International Law

Another Prediction of Chinese Currency Supremacy

Posted on May 15, 2009
A Columbia University economist known for his extraordinary conclusions -- some right -- evidently knows something everybody else does not. The Chinese yuan is preparing to overtake the US dollar as the world's reserve currency, economist Nouriel Roubini has warned...

Zhao Ziyang's Dictated Diary to Be Published in May

Posted on May 14, 2009
Prisoner of the State: The Secret Journal of Premier Zhao Ziyang With audio! If you see this book available for sale online, please let me know. Amazon does not have it up yet.

Chinese Exports Fall 22.6%

Posted on May 12, 2009
The New York Times reports: Exports from mainland China slumped 22.6 percent in April from a year earlier, official statistics showed ? a fall that was not only larger than economists had expected but also bigger than that in March, when overseas shipments declined 17...

New York Event: The Financial Crisis: The Impact on Private Equity in Emerging Markets

Posted on May 08, 2009
The Financial Crisis: The Impact on Private Equity in Emerging Markets "Join a panel of distinguished experts as they share their insights on the future of private equity in emerging markets. Hear their perspectives on how these economies are coping with the changes caused by the economic slowdown, which countries are geared for positive growth, what the key areas of concern are, as well as where the new opportunities for private equity lie as it adapts through the financial crisis...

To access this complete feed in the blog feed reader login or register for free.

Guest Post: Victor Shih on the Chinese Stimulus Package: "What did 5 Trillion RMB Buy?"

Posted on April 24, 2009
[Today's post comes to us, with our thanks, from Victor Shih, Assistant Professor of Politics at Northwestern University in the U.S., and blogger at Elite Chinese Politics and Political Economy. Victor is the author of the very fine, Factions and Finance in China, now available in paperback...

Another Attorney Scam -- Referral From Non-Existent US Attorney to Sweeten the Pot?

Posted on April 21, 2009
A twist! Here's another attorney scam email I just received, referred from my Chinese language law site, after a brief Skype chat conversation in Chinese with a purported potential client in (or so he/she said) Chongqing: Dear Counsel, I am sending this email as a mutual introduction (potential representation)...

EVENT: CEO of Blackstone Greater China in New York

Posted on April 16, 2009
Event: China and Hong Kong: Post Financial Tsunami, CEO Forum and Lunch Topic: Antony Leung, Chairman of Blackstone Greater China and former Financial Secretary of Hong Kong will speak on the financial and economic future of China and Hong Kong. Date: Wednesday, April 23 Time: 12 pm - 2 pm (12 - 12:30pm registration, 12:30-2 luncheon & discussion) Location: Asia Society, 725 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10021 Event URL here...

Sundry Notes on the Chinese Judiciary

Posted on April 13, 2009
Judicial independence -- that is, making the judiciary an independent decision-making body -- has been a topic for muted discussion in China for over a decade, at least in academic circles. [For more on the ways in which the Chinese judiciary is not independent, read this and this...

Counterfeit Check in Attorney E-mail Scam Looks Persuasive

Posted on April 10, 2009
Having never seen one before, and thinking readers have not as well, I was delighted when a fellow attorney showed me a counterfeit check used in an attempt to deceive a law firm in an attorney e-mail scam. Gracious thanks to Utah attorney Randy Birch -- who was not deceived...

Home Depot Buyer Convicted in International Kick Back Scheme -- and What an Old Scheme It Is!

Posted on April 02, 2009
A former divisional merchandising manager in charge of Home Depot's hard flooring products was sentenced to 63 months in prison for tax evasion and wire fraud, and ordered to pay $1.1 million in restitution to Home Depot. You can read the brief blurb about it here...

Yale Asia Tomorrow Conference: Text of Asiabizblog Editor's Comments

Posted on March 30, 2009
[The following are my remarks at this conference, held at Yale University, March 28, 2009.] Thank you for inviting me to participate on this panel. Here's the question I will address: is the average person in Asia living in a "global" environment more so now than at some point in the past? Here is my brief answer: only superficially so...

Malaysian Loan Sharks, ???? and Making an Offer the Debtor Can't Refuse

Posted on March 27, 2009
???? (literally, "underground bank") flourishes wherever Chinese borrowers need cash quickly without having to go through the process of a loan application at a formal bank. They are as easy to access as black market foreign exchange in any Chinese city, if you get an introduction...

China Proposes "Super-Sovereign Reserve Currency" to Eliminate the Middle Man

Posted on March 24, 2009
Zhou Xiaochuan (???), Governor of the People's Bank of China, has proposed a supranational currency to which national currencies shall be linked and valued according to a system of "rules." Remember China's concern (panic?) over its enormous U.S. dollar reserves and investments in U...

EVENT: ABA Washington DC -- China 2009: Gazing into the Crystal Ball

Posted on March 19, 2009
China 2009: Gazing into the Crystal Ball Date: Mar 27, 2009 08:30 - 10:00 AM Site: ABA Washington Office 740 15th St NW Washington, DC, 20005-1019 United States of America "Wondering how the economic downturn is impacting legal and business developments in China? Curious as to what is happening to China's once sizzingly hot real estate sector? Bewildered as to how employee lay-offs are being handled by foreign-invested companies facing decreasing demand for their products? And, what about those unfortunate companies who may need to file for bankruptcy of their China operations - how are they likely to fare? What developments have been taking place with China's new Anti-Monopoly Law and should we expect changes in light of the global economic downturn? These and other fascinating questions will be considered in an informal monitored discussion on March 27, in person at the Section's offices in Washington, D...

Asiabizblog Editor to Speak at March 28 Yale Conference

Posted on March 18, 2009
I've been invited to speak at the ?Asia Tomorrow? conference at Yale University on March 28. For further information, click here.

Tokyo Gumshoe -- That Company Simply Doesn't Exist!

Posted on March 18, 2009
Remember this post on attorney scams? The company from which it purportedly originated was stated to be G and T trading Company Limited, Tokyo Kotsu Kaikan Bldg. 7F. 2-10-1 Yurakucho Chiyoda-ku Tokyo 100-0006 JAPAN We now have first-hand evidence that this company does not exist at that location...

EVENT: Chicagoland China Business Seminar

Posted on March 16, 2009
Seminar: "Challenges and Rewards: Doing Business with China in 2009" Time: 9:00 am - 3:00 pm, May 1, 2009 (Friday) Venue: Quality Inn Schaumburg, Illinois (Chicago west suburb) Agenda & Topics Global Recession and its Impact on China's Economy & Sino-US Trade Introduction to China's Economic Stimulus Plan New Business Opportunities in the Emerging Cities U...

Chinese Export Volume Falls Off the Proverbial Cliff

Posted on March 11, 2009
Reuters: Exports in February slid 25.7 percent from a year earlier, dwarfing forecasts of a 5.0 percent fall, while imports dropped 24.1 percent, close to projections of a 25.0 percent decline. Bloomberg's story fleshes it out a bit more. Read also Andrew Batson's article for context...

Watch LIVE Webcast of Alibaba CEO Jack Ma at Asiabizblog

Posted on March 11, 2009
The live webcast starts at 7.30 am EST, Thursday, March 12. Here's the blurb from the Asia Society. "Known as China?s Web King, Jack Ma is Chairman and CEO of Alibaba Group, the leading e-commerce company in China and one of the world?s largest online trading platforms...

And One More Attorney Scam E-mail -- The Last One, I Promise!

Posted on March 09, 2009
This one is so transparently badly done, no one should be fooled by it: Attention: We represent the management of G and T trading Company Limited, Tokyo Kotsu Kaikan Bldg. 7F. 2-10-1 Yurakucho Chiyoda-ku Tokyo 100-0006 JAPAN ,"Engaged in international marketing of Painting & Crafts Tools, Power Tools and Outdoor Equipment since 1992" G and T trading Company Limited, JAPAN have supplied Painting & Crafts Tools, Power Tools and Outdoor Equipment to many American and Canadian customers, total invoices in excess of US$3...

Tax Reform on Foreign Profits of Multinationals Coming To a Government Near You?

Posted on March 03, 2009

Fiddler on the Roof in Japanese -- Really!

Posted on March 03, 2009

Another Attorney Scam E-Mail Purportedly from China

Posted on March 02, 2009

China: A Couple of Former Billionaires, Fraud, Bribes, Prison

Posted on February 24, 2009
Recommended: this story -- Jailed Billionaires Show New Face of China as Markets Unravel -- rich in detail, like this: Greaves hasn?t seen or spoken to Huang, 39, since. One morning in November, the dapper, baby-faced tycoon failed to turn up, along with his Maybach limousine, at Gome?s Beijing headquarters, where he normally worked such long hours that he had installed a double bed in the office adjacent to his own...

van Etten v. Mitsui -- A Few Hackles Raised on First Reading

Posted on February 20, 2009
I've now had a chance to review the complaint in Van Etten v. Mitsui, 09 CV 1071, a reverse discrimination class-action suit brought by an American executive of Mitsui USA fired in 2006. While I was originally favorable toward the idea of such a claim, the complaint itself tends to move me in the other direction...

For Your Review: Reverse Discrimination Complaint, van Etten v. Mitsui, 09 cv 1071, SDNY

Posted on February 17, 2009
To download the van Etten v Mitsui complaint discussed in this post, click this link.

EVENT: ABA International Section China Committee Mixer in Shanghai

Posted on February 16, 2009
Sponsor: Shanghai Chapter of the American Bar Association International Section, China Committee Blurb: Come mix and mingle with attorneys with diverse backgrounds from our legal community here in Shanghai and learn more about the ABA and China Committee activities...

Japanese Bar Cracks Down on Foreign Attorneys

Posted on February 11, 2009
Times are tough and guilds are supposed to protect their own, as the Japanese Bar has done, here requiring all foreign attorneys operating in Japan, even, apparently, employees supervised by gaiben partners, to register as gaiben A requirement that all foreign lawyers be registered as gaiben would fundamentally change the landscape of firms operating in Japan...

Massive Fire in Rem Koolhaas Designed Mandarin Hotel Structure

Posted on February 09, 2009
Some have arrived at this blog after searching for news of the fire in Beijing. Here is a link to the most complete news report I've seen yet (in Chinese):

Attorney Scam -- Bank Checks from East Asia and

Posted on February 09, 2009
Very briefly this morning, another article on the scam affecting American attorneys, originating in "East Asia." "I've had clients from Taiwan and Hong Kong who I've never laid eyes on, and collected unclaimed property for them without any trouble," Sack said...

Bloggers, promote your law blog by nominating your blog for inclusion in USLaw.com's Law Blog Directory and RSS Reader. Benefits described.