The poster in the bathroom says "No Drugs"

This is why you should heed their warning. Coco Park, Futian, Shenzhen.

Some Chinese restaurants now offering rewards for finishing your food

I'm a proponent of taking home leftovers. Many people here are not. Now some are trying to change that. From the China Daily:

Diners will receive rewards if they eat all their food in restaurants or take away their leftovers, as part of efforts to reduce food waste.

Minister of Commerce Chen Deming told a conference in Beijing on Monday that some restaurants have introduced such a policy, while others are handing out coupons or awarding membership points to diners who do not squander their food.

"All these methods have proved effective and can be promoted," Chen said.

How big of a problem is food waste in China?

More than 200 billion yuan ($32 billion) worth of food, enough to feed nearly 200 million people for a year, is wasted in China annually, research by China Agricultural University has found.

After polling 2,700 diners in Chinese cities, the university concluded that at least 8 million metric tons of protein and 3 million tons of edible fat is thrown away each year.

Chen Junhai, marketing director for Wangshunge Delicacy, a Beijing restaurant chain, said: "I have worked in the catering industry for more than 20 years, and I have seen too much waste.

"People attending large banquets, such as wedding receptions, are more likely to waste food. We need to break this indecent habit."

I thought us Americans were huge food wasters, but it pales in comparison to what I've experienced here. Most restaurant dining here is family style, so it is very easy (and sometimes even considered good-mannered) to order way more food than is possible to eat in one sitting. The result is literal dishes of food barely touched being sent to the trash can to make way for the next group of over-orderers. 

Great to see restaurants starting to incentivize smarter ordering and the taking of leftovers.

A very common sight

Get those Google Glasses out of my face

I can tell you this right now (even before they have been officially released): If I'm ever approached by someone or am in the presence of someone, be it friend or foe, and this someone is wearing Google Glasses, I will ask them, and ask them in the kindest way possible, to remove the Google Glasses, and if they refuse, I will walk away with immediate effect.  

This from The Verge:

I ask if it’s [Google's] attempt to define "Glass etiquette." Will there be the Glass version of Twitter’s RT? "That’s what the Explorer program is about," Steve says. But that’s not going to answer questions about what’s right and wrong to do with a camera that doesn’t need to be held up to take a photo, and often won’t even be noticed by its owner’s subjects. Will people get comfortable with that? Are they supposed to?

The privacy issue is going to be a big hurdle for Google with Glass. 

There is absolutely no way I will allow myself to be in the presence of someone, especially here in China (and probably also in the US), who has a piece of technology attached to their face that can video and record everything in front of them with a touch on the glasses or simple head movement. It's easy to identify someone taking a phone or camera out of their pocket and taking a photo and/or video. But how will I be absolutely sure someone wearing glasses with an integrated microphone and camera isn't recording me? As far as I'm concerned, I can't be sure.

So hello friend. Sit down with me for a drink. Take off those Google Glasses though. Take them off right now. 

Improvements coming to China's public toilets?

Possibly. Chinese public restrooms are notoriously bad. I've had clients from abroad who have had to use them while out and about and almost all of them remark about how bad the odor is. So what's the plan? From The Huffington Post:

According to the South China Morning Post, some of the proposed rules state that "only three flies will be allowed per square metre in stand-alone public toilets." Toilets built within other facilities however will be allowed one fly only.

Other rules touched on the smells of facilities and suggested allowing only a "slight odor," as judged by inspection teams. State-run news service Xinhua reports that the Health Ministry also wants to double the number of female stalls in public facilities that see equal numbers of women and men.

Interesting. We'll see. 

China takes first steps to insure a future of high-speed Internet for (almost) all

From the China Daily (by way of ArsTechnica):

All newly built residences, if they are located in counties and cities where a public fiber optic telecom network is available, have to be equipped with fiber network connections, according to new government policy from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The standards will take effect from April 1, 2013, and will also require residences to offer equal connections to services from various telecom companies allowing customers to choose which service they want.

China's a big place, but a goal of 40 million residence using fiber Internet by 2015 is a good start. As pointed out by Wired...

The project drives home the point made previously by Mark Ansboury, founder and president upstart U.S. broadband provider Gigabit Squared: In other countries, broadband is driven by government investment and regulation, while in the U.S. it’s driven by the needs of investors at entrenched companies. Such a heavy-handed policy is unlikely to fly in the U.S., and many builders would likely want to provide fiber connections as a selling point. But the contrast between the two countries is telling.

In response to a statement posed by a Gizmodo author in this last paragraph of his article on this very same news, and in consideration of both the ways I use the Internet here (at least in Shenzhen) on a daily basis and also my excellent (cough) experiences with Comcasts Internet in the US, I would honestly reply, "I would." 

Sitting with the Mayor of Fuzhou

I'll explain later. Strait International Conference and Exhibition Center, Fuzhou.

That was quick. Nevermind.

I was about ready to post my thoughts/ruminations on the newly implemented 'yellow light' traffic law, but... well... forget I said anything. As you were.  

The real Obama reappears

Glad to see him again. Couldn't be more proud to call him my president. 

And so the "big choice" begins

In Chinese, 'general election' is literally '大选' (da xuan), meaning 'big choice.' I'm trying hard to watch live online right now but the internet is very slow (as in buffering 15 seconds for every 5 seconds of streaming). I might have to stick with live blogs to see who's winning. Whatever happens, I'll either be singing on the streets of Shenzhen or punching a pillow in my bedroom come noontime. 

Might a Romney presidency start a war between China and Japan?

That's what my Chinese workmates thinks. As we watched a news report on Chinese TV about the upcoming presidential debate, out of the blue my colleague said something to the effect of, "if Romney becomes president, there will be a war between Japan and China." I asked my friend to explain and he suggests that Romney's vow to increase America's military presence in the Pacific (to say nothing of attacking China vigorously on trade) may exacerbate the Diaoyu Island standoff to the point off war. 

As if I didn't have enough to worry about...

Today's Big Stories for September 24, 2012

Island controversy, China as a jobs' bogeyman, coal mines, lower forecasts, automotive dealer plight, and iPads for students.

1. Japan PM says dispute with China could hurt economy

Noda, who is scheduled to make a speech to the United Nations General Assembly this week, addressed reports that Japanese companies are facing economic harassment in China, telling the Journal that "recent delays in customs and visa issuance are of concern." He said damaging economic ties between the two nations could hurt the global economy.

2. New Romney Ad: Obama afraid to 'stand up to China'

For the second time in as many weeks, Mitt Romney's campaign released a new television ad blasting President Barack Obama as weak against China on trade. "Fewer Americans are working today than when President Obama took office," the ad's narrator says. "It doesn't have to be this way. If Obama would stand up to China."

As I post previously today, China isn't the problem when it comes to American jobs. I guess China's still the jobs' bogeyman (for both candidates). Oh well. 

3. 22 trapped in three col mine accidents in China

Three separate coal mine accidents over the weekend left 22 miners trapped in northeast and east China, according to local government sources. Eleven people were trapped after a fire broke out Saturday morning in a coal mine in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province. The accident that occurred at the Longshan coal mine in Youyi County of Shuangyashan City was previously reported to have happened on Sunday as a result of the mine owner's attempt to cover up, the rescue headquarters said.

4. Asia mostly lower as commodity firms weigh

China’s GDP growth outlook was cut to 7.5% from 8%, while Japan’s forecast was lowered to 2%, South Korea’s cut to 2.5%, and Singapore’s trimmed to 2.1%, the credit-rating firm said in a statement. “Our lower forecast for China recognizes that the central government had elected not to inject an economic stimulus of a size and speed necessary for an 8% growth rate,” S&P credit analyst Andrew Palmer said in the statement.

5. Car dealers see market shift to lower gear

Car dealers nationwide have begun to experience life in the slow lane after government policies to spur sales ended last year. Also putting the brakes on sales were ownership restriction rules starting in late 2010 that were intended to ease traffic congestion in cities such as Beijing and Guangzhou. In addition, the economy has slowed this year, exacerbating the plight of dealers. "For some car brands, we have inventories on hand of up to four months worth of sales," Pang Qinghua, chairman of Pang Da Automobile Trade Co. Ltd. said. "The normal stockpile lasts for one and a half months."

6. Chinese high school gives free iPads to senior students

And the schools are making sure the students are focused on homework, too, by locking out popular social networking apps and other time wasters.

Today's Big Stories for September 13, 2012

Where is he, what will the central bank do, and is a rise in defaults around the corner? 

1. China silence on Xi speculation contrasts with past denials

Speculation about [Vice President] Xi began after he canceled meetings with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong last week. The Wall Street Journal reported that Xi may have injured his back swimming. The Hong Kong-based Apple Daily newspaper, citing unidentified sources, reported today that Xi suffered a heart attack.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said last week that the cancellations were a “normal adjustment” and when asked yesterday, said he had “no information” about Xi.

2. Will Fed easing spur China's central bank into quick action? 

"The key dilemma for policymakers is that inflation looks like it will pick up earlier than expected, while a growth recovery coming later than expected," said Yiping Huang, chief economist for emerging Asia at Barclays Capital in Hong Kong.

"I think the central bank will probably do a little bit more (on easing), depending on how the economy is doing. Realistically, the economy is going to rebound but certainly not going to rebound significantly."

3. Shadow bankers vanishing leave China victims seeing scams

China’s slowest economic growth in three years and a slumping property market, where many so-called shadow-banking investments are parked, are squeezing millions of Chinese who have invested the money of friends and acquaintances chasing higher yields to honor those payments. The slowdown also is putting pressure on the government to rein in private lending to avoid a spate of defaults that could increase the number of victims and lead to social unrest.

One of the all time great political photos

President Obama, stopping at a pizza restaurant during a bus tour through Florida last weekend, received a big bear hug from the restaurant's owner. The owner was playing golf when he found out President Obama would be coming to his restaurant later that day. I can't imagine how quickly he dropped his clubs and ran off the course. Read more about the photo here.

This made me curious. I search the words "Hu Jintao" and "hug" in Chinese and below is the closest I could find. No big bear hugs. 

Update: Video of the pizza restaurant encounter below. Obama: "You are the biggest pizza parlor owner I've ever seen, man. Look at this guy!" Owner: "I gotta give him one of these..." Hug ensues. Obama: "Man, are you a power lifter or what?"

Another Update: Seems the owner only found out about the President's visit 18 minutes beforehand. I'm also seeing reports that the President ordered 20 pizzas. 

What if America was actually run like a business

Brilliant and absolutely true.

Rely on law, not guanxi

Dan Harris of China Law Blog advices against 'cutting legal corners' and solely relying on guanxi (special relationships). The concluding paragraph of his latest blog post: 

So what are we saying here? Are we saying having good connections is a bad thing? No. Are we saying never use your connections to your advantage? No, we are not saying that either. What we are saying is that you should always be mindful of the risks inherent in going sidestepping the law and always beware of how doing so can come back to bite you. Or to put it another way, Guanxi Either Retires or Goes to Jail.

The saying in the last sentence comes courtesy of the blog All Roads Lead To China and it's completely true. Don't hinge the entire success of your business project on the guanxi you have; a lot can change in a day.