CHINA ESQUIRE

I just wanted to write a quick post as I’ve been traveling. We were in Beijing last week, and met with the blogger behind A Modern Lei Feng and Stan Abrams of China Hearsay. I also had the chance to have lunch with a pair of Chinese lawyers from King & Wood, which is so large in Beijing that it needs floors in two office buildings here. I attach a photo of myself and Zhang Yongliang, corporate partner at King & Wood.

Nearly everyone concurred that the legal market in China has slowed to some degree–but for those dealing with foreign clients, their work has slowed considerably. Those dealing with Chinese clients, while slower, still are keeping themselves busy enough. Of course, it’s hard to say whether my sampling is fair considering that I talked with only a few people. Still, it’s something to keep in mind–especially with Kinney Recruiting and Above the Law saying that things are “booming” here in China. Many here on the ground say its not as booming as you would suspect.

One thing I note is the amount of nationalism I’ve seen here so far. None of it is blatantly anti-western. In fact, much of the nationalism is based around the Olympics. I’ve received a fair number of Olympics related souvenirs this past year while in America… and coming to China, I’ve only received more. I now have a 1 and a half feet tall stuffed Jingjing doll (which is cute, I must admit) among other new Olympics related souvenirs. Sometimes I wonder if the Chinese ever buy Olympics gear for themselves.

Another time, I observed nationalism in a dinner with some relatives. We were talking about the Olympics, and many of them noted that there weren’t many foreigners around in town. (Stan Abrams told us the hotel industry is taking a beating right now) And I thought to myself “visas”. What was their reasoning? They were “informed” that many Americans and westerners were boycotting the Olympics over the whole T***t issue. To which I thought, “you’ve got to be kidding me.” Sounds like no one here on the ground even knows that the government has tightened down the visa situation so much that much of summer tourism is griding to a slow halt. If I had a nickel for everytime I read or heard that someone couldn’t get themselves a visa in China, I wouldn’t need to be blogging right now. But that being said, no one here knows. And I think the default Chinese viewpoint is to take a nationalist approach: it must be some boycott or anti-western sentiment against China.

While the necessity of a siege mentality for Chinese is debatable, I see more and more of it happening… and even when the Olympics goes away, I still see the nationalist siege mentality staying a little longer. Let’s just hope that it doesn’t stay too long or things could get ugly.

I will be on vacation for the next 3 weeks, and so want to apologize in advance for not posting.  Plenty of other good blogs on my blogroll to keep you up to date with China law and business — there are many quality China law blogs and China business blogs to choose from.  I can still be reached by email, but will not be doing much with the blog while I am traveling.  Maybe I can post some photos.  I hope you all enjoy your summer!

Happy July 4th to all those celebrating the American Independence Day!  We have a long weekend here in the States, and I think everyone is happier for it.  For more information about the Holiday, check here.  Those in America, enjoy the holiday.  (I know I will be as I enjoy watching fireworks every year)  Those in China and elsewhere, maybe you can have a toast tonight in the name of independence and liberty.

I told everyone that I would be posting more often now, but I have since been experiencing difficulties with my trusty Thinkpad T42.  (apparently there is a fairly well documented problem with the soldering of the graphics chips on T42’s)  No made in China jokes please.

So, I would like to apologize for disappearing over the past week.  Thankfully it’s been a slow season at many other blogs, so I don’t feel quite as guilty for not posting as often as I would like.

I had been waiting for a package to come in for quite some time, and so today, I was already in a good mood to get the box. In there was a
brand new updated version of Selecting and Forming Business Entities, 2d Edition, from California’s CEB (Continuing Education for the Bar). CEB
is of course, affiliated with Jiazhuo Daxue, or the University of California. Here are my brand new binders, which I will be keeping in my office.
These are now my personal copies.

For anyone wanting to understand California corporate entities such as corporations, LLCs, partnerships, limited partnerships, etc., then I highly recommend this publication. It lays out the pros and cons, as well as the forms that you need to form solid entities in California. For non-lawyer Chinese (and American) businesses, it is also a good way to test the mettle of your attorney, though I do not recommend asking too many questions as to annoy your counsel.

I was pleasantly surprised when I opened up the title page to see the authors. I had been saying that I was a contributor to this edition, but I guess CEB and the partners ( Ed Gartenberg and Ellis Wasson) recognized that the work I did was fairly substantial. And so, the pictures that follow.

I guess you could say it felt a little like Christmas today. Anyways, I just had to post this. I will be back on topic tomorrow.

China Esquire made 2 more blogrolls since my last update: China Business Services Blog, a long time China business blog run by Jeremy Gordon, and the newer China Law Practice Blog, which is published by Greg Sy and Stephen Lou of Grandall Legal Group in China.

Things are busy so I may not be able to post until the weekend. My apologies if that is the case.

Again, I can’t get myself to post anything substantive because of the Sichuan earthquake and subsequent aftershocks. I have been trying to update my other posts. (see here and here)

On a positive note, China Esquire: Law and Business Blog was recently blogrolled at:

- Alltop, a new aggregator that has China and Legal sections
- Asiabizblog, a classic in Asia law and business which lists us as “China Law and Business”
- China Vortex, Paul Denglinger’s had some excellent postings on Chinese BBSes recently
- ImageThief, which should not need any introduction
- Silicon Hutong, a great source of information for China technology

UPDATE (5/15): China Law Blog, probably the classic China law blog (which I follow very closely), and Managing the Dragon, run by the well-regarded Jack Perkowski and others, have added China Esquire to their blogrolls as well.

I truly appreciate everyone’s support.

I had a post on PE ready to go, but I can’t bring myself to do it. This Sichuan quake, while it doesn’t compare to the Myanmar cyclone in terms of sheer cost of human life, has been on my mind too much. And so, I will keep on topic for another day. I apologize if you came expecting law and business advice, and feel cheated.

Rich Brubaker, from All Roads Lead to China (and his other blog, China Crossroads), recommended some other charities other than the one posted in the Shanghaiist. Here is his post:

I have emails out to several friends in local NGOs catering to smaller villages, but for now I suggest:

China Charity Foundation - Partner with Red Cross

China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation

Rich also defended the quality of the China Charity Foundation on China Law Blog under the comments:

GONGO’s in China have had a bad rap for a while - partly of their own doing - however, the Red Cross and its GONGO partner China Charity Foundation have a strong reputation and are honestly the best NGO at this point.

Ironically, a close friend of mine (native Chinese) commented that China’s government will also take good care of the people, and that while charities are great, the government will definitely do its part. I sure hope so. I am guessing that all you are hoping so as well. I will try to keep yesterday’s post (entitled “Sichuan Quake Updates and Red Cross Donations - UPDATED”, here) updated to mirror Shanghaiist on a regular basis during West Coast business hours.

UPDATE: Shanghaiist reports that there are blood drives happening in China later which could help:

May 24–Thumb Square, 199 Fangdian Rd, Pudong

May 27–Level B1, Hong Kong New World Tower,
300 Huaihai Middle Rd,Puxi

Jun 15–Thumb Square, 199 Fangdian Rd, Pudong

Jun 21–Dulwich College Shanghai, Jinqiao, 200 Lanan Rd, Pudong

UPDATE 2a: Care for Children (CFC) in China. The Care for Children website is www.careforchildren.com.cn. Rich Brubaker points out two new funds being run by CFC:

Care for Children Emergency fund;
Care for children will have a team in Chengdu from Monday to;
1. Distribute Emergency aid to our 11 orphanages in Sichuan
2. Manage and co-ordinate Trauma Counselling and Trauma Counselling Training for China Social Work Association
3. Two Lorries/Trucks are heading to Chengdu with aid from the international community’s of Beijing and Shanghai.

Reconstruction fund;
1. Care for Children will work with CSWA to construct a residential community centre in Wenchuan.
2. Care for Children will help with the reconstruction of orphanages, schools and communities effecting children we serve.
3. Care for Children will train local workers and future foster parents to take the orphans from the earthquake disaster.

Please mark all donations Earthquake Appeal

UPDATE 3 (5/14): World Vision set up a special China quake fund. Their announcement:

As the death toll from the 7.9-magnitude earthquake continues to rise, World Vision offices close to the epicenter have dispatched relief and assessment teams to provide immediate supplies, such as blankets and tents, to 10,000 people, with more supplies on the way. We are asking for an additional $1 million to support the initial response.

You can donate to World Vision here. This is one relief organization that is well regarded in the international sphere, and I have no trouble endorsing it.

UPDATE 4 (5/14): Rich Brubaker also mentioned there is a great need in orphanages out in Sichuan. He writes:

Our China adoption agency (CCAI) will route your donation directly to orphanages in the earthquake area. Type: ‘Earthquake Relief’ in the Specific Project line in the on-line donation form. As the largest China adoption agency in the US, CCAI has a long track record working with orphanages, an extensive network of representatives (including in Sichuan Province) and strong relations with the Chinese government. CCAI is a 501-3C charitable organization. I whole-heartedly endorse CCAI.
http://www.chinesechildren.org/Sichuan_earthquake.aspx

UPDATE 5 (5/14): The American Red Cross also has a China disaster fund set up here.

UPDATE 6 (5/15): China Children & Teenagers Fund (CCTF) website can be found here. From CN Reviews:

CCTF has formed a charity foundation for earthquake relief with with China Merchant Bank (CMB). Source from Sohu.

Account Name: China Children and Teenagers’ Fund
Bank Name: Bank of China, Head Office, Banking Department
Bank Address: No.1 Fuxingmennei Street, Xicheng District, Beijing, China
Account Number: 0005 8908 0910 14
SWIFT?BKCH CN BJ

UPDATE 7 (5/15): Samaritan’s Purse, run by Franklin Graham (son of famous crusader Billy Graham), has given $285,000 so far. Shanghaiist reports:

Looks like evangelist Franklin Graham who previously made the news in the China Daily for “hoping to do more for China” is seriously putting his money where his mouth is. Speaking from Shanghai after a tour of Beijing, Hangzhou and Nanjing, the CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (named after his dad) and international Christian relief organization Samaritan’s Purse has just donated a whopping RMB2 million, or US$285,000. That’s a whole lot of money, ladies and gentlemen! To put things into perspective, even Singapore, which has one of the world’s highest GDP per capita, only managed a paltry US$200,000 or RMB1.4 million.

Samaritan’s purse is taking China quake donations here.

UPDATE 8 (5/16): Chengdu YMCA needs help according to China Crossroads:

I have receieved the 2 emails from the YMCA, who need assistance with putting roofs onto their facilities. If anyone can assist them, please reach out to Larry Lieving (llieving @ yahoo.com)

Please consider the YMCA of Chengdu as a possibility for your assistance.

Right now we need to get roofs on our buildings. We do not have rooms at the YMCA or the orphanage. We had to send the orphanage kids home. We need to do the roof as soon as possible and get the kids back. We do have a guest room at the orphanage which will be usable when the roof is on. Do you have volunteers that are roofers?

UPDATE 9 (5/17): I had this in my other post, but have moved it here to keep one post for updates and the other for donation sources. Here is how to donate to the Chinese Red Cross:

If for some reason this list isn’t enough, then CN Reviews has a very comprehensive list here. Again, the key is not more information, but to just give.

As promised, I am going to write my personal impressions of what I witnessed at the Olympic torch tour (or perhaps I should say, the faked part of the torch tour). I was near San Francisco’s Ferry Building during my lunch break, and had a great view of the street (the Embarcadero) where the torch relay runners were supposed to have run on. I stayed out until I realized no torch was coming.

I know I normally write on business, law and other related topics. And I normally tend to shy away from current events because that can be covered better by China Digital Times or other news blogs/news outlets. But considering that the torch was in my backyard and that the media made the protests overblown, I just wanted to write my perspective.

First off, here is SF Gate’s take on the torch run as of 2:53pm yesterday:

Massive protests forced officials to drastically change the Beijing Olympic torch route today, with the flame leaving McCovey Cove by bus instead of being carried along San Francisco’s Embarcadero by runners.

The relay route short was cut short after chaotic morning along the original route, where thousands of people descended to support and protest the torch run. They gave no indication of the route it would take, but City Hall sources familiar with the police response said the Van Ness route had been the plan since at least this morning.

Early this morning, thousands of people gathered along the planned route on the Embarcadero, with pro-torch demonstrators facing off against protesters who are hoping to draw attention to the nation’s human rights record.

Police said no arrests had occurred and that clashes related to the protests had been minor. But the situation was tense for hours before the run, and at least one person was detained in front of the ballpark this morning. A few hours later, a confrontation between the two sides escalated to a physical violence, when a San Francisco man named Kevin Johnson, 48, walked into a crowd of torch supporters and began yelling, “Communists!”

The crowd encircled Johnson and the confrontation escalated when Johnson pulled a Chinese flag off a man’s backpack. Then, someone grabbed Johnson’s throat and another person punched him in the face before police intervened and walked him to safety.

“I know it sounds racist, but if they want the Olympics in China they should go back to China,” he said.

Okay, so we have one racist named Kevin Johnson stirring up trouble. (If you need to caveat something with “I know it sounds racist”, it’s probably because you are… especially if you are willing to swipe something off a backpack, which may well be considered battery) SF Gate also reported some of the “Free Tibet” protesters broke the police line and crowded the Embarcadero.

Yes, there were throngs of protesters. I saw all of them. It wasn’t just Tibet people. I saw people protesting (1) Darfur, (2) Tibet, (3) Burma, and (4) the skinning of Cats and Dogs in China. (no joke) I also heard some protesters yelling about (5) Brazil, but I have no idea what it was about. And of course, there were a lot of (6) Chinese people out, some with flags, others joining with the pro-torch rally. And lots of people. Tourists, families, people who worked downtown–just lots of people.

I walked down Market Street with my Italian salami sandwich and saw throngs of people. And lots of banners and flags: Save Tibet flags, Chinese flags, Republic of China (aka Taiwan) flags, even a large flag from Tsinghua University in Beijing. One lady was handing out Save Darfur signs… with a smile. The cats and dogs banner was manned by two women… also smiling. Near the Chinese supporters chanting when I left were the Friendlies (Fuwa) mascots dancing and taking photos with people. There was a stage set up in Justin Herman plaza–and there were Olympic videos displayed with Chinese music blaring. Until a live band came in around 1:30pm, playing some loud music–all covers of course. Families were out with kids. And while I was waiting in my prime spot (which later became a dud), I was chatting with a corporate consultant in the City and an architect who had just relocated from Seattle. We were having a good time, waiting for a once-in-a-lifetime moment. Even some of the police, when they weren’t busy and stressed, were smiling.

There were plenty of protesters, but also lots of people just there to see the torch. The protesters, many stayed still with signs. Some chanted. There were lines of protesters marching right next to the Ferry Building. (I was across the street) But it was peaceful. At least, for a San Francisco protest. San Francisco Bay Area people will protest over anything–for the sake of protesting. And it’s usually a lot nastier, with trashcans overturned and loud raucous that distracts for blocks. This wasn’t the case yesterday.

I think about the craziest thing I observed was when China supporters had been screaming in Mandarin “China China China! Go go go!” decided to switch chants. The leader had a megaphone. They yelled, “One dream! One peace!” Over and over. And right next to them were some Tibet protesters who screamed “Free Tibet” over and over. What you ended up hearing was “One Dream! Free Tibet! One peace! Free Tibet!” And in the background, nearly drowning out both sides, were the grooves of Michael Jackson’s classic, Billie Jean, being played by the live band on stage. I realize that both sides are quite passionate about their position, but the protest itself was almost comical.

The media has to report the sensational stuff: they sell newspapers and ad space. I understand that. So they will call the protests “violent” and “tense”. But the reality is that this protest was hardly that. (It’s hard to have a tense moment when you have the Friendlies mascots dancing to Billie Jean)

China has denounced these protests internationally. (See here) But really, these protesters can’t hurt China. They don’t even scare me. How can this really affect China? As a P.R. move, China has to defend itself. But the reality–and I think China knows this full well–the only thing China has to be afraid of is fear itself–because these protests won’t make a bit difference to China. And if they are as light-hearted as what I saw yesterday, there isn’t much to fear at all.

I will try to get some photos up later. Because they were taken with my cell phone camera, they need major color correction.

I will have my own post on the China Olympic torch up later tonight or early tomorrow. I was actually at the San Francisco Ferry Building (and the Justin Hermann Plaza) this afternoon with the hopes of seeing the torch pass by. After finding a great spot on the Embarcadero, which was the original torch path, I waited… and waited… and the torch was re-routed.

The press has an interesting spin that the protests were so violent and so forth. They weren’t that bad as there were a lot of smiles and live music going. Will have more details and maybe some cell phone camera pictures up later, but I wanted to let everyone know: the demonstrations were not that bad. More to come soon.

I have law students asking me for career advice all the time. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that I was a Mentorship Committee Co-chair for the Asian American Bar Association ( AABA) for the past 3 years. And I don’t mind. Really.

One constant question is about how to network with people. How can you network with people who are doing what you want to do? Well, let’s assume you are a law student interested in doing international law in China. Yes, that’s a little different than just networking at your local bar association because your interests are more focused. But there are still a number of ways:

1. Go to the right conferences. The international law community is pretty small actually. Especially in the San Francisco Bay Area. If you can’t actually work with them, then at least try to meet the lawyers doing the stuff at conferences. I post about new conferences that relate to international law constantly. Stay tuned here and you won’t miss too much about local conferences.
2. Take classes taught by actual practitioners who have the experience that you want to get. Locally, Tom Klitgaard of my old firm Dillingham & Murphy, and a China expert, teaches an Asian Comparative Law course at the University of San Francisco ( USF). Tom is always opening up his network to promising USF law students who express interest. My partner, Bart Selden, teaches International Business Transactions and Intellectual Property courses at various universities, including Golden Gate University ( GGU). He even hires some of his students to be interns at the firm. When I was at Hastings, I took corporations with Anna Han of White & Case (and SCU Professor), another China business attorney. (though we never spoke about the topic because I was only interested in litigation at the time, and corporations was merely a bar course)
3. Talk to people. Dan Harris at China Law Blog makes himself available for questions constantly. (I should know, I’ve asked some) When you see an article or blog post you like, contact the author. Do informational interviews locally with people who you want to meet. The worst thing you can do is be timid and afraid. Don’t be.
4. Just get out there. Do a summer exchange program your 1L summer in China. Preferably one of those that allow you to take classes and intern at a local Chinese law firm. That’s a good experience and will let you meet people (and hopefully learn something). This applies to not only China, but anywhere else too. Here are some I found by a quick google search: Indiana, Willamette, Georgia.
5. Blog. Travis Hodgkins, Brad Luo, and Will Lewis have made quite a name for themselves by blogging. It isn’t terribly hard to do–just somewhat time consuming. Yes, you are in law school. No, you don’t have a lot of time. But you have some time. You are either wasting it on watching TV or reading the local legal gossip rags. Whereas these law students now have published the Transnational Law Blog, China Business Law Blog, and Experience Not Logic. Obviously you need to get your feet wet first, so this is not for the absolute neophyte. But after you have done #1-4 enough times over a year or two, you can do #5. In fact, I believe Travis is always looking for co-authors… (why set up your own if there are opportunities out there already?)
6. Set up online networking profiles. There are plenty of social networking online services. Like Facebook or Friendster. But I mean the professional networking sites. Ryze and LinkedIn are the two best places to start. Especially LinkedIn. Yes, I have both: here and here. And then be aggressive to meet the people you want to meet. (see #3 above)

I hope this is at helpful for those who shudder when they think of the idea of “networking”.

UPDATE: Travis mentioned this program at Duquesne, which is a combination of summer class and internship in a Chinese firm. Really, I don’t think this sort of experience can be beat for the aspiring lawyer wanting to go into a China practice.  Will Lewis recommended Santa Clara University’s programs.  They have one in Shanghai and another in Hong Kong.

Will Lewis added me to his blogroll, having said this about the blog:

Tom Chow, Associate Attorney at Gartenberg Gelfland Wasson & Selden with “practices in the areas of international business transactions, corporate law, intellectual property and general business litigation,” is a prolific poster on, well, exactly what his tagline says: “Chinese law, business, and society… and anything else remotely interesting. A solid recent post: growth of e-commerce means growth opportunities for lawyers.

Will has commented here before, and I have appreciated each of the comments thus far.  I haven’t added him to the my blogroll, which is probably long overdue now.  Without further adieu, Experience Not Logic is now part of the rolls.