remarrying, he and Deng set up home in Manhattan's trendy SoHo district, a few blocks from the apartment of Murdoch's son, Lachlan. Known for his British-style double-breasted business suits, the older Murdoch started sporting black turtlenecks. NewsCorp executives say that sometimes he even forgoes a tie at the office, once unthinkable. He told Vanity Fair he is pumping iron with a personal trainer at 6am and downing a morning concoction of fruit and soy protein.

When Deng began appearing at Murdoch's side about two years ago, NewsCorp executives wondered where she had come from and how she got there. They knew nothing about her other than that she joined Star TV as an intern in 1996, shortly after obtaining an MBA from Yale. Deng herself hasn't commented in the press about her background.

Born Deng Wen Di, in the eastern Chinese city of Xuzhou, her parents later moved to the southern city of Guangzhou. Deng was the family name. She later compressed her Chinese first name into 'Wendi'. Deng's father served as director of a machinery factory in Guangzhou. The family lived in a three-bedroom apartment, unusually large by Chinese standards. Wendi Deng has two sisters and one brother. A good student and champion volleyball player, Deng had enrolled in Guangzhou Medical College by the age of 16.

Her ticket out of China came in 1987, when she met a Los Angeles couple, Jake and Joyce Cherry. Cherry, then 50, was working in Guangzhou, helping the Chinese to build a factory to make freezers for food-processing plants. The Cherrys' interpreter told them of a young woman who was looking for help with her English. Joyce Cherry, then 42, says she began tutoring the teenager. In the fall of 1987, Joyce Cherry returned to Los Angeles to enrol her two children in elementary school. Cherry stayed in China to finish the factory project.

Soon after Joyce Cherry was resettled in Los Angeles, she says, her husband called to say that Deng wanted to come to the US to study. He asked Joyce Cherry to help complete the paperwork and get an application ready for a local college. The Cherrys sponsored Deng's bid for a student visa and agreed to put her up until she had established herself. The 19-year-old arrived at the Cherry home in February of 1988. She shared a bedroom and bunk beds with her hosts' five-year-old daughter.

All was not well, however, between the elder Cherrys. Cherry, who arrived home shortly after Deng came to California, had grown physically ill in China from a combination of overwork and poor diet. The spouses' separation had strained the marriage, the Cherrys concur. At the same time, Joyce says she had grown increasingly suspicious about Deng's relationship with her husband. She recalls discovering photographs her husband had taken of Deng in coquettish poses in his hotel room in Guangzhou. Cherry confirms he became infatuated with the young woman. Once they were in Los Angeles, he says, Deng started making recommendations about his diet and wardrobe.

When her husband and Deng didn't return home some evenings, Joyce says she concluded they were having an affair. She told Deng to leave, and Cherry left soon afterwards. He moved into a nearby apartment with Deng, who had enrolled at California State University at Northridge, a commuter college in the San Fernando Valley.

The Cherrys divorced, and Cherry married Deng in February 1990. But that union didn't last. Cherry says that about four months after the wedding, he told Deng to leave because she had started spending time with a man named David Wolf. Cherry was 53 at the time. Wolf was in his mid-twenties, only a few years older than Deng. Wolf, who declined interview requests, worked in the early Nineties for an import-export company. He spoke some Chinese and was interested in a career in China, according to someone who knew him.

Cherry says he and Deng were briefly reconciled at one point, but they split up for good when it became clear she was continuing to see Wolf. 'She told me I was a father concept to her, and it would never be anything else,' Cherry recalls. 'I loved that girl.'

Divorce records filed with the Los Angeles County Superior Court show that the Cherry-Deng marriage lasted two years and seven months. That was seven months longer than what was required for Deng to obtain a green card, allowing her permanently to live and work in the US as a resident alien. Cherry says he and Deng actually lived together for 'four to five months, at the most'. They haven't spoken since 1996, he adds.

During the early Nineties when she was married to Cherry, and for a time after that, Deng on some occasions introduced the tall, well-dressed Wolf as her husband, according to people who knew Deng. Ken Chapman, a California State economics professor, recalls that the last time he saw his former student, in 1995, she handed him Wolf's business card and said she could be reached through her 'husband'. At 5'10" herself, Deng and Wolf made a striking couple, according to people who knew them. They shared several addresses during the Nineties and told friends that they had met in China, when Wolf had been there on business.

For a time in the early Nineties, the couple worked at a suburban Los Angeles gymnastics academy operated by Li Ning, a Chinese three-times Olympics gold medallist. Deng served as a liaison between the gym's Chinese coaching staff and parents of the school-age clientele; Wolf, as the gym's general manager. Today, Wolf works as a director in the Beijing office of Burson-Marsteller, a large PR firm.

In 1996, Deng graduated from Yale and began looking for a job. Through a friend, she met Bruce Churchill, who then oversaw finance and corporate development at NewsCorp's Fox TV unit in Los Angeles. She lacked experience in the entertainment industry, but had an Ivy League business degree and was fluent in English and Mandarin, attributes of particular value to News Corp's struggling Asian satellite service, Star TV. Churchill, who was on his way to Star TV as deputy chief executive, offered Deng an internship in Hong Kong. That grew into a full-time job.

Even though Deng was a relatively junior employee, she took an active role in planning Star TV's activities in Hong Kong and China, according to former NewsCorp colleagues. She helped build distribution in China for its Channel V music channel, for example, and explored interactive TV opportunities for the company's News Digital Systems arm.

Rupert Murdoch frequently talks to NewsCorp's business development executives around the globe, so it isn't surprising that one day he would cross paths with Deng. In early 1998, she first appeared at his side, acting as his interpreter in Shanghai and Beijing.

By that summer, the Star TV staff was buzzing about romance between the pair. After dinner meetings in Hong Kong, they were observed holding hands. In May, Murdoch had separated from his wife of 31 years, Anna. The split surprised even his closest aides, who say they hadn't seen any sign of a rupture.

Murdoch told senior Star TV executives in the autumn of 1998 that his relationship with Deng was 'serious'. Star TV's then-chairman, Gareth Chang, told Murdoch at the time that it was a bad idea for Deng to remain on staff, given her personal relationship with the parent company's chairman. That wouldn't be a problem, Murdoch replied, because Deng would be resigning and moving with him to New York.

Today, Rupert and Wendi Murdoch spend time not only in SoHo, but also at their home in Bel Air and on a ranch near Carmel, California. Murdoch controls about 30 per cent of NewsCorp, a stake worth roughly $8.7 billion. He has said the stock is owned by trusts that name his three children as beneficiaries.

Rupert and Anna Murdoch's divorce became final in June 1999. Negotiations over a divorce settlement dragged on for nearly 12 months, as Anna Murdoch's lawyers tried to determine the extent of NewsCorp's global assets. Financial terms of the settlement weren't made public, but the Murdochs have said they agreed on one crucial point: that their children eventually would gain control of the company. Five months later Anna Murdoch married widower William Mann, chairman of Henry Mann Securities in New York. Rupert Murdoch and Wendi Deng were married on June 25, 1999, 17 days after his divorce became final.
unquote

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Wendi Deng Murdoch Smacks Pie-Throwing Protester Who Targeted Rupert Murdoch

Please enjoy the below:


And here again - this one has already 180,000 hits on YouTube:

Its raining all the time here - RIDERS ON THE STORM

Since a few days we have really heavy rain here in Hong Kong - somewhat quite giving a special atmosphere in some degree...So what about listening to RIDERS ON THE STORM ? Funnily it seems
impossible to find a real version showing the original DOORS. Anybody have a link - please tell me. So here is one of the better ones to be found on the net - enjoy:

Perfect match to the post below: Now very soon Guo Mei Mei can buy her LV, Gucci & Hermes much cheaper in China

Already a rumour for some weeks: The Government in China is looking forward to lower the import tax on luxury goods. This is good news for Guo Mei Mei and all other big spenders in the mainland. No need to go HK anymore - maybe only for image reasons (surely as long there will not be ZERO import tax in China - HK always will be cheaper). But the real "riches" they anyhow go Milan, Paris or London - no matter the price.
Please read here from 19.07.11 THE STANDARD (Hong Kong):
quote
Beijing's hint of luxury
Staff reporter Tuesday, July 19, 2011
In Beijing's Caishikou Department Store, people are buying gold as if they are purchasing vegetables. And in the Shin Kong Place shopping mall, sales of luxury products such as Gucci and Prada are set to reach 400 million to 500 million yuan annually.

And that, according to a top Beijing official, is why the time is fast approaching for tariffs on luxury goods to be lowered in the mainland.
Such a move will boost sales and consumption and is in keeping with the 12th Five Year Plan, Zhang Guoqing, the deputy director of policy research at the Ministry of Commerce said yesterday.
But he stressed the final decision and the timing rest with the Ministry of Finance and not the Commerce Ministry.
"High tariffs on luxury goods no longer reflect the actual situation in China's economic development," Zhang said in an interview in Beijing with Sing Tao Daily, sister publication of The Standard.
"It is generally accepted that an appropriate adjustment of tariffs on luxury goods is necessary and should be done ... if you don't adjust it, people will buy these goods overseas and help other countries' consumption."
High tariffs are intended to discourage people from adopting a luxury lifestyle - but times have changed with the rise in incomes and people's aspirations to pursue a certain quality of life.
When the prices of goods in the mainland are double or even higher than their cost outside the country, local money flows overseas, Zhang said. He believes that billions of yuan now going overseas will remain in the country if tariffs are lowered.
Mainland consumers spent four times more on branded luxury goods in overseas markets than in the domestic market last year, due primarily to the large price differences, a recent World Luxury Association survey found.
It was reported in June that tariffs on items including cosmetics, cigarettes and liquor will be among the first to be slashed by up to 15 percentage points, followed by jewelry, clothes, bags and watches. No timetable was given for when this will happen.
Earlier, Ministry of Commerce spokesman Yao Jian said it is "inevitable" that the mainland will lower some tariffs on imported goods, especially mid to high-end products.
If the Finance Ministry decides to go ahead with the cuts, Hong Kong retailers selling luxury goods and the tourism trade might be affected.
unquote

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

One more about the Guo Mei Mei case

Just checking if there have been any new news about that case - but didn't find anything newer that 15th of July. I found this one, here with a more straight tenor about the "overall" existing corruption in China. Believe me corruption is everywhere: In micro (means few RMB) to medium (a few hundreds to a few thousands) to SUPERBIG (millions). When sometimes reading that a director of a local bank in a damned remote little town has taken 100 of millions of RMB out from the bank to have a "good life" or whatever, there is always one question unanswered: How can somebody steal so much money & nobody find this out immediately ? Maybe because they are all bribed ?
quote
Red Cross Scandal – Money for Your Morals
date:2011-7-13 
I give you 500 RMB, and I don’t have to pay the 2,000 RMB fine.
I give you 5,000 RMB, and you approve the sanitation inspection of my restaurant.
I give you 10,000 RMB, and you accept my son in your university.
I give you Maseratis, Lamborghinis, luxury brands with company funds and you become my mistress.

The reach of corruption in China is so systemic it’s an accepted reality in climbing the social ladder, and has led people to adopt a naturally suspicious outlook in the face of another’s success and fame. Large government organizations are not trusted either, with the People’s Bank of China revealing in a report last month that over 800 billion RMB ($123.7 billion) had been smuggled out the country since the 1990s by government officials.

Frauds and bribes are social occurrences present in every society. Occasionally, one will surface in the news and cause a firestorm that will long be remembered. In China, there isn’t the same sense of surprise or outrage, as cases of mismanaged funds, corrupted officials and venal affairs are so prevalent they can be seen splashing the headlines on a regular basis. Same story, different day.

Last week, however, one scandal, of singular venality, truly did ignite the Chinese people’s fury. A 20-year-old woman, Guo Meimei, became the source of attention on Sina Weibo, the Chinese version of Twitter, as she flaunted her lavish lifestyle in photos; parading in front of a white Maserati, an orange Lamborghini, a closet collection of her Hermès bags and sporting various other luxury brands.

What made Guo Meimei stand out from the rest of the nouveaux riches, however, was her boastful claim to be working at the Red Cross Society of China – the country’s largest charity organisation – under the title of ‘commercial general manager’.


In the wake of the scandal coming to light, both Guo Meimei and the Red Cross firmly denied having any ties with one another, and it was reported in this week’s news that she was in fact the girlfriend of an old businessman working for China Red Cross Bo’ai Asset Management Ltd. Corp., a shadowy for-profit subgroup, who was responsible for organising charity drives. The man has since left the company.

While this alone did much to discredit the image of the Red Cross in the eyes of the Chinese public, it was just one in a string of cases. Last April, a picture of a 9,582 RMB dinner bill, for just 17 people of its Shanghai branch, surfaced on the Internet. During late June, just as the Guo Meimei scandal was unfolding, reports revealed the philanthropic organisation was responsible for overspending on one of its equipment procurement contracts by 4.2 million RMB ($670,000).

The government, in turn, has not dithered in its response to the scandal: the Guo Meimei story was extensively reported in the news, with the woman being trailed by paparazzi, while allegations of corruption related to the Red Cross disappeared from the media radar.

While the Red Cross story will set philanthropy back a few years in China, it does also simultaneously provide the opportunity for people in China to push for more transparency.

Just a month ago, for instance, an anti-corruption website was created in China, offering people the chance to report any cases of bribes or graft they were aware of. The website received over 200,000 views in just two weeks before the government started blocking user IPs, and eventually pressured the webmaster to take it down. Granted, it’s not much, but it does show a certain willingness on people’s part to seek an outlet through which to discuss and condemn corruption.

Microblogging, on the other hand, seems to be the new go-to for Chinese to vent their complaints, and has changed the face of media communication in China. With one million messages posted every single hour on the leading microblog platform Sina Weibo, the government has to wrestle with a new problem. It was on Weibo the Guo Meimei pictures were found, and it is where most of the country’s scandals first see the light. Even topics concerning Tibet, the events of Tiananmen and the recent revolutions in the Middle East can be discussed by fooling the censors.

The government in China, for the Party’s 90th birthday, has pledged to deal with corruption; top graft offenders are executed, and new audits of government officials (10 figures audited every year) have been set in motion for the years to come. But whereas the government had hitherto controlled the speed of the machine, the anonymous Internet world has changed the name of the game, and there may just be two ways of keeping up: clamping down or loosening up. Every minute that goes by makes suppression more difficult.
unquote
This article was from HUNTERREALESTATE in Hangzhou...........

So in generally - be aware of the scheme ruling all over China:
Nobody trust anybody.
Everybody tries to take advantage whenever there is the slimmest chance to do so.
Your money must be in MY pocket as fast as possible.
You pay for goods - you get lousy quality - you surely do not get your money back.
Cheating even the smallest amounts is common behavior.
The fear of getting cheated is everywhere.
Fake RMB notes (popular = RMB 50) on the rise.
Crazy discussions / fights even because of the smallest amounts.
This is important to know if you are planning to do business in China with chinese partners.
The list is endless !

Women`s World Cup Final Game ( Japan vs. USA ) Penalty Shootout

Even this has nothing to do with HK or the mainland, somehow it is really touching to see the Japanese woman football team become the winner of this year world cup - just see the penalty shooting and you will know what I mean:


ALL CONGRATULATIONS TO THAT WONDERFUL TEAM - THEY MADE JAPAN FORGET FOR SOME MOMENTS THE TERRIBLE DAY OF 11.03.2011 !

Monday, July 18, 2011

DA VINCI - Something wrong with that company ?

Recently it was found out that the mainland furniture company has used some tricks to make cheap manufactured goods look like they are "Made in Italy".
The owner Doris Phua surely denies everything. But something seems not okay - please read the below:
quoteWatchdogs priced out of tests 2011-07-18 08:29QUALITY watchdogs couldn't afford to test products from a controversial luxury furniture retailer, it was reported yesterday.

Officials told The Beijing News they would have exhausted their budgets buying the high-end goods.

Shanghai-based DaVinci Furniture faces claims its 'Made in Italy' furniture was in fact produced in China.

And in Shanghai, the company was last week told to stop selling certain lines due to labeling problems.

Officials said items labeled solid wood were made from high-density board.

But no inspection reports for DaVinci could be found on the websites of national and city quality supervision authority and market watchdogs.

Both bodies are supposed to randomly select goods for quality tests on a regular basis and publicize the results on their websites.

Reporters could find no DaVinci products listed on wood furniture test reports for 2009 and 2010 on the Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine website.

And local market watchdog the Shanghai Industrial and Commercial Bureau also omitted the so-called high-end Italian products, the newspaper said.

Officials said they usually purchase goods for inspection themselves secretly in order to ensure they get standard goods.

However, buying DaVinci pieces, would use up most of their budgets, the newspaper reported.

Facing this situation, the authorities were inclined to choose ordinary or low-end products for tests, as more consumers bought these, said the report.

However, the Shanghai Quality and Technical Supervision Bureau told Shanghai Daily yesterday that as DaVinci furniture is said to be imported, the Shanghai Industrial and Commercial Administrative Bureau should be in charge of quality control.

No one was available for comment from the Shanghai Industrial and Commercial Bureau.

Qiu Baochang, a lawyer with the China Customers' Association quoted by The Beijing News, said the supervision and management of imported goods has been inadequate.

"Officials assume expensive products with foreign brands will have no quality problems," Qiu said.

China Central Television first claimed products sold by DaVinci were sent to Italy and then back to China so they could qualify for import certificates.

Subsequent investigations suggested 10 percent of DaVinci furniture made in China was first transported to Shanghai's Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone before being sent to the company's warehouse in Qingpu District. It then qualified as an import.

Last Friday, Shanghai Industrial and Commercial Administrative Bureau ordered the company to stop selling products bearing the Cappelletti brand because of problems with "fake ads" and "unqualified labels."
Source:Shanghai Daily
unquote
And here the link to DaVinci homepage - not a word about this accusations there:
DaVinci Homepage
Here more details:
quote
Consumers take on unethical companies
BEIJING--Chinese consumers have stood up for their rights in two recent cases that put unscrupulous businesses in China yet again in the spotlight.
The consumers tipped off local media about the unethical deeds of a cleaning service provider in Beijing — not cleaning the blankets used by a major airline company on its flights.

The scandal prompted several airline companies to state that their blankets were clean and properly sanitized.

In the second case, China Central Television (CCTV) exposed Da Vinci Furniture Co. Ltd. for selling poor quality fakes at high prices, the retailer had claimed that all its products were quality guaranteed and fully imported.

A program on quality control of consumer goods aired on CCTV recently said a Beijing resident surnamed Tang complained that a Cappelletti sofa she bought from a Da Vinci store in the Chinese capital for about 300,000 yuan was of poor quality.

Tang pointed out that the sofa cushion was simply put together using glue and gave off an unpleasant smell at her home.

Not only that, but a classic European-style bed she bought for her daughter also turned out otherwise.

“I ordered a bed which was measured at 1.5 meters in length, but the one delivered to my home was only 1.2 meters,” Tang said.

She said, when questioned, a manager at the Da Vinci store told her that the measurement in China was different from that overseas.

She then sent the furniture to the National Center for Quality Supervision and Inspection of Furniture and Indoor Environment for a quality check.

The furniture failed to meet three quality standards. For example, a TV table was found to be substandard because of the use of high-density board, the CCTV report said.

CCTV reporters visited the store, which claimed to be selling various European-style furniture from Italy, France, Germany and Spain, as well as furniture from the U.S.

A manager at the store said that Da Vinci retailed international brands from all over the world and added that the authorities had set high inspection standards on its products as the company was preparing for public listing.

“Our products are 100 percent originally imported from overseas. The Cappelletti furniture was made in Italy,” she added.

Further investigations by CCTV at Da Vinci's warehouse and the Cappelletti head office and factory in Italy found that the type of wood used to make the furniture was different from that claimed by the manager at the Da Vinci store.

Apparently, several Chinese furniture companies told CCTV that they had manufactured some of the internationally labeled furniture, and not all of the products sold at Da Vinci stores were made overseas.

Gold Phoenix Furniture Group general manager Wang Qingbo revealed that the Shenzhen-based company had worked with Da Vinci a few times and helped the latter manufacture some 5-million-yuan worth of furniture every month.

Peng Jie, a whistleblower from Changfeng Furniture Company in Dongguan, told CCTV that his employer had worked as a subcontractor for Da Vinci.

A double bed bearing the Cappelletti label, which was priced at 30,000 yuan in Changfeng's plant, cost 300,000 yuan in Da Vinci stores, he added.

The media continued to unlock the “Da Vinci Code” when it discovered from Changfeng's accounts a money transfer between Changfeng and Da Vinci relating to furniture business.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Da Vinci CEO Panzhuang Xiuhua shed tears when answering questions posed by several complainants from the floor and in recalling her efforts to expand the business in China. She maintained that the furniture in question was indeed made in Italy.

However, she admitted that certain American-labeled furniture sold in its stores were manufactured in Vietnam, the Philippines, India, Indonesia and China.

Panzhuang denied claims by the so-called Da Vinci subcontractors that its furniture was manufactured in China and then stocked in its warehouse to claim status as imported products.

She even blamed its employees' sales tactics for causing the mess. However, her explanations did not go down well with many consumers who claimed to have fallen prey to the company.

A netizen said in a forum: “It was clearly a show by Da Vinci. At the end of the day, they will be on the losing end.”

“Consumers have only themselves to blame when these things happen,” another netizen said. “But if established companies keep on selling locally-made products at sky-high prices, they should be heavily punished.”

A probe by the Shanghai Municipal Industry and Commerce Bureau at Da Vinci's stores concluded that the retailer had been remiss in three respects: the use of exaggerated descriptions of its products in the course of promotion and sales; some products being made of layered wood instead of solid wood as claimed by the company; and lack of label information on the products.

Shanghai Customs also discovered that the locally-made Da Vinci products were exported to the free trade zones in Shanghai before being “imported” back to its warehouse in Shanghai.

Therefore, Da Vinci was in the wrong, misleading the public that its products were 100 percent imported, the authorities said.

Updated Monday, July 18, 2011 9:42 pm TWN, By Chow How Ban, The Star/ANN
unquote
And here finally 2x from YouTube - including snippets from DaVinci press conference last week - enjoy:

More about Guo Mei Mei Baby

Here some more footage about this story - it is not 100% up-dated (not including the guy in question has already resigned - the SUGARDADDY) - but where is Baby now ?

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Sang Lan - a sad story................

Here some news about Sang Lan. After she receives a compensation now (a lot of money) it is said that China's net "society" is talking bad at her - why ?Here the story - make up your own opinion:
quote
Sang wins big victory in compensation battle
By Zhang Xiao (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2011-07-14 10:57
NEW YORK - Former Chinese gymnast Sang Lan, who was paralyzed in a fall at the 1998 Goodwill Games in New York, scored a major victory on Monday after reaching an agreement with three insurance companies and USA Gymnastics.
Under a confidential deal inked on Monday afternoon after a three-hour discussion, TIG Insurance Co, Riverstone Claims Management and TIG Specialty Insurance Solutions agreed to cover future medical and rehabilitation fees for Sang in both the United States and China.
The three insurance firms had previously paid Sang only for fees incurred in the US and not in China after she was paralyzed during a vault warm-up on July 21, 1998, at the Goodwill Games.
In the deal, the three insurers agreed to give an undisclosed amount of money to Sang in addition to the insurance she will receive. Both Sang and her lawyer Hai Ming were not allowed to disclose the exact sum.
But the total insurance Sang would be covered for could amount to $10 million, according to Sang's lawyer Hai Ming.
"It was a big day of victory in protecting my rights. Now I have (a financial) guarantee for my treatment back in China starting from today," said Sang.
"I have got what I want. The agreement we reached today with the insurers and USA Gymnastics has clearly stated that the accident was not my fault."
During her warm-ups at the 1998 Goodwill Games, Sang landed on her head, fractured and dislocated two vertebrae in her neck and injured her spinal cord. She is paralyzed from the chest down and has spent 13 years in a wheelchair.
On Monday, she said rumors circulating on the Web blaming the accident on her lack of skill have placed her under a lot of pressure. She described the discussions on Monday as proceeding "very smoothly" and being conducted in a "friendly mood".
Hai also described the deal as "a day of breakthrough victory. We got all of what we desired".
"The even greater significance has been that the USA Gymnastics and the three insurers stated in the agreement that Sang Lan should not be held responsible for the accident," Hai added.
He said the three insurers have apologized for the lack of care for Sang over the past 13 years, though lawyers and representatives from the three insurers and USA Gymnastics would not comment on the agreement.
Despite the deal, Sang implied on Monday that she was not done in her fight for her disability rights, saying that she achieved "half of the complete success" in protecting her rights.
Sang's lawyer Hai filed lawsuits at the US District Court for the Southern District of New York against three individuals and five institutions at the end of April, seeking $1.8 billion in compensation.
The defendants include media mogul Ted Turner, who created the Goodwill Games; USA Gymnastics; AOL Time Warner Inc (which is now defunct); TIG Insurance Co; and Xie Xiaohong and Liu Guosheng, two legal guardians appointed to Sang after the fall.
Sang and her lawyer wanted $100 million in compensation for each of the 18 claims filed, including breach of agreement, violation of various federal, state and city laws, insurance violations and negligence.
But additional claims, which were filed in mid-May against Xue Weisen, son of the two guardians, for sexual harassment, and against Hugh Mo, a Chinese-American lawyer representing the two guardian defendants, momentarily brought the total compensation sought to $2.1 billion.
Then on June 20, Hai withdrew the lawsuit against Turner. On June 27, the civil complaint against Xue was dropped. On June 28, the lawsuit against Time Warner was dropped.
Hai told reporters on Monday that 12 lawsuits are still in progress against Mo, Liu Guosheng, Xie Xiaohong and 15 people who defamed Sang on the Internet. He said Sang is now seeking $1.2 billion.
Mo told China Daily on Monday he has already moved to dismiss Hai's cases. He is also expected to submit another motion of sanction against Hai Ming to the local court on Tuesday.
Mo, who once worked as the assistant district attorney in the New York County District Attorney's Office, declined to elaborate on the cases.
China Daily
unquote
Here some info from Wikipedia - just click the link below:
Sang Lan accident
And here some videos (the video of her accident is nowhere to be found):
Sang Lan - Talks about her accident

Sang Lan performance:

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Shamshuipo Police Station: Woman in uniforms

Some police women had a good time making some funny photos at the Shamshuipo
police station - one of them posted them in her blog: Now they are in big trouble. Unfortunately only source found is this snippet from todays SCMP - if I can find more - they surely will be posted here.

Listen, what Chinese government tells its people

Last one for today - no further comment on this one. If I would live there - how annoying to listen to this kind of announcements..............

The Unseen China - Chapter 1

So now back more in real times - here a documentation shows a lot of the truth the ordinary people have to face in China nowadays. Think about it - is it good ? Some parts of this documentation seem a little bit too much heartbreaking........

China: The Roots of Madness (1967) Documentary Film

I am no so sure about this documentation ..........is it from the CIA ? Nevermind - just watch:

China in revolution 1911-1949 (part1/10)

Here another video about history - this is 10 parts - I hope you know how to jump from part to part (once part 1 is finished there will be a window showing you the way to part 2 and so on......).
Here is part 1 - very interesting to watch:

Hong Kong - Gateway to China 1938

Just screening YOUTUBE about Hong Kong & China and found some nice old documentary etc - will publish all within the next days. some are very nice - some are a little bit colored with prejudice or political opinions - I dont care - just enjoy. Here is the first one called "Hong Kong - Gateway to China 1938":

Lai Changxing: Chinas most wanted - back home soon ?

Everybody knows the story of Mr. Lai. He is recently in Canada - already for some years, trying to escape the Chinese courts......It seems now there is a break-through and Chinese Government will get him back soon - or not. Besides the below info right now it was reported that Canadian authorities have released him from detention - if you have a chance Mr. Lai - RUN !
Please read below and also see the Wikipedia link at the end of the post.
quote
Smuggler Lai Changxing nears extradition
The possible repatriation of Lai would mark the end of a 12-year dispute between China and Canada over the issue and justify their partnership in fighting crime, analysts said.

According to The Globe and Mail newspaper, police arrested Lai at his downtown Vancouver residence Thursday to stop him from fleeing before the deportation. Lai, 53, was also accused of associating with local members of the so-called Big Circle Boys organized crime gang.

Lai was the alleged mastermind of a multi-billion-dollar smuggling racket in Xiamen, Fujian Province.

From 1996 to 1999, through paying bribes and cultivating connections with local officials, Lai's gang managed to smuggle a range of goods valued at 53 billion yuan ($8.19 billion), from oil and cars to cigarettes, evading taxes of 30 billion yuan, an investigation revealed.

Authorities in Beijing have on several occasions demanded his extradition, but Canadian authorities rejected the request, claiming that Lai could face risks, such as torture, if sent back to China.

In 2007, Immigration Canada said their findings did not indicate Lai would face a risk in China, but the claim was overturned by Federal Court Judge Yves de Montigny, who ordered another risk assessment.

After four years of assessment, Immigration Canada recently determined that Lai is not at risk of being tortured in China.

Lai had been scheduled to be repatriated as early as Tuesday afternoon, but he won an interim stay of deportation Monday, giving him a chance to argue for a longer stay in a one-day Federal Court hearing July 21, The Globe and Mail reported.

If Lai loses that appeal, the tentative date for his return is July 25, the newspaper quoted Canadian Border Services Agency representative Kevin Boothroyd as saying Monday.

Huang Yunrong, editor-in-chief of the Vancouver-based Globe Chinese Press newspaper, told chinanews.com that China and Canada have stepped up their efforts in extraditing Chinese fugitives, especially economic criminals.

Lai knows that the result of the second assessment is unlikely to be overturned, Huang said.

Yang Cheng, a personal chair in International Law at the University of Saint Joseph in Macao, and also an expert witness in Lai's case, told the Global Times that this time, the chance of Lai's repatriation is very high.

"To achieve Lai's extradition, China has made a compromise by promising not to sentence him to death and to allow Canadian officials to visit Lai in a Chinese prison," Yang said.

"If the two countries can work this out, it will be a step forward in their cooperation in fighting crime. It would also serve as a good example for repatriating other Chinese fugitives hiding abroad," Yang added.

The Supreme People's Court said in 2007 that China's promise not to sentence Lai is an essential prerequisite to having him repatriated, and is the only correct option to punish crimes and safeguard the interests of the nation, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

According to a report published by the People's Bank of China in June, the number of runaway corrupt officials – mainly supervisors and managers from government departments, enterprises and institutions – has reached 16,000, resulting in the transfer of 800 billion yuan ($119 billion) in assets to other countries or regions.

The report was allegedly retracted later by the central bank from its website.

Since 2007, at least 580 fugitives accused of illegal fundraising, bank fraud, illegal transfer of funds abroad and contract fraud have gone on the run in other countries, mostly in North America and Southeast Asia, with Canada often cited as a haven for corrupt Chinese officials and fugitives, the Ministry of Public Security revealed late last year.

Zhou Rongyao, director of Canadian studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times that Lai's case has always been used as a leverage in Sino-Canadian relations.

"Lai's extradition will mark the end of a decade-old dispute between the two sides. Apparently, the Canadian side also compromised on its previous stance. But more importantly, they want to send a signal to fugitives that they cannot hide there anymore," Zhou said.

The Vancouver Sun newspaper reported that Lai's case has cost the federal government millions by challenging his deportation order.

During a state visit to Canada by Chinese President Hu Jintao in June 2010, the two sides signed a memorandum to work together against crime.

China has also signed extradition treaties with 37 countries, including Spain, Australia, Portugal and France, and 250 fugitives have been extradited since 2006, the China Police Daily reported in October.

Liu Linlin contributed to this story

Source: Global Times
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Wikipedia about Mr. Lai

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Is he the source of the money for Guo Mei Mei Baby ?

Please read here:
quote
'Boyfriend' of woman in Red Cross scandal resigns
BEIJING - A member of the board of directors of a company with ties to China's Red Cross Society has resigned over his alleged girlfriend's online flaunting of her wealth - an incident that led many people to question whether the charitable organization was involved in the misuse of donated money, Chinese media have reported.
Weng Tao, chief executive of the company, said on his micro blog on sina.com.cn on Sunday that Wang Jun, the alleged boyfriend of the woman at the center of the scandal - 20-year-old Guo Meimei - had resigned on June 26.
Guo had earlier claimed on her micro blog to be the general manager of a company called Red Cross Commerce and had boasted online about her luxurious lifestyle, cars and home.
The Red Cross Society made several announcements on its website distancing itself from Guo after her story broke online and was then picked up by the mainstream media.
The organization said on its website on June 28 that it was not affiliated with an organization called Red Cross Commerce. It also said it did not have an employee named Guo Meimei.
In an interview with Beijing News on Sunday, Weng said he realized Wang was involved with Guo after he saw photos posted online by Guo of a Lamborghini and recognized it as belonging to Wang.
Wang later admitted that Guo was his new girlfriend.
The revelation made Wang unfit to serve on the board because the scandal had hurt the company's credibility, Weng said.
He explained that the company was set up with a 50 million yuan ($7.74 million) investment in 2008 and had signed a contract with China Red Cross and a company called Red Cross of the Commercial Sector to provide residential communities with paramedical, emergency treatment services and fundraising ads for the Red Cross Society.
Weng said the business' biggest shareholder is a company in Shenzhen. Wang, the board member who resigned, holds a 10 percent stake in that Shenzhen company.
Weng said the scandal has led to the company he heads being put up for sale for 70 percent of its value. He said the business has not fared well in recent years.
On July 1, the Red Cross Society announced on its website that Red Cross of the Commercial Sector, an organization that has an independent system and runs financial, human resources and administrative affairs, will have all of its activities halted before going through an audit and investigation process.
Many Internet users were unconvinced about reports that Wang was Guo's boyfriend and still believe she has a family connection at a high level within the Red Cross itself. Some said online that they suspect Wang Jun is a fabrication.
Zhong Hongwu, director of the Corporate Social Responsibility Research Institute under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the public is now showing greater maturity and is becoming more vocal in standing up for its rights and holding government authorities and public institutions accountable.
Zhong stressed that financial transparency is vital if charities are to earn donors' trust and he said the Red Cross in China has room for improvement.
By Li Yao (China Daily)
 Updated: 2011-07-05 07:37
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Here another photo of Guo Mei Mei Baby - it is said she is carrying her HERMES bag in a plastic shopping bag.............

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Guo Mei Mei Baby - Where does all the money come from ?

Recently the story of Guo Mei Mei Baby made big waves over the whole internet - finally only one question shall be answered: "Baby where does all that money come from ?"
Please read yourself:
quote
World is red cross at Guo MeimeiBeijing police launched an investigation on Wednesday into the “Guo Meimei (郭美美) incident” after the Red Cross Society of China accused her of fabricating facts and disturbing public order.
The small-time actress, who has been the hottest topic on Chinese cyberspace over the past week, was ordered to return to Beijing for investigation.
The 20-year-old started attracting public attention on June 21 when a netizen discovered that the girl, who constantly shows off her wealth on her verified Sina Weibo microblog account, identifies herself as “General Manager of the Red Cross Society’s Chamber of Commerce.”
The discovery was immediately retweeted over 1,000 times within two hours and led to questions about how a woman had taken such an important position in a non-profit organization at this young age, and how on earth had she accumulated such amazing wealth in less than two years.
From the posts and photos she published, Meimei lives in a large villa in Beijing, drives at least two cars (one of which is the luxury Maserati sports car) and owns designer bags.
Moreover, her leisure activities include riding horses, having manicures in Sanlitun, and buying scalped tickets to watch movies.
But two years ago, she lived in a rented apartment, dressed normally and used a domestic clam shell cell phone. Now she uses an iPhone.
“Where does the money we donated to the Red Cross go to?” many netizens angrily asked.
In the face of widespread suspicion and criticism, the Red Cross Society clarified on June 22 that it does not have an institution called “Red Cross Society’s Chamber of Commerce,” nor does it have any staff member called “Guo Meimei.”
Meimei also posted on her Weibo the same day, saying she has no relations whatsoever with the Red Cross Society and she is not the daughter of a Red Cross Society’s deputy chief as was rumored.
Still, netizens continued to dig dirt and some companies were involved, while many people started examining the Red Cross Society’s operation.
On June 26, Meimei posted three apology statements on her Weibo, admitting that she had concocted the title and she was deeply sorry that her stupid and ignorant behavior had damaged the Red Cross Society’s reputation and caused the public misunderstandings.
Still, the public does not believe her and a great number of netizens, upon learning that she plans to flee to Australia, even called and emailed the Australian embassy, asking not to issue a visa to her so that the investigation into possible donation corruption can be carried on.
Sources: Sohu, Sina
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Here some photos of Guo Mei Mei Baby - isn't she lovely ?





Sunday, July 3, 2011

Have a nice happy hippie weekend...............

enjoy - this is already more than 40 years old - but it is still somewhat the real thing - a lot of good meaningful music - please think about it. Tonight is PSYCHEDELIC NIGHT - I will add as many good ones I find. Dont ask me what this has to do with China - think twice - it has a lot to do with China.