Dr Le Hong Hiep, Fellow at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute. Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Vuong Dinh Hue has recently instructed the State Bank of Vietnam, the Ministry of Finance and relevant government agencies to crack down on the use of Chinese electronic wallet services, such as WeChat Pay and AliPay, as well as illegal points of sale devices at travel hotspots frequented by Chinese tourists. The government is concerned that the use of such payment methods, through which the transactions, conducted between Chinese bank accounts of Chinese tourists and business owners, can circumvent Vietnam’s banking system and national regulations, leading to loss of tax revenues and other potential problems. This is one of the many challenges that Vietnamese authorities have to handle to reap the benefits of the greater inflow of Chinese tourists while minimizing any unwanted impacts that they may generate for the country in general and the economy in particular. In the first … [Read more...] about Spike in Chinese tourists presents new challenges for Vietnam
Chinese media companies
U.S. lawmakers press Facebook over Chinese data sharing
U.S. lawmakers press Facebook over Chinese data sharing Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg listens while testifying before a joint Senate Judiciary and Commerce Committees hearing regarding the company’s use and protection of user data, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., April 10, 2018 – PHOTO: REUTERS WASHINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO (REUTERS) - Facebook Inc faced criticism on Wednesday from Republican and Democratic U.S. lawmakers who demanded that the social media company be more forthcoming about data it has shared with four Chinese firms. The bipartisan criticism reflected rising frustration in Congress about how Facebook protects the privacy of the more than two billion people who use its services worldwide. The leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee accused Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg of failing to disclose the company's agreements with the Chinese firms when he appeared before them in April and testified about … [Read more...] about U.S. lawmakers press Facebook over Chinese data sharing
Chinese TV cuts tattoos, gay-themed dance from Eurovision
Albania’s singer Eugent Bushpepa performs the song "Mall" during the first semifinal of the 63rd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 in Lisbon — AFP PhotoViet Nam News BEIJING — Performances at the Eurovision Song Contest including tattoos and a gay-themed dance were cut from a semi-final broadcast in China. Online video service MangoTV did not show the heavily tattooed Albanian singer Eugent Bushpepa and an entry from Ireland, which featured a romantic dance sequence by two men, when it aired it on Wednesday. Contestants from 19 countries took part in Tuesday’s first semi-final of the competition being hosted by Lisbon, Portugal, ahead of Saturday’s final. MangoTV also blurred out rainbow flags in the audience associated with the LGBT movement. LGBT culture remains taboo in China’s entertainment industry where same-sex relationships are banned from television screens and gay content is forbidden on online streaming platforms. With its … [Read more...] about Chinese TV cuts tattoos, gay-themed dance from Eurovision
Miniso and Mumuso flogging Chinese goods in Vietnam?
Not including Vietnamese labels and selling Chinese goods under Korean and Japanese brands are the newest scandals erupting from several stores of Korea-based Mumuso, Japan-based Miniso, and Daiso in Vietnam. SBS News from Korea brought up the suspicion that Mumuso assumed a false Korean identity (Photo: SBS) Korean media has just expressed suspicion that Mumuso stores are falsely assuming Korean origins because its headquarters is located in China. Furthermore, in Korea Mumuso is completely unheard of and has no retail stores. According to newswire laodong.vn, many Mumuso stores in Hanoi are offering products labeled “Mumuso–Korea” but are of Chinese origins. In addition, a representative of Mumuso also mentioned that the company imports goods from a third party, meaning that good go from Korea to China and then to Vietnam. To clarify this issue, VIR contacted Mumuso Vietnam and were told that the company will organise a press conference “at the … [Read more...] about Miniso and Mumuso flogging Chinese goods in Vietnam?
Tour guide fined for letting Chinese visitor spread distorted truth of Vietnamese history
Authorities in Vietnam's coastal city of Da Nang have fined a local tour guide for allowing a Chinese tourist to take over and spread distorted information about Vietnam’s history and culture to other visitors. Tran A Hung was fined VND12.5 million ($548) for failing to manage his client in accordance with regulations outlined in his contract, the city's tourism department said on Tuesday. Hung was guiding four Chinese visitors to Da Nang Museum in the central city in late February. In a video posted on social media on February 28, a Chinese woman identified as Wang JiHong, 48, one of Hung’s clients, taking on the role of a tour guide herself at the museum. She said the Vietnamese traditional long dress ao dai came from cheongsam, a body-hugging one-piece dress for Chinese women, and although the ao dai is made in the Vietnamese style, it looks the same as the Chinese cheongsam. JiHong went on to say that: “Vietnam belonged to China in the past but fighting had … [Read more...] about Tour guide fined for letting Chinese visitor spread distorted truth of Vietnamese history
Cuba grants Vietnamese company concession at special development zone
Cuba on Thursday granted Vietnamese developer and building supplies corporation Viglacera a concession to administer and market part of a Chinese-style industrial park just west of Havana. The area, named the Mariel Special Development Zone, is adjacent to a modern container terminal at the port of Mariel 28 miles (45 km) west of the Cuban capital. Cuba says it is currently spending about $300 million per year to develop the area, which has so far signed up 34 clients. Most of the companies are 100 percent foreign owned and involved in infrastructure and service development for the zone. A handful are building factories to produce everything from diapers and cigarettes to cold cuts and personal hygiene products. Cuba created the zone four years ago to attract foreign capital with tax and customs breaks to boost its anemic economy. Cuba hopes the zone and others it plans for the future will “increase exports, the effective substitution of imports, (spur) high-technology and local … [Read more...] about Cuba grants Vietnamese company concession at special development zone
Chinese blockbuster pulled from Vietnamese theaters
By An Nguyen  March 25, 2018 | 10:29 am GMT+7 'Operation Red Sea' has stirred controversy due to a scene showing Chinese warships in disputed waters. Major movie distributor CGV has announced that it is pulling a Chinese movie out of all its theaters in Vietnam, just over a week after the movie's premiere. According to a CGV representative, the company is pulling "Operation Red Sea" because the movie has been performing badly in theaters, with many showings only drawing only one to two viewers. "Operation Red Sea" is a Chinese action movie by Hong Kong director Dante Lam, and premiered in Vietnam on March 16. The movie is loosely based on an operation by the Chinese military to evacuate almost 600 Chinese citizens and 225 foreign nationals from a Yemeni port during the Middle Eastern country's civil war in 2015. The movie has grossed over $500 million, making it the second highest-grossing Chinese movie ever, according to Entgroup's China Box Office website. … [Read more...] about Chinese blockbuster pulled from Vietnamese theaters
Burning tanker off Chinese coast ‘in danger of exploding’
There are fears of an environmental disaster in the East China Sea as a tanker continues to leak oil two days after colliding with a cargo ship.Chinese officials have told state media the vessel is in danger of exploding and sinking.Rescuers attempting to reach the site were being beaten back by toxic clouds, the transportation ministry has said.The crew, 30 Iranians and two Bangladeshis, remain missing despite international rescue efforts.The extent of the spill and environmental hazard are still unclear. The vessel was still ablaze on Monday morning.The tanker had been carrying an ultra-light form of oil known as condensate which in the case of a spill can be more dangerous for the environment than regular crude."Condensate is more likely to evaporate and mix in with the water," John Driscoll of JTD Energy Services told the BBC."It also can be colour- and odourless - so it is a lot harder to detect, contain and clean up."Though Panama-registered, the tanker Sanchi belongs to an … [Read more...] about Burning tanker off Chinese coast ‘in danger of exploding’
Tattooed and proud: Chinese women peel away stigmas
Nowhere is the trend more evident than in Shanghai, China's most cosmopolitan city and recently dubbed "China's tattoo mecca" by the country's state media. Body art for women has long been frowned upon in socially conservative China, but studios are mushrooming throughout the city of 24 million. Zhuo Danting, widely considered one of China's top tattoo artists, has witnessed first-hand how the industry has exploded. The 35-year-old has 70 percent of her body tattooed and has been operating her own Shanghai studio for 11 years. Inspired by celebrities and sports stars, unprecedented numbers of mostly younger Chinese are getting inked, Zhuo said at her shop, Shanghai Tattoo. "At the beginning, of course, they just give you a weird look, they're freaking out," Zhuo, who also has multiple piercings and dyed green hair, said of the reaction she gets on the street. "But now there are a lot of people getting tattoos, it's getting more and more popular. People see them everywhere so they don't … [Read more...] about Tattooed and proud: Chinese women peel away stigmas
Chinese firm turns panda poop into toilet paper
When life gave one Chinese company giant panda poop, it decided to make paper -- and profits. The Qianwei Fengsheng Paper Company in southwest Sichuan province has teamed up with the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda to recycle the animal's faeces and food debris into toilet paper, napkins and other household products, state media reported Wednesday. The goods, soon to be released on the Chinese market, will be marketed as part of a "panda poo" product line decorated with a picture of the bamboo-eating, black-and-white bear. "They're taking care of our garbage for us," Huang Yan, a researcher at the giant panda centre, told the Chengdu Business Daily. Huang told Xinhua state news agency that the 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of bamboo poo that adult pandas unleash daily are rich in fibre after absorbing the fructose from the shoots. In addition to their valuable dung, pandas also produce 50 kilograms of food waste every day from the bamboo husks they spit out after … [Read more...] about Chinese firm turns panda poop into toilet paper