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Mar 20

Report Confirms Wang Lijun Sought Asylum

Report Confirms Wang Lijun Sought Asylum

Preliminary report circulated among Chinese government officials following the dismissal of Bo Xilai asserts that the former Chongqing party chief had planned to disrupt a corruption investigation into his own family and purge Wang Lijun, the former top lieutenant who disappeared in February amid rumors of an attempted defection.

Post-mortems continue to emerge following last week’s announcement that the Chinese government had replaced Bo, ending his push for a seat on the Politburo’s elite Standing Committee and likely the Politburo itself. Ian Johnson speculates in The New York Review of Books that Bo’s removal from the Politburo will take place at this fall’s 18th party congress, where the next generation of leaders will take the reins of the party, and he adds that Bo’s troubles may have begun years before the controversy surrounding Wang Lijun forced Bo’s polarizing candidacy to the forefront.

From The New York Times: Read more

Jan 7

Investing in your American Future: An Overview of Investment-Based Immigration to the United States | Exclusive Visas

Original post by Exclusive Visas
By Marina Fooksman, Esq

Given the recent political events unfolding in Russia, which have caught the attention of international media, global leaders, and Russian citizens, our office, Fooksman Law Firm P.C., has been flooded with inquiries from our Russian-speaking clients who are concerned about the volatile political situation in their home country. As a result of the recent unrest and instability, many are looking for opportunities to secure a stable and prosperous future for themselves and their families. For most, immigration to the United States is a lucrative and highly desirable option.

See Photo after break…

Jan 7

These Are the 10 Best and Worst-Run Cities in America | The Blaze

Many qualities separate the best-run and worst-run cities.* But perhaps the most important is access to jobs. The economies of the best-run cities fall into two categories. They either have a booming industry or are near other major urban areas that create employment opportunities. The worst-run cities simply do not have the same access to jobs. This analysis of the best- and worst-run cities demonstrates that encouraging businesses to prosper and create jobs is the most important function of local government.

See Photo after break…

Jan 6

China’s Vice President Orders More Thought Control over Students | China Digital Times

Original post at China Digital Times by Sophie Beach.

Xi Jinping is expected to succeed Hu Jintao as China's president

Vice President Xi Jinping, who is widely expected to take over the presidency from Hu Jintao later this year, has called on universities to exercise stricter ideological control over their students.

As an aside, it is worth noting reports that Xi Jinping has enrolled his own daughter at Harvard, under an assumed name.

Read full post at China Digital Times…

Jan 6

Police retrieved nearly 1.1 billion yuan raised through illegal fundraising during a crackdown campaign that lasted from Nov. 10 to Dec. 15, 2011. In the picture a policeman distributes publicity materials to local a local resident during the campaign in Chendu, Sichuan Province.

Police retrieve US$174 million in illegal funds | China.org.cn

Police retrieved nearly 1.1 billion yuan (about US$174 million) raised through illegal fundraising during a crackdown campaign that lasted from Nov. 10 to Dec. 15, 2011, according to figures revealed at a national meeting of public security authorities on Thursday. Police retrieved nearly 1.1 billion yuan raised through illegal fundraising during a crackdown campaign that lasted from Nov. 10 to Dec. 15, 2011. In the picture a policeman distributes publicity materials to local a local resident during the campaign in Chendu, Sichuan Province.

See Photo after the break…

Jan 6

China’s supreme court interprets illegal fundraising (Xinhua) | China Daily

China’s supreme court interprets illegal fundraising (Xinhua)
China Daily
Friday, January 5, 2012

BEIJING – China’s Supreme People’s Court Tuesday introduced judicial interpretations to clarify crimes which are applicable to illegal fundraising activities.

Practices of raising funds from the public that violate the country’s laws regarding financial regulation and management shall be interpreted as illegal fundraising, according to a statement issued by the court.

See Photo after the break…

Jan 5

Shenzhen drivers must now yield to pedestrians or face 500RMB fine | Shanghaiist

Editor’s comment: From personal experience as expatriate living in China, in my opinion this is a huge development and a sorely needed attempt to promote a civilized society.

As of January 1st, new provisions in Shenzhen’s “Traffic Safety Management Regulations” have come into effect, which state that pedestrians have the right of way in crosswalks and all motorists who fail to yield face a 500RMB fine.

In this newly enacted legislation that requires an omniscient and omnipresent police force, Shenzhen lawmakers have apparently solved the age-old riddle “if a motorist doesn’t yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk and no police are around to see it, is society still considered civilized?”

According to the “Road Traffic Safety Law” regulations, motorists must slow when approaching a crosswalk, and stop if there are pedestrians in the crosswalk. If they fail to do either, they will be stopped and fined 500RMB (any driver trying to escape will be arrested).

Shenzhen plans to enforce these new provisions in a hardcore crack down starting on Monday, January 9th, with special patrol groups, law enforcement vehicles pulling surveillance trailers, existing intersection traffic cameras, as well as other mobile forms of on-the-spot inspection.

Million Dollar Visas | New York Times Opinion

The New York Times Editorial
Million-Dollar Visas
Published: December 26, 2011

The federal government’s investor visa, created in 1990, gives foreigners a chance at green cards if they invest $1 million to build a business in the United States that creates at least 10 jobs. Investing in an area with high unemployment would cut that price in half.

Jan 5

After Receiving Bailout, GM May Move Volt Production to China | The Blaze

Although it happened back in September, 2011, it appears many American taxpayers are unaware that General Motors struck a deal in Shanghai wherein the company has agreed to develop an electric vehicle (EV) platform with its longtime Chinese partner SAIC.

What else was included in this deal? GM has agreed to effectively move all future EV development to China. It could also mean that production of the vehicle itself will be moved overseas.

Jan 5

Forbes China: Top ten safest countries for Chinese overseas investment | Shanghaiist.com

Forbes China has released its first overseas investment “risk list” for Chinese investors. Like all risk rankings, they gauged things like regional political stability, government corruption, legal system factors, and indicators of social stability and economic opportunities. Whether the Chinese follow these risk assessments is another thing entirely.

Jan 4

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao Sends An Ominous Warning On The Economy | Business Insider

Jan 1

New Years Fireworks in Taipei, Taiwan

Dec 31

The Year of Dragon calendar wallpaper | Smashing Magazine

“Dragon is the legendary animal in the Chinese zodiac calendar.” Designed by Cheloveche.ru from Russia.

This and more free 2012 Wallpaper Calendars at Smashing Magazine…

Dec 29

EB-5 Visa Segment Airs “Buying Green Cards, or Investing in American Business?” | CNN

CNN aired a segment today from reporter Deb Feyerick, who asks whether EB-5 immigrant investors are “Buying green cards, or investing in American businesses?” The segment portrays the construction and development of the Jay Peak resort in Vermont, one of the projects under the umbrella of the VACCD. Bill Stenger, the co-owner, describes how just being a seasonal resort was a recipe for failure since “without sustained year round operations you can’t survive [and] you must be a 12 month a year operation”. When he approached the banks for a $250 million loan to expand his operation without the 30% equity that they required, they turned him down.

See more photos and story at EB-5 Info…

Dec 25

An American Montage

: Click the image for a multimedia presentation An American Montage.

Dec 25

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

Dec 24

Rules Stretched as Green Cards Go to Investors | New York Times

International Gem Tower - Diamond District - New York City

Ruth Fremson/The New York Times The International Gem Tower, under construction, in the diamond district.

By PATRICK McGEEHAN and KIRK SEMPLE Published: December 18, 2011

Affluent foreigners are rushing to take advantage of a federal immigration program that offers them the chance to obtain a green card in return for investing in construction projects in the United States. With credit tight, the program has unexpectedly turned into a mainstay for the financing of these projects in New York, California, Texas and other states.

The number of foreign applicants, each of whom must invest at least $500,000 in a project, has nearly quadrupled in the last two years, to more than 3,800 in the 2011 fiscal year, officials said. Demand has grown so fast that the Obama administration, which is championing the program, is seeking to streamline the application process.

Still, some critics of the program have described it as an improper use of the immigration system to spur economic development — a cash-for-visas scheme. And an examination of the program by The New York Times suggests that in New York, developers and state officials are stretching the rules to qualify projects for this foreign financing.

Dec 24

Foreign nationals arrive in Southwest Florida for a price, creating jobs

By BEN WOLFORD Posted December 17, 2011 at 5:45 p.m.

Allen Heise, 50, is building an upscale marina along a Port Charlotte waterfront. His method of financing, a federal program that grants visas to foreign investors, has attracted greater attention in a down economy. Ben Wolford/Staff Fast facts The EB-5 investment visa program was created as an economy booster by Congress in 1990. Some who run regional centers that funnel investments into projects say the risk is too high for investors, who are left utterly without protection. Others attack the notion of selling green cards for $500,000.

PORT CHARLOTTE — Along a weedy, forgotten waterfront, Allen Heise is investing more than $40 million to build an upscale marina, complete with a rooftop heliport. Once built, it will be a glamorous and lonely centerpiece in an area he says is “gonna hit.”

Dec 24

Chinese Women in General are Very Beautiful

Editor's note: Chinese women in general are very beautiful; however, some of the Chinese ethnic minorities, in this case the Miao Clan ethnic minority, the women are stunningly attractive. Susie and I spent several days with friends at a remote river retreat in this area.

Guizhou, one of the best places for cultural tours in China.

Miao minority in Guizhou Guizhou, known as Qian for short, is situated in Southwest china. Its central location at the southwestern China makes it a crucial hub for the region. The capital of this province is Guiyang as a political, economical and cultural center throughout the province.

Read full article at China Travel 2.0…

Dec 23

Helen Wang Discusses Eurozone Debt Crisis | BBC World News

Helen Wang, author of The Chinese Dream, discusses eurozone debt crisis on BBC World News and how the Chinese middle class could help re-balance the West’s economy. Her segment begins at 1:10 of the video.

Chinese viewers can see the video via Tudou.com…click here…

Dec 23

The Biggest Story of Our Time: The Rise of China’s Middle Class | Forbes

Aggregated from Forbes — By Helen Wang, Forbes Contributor

2011 is indeed an eventful year. From the protests in the Middle East to eurozone debt crisis to dysfunctional American politics, the world seems full of drama. Yet, I believe the biggest story of our time is not occupying Wall Street, or Italy’s default. Although these events are very significant, there is another story that has far-reaching implications – the rise of China’s middle class.

The Chinese middle class is already larger than the entire population of the United States. In fifteen years, the Chinese middle class will reach 800 million. It has changed, and will continue to change, the dynamics of the world we live in, and have huge impact on everything – our life, our jobs, our economy, and the world.

Read full article at Forbes…

Dec 23

Tax reductions save billions for Chinese individuals, businesses

Aggregated from China Daily Online & Xinhua News Agency.

BEIJING – China’s policy to ease the tax burden on wage earners and small businesses has saved them billions of yuan, the state media reported Friday.

China raised the threshold at which individuals must pay income taxes from 2,000 yuan to 3,500 yuan on September 1 in a bid to support domestic consumption and narrow the wealth gap.

The policy has saved citizens more than 60 billion yuan ($9.5 billion) since its implementation, according to Friday’s edition of the People’s Daily.

In October, 30 million people declared taxes on wages and salaries, down by 60 million from the number before the implementation of a higher threshold for paying income taxes, the newspaper said, quoting an official with the State Administration of Taxation.

The government also lifted the value-added tax (VAT) threshold for small enterprises to between 5,000 yuan and 20,000 yuan in terms of monthly sales revenues, from the previous threshold of 2,000-5,000 yuan, in November.

Meanwhile, the threshold for levying business tax on small enterprises was raised to 5,000-20,000 yuan from the previous 1,000-5,000 yuan.

Those two measures are expected to generate tax reductions of 29 billion yuan a year, the newspaper said.

More than 9 million self-employed entrepreneurs, or 63 percent of the nation’s total, saw their tax burden decrease by 40 percent on average after the VAT and business tax adjustments, it reported.

Yang Zhiyong, director of financial research office of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, suggested adjusting taxes on personal service income and authors’ remuneration next year to further relieve the tax burden, according to the newspaper.

Dec 23

1 Comment

Guangzhou-Shenzhen High-Speed Rail Opens on Dec. 26th

From eChinacities.com….

The Guangzhou-Shenzhen section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong high-speed rail will open on December 26th. The Guangzhou-Shenzhen section has five stations: Guangzhou South Railway Station, Qingsheng, Humen, Guangmingcheng and Shenzhen North Railway Station. The train speed during will initially be restricted to 300 km per hour. The earliest train departs Shenzhen at 07:00 and the latest one departs Shenzhen at 22:00. The train will reduce the travel time between the two cities to about 35 minutes. The ticket prices are 100RMB for the first class and 75RMB for the second class.

Dec 18

From South Rim, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona USA

Grand ascent: Canyon’s slow rise from ‘horrid’ obstacle to national treasure | Arizona Republic

(Photo: Michael Quinn/National Park Service) The view into the abyss from Mather Point on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.

by Ron Dungan – Dec. 16, 2011 03:06 PM The Arizona Republic

Word trickled out of canyon country. The Powell expedition had failed, and most of the explorers had drowned.

John Wesley Powell and his men pressed downstream, very much alive, as the rumors drifted east. They had lost a boat and some supplies before they had gotten very far. Food spoiled. Nerves frayed and tempers flared. They roped and portaged wooden boats around rumbling stretches of whitewater, climbed back in and rowed to the next rapid. They grew hungry and overheated, then cold and drenched with rain.

In August 1869, Powell and six members of the 10-man crew emerged from the Grand Canyon.

Powell’s journey “was one of the greatest events in the history of American exploration,” Donald Worster writes in “A River Running West.”

The Arizona Territory was one of the last places Americans settled. Although statehood was decades away, trappers, soldiers and prospectors had mapped the deserts and high country until one barrier remained: the vast, precarious canyon of the Colorado River. By the time Arizona became a state, the Grand Canyon had become a national treasure.

Today, the Canyon draws more than 4 million visitors a year from around the world. It is a source of pride and revenue for the state and a favorite destination for hikers and river runners. Sprawling, arid, stormy, serene, its landscapes sweeping from desert to pine forests, it captures the spirit of Arizona like few other places.

Read full article at The Arizona Republic…

Dec 13

We Are in the Midst of the American Holiday Season | Video

This video provides some scenes from the American Holiday Season which may interest our Asian and Chinese readers. It is a fun music video for a great new holiday song; especially cool is the overlap of “real world” with “snow village world.” It combines both Jewish and Christian traditions. Perhaps this video could bring world peace?

Dec 13

Is Your City on this List? THESE ARE THE 10 MOST DANGEROUS CITIES IN THE WORLD

The Blaze, by Becket Adams
December 12, 2011

Recently, a series of roadside bombs killed 11 people and injured dozens more in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad. The bombings, as a part of a larger, coordinated jihadi assault, killed a total of 32 people.

In light of these recent terrorist attacks, violent overtures Iran has made towards Israel, U.S. president Barack Obama announcing the U.S.’ withdrawal from Iraq, and Mercer’s newly-released 2011 Quality of Living Report (which ranks cities according to the level of personal safety), writers at 24/7 Wall St. set out to catalog the most dangerous cities in the world.

“All of the areas on the list suffer from great political instability that has led to politically motivated violence,” writes Michael B. Sauter of 24/7. “This climate of instability also has created an ideal breeding ground for crime motivated by profit. Whether the violence is criminal or political in nature, it perpetuates socioeconomic conditions that keep those nations’ economies depressed.”

Read full article at The Blaze…

Dec 12

One Alarming Indicator From China | Business Insider

Business Insider
by Tim Staermose, Sovereign Man’s Chief Investment Strategist
December 9, 2011

For a few decades now, the Communist Party in China has had an implicit social and political contract with the Chinese populous for decades, which goes something like:

“We will deliver economic growth and improvements in your material living standards. You will meekly do as you are told, refrain from dissent, work hard, save a huge percentage of your money, and ignore obvious corruption.”

While nearly everyone in China has benefited to some degree under this current “system,” the wheels are definitely starting to come off. Official GDP numbers are now slowing, real estate prices are falling, and inflation is quickening.

Read full article at Business Insider…

Dec 12

An Incredible Tour Of Hong Kong’s Severn Road

This is the view the aberdeen neighborhood of the southern district as well as the harbor are visible in the distance.

Financial News has named the most expensive street in the world, and for the second year in a row the recognition goes to a street not in New York City, Beverly Hills or London, but Hong Kong. One square meter of real estate on Severn Road goes for $78,200, while the top price for a square meter of property on New York’s Fifth Avenue goes for around $62,700.

Severn Road is located near the top of Victoria Peak and is home to around 60 private residences. Residents have fantastic views of Hong Kong’s harbors and famous skyline.

Read full article at The Blaze…

Dec 11

Chinese Jewish Christmas Spectacular: What Jews Do On Christmas

The Two Chinese Characters website — click here.

Dec 10

Satellite Pictures Of The Empty Chinese Cities Where Home Prices Are Crashing

China's most famous ghost city on the outskirts of ordos has been empty for years.

Dec 8

2 Comments

Tomb-Sweeping Day in China | Cherry’s Essays

Tomb-Sweeping Day is a very important festival in China. The history of it can date back to Tang Dynasty. The Chinese name of Tomb-Sweeping Day is Qingming, which is also one of The 24 Solar Terms, means Clear and Bright, as it is on 5th April every year, when spring is coming, winter is running back home.

This is a special day which set up to recall our passed-away relatives. We prepare some particular food like boiled chicken, special cake and some fruits, and place them in front of the tombstone. There is a special type of currency which made by simple papers are used to burn into ash, for we believe our passed-away elatives can get the money we give in this way. And we also burn some “clothes (made by paper)”or “cars (made by paper). (I even saw “wife” one year, crazy!). In addition, we also burn incense.

Read more and see photo gallery after the break…. Read more

Dec 8

Superstition Mountains near Phoenix, Arizona USA

Purple Rain Photos in Arizona USA | Arizona Highways

Photo by Roxy Young | Clarkdale (Arizona USA)

Click here for Purple Rain Photos in Arizona USA | Arizona Highways.

Enjoy these 54 wonderful images of Arizona USA landscapes and photos.

Dec 7

More Americans Go Abroad for Economic Opportunities | CNBC

Derek Capo was living the high life. He was in his early 20s, an analyst at hedge fund Everest Capital monitoring international equities, and soaking up the weather and nightlife of his hometown of Miami.

But looking ahead, as he’d been trained to do, Capo didn’t like what he saw. The housing bust was starting to strangle the Florida economy, the stock market was looking increasingly erratic and he didn’t want to pursue a pricey MBA in the middle of an economic crisis.

He also wanted to test his entrepreneurial muscles, by starting his own business, ideally in a locale that felt economically vibrant, with seemingly limitless possibilities. To do that, Capo left the U.S. in 2007.

He now lives in Beijing, having founded Next Step China. The firm offers Chinese-language immersion programs, and arranges opportunities for foreigners to teach, intern or volunteer in China.

“I wanted to take the next step in my life and career,” says Capo, now 29. “I connected the dots and decided that I should go somewhere different and learn something new, like Mandarin, to challenge myself. I picked China because it was growing so fast.”

Read full article…

Dec 6

A Chinese couple walks past a Starbucks store adorned with traditional Chinese decorations in Beijing

One in Four Starbucks Card Transactions Now Done Via Mobile

Starbucks customers apparently are finding buying via mobile as addictive as the company’s coffee.

Less than a year after Starbucks launched an app that allows mobile payments, it has hosted 26 million such transactions on iOS, BlackBerry and Android, according to the chain. One in four Starbucks card transactions is now executed via mobile.

The mobile-payments initiative has built momentum recently: In the nine weeks after it was released, there were 3 million transactions. But in the past nine weeks, there have been 6 million, says Adam Brotman, SVP and general manager of Starbucks. He adds that New York, Seattle, San Francisco, Chicago and San Jose, Calif., are the top cities by volume for mobile purchases

Read full article…

Dec 6

American firm taps China’s huge wedding-planning market | Reuters

(Reuters) – As young Chinese become wealthier, there is one area where they are increasingly looking to make a big impression on their families and friends and create lifelong memories for themselves: weddings.

And with Chinese spending some $57 billion a year on weddings and half of young people in this country saying they need help in planning their marriage ceremonies, an American company is looking to capitalize on what it sees as a huge business opportunity here: training Chinese wedding planners.

Weddings Beautiful Worldwide has just set up a joint venture in China to bring its expertise in training wedding planners to this country, where young couples can use help figuring out how to spend the equivalent of thousands of dollars and more to celebrate their nuptials.

“With the fast economic development in China, consumers are choosing more unique and personalized weddings, giving a boost to the wedding industry in China,” Raul Vasquez, president of the joint venture, known as Weddings Beautiful China, said in Beijing recently.

Read full article…

Dec 5

Perspective During this Holiday Season

I am a CPA and businessman in my American life and persona. I am living for a year or two deep in the interior of mainland China with my wife Yu Qi (Susie) and eight year old son Yang Yang. I am treated with respect as “laowai” or “ancient foreigner” in their country. My experience over the past six months living here is that for many reasons the Chinese love Americans. I am treated like a celebrity or rock star.

Here is a letter I shared with my parents age 84 today. Perhaps it may bring some perspective, especially during this holiday season, to those of us who are so blessed to call America home.

Read full article…

Dec 5

1 Comment

Photos: Beijing and the rest of China once again attacked by smog

Though some Chinese media is still reporting the smog blanket currently engulfing Beijing as nothing more than a serious fog, the U.S. Embassy pollution monitoring index registered the city’s air as Beyond Index at 7pm Sunday night, with the level remaining at Hazardous since then.

Average visibility in the city has been between 1 to 3 kilometers, with some areas in the south of Beijing having a visibility under 500 meters. Highways and flights at Beijing Capital Airport have been affected as a result of the smog, which has been recurring in Northern China since October.

Meanwhile, the Chinese government has refused to change their air-quality monitoring standards to account for particulate matter less than 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5), which is believed to have the greatest negative effect for human health.

See photos & read article…

Dec 4

Some Asians’ college strategy: Don’t check ‘Asian’

Asian Student

(AP) Lanya Olmstead was born in Florida to a mother who immigrated from Taiwan and an American father of Norwegian ancestry. Ethnically, she considers herself half Taiwanese and half Norwegian. But when applying to Harvard, Olmstead checked only one box for her race: white.

“I didn‘t want to put ’Asian’ down,” Olmstead says, “because my mom told me there’s discrimination against Asians in the application process.

For years, many Asian-Americans have been convinced that it‘s harder for them to gain admission to the nation’s top colleges.

Studies show that Asian-Americans meet these colleges’ admissions standards far out of proportion to their 6 percent representation in the U.S. population, and that they often need test scores hundreds of points higher than applicants from other ethnic groups to have an equal chance of admission. Critics say these numbers, along with the fact that some top colleges with race-blind admissions have double the Asian percentage of Ivy League schools, prove the existence of discrimination.

The way it works, the critics believe, is that Asian-Americans are evaluated not as individuals, but against the thousands of other ultra-achieving Asians who are stereotyped as boring academic robots.

Now, an unknown number of students are responding to this concern by declining to identify themselves as Asian on their applications.

Read full article…

Dec 2

Bay-Jing Watch: Let’s call the whole thing off

By DAVID BAUDER
AP Television Writer

In the shadow of Olympic venues, Brian Williams has anchored NBC’s “Nightly News” this week in a city he calls Bay-jing.

Yet Bob Costas, Meredith Vieira and many of NBC’s sports announcers seem to be working in a different, more exotic place: Bay-zhing.

So which is it?

Williams is right, if you talk to experts in the Chinese language. He’s even recorded something about the pronunciation puzzle for NBC’s Web site, although it doesn’t seem to be required viewing for everyone at the network.

“It’s been annoying me for quite awhile, honestly,” said S. Robert Ramsey, a college professor and author of “The Language of China.”

He’s not alone, and it isn’t just NBC at fault.

“For you mousse-coiffed, Mr. Gravitas TV anchor types and you sotto voce public radio types, please oh please stop saying “Bay-zheeng,” wrote Kaiser Kuo, who works for a China-based ad agency and wrote an online guide for journalists covering the Olympics. “The pronunciation of the city’s name couldn’t be easier.”

Carsey Yee and John Weinstein, experts in the language who occasionally do theater work as Two Chinese Characters, recorded a YouTube video clip making the same point (above). They say it’s “BAY” as in “Baywatch.” And “Jing” like “Jingle Bells.”

Does it really matter?

Read full article…

Dec 1

Popularity of video calling set to explode, NPD says

Skype Multi-Person Video Call

Video calling has been extremely slow to catch on, but adoption is finally set to explode according to a recent forecast from NPD Group-owned market research firm In-Stat. According to the firm’s figures, 63 million people could be counted as active video calling users in 2010. In 2015, that number is expected to balloon to 380 million. “While the mobile arena is relatively nascent, it has fueled much of the growth in usage over the course of 2011,” In-Stat analyst Amy Cravens said in a statement. PCs will remain the most popular platform for video calling, but the technology’s expansion to smartphones, tablets and even televisions will also play a role in accelerating adoption. Connectivity is key on mobile devices though, and smartphone-based video calling experiences leave much to be desired due to shaky cellular connections. The rapid rollout of 4G LTE networks around the world should help to improve the mobile video calling experience dramatically, however. NPD In-Stat’s full press release follows below.

Read full article…

Nov 30

Know your ER – China’s Best Hospitals List | eChinacities.com

Chinese Doctors The “2010 China’s Best Hospitals list”, the top 80 hospitals in China voted on and selected by 2,009 medical experts across China was officially released on November 19th. The list was compiled by the Institute Hospital Management at Fudan University in Shanghai, and will be updated annually.

The list is an objective and fair reflection of Chinese hospitals, ranking them according to their “clinical strength”, “academic prestige” and “ability to treat difficult illnesses”. According to Professor Gao Jiechun, head of the Institute Hospital Management, a series of voting and peer-review regulations for the 2,009 participants ensures that there will be no vote rigging or statistical discrepancies in the final ranking.

Read full article…

Nov 30

Could a New Visa Law Affect the EB-5 Green Card Program?

Charles Schumer (D) New York There’s a new visa bill before Congress, and some news organizations are already comparing it to the EB-5 program.

Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Mike Lee (R-UT) have introduced legislation that would institute a new visa category targeting high net worth foreign nationals. No, it’s not the startup visa everyone’s been talking about. In fact, the individuals it would attract probably have more in common with current EB-5 investors than with potential immigrant entrepreneurs.

The new bill would provide a tourist visa to any foreign national willing to buy a house for $500,000 in cash. In an environment where homeowners trying to sell can’t find buyers and scores of empty homes dot the landscape, lawmakers are hoping the bill will be a panacea for the depressed housing market.

And since buyers would be purchasing the homes without a mortgage, there would be no possibility of foreclosure.

If the bill becomes law, a foreign national who doesn’t want a $500,000 home may also opt to purchase a $250,000 home to serve as a primary residence and then buy additional properties to meet the $500,000 requirement. Canadian senior citizens would also be granted longer visa stays.

Warren Buffet likes the idea. He sees it as a way to solve the excess housing inventory problem “very quickly.” Of course, legislators would actually have to get around to passing the bill first.

Any effect on EB-5 visas? Read full article…

Nov 30

1 Comment

China Halts U.S. College Freedom at Class Door

Hopkins Nanjing University Center In the 25 years Johns Hopkins University and Nanjing University have run a joint campus in China, it’s never published an academic journal. When American student Brendon Stewart tried last year, he found out why.

Intended to showcase the best work by Chinese and American students and faculty to a far-flung audience, Stewart’s journal broke the Hopkins-Nanjing Center’s rules that confine academic freedom to the classroom. Administrators prevented the journal from circulating outside campus, and a student was pressured to withdraw an article about Chinese protest movements. About 75 copies sat in a box in Stewart’s dorm room for a year.

“You think you’re going to a place that has academic freedom, and maybe in theory you do, but in reality you don’t,” said Stewart, 27, who earned a master’s degree in international studies this year from Hopkins-Nanjing and now works for an accounting firm in Beijing. “The place is run by Chinese administrators, and I don’t think the U.S. side had a lot of bargaining power to protect the interests of its students. At the end of the day, it’s a campus on Chinese soil.”

The muzzling of Stewart’s journal exposes the compromises to academic freedom that some American universities make in China. While professors and students openly discuss sensitive subjects such as the Tibetan independence movement or the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests on the Hopkins-Nanjing campus, they can’t do so in the surrounding community. Even on-campus protections only cover class discussions, not activities typical of U.S. campuses, such as showing documentary films in a student lounge.

Read full article…

Nov 29

2 Comments

Windows Phones may soon become available in China

Windows Phone 7 in China

Rumor: Microsoft Picks a Retail Partner for WP7 Launch in China in 2012

Rumors in the Chinese business media suggest that Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is poised to launch its mobile OS, Windows Phone 7 (WP7) officially in mainland China next year – and that it’ll partner with Chinese retail giant Suning for promotion and distribution.

Read full article…

Nov 25

Female special forces show off their guns on Chengdu’s shopping street [video]

Fully armed riot police were spotted marching down Chengdu’s most popular shopping street, Chunxi Lu, at 9:30 Sunday morning. The team was composed of 30 special-forces officers. They wore combat boots, body armor, and carried QSZ-92 pistols in their belts and QZB-95 assault rifles in their hands. Chengdu residents on the shopping street were startled by the sight.

Read full article at gochengdoo.com…

Nov 22

The End of Chinatown | The Atlantic

Chinatown San Francisco USA

The End of Chinatown
Does China’s rise mean the end of one of America’s most storied ethnic enclaves?

By BONNIE TSUI | The Atlantic

AS THE MANAGER of a Chinatown career center on Kearny Street in San Francisco, Winnie Yu has watched working-class clients come and go. Most of them, like Shen Ming Fa, have the makings of the quintessential Chinese American immigrant success story. Shen, who is 39, moved to San Francisco with his family last fall, an English-speaking future in mind for his 9-year-old daughter. His first stop was Chinatown, where he found an instant community and help with job and immigration problems.

But lately, Yu has been seeing a shift; rather than coming, her clients have been going—in pursuit of what might be called the Chinese Dream.

“Now the American Dream is broken,” Shen tells me one evening at the career center, his fingers drumming restlessly on the table; he speaks mostly in Mandarin, and Yu helps me translate. Shen has mostly been unemployed, picking up part-time work when he can find it. Back in China, he worked as a veterinarian and at a school of traditional Chinese culture. “In China, people live more comfortably: in a big house, with a good job. Life is definitely better there.” On his fingers, he counts out several people he knows who have gone back since he came to the United States. When I ask him if he thinks about returning to China, he glances at his daughter, who is sitting nearby, then looks me in the eye. “My daughter is thriving,” he says, carefully. “But I think about it every day.”

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Nov 20

Marco Polo and His Travels

Marco Polo Travels Map

Excerpt from The Silkroad Foundation article.

Marco Polo (1254-1324), is probably the most famous Westerner traveled on the Silk Road. He excelled all the other travelers in his determination, his writing, and his influence. His journey through Asia lasted 24 years. He reached further than any of his predecessors, beyond Mongolia to China. He became a confidant of Kublai Khan (1214-1294). He traveled the whole of China and returned to tell the tale, which became the greatest travelogue.

The Polo Brothers In 1260 two Venetian merchants arrived at Sudak, the Crimean port. The brothers Maffeo and Niccilo Polo went on to Surai, on the Volga river, where they traded for a year. Shortly after a civil war broke out between Barka and his cousin Hulagu, which made it impossible for the Polos to return with the same route as they came. They therefore decide to make a wide detour to the east to avoid the war and found themselves stranded for 3 years at Bukhara.

The marooned Polo brothers were abruptly rescued in Bukhara by the arrival of a VIP emissary from Hulagu Khan in the West. The Mongol ambassador persuaded the brothers that Great Khan would be delighted to meet them for he had never seen any Latin and very much wanted to meet one. So they journeyed eastward. They left Bukhara, Samarkand, Kashgar, then came the murderous obstacle of the Gobi desert. Through the northern route they reached Turfan and Hami, then headed south-east to Dunhuang. Along the Hexi Corridor, they finally reached the new capital of the Great Khan, Bejing in 1266.

The Great Khan, Mangu\’s brother, Kublai, was indeed hospitable. He had set up his court at Beijing, which was not a Mongol encampment but an impressive city built by Kublai as his new capital after the Mongols took over China in 1264 and established Yuan dynasty (1264-1368). Kublai asked them all about their part of the world, the Pope and the Roman church. Niccolo and Matteo, who spoke Turkic dialects perfectly, answered truthfully and clearly. The Polo brothers were well received in the Great Khan\’s capital. One year later, the Great Khan sent them on their way with a letter in Turki addressed to Pope Clement IV asking the Pope to send him 100 learned men to teach his people about Christianity and Western science. He also asked Pope to procure oil from the lamp at the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

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Nov 20

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Home Again to Liuzhou

Chinese Train Soft Sleeper

Susie & I kicked back in soft sleeper (Chinese “first class”) on overnight train from Kunming to Liuzhou…actually quite nice, comfortable, quiet with nice classical music…and cheap. We were very self-satisfied & celebrating a terrific week, including training new correspondents and meeting their contacts interested in EB-5.

When we returned to our apartment in Liuzhou, I walked across the street to McDonalds to get cup of coffee. Four young Chinese school girls (I would guess maybe 10 or 11) approached me with no fear. They were speaking very good English and wanted to speak English with me.

They asked me, “What is your name?” Then, “Where are you from?” I replied, “America.” They said in perfect, no-accent English, “America is very beautiful.”

They wandered along, chattering happily on their way, looking back to laugh and wave at their American friend.

Nov 12

China Telecom Plans to Offer Wireless Service in U.S. in 2012 | Bloomberg

China Telecom

Editor’s note: In our opinion, developments like this announced expansion by China Telecom into U.S. has positive implications for all parties. Certainly, these services provide additional, affordable infrastructure for new American immigrants to feel more at home and in touch with friends and family in Asia.

China Telecom Corp. plans to start selling a wireless service to U.S. consumers under its own brand early next year, seeking to sign up Chinese-Americans, students and tourists who travel often between the two countries.

China’s biggest fixed-line provider will offer users of the service handsets with two lines, one that will work in the U.S. and another in China, Donald Tan, president of China Telecom Americas, said in an interview. Tan declined to discuss pricing, though he said the cost would be “competitive.”

China Telecom, seeking to gain a toehold in the U.S. consumer market, is already in trials with several possible wholesale partners, and will soon choose one as the service’s network, Tan said. He declined to name the U.S. test partners. If the wireless service takes off, China Telecom may consider building or buying its own wireless network in the U.S., Tan said.

“If the service is growing fast, maybe we can set up our own infrastructure,” Tan said. “The money is no big problem for us.”

Read full article…China Telecom Plans to Offer Wireless Service in U.S. in 2012 – Bloomberg.

Nov 10

Bing Bing, Susie & Michael in Kunming, Yunnan, China

Bing Bing, Susie and Michael are working with clients and consultants in Kunming, in the southwestern province of Yunnan next week.

Bing Bing is originally from Kunming, and has lived in Hong Kong and Canada, and presently lives in the U.S. She speaks Mandarin, Cantonese and English.

Susie is from Liuzhou, Guangxi. Susie, son Yang Yang and Michael live in Scottsdale, Arizona and China.

As described in Wikipedia, Kunming is the capital and largest city of Yunnan Province in Southwest China. It was known as Yunnan-Fou until the 1920s. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of Yunnan, and is the seat of the provincial government.

It is also home to several universities, museums, galleries and other important economic, cultural, and educational institutions. The headquarters of many of Yunnan’s large businesses are in Kunming as well.

It was important during World War II as a Chinese military center, American air base, and transport terminus for the Burma Road.

Located in the middle of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, Kunming is located at an altitude of 1,900 m above sea level and at a latitude just north of the Tropic of Cancer. It covers an area of 21,473 square kilometres (8,291 sq mi) and its urban area covers 2,081 km². Kunming has population of 6,432,212 including 3,055,000 in the urban area and is located at the northern edge of the large Lake Dian, surrounded by temples and lake-and-limestone hill landscapes.

Kunming consists of an old, previously walled city, a modern commercial district, residential and university areas. The city has an astronomical observatory, and its institutions of higher learning include Yunnan University, Yunnan Normal University and a medical college. On the outskirts is a famed bronze temple, dating from the Ming dynasty.

Its economic importance derives from its geographical position. Positioned near the border with Southeastern Asian countries, serving as a transportation hub in Southwest China, linking by rail to Vietnam and by road to Burma and Laos. This positioning also makes it an important trade center in this region of the nation. It also houses some manufacturing, chiefly copper, though some other chemicals, machinery, textiles, paper and cement take key.

Though having a nearly 2,400 year history, its modern prosperity dates only from 1910, when the railroad from Hanoi was built. The city has continued to develop rapidly under China’s modernization efforts. Kunming’s streets have widened while office buildings and housing projects develop at a fast pace. Kunming has been designated a special tourism center and as such sports a proliferation of high-rises and luxury hotels.

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