China Hearsay

Happy Chinese New Year

1/22/12 •

Best wishes from China Hearsay for good health and prosperity in 2012, the year of the dragon.

Recent Posts

But I Thought Chinese People Are Not Litigious

1/26/12 •

Over the course of my China law career, I’ve heard an endless series of statements from both foreigners and Chinese insisting that the “sue first, ask questions later” attitude in the U.S./UK just doesn’t apply to the PRC’s harmonious society. I learned early on that this conclusion is rubbish. Here’s more evidence to back me up:

China accepted 2.65 million legal cases in the last five years, with the number growing each year by an average of 23.5 percent, and provided legal advice for 20.78 million people, the number growing 12.8 percent each year on average, said the Ministry of Justice on Thursday.

I tend to think that this suggests more people have faith in the judicial system (at least for ordinary civil litigation). Seems like a good thing to me.

Obama, SOTU and U.S.-China Policy {Yawn}

1/25/12 •

Obama’s trade and investment talk in the State of the Union no doubt went over well with the folks at home, but the specifics were underwhelming.

New Year Fireworks: Too Much of a Good Thing?

1/24/12 •

Call me a buzzkill, but I think we need to restrict fireworks to municipal and local displays and take them out of the hands of ordinary folks.

CLSA’s Feng Shui Index: Even More Stupid Than Bringing Sarah Palin to Hong Kong

1/20/12 •

Applying feng shui principles to the stock market? Can’t be any worse than technical analysis.

Here’s A Good Anti-corruption Plan: Don’t Reduce Civil Servant Benefits

1/19/12 •

Civil servant health care reform sounds like a good idea, but let’s not use the opportunity to cut their benefits.

America’s Great Firewall?

1/19/12 •

There are plenty of reasons to dislike the latest attempt by the entertainment industry to go after offshore pirates without bringing China into the conversation.