By Roberto De Vido* The Economist recently noted in a column headline that Forced labour in China presents dilemmas for fashion brands. The writer introduced the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), which he described as “a nearly 3m-strong paramilitary-style business in western China” founded in 1954 to provide economic incentives for recently demobilized soldiers
Not so long after the fall of the Soviet Union, I, along with others in my law firm, had to spend considerable amounts of time in fairly remote places in Russia — places like Vladivostok, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Things were very uncertain in that part of Russia back then, and we developed certain rules to
The U.S. government recently announced additional political sanctions on China concerning human rights violations in Xinjiang. The Chinese government’s treatment of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang has attracted the attention of human rights organizations and democratic governments over the last few years. Accusations include arbitrary detention in concentration camps, forced labor, and propagandist
Say what you will about the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) but, when it comes to repressing Hong Kong’s democratic aspirations, it means business. Having concluded local authorities were not up to the task of ruling Hong Kong by its iron-fisted standards, Beijing made short work of the “one country, two systems” framework and imposed a
The below is a guest post written anonymously by someone who fears both repercussions from the CCP and an onslaught of abuse by “those who do not want to see their own spigot of money from China cut.” We are publishing this because it is important and because nearly all of us who regularly write
One of the problems with being a lawyer is that we oftentimes only see or hear about things when they are a problem. This can give us a somewhat warped view on things, but so be it. So when we say that terminating your Chinese employee will lead to problems 100% of the time, you
In The Chinese Government is Accessing YOUR Network Through the Backdoor and There Still is NO Place to Hide, I explained how Chinese banks are requiring their account holders — including all foreign companies in China — to install malware which allows the Chinese government to see all account holder data. In China Malware: Sorry, Techno Geeks,
Back in April 2007, we shared some tips on doing business in China that had appeared in Silk Road International. As often happens when I delve into our archives, I was amazed at how much of the advice remains current. With that in mind I’m sharing it again, adding some commentary based on what has
A few weeks ago, in Hong Kong’s Saddest Day, we echoed legislator Tanya Chan’s sentiment after China’s rubber-stamp National People’s Congress announced it would enact national security legislation for the city. As sad as that fateful May 21 was, we warned “the days ahead could be much sadder” for Hong Kong. Unfortunately, that prediction has
Let me tell you about a European friend of mine in China. Well, he’s not really in China. Right now he’s in Thailand. Like many an expat, he went there for a quick holiday before the border closed and has been stuck for months because of virus travel restrictions. My friend desires anonymity. We’ll just
