China

Ready to hear the worst or possibly the best news ever? Mr. Chow, the Chinese death-obsessed, all-around crazy man from The Hangover series may be getting his own spin-off film. For some critics the trilogy is a staple comedy series, and for other critics the films are nothing more than lazy frat boy comedies. That said there’s no denying that the true star to break out from all the films (well, besides Zach Galifianakis) is Ken Jeong. In all three films Jeong plays a seriously demented Chinese gangster, who’s obsessed with women, getting everyone killed, and in the third installment takes up cock fighting. While The Hangover III is ending its trilogy, Zach Galifianakis let the cat out of the bag to Entertainment Tonight, about a possible spin-off for Mr. Chow. During the interview Galifianakis explains the possibility of a Mr. Chow spin-off: “The ‘Hangover’ movies… have to be in the context of the three of us, I think, and Doug as well. If there was a spinoff — I don’t think I envision a spin-off — but if there was one, I think one with [Mr. Chow, Ken Jeong's demented Chinese gangster character] would work.” Sure Mr. Chow is a beloved character of The Hangover series, with his hilarious one-liners and outrageous hijinks, but he’s a character that should only be taken in small doses. Having a fully fledged film about Mr. Chow would be a disaster if he’s not watered down for situational comedy. Ken Jeong started out as a cameo at best in the first film, but his involvement in the franchise has grown with each film. In the second film he had a nice chunk, which proved to be too long for critics. In this third film the central plot involved Jeong’s Chow has proven to be just too much for some critics. What do you think? Will you watch a Mr. Chow spin-off? ‘The Hangover’s’ Mr. Chow To Get A Spin-Off? is a post from: The Inquisitr

Artist and provocateur @aiww addresses China's tainted milk scandal and Hong Kong's fears in this powerful piece

When I stay in Lagos I stay in the expensive area of Lagos its called Victoria Island you get to it via a bridge there is a high expat community here but the hustle and bustle of traffic is still there on the streets with all the cars and people selling Chinese junk. There are no motorbikes in Lagos anymore as they have been ruled out due to them being dangerous so anyone riding a moto

Meg Whitman, chief executive of Hewlett-Packard, said that “you can feel the turnaround taking place at HP” in the company’s earnings call today. She touted the fact that the company hit its earnings per share target, but ignored that the company’s revenue fell short in her celebratory comments. But in a conference call with analysts, Whitman took a swipe at Dell, which is in the midst of a struggle to go private under founder Michael Dell. After hours, HP’s stock is up 13 percent on the stock market, at $24.09 a share. “You saw a competitor Dell completely crater earnings,” Whitman said in response to a question. “Maybe that is what you do when you are going private. We are setting up the company for the long term.” She implied that Dell did that on purpose, since Michael Dell is motivated to repurchase shares in the company as cheaply as possible, and deliberately lowering earnings is a good way to get the share prices to fall. Dell hasn’t responded to Whitman’s comment yet. Whitman is probably more than a little angry at Dell because it and other PC makers evidently competed aggressively on price at the low-end of the PC business, stealing market share away from HP, which saw its consumer PC unit sales fall 29 percent in the second fiscal quarter ended April 30. HP hit its earnings targets, but fell short on revenue, reporting earnings per share of 87 cents on revenue of $27.6 billion today. Whitman said she could see the turnaround taking place based on conversations with employees, customers and partners. But she reiterated that the turnaround is a multi-year journey. While it isn’t as cool as Apple and it doesn’t make games like Microsoft, HP is a critical piece of the electronics industry, as it straddles both the consumer and enterprise markets across a bunch of product lines. The company has $120 billion in annual revenue (the biggest in the industry by that measure) and more than 330,000 employees. It has made 70 acquisitions in the past 15 years, but its stock price has been hurting lately. “I must say I am encouraged with where we are,” Whitman said. She said HP is investing in innovation, bringing cost in line with revenue, improving profits, lowering its debt, optimizing cash flow, and exceeding financial performance. In the call, Whitman said the balancing act was tough when it comes to taking market share or growing profits. At the low end of the PC market, HP lost share and gave up some business rather than lose money on deals. She said the team is evaluating what it can offer at the low end. She said HP was getting better at electronic commerce, making its e-ordering portal more streamlined in the quarter, reducing cycle time for quotes up to 20 percent in Asia. Meanwhile, she said she was cautious about guidance for the second half of the year,noting “macroeconomic headwinds” as Europe and China slow down economically. In printers, Whitman said HP was doing well as it moves to high-end printer and ink sales. She said HP gained strength with products like a new OfficePro printer, high-value ink, and multi-function printers. She said HP will roll out a subscription-based service for ordering ink in the home. HP reduced its debt during the quarter. Personal systems (PC) revenue was down 20 percent from a year ago, with a 3.2 percent operating margin. Commercial PC revenue was down 14 percent and consumer revneue was down 29 percent. Total unit sales were down 21 percent, while desktops were down 18 percent and notebooks were down 24 percent. HP is poised like other PC makers to introduce new machines based on Intel’s latest microprocessors, code-named Haswell. Printing revenue was down 1 percent, but its operating margin is still strong at 15.8 percent. Hardware unit sales were down 11 percent from a year ago, with commercial units down 5 percent and consumer units down 13 percent. Enterprise revenue was also weak, down 10

A high-powered commission said Wednesday that intellectual property theft was costing the United States the equivalent of all its exports to Asia and urged a tougher approach to China.

China, whose 2011 per capita carbon emissions rose to match those of the EU, has proposed to enact a nationwide cap on carbon emissions by 2016. The Independent reports: The battle against global warming has received a transformational boost after China, the world’s biggest producer of carbon dioxide, proposed to set a cap on its greenhouse gas emissions for the first time. Under the proposal China, which is responsible for a quarter of the world’s carbon emissions, would put a ceiling on greenhouse gas emissions from 2016, in a bid to curb what most scientists agree is the main cause of climate change. It marks a dramatic change in China’s approach to climate change that experts say will make countries around the world more likely to agree to stringent cuts to their carbon emissions in a co-ordinated effort to tackle global warming. [Source] China now burns nearly as much coal as the rest of the world combined — one factor contributing to the record levels of PM2.5 recorded early this year in Beijing — and has been accused in the past of being uncooperative in the global fight against climate change. Amid the new leadership’s call for “ecological progress,” the Ministry of Finance hinted in February at the imminent imposition of an emission-curbing carbon tax, though the ministry later said that, due to economic concerns, the move would have to wait until after 2013. Details about another measure towards “ecological progress” were recently unveiled: the country’s first pilot carbon-trading program will launch next month in Shenzhen. From The Guardian: The trading scheme will cover 638 companies responsible for 38% of the city’s total emissions, the Shenzhen branch of the powerful National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced on Wednesday. The scheme will eventually expand to include transportation, manufacturing and construction companies. Shenzhen is one of seven designated areas in which the central government plans to roll out experimental carbon trading programmes before 2014. [...]Li Yan, Greenpeace east Asia’s climate and energy campaign manager, said that the pilot programmes will inform the central government on how to motivate local authorities to adopt low-carbon policies. [Source] In a report covering both the possible carbon cap and the new pilot program, Think Progress underlines the global and local impact of carbon emission in China, and notes what China’s progress in carbon regulation implies for the U.S., the world’s second top carbon dioxide emitter: The possibility of a carbon cap in China has been hailed as “potentially transformative” in the fight against climate change, as other major emitters such as the U.S. have historically cited China’s inaction on climate change as reason to avoid implementing meaningful greenhouse gas regulations. Previously, China has shied away from cuts in emissions, saying its main priority was the growth of its economy. In November 2012, the state-owned Xinhua quoted Xie Zhenhua, China’s chief negotiator to the UN climate change talks, as saying it was “unfair and unreasonable to hold China to absolute cuts in emissions at the present stage, when its per capita GDP stands at just 5,000 U.S. dollars.” But now, China’s advancements in carbon regulation mean the U.S.’s strategy of waiting for China to act on climate change before it does is becoming less and less credible. China has already pledged to cut its carbon intensity, or emissions per unit of GDP, by 17 percent between 2011 and 2015 and 40 to 45 percent by 2020, compared to 2005 levels. In February, the countryannounced it would be implementing a carbon tax, but it later clarified that it would wait until 2013 is over to introduce the program. And the country has invested substantially in renewable energy, spending $65 billion on clean energy projects in 2012, nearly twice as much as the U.S.’s $35.6 billion. © josh rudolph

Now that Fisker is bankrupt, the vultures have descended to pick at its corpse. Former GM exec Bob Lutz wants bits for his VL Automotive upstart and Wanxiang could want the firm for its own plug-in hybrid aspirations.

A bipartisan and independent commission studying corporate espionage's impact on the American economy recommended passing the controversial Cyber Information Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) in its report released Wednesday. ". . .Corporations need better information, and thus an open, two-way communications flow between companies and U.S. government agencies is more necessary than ever before," says The Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property's report. "Companies cannot be asked to share more information unless they have a reasonable expectation that they will receive useful information in return, and they need protections from lawsuits if they do provide information. The Cyber Information Security Protection Act is an example of a statutory effort to address this problem, and the Commission recommends its passage." Read more...More about China, Intellectual Property, Congress, Us World, and Politics

The story below is translated from a Yanzhao Metropolis Daily report. The story is currently unavailable on the newspaper’s website. Lawyer Pu Zhiqiang Says He Is a “Key Person,” Refused Admittance to Hotel Pu Zhiqiang’s identification information as it appeared on a terminal at the Rui’an Hotel in Beijing. (Pu Zhiqiang/Weibo) Last night, prominent lawyer Pu Zhiqiang posted on Weibo about a “rather shocking” event–he has been classified as a “key person” and barred entrance to a hotel in Beijing. The hotel states that it is simply following procedures for verifying the information on guests’ identification cards. “I have just learned that, as a key person, I can’t enter this hotel. It feels very strange to know I’ve been labelled like this.” At 9 p.m. last night, Mr. Pu wrote a weibo saying that he had been going to the Rui’an Hotel on Zhengyi Road, Beijing to see a friend visiting from out of town. His friend had also brought tea for Mr. Pu. What is unusual is that Mr. Pu was stopped by public security at the door, where they checked his identification card. Mr. Pu revealed that he gave his card to the security guards, who swiped it at a terminal to check his information. They told him that he is a “key person” and that he would be refused entrance to the hotel. Outside the Rui’an Hotel. (Pu Zhiqiang/Weibo) Mr. Pu took a photo of the information about him  displayed on the terminal screen, explaining that he is not a petitioner. The security guards were courteous, saying they understood he had not come to petition, but Mr. Pu was still unable to go inside. There was no dispute between the two sides. Mr. Pu called his friend, who came outside to give him the tea. Mr. Pu says that he has checked into hotels across the country and has never encountered this situation before. The reception manager at Rui’an stated last night that their “hotel is rather special,” as they do not receive foreigners or anyone with a criminal record. If someone’s identification card indicates that he is a key person, the staff can only decide whether or not to admit him based on the information available. Radio France Internationale also reports on Pu’s encounter at the hotel [zh]. Via CDT Chinese. Note: Ironically, zhengyi ?? means “justice.” Back. © Anne.Henochowicz for China Digital Times (CDT), 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us Post tags: Beijing, pu zhiqiang, rights defense Download Tools to Circumvent the Great Firewall

We told you in Loose Lips this week that Joan Didion cancelled her upcoming appearance at Benaroya Hall, due to an "unforeseen personal conflict." We just got a press release from Seattle Arts and Lectures announcing Joan Didion's replacement. It begins like this: SEATTLE, WA: Seattle Arts & Lectures’ 2012-2013 Literary Arts Series concludes with Amy Tan on Wednesday, June 5, 7:30pm at Benaroya Hall. Unfortunately the previously scheduled speaker, Joan Didion, unable to make her appearance on June 5th. We are excited to announce Amy Tan as a replacement. Amy Tan is well known in literary circles for her sensitive and witty exploration of the complexity of mother daughter relationships starting with her debut novel, The Joy Luck Club that was a finalist for the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award. Her theme continued in her equally successful novels from The Kitchen God’s Wife to Saving Fish from Drowning to the Bonesetter’s Daughter. In addition, to her novels Ms. Tan co-produced and wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation of the Joy Luck Club. Ms. Tan is also the author of a memoir, The Opposite of Fate, two children’s books, The Moon Lady and Sagwa, The Chinese Siamese Cat and numerous articles for magazines, including The New Yorker, Harper’s Bazaar, and National Geographic. Stranger Editor Christopher Frizzelle, who was going to interview Didion onstage, will not be interviewing Amy Tan. [ Comment on this story ] [ Subscribe to the comments on this story ]