China Hearsay
China law, business and economics commentary



Who Owns that Brand, Anyway? (Jun 27)
Dongwon Group of South Korea announced that it will buy a controlling stake in StarKist from Del Monte Food for more than $300 million. StarKist is a very well-known brand of canned tuna in the U.S. (not sure if they have other products). This is not the first time a foreign company has picked up a [...]


The (Sadly Elusive) Olympic Spirit (Jun 27)
After all that we’ve been through this year with the Olympics, I find this sentiment from Cathy Freeman refreshing and welcome: "When you become that focused, you don’t really pay that much attention to elements that you can’t control like weather or pollution,” she said. “In my career I ran in countries where it was 45 degree [...]


American vs. Chinese Sheep (Jun 25)
You’ll have to read most of this post, I’m afraid, before you get to the "sheep" part. Just a warning. For those who are either very interested in the issue of Internet censorship or, alternatively, just want to catch up on the world of Kaiser Kuo, his latest blog post is highly recommended. A teaser: The b.TWEEN [...]


China, India and Oil Prices (Jun 25)
Lots of folks these days are looking to lay blame for spiking oil/gas prices. Some of them gaze towards China and India, which do represent a large part of new growth, although not the majority of aggregate demand. Others have blamed the oil companies, oil speculators, and so forth. Paul Krugman is not amused with [...]


Get Thee to a China Tort Litigator (Jun 25)
Recommendation and brief comment on a recent post by Charlie McElwee at China Environmental Law. I’ve probably been remiss in saying that this blog is one of the best issue-focused China blogs out there. Very substantive and thorough. It helps to be either a law or environmental wonk. Note that Charlie works for a competitor, [...]


Obama’s China Hands (Jun 23)
Thomas Crampton posted a list I have been waiting for: the China teams for the candidates. Here’s the Obama group: Directly in charge of the Asia team is Amb. Jeff Bader, ex-State, NSC, USTR, also in charge of China, and administering the team via Mona Sutphen, of Stonebridge International, directly to the Campaign via Denis McDonough, [...]


Fiat Apologizes to China Over TV Ad (Jun 23)
Someone should win a Darwin Award for this ad campaign: Italian car maker Fiat has apologized to China over its new television commercial featuring U.S. actor Richard Gere and a reference to Tibet after Chinese newspapers carried reports about it. Its shows Gere driving the car from Hollywood to Tibet, whose autonomy from China he supports. Just two [...]


Preposterous (Kung Fu) Panda Protest (Jun 18)
H/T to the WSJ China blog for sending us this bit of nonsense, which is bound to get me in trouble: Dreamworks’ “Kung Fu Panda” has proven to be a champ in the U.S., where the film has grossed close to $120 million since opening on Jun. 6. But in China, where it’s scheduled for release [...]


Giving Up That Moral Highground (Jun 18)
Many people ask how lawyers can advocate for a position they don’t believe in or, for criminal defense attorneys, advocate on behalf of someone they know is guilty. And then we have the case of U.S. government officials advocating for deregulation of the financial sector in China. Tough sell. I’m glad to be in the [...]


Industrial Policy for China’s Entertainment Industry (Jun 18)
From the Hollywood Reporter (yes, I read that, so what?): Chinese filmmakers should work on more co-productions with overseas partners, a senior film industry regulator said Tuesday at the Shanghai International Film Festival. "All co-productions will be treated the same as domestic films in China," Jiang Ping, vice chairman of the Film Bureau of the [...]