Danwei Noon Report is a daily roundup of new and old media coverage about China from Chinese and English sources.

Xiao Qiong's not happy

This little scandal has erupted at the same time as the Toiletgate malarkey reported on Danwei yesterday. Both cases had their origin on Sina.

Hmm.

(Links: Bingfeng's post; blogs of Xiao Qiao and Lao Chao - in Chinese)

Ads may not use words and images of government leaders
The People's Daily reports:

Chinese authorities are to examine advertisements for illegal representations of the words and images of government leaders being used for commercial promotions, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) said in Beijing Thursday.

The inspection will focus on shopping malls, franchise houses and restaurants that may display words and photos of government officials to underline the credibility of their products and possibly mislead their customers. (Link)

Does that mean advertisements may no longer use the word 'harmonious' (和谐)?

Well-educated children read the China Daily
Everyone's favorite newspaper the China Daily showed up in a child custody lawsuit yesterday. Shijingshan resident Wang Yu sued her ex-husband Hou Bo for not sending their child, Xiao Ya, to school, alleging that he was preventing Xiao Ya from getting a proper education.

To demonstrate that this was not the case, Hou Bo had Xiao Ya read aloud in court from the China Daily, saying "My child can read directly from the China Daily; many college graduates can't even do that." Hou Bo home-schools Xiao Ya in English, geography, politics, and literature. (Link - in Chinese)

China to spend $136 billion to clean up pollution
Richard McGregor of The Financial Times reports:

China has announced the first results of a long-term project to quantify the impact of growing pollution on the economy, estimating that environmental damage cost the equivalent of 3 per cent of economic output in 2004.

The announcement also said on Thursday it would cost China about RMB 1,080bn ($136bn, €106bn, £72bn) to clean up the deteriorating environment, equal to about 7 per cent of gross domestic product that year. (Link)

Unions as government regulatory tools
David Wolf of the Silicon Hutong blog speculates:

Our Party Chief here in the Hutong was talking with me about the unionization of Wal-Mart and Foxconn, and she brought up an interesting possibility that I had (stupidly, I now think) not considered before.

She noted that since, in fact, the unions in China are part of the government, they should be seen as an extension of the government's regulatory infrastructure. She said that the WMT unionization process will be watched with great interest. It should not come as a surprise if the government began to see unionization as a disciplinary tool against foreign-invested enterprises (and private local firms) who are seen publicly as being unfair to their workers.

"Be good to your people, or we'll unionize you." (Link)

Chinese consumer trends report
China Law Blog has posted a summary of a new report by UPS on Chinese consumer behavior:

UPS recently published its second annual survey of 1,2000 middle-class Chinese consumers in six different cities: Shanghai, Beijing, Wuhan, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Shenyang. UPS commissioned the survey to help American companies develop a sharper marketing edge in the world's fastest growing market...

...In Beijing, the most desired home appliance is a microwave, whereas in Wuhan and Shenyang, it is a refrigerator. Consumers in Chengdu, China's fifth-largest city, want to buy laptops, which are seen as a major status symbol. Shoppers in Shanghai crave video/digital recording systems and fashion goods. (Link)