Boom In Shadow Financing Exacts High Toll In China. Hide caption At least 80 business owners have abandoned factories like this one in Wenzhou, China's entrepreneurial capital, because they have run up exorbitant debts to the city's loan sharks and underground lenders. Frank Langfitt/NPR In recent weeks, at least 80 business owners have fled Wenzhou in eastern China and gone into hiding because they can't pay crushing debts to the city's empire of underground lending firms and loan sharks. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao became so concerned that he flew to Wenzhou earlier in October to try to keep the problem from spreading.
The city's credit crisis highlights some of the flaws — and potential risks — of the banking system in the world's second-largest economy. Business Owners Trapped By Debt On a recent day, the doors at what used to be the Zhengdeli shoe factory in Wenzhou are chained shut. In late September, the factory's owner, Shen Kuizheng, plunged to his death after jumping from his 22-story apartment. Shen became a marked man. China's next brain drain: investigative journalists. Southern Metropolis Daily is one of the ideal employers for the investigative reporters in China, the only Chinese newspaper in the top five. Investigative journalists in China are caught in a dilemma: although they are young and idealistic, low salaries and dangerous working conditions lead to burnout, according to a recent study. The recently-published Ecosystem of Investigative Journalism in China, co-authored by Dr. Shen Fei from City University of Hong Kong and Dr.
Zhang Zhian of Fudan University, spoke with 260 investigative journalists at various Chinese news organizations. Among them are Southern Weekly, Time Weekly, Oriental Outlook, Beijing News, Southern Metropolis Daily and Dahe Daily. Male dominance Investigative journalism in China is a man's world. Idealists When asked why they chose journalism as a career, the two most popular answers were “to expose social problems and serve justice” and “spread new ideas and inspire others.” Show me the money Take it or Leave it. CHINE • "Le Quotidien du peuple" à hue et à dia. Le Quotidien du peuple semble chercher sa voie. Entre éditoriaux en faveur de la tolérance et rappels à l'ordre et à la discipline, il ne sait plus où donner de la tête dans ce qui ressemble bien à une intensification des luttes internes au sommet de l'Etat.
Au cours des dernières semaines, l'organe du Parti communiste chinois a publié plusieurs éditoriaux en faveur de la tolérance et de l'écoute de la diversité. Mais il a également diffusé un rappel à l'ordre émanant du Parti, intimant à ses membres de faire taire les opinions divergentes. "Dans la Chine d'aujourd'hui, on peut entendre toutes sortes de voix", entame le dernier éditorial en date, le 26 mai, portant la signature de la "section éditoriale" du quotidien.
Des voix qui expriment "le tableau complexe et le dynamisme de la diversité". Chinese Professor. Disney factory faces probe into sweatshop suicide claims | World news | The Observer. Disney's best-selling Cars toys are being made in a factory in China that uses child labour and forces staff to do three times the amount of overtime allowed by law, according to an investigation. One worker reportedly killed herself after being repeatedly shouted at by bosses. Others cited worries over poisonous chemicals. Disney has now launched its own investigation. It is claimed some of the 6,000 employees have to work an extra 120 hours every month to meet demand from western shops for the latest toys.
The factory, called Sturdy Products, makes toys for the giant Mattel company, which last month announced quarterly profits of £48m on the back of strong sales of Barbie dolls and Cars 2 toys. Sturdy Products, in the city of Shenzhen, also makes toys for US superstore chain Walmart. Workers were interviewed away from the factory, and an investigator then spent a month working inside it to gather more information. Sacom's accusations against the factory include: Washington's Blog. For years, I’ve been writing about the long-term decline of the Dollar, and the rise of the Chinese Yuan … and it’s potential to become the world’s next reserve currency. As I pointed out in 2007, many countries have started moving out of the Dollar as the basis for international trade settlements, including: JapanSyriaIranLibyaRussiaArgentinaBrazilVenezuela and 12 other Latin American countries as well as CubaMany other countries In 2008, I wrote: Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, and the “Father of Reagonomics”, recently said: “The dollar’s reserve currency role is drawing to an end”.
See also this article, this article, this report, this essay, this roundup, and this one. I also noted: In May 2009, I pointed out: Nouriel Roubini says that the Yuan will eventually take over from the dollar as reserve currency: What could replace [the dollar]? Roubini provides advice which the American economic policy-makers ignore at their peril: A couple of days later, I reported: In June 2009, I wrote: