Culture & History

Indian Businessmen Warned to Stay Away from Yiwu

Jan. 4 – The Indian Embassy in Beijing issued a statement on Tuesday warning Indian businessmen to stay away from China’s eastern trade hub Yiwu, a city in Zhejiang Province well-known for its massive small commodities trade, Indian media reported.

“Indian traders and businessmen are hereby cautioned not to do business with Yiwu in Zhejiang Province,” the statement read. The strong warning came just one day after India said one of its diplomats was “manhandled” and temporarily lost consciousness at a court hearing on December 31 in the city. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Culture & History | Tagged India, Yiwu | 2 Comments

Major Chinese Cities to Require Real-name Weibo Registration

By Julia Gu

Dec. 27 – Following identical moves adopted by other major cities including Beijing, Guangzhou, Tianjin and Shenzhen, Shanghai is going to require users of Weibo, a twitter-like microblogging service, to register under their real names starting Monday, state media reported.

Authorities explained that the new rules aim to protect web users’ interests and improve credibility of the websites as well as to “foster a healthy Internet culture.” According to the report, netizens may use their screen names for tweeting, but for registration real names would be required. The guidelines will include both private and corporate users. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Culture & History, Featured, Markets, Technology | Tagged China Internet Control, China Renren, China Sina Weibo, China Tencent QQ, China Weibo, China Weibo Real-name Registration | 1 Comment

China Service: Good, and Getting Better

In China, you generally get what you pay for

Op-Ed Commentary: Chris Devonshire-Ellis

Personal butler, the new St. Regis Shenzhen

Dec. 12 – Twenty years ago, when I had just begun my China business, I had to supplement the firm’s income with a job teaching English for the local TV station in Shenzhen. As filming took part in the evening, I often stayed at a very Chinese, 1-star hotel whose name forgets me now. However, I do recall the dirty, cigarette-burned carpet, the incessant aroma of stale tobacco smoke, flimsy furniture and the rat. The rat would appear from the toilet bowl at night, having navigated the U-bend, and would wake me up with a pungent stench and furtive scratching noises. He was huge, and attempts to permanently drive him off were never that successful. As part of a long forgotten Chinese-English TV series, I once stayed in this place – complete with almost inedible food, surly staff and a breakfast that consisted of stale bread and a boiled egg – for two weeks. I was regularly questioned by PSB police officers as to why I was there. That’s not good service by any stretch of the imagination. However, this was 20 years ago. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Culture & History, Featured | Tagged China F&B, China Hospitality, China Hotel, China Service, Chris Devonshire-Ellis, Ritz-Carlton, Shenzhen | 6 Comments

After Canceling Border Talks, China’s General Ma Heads to India

Dec. 7 – China’s General Ma Xiaotian, deputy chief of the People’s Liberation Army General Staff, will be leading a delegation to meet with Indian Defense Secretary Shashikant Sharma on December 9, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hong Lei confirmed at a press conference on Monday.

“The two sides will hold in-depth talks about the regional situation as well as bilateral defense exchanges and cooperation,” Hong said. He noted that China attached great importance to the 15th round of Sino-India boundary talks, but didn’t reveal any further information. Continue reading →

Posted in Culture & History, Featured, Politics | Tagged China India Disputes, China-India Diplomacy, China-India Relations, China-India Territorial Disputes, Dalai Lama, Hong Lei, Kashmir, Ma Xiaotian, Shashikant Sharma | Leave a comment

Corruption Remains Problematic in China and India

Dec. 6 – Despite their recent rise in the global economic landscape, China and India are perceived as two of the more corrupt nations in the world, according to an index released last week by Transparency International (TI).

TI, a non-governmental organization monitoring corporate and political corruption throughout the world, explained that their Corruption Perceptions Index ranks countries according to perceived levels of public-sector corruption and are based on surveys carried out by independent and reputable institutions. The Berlin-based group scored 183 countries on a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 being highly corrupt and 10 being very clean. Continue reading →

Posted in Business, Culture & History, Featured | Tagged Anna Hazare, China Corruption, Corruption Perceptions Index, Emerging Asia Corruption, India Corruption, NGO, Transparency International | 1 Comment

Mongolia Enthrones Its Dalai Lama

Op-ed Commentary: Chris Devonshire-Ellis

The Ninth Bogd Khan Jebttsundamba Khutughtus

Dec. 5 – Mongolia has confirmed the ninth Bogd Jebttsundamba Khutughtus in a ceremony at the Gandantegchinlin Monastery in Ulaanbaatar. As the spiritual leader of Mongolian Buddhism, the ninth Bogd is the equivalent of the Dalai Lama in Tibet, although ranking below him in title. “Bogd Khan” loosely translates as “High King,” while “Genghis Khan” translates as “King of Kings.” Actually, “Bogd Khan Ul” is also the name of one of Mongolia’s highest and most holy mountains.

Mongolia’s Bogd Khans date back to the 1600s, when the first Bogd, the renowned artist monk Zanabazar, was recognized as such by the then-Panchen Lama and Dalai Lama of Tibet. Zanabazar remains a highly regarded figure in Mongolia, with an entire museum dedicated to his works. He was a superb craftsman, creating many priceless bronze carvings of Buddhas, and also invented (taking the form of written Uyghur script as the base) the first version of modern Mongolian written language – much of which is still in use today. Continue reading →

Posted in Culture & History, Featured | Tagged Bogd Jebttsundamba Khutughtus, Buddhism, Communism, Dalai Lama, Emerging Asia Religion, Gandantegchinlin Monastery, Mongolia, Religion, Tibet, Ulaanbaatar | Leave a comment

Clinton Begins Historic U.S. Trip to Myanmar

Dec. 1 – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton began her historic trip to Myanmar on Wednesday, marking the first appearance by an American diplomat of her rank in the long-isolated Southeast Asian country in 56 years.

In November, U.S. President Barack Obama announced that he would send Clinton to Myanmar in response to the country’s “flickers of progress,” referencing a series of reforms made by the Myanmar government. Continue reading →

Posted in Culture & History, Featured, Politics | Tagged Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma, China-Myanmar, Clinton, Emerging Asia Politics, Irrawaddy River, Myanmar, Myitisone Dam, Naypyidaw, Obama, Thein Sein, U.S.-Myanmar, Yangon | Leave a comment

2point6billion.com provides news, commentary and analysis on business, culture and politics throughout China and India. The stories are contributed by the business experts at Dezan Shira & Associates, who have offices throughout south east Asia.