Night before Christmas so slow day today, so I will use it as an excuse to reminisce a bit. In August, 2019, in what now seems like an eternity ago, in Hong Kong for International Business: Stick a Fork in It, we were — as far as I know — the first to declare the end
A recent Twitter thread from Sari Arho Havrén hit home, as it so perfectly captured my own feelings. She tweeted: Sometimes I miss Hong Kong and Mainland China so much that it physically hurts. 30 years of my life has been tied to China. I have lived in four Chinese cities (incl HK twice). Strings run deep
About a decade ago, I had been working with Damjan DeNoble, who was at that time a health care consultant in China but wanted to go to law school. Towards that end, he asked me to review his “personal statement” for his law school application to the University of Michigan. I reviewed it and liked it
Eons ago, a veteran China hand responded to one of our blog posts by writing me with his own story of China problems. I found his story both typical and fascinating and sought his permission to run it. He gave me permission and then I promptly lost it in the shuffle until now. This story
As China steps up its tax enforcement against both foreign companies and foreigners, we are seeing increasing instances where expat employees working in China are having their salaries “split” by their Chinese or foreign company employers. We strongly counsel our employer clients against doing this sort of salary splitting and we even more strongly counsel
As part of our China employment work, our China employment lawyers are often tasked with helping expats navigate the China employee onboarding process, including reviewing and revising their employment-related documents, such as employment contracts. This involves our making sure our clients’ contracts protect their interests and achieve their goals and minimize the likelihood of confusion
As reported in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), Stanley Black & Decker has closed its Shenzhen factory, “[laying] off all of its 1,000 workers after 25 years of operations.” This, according to the SCMP, “reflects the changing business environment in the world’s second-biggest economy.” In reality, however, it highlights long-standing, ongoing China risks. Stanley
How to determine the validity of the China company chop/stamp/seal that will be going on your China contract and why this matters. What exactly is a China company chop? How to distinguish a fake company chop from a real one.
On September 19, China’s Ministry of Commerce (“MOFCOM”) issued the Regulations on Unreliable Entity List (“Regulations”), which took effect on the same date. Though we have not seen an actual list of unreliable entities, the Regulations set out the general principles for the Unreliable Entity List (UEL) system. Who can be included on the UEL? The
Yesterday I attended a USPTO webinar, How the U.S. government can help companies protect and enforce their IP in China. It was informative and I highly encourage anyone interested in IP protection in China to attend future webinars. Moreover, it brought back memories of my own stint in the government helping American companies protect their
