Category News of China

Beijing to recruit record 22,000 Olympic torch bearers

Beijing – Organizers of the 2008 Olympics on Saturday unveiled plans to recruit nearly 22,000 torch bearers for next year’s torch relay, almost double the number taking part in the Athens 2004 torch relay.

The Beijing organizing committee (BOCOG) will start recruting 21,880 torch bearers from Saturday, including 19,400 from mainland China, Zhang Ming, the director of BOCOG’s Olympic Torch Relay Centre, told reporters.

The previous highest number of torch bearers was 13,300 for the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. Atlanta in 1996 had almost the same number as Sydney, while Athens recruited 12,102. Montreal in 1976 used just 1,214 torch bearers, BOCOG said.

‘Under the theme of ‘Journey of Harmony’ and slogan ‘Light the Passion, Share the Dream’, the torchbearer selection programme aims to involve the public participation in a most broad and extensive way.’ Zhang said.

‘It will recruit a group of torchbearers who are most deserving and worth of carrying the Olympic Flame within their communities,’ she said.

Among the selction criteria, all torch bearers must ‘patriotic and dedicated to the Olympic Movement’, have contributed to the ‘building of a harmonious society’, and be ‘distinguished for remarkable feats in his or her profession or community’, Zhang said.

According to Olympic tradition, the Olympic flame will be lit in ancient Olympia, Greece, on March 25, 2008.

The torch relay will travel across Greece to the Panathinaiko Stadium in Athens, the site of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896.

A handover ceremony will be held in the stadium before sending the Olympic flame to Beijing on March 31, 2008.

One torch will carry the flame to dozens of cities in five continents, while a special high-altitude torch will carry the flame to the 8,844-metre summit of Mount Everest in May.

The torch relay will culminate in the lighting of the cauldron in the Olympic stadium at the August 8, 2008, opening ceremony of the Beijing Games. The last torch-bearer is one of the best-kept secrets at Olympic Games.

BOCOG listed Taiwan in the torch relay route that would include the island state under political conditions that it deemed unacceptable.

Jiang Xiaoyu, the BOCOG executive vice president, on Saturday said he still hoped Taiwan’s leaders would accept an agreement that he said the island’s Olympic officials had made.

Taiwan objected to China’s listing of Taiwan in the route immediately before the Chinese territories of Hong Kong and Macau, which are followed by a succession of Chinese mainland cities, saying Beijing could attempt to portray the island as part of its domestic leg.

IT industry to create four million jobs in china

China IT services outsourcing industry could generate $56 billion in revenues and create four million jobs by 2015, a white paper released by Electronic Data Systems (EDS) has claimed.

IT outsourcing service providers in China could earn as much as $18 billion by 2010 and $56 billion by 2015, the report said, adding that the world’s second-largest IT service provider had also reached a strategic cooperation agreement to develop the IT outsourcing industry in China yesterday.

China Employment Contract Law Forum 2007

Promulgated 12 years ago, the PRC Labor Law remains the fundamental piece of legislation governing employment relationships in China. Soon that will change. The draft PRC Employment Contract Law, expected to be promulgated in mid-2007, will effect wide-ranging changes to the regulatory environment for labor relations nationwide.

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Sponsor Link: DaCare Legal Search (China)
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We take pleasure in announcing that TransAsia Lawyers will soon be hosting the China Employment Contract Law Forum 2007 with the official endorsement and support of the PRC Ministry of Labor and Social Security (MOLSS). Senior officials from the National People’s Congress, State Council, the MOLSS and the local labor bureaus of major cities will support and speak at the event. The forum will focus on the legal interpretation of the new PRC Employment Contract Law.

The Forum is scheduled for 23 – 24 July 2007 at the China World Hotel in Beijing* and will focus on the significant, wide-reaching legal interpretation of the new employment contract law. Several influential government agencies will be involved in the Forum: senior officials from the National People’s Congress, State Council, MOLSS and All China Federation of Trade Unions will attend and speak. A number of leading multi-nationals will also participate.

Recommended attendance for:

CEOs
HR Directors and Consultants
Lawyers and In-house Counsel
Business Advisors
Academics

The forum will be the first time that senior PRC officials and legislators will appear on the same platform to discuss the new law. It will therefore provide a unique opportunity for attendees to hear authoritative interpretation of the law and to share their own thoughts directly with key individuals involved in the regulation of employment law in China.

To date, we have confirmed the following keynote speakers:

* Mr Zhang Shicheng, Deputy Director of the Legislative Committee, National People’s Congress;
* Mr Li Jian, Director-General, Labor and Social Security Department, State Council;
* Mr Yan Baoqing, Director-General, Legal Affairs Department, MOLSS;
* Mr Qiu Xiaoping, Director-General, Wages Department, MOLSS;
* Mr Rui Lixin, Deputy Director-General, Legal Affairs Department, MOLSS; and

For an outline of the above speakers’ topics, please click here.

* Mr Zhang Shouqi, Deputy Director-General, State Administration for Social Security;
* Mr Xu Shuli, Director, Wage Department, Beijing Labor Bureau;
* Mr Li Yanjun, Director, Employment Contract Relationships Department, Tianjin Labor Bureau;
* Mr Zhu Deliang, Director, Labor Disputes Department, Guangdong Provincial Labor and Social Security Administration; and
* Ms Isabelle Wan, Senior Partner, TransAsia Lawyers.

Additional distinguished speakers, including senior judges, local labor bureau officials, HR directors, and legal counsel from well-known multinationals, will participate as panelists.

We will continue to update this page with further details regarding the speakers and program of the Forum.

http://www.transasialawyers.com/pp.php?id=laborforum2007

China Power Shortage

Hiring, retention and motivation are huge issues for HR departments in China but it seems that even the best collective efforts of Recruiters and Line Managers would be insufficient to overcome the current shortage of electric power.

Reports from various parts of China indicate that companies, both local and international, are being held back by a shortage of power in their area. If this lines up exactly with the skills shortage, such the the supply of labour is reduced by the skills shortages to the level of supplied power, then that its all to the good.

But such conjecture belongs in the world of idle fantasy. You cannot achieve balance with two negatives. If only things were so easy.

The reality is that some parts of China, especially in the South, are only able to receive electric power 3-4 hours per day. So no matter how few less hires the company makes they cannot make up for the fact that they have to hire the wrong people. They should be hiring part-time people when in fact they are still hiring full-time people. The hiring market in China is so strong it is very hard to get people to do part-time work. Electic power shortages are unpredictable and this makes workforce planning that bit more difficult.

A variety of different culprits have been identified. These have been variously; the white hot rate of economic (not new), delays in new plant opening (plannable), government efforts to close down old, polluting power plants (delayable) and a lack of fuel (bizarre).

(It¡¯s worth noting that it is currently ¡®Huang Meitian¡¯ in China, despite reports that it will start next Sunday, and the power situation can only get worse. Humidity rates are already above 80% and air-conditioning is prefererable 24 hours per day. Soon air-cons all over China will be left on permanently.)
Time to Re-Think?

The worst case scenario is that international companies begin to re-think their investments in China. Fortunately, and strange as this word may sound, the power shortage has been going on for many years. CEOs of multinational companies have already factored it into their investment plans. No one expects China to have the kind of electric power transmission system that exists in Germany or Australia.

But at the same time there are many other countries bidding for any given MNC¡¯s investment. FDI is fickle and can go into reverse very quickly if sentiment changes. India looms large on China¡¯s competitive world map.

Since around the year 2000 companies have shifted to a very ¡®lean¡¯ approach to their business, such that a delay in one part of the supply chain ripples quickly through to the other parts. A ripple from the Workshop of the World could mean a red tide for other places.

That¡¯s a risk most CEOs won¡¯t take.

China Job market faces challenges

Source: China Daily
The employment market will remain gloomy for “a considerably long term”, with as many as 12 million workers struggling to find a job every year, according to a report released by the labor authority yesterday.

It is estimated that 65 percent of the population will be of working age in the coming 20 years as the children of the baby boom generation of the 1960s and 1970s enter the job market, said the report by the Ministry of Labor and Social Securities (MLSS).

Half of the 24 million people who enter the job market every year will not immediately be able to find work, despite the rapid growth of the country’s gross domestic product, which is expected to create about 10 million new jobs every year until 2010, said the report.

The employment outlook is further clouded by the 120 million rural workers expected to remain idle in the countryside, said the report.

Despite the apparent over-supply in the labor pool, the MLSS also stressed in its report that labor shortages have hit factories in some prosperous regions.

The annual 5 percent increase in the number of migrant workers, a major factor in the fast pace of urbanization in recent years, has failed to keep pace with the annual growth in demand for workers, which has expanded by about 10 to 15 percent a year since 2003, said the report.

As a result, about 45 percent of the enterprises in the Pearl River Delta and 34 percent in the Yangtze River Delta polled by MLSS said they did not have enough workers last spring.

Meanwhile, the migrants’ growing awareness of their legal and economic rights has also contributed to the shortage.

About half of the migrants surveyed by the MLSS said they would be willing to quit their jobs because of “low pay”.

The lack of professional training is another factor in the shortage, said the report.

The report cited a survey by the MLSS earlier this year which found that 37 percent of all new jobs required a medium level of skills, but only 13 percent of migrant workers had received formal job training.

The ministry called for better working environments for workers as well as improved training programs.

While painting a dismal picture of the employment market, the report also sought to dispel fears raised by reports that China’s labor supply would dry up by 2010.

A report released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences last month forecast that the family planning policy had helped slow the growth of the population.

This indicates that China would be “moving from an era of labor surpluses into an era of labor shortages.”

Top-Ranked U.S. Business School Offers Entrepreneurial Immersion Trip to China

The University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, ranked #1 in the latest business school ranking by Business Week, is offering an entrepreneurial immersion trip to China August 26 to September 4, 2007.

(PRWEB) June 18, 2007 — The University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, ranked #1 in the latest business school ranking by Business Week, is offering an entrepreneurial immersion trip to China August 26 to September 4, 2007. (http://ChicagoGSB.edu/entrepreneurship/immersion).

“The trip will help facilitate meaningful business networking and help novice entrepreneurs overcome some of the major obstacles to doing business in China,” said Linda Darragh, director of entrepreneurship programs at Chicago GSB. The obstacles include cultural norms, business regulations and processes, financial practices, language issues and transportation, she said.

The trip, offered by the school’s Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship (http://ChicagoGSB.edu/entrepreneurship), will also familiarize participants with key cities in China including Dalian, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Macau. Participants will learn from U.S. companies already operating in China, meet with Chinese government officials and U.S. trade directors, and network with Chinese entrepreneurs and investors.

The trip also includes a tour of Chinese entrepreneurial companies to learn the benefits and challenges of working with local partners in China, and a visit to a major research park to understand incubation strategies offered to Chinese entrepreneurs by local economic development organizations.

A signature event of the trip is a visit to the Shanghai Knowledge and Innovation Community, where high-tech entrepreneurs, educators, researchers, and venture capitalists will meet, network and work together. The facility, now under construction, is scheduled for completion in 2010. Vincent Lo, developer of the facility and one of the leading entrepreneurs in China, will speak to participants.

Chicago GSB has been teaching courses in Asia since 2000 when the school opened a permanent campus in Singapore for its Executive MBA Program (http://www.chicagogsb.edu/execmea/index.aspx).

For more information about the entrepreneurial immersion trip to China, or to register, contact Linda Darragh at 773-702-9108 or by e-mail.

The University of Chicago Graduate School of Business is one of the oldest and largest business schools in the world. The school’s faculty includes many renowned scholars and its graduates include many business leaders across the U.S. and worldwide. The Chicago Approach to Management Education is distinguished by how it leverages fundamental knowledge, its rigor, and its practical application to business challenges.

Chicago GSB offers full-time and part-time MBA programs, a PhD program, open enrollment executive education, and custom corporate education. The school has campuses in London and Singapore in addition to two campuses in Chicago. More information about Chicago GSB can be found at http://ChicagoGSB.edu.

Kelly Services to expand in Asia

Kelly Services Inc. said today it has acquired an Asian staffing firm that will expand Kelly’s reach in the Pacific region.

Troy-based Kelly said it will purchase P-Serv, a company that offers temporary and permanent staffing, recruiting and outsourcing services in mainland China, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Kelly said China’s staffing market is expected to reach $2.5 billion this year.

Investment approval for firms eases

CHINA eased the approval process for state-owned companies investing abroad as the government tries to narrow the surplus of incoming payments from overseas.

State-owned companies investing less than US$30 million in overseas resource-exploration projects may apply directly to the central government’s National Development and Reform Commission, the agency said on its Website yesterday. Other types of cross-border investments have a threshold of US$10 million. Approval previously had to go through local-level affiliates of the agency.

China Career Builder Corp.’s Subsidiary Asian Career Company Ltd. Retains Smart-Info Ltd. to Design Its Job Search Engine Website www.Jobs28.com

HONG KONG, June 5, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) — China Career Builder Corp. (“The Company”) (Pink Sheets:CCBX), a Delaware Corporation, is focused on outsourcing human resource services and staffing services in Hong Kong, China. The company is pleased to announce that Asian Career Company Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of China Career Builder Corp., has retained Smart-Info Ltd. to complete the webpage design and database design for its job search engine website www.Jobs28.com. The beta version of the job search engine website is expected to be ready for testing within the next two (2) weeks. The company will make further announcements about the official launch date for the job search engine website in coming weeks. For further information about Smart-Info Ltd., please visit their website at www.smartinfo.com.hk.

Freelancers admit uncertainty

A LOWER than expected income and a high level of uncertainty are the biggest problems facing freelance workers, according to a recent survey.

ChinaHR.com, a leading Web-based headhunter, asked more than 2,200 freelancers, including writers, artists and designers, about their attitudes towards their job, payment and future career plans.

More than 75 percent of the respondents said that they expected to earn a minimum payment of 3,000 yuan (US$392) a month, with 31 percent saying they hoped to earn 10,000 yuan or more.

Only about 40 percent actually earn 3,000 yuan a month, with about nine percent making more than 8,000 yuan, according to the survey.

“Most freelancers are young people with strong educational background and outstanding competence that makes them very confident about their own ability and the modern ‘small office, home office’ work model,” said Zhang Tingwen, a human resources specialist at ChinaHR.

About half of the surveyed freelancers said they are satisfied with their income, while about 20 percent said they are barely able to eke out a living.

“My income is so-so, but the biggest problem is that you might earn several thousand yuan today and then sit idle for the rest of the month,” said Zhu Jie, a freelancer who teaches Chinese to foreigners.

Zhu is not alone. The survey suggested that unsteady income was the biggest headache for freelancers, followed by a lack of career development prospect.

While freelancers have a great deal of freedom, more than 53 percent of respondents said they are confronted with high mental and financial pressure.