Korean Ads No More In China

For the love of marketing, advertising will remain to be a staple in any market. What better way to reach out to people or let everyone know about a certain product or service through ads (media, print, etc.) that show them how these items can change their lives for the better. These ads have been effective for years in increasing brand recall and boosting sales of many businesses. And the continued advancements in technology gave helped a lot in promoting or growing any brand throughout the world.

But in China, the Chinese government now restricts the hiring of Korean stars in marketing and advertising in China because of a diplomatic dispute. China is implementing a clampdown on Hallyu, the Korean wave of KDrama and KPop, thereby companies operating in China will no longer hire South Korean celebrities in promoting various products or services offered to the Chinese market. It’s all because of the South Korean government’s support on the U.S. missile defense technology that will likewise be carried out on South Korean soil, which is officially known as the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System or simply THAAD.

Advertising, along with TV entertainment and the music industry, has been affected by China's reported clampdown on South Korean pop culture. Though there has been no official policy change, several advertising executives said TV stations will no longer run ads featuring Korean stars. Obviously, that has made hiring them much less appealing to brands. As one executive creative director in China put it, the era of Korean celebrity endorsers "is finished."

And it’s not only in advertising but Korean performers are likewise no longer welcome to perform in shows in China. It seems like a dead-end for South Korean stars who wish to earn extra on the side on Chinese territory.

"Hallyu," the Korean wave of K-pop and TV dramas, has been the unlikely target of a diplomatic dispute. Seoul said in July that it would put a U.S. missile defense technology on its soil; the technology, called a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, or THAAD, would offer protection from the country's neighbor, North Korea. But Beijing has opposed the plan, concerned about an impact on its own national security.

There were reports starting in August that China planned to show its displeasure by cracking down on Korean cultural imports. Since then media have reported on China banning TV content with Korean stars, including editing them out of shows. Reports also say Korean singers have not been granted clearance to perform in China.

Beijing has denied any new policy: a Foreign Ministry spokesman said in November that he hadn't heard of any restrictions.

But South Korea is concerned, and one of its senior diplomats raised the issue with China late last month, according to Korea's Yonhap news agency.

(Via: http://adage.com/article/advertising/china-s-clampdown-korean-pop-culture-affected-advertising/307239/)

Considering how serious the Chinese government is when it comes to implementing restrictions they consider are crucial for national safety and security, this restriction among South Korean stars will perhaps go on for a while as China decides who deserves their loyalty, their long-time ally and diplomatic partner, North Korea, or will they pursue a friendly relationship with the Western superpower that is America, which is likewise a friend of South Korea. But to add more insult to injury, not only is China no longer hiring South Korean endorsers but even Chinese tourists going to South Korea have significantly gone down as well.

The southern holiday resort island of Jeju, around 90km off the coast of the Korean Peninsula, is seeing a plummeting number of Chinese visitors - an immediate and direct consequence of the ever increasing tensions of geopolitics in the region.

This drop comes as China has taken a number of retaliatory economic measures, including banning tour packages to South Korea by Chinese tour operators, after Seoul decided to deploy an advanced US missile defence system, known as the THAAD, against a possible North Korean missile attack.

China claims that an advanced radar system that comes with the THAAD system could be used to monitor a large part of China and compromise its national security.

This volcanic island has seen an explosive growth of Chinese tourists every year over the past decade, reaching more than 3 million in 2016.

However, with many direct flights being cancelled and Chinese cruise ships banned from docking in South Korean ports, the number of daily Chinese tourists arriving in Jeju has nosedived by as much as 80 percent compared with the same period last year.

(Via: http://www.aljazeera.com/blogs/asia/2017/04/jeju-island-china-punishes-south-korea-tourism-north-feud-170418054719438.html)

South Korean tourism suffered a lot because of the Chinese ban. But if there is one good thing that came out of this tension, South Korea realized they can’t depend solely on Chinese tourists to boost their revenue because the issue of geopolitics in the region can easily turn against them at any given time. The Chinese can be unforgiving and that’s a lesson learned by all South Koreans, albeit in a hard way. The country is currently opening its doors to other neighboring tourists in Asia and Southeast Asia to make up for the drastic loss of revenue. A door has been closed but they can definitely open up many windows.

Korean Ads No More In China is republished from The Chinese Human Rights Development Net Blog

source https://chrdnet.org/2017/06/27/korean-ads-no-more-in-china/

The Truth About Abuse Issues In China

The world is riddled with human rights abuse issues. From highly progressive countries to struggling third world ones, human rights violations are issues people deal with in their day-to-day. Among the most notorious countries that have prevalent cases of human rights abuse is China. While their constitution supports and respects the inherent rights of the Chinese people, the government is doing just the opposite. From their one-child-policy that forced married couples to only have one child (which has been implemented since 1979 but thankfully has been stopped in early 2015) to restrictions on the people’s freedom of speech, the press, Internet, movement, association, religion and even organ harvesting among many others, China has utter disregard for all those and often uses the excuse of “protection of state secrets” or “subversion of state power” in doing so.

As China opened its doors to the rest of the world, China embraced the rule of law in an attempt to establish the modern Chinese court system. But nonetheless, the government still violates many provisions of the Constitution, especially the ones dealing with the human rights of the citizens. Even the judiciary experiences extreme political pressure from the government, resulting in countless political prisoners because of the failure to uphold due process. This superpower of a nation is known to shun outsiders from inspecting the Chinese penal system, which is why many calls their system a “rule by law” and not a “rule of law.”

China’s human rights environment continues to deteriorate as Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Donald Trump prepare to meet at a summit on April 6-7, 2017, at Mar-a-Lago in Florida, Human Rights Watch said today.

“Torture, disappearances, imprisoning peaceful advocates, destroying religious communities, internet censorship – President Xi has plenty to answer for on these subjects,” said Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch. “But will he be asked – and asked to change course?”

The Chinese government aggressively stepped up its campaign against civil society activists and online speech in the past year. Many peaceful critics of the government remained locked away, including Nobel Peace Laureate Liu Xiaobo and Uighur economist Ilham Tohti. Eight of the human rights lawyers and supporters among the 300 detained during a nationwide raid in July 2015 are still facing trial, while another six have been sentenced; the legal proceedings have fallen far short of international standards.

In 2017, President Xi has shown no sign of letting up on his sweeping signature anti-corruption campaign, which is carried out in part through the Chinese Communist Party’s own internal disciplinary system, known as shuanggui. This system of arbitrary detention, which has no basis in Chinese law, subjects Party members suspected of violating party rules or engaging in corruption to prolonged sleep deprivation, forced stress positions, deprivation of water and food, and in some cases severe beatings. Chinese authorities have also continued to demolish Larung Gar, a major Tibetan Buddhist institution, expelling monks and nuns, and subjecting them to political re-education, exceptional restrictions on their liberty, and degrading treatment.

(Via: https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/04/06/us-china-rights-abuse-overview-ahead-xi-trump-summit)

For many years, China was a mystery to the rest of the world. Nobody really knew what was going on inside its borders. But over the years, the world at large knew more about the blatant human rights abuse happening all over Mainland China. Not only is the rule of law not upheld but the Chinese government does not run out of excuses for their grave misconduct. Even with the advent of the Internet and major technological and communication advancements, the government was able to find a way to restrict and monitor Internet access and use of their people to prevent further Western influence from corrupting their minds.

The West is at least partially responsible for existing human rights problems in China today. Since China’s doors were smashed open by Western gun boats about 150 years ago, opium and colonization had been forced onto China, collapsing its economy and political system, which in turn led to massive human rights violations in the ensuing chaos, wars and starvations. China has recovered up from its humiliating past, and achieved tremendous progress in overall human rights.
As our Prime Minister Justin Trudeau once said,Canada is not perfect on human rights either. No country is. If we have endeavoured to improve ours in our process, there is no reason that we do not allow others to do the same in theirs. Fairly speaking, the process does take time, and ultimately, requires fundamental economic and political development. In this long process, trade will be one of the most important factors that can help.
Trade will help human rights first by economic development, which is the foundation for all human rights. It is common knowledge that countries of best human rights record right now are those that are wealthy and stable.

(Via: http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/blatant?s=t)

To say that China is a strict nation is an understatement. Only China can enforce an obvious contradiction of the rule of law or of their constitution regardless of what the entire world has to say. But what stand out the most are the numerous cases of human rights abuse on its people. Throughout the 1990s, China sentenced to death or executed a record-breaking high not rivaled by any other country. The truth is, China has actually executed the highest number of death penalties worldwide. While they generally put to death row serious offenders with cases like aggravated murder, other non-violent crimes such as drug trafficking also earn a criminal a trip to the death chamber.

Today, other nations are urging China to put a stop to their barbaric ways and treat their people with dignity and respect. While it might take a while before this authoritarian state does that or will even consider doing that, the rest of the world are still hopeful that change is coming in this mammoth nation, and hopefully, it is for the better.

The post The Truth About Abuse Issues In China Find more on: CHRDnet.org

source https://chrdnet.org/2017/06/22/the-truth-about-abuse-issues-in-china/

The Edge Of Chinese Technology

China is more popularly known as the land of kung-fu, Chinese food, and Confucius. It boasts of an ancient civilization that flourished for centuries and remained resilient against foreign invaders. If the Great Wall of China isn’t testament enough of their courage and determination to defend their country from outsiders then I don’t know what is. But if you look at China today, it shows a delicate balance of their rich history but as well as of their unparalleled mastery of advanced technologies that rules the world today.

Technology is everywhere and we can’t stop them from conquering all aspects of our lives. Most innovators are actually of Western influence but the growing interest and capability of the Asian market to keep up with tech advancements and production only goes to show that not only Westerners dominate this market today. For instance, China is now home to numerous skyscrapers that defy reality. Many Chinese experts have likewise pioneered in advanced medical and commercial technology that is now used all over the planet. China is even ambitious enough to invade the market of military technology which is now dominated by America.

China is investing in Silicon Valley start-ups with military applications at such a rapid rate that the United States government needs tougher controls to stem the transfer of some of America’s most promising technologies, a Pentagon report says.

There are few restrictions on investing in American start-ups that focus on artificial intelligence, self-driving vehicles and robotics, the report contends, and China has taken advantage. Beijing, the report says, is encouraging its companies to invest for the purpose of pushing the country ahead in its strategic competition with the United States.

In some instances, Chinese companies have made under-the-radar investments intended to dodge the oversight of a government agency, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, known as Cfius.

“If we allow China access to these same technologies concurrently, then not only may we lose our technological superiority, but we may even be facilitating China’s technological superiority,” the report says.

Such concerns show that China is looming in America’s rearview mirror after a decades-long campaign by Beijing to close the technological gap between the two countries. Although the race is often cast in an economic light, the Pentagon report underlines the national security threat.

(Via: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/07/business/china-defense-start-ups-pentagon-technology.html?_r=0)

The new breed of Chinese tech geniuses would put any geek nerd from Silicon Valley to shame. They are bringing in their A-game strong and the Chinese government is all out support for it. Even if theirs is the strongest economy in the world, they don’t settle for that when they can aspire for even more. And with over a billion Chinese in population, it won’t be hard to find some rare talent out there in the land of the Red Dragon of Asia.

Robots in China are already sorting packages and helping to teach children, but now they are also managing the country’s notorious traffic.

Shenzhen traffic police has debuted a new “lane robot” – the first of its kind in the country – according to the Guangzhou Daily.

The technology used at Shennan Road, the city’s major east-west thoroughfare, helps administer “reversible lanes” where the direction of traffic can be switched around depending on the conditions such as rush-hour periods.

And the Chinese aren’t afraid of thinking out of the box solutions to the most mundane of problems. Only in China can you see robots managing the traffic. Well, we have traffic lights that do the work for us but the technology is eons away from these phenomenal lane robots.

The new “lane robot” reduces the workload on police as it can move between lanes to alter the flow of traffic in less than a minute.

During the trial run of the technology, the speed and flow of traffic was greatly improved, the newspaper reported. The morning rush hour ended at about 9am, compared with the usual 10am.

(Via: http://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2089478/robot-technology-helping-direct-traffic-southern-china)

China isn’t afraid of defying the norm and in innovating even more outrageous and advanced technologies that take the world by surprise. You can see it in their infrastructure, buildings, and many other technologies used in our day-to-day. It is China’s goal is to lead in science and innovation this 21^st century and compete with many Western Nations in developing advanced technologies that can hopefully make the world a better place. It is no longer surprising that China makes artificial islands on contested territories because they actually have bigger plans looming in the horizon. They even plan on setting a moon base for military purposes. It might sound outrageous now but let’s just wait and see until they make it happen.

The following blog post The Edge Of Chinese Technology is courtesy of https://chrdnet.org/

source https://chrdnet.org/2017/06/17/the-edge-of-chinese-technology/

Asia Hit Hard By Natural Disasters

We are not new to disasters. Wherever you are in the world, you experience your fair share of calamities now and then. For instance, America is riddled with problems like tornado, earthquake, and hurricanes among others. Meanwhile, if there is a continent in the world that experiences almost all types of disasters, then without a doubt it has to be Asia. From earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, hurricanes to flooding, the lives of Asians are always at risk and their tenacity is always put to the test whenever these disasters strike.

For starters, the “Ring of Fire” is found in Asia. This area in the Pacific Ocean experiences the most number of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes each year. So now you know why Japan is always hit the most by powerful tsunamis. Hurricanes and flooding are likewise common phenomena that ordinary Asians also have to deal with, and environmental issues worsen this. Not only are lives lost but properties are damaged because of these strong waters. Recovery is not always easy but most Asian countries strive to move on with their lives, mostly with foreign help.

Last year 574 disasters were reported around the globe and 108 million people have been affected, according to the latest infographic by the Aid & International Development Forum. The vast majority (92%) of natural disasters are due to global warming. Out of 65.3 million displaced people around the world over 14% are being hosted in Asia and the Pacific.

One of the prevailing effects of climate change is water deprivation and drought, caused by the warming of the earth. According to UNICEF, over two million people in Vietnam seek humanitarian assistance due to El-Nino induced drought. Three quarters those in need are women and children. The Emergency Response Plan has prioritised health, WASH, food and nutrition for just more than one half of the total funding required.

In the Philippines El-Nino caused $19.2 million agricultural damage. In Cambodia, 18 out of 25 provinces face food insecurity with 2.5 million people affected.

(Via: http://reliefweb.int/report/world/impact-and-causes-disasters-and-migration-southeast-asia)

Although the people are used to facing these calamities, it still has a devastating impact on their lives especially when the destruction is wide scale and they lose access to basic services.

Last week's earthquakes in China and Japan's triple disaster (earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis) of 11 March 2011 provide harsh reminders that no country is without risk of being hit by natural disasters which wreak havoc without discrimination, wiping out homes, livelihoods, a country's economic gains, and often many individual lives.

In fact, Asia is the world's most disaster-prone region, and Asia's poor, lacking in resources and more vulnerable and exposed to the elements, have borne the brunt of the region's cataclysms.

Natural disasters can strike anywhere, reports the Asian Development Bank. However, Asia's poor and those living in poor countries with weak governance and economies get hit the most. The poor tend to live in more exposed areas and have vulnerable livelihoods and few resources to fall back on. A major disaster can derail a small, weak economy for decades, and weak governance can impede risk reduction. Looking ahead, as climate change shifts patterns in weather-related disasters, the poor and economically vulnerable will suffer a great proportion of risk.

(Via: http://asiancenturyinstitute.com/environment/40-natural-disasters-in-asia)

Poverty also plays a big role as to why the extent of the damage is magnanimous in most Asian countries. The poor tends to live together in makeshift shanties near the road or under bridges where they aren’t exactly protected from the harsh elements.

Led by our worthy guides, we visit the scene of 2013’s Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines in which entire settlements were washed away and some 6,300 people killed; Java where a mud volcano caused by gas drilling plastered 2.5 square miles of fields and villages with 40 feet of wet clay, cost 40,000 people their homes, and caused property losses of more than a billion U.S. dollars; and Kansas, where in 2007, a 205mph tornado flattened an entire town, destroying 1000 buildings. But surprise: just as the book takes us on this bleak journey, it also becomes an electrifying, can't-put-down detective novel exploring the whats, hows, whens, and whys of each catastrophe. And lest we become too diverted by intrigue, How the World Breaks is a sober investigation of the economics, politics, science, and psychology of a disaster's origins, progression and aftermath. Taken together, the landscape of climate change becomes a disquieting documentation of the mess we inhabit.

(Via: http://www.alternet.org/environment/how-world-breaks-interview-stan-cox-and-paul-cox)

In the last two decades, over 2,200 natural calamities struck Asia alone. Climate change is a major factor as well that worsens the damage caused by these natural calamities. Then, there are man-made disasters as well that are just as damaging as the ones caused by nature itself. These days, government leaders work hand in hand in addressing key climate change and global warming issues to protect the lives of their constituents and lessen the damage to properties and infrastructure.

It is never too late to change our ways to lessen the damage to the environment and slow down the progression of climate change. While we can’t undo the damage of yesteryears, we can clean up our act and start doing environment-friendly measures aside from being always ready for when disaster strikes.

Asia Hit Hard By Natural Disasters was initially published to The Chinese Human Rights Development Net Blog

source https://chrdnet.org/2017/06/11/asia-hit-hard-by-natural-disasters/

Are The Chinese Really Missing Out On Social Media

Social media is all over the web. People from all walks of life enjoy an hour or two of virtually doing nothing but browsing the World Wide Web for leisure. Meanwhile, other people found an opportunity to make money on the web and give them all the more reason to go online daily to earn a living. There is a long list of social networks that abound the web today. It is already hard to keep track since new ones pop up every now and then, but of course, nothing beats the classic and all-time favorites that are Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, and so on.

However, not everyone gets to enjoy the benefits of these social networks. For instance, the government restricts contents of what an individual can access in China. The Chinese government has actually been jokingly referred to by many as “the great firewall of China” because of the extreme Internet censorship practiced there. They can go as far as blocking sites, restricting access, monitoring your online activity and making it look like you sent something over the web but are actually intercepted by the government in reality. They really do some very nasty and sneaky web censorship in China and it has been a cause for alarm for some world leaders from then until now. And as such, much of the Chinese misses out on all the wonders offered by social media but leave it to the Chinese to improvise and make up something similar of their own to make up for whatever they have lost. After all, everything is almost made in China, right?

China has a notorious reputation as a hub for counterfeits, but that's far from the case in its digital media scene, where a unique ecosystem has nurtured innovation.

Tencent's Wechat, for example, is a significant evolution from a pure phone chat app, and it has become an all-in-one product that combines a Facebook-like social platform with mobile payment and other functions.

Aldo Fumagalli, chairman of the Candy Hoover Group, pointed to Wechat as representative of a of "digital craftsmanship" in which China is excelling.

Fumagalli was speaking at March's Boao Forum for Asia, where a key focus was technology, its evolution and its regulation in China. Asia's largest economy boasts the world's highest mobile transaction volumes.

According to data from iResearch Global, over 10 trillion Chinese yuan ($1.45 trillion) changed hands over mobile payment platforms in 2015. This amount would more than double to 22 trillion yuan ($3.2 trillion) for 2017, the house projected.

(Via: http://www.cnbc.com/2017/04/19/chinas-digital-media-is-booming-but-breaking-in-can-be-tricky.html)

Technology is such a wonderful thing for giving mankind the gift of social media, which may work flawlessly or not at times. But most content we see today are really unknown to most Chinese people. Again, Internet censorship is at work because the Chinese government wants no or as little Western influence to ever corrupt the minds of their people. Hence, most social networks like Facebook and Twitter, infamous platforms for social and political discourse – are banned in China. Even the search engine Google while controversial events happening in different parts of the world can’t be searched in most Chinese search engines.

Chinese social media users will soon benefit from a flood of new international content entering their feeds.

That’s thanks to recent tie-ups between local social media platforms and digital content distributor network Yoola to bring selected content, primarily from the United States and Russia, into the Chinese market. Local partners include social media giants Weibo and Tencent , as well as Youku-Tudou, Toutiao, Miapoi, Kuaishou, Bilibili, Meipai, AcFun, and Aipai.

This comes against a backdrop of Western internet companies, including Facebook and Google , long struggling to gain footing in the Chinese market. Both are currently blocked in the mainland.

Yoola is one of YouTube’s multi-channel networks (MCN), third-party service providers that work with YouTube channels to offer audience development, content programming and monetising services, among others. The company currently manages more than 72,000 channels, driving over 7 billion monthly views with more than 650 million subscribers across the network.

Through a localisation process, which includes translating, editing, operating and promoting the content on different networks in China, Yoola is aiming to help influencers gain traction in China — and, in doing so, bridging international content gaps.

(Via: http://www.scmp.com/tech/china-tech/article/2087705/western-content-heading-chinese-social-media-feeds)

This may be baby steps for China but this will do for the meantime. For so long, the Chinese resisted change and Western influence like their neighbor and close ally, North Korea. But ever since China opened its door, they have been gradually embracing change one step at a time. While the transition was challenged by the sudden rise of technology and social media, they appear to be gradually loosening up and hopefully, this will keep up. No more social media bannings and nonsensical Internet censorship that violates the rights of the Chinese people to free speech and expression.

Are The Chinese Really Missing Out On Social Media See more on: The Chinese Human Rights Development Blog

source https://chrdnet.org/2017/06/09/are-the-chinese-really-missing-out-on-social-media/

Is The Magic Still Alive In Hong Kong?

Hong Kong is one of the premier destinations in Asia. This former British colony is a popular business hub and tourist destination by both local and foreign visitors. With its lively night market and street stalls lining its busy city streets, Hong Kong life is alive and booming. It is a vibrant city full of exciting things to do. You will never run out of things to do and discover, whether it is to learn more about its history, culture, and famous tourist attractions, this tiny little hub is a delicate balance of Asian and Western culture, hence earning itself the title where “East meets West.”

But even with its strong Western influence, Hong Kong managed to maintain its local Chinese roots despite their fast and modern lifestyle. But more than that, Hong Kong is known as the leading financial center in Asia. Most major banks have offshore offices here aside from the Hong Kong currency being one of the most traded currencies worldwide. Moreover, the Hong Kong port is one of the largest and busiest in the world. Those are just some of the juicy facts about this most sought after destination in Asia but with economies suffering today, is the magic still alive in Hong Kong or is it just but a shadow of its former self?

Hong Kong stocks closed at a one-month low after posting their biggest percentage drop in four months, as investors returning from their holiday break had their first chance to react to escalating tensions over North Korea.
Sentiment was also hurt by deepening worries over the sustainability ofChina’s economic recovery, with financial and resource shares leading the market decline.
The Hang Seng index fell 1.4 percent, to 23,924.54, while theChina Enterprises Index lost 1.6 percent to 10,043.52 points.
FollowingNorth Korea’s failed missile launch on Sunday, tensions have escalated amid concerns that the isolated state may soon test another nuclear bomb or missile.
Shares fell across the board.

(Via: http://www.arabnews.com/node/1086401/world)

Like any other nation in the world, Hong Kong’s economy is likewise suffering. Businesses can feel the threat of “imported inflation” among many other things. Even the economists brace for a tough year in Hong Kong this 2017 as the slowing private consumption, pressure from weak exports and a slumping property market continues to threat this city-state’s struggling economy. Even the happiest place on earth is not immune to this slump.

Walt Disney has agreed to inject an extra HK$350 million into its Hong Kong theme park’s six-year expansion plan and waive part of its management fees for two years after renewed public outcry over the deal’s “unequal” financing.

The concession came after loss-making Hong Kong Disneyland sought approval of a HK$10.9 billion facelift project in the Legislative Council last year – with more than half the bill to be footed by taxpayers. It cited fierce regional competition and dwindling mainland visitor numbers.

Some lawmakers earlier vowed to veto the funding application if the government – the park’s largest shareholder – failed to renegotiate a better deal with the American media giant. Questions arose as to whether the newest concessions were significant enough to benefit the city.

(Via: http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2083183/hk350-million-proposed-struggling-hong-kong-disneyland-us)

While the future does not look that bright and promising to everyone in Hong Kong, they are not the only one suffering. Other economies are in a slump too and many global brands are likewise closing stores all over the world. The rise of e-commerce may be partly to blame but we can expect a rise in the unemployed once this trend persists. So, it is not so bad in Hong Kong after all. The magic may not be as bright and blinding as it was once in the past but there is still a glimmer of hope that it will come back to its former glory if Hong Kong can just manage to keep its act together until that time comes.

Is The Magic Still Alive In Hong Kong? Read more on: https://chrdnet.org/

source https://chrdnet.org/2017/06/06/is-the-magic-still-alive-in-hong-kong/

Asian Businesses Struggle To Keep Business Afloat

Business trends wax and wanes over time. Even though your business is a household staple, you can still experience a reduction in revenue for a lot of reasons. One of the main reasons why businesses declare bankruptcy is because they fail to stay relevant in a world that is increasingly becoming globally competitive. Global issues can mess with the global economy and likewise have a domino effect on various businesses in the market.

Asian businesses even suffer from issues affecting western soil and that’s more than half of the planet’s population struggling financially. Political instability, social unrest, infrastructure issues and economic stagnation are just a few of the challenges faced by the Asian market and can determine whether Asia remain prosperous or not.

Singapore shares slid further on Wednesday (May 17) as markets in Asia tumbled on worries over political issues in the United States.

The benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) shed 3.61 points, or 0.11 per cent, to 3,224.10. A total of 1.35 billion shares worth $1.23 billion exchanged hands across the bourse.

Data that showed non-oil domestic exports (Nodx) here dipped 0.7 per cent in April did little to shore up sentiment as well.

"The first decline in Nodx in four months could mean further jitters after the heavy sell-off on Tuesday," IG market strategist Jingyi Pan said in a note.

Tokyo, which fell 0.53 per cent, was among those that saw the biggest losses in the region. Shanghai dropped 0.27 per cent, Hong Kong pared 0.17 per cent, while Sydney sank 1.1 per cent.

Traders appear to be spooked by the latest developments surrounding the saga between US President Donald Trump and former FBI director James Comey - namely reports that Mr Trump had asked Mr Comey to end a probe into his former national security adviser.

(Via: http://www.straitstimes.com/business/asian-markets-tumble-over-us-political-turmoil-singapore-shares-slide)

Little does President Trump know how much of an impact his statements or policies have on the global arena. The Asian market plummets further as yet Trump made another questionable move that raises the eyebrows of many.

Asian stock benchmarks skidded lower Thursday following Wall Street's worst day in months as Washington's political chaos made investors more nervous about risky assets and the outlook for President Donald Trump's business-friendly proposals.

KEEPING SCORE: Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index slid 1.7 percent to 19,479.84 and South Korea's Kospi lost 0.7 percent to 2,276.50. Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.6 percent to 25,143.35 and the Shanghai Composite index in mainland China dipped 0.2 percent to 3,099.24. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 skidded 1.3 percent lower to 5,709.50. Benchmarks in Taiwan, New Zealand and Southeast Asia also lost ground.

(Via: http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-bc-financial-markets-20170517-story.html)

Politics has long been a catalyst for movements in the stock market. Disturbing issues can rattle the confidence of investors and cause a panic selling of stock shares. It’s a kind of domino effect we like the least.

Asian equities sank Thursday while the dollar held losses on fears the intensifying crisis surrounding Donald Trump could lead to his impeachment and shatter any chances of his economy-boosting agenda being implemented.

Investors tracked the heaviest losses in New York since Trump was elected, following claims by recently fired FBI boss James Comey that the president pressed him to drop a probe into ex-national security advisor Michael Flynn’s links to Moscow.

That came a day after it was reported Trump had divulged classified information to Russia’s foreign minister, fanning further allegations about his own ties to the country’s leaders.

(Via: https://guardian.ng/business-services/asian-markets-down-on-fears-trump-crisis-could-hit-economic-plans/)

The Asian market is full of all sorts of uncertainties that are worsened by Trump’s unpredictability. Moreover, many Asian countries are plagued by problems of widespread corruption, poverty, political conflicts, human rights, crimes, and natural calamities that have a big impact on the overall economy.

Even the government can’t always be relied on to maintain peace and security in their own countries, which are among the reasons why multinational companies have second thoughts in putting up business in these countries. Despite being home to roughly 60% of the world’s population, they also happen to be the poorest in the world, so let’s wait and see how Asian leaders whip up their magic and salvage the Asian economy before it hits rock bottom.

Asian Businesses Struggle To Keep Business Afloat is republished from The Chinese Human Rights Development Net Blog

source https://chrdnet.org/2017/06/03/asian-businesses-struggle-to-keep-business-afloat/