Corporate Social Responsibility——A Rite of Passage for Chinese Enterprises

CHINESE people often derisively refer to the rapidly prepared offerings of McDonald's and KFC as "junk food." Yet it was these two fast food giants that made the common people of China aware of the corporate social responsibilities (CSR) undertaken by transnational companies. When McDonald's and KFC entered China in the 1990s, public toilets were scarce and the facilities in hotels and restaurants were not for public use. But McDonald's and KFC allowed anyone at all. whether or not they were customers, to use their washrooms. The McDonald's and KFC logos consequently have particular significance to members of the Chinese general public, whether or not they eat there. A similar public spiritedness is now being displayed by a number of Chinese enterprises that have begun to make their washroom facilities open to the public. On rainy days, signs can also be seen in certain stores assuring shoppers that they are: "Welcome to take shelter from rain." It would appear, therefore, that corporate social responsibility, a concept introduced by transnational companies, is being taken on by Chinese enterprises.     

Looking for a Job as a Foreign-Trained Student

BEFORE I went to the UK to pursue a master's degree in finance, I suffered from an illusion that is common among young Chinese and their parents. I believed it was a sure fire ticket to a job in Beijing or other big cities in China. My experience over the following years, however, taught me otherwise. Armed with two decent degrees, I was certain of a bright future in China. Then I learned to my astonishment that there would be 3,000,000 domestic graduates that year, and a further 20,000     

Is It Asia''''s Turn?

Speculation about who will replace Kofi Annan as UN secretary general, heats up Only nine months remain in Kofi Annan's term as UN secretary general, and there is a lot of speculation about who will step into the position after that, or more specifically, whether an Asian will become the eighth secretary general in the world body's history. Annan's second five-year term expires on December 31. When the race for his job started, people were reminded of the tradition that there is a geographical rotation to     

Legal-Ease Faulty or Inefficient Business Applications

In China, some business applications can be complicated. Then of course there is the language-and then again the nuances of law that determine the huge difference in operational quality between the so-called "cookie-cutter" applications and those in which time and attention have been spent. Here we identify some of the common mistakes we are asked regularly to fix when clients have either been badly advised, or simply were not aware of the full application and structural procedures when making an investment in China.     

大同:发扬公牛精神勇往直前

In the commercial center of the city of Datong, there is a bull made of bronze. Ensconced in a pedestal, the animal lowers its head and hunches its back, as if for self-defense or for an attack against any difficulty or enemy that may crop up. "It is the symbol of the people of Datong, and our spirit," a local proudly explained to me. The trust put on hefty animals by the people of Datong goes back to thousand years. There were different shapes of horned animals in bronze on both banks of the River Yuhe and River Shili, both of which run through the city proper. The local inhabitants believed that these animals could guard against floods, or at least mitigate the devastating consequence of the floods. And     

Economic Prosperity Befrie nds Cultural Wealth

AMERICAN scholar Alvin Toffler once said that where there is a culture, a prosperous economy will sooner or later develop, and that where there is a prosperous economy, there will be culture. The connection between culture and economy in Ordos' development is plain to see.There is far more to Ordos than the horse-head fiddles, boiled mutton and grassland legends with which ill-informed outsiders generally associate it. Compared with the Inner Mongolia regional capital Hohhot, Ordos, with its thronged bars, KTV parlors and palatial market square, has more the ambience of a southern metropolis than a northern Mongolian city. It is easy to forget that just outside the city sprawl vast, desolate grasslands and deserts.     

The Attitude towards Life and Death

TO be, or not to be, that is the question ..." to Hamlet and to the majority of people, who generally treasure life and fear death. In many cultures it is taboo to raise the topic of death in everyday discourse, but this is not the case with the Chinese people. To them life and death are a common conversational topic. Their matter of fact approach is illustrated in the sayings: "Human life is nothing but a stage over which the sun and the moon     

Bubble,Bubble,Oil and Trouble

<正>They were racing through Beijing's busy traffic,actually racing,weaving in and out between cars until coming to a halt in front of a traffic light.The vehicle was a small white utility van,with large English lettering painted on the side panel.As our bus edged forward and came parallel with the van,while in an adjacent lane,I could see inside this anxious van two Chinese men laughing and chatting.Were they trying to flee from someone?What was the great rush?Was there an appointment to be kept that demanded the execution of emergency maneuvers in morning traffic?Then I looked again at the characters adorning their vehicle.Their extreme haste suddenly became explicable:The characters read,"Re-Conditioned Oil for Cooking Needs!""Food safety is now a global concern.Even in the United States where strict food supervision and management of safety exist,accidents still occur.Although food safety issues are difficult to eliminate,the United     

Prison Term Reduction and Release on Parole in Wuxi

In China, there is a system known as ＂legal award,＂ which is applied to people serving prison terms. A prisoner who gets such award may have his or her prison terms reduced or even have himself or herself released on parole. The legal award has to be passed by the people＇s court according to a strict judicial procedure after receiving the application from penalty execution organ or the prison authority. The principle for such award is that there must be good performance in repent and there is no longer threat to the society.     

Trade Organizations Show Collective Strength

IN China it is common that the company position of a businessperson is given a prime spot on their business card, but not in Wenzhou. Narives of this city reserve the conspicuous slot for their rifles within an entire industry group, or guild. Guilds have shown themselves to be a vital structure for a booming local economy, and guild leaders are held in high esteem in the region. There are 34 such groups in Wenzhou at present, representing 20,000 or more enterprises, and covering all sectors of the local economy.     

LETTERS

正Employment,or unemployment,will remain a big issue for Chinese leaders in the new year.But it is primarily something that the individuals concerned,rather than policymakers,must deal with.Jobs give people dignity and the means to a living.Finding good jobs in such a populous country is not easy,but where there’s a will there’s a way.There are those     

What a Time to Be a Bunny

<正>It is the dead of the night and the city is sleeping. A stray car cruises the street until its lonesome passenger responds in a zombie-like manner to a traffic light that turns red, stopping an invisible flow of traffic.     

Raging Gun Violence

The U.S.marked a grim milestone in2019:There were more mass shootings than there are days of the year.As of December 22,2019,there had been404 cases of mass shootings in the country,according to the Gun Violence Archive(GVA),a nonprofit organization.This is the highest number registered since the group started collecting data in 2013.The GVA defines a mass shooting as any incident that results in four or more people being shot,excluding the shooter.     

LETTERS

I came across an album of photos put online by a charity group last year and was appalled by the inhumane condition of some of the poorest in this country. It is hard to believe that in a time when I and people around me complain about bad traffic or plan summer vaca- tions in Europe for our kids, some people deep in the mountains of Guizhou Province are still struggling to fill their stomachs and their children     

Qitaihe： A Coal-powered City

QITAIHE is such a small city in Heilongjiang Province that we had few expectations of our recent visit there. But upon arrival, we were surprised to discover the local citizens' enthusiastic and thoughtful industrial and ecological development of the area.     

Volunteers Make a Difference in Earthquake Relief

THE magnitude 7.0 quake that struck Lushan County on April 20 was a cruel test of China’s disaster response capabilities.But the country’s emergency responders proved their mettle; compared to the Wenchuan Earthquake of 2008,relief measures were more timely,rational and effective in dealing with the devastation.At times - and despite their best intentions - the large number of volunteers that turned up to assist with relief efforts actually impeded progress. For instance,traffic jams into,rather than out of,the disaster area were a problem.But generally speaking,there’s no doubt China’s private relief organizations have come a long way in five years.     

Looking for a Job as a Foreign-Trained Studen

BEFORE I went to the UK to pursue a master‘s degree in finance, I suffered from an illusion that is common among young Chinese and their parents. I believed it was a sure fire ticket to a job in Beijing or other big cities in China. My experience over the following years,however, taught me otherwise.     

WEEKLY WATCH

OPINION Looking Beyond Polarization Recently, the debate on where there is polarization between the rich and the poor in China has resurged. Is there in fact a chasm between haves and havenots? Theoretically, when the poor become poorer and the rich richer, the answer to that question is a resounding yes. Although less than 3 percent of the total Chinese population still live in abject poverty, most Chinese economists agree that the disparity between the rich and the poor has widened since the mid-1990s. They also predict that the gap is unlikely to narrow in the near future.     

Rural Governments Find a Voice

WITH a history of about a decade,the press spokesperson system is new in China.Especially when it comes to county and township governments,the system is still in its infancy.On a recent visit to Changfeng County in Hefei City,Anhui Province,China Today reporters were surprised to learn that there were 67 spokespersons for the local county and township governments.To learn more about how this quintessentially Western system of government-media contact has affected rural society,China Today interviewed several of the county’s press spokespersons.     

Wife Cake（Laopo Bing）

The ＂wife cake＂ or ＂sweet- heart cake＂ is a popular pastry from China＇s Guangdong Province and its nearby areas. The pastry features a light and flaky outer layer, with a soft and smooth tilling and slightly sweet flavor. There is a touching legend that explains the origin of its name. Once upon a time, there was a couple that loved each other very much but lived in poverty.