This one found in a reader's comment on chinaSMACK regarding that post:
jilin-railway-bridge-project cheating
In a certain place: Conscience has no value, law has no dignity, morality has no bottom line, the people have no rights, husbands and wives have no fidelity, love is not pure, LD [the leaders, rulers] don’t speak the truth, food is not safe, the environment has no tomorrow, property rights have no guarantees, culture has no outlet, innovation has no market, greed has no limits, ideas have no belief/conviction… Question: Where is this?
Showing posts with label Made in China. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Made in China. Show all posts
Not all the glitter is gold.........
The "famous" Jianlibao drink manufacturer has another "small problem" now. Cans provided to Barcelona Olympic games participants / winners in "pure gold" have been proved to be totally fake.
This one from EASTDAY:
quote
Champions' gold awards 'a fake'
SEVERAL Chinese Olympic champions have agreed to submit gold cans awarded by Guangdong-based soft drinks producer Jianlibao for verification after a judo gold medalist allegedly found her award was a fake.
The champions are seeking compensation from the beverage maker if the gold cans prove to be counterfeit.
Jianlibao awarded every champion with a so-called pure-gold can, weighing 200 grams, after these national heroes returned to China, Chinese Business Morning View reported yesterday.
A gold shop in Shenyang, northeast Liaoning Province, however, said the cans were made from cheap materials and were worth just 50 yuan (US$7.88), after Zhuang Xiaoyan, the gold medalist in the 72kg class judo competition had her can checked.
Zhuang kept her gold can as one of her most treasured things for 19 years before being told her prize was "fake gold," according to Xinhua.
"I had always thought the gold can was the best proof for my professional career. It gave me a lot of confidence in my life during the past 19 years," she told Xinhua.
She said she stored the "gold can" in a bank for three years, costing her over 1,000 yuan a year. When suspicions were raised, she had the can tested, only to be told it was worth less than 100 yuan.
Zhuang contacted Jianlibao but was told she should pursue the problem through "legal procedures."
A source from the Legal Affairs Management of Jianlibao Group told Xinhua that Jianlibao had informed local police, adding that they will look into the "fake gold can" issue.
"We take this case seriously," said Jianlibao assistant manager Chen Weijian.
Jianlibao, whose energy drink was one of the best sellers in China in the 1990s, plunged into crisis in 2005, when poor management and stiff competition from international rivals like Coca-Cola and Pepsi led to a total debt of more than 1 billion yuan (US$157 million).
Li Jingwei, the former group chairman, received a 15-year imprisonment last Wednesday for siphoning 60 million yuan from the company's account. Before that, former Jianlibao president and CEO Zhang Hai was also sentenced 15 years jail time for embezzling public funds in February 2007.
This one from EASTDAY:
quote
Champions' gold awards 'a fake'
SEVERAL Chinese Olympic champions have agreed to submit gold cans awarded by Guangdong-based soft drinks producer Jianlibao for verification after a judo gold medalist allegedly found her award was a fake.
The champions are seeking compensation from the beverage maker if the gold cans prove to be counterfeit.
Jianlibao awarded every champion with a so-called pure-gold can, weighing 200 grams, after these national heroes returned to China, Chinese Business Morning View reported yesterday.
A gold shop in Shenyang, northeast Liaoning Province, however, said the cans were made from cheap materials and were worth just 50 yuan (US$7.88), after Zhuang Xiaoyan, the gold medalist in the 72kg class judo competition had her can checked.
Zhuang kept her gold can as one of her most treasured things for 19 years before being told her prize was "fake gold," according to Xinhua.
"I had always thought the gold can was the best proof for my professional career. It gave me a lot of confidence in my life during the past 19 years," she told Xinhua.
She said she stored the "gold can" in a bank for three years, costing her over 1,000 yuan a year. When suspicions were raised, she had the can tested, only to be told it was worth less than 100 yuan.
Zhuang contacted Jianlibao but was told she should pursue the problem through "legal procedures."
A source from the Legal Affairs Management of Jianlibao Group told Xinhua that Jianlibao had informed local police, adding that they will look into the "fake gold can" issue.
"We take this case seriously," said Jianlibao assistant manager Chen Weijian.
Jianlibao, whose energy drink was one of the best sellers in China in the 1990s, plunged into crisis in 2005, when poor management and stiff competition from international rivals like Coca-Cola and Pepsi led to a total debt of more than 1 billion yuan (US$157 million).
Li Jingwei, the former group chairman, received a 15-year imprisonment last Wednesday for siphoning 60 million yuan from the company's account. Before that, former Jianlibao president and CEO Zhang Hai was also sentenced 15 years jail time for embezzling public funds in February 2007.
Source:Shanghai Daily
unquote
Very lousy & cheap presentation on that website.
Here some info about this company - and YES they are from FOSHAN - this seems to turn out a really OUTSTANDING place in China - unfortunately in the negative sense !
Jianlibao Group is a soft drink producer based in Foshan, Guangdong, China which was established in 1984. In 1990s, The Jianlibao drink was one of the best sellers in China, on a par with Coca-Cola and Pepsi[1]. However, poor management and stiff competition let to a total debt of more than 1 billion Renminbi yuan (US$121 million) in 2005.
In February 2007, Zhang Hai, former Jianlibao president and CEO, was sentenced 15 years jail time for embezzling public funds after nearly two years of detaining[2].
In February 2007, Zhang Hai, former Jianlibao president and CEO, was sentenced 15 years jail time for embezzling public funds after nearly two years of detaining[2].
Unofficial Translation Of China's New Social Insurance Rules For Foreigners
Please read this - be aware that after reading you make yourself sure if you are employed as a so-called "expat"in China - you better discuss this with your boss asap. They will push this law through & will take good care that ALL IS PAID PROPERLY ! Just imagine you are 35 years old and on your assignment from your company (lets say US, Aussie, French or Italy) in your company China office.
Better discuss a new salary asap with your boss. And all that you PAY IN you will get out when ? Yes if you choose to retire in China 30 years later ? If you leave earlier ? Better consider this money is gone - once the money is in China Man pocket it is very difficult to get it out of China Man pocket. Believe it or not - oh yes the law says you can get out a "lump sum" - Good luck ! Simply this whole law is an attempt to force out foreign managers, staff, experts etc. Take it that way !
quote
The following is an unofficial translation of China’s new interim measures covering foreign participation in China’s social insurance system by Jun He Law Offices in Shanghai:
Interim Measures for the Participation inSocial Insurance by Foreigners Employed in China
Article 1
The present Measures are formulated in accordance with the SocialInsurance Law of the People’s Republic of China (hereinafter the “Social Insurance Law”) in order to protect the lawful rights and interests of foreigners employed in China to lawfully participate in social insurance and receive social insurance benefits, and to strengthen social insurance administration.
Article 2
Foreigners employed in China shall refer to people who are not of Chinese nationality but are lawfully employed in China, and have obtained foreign resident permits and employment authorization, including Work Permits for Foreigners, Foreign Expert Certificates, Certificates of Resident Foreign
Correspondent, or hold a Permanent Resident Certificate for Foreigners.
Article 3
Foreigners who are legally employed by organizations, including enterprises, public institutions, social organizations, privately-owned non-enterprise entities, foundations, law firms, and accounting firms, that are legally registered in China (hereinafter “Employing Units”) shall according to law participate in basic pension insurance for employees, basic medical insurance for employees,
occupational injury insurance, unemployment insurance and maternity insurance.
Employing Units and the foreigners shall pay social insurance premiums in accordance with regulations.
Foreigners who enter into employment contracts with employers outside of China and are dispatched to work in branches or representative offices registered in China (hereinafter “Domestic Work Units”) shall participate in basic pension insurance for employees, basic medical insurance for employees, occupational injury insurance, unemployment insurance and maternity insurance in accordance with law. Domestic Work Units and the foreigners shall pay social insurance premiums in accordance
with regulations.
Article 4
Employing Units that employ foreigners shall make social insurance registrations for the foreigners within 30 days of the handling of their employment authorizations.
Domestic Work Units shall make social insurance registrations for foreigners who are dispatched by employers outside of China to work in such Domestic Work Units in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph.
Government agencies handling employment authorization for foreigners in accordance with law shall timely report to the local social insurance agencies of relevant information concerning employment of foreigners in China. Social insurance agencies shall make regular inquiries with relevant government agencies regarding the status of foreigners applying for employment authorization.
Article 5
Foreigners who participate in social insurance shall be entitled to social insurance benefits if they satisfy the prescribed conditions. Where a foreigner departs from China prior to reaching the age stipulated to draw a pension, his/her personal social insurance accounts will be retained, and his/her
social insurance contribution periods can be calculated cumulatively when he/she re-enters and is employed in China. If a foreigner applies in writing to terminate his/her social insurance relationship, the social insurance agencies may also pay the foreigner the amount deposited in his/her personal social insurance accounts in one lump sum.
Article 6
In case of a foreigner’s death, the amount remained in his/her personal social insurance account can be legally inherited.
Article 7
Foreigners who receive monthly social insurance benefits outside of China shall provide at least annually a survival certificate, as issued by a Chinese embassy or consulate, or notarized by a competent entity and legalized by a Chinese embassy or consulate in their resident countries, to the social insurance agencies responsible for paying their social insurance benefits.
Where a foreigner lawfully enters China, he/she may prove his/her survival status personally before social insurance agencies, and thus no longer provide survival certificates as prescribed in the preceding paragraph.
Article 8
If any dispute arises between a foreigner legally participating in social insurance and his/her Employing Unit or Domestic Work Unit in respect of social insurance, the foreigner may apply for mediation, arbitration or file a lawsuit in accordance with law. If the Employing Unit or the Domestic Work Unit infringes upon his/her rights and interests in social insurance, the foreigner may also request the administrative department of social insurance or the agencies responsible for collecting social insurance premiums for handling in accordance with law.
Article 9
For foreigners employed in China who are nationals of countries that have entered into bilateral or multilateral treaties relating to social insurance with China, their participation in social insurance shall be handled in accordance with such treaties. {REMARK: This is only valid for the moment for South Korea & Germany}
Article 10
Social insurance agencies shall create social insurance numbers for foreigners and issue social insurance cards of the People’s Republic of China to foreigners in accordance with the Social Insurance Numbering Rules for Foreigners.
Article 11
Social insurance administrative departments shall supervise and inspect the status of foreigners’ participation in social insurance in accordance with the Social Insurance Law. Any Employing Unit or Domestic Work Unit failing to lawfully make social insurance registrations or pay social insurance premiums for foreigners that they employ shall be subject to the Social Insurance Law, Social Insurance Supervision Regulation and other laws, administrative regulations and relevant rules.
Employing Units who employ foreigners without obtaining employment authorization in accordance with law or not holding a Permanent Resident Certificate for Foreigners shall be subject to the Administrative Provisions on Employment of Foreigners in China.
Article 12
The present Measures shall become effective on October 15, 2011
unquote
I am sure that now you understand everything - isn't it ? Be aware heavy penalties will be imposed on those who do not obey the law !
Better discuss a new salary asap with your boss. And all that you PAY IN you will get out when ? Yes if you choose to retire in China 30 years later ? If you leave earlier ? Better consider this money is gone - once the money is in China Man pocket it is very difficult to get it out of China Man pocket. Believe it or not - oh yes the law says you can get out a "lump sum" - Good luck ! Simply this whole law is an attempt to force out foreign managers, staff, experts etc. Take it that way !
quote
The following is an unofficial translation of China’s new interim measures covering foreign participation in China’s social insurance system by Jun He Law Offices in Shanghai:
Interim Measures for the Participation inSocial Insurance by Foreigners Employed in China
Article 1
The present Measures are formulated in accordance with the SocialInsurance Law of the People’s Republic of China (hereinafter the “Social Insurance Law”) in order to protect the lawful rights and interests of foreigners employed in China to lawfully participate in social insurance and receive social insurance benefits, and to strengthen social insurance administration.
Article 2
Foreigners employed in China shall refer to people who are not of Chinese nationality but are lawfully employed in China, and have obtained foreign resident permits and employment authorization, including Work Permits for Foreigners, Foreign Expert Certificates, Certificates of Resident Foreign
Correspondent, or hold a Permanent Resident Certificate for Foreigners.
Article 3
Foreigners who are legally employed by organizations, including enterprises, public institutions, social organizations, privately-owned non-enterprise entities, foundations, law firms, and accounting firms, that are legally registered in China (hereinafter “Employing Units”) shall according to law participate in basic pension insurance for employees, basic medical insurance for employees,
occupational injury insurance, unemployment insurance and maternity insurance.
Employing Units and the foreigners shall pay social insurance premiums in accordance with regulations.
Foreigners who enter into employment contracts with employers outside of China and are dispatched to work in branches or representative offices registered in China (hereinafter “Domestic Work Units”) shall participate in basic pension insurance for employees, basic medical insurance for employees, occupational injury insurance, unemployment insurance and maternity insurance in accordance with law. Domestic Work Units and the foreigners shall pay social insurance premiums in accordance
with regulations.
Article 4
Employing Units that employ foreigners shall make social insurance registrations for the foreigners within 30 days of the handling of their employment authorizations.
Domestic Work Units shall make social insurance registrations for foreigners who are dispatched by employers outside of China to work in such Domestic Work Units in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph.
Government agencies handling employment authorization for foreigners in accordance with law shall timely report to the local social insurance agencies of relevant information concerning employment of foreigners in China. Social insurance agencies shall make regular inquiries with relevant government agencies regarding the status of foreigners applying for employment authorization.
Article 5
Foreigners who participate in social insurance shall be entitled to social insurance benefits if they satisfy the prescribed conditions. Where a foreigner departs from China prior to reaching the age stipulated to draw a pension, his/her personal social insurance accounts will be retained, and his/her
social insurance contribution periods can be calculated cumulatively when he/she re-enters and is employed in China. If a foreigner applies in writing to terminate his/her social insurance relationship, the social insurance agencies may also pay the foreigner the amount deposited in his/her personal social insurance accounts in one lump sum.
Article 6
In case of a foreigner’s death, the amount remained in his/her personal social insurance account can be legally inherited.
Article 7
Foreigners who receive monthly social insurance benefits outside of China shall provide at least annually a survival certificate, as issued by a Chinese embassy or consulate, or notarized by a competent entity and legalized by a Chinese embassy or consulate in their resident countries, to the social insurance agencies responsible for paying their social insurance benefits.
Where a foreigner lawfully enters China, he/she may prove his/her survival status personally before social insurance agencies, and thus no longer provide survival certificates as prescribed in the preceding paragraph.
Article 8
If any dispute arises between a foreigner legally participating in social insurance and his/her Employing Unit or Domestic Work Unit in respect of social insurance, the foreigner may apply for mediation, arbitration or file a lawsuit in accordance with law. If the Employing Unit or the Domestic Work Unit infringes upon his/her rights and interests in social insurance, the foreigner may also request the administrative department of social insurance or the agencies responsible for collecting social insurance premiums for handling in accordance with law.
Article 9
For foreigners employed in China who are nationals of countries that have entered into bilateral or multilateral treaties relating to social insurance with China, their participation in social insurance shall be handled in accordance with such treaties. {REMARK: This is only valid for the moment for South Korea & Germany}
Article 10
Social insurance agencies shall create social insurance numbers for foreigners and issue social insurance cards of the People’s Republic of China to foreigners in accordance with the Social Insurance Numbering Rules for Foreigners.
Article 11
Social insurance administrative departments shall supervise and inspect the status of foreigners’ participation in social insurance in accordance with the Social Insurance Law. Any Employing Unit or Domestic Work Unit failing to lawfully make social insurance registrations or pay social insurance premiums for foreigners that they employ shall be subject to the Social Insurance Law, Social Insurance Supervision Regulation and other laws, administrative regulations and relevant rules.
Employing Units who employ foreigners without obtaining employment authorization in accordance with law or not holding a Permanent Resident Certificate for Foreigners shall be subject to the Administrative Provisions on Employment of Foreigners in China.
Article 12
The present Measures shall become effective on October 15, 2011
unquote
I am sure that now you understand everything - isn't it ? Be aware heavy penalties will be imposed on those who do not obey the law !
This one via chinaSMACK regarding Yue Yue
even if there is the side-bar link I just copy this one here- also some interesting links inside - please read:
Yueyue: A Tragedy of 3 Seconds & Flawed Heroism
Some deeper thoughts........about MORAL !
this one comes from the ASIA TIMES ONLINE - please read carefully:
SUN WUKONG
Little Yueyue and China's moral road
By Wu Zhong, China Editor
HONG KONG - "What has happened to our morality?" "Where are our hearts of sympathy?" "How come we could ever become even more cruel and hard-hearted than cold-blooded animals?" These were questions being asked by outraged Chinese media and bloggers over a recent incident hit-and-run incident which saw bystanders indifferently walk past a toddler who was struck by a van, only for the child to be hit by a second vehicle.
The incident happened on October 13 in Foshan city in southern Guangdong, the richest province in China, and was captured by a surveillance camera. The footage was aired by the province's Southern Television Guangdong (TVS) and posted last Saturday on the Chinese video site Youku, drawing around 2 million views and thousands of comments on that site alone.
The footage shows a two-and-a-half-year-old girl hit and run over by a large white van while walking down a street in a market district of Foshan. About six minutes later, another passing van runs her over again. During the interval, at least 18 people walk by without helping her. Finally last an elderly trash collector comes to her aid, moving her to a side of the street and calling her mother.
According to Xinhua, doctors say the girl, Yueyue, from a rural migrant workers' family, is brain dead and surviving on life support in a deep coma. Police said the drivers of both vehicles have been arrested. [1]
"I was picking up trash in the hardware market when I saw a child lying in the road. I walked up in a hurry to the girl and heard her groan, " said trash collector Chen Xianmei. "I lifted her up and saw that one of her eyes was closed, that she had tears in her eyes, and she was bleeding from her mouth, nose and the back of her head.
"I wanted to carry her but she was soft and collapsed immediately. I was scared to try again and so I dragged her to the side of the road and shouted for help. But nobody showed up," Chen was quoted in Yangcheng Evening News as saying. Chen asked a few nearby shopkeepers who the girl was and only heard "I don't know" in reply. [2]
The apathy of the bystanders and people in the neighborhood has shocked the public, with media commentators and netizens seething over an incident that raises questions about the morality and conscience of today's China.
"[Ancient Chinese thinker] Mencius said, 'The heart of sympathy is essential to man.' What has made us so apathetic?... Lack of sympathy is a moral disaster facing us all … Let us all ask ourselves if we had passed by the scene, how many of us would have stopped to help the girl?" wrote a commentary on Chongqing Times.
It went on to blame the system for a lack of mechanisms that support good deeds. "Our current system is obviously in an embarrassing status: corruption continues to run wild and evil people enjoy privileges, scandals with charity organizations such as the Red Cross stop people from donating to help the needy. [3] All this certainly shakes up the beliefs of kind-hearted people."
Others have linked the absence of good Samaritans to a previous court ruling in Tianjin. There, a man who said he'd helped an elderly woman who had fell on the street was accused by the old lady and her family of knocking her down. The court ordered the man to pay a huge compensation and his appeal is now awaiting a higher court's ruling.
However, a commentary on Guangzhou-based Information Times says it is unfair to blame the law. "Everyone saw clearly that the girl was run over by vans. No passers-by could possibly be wronged by her parents. Despite the circumstances, still no one would even just make an emergency call. We believe all viewers of the footage have passed down their judgment on those passers-by."
"The trash-collecting lady has given us a most vivid lesson. How have our people have become so apathetic? It is evident that we must strengthen our morals."
A signed article in the China Youth Daily wrote that fears of liability are not an adequate excuse for not helping, and that this case exposes a decline of humanity in Chinese society.
The Foshan incident is by no means an isolated case of moral decline.
On September 2, an 88-year-old man collapsed in Hubei in central China, his face striking the pavement. No one came to his aid though he law on a crowded street for about 90 minutes, and he ended up choking to death on the blood from his nose. [4]
Several days ago at a high school in Changchun in northeast China, basketball-playing students began fight. One of them phoned his parents for help. Their parents, local rich business people, rushed to the scene with dozens of men armed with big knives. The mother shouted: "Let's hit them. Afterwards I'll pay for their medical treatment." One of the students was stabbed more than a dozen times and later died in hospital.
"What great hatred had the parents towards that student? Why did they want his death? What happened to the traditional Chinese virtue of 'extend my love of my children to others' children'?" said a commentary on Chongqing Times.
Netizens are now calling for a good Samaritan law that would protect people who intervene in such incidents from legal repercussions. But legislation may not be enough. For instance, it offers no solution cases such as Changchun stabbing.
For more meaningful results, society has to take a hard look at the spread of money worship in the past three decade. It is money that has eaten away at people's sympathy and caused moral decline in Chinese society.
Chongqing party chief Bo Xilai, now trying to restore Mao-style ideological education in his jurisdiction, earlier said, "Our younger generations seem to know only about making money. This will put our country in jeopardy."
But what can the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) do now Pandora's box has been opened? Whether the blood of little Yueyue is the last shed to awaken the conscience of Chinese society is a question to be answered by the CCP, its government and the whole of Chinese society.
Notes
1. Apathy toward injured child sparks public outcry in China, Xinhua, Oct 17, 2011. click here
2. Mother testifies to good character of rescuer, China Daily, Oct 18, 2011. click here
3. China's state-run NGOs in graft spotlight, Asia times Online, Aug 3, 2011.click here
4. Death in Hubei sparks debate on ethics, China Daily, September 5. click here
SUN WUKONG
Little Yueyue and China's moral road
By Wu Zhong, China Editor
HONG KONG - "What has happened to our morality?" "Where are our hearts of sympathy?" "How come we could ever become even more cruel and hard-hearted than cold-blooded animals?" These were questions being asked by outraged Chinese media and bloggers over a recent incident hit-and-run incident which saw bystanders indifferently walk past a toddler who was struck by a van, only for the child to be hit by a second vehicle.
The incident happened on October 13 in Foshan city in southern Guangdong, the richest province in China, and was captured by a surveillance camera. The footage was aired by the province's Southern Television Guangdong (TVS) and posted last Saturday on the Chinese video site Youku, drawing around 2 million views and thousands of comments on that site alone.
The footage shows a two-and-a-half-year-old girl hit and run over by a large white van while walking down a street in a market district of Foshan. About six minutes later, another passing van runs her over again. During the interval, at least 18 people walk by without helping her. Finally last an elderly trash collector comes to her aid, moving her to a side of the street and calling her mother.
According to Xinhua, doctors say the girl, Yueyue, from a rural migrant workers' family, is brain dead and surviving on life support in a deep coma. Police said the drivers of both vehicles have been arrested. [1]
"I was picking up trash in the hardware market when I saw a child lying in the road. I walked up in a hurry to the girl and heard her groan, " said trash collector Chen Xianmei. "I lifted her up and saw that one of her eyes was closed, that she had tears in her eyes, and she was bleeding from her mouth, nose and the back of her head.
"I wanted to carry her but she was soft and collapsed immediately. I was scared to try again and so I dragged her to the side of the road and shouted for help. But nobody showed up," Chen was quoted in Yangcheng Evening News as saying. Chen asked a few nearby shopkeepers who the girl was and only heard "I don't know" in reply. [2]
The apathy of the bystanders and people in the neighborhood has shocked the public, with media commentators and netizens seething over an incident that raises questions about the morality and conscience of today's China.
"[Ancient Chinese thinker] Mencius said, 'The heart of sympathy is essential to man.' What has made us so apathetic?... Lack of sympathy is a moral disaster facing us all … Let us all ask ourselves if we had passed by the scene, how many of us would have stopped to help the girl?" wrote a commentary on Chongqing Times.
It went on to blame the system for a lack of mechanisms that support good deeds. "Our current system is obviously in an embarrassing status: corruption continues to run wild and evil people enjoy privileges, scandals with charity organizations such as the Red Cross stop people from donating to help the needy. [3] All this certainly shakes up the beliefs of kind-hearted people."
Others have linked the absence of good Samaritans to a previous court ruling in Tianjin. There, a man who said he'd helped an elderly woman who had fell on the street was accused by the old lady and her family of knocking her down. The court ordered the man to pay a huge compensation and his appeal is now awaiting a higher court's ruling.
However, a commentary on Guangzhou-based Information Times says it is unfair to blame the law. "Everyone saw clearly that the girl was run over by vans. No passers-by could possibly be wronged by her parents. Despite the circumstances, still no one would even just make an emergency call. We believe all viewers of the footage have passed down their judgment on those passers-by."
"The trash-collecting lady has given us a most vivid lesson. How have our people have become so apathetic? It is evident that we must strengthen our morals."
A signed article in the China Youth Daily wrote that fears of liability are not an adequate excuse for not helping, and that this case exposes a decline of humanity in Chinese society.
The Foshan incident is by no means an isolated case of moral decline.
On September 2, an 88-year-old man collapsed in Hubei in central China, his face striking the pavement. No one came to his aid though he law on a crowded street for about 90 minutes, and he ended up choking to death on the blood from his nose. [4]
Several days ago at a high school in Changchun in northeast China, basketball-playing students began fight. One of them phoned his parents for help. Their parents, local rich business people, rushed to the scene with dozens of men armed with big knives. The mother shouted: "Let's hit them. Afterwards I'll pay for their medical treatment." One of the students was stabbed more than a dozen times and later died in hospital.
"What great hatred had the parents towards that student? Why did they want his death? What happened to the traditional Chinese virtue of 'extend my love of my children to others' children'?" said a commentary on Chongqing Times.
Netizens are now calling for a good Samaritan law that would protect people who intervene in such incidents from legal repercussions. But legislation may not be enough. For instance, it offers no solution cases such as Changchun stabbing.
For more meaningful results, society has to take a hard look at the spread of money worship in the past three decade. It is money that has eaten away at people's sympathy and caused moral decline in Chinese society.
Chongqing party chief Bo Xilai, now trying to restore Mao-style ideological education in his jurisdiction, earlier said, "Our younger generations seem to know only about making money. This will put our country in jeopardy."
But what can the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) do now Pandora's box has been opened? Whether the blood of little Yueyue is the last shed to awaken the conscience of Chinese society is a question to be answered by the CCP, its government and the whole of Chinese society.
Notes
1. Apathy toward injured child sparks public outcry in China, Xinhua, Oct 17, 2011. click here
2. Mother testifies to good character of rescuer, China Daily, Oct 18, 2011. click here
3. China's state-run NGOs in graft spotlight, Asia times Online, Aug 3, 2011.click here
4. Death in Hubei sparks debate on ethics, China Daily, September 5. click here
Very, very sad !
Only watch this below YouTube clip if you have strong nerves - here the story first - my only question is:
WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THIS KIND OF PEOPLE ?
Watch how a poor Chinese child gets run over and then run over again by two separate vehicles and people do nothing to help her. Unbelievable behavior.
Footage is taken from a surveillance camera presented on local TV shows Yue Yue was walking in a hardware market in Foshan, Guangdong province, on Thursday, about 100 meters away from her home, when she was run over by a van at 5:26 pm.
The girl was then run over by a light-duty truck. The riders of four electric bicycles, a tricycle and three passers-by all chose to ignore her and no one at a shop close to the scene came to her aid.
Seven minutes after she was first hit by the van, a 57-year-old rag collector noticed the girl and moved her to the curb. The woman then tried talking to the shopkeeper but received no response. When she ran from shop to shop for the identity of the girl, the rag collector was told by a number of shopkeepers to mind her own business.
She then walked into the street and a few seconds later, the girl's mother appears and rushes away with the girl.
The girl received emergency surgery in Foshan before being transferred to the General Hospital of the Guangzhou Military Command of the People's Liberation Army in Guangzhou on the same day.
The incident is the latest example of passers-by acting indifferently to victims injured in crimes. In this case, some blamed the parents for letting the girl walk on the street alone. More criticized the phenomenon of people passing by without helping, caused at least in part by previous extortion attempts from the injured and their families who have sometimes tried to blame the person helping.
-------------- 16 / 10 / 2011 News Update --------------
Chinese authorities have supposedly have caught the first driver (the second is no worse in my opinion). "If she is dead, I may pay only about 20,000 yuan ($3,125). But if she is injured, it may cost me hundreds of thousands yuan," said the driver over the phone to the media, before he gave himself up to the police.
The girl has been pronounced "brain dead" by doctors and remains on life support in intensive care.
"She couldn't breathe on her own," said Wen Qiang, deputy director of the ICU department.
The most optimistic estimate is that the girl will remain in a vegetative state on life support.
-------------- 17 / 10 / 2011 News Update --------------
Police have detained both drivers.
-------------- 17 / 10 / 2011 News Update --------------
Unconfirmed reports that the toddler died on 16 / 10 / 2011:
"...doctors said the girl died yesterday from severe brain injuries she had suffered in the accident."
http://www.shanghaidaily.org/article/?id=484913&type=National
http://english.sina.com/china/p/2011/1016/405462.html
http://www.chinasmack.com/2011/videos/2-year-old-chinese-girl-ran-over-by-van...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/8830790/Chinese-toddler-...
WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THIS KIND OF PEOPLE ?
Watch how a poor Chinese child gets run over and then run over again by two separate vehicles and people do nothing to help her. Unbelievable behavior.
Footage is taken from a surveillance camera presented on local TV shows Yue Yue was walking in a hardware market in Foshan, Guangdong province, on Thursday, about 100 meters away from her home, when she was run over by a van at 5:26 pm.
The girl was then run over by a light-duty truck. The riders of four electric bicycles, a tricycle and three passers-by all chose to ignore her and no one at a shop close to the scene came to her aid.
Seven minutes after she was first hit by the van, a 57-year-old rag collector noticed the girl and moved her to the curb. The woman then tried talking to the shopkeeper but received no response. When she ran from shop to shop for the identity of the girl, the rag collector was told by a number of shopkeepers to mind her own business.
She then walked into the street and a few seconds later, the girl's mother appears and rushes away with the girl.
The girl received emergency surgery in Foshan before being transferred to the General Hospital of the Guangzhou Military Command of the People's Liberation Army in Guangzhou on the same day.
The incident is the latest example of passers-by acting indifferently to victims injured in crimes. In this case, some blamed the parents for letting the girl walk on the street alone. More criticized the phenomenon of people passing by without helping, caused at least in part by previous extortion attempts from the injured and their families who have sometimes tried to blame the person helping.
-------------- 16 / 10 / 2011 News Update --------------
Chinese authorities have supposedly have caught the first driver (the second is no worse in my opinion). "If she is dead, I may pay only about 20,000 yuan ($3,125). But if she is injured, it may cost me hundreds of thousands yuan," said the driver over the phone to the media, before he gave himself up to the police.
The girl has been pronounced "brain dead" by doctors and remains on life support in intensive care.
"She couldn't breathe on her own," said Wen Qiang, deputy director of the ICU department.
The most optimistic estimate is that the girl will remain in a vegetative state on life support.
-------------- 17 / 10 / 2011 News Update --------------
Police have detained both drivers.
-------------- 17 / 10 / 2011 News Update --------------
Unconfirmed reports that the toddler died on 16 / 10 / 2011:
"...doctors said the girl died yesterday from severe brain injuries she had suffered in the accident."
http://www.shanghaidaily.org/article/?id=484913&type=National
http://english.sina.com/china/p/2011/1016/405462.html
http://www.chinasmack.com/2011/videos/2-year-old-chinese-girl-ran-over-by-van...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/8830790/Chinese-toddler-...
CHINA REP OFFICE NEWS
Here is some up-date for all who are running so-called "Representative Office"in China. Some new rules implemented this year in March - please read below & be careful if you are running a RO - do not do anything illegal in China - this can become very expensive in all ways of the meaning ! Yes - I am late with this - but better late than never .............
quote
quote
China RO Changes in March – The Full Implications
Op-Ed Commentary: Chris Devonshire-Ellis
Jan. 14 – China has dramatically changed its regulations concerning the operation of representative offices (ROs) in the country and these alterations are due to take effect from March 1 this year. They will alter the operational and financial effectiveness of using ROs in China considerably.
ROs make up some 50 percent of all foreign presence in China and the implications to them of these changes are immediate and profound. SMEs in particular operating ROs in China will need to assess their operational usefulness in light of these developments, and consider making plans for alternative structures. In this piece we highlight the complete picture concerning these developments and provide suggestions and tips for handling and adapting to this far-reaching regulatory upheaval.
What the regulations say
The Chinese State Council issued new regulations that change the administration of resident representative offices of foreign enterprises in China. The new regulations require ROs of foreign enterprises to provide audited accounting information on a regular basis, prohibit them from conducting profitable activities, and specify the relative penalties for foreign enterprises that violate the rules. The “Regulations on the Administration of Registration of Resident Representative Offices of Foreign Enterprises” issued on November 19, 2010 will take effect on March 1, 2011; replacing the previous regulations that have been in force since 1983. The most noticeable changes in the new provision are listed below:
Additional increases in tax liabilities
Representative offices are also no longer exempt from corporate income tax in China. A circular issued by the State Administration of Taxation, Guoshuifa [2010] No. 18, issued on February 20, 2010, explicitly stipulates that ROs must pay corporate income tax on their taxable income, as well as sales tax and VAT, and will be required to assess CIT liability using either the cost plus method or actual revenue method. Under each method, the deemed profit margin shall be no less than 15 percent, an increase from the previous deemed profit margin of 10 percent. The effective date of these measures was January 1, 2010. This means that all of last year’s business activities are subject to this rule and that your annual audit – soon due – will specifically abide by these regulations. If your RO hasn’t previously paid tax, this year you may well be subject to a rude awakening and a substantial bill.
To deal with these new tax requirements, ROs should obtain the pertinent business registration documents (or the relevant department approval) from their local tax authorities. If the content of tax registration changes or there is an early termination of business activities, tax collection should be in accordance with law and relevant provisions of the declaration. ROs must provide valid accounting records in accordance with the relevant laws, administrative regulations, and the State Council’s new regulations as stated above. The new circular mentions that tax authorities have the right to penalize ROs providing incomplete or incorrect records. ROs should also perform the principles of actual functions in matching with potential risks, and accurately calculate their taxable income. If your RO has not already changed its accounting system, nor been paying CIT during 2010, the annual audit in April will come as a shock. ROs in such a position are urged to seek immediate professional advice to deal with this situation.
RO annual audits
Representative offices in China may also find themselves having to comply with China’s transfer pricing regulations for the first time in the upcoming annual audit period. China audits ROs (and all other foreign invested enterprises) each year on a calendar year basis, with a four month window to submit accounts for examination. This means that all ROs and other foreign investments must now start to prepare their accounts for the year 2010 and to have these fully prepared and audited by a third party CPA firm for submission no later than the end of April 2011. What is different about the circumstances for standard representative office audits this time around is that for the first time, China requires ROs to follow the principle of proportionate functions and risks when calculating its taxable income. This means that ROs should comply in transactions with its overseas head office on the arm’s length principle, under which relevant incomes, costs and expenditures should be accounted for at fair prices.
We suspect that for 2010 audits, of particular interest will be the chief representative’s salary as declared in China. Many CRs are resident in China, but maintain their salary payments as two separate incomes, one in China, the other back home. The Chinese authorities may well question this, as residency in China means the Chinese tax authorities possess the right to levy income tax on the full salary paid, regardless of whether that was met in China or not. Such circumstances may also lead to a reassessment of the total salary paid and declared in China, together with an upward assessment of both the individual income tax amount due in addition to the business tax payable by the representative office. If expatriate staff are engaging in such tactics, it is preferable for this issue to be addressed prior to the audit submission as tax treatments do exist that may assist with avoiding state imposed recalculations of tax due.
Other examinations concerning transfer pricing may come into effect if the representative office has any licensing or other agreements with its own parent; these may be subject to the “fair price” rule and again recalculated upwards. On these issues, China’s double tax agreements may well be worth studying for potential alleviation. Chief representatives of China ROs, together with other foreign employees splitting salary payments between China and home, may wish to take advice over this issue in addition of other potential areas of transfer pricing concern for representative offices. Solving such issues can take time, and with audits due to be filed by April, it is better to bring these matters to the attention of professional advisors at the pre-audit submission stage than face questioning and potentially additional tax imposition by the tax authorities once audit is submitted and found to be questionable. Negotiations after audit submission have little chance of success at this level, we recommend dealing with the issue, understanding any potential liabilities and discussing solutions some time prior to submission of the official audit.
Upgrading your RO
As we have seen, the future of the RO as a cheap way to set up a China presence and do business in the country is now coming to an end. Increased tax burdens, an inability to offset expenses against these, and restrictions on activities, staff and size are all taking a toll. Operating an RO as a trading company by using third party bank accounts will also come under scrutiny, and if caught, will inevitably lead to fines over unpaid income tax. Given that RO as a cheap option to conduct business in China are about to become extinct, what are the alternatives? Fortunately, China offers a way out. If you require your China operations to directly buy and sell, have its own import/export license, and legitimately trade in China – then you will need to change your current RO structure to that of a foreign invested commercial enterprise (FICE) or wholly foreign owned enterprise (WFOE) in order not to fall foul of the new regulatory and tax changes concerning the use of an RO.
Why change now?
There are five main reasons:
There are two procedures to carry out, which can be handled concurrently. First of all, the existing RO needs to go through its annual audit. This is a statutory obligation and you must go through this process. Audits need to be submitted by the end of April (sometimes an extension can be granted). At this juncture, the RO needs to settle up all taxes and all liabilities assessed. This can be carried out not just for the statutory requirement, but also with a view to closing the RO. Such closures also require an audit to be submitted as part of the closure process, using the annual audit to do this means you don’t have to be audited twice. The full closure procedure may take some time (up to 12 months) to complete, however, acceptance by the government of the closure audit then triggers the termination of the RO license, closure of bank accounts and so on, which then releases the foreign investor from ongoing tax and operational liabilities for the RO. This procedure can usually be enacted within three to four months from start to finish. It means it is effectively possible to get out of your RO structure and liabilities by April 2011 if you act now.
Concurrently with this, a new structure needs to be put in place. Whether this is a FICE or a WFOE depends upon the nature of the business activities, and whether you wish to expand them beyond the previous activities of the original RO structure.
Foreign invested commercial enterprises
These are typically used for the following business activities:
These are typically used for the following business activities:
WFOEs may also be used for manufacturing. In which case, what is now an RO may be upgraded to a fully-fledged manufacturing unit, lessening dependence upon Chinese suppliers and placing the entire manufacturing and sales operations under your control. Registered capital requirements are higher for manufacturing WFOEs than for services WFOEs, but may provide an option for some RO operations wishing to take advantage of the ability to sell directly to the China market. The trend is there – China is moving to a more consumer based economy and the government is committed to providing cheap credit and loans to domestic consumers to ensure this happens. Aside from services, the sale of products to the newly created class of Chinese domestic consumers is now very much a growth area and foreign investors should consider enhancing what is now an RO into either a FICE, a service WFOE, or a fully-fledged manufacturing and sales WFOE. The choices are all there. Your professional services firm will be able to advise on the suitable structure for you depending upon your specific needs. Your business strategy – what you want to accomplish – should determine the business structure.
It should be noted that the establishment of both a FICE and a WFOE are rather more complex than an RO, and should not be treated (as many consultants regrettably do) as pure licensing applications. As most FICE/WFOE will be involved in trade of some sort, considerations over VAT, customs and other issues that can affect the financial obligations of the business must be taken into consideration. These will add more to the legally required “minimum registered capital” and should be worked out in advance in order for you to both plan your business financing properly and to make it as tax efficient as possible. However, the minimum registered capital requirements are far less than they used to be. Essentially what now needs to be injected is the operational working capital – something that should be easy to evaluate for ROs that have already been operational. Upgrading from an RO to a FICE/WFOE in any event is a procedure of increasing operational efficiency, attention to detail should also be taken when structuring the new corporation to maximize financial and tax effectiveness upon the regulatory need to upgrade.
The structuring and application of the new FICE/WFOE can be combined at the same time as the RO closure. Staff and other assets may then be moved over to the new structure – possibly without even having to leave your premises (although a new lease in the name of the new company will need to be arranged). For other ROs, moving to a more appropriate FICE/WFOE structure provides a new lease of life to your China operations, as it permits legitimate trading, is now less expensive to run, and gives options over the accessibility of a vastly superior scope of business activities.
A new era for China investors
Although these changes may come as an unwelcome shock to some foreign businesses in China, in reality they move the legal basis for conducting trade activities in China to a more secure legal footing. FICE and WFOEs are legal persons in China; RO never were. In this case alone, protecting your China business by having it secure under China’s corporate laws is a more solid platform for protecting your interests and activities than a Representative Office. There are additional benefits in tax treatments; RO could never make a loss, whereas a limited liability company can do so. It makes far better sense to book expenses against income, again a capability RO never possessed.
The timing too, is right. As China shifts to a consumer economy, opportunities exist for foreign invested companies to take advantage of China’s new wealth creation and particpate in a new “golden era” of Chinese consumerism. There may never have been a better time to establish a FICE or WFOE in China. While old habits die hard, the RO is now largely outmoded, ineffective and unsuitable for most China investors. Upgrading your RO to a properly financed and licensed legal entity is a natural progression to take at this stage of SME corporate development in the PRC.
unquote
80% of the existing RO offices in China are operating in some kind of grey zone: Surely they conduct business & profits but all remote controlled by their HQ for example in Hong Kong. I know some competitors running RO in Shanghai they all have the same Hong Kong office address in Wyndham Street (no normal company can afford office rents there) - it is just an accounting company there doing the audit there for the HK IRD and the adress is used to issue invoices to oversea customers - even this invoices are typed in the Shanghai office on the Hong Kong letterhead. All this companies have no export rights in China - so normally at least some part of their shipping documents like Bill of Lading or Air Way Bill always shows another company name (mainly the name of the manufacturer). Careful if you deal with this kind of companies. One day they maybe suddenly are not there anymore.........
Jan. 14 – China has dramatically changed its regulations concerning the operation of representative offices (ROs) in the country and these alterations are due to take effect from March 1 this year. They will alter the operational and financial effectiveness of using ROs in China considerably.
ROs make up some 50 percent of all foreign presence in China and the implications to them of these changes are immediate and profound. SMEs in particular operating ROs in China will need to assess their operational usefulness in light of these developments, and consider making plans for alternative structures. In this piece we highlight the complete picture concerning these developments and provide suggestions and tips for handling and adapting to this far-reaching regulatory upheaval.
What the regulations say
The Chinese State Council issued new regulations that change the administration of resident representative offices of foreign enterprises in China. The new regulations require ROs of foreign enterprises to provide audited accounting information on a regular basis, prohibit them from conducting profitable activities, and specify the relative penalties for foreign enterprises that violate the rules. The “Regulations on the Administration of Registration of Resident Representative Offices of Foreign Enterprises” issued on November 19, 2010 will take effect on March 1, 2011; replacing the previous regulations that have been in force since 1983. The most noticeable changes in the new provision are listed below:
- The RO should submit an annual report between March 1 and June 30 every year providing information on the legal status and standing information of the foreign enterprise, ongoing business activities of the RO, and payment balance audited by their accounting agencies. The registration authorities will issue an RMB10,000 to RMB30,000 penalty if the RO fails to provide such reports on time, and an RMB20,000 to RMB200,000 penalty if the report includes false information. Fraud may also lead to license revocation;
- The RO cannot engage in any profit activities except for those activities which China has agreed on in international agreements or treaties. The activities ROs can be involved in include market research, display and publicity activities that relate to company products or services, contact activities that relate to company product or service sales, domestic procurement and investment. ROs will be subject to penalties of RMB50,000 to RMB200,000 for each profit activity involvement, and RMB10,000 to RMB100,000 for exceeding the permitted business scope mentioned above;
- Foreign enterprises should announce to the public through media designated by the authorities when they establish new ROs or make any changes to them; the Chinese registration authorities will also make announcements when they revoke the license of an RO or cancel an RO establishment. ROs that fail to make such announcements may pay an RMB10,000 to RMB30,000 penalty
Additional increases in tax liabilities
Representative offices are also no longer exempt from corporate income tax in China. A circular issued by the State Administration of Taxation, Guoshuifa [2010] No. 18, issued on February 20, 2010, explicitly stipulates that ROs must pay corporate income tax on their taxable income, as well as sales tax and VAT, and will be required to assess CIT liability using either the cost plus method or actual revenue method. Under each method, the deemed profit margin shall be no less than 15 percent, an increase from the previous deemed profit margin of 10 percent. The effective date of these measures was January 1, 2010. This means that all of last year’s business activities are subject to this rule and that your annual audit – soon due – will specifically abide by these regulations. If your RO hasn’t previously paid tax, this year you may well be subject to a rude awakening and a substantial bill.
To deal with these new tax requirements, ROs should obtain the pertinent business registration documents (or the relevant department approval) from their local tax authorities. If the content of tax registration changes or there is an early termination of business activities, tax collection should be in accordance with law and relevant provisions of the declaration. ROs must provide valid accounting records in accordance with the relevant laws, administrative regulations, and the State Council’s new regulations as stated above. The new circular mentions that tax authorities have the right to penalize ROs providing incomplete or incorrect records. ROs should also perform the principles of actual functions in matching with potential risks, and accurately calculate their taxable income. If your RO has not already changed its accounting system, nor been paying CIT during 2010, the annual audit in April will come as a shock. ROs in such a position are urged to seek immediate professional advice to deal with this situation.
RO annual audits
Representative offices in China may also find themselves having to comply with China’s transfer pricing regulations for the first time in the upcoming annual audit period. China audits ROs (and all other foreign invested enterprises) each year on a calendar year basis, with a four month window to submit accounts for examination. This means that all ROs and other foreign investments must now start to prepare their accounts for the year 2010 and to have these fully prepared and audited by a third party CPA firm for submission no later than the end of April 2011. What is different about the circumstances for standard representative office audits this time around is that for the first time, China requires ROs to follow the principle of proportionate functions and risks when calculating its taxable income. This means that ROs should comply in transactions with its overseas head office on the arm’s length principle, under which relevant incomes, costs and expenditures should be accounted for at fair prices.
We suspect that for 2010 audits, of particular interest will be the chief representative’s salary as declared in China. Many CRs are resident in China, but maintain their salary payments as two separate incomes, one in China, the other back home. The Chinese authorities may well question this, as residency in China means the Chinese tax authorities possess the right to levy income tax on the full salary paid, regardless of whether that was met in China or not. Such circumstances may also lead to a reassessment of the total salary paid and declared in China, together with an upward assessment of both the individual income tax amount due in addition to the business tax payable by the representative office. If expatriate staff are engaging in such tactics, it is preferable for this issue to be addressed prior to the audit submission as tax treatments do exist that may assist with avoiding state imposed recalculations of tax due.
Other examinations concerning transfer pricing may come into effect if the representative office has any licensing or other agreements with its own parent; these may be subject to the “fair price” rule and again recalculated upwards. On these issues, China’s double tax agreements may well be worth studying for potential alleviation. Chief representatives of China ROs, together with other foreign employees splitting salary payments between China and home, may wish to take advice over this issue in addition of other potential areas of transfer pricing concern for representative offices. Solving such issues can take time, and with audits due to be filed by April, it is better to bring these matters to the attention of professional advisors at the pre-audit submission stage than face questioning and potentially additional tax imposition by the tax authorities once audit is submitted and found to be questionable. Negotiations after audit submission have little chance of success at this level, we recommend dealing with the issue, understanding any potential liabilities and discussing solutions some time prior to submission of the official audit.
Upgrading your RO
As we have seen, the future of the RO as a cheap way to set up a China presence and do business in the country is now coming to an end. Increased tax burdens, an inability to offset expenses against these, and restrictions on activities, staff and size are all taking a toll. Operating an RO as a trading company by using third party bank accounts will also come under scrutiny, and if caught, will inevitably lead to fines over unpaid income tax. Given that RO as a cheap option to conduct business in China are about to become extinct, what are the alternatives? Fortunately, China offers a way out. If you require your China operations to directly buy and sell, have its own import/export license, and legitimately trade in China – then you will need to change your current RO structure to that of a foreign invested commercial enterprise (FICE) or wholly foreign owned enterprise (WFOE) in order not to fall foul of the new regulatory and tax changes concerning the use of an RO.
Why change now?
There are five main reasons:
- China is now clamping down on the use of ROs for trading activities and has issued directives effectively banning this
- ROs are now more expensive to operate than a FICE or WFOE as they cannot offset operational trading costs against CIT
- The alternative structures of FICE and WFOE are now relatively inexpensive to set up
- To close an RO requires an audit. 2010 audits are due and ROs have to submit audits for the year’s activities in any event. You can use your annual audit as the base for your RO closure and move to a FICE/WFOE structure without the need to go through a second audit for closure
- FICE and WFOE also have tax advantages, especially as concerns the ability to reclaim and offset VAT, and book profits/losses, which ROs are not able to do
There are two procedures to carry out, which can be handled concurrently. First of all, the existing RO needs to go through its annual audit. This is a statutory obligation and you must go through this process. Audits need to be submitted by the end of April (sometimes an extension can be granted). At this juncture, the RO needs to settle up all taxes and all liabilities assessed. This can be carried out not just for the statutory requirement, but also with a view to closing the RO. Such closures also require an audit to be submitted as part of the closure process, using the annual audit to do this means you don’t have to be audited twice. The full closure procedure may take some time (up to 12 months) to complete, however, acceptance by the government of the closure audit then triggers the termination of the RO license, closure of bank accounts and so on, which then releases the foreign investor from ongoing tax and operational liabilities for the RO. This procedure can usually be enacted within three to four months from start to finish. It means it is effectively possible to get out of your RO structure and liabilities by April 2011 if you act now.
Concurrently with this, a new structure needs to be put in place. Whether this is a FICE or a WFOE depends upon the nature of the business activities, and whether you wish to expand them beyond the previous activities of the original RO structure.
Foreign invested commercial enterprises
These are typically used for the following business activities:
- Import-export and distribution
- Retailing: selling goods and related services to individuals from a fixed location, in addition to TV, telephone, mail order, internet and vending machines,
- Wholesaling: selling goods and related services to companies and industry, trade or other organizations
- Agencies, brokerages: representative transactions on the basis of provisions
- Franchising
These are typically used for the following business activities:
- Consulting, other professional services
- Quality control, after sales services, product design, technical support, sampling (although minimum amount regulations apply)
WFOEs may also be used for manufacturing. In which case, what is now an RO may be upgraded to a fully-fledged manufacturing unit, lessening dependence upon Chinese suppliers and placing the entire manufacturing and sales operations under your control. Registered capital requirements are higher for manufacturing WFOEs than for services WFOEs, but may provide an option for some RO operations wishing to take advantage of the ability to sell directly to the China market. The trend is there – China is moving to a more consumer based economy and the government is committed to providing cheap credit and loans to domestic consumers to ensure this happens. Aside from services, the sale of products to the newly created class of Chinese domestic consumers is now very much a growth area and foreign investors should consider enhancing what is now an RO into either a FICE, a service WFOE, or a fully-fledged manufacturing and sales WFOE. The choices are all there. Your professional services firm will be able to advise on the suitable structure for you depending upon your specific needs. Your business strategy – what you want to accomplish – should determine the business structure.
It should be noted that the establishment of both a FICE and a WFOE are rather more complex than an RO, and should not be treated (as many consultants regrettably do) as pure licensing applications. As most FICE/WFOE will be involved in trade of some sort, considerations over VAT, customs and other issues that can affect the financial obligations of the business must be taken into consideration. These will add more to the legally required “minimum registered capital” and should be worked out in advance in order for you to both plan your business financing properly and to make it as tax efficient as possible. However, the minimum registered capital requirements are far less than they used to be. Essentially what now needs to be injected is the operational working capital – something that should be easy to evaluate for ROs that have already been operational. Upgrading from an RO to a FICE/WFOE in any event is a procedure of increasing operational efficiency, attention to detail should also be taken when structuring the new corporation to maximize financial and tax effectiveness upon the regulatory need to upgrade.
The structuring and application of the new FICE/WFOE can be combined at the same time as the RO closure. Staff and other assets may then be moved over to the new structure – possibly without even having to leave your premises (although a new lease in the name of the new company will need to be arranged). For other ROs, moving to a more appropriate FICE/WFOE structure provides a new lease of life to your China operations, as it permits legitimate trading, is now less expensive to run, and gives options over the accessibility of a vastly superior scope of business activities.
A new era for China investors
Although these changes may come as an unwelcome shock to some foreign businesses in China, in reality they move the legal basis for conducting trade activities in China to a more secure legal footing. FICE and WFOEs are legal persons in China; RO never were. In this case alone, protecting your China business by having it secure under China’s corporate laws is a more solid platform for protecting your interests and activities than a Representative Office. There are additional benefits in tax treatments; RO could never make a loss, whereas a limited liability company can do so. It makes far better sense to book expenses against income, again a capability RO never possessed.
The timing too, is right. As China shifts to a consumer economy, opportunities exist for foreign invested companies to take advantage of China’s new wealth creation and particpate in a new “golden era” of Chinese consumerism. There may never have been a better time to establish a FICE or WFOE in China. While old habits die hard, the RO is now largely outmoded, ineffective and unsuitable for most China investors. Upgrading your RO to a properly financed and licensed legal entity is a natural progression to take at this stage of SME corporate development in the PRC.
unquote
80% of the existing RO offices in China are operating in some kind of grey zone: Surely they conduct business & profits but all remote controlled by their HQ for example in Hong Kong. I know some competitors running RO in Shanghai they all have the same Hong Kong office address in Wyndham Street (no normal company can afford office rents there) - it is just an accounting company there doing the audit there for the HK IRD and the adress is used to issue invoices to oversea customers - even this invoices are typed in the Shanghai office on the Hong Kong letterhead. All this companies have no export rights in China - so normally at least some part of their shipping documents like Bill of Lading or Air Way Bill always shows another company name (mainly the name of the manufacturer). Careful if you deal with this kind of companies. One day they maybe suddenly are not there anymore.........
Some personal note....+ some DREAMS
Today (means Saturday) really had a bad day at the factory - many things done wrong by the factory.
The factory owners wife is on chemo therapy because of breast cancer - had a surgery already. Surely the boss is very worried - 2 children there - bad cashflow - bad management - and still not understanding basic quality requirements or not being able to communicate & delegate.
Anyhow just to pamper myself and all of you - one of my all-time favourites here - have a nice Sunday:
And just as we all love them so much (I know this one Iposted already at least one time) SARA - with the wonderful Stevie Nicks & the rest of the FLEETWOOD MAC:
The factory owners wife is on chemo therapy because of breast cancer - had a surgery already. Surely the boss is very worried - 2 children there - bad cashflow - bad management - and still not understanding basic quality requirements or not being able to communicate & delegate.
Anyhow just to pamper myself and all of you - one of my all-time favourites here - have a nice Sunday:
And just as we all love them so much (I know this one Iposted already at least one time) SARA - with the wonderful Stevie Nicks & the rest of the FLEETWOOD MAC:
Beijing may delay new tax on expats
Here an update for this topic. It seems they are not really clear about how to handle this in a proper way - big confusion - a lot of back & forth - just like always in China and especially with the AUTHORITIES. This one is from SCMP 22.09.11:
quote
Adrian Wan
Sep 22, 2011
Beijing may again have to delay a new social security tax on foreign workers on the mainland after local governments complained that they had not been given enough time to implement it, said a person briefed by authorities on the issue.
The person also confirmed that all Chinese nationals from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan would be exempted from the new tax, removing anxiety caused by ambiguous wording in a version of the regulation released two weeks ago.
Foreign nationals working on the mainland - even if they are permanent Hong Kong residents - still need to pay the tax, which could be up to 11 per cent of their salaries to a maximum portion of 11,688 yuan (HK$14,266) a month, or 1,300 yuan, the person said.
Employers must also pay - up to 37 per cent of their foreign employees' salaries and also subject to a maximum of 11,688 yuan a month (4,100 yuan), in addition to an employee's own contribution, according to the regulation published by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.
The rules raise questions about whether Hong Kong Chinese professionals will enjoy significant advantages over their expat colleagues as a result. Under the new regulation, it would be more expensive for a Hong Kong company to base a foreign worker on the mainland than to send a Hong Kong Chinese person.
Local governments, including those in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, have apparently been caught off guard by the new tax - which was scheduled to take effect on October 15, the person said.
"Since different provinces and cities have their own localised version of [tax] regulations, and since some of them are now saying they have just been informed of the new tax, I think it's unlikely that the new tax will be implemented on October 15 as originally planned," the person said.
At the moment, foreigners and Hongkongers working on the mainland can voluntarily pay social security tax to local accounts if they want to receive pension incomes from the mainland after their retirement. The ministry said earlier that the new rule was designed to protect the rights of foreigners so they could benefit from the social security system.
All expats from countries that do not have a bilateral exemption agreement with Beijing will be affected by the new tax. Only Germany and South Korea have agreed to such a deal with China. At least 10 other countries, including the US, Japan and Russia, are still in negotiations with Beijing on such an arrangement.
If an employer is found to have failed to make social security contributions for their foreign employees, they would face a maximum penalty of three times the outstanding contributions. The same penalty will apply to employers who hire foreign workers without a proper work permit.
"Nobody would like to pay an additional 50,000 yuan every year for an expat worker, so it is very good news for Hongkongers [Chinese] working there because they will have a clear cost advantage [over foreigners]," said William Cheung, a partner at Ernst & Young's human capital practice in Beijing.
"The impact on Hong Kong companies may not be huge. Not many of them keep foreign workers on the mainland."
Cheung nevertheless urged Hong Kong employers who have expatriate workers on the mainland to review immediately the implications of the new tax regulation.
adrian.wan@scmp.com Copyright (c) 2011. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
unquote
So as a clue if whatever will be the result GERMAN & SOUTH KOREAN nationals will be very popular in the future to work in China !
quote
Adrian Wan
Sep 22, 2011
Beijing may again have to delay a new social security tax on foreign workers on the mainland after local governments complained that they had not been given enough time to implement it, said a person briefed by authorities on the issue.
The person also confirmed that all Chinese nationals from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan would be exempted from the new tax, removing anxiety caused by ambiguous wording in a version of the regulation released two weeks ago.
Foreign nationals working on the mainland - even if they are permanent Hong Kong residents - still need to pay the tax, which could be up to 11 per cent of their salaries to a maximum portion of 11,688 yuan (HK$14,266) a month, or 1,300 yuan, the person said.
Employers must also pay - up to 37 per cent of their foreign employees' salaries and also subject to a maximum of 11,688 yuan a month (4,100 yuan), in addition to an employee's own contribution, according to the regulation published by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.
The rules raise questions about whether Hong Kong Chinese professionals will enjoy significant advantages over their expat colleagues as a result. Under the new regulation, it would be more expensive for a Hong Kong company to base a foreign worker on the mainland than to send a Hong Kong Chinese person.
Local governments, including those in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, have apparently been caught off guard by the new tax - which was scheduled to take effect on October 15, the person said.
"Since different provinces and cities have their own localised version of [tax] regulations, and since some of them are now saying they have just been informed of the new tax, I think it's unlikely that the new tax will be implemented on October 15 as originally planned," the person said.
At the moment, foreigners and Hongkongers working on the mainland can voluntarily pay social security tax to local accounts if they want to receive pension incomes from the mainland after their retirement. The ministry said earlier that the new rule was designed to protect the rights of foreigners so they could benefit from the social security system.
All expats from countries that do not have a bilateral exemption agreement with Beijing will be affected by the new tax. Only Germany and South Korea have agreed to such a deal with China. At least 10 other countries, including the US, Japan and Russia, are still in negotiations with Beijing on such an arrangement.
If an employer is found to have failed to make social security contributions for their foreign employees, they would face a maximum penalty of three times the outstanding contributions. The same penalty will apply to employers who hire foreign workers without a proper work permit.
"Nobody would like to pay an additional 50,000 yuan every year for an expat worker, so it is very good news for Hongkongers [Chinese] working there because they will have a clear cost advantage [over foreigners]," said William Cheung, a partner at Ernst & Young's human capital practice in Beijing.
"The impact on Hong Kong companies may not be huge. Not many of them keep foreign workers on the mainland."
Cheung nevertheless urged Hong Kong employers who have expatriate workers on the mainland to review immediately the implications of the new tax regulation.
adrian.wan@scmp.com Copyright (c) 2011. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.
unquote
So as a clue if whatever will be the result GERMAN & SOUTH KOREAN nationals will be very popular in the future to work in China !
Interview with China's No. 1 billionaire philanthropist (Part 1 & 2)
Here is an interview with Chen Guangbiao - he is the KING OF RECYCLING in China and said to be the number 1 richest in China. 2 days ago he smashed & crashed his Mercedes 600 on the so-called "No-driving Day". He is a big "donator" - even distributing the money by himself - it seems many people do not really trust him...here is an interview. Have your own thoughts on this:
Foreign Nationals Must Participate in China’s Social Security System
Up-date of this old post.
So now is getting more a clear picture on this issue:
The Interim Measures for the Participation in Social Security of Foreigners Employed in China (Draft for Comments)在中国境内就业的外国人参加社会保险暂行办法(征求意见稿), drafted by Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security were released to public for solicitation of opinions and comments from the community. The draft measures further detail Article 97 of the Social Security Law of the People's Republic of China中华人民共和国社会保险法and clarify the general inclusion of foreigners within China's statutory social security scheme.
So now is getting more a clear picture on this issue:
The Interim Measures for the Participation in Social Security of Foreigners Employed in China (Draft for Comments)在中国境内就业的外国人参加社会保险暂行办法(征求意见稿), drafted by Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security were released to public for solicitation of opinions and comments from the community. The draft measures further detail Article 97 of the Social Security Law of the People's Republic of China中华人民共和国社会保险法and clarify the general inclusion of foreigners within China's statutory social security scheme.
- The draft rules are applicable to foreigners (including residents of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan) lawfully working in China and holding appropriate work permits (i.e. work permit, foreign expert permit, permits for foreign journalist). They may locally employed or employed overseas and on secondment to work in China.
- The contributions would be made towards a pension as well as medical, work-related injury, unemployment and maternity insurance schemes in China.
- If foreigners leave China before the mandated date for drawing pensions, their accounts can either be maintained, as they may return to work in China, or terminated. If terminated, the amount accumulated in the account may be withdrawn in a lump sum upon approval by the relevant authority. An insured foreigner could apply in writing to withdraw his or her individually deposited funds. If the insured passes away, the balance of his or her personal account can be inherited.
- Foreigners working in China who are nationals of countries where China has concluded a multilateral agreement will follow the provisions of the agreement. Currently, only Germany and South Korean have signed agreements with China.
Shanghai Subway Shit
As we all know the People's Republic of China want to become the economic Worldpower No. 1 as soon as possible. With people like this ? Good job - just shitting in the underground - no problem ! Enjoy the photo & have your own thoughts on this.
LITTLE GIRL DRIVING THE CAR IN BIG CITY !
What kind of father & mother is this ? Is it fake ?
It does not look like fake as there is real movement to be seen & the girl really over-takes other cars.
It is def filmed on the mainland in a rather big city. I have tried to read the number plates of the other cars
but it is very difficult to recognize - if anybody knows which city this is please let me know. The video is here:
It does not look like fake as there is real movement to be seen & the girl really over-takes other cars.
It is def filmed on the mainland in a rather big city. I have tried to read the number plates of the other cars
but it is very difficult to recognize - if anybody knows which city this is please let me know. The video is here:
Have a good sleep !
Everybody knows that chinese people like to have a nap whenever possible. Here some photos from the german newspaper "Die Zeit" - all the photos are from REUTERS - please enjoy:
Isn't that nice ? I like especially the kids in the school !
BIRDABROAD - about the fake Apple Store & more
Yes I know I am late with this one - I hope you don't mind. The blog is anyhow worth reading not only because of that Apple story.Please click here !
I also put the blog link on to my side bar - please come back and check frequently. Thanks.
I also put the blog link on to my side bar - please come back and check frequently. Thanks.
Shenzhen Universiade
Don't know so much about this up-coming sports event in Shenzhen. As heard there was already a big "clean up" of disturbing elements in Shenzhen - to make the City look nice for visitors, not to look like the ugly Shenzhen many of us know. Wonder if the LoWu Shopping Mall will be closed during that event.Here is the Handbook for this UNIVERSIADE event starting at the end of this week.
Handbook for the Athletes - click here !
Handbook for the Athletes - click here !
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