How to catch a pirate
The fight against global trade in fake goods is not just China’s problem
This story originally appeared in the February 27, 2006 edition of Business China, published by The Economist. Download a PDF version of this story here.
by DAN WASHBURN
In January when the Shanghai municipal government announced its plans to shut down Xiangyang Market—known simply as the “fake market” to locals—officials trumpeted the decision as a major victory in China’s battle against the rampant trade in pirated goods. Vice Mayor Zhou Taitong emphasised that the market was not just being “removed” but was being “abolished”. And the state media reminded readers that the Shanghai Industrial and Commercial Administrative Bureau handled 1,227 cases of trademark violation in 2005, confiscating 1.6m fake items from markets, including Xiangyang.
Another property deal?
But the government’s crackdown-on-counterfeits spin seems simply to have been a convenient byproduct of what the manoeuvre was really about: property. A few days after the Xiangyang announcement, local papers reported that Sun Hung Kai Properties, one of Hong Kong’s largest developers, was in “final talks” to purchase the market site—a prime plot on bustling Huaihai Road, in the heart of Shanghai’s commercial district—for US$450m.
A Xiangyang salesperson says the merchants have been asked to leave the market before June 30, adding that many shopkeepers will be happy with a change of venue because rents at Xiangyang are expensive, averaging about US$5,000 per month per stall. “We will continue to sell the same products, but in a different part of the city,” says the 22-year-old, who specialises in fake luxury handbags. “The government is already telling some shops to move to the Longhua area. The market will not go away.” And what if it did? Fake goods can be found stocking storefronts on nearly every street in Shanghai.
06.20.2006, 10:02 AM · Business, Politics, Stories · Comments (3)
Still in the rough
The success of golf tournaments in China belies the tepid state of the country’s golf business
This story originally appeared in the November 21, 2005 edition of Business China, published by The Economist. Download a PDF version of this story here.
by DAN WASHBURN
Tiger Woods played in an official international golf tournament in China for the first time this month. It was a big one—the HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai, the richest golf event ever held in Asia with a US$5m purse. This coupling of cash and the world’s top player brought the buzz surrounding the growth of golf in China to a crescendo. Zhang Lianwei, China’s most successful pro golfer, said Mr Woods’s presence “moved China golf forward by ten years.”
Hot ticket
China is emerging as a hot ticket for international golf tournaments. This year alone, the mainland and Hong Kong hosted five European Tour events—more than Scotland (four) or England (three). But golf in China is all big-money tournaments and almost no growth at the grass-roots level. Events like the HSBC tournament create great exposure for the game in China, but nearly everything about them is foreign. They include few Chinese golfers, even fewer domestic sponsors and lukewarm government support. Domestic media coverage is also perfunctory at best, though a gallery of some 5,000 people followed Mr Woods during the HSBC Champions’ final day.
“People are saying what a great year it has been for Chinese golf—I disagree,” says Nick Mould, senior vice president of Singapore-based World Sport Group. “It has been a great year for golf in China, but not for Chinese golf. This is not sustainable, because nothing is left behind.” He pointed to two high-profile tournaments in China prior to the HSBC—the BMW Asian Open and the Johnnie Walker Classic—where out of US$3.8m in prize money, less than US$50,000 ended up in the pockets of Chinese golfers.
Just what were the anti-Japan protesters thinking?
Chatting with a Shanghai college student
Well, Japan has apologized to China … again. But Japanese officials also visited the highly controversial Yasukuni Shrine … again. (Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi hasn’t made his annual pilgrimage to the shrine — yet. He was busy meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Indonesia. A recent poll by Japan’s liberal Asahi Shimbun newspaper, by the way, shows that nearly half of Japanese voters wish Koizumi would halt his visits to the shrine, which honors Japan’s war dead — including 14 convicted World War II Class A war criminals.) And so, China responded to the apology by saying Japan needs to match its words with actions … again. And now, the feud turns to school textbooks … again. This time, Japan is calling China’s history books “extreme.” Not exactly breaking news.
The China-Japan issue is not going away any time soon. If you have read the comments to my previous post, that is abundantly clear. (And if you haven’t read the comments yet, don’t try to do it in one sitting.) Most Chinese feel one way. Most outsiders feel the opposite. The Chinese don’t understand the outsiders. The outsiders don’t understand the Chinese. This is not the first time in history this has happened.
04.25.2005, 3:16 PM · Observations, Politics · Comments (18)
Tens of thousands take to the streets of Shanghai
Huge crowd has fun hating on Japan
Click here for photos of today’s anti-Japan march in Shanghai.
[UPDATE: Video clips of the march are here, here and here.]
So, I ended up going to Shanghai’s anti-Japan march this morning anyway. Going against the advice of a Chinese friend who told me the protest would be “very dangerous.” Going against the advice of the American government which warned U.S. citizens that China’s blanket hatred of all things Japanese could mutate into acts of violence toward all things foreign. I picked up the protest near People’s Square at around 9:30 a.m. expecting to see lines of Shanghai police, worrying slightly that my camera could get confiscated, not necessarily because it is a Japanese-made Canon — although that thought did cross my mind — but because I figured Shanghai authorities, desperately worried about the image of China’s most international city, would be doing everything in their power to limit the event’s exposure to the outside world.
Well, nothing of the sort happened. There were no lines of police. There were some, of course. But the majority of police that I saw today were smiling and laughing and marching along with the protesters. No one said a thing about my camera — not one of the police officers atop their Yamaha motorcycles, definitely not the Chinese student who wanted me to answer a question into his Sony video camera.
04.16.2005, 3:50 PM · Observations, Photos, Politics, Video · Comments (100)
‘A detailed instruction on the Protest Against Right Wing Japanese’
And other notes about ‘warm patriotic sentiments’
The following is a translation of an email making the rounds in Shanghai regarding the fun-filled weekend the city has in store. The instructions include some tips that I think we can all apply to our everyday lives, like “If you are spotted throwing stuff at the consulate, smile at the policeman” and “Be careful when burning the Japanese flag and the Prime Minister’s portrait! Don’t end up burning yourself!” That’s just common sense.
Not sure if you were planning on checking out the protests in person or not — a little too early in the day for me — but the organizers promise it will be “quite a view.”
Here, comrades, is everything you need to know:
04.15.2005, 1:15 PM · Observations, Politics · Comments (21)
Too rainy for you? Blame the government.
Shanghai summers are hot and humid, sometimes unbearably so. Last summer, the city’s high temperature remained above 95 degrees for a record 40 days in a row. And sorry Shanghai dwellers, summers aren’t likely to get better any time soon, because — as we all know — Shanghai is also one of the most polluted megacities in the world. What little bit of ozone our sky has left will likely be burned away soon. Automobile sales here are growing at a record pace — even though the roads are already overcrowded and the city has about one parking lot downtown — and factory emissions go largely unchecked. Oh, the country is also in the midst of an energy crisis because the government forgot to figure out how it was going to power its economy’s historic growth. Last summer, Shanghai experienced a series of power shortages because too many people were using their air conditioners at the same time.
But, have no fear, people of Shanghai. The government is coming to our rescue. It has a plan to solve all of our problems. The government’s going to make it rain, baby.
06.20.2004, 1:28 PM · News, Observations, Politics · Comments (10)
Commander in Grief
Was cleaning out my desk during the move and found this sticker that was given to me last summer in D.C.
I like it. Thought I would share.
Enjoy.
06.13.2004, 6:27 PM · Politics · Comments (1)
“Have your good time, Mr. Sadam”
yesterday was my last day of teaching at shanghai university. forever. and, right now, that’s all i have to say about that.
i will leave you with the transcript from a mid-term skit two of my students performed for me monday, five weeks after it was due. no, the dialogue has nothing to do with what the assignment was actually about. yes, the students received very bad grades for their efforts.
but i thought it was fittingly bizarre. enjoy.
stripped: beijing youth whips out story about nude men
this cartoon recently appeared in the beijing youth daily (beijing qingnian bao) newspaper, which claims to have a paid daily circulation of 600,000. the cartoon accompanied english and chinese versions of one of my recent posts. it had to do with nudity in locker rooms.
04.08.2004, 1:24 AM · Observations, Politics · Comments (6)
wild on xinjiang: setting the stage
note: the following is the first of many posts that will document my 10-day stay in china’s xinjiang uighur autonomous region during the national day holiday. now, i’ll be the first to tell you that this introduction has little to do with the xinjiang i saw. but i’ve been doing some research on the topic lately. i find it interesting. and there you go.
the uighurs wobble … but will they fall down?
the place: china might as well add “restive” to its already long and disingenuous name for the xinjiang uighur autonomous region. read a newspaper or magazine story about this vast and mysterious northwestern non-province, and restive will undoubtedly show up somewhere. (see, i’ve already done it twice.) this makes me chuckle. my dictionary defines autonomous like this: “not controlled by others; independent.” and restive like this: “difficult to control.”
11.09.2003, 10:56 PM · Politics, Xinjiang · Comments (4)
‘i think we should be slaves’
so my students are giving mid-term presentations now. the topic: any story about something they experienced over national day holiday. basically, my students are a boring lot … and they readily admit it. i heard over and over again how they slept, watched tv, played computer games, surfed the internet and ate “some delicious foods.”
a few students stuck out, though. one in particular. her father is a history professor, so she spent part of her time reading chinese history books that were lying around her house. her presentation was about the fact that she couldn’t trust anything in those books, thanks to the chinese government’s habit of rewriting — or just erasing — messy bits of history.
10.13.2003, 11:33 PM · Observations, Politics, School · Comments (1)
california goes commando
it’s times like these that i’m glad i don’t live in america.
10.08.2003, 11:28 PM · Politics · Comments (3)
Up in Smoke: Shanghai is all tied up in the tobacco
NOTE: Versions of this story appeared in the South China Morning Post (subscription only) and that’s Shanghai magazine.
by DAN WASHBURN
SHANGHAI — Song Hai Pei’s front teeth are stained brown from smoking cigarettes. A pack of Red Double Happiness rests at the ready in his breast pocket. He often offers smokes to the patrons of the small restaurant he owns in northern Shanghai. Song, 47, has been a smoker for 25 years. Not once has he thought about quitting. No reason to, he claims, as long as he feels healthy and can afford the financial burden of his habit. When asked whether he believes cigarettes are addictive, he responds: “No. I can go without smoking for one whole day without feeling a thing.”
09.29.2003, 12:26 AM · Politics, Stories · Comments (2)
Green Acres?
Some people really think Shanghai is a “Garden City”
NOTE: A version of this story appears in the June issue of that’s Shanghai magazine.
by DAN WASHBURN
To most people in Shanghai, green is the color your face turns when the city’s air is at its most acrid. But Shanghai officials hope to force the color from your face and stick it in the ground … tree after tree after tree. They are overseeing a greening of Shanghai’s acres that would make Oliver Wendell Douglas proud. And soon — maybe even late this year — this concrete jungle will officially be known as a “Garden City.” Believe it or not, the Shanghai Landscaping Administration Bureau claims that at the end of last year Shanghai was 30 percent green space. The goal is to have that figure at 35 percent by the end of this year, which would satisfy one requirement for the Construction Ministry of China’s “Garden City” status. This begs the logical question: Where exactly is all of this green space? Well, you may be standing on some right now and not even know it.
05.30.2003, 4:33 PM · Politics, Stories · Comments (3)
blues in the city
Click here for photos related to this story.
I learned early in my Shanghai stay never to leave home without my camera. If you wait until tomorrow to photograph what you see today, you usually get screwed — because what you saw yesterday very well could have been bulldozed overnight. This city is under construction.
05.28.2003, 2:17 PM · Observations, Politics
sth about SARS
yeah, i didn’t know that sth was an abbreviation for something, either — until i moved to china. it’s just one of the many bits of “english” that chinese students use for years thinking it sounds perfectly natural until a native speaker stops them with “what?” the problem is that most of their english teachers are chinese. and those teachers learned from other chinese english teachers and so on and so on. it’s an insular english community, one that assumes all americans sign e-mails with the salutation “wish you happy every day.” really, my students were perplexed when i told them stuff like that, while cute, doesn’t cut it in the english-speaking world. “we were actually taught that,” one of my students gasped.
anyway, i’ve gotten off topic. i just wanted to share a SARS-related e-mail i received from one of my students. it refers to some stuff i mentioned in my 4.29 blog entitled don’t sneeze at others.
05.22.2003, 11:49 PM · Observations, Politics, School · Comments (3)
don’t sneeze at others
It’s late April, nearly six months after the deadly SARS virus launched its sneak attack on southern China, and Shanghai — the country’s most populous city — has just seemed to take notice. About a week ago, we went from inaction to overreaction literally overnight. I remember the day well. It was a pleasant day: not too hot, not too cold. I went for a run that night, and I could actually see the stars. I took a deep breath, and the air actually felt fresh. Little did I know that, all of a sudden, I would be surrounded by one of the most rapidly spreading infectious diseases known to man … fear.
04.29.2003, 4:02 PM · Observations, Politics · Comments (3)
no mom, it wasn’t SARS
People say you haven’t really visited China until you’ve vomited in China. Well, I’ve finally arrived! Not sure if it was the 24-hour stomach flu or just some bad fried rice — maybe it was from doing my taxes — but I found myself either kneeling or sitting (or, sometimes, with the unfortunate need to do both at the same time) most of yesterday and some of today.
04.16.2003, 2:04 AM · Observations, Politics, School · Comments (6)
Build Me Up, Tear Me Down
NOTE: A version of this piece was the cover story for the April 2003 issue of that’s Shanghai magazine. The South China Morning Post (subscription only) also ran a version.
by DAN WASHBURN
The Shanghai Concert Hall looks lonely. It sits by itself, surrounded by bulldozers and dirt, cowering in the shadow of Yan’an Elevated Highway. Once grand, the 73-year-old theatre now just looks grimy. This building deserves better. And later this month, many believe that’s just what it will get. The hall — all 5,650 tons of it — is being hoisted up and moved 70 meters southeast. It is the largest relocation project Shanghai has ever seen, and no doubt will be touted as a sign of the city’s dedication to preserving its past.
04.10.2003, 7:40 AM · Politics, Stories · Comments (1)
it’s the end of the world as we know it …
… and i feel fine
Back in America, when I first told people I was moving to China, some immediately expressed concern for my safety. Communism equals crises in the minds of most Americans, who still have an antiquated Cultural Revolution image of the country. Before I left, one of my former co-workers advised me to call the same person back home at the same time every week. That way, if one week I failed to make that call, my family would know something was wrong — they could call the American government and put into motion the process that would lead to my safe removal from the country. I never took her advice. And now, as my dear nation is in the throes of war, I find it strange that I feel much safer here in communist China than I would in nearly any city in America.
03.31.2003, 11:31 PM · Observations, Politics · Comments (5)
or do i? (cough, cough)
Um yeah, well there’s that SARS bug going around over here. Just over a week ago, I asked one of my Shanghainese friends about it … and he had never heard of it. Ah yes, that good ol’ state-run media. Never let a worldwide epidemic get in the way of a story that promotes party politics.
But who will be laughing when the entire readership is dead? Well, no one, I would assume.
03.31.2003, 11:28 PM · Observations, Politics · Comments (2)
