China Bits

Although the National Basketball Association has had long connections with its European partners, teams, and players, the NBA might be officially branching out into China first.  The NBA has a 20 year plan with the idea of expanding 5 official teams into Europe, but if commissioner David Stern’s comments are to be believed, China may get a NBA-branded and sponsored league of up to 30 teams.  Whether or not there would be any cross over with North American teams is up for speculation; furthermore, just because there’s the NBA brand that’s associated with a few teams doesn’t guarantee success either.  Just look at the WNBA.

Although Zhou Chunxiu had competed successfully within China during a number of competitions in long distance running, she, along with many Chinese long distance runners, have rarely succeeded outside of the country.  Well, no more.  Zhou Chunxiu had recently won the London marathon, with a time of 2hr 20min 38sec, beating out competitors from Ethopia and Kenya.  The world record holder for the marathon, Paula Radcliffe, however, was not in competition as she was recovering from the birth of her daughter in January.  Both Zhou and Radcliffe look forward to competing against each other in Beijing 2008 as Zhou’s star continues to rise, while Radcliffe has something to prove with her disappointing showing in the Athens Olympics of 2004.

From natural gas, to hydrogen fuel cells, Chinese automakers are putting their R&D dollars into alternative energy sources.  The reason?  While current automotive companies have the edge in the “conventional” energy source, gas, many Chinese automotive companies feel they are operating on the same playing ground when it comes to these alternative sources.  With the Chinese appetite for energy growing exponentially — and all the deleterious sequelae that follows — there are plenty of other reasons to do so as well.  At a recent auto trade show in Shanghai, hybrid technology was on display as a bridge to future technologies, such as the hydrogen fuel cell.

thanks paogao I love Zooomr

Well, it won’t be broadcast on national tv, but the show will be hosted online, via the parent company’s website.  The one hour TV show, called “Connecting Homosexuals” will be the first to focus on gay issues and to have an openly gay host.  The content will focus on legal, societal, parental and cultural aspects of homosexuality, and hopes to create better awareness for gays in China.  The show debuts April 5 at phoenixtv.com.

China’s only labour union, The All-China Federation of Trade Unions, has stood behind part time workers at US fast food chains, such as McDonald’s and KFC in their assertion that many of them are being under paid.  While the story was initially confied to a single province in China, once the story began circulating through the press, other reports began surfacing all over China.  The minimum wage being 7.5 yuan per hour (just under $1USD), many part time workers were being paid as much as 60% less than that.  While the official investigation is still getting underway, the very fact that such an investigation is taking place in such an expeditious fashion is a statment in and of itself.  In prior years, China may have been willing to overlook such transgressions to cater to overseas investment; with an increasing focus on equality, and as such, employee rights, scenarios such as this one, are no longer being ignored.

While China, as a country, may win few awards for its environmental measures, one of its largest private companies, Lenovo (formerly IBM), has.  Greenpeace has just awarded Lenovo its highest honors this quarter for an electronics businesses, as it has made tremendous strides in recycling its industrial waste, and controlling its toxic waste products.  Ironically, the company with a piece of fruit as its logo was deemed the worst environmental offender out of 14 companies: Apple … although there are some who feel that its a bit unfair.

The concept of “news with a bonus” has a long entrenched history amongst Chinese journalism.  Journalists show up to a news conference, and are handed an envelope stuffed with cash in exchange for a positive spin, or review of the days events.  Those days, it seems, are heading to an end with new legislation that is aimed at preventing bribery in all its forms in the news industry.  Whether its payola to get journalists to write something positive, OR, journalists demanding payment from individuals or companies in exchange for not writing something negative, China’s Press Regulator is aiming to put at a stop to all of them.  While the intentions are good, some wonder how effective a ban will be, as many journalists depend on the “extra income” of such bonuses, and newspapers face pressures to keep revenues up, and therefore, costs, such as salaries, down.

In what some are calling a victory for the small guy, the couple who stood fast on preventing land developers from forcibly evicting them from their house have finally — and quietly – gotten the concessions that they were looking for.  Although the exact details are unknown, it looks like careful and regular media appearances played no small part in garnering the public’s sympathy in this David and Goliath story.  The new deal that the couple have managed to negotiate includes a new apartment, new storefront in a new location, and an additional $120 000 for loss of business income.  However, the couple’s marked silence after the new deal was settled has rankled some commentators, who now question if all the public appeals were about championing the common man, or merely a bargaining tool for personal gain.

Between 2000 and 2005, the number of illiterates grew by the size of Canada, 30 million.  China defines illiteracy as the inability to recognize more than 1,500 characters.  Its thought that the rise in illiteracy over this time frame is in no small part due to the emphasis on industrialization in China, which in turn, is in no small part due to the outsourcing of all kinds of industry into China.  Wages are higher in factories, leading farmers and young individuals from poorer parts of China to seek jobs there.  Unfortunately, the level of academic training is minimal for these kinds of jobs, and many individuals now forsake the 9 year compulsory education even when there is access to it.  China now accounts for 15 percent of the world’s illiterates.