College kids in Beijing can thank (or blame) the Games for a shortened semester. According to an article in the People’s Daily, Beijing municipal education authorities have required all colleges in the capital city to let their students out a month earlier than usual.

BOCOG has announced that the winners of Opening and Closing Ceremony tickets in BOCOG’s Phase 1 Olympic Ticket Lottery are now required to submit a photo ID and completed form BEFORE JANUARY 31.

Specific repercussions for failure to submit in time have not specifically been laid out, but as a precaution it would be advisable to comply before the January 31 deadline.

Full details about this policy change can be found here.

It has come to our attention that re-entry rules are now being enforced for foreigners living in Beijing. According to a public security office in Shunyi and independent reports, when people leave the country and show their passport on their way out, it triggers the police database to change their status to ‘away.’  Upon their return to Beijing, they are required to notify their local police that they are back. There is conflicting information about who is required to follow these new rules; holders of temporary residence cards, permanent cards, or both.  This was first reported by a business consultant living in Changping.
“Beijing police now require foreign residents to register again for a
temporary residence card at the local police station within 24 hours of returning from each trip abroad. This requirement applies even if the temporary residence permit has not expired. 

So, if I have a residence permit valid for a year and go abroad 10 times in a year, they now require me to register with the local police 10 times. This applies to each re-entry into China. Apparently the border police are now networked to the local police, and beginning in July your exit from China will trigger a notice to the local police who will automatically revoke your temporary residence card until you re-register.

This is in addition to the work and residence permits which are issued by the municipal labor bureau and police, and which are valid for a year or two. This regulation has been on the books since the opening of China, but it has never before been interpreted in this manner. In the past the temporary residence card was renewed for the same length of time as the residence permit.  With this new interpretation they can basically revoke your right to stay in your home by not allowing you to re-register — even if you have a valid temporary residence permit for a year residence, any exit from China within that year will void that residence permit and require re-registration. This may be simply preparations leading up to the Olympics or the Congress, but it may mean something more…”

The U.S. Embassy reports:
“The Exit and Entry Administration of Beijing Public Security Bureau was called and it has been confirmed that there is NO change in the policy.  A holder of a (long term) Residence Permit which is issued to long term visa ( Z visa, long term F visa, etc.), does NOT need to register with the local police if he/she does not change the place of residence after his/her trip.  A holder of a TEMPORARY Residence Registration Card has to register with the local police station after each trip because the card is only valid for the current trip of a short term visa (L visa, short term F visa) holder staying in a place other than a hotel. Once the holder of it leaves his present place of stay/residence, let alone leaves China, the card is NOT valid. So, he/she should register with the local police station each time he/she moves to a new place or re-enters China. The card is not permanent, but only temporary.”   

However, calls to the Shunyi public security office revealed that both permanent and temporary residency card holders are required to follow this police-notification rule. It is not clear how foreigners are supposed to know about these regulations or what consequences people face if these rules are not followed.
Does anyone else have information about this?

Teaming up on the White Paper

The Public Policy Development Committee (PPDC) kicked off the 2008 White Paper process by hosting an advocacy strategy meeting for chamber’s forums and committees at the American Club on September 20.

PPDC Co-chairs Matt Roberts and Mark Duval led the meeting and facilitated the brainstorming sessions between forum and committee members. The participants discussed advocacy strategies for the coming year, exchanging ideas and best practices, and reviewing the White Paper process.

Participants were asked to evaluate how they could increase the impact of their White Paper chapters, and deepen and strengthen engagement with outside stakeholders and other chamber forums. They discussed how they could solicit involvement and effective representation throughout the White Paper drafting process.

Medical Devices Forum Co-chair Jimmy Ip provided a case study of a forum’s effective outreach program and strategy for influencing the business environment. Representatives from other forums and committees - including those focused on cosmetics, legal issues, clean technology, energy, human resources, corporate social responsibility, SMEs, aerospace, and tourism - attended the meeting.

Around 80 government officials, journalists, industry representatives and AmCham-China members gathered at the residence of the U.S. Embassy’s new Deputy Chief of Mission, Daniel W. Piccuta, for the second annual IPR and media networking reception on September 19.

The networking and information-sharing event provided chamber members with a good platform for meeting members of the Chinese media community, and exchanging ideas on best practices in IPR and future AmCham-China events. The U.S. Embassy’s Patent and Trademark Office organized the event with support from AmCham-China. Members from AmCham-China’s IPR Forum and Media & Entertainment Forum were invited to attend.

The new Anti-Monopoly Law explained…

Around 70 AmCham-China members gathered at Swissotel on September 21 for a breakfast seminar on the impact and implementation of the new Anti-Monopoly Law.

The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress adopted the long-awaited Anti-Monopoly Law on August 30 after a 13-year process. The speakers discussed how the law will affect businesses when it comes into effect on August 1, 2008.

Yuan Jie, deputy director general of the NPC Legal Working Committee, Economic Law Department, started the seminar with an article-by-article interpretation of the law.

Then Sang Lin, director of the Anti-Monopoly Division of the Fair Trade Bureau under the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, commented on the pros and cons of the law. He said the law has adopted the essence of similar laws enacted in other countries, but valuable experience will be gained from the actual practice of the law in China.

Nathan G. Bush, AmCham-China Legal Committee co-chair and O’Melveny & Myers LLP counsel, moderated the event.

Bringing the past, present and future together

Fifteen AmCham-China members attended a seminar exploring how to preserve Beijing’s remaining hutongs. The event was held at the American Club on September 18.

Matthew Hu, managing director of the Beijing Cultural Heritage Protection Center, provided an overview of the history and status of the remaining hutong areas in Beijing. He also discussed the efforts the government, NGOs and local communities are making to preserve these culturally significant areas.

After the presentation, He Shuzhong, founder and chairman of the center, answered questions from the audience.

Beijing Forum chair and Board of Governors member John Holden was the moderator.

Lessons on fighting Internet piracy

Members gathered at the Kerry Center on September 18 to hear Eric Priest, CEO of Noank Media subsidiary Fei Liu Holdings, discuss the range of solutions available for combating Internet copyright piracy in China.

Priest outlined the state of play in digital media piracy and intellectual property rights management in China, exploring the pros and cons of IPR management solutions available. He also spoke about Noank’s solution, which is currently deployed on Chinese university campuses.

The event was moderated by Greg Shea, president and managing director of USITO. IT/Telecom Forum Co-chair Ted Dean of BDA China made the closing remarks.

The event was the second in a new series of monthly breakfast briefings the IT/Telecom Forum and USITO are hosting on the information and communications technology industry in China. The IT/Telecom chapter of the 2007 AmCham White Paper is available here.

An inside look at insurance

On September 19, Insurance Forum members met to discuss industry issues with USTR’s new Senior Director of China Affairs Ann Main, as well as Patrick Chow and Erica Thomas of the U.S. Embassy.

Main is responsible for insurance at USTR, after the departure of Eric Altbach. The members briefed her on key industry issues such as regulatory structure, internal branching, transparency, enterprise annuity trustee licenses and the position of China Post. Main provided an update on U.S. government’s concerns and plans for future negotiations with the Chinese government.

Lester Ross and Malone Ma co-chair the Insurance Forum. The insurance chapter of the AmCham 2007 White Paper is available here.

AmCham-China Chair James Zimmerman has joined a contest sponsored by Lenovo and China Daily whereby eight foreigners will be chosen to carry the Olympic torch. In his profile at China Daily, he writes:

Beijing is where I have lived and worked for almost 10 years. Beijing is home! As Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce China, it has been a pleasure over the years to be both a witness and participant in Beijing’s rise as a world class city. I want to carry the torch to share the joy and vision of the Olympics with my Chinese friends. Many thanks for the opportunity!

The eight torchbearers will be selected via a combination of online voting and selection by a panel of judges. To vote for Jim, visit here. To register for the contest, visit here. Vice Chair Dan Brody is also participating in the contest.

Out and about in China.