The Shanghai Lawyer
Vol. 2 , No. 4 - April 2, 2003
Shanghai is one of the most dynamic and fastest growing mega-cities in the world. It is quickly establishing itself as the leading financial and economic center of the Far East, on par with the likes of Paris and New York. The Shanghai Lawyer is a bi-weekly publication providing up-to-date newsworthy articles and legal information to professional and business persons around the world. We hope you enjoy the newsletter and welcome your comments and feedback.
Letters from Shanghai
Continuing on the topic of Spring-cleaning and dangerous occupations, I must mention the hi-rise window washers in Shanghai. Unbelievable. A team of two washers recently washed our side of the building so I was able to get an up-close look of them at work. No railings, no side guards, in fact no platform at all. They just sit on a piece of 2 by 6 about 1 foot long that is suspended by what looks to be a very worn rope. Since there is no mechanical engine involved so they must always start at the top and work their way down the building. They use a simple brake to lock themselves at a certain level. Once they are finished one sweep, they take the elevator up to the roof and start another sweep. Each worker uses one suction cup on a string that they attach to the panes to steady themselves and them use their legs to swing across the width of their sweep. On the particular day they were washing our building, it was a little windy and the pair were getting blown from side to side.
They don't have any hoses, so the only water is what they can carry in a bucket attached to the main rope. They have to conserve its use to make it last for the entire 32-floor pass from top to bottom. They use no safety harness per se, but rather just a second rope, again very tired and worn looking, tied around their waist and knotted above on the rope. Hopefully they never have to use it.
But they appear to be so used to it, they don't seem to mind at all. They were all smiles when they came by my window, talking amongst themselves, probably making jokes about the silly foreigner watching on the inside. Given the hundreds of hi-rises in Shanghai there must be hundreds of such workers and probably hundreds more waiting in line for the opportunity.
By - Blaine Turnacliff You may contact Blaine directly at bturnacliff@lehmanlaw.com | |
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War hardly affects Shanghai
Life in Shanghai remains little affected by the war in Iraq. But as is happening in many parts of the world, the city's tourism industry is suffering a setback. However, the impression of high security Shanghai gives will help it cover the setback as soon as the fear of travel subsides.
The US-led war on Iraq has caused cancellation of planned visits by overseas tourists. Hotels in town also reported a considerable number of booking cancellations, mostly from American and European tourists. On the other hand, locals having outbound tour plans apparently are sticking to the plans. Security around the consulates compounds in Shanghai appears to be the same as usual.
(Source: Shanghai Daily)
Did you know?
Shanghai government has a goal of increasing the per capita GDP for individuals in shanghai to 7,500 USD by the year 2007. |
Marriage registration made easy
The height of reception counters at marriage registration offices is being lowered for the comfort of newlyweds. The Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau announced that reception centers at 20 marriage registration offices would be lowered to 0.8 meters from 1.4 meters. The bureau said it received complaints over the height of the structure, which people said was uncomfortable for couples during the registration process.
Registering marriages with the civil affairs bureau will safeguard the interests of conjugality by law. Couples usually reserve a date for registration. On the appointed day, they have to submit proof of their eligibility, health certificates, etc, at the counters before receiving a marriage certificate. Bureaus officials said that new decorations such as traditional Chinese paper cuttings and colorful balloons would be added to spruce up the place.
It is not just the civil affairs bureau that is getting their act together. Banks, telecom companies and even post offices are adding the "human touch" and putting in extra efforts while offering their services to the general public. The reception desk at China Unicom, for instance, is now lower than the reception desks of its competitor, China Telecom, which used to monopolize the telephone business in the country. China Telecom and China Mobile have followed suit and are lowering their counters. In a market economy where competition is more severe, attending to the personal need of the customers is becoming a necessity that helps shore up the image and attracts customers.
(Source: Shanghai Daily)
Shanghai Essentials
Shanghai Fengpu Industrial zone is one of the municipal - level industrial zones approved by Shanghai municipal government in 1995 located in Pudong. The Fengpu Industrial Zone is linked with Shanghai Pudong Zhangjiang High-Technology Park and Chaojing Chemical Engineering zone. It specializes in hi - tech and chemical processing. Like other economic zones, it offers preferential tax benefits to foreign companies setting up their facilities including the first 2 years tax free, followed by 3 years at 7.5 %. |
Government and media urged to promote city
Shanghai plans to spend more efforts on building the city's image around the world by providing overseas audience with more information about its economic development and social progress. Speaking at an annual conference on international public information yesterday, Yin Yicui, deputy secretary of the Shanghai Committee of the Communist Party of China, called on all government departments and media organizations concerned to tap all potential resources and to work on synergy to offer the global public more timely, objective and accurate news and information about the city.
She said such information shall be prepared according to the reading habits, tastes and cultural background of the overseas audience and the different needs of people in different categories. "Our newspapers, magazines, television and radio stations shall always take into consideration not only foreign tourists, but also the ever-increasing population of expatriates in this city," Yin said. "The latter may need a different type of information."
She urged the relevant government departments to provide better services for both overseas audience and foreign journalists. Yin said a spokesman system will be established for different levels of governments this year and regular press conferences will be held for both local and foreign journalists. She also encouraged local media organizations to seek cooperation with their overseas counterparts to further improve performance.
(Source: Shanghai Daily)
Shanghai legal problem? Tell us about it. . . Mergers & Acquisitions * Incorporations * Commercial Contracts Contact Blaine Turnacliff at bturnacliff@lehmanlaw.com |
Park secures China Telecom
Officials in Shanghai said yesterday that China Telecommunications Corp. will spend more than 9 billion yuan (US$1.08 billion) to build its southern operations center in the city's Nanhui District. The deal, which was signed at the end of last year, calls for the nation's largest fixed-telecom operator to rent more than 1.67 million square meters of land in the Shanghai Pudong Kangqiao Industrial Zone.
"We have beaten Guangzhou City in the competition for this project," said Zhou Zhengkang, an official with the industrial park located about 10 kilometers east of People's Square. China Telecom is expected to build centers for its billing system, backup database and application software and a market research department in the park. Facilities for experimental telecom services and training programs will also be included. The money will be put into the park in three phases before finishing in 2007.
Although it is only a preliminary decision for China Telecom, the announcement was a boost for Nanhui, which is going all out to attract investment. "Some of China Telecom's partners, including Samsung and Shenzhen Huawei, have also shown strong interest in investing in the park," Zhou said. In recent years Shanghai's suburban areas have become very active in luring capital from both home and abroad as operating costs downtown keep increasing.
(Source: Shanghai Daily)
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First Wal-Mart ready in 2005
Shanghai's first Wal-Mart store will open in the Wujiaochang area in early 2005, Yangpu District Commercial Commission recently confirmed. Local retailers, however, don't seem worried about the No. 1 US retailer's entering the domestic market and have even stepped up their own expansion. The store will occupy the first and second floors of Dalian Wanda Commercial Plaza, which is expected to open in 2005. The Wujiaochang area is expected to develop into a major commercial and entertainment hub in three years.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc's 18,000-square-meter store will include a children's entertainment facility, a body-building center and a restaurant. Wujiaochang area is going to be developed into an education trade, commercial and entertainment center in three years. Wal-Mart will distinguish its store from domestic hypermarkets by highlighting its fresh vegetables and other food products, something not promoted by most domestic supermarkets. Nearly a fourth of the goods in Wal-Mart will be fresh food.
(Source: Shanghai Daily)
Cosco Pacific aims for stake in Shanghai's deep-sea port
Cosco Pacific Ltd. announced it is interested in a stake in Shanghai's planned deep-sea port. The company has full confidence in its chances in the bid for a piece of the 100 billion Renminbi (US$ 12 billion) project. Cosco Pacific is the Hong Kong listed port unit of the China Ocean Shipping (Group) Co. (Cosco), China's largest shipping company. Cosco owns a 55 percent stake in the company. Cosco Pacific will probably be competing with other major players such as P&O Nedlloyd Container Line Ltd. and Modern Terminals Ltd., which earlier expressed their interest in investing in the port.
According to government regulation, investors will initially need to spend about 15 billion Renminbi (US$ 1.8 billion) in the new port to be build in Yangshan, close to Shanghai. The first phase is expected to be completed in 2005. Shanghai last year became the world's fourth largest port. Terminals in the Shanghai region handled 37 percent more containers last year, up to 8.6 million.
(Source: Chinabiz.com)
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