Confessions of a "Criminal" in China

You’ve probably heard (from me if you read my blog) that doing business in China is a tricky business.  Just how tricky can be seen in this article from Prospect.  If you’re a small entrepreneur you’ll probably find yourself in a game you can’t win.  Even if you own a large company, you won’t be able to negotiate from an equal to equal basis.  In China, only two things matter: power and position.  Foreigners don’t have either.  

Adopting Babies in China

Thinking about adopting a Chinese baby? Better think twice and do your homework, as this article from The Standard. Chinese babies are often stolen off the street by thugs who sell them to orphanages for about $400. The orphanages, in turn, charge some $3,000 for the “paperwork” involved in the adoption process. Meanwhile, Chinese mothers who lost their children search frantically for their babies while government officials and orphanages create a blizzard of paperwork to support the idea that the babies were found abandoned on the street and were rescued by the people who brought them to the orphanage. The whole process is built on a foundation of lies. This is not to say that there are no good people out there rescuing babies that need to be rescued. But that’s why those people who want to adopt a baby should be duly diligent and look into the background of the people handing the baby over to them.

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Thinking about adopt

Thinking about adopting a Chinese baby?  Better think twice and do your homework, as this article from The  Standard.  Chinese babies are often stolen off the street by thugs who sell them to orphanages for about $400.  The orphanages, in turn, charge some $3,000 for the “paperwork” involved in the adoption process.  Meanwhile, Chinese mothers who lost their children search frantically for their babies while government officials and orphanages create a blizzard of paperwork to support the idea that the babies were found abandoned on the street and were rescued by the people who brought them to the orphanage.  The whole process is built on a foundation of lies.  This is not to say that there are no good people out there rescuing babies that need to be rescued.  But that’s why those people who want to adopt a baby should be duly diligent and look into the background of the people handing the baby over to them.

When Chinese Sue the State, Cases Are Often Smothered - New York Times

Swift justice in China only happens when the government wants to jail someone. But when peansants want to file suits against the government, there is no justice. The courts just ignore their suits and pretend they were never filed. As you might imagine, this is the source of a great many uprisings by villagers in China. A more lengthy account of this is contained in this article from the New York Times.

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AIDS Patients in China

Courtesy of ESWN I got this article about the plight of AIDS patients in China.  The graphic detail of the story makes one ache for the people described and makes me wonder if China will make it out of the dark ages in time to become a modern nation that truly looks after its more unfortunate people.  If you have AIDS in China it’s worse than being a leper in the time of Christ.

A Look at the Chinese Stock Market

Attempts by companies in China to manipulate the prices of their shares on the market may have backfired and left those share worth less than the market price reflects.  If  you have the interest and the patience to wade through this article in the Far Eastern Economic Review, you will see how the system demonstrates a longing by the Chinese to have their cake and eat it, too.  As is common in China, a rule is a rule unless someone sees a way to profit by changing it.  While there is money to be made in Chinese stocks, you have to keep in mind the fact that the rules can change without anybody telling you.

Corruption in the Communist Party

On the subject of corruption, the communist party is beginning to sound like G. W. Bush.  They’ve got a plan but they can’t tell you want it is.  And the mechanism for carrying it out isn’t in place yet.  So corruption is growing apace and will continue to do so until the mechanism kicks in…or not.  This story by Reuters gives us the official version.  But it’s a sad story any way you look at it.

Getting Around the Censors

This article from The Washington Post illustrates how bloggers on China’s internet manage to get around the censors by using literary allusions to talk about things that are not allowed on the internet.  Lu Xun is becoming an allusion for Dongzhou in internet discussions.  The censors will find it difficult to block all references to Chinese history and literature.  In fact, they already are.