China's Cities to Enjoy Cleaner Drinking Water
China's urban areas will enjoy higher water-quality standards starting June 1. New Ministry of Construction standards call for the detection of 101 items (up from the current 35 items). The standards will impose stricter restrictions on carbon-based chemical pollutants and pesticides, protozoal virus particles, and disinfection byproducts. Water monitoring activities will take place in treatment facilities and at the faucet. China's current water standards were issued in 1985.
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Trademark Infringement Cases on the Rise in 2004
After the State Council established a national working group on intellectual property protection last year, the State Administration of Industry and Commerce (SAIC) created an action plan to protect registered trademarks—and it's about time. SAIC recently announced that it recorded 51,851 trademark infringement cases last year, up 27 percent from 2003. Of last year's total, 5,494 were foreign-related cases, 11,690 were trademark offenses, and 40,171 were counterfeiting cases. Agencies confiscated and destroyed tons of material, and fines reached ¥268 million ($32.4 million).
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Mainland May Soon Meet "Monster Trucks"
Clear Channel Entertainment—a US producer and marketer of live entertainment—and the Beijing Gehua Cultural Development Group—a major state-owned cultural agency in China—recently formed a 50/50 joint venture to bring concerts and sporting events to the mainland. The new company, Gehua Clear Channel Entertainment & Sports Co. Ltd., will launch and promote live shows and events, and manage venues, artists, sponsorship opportunities, ticketing, merchandising, logistics, and more. Some PRC officials who will help choose the shows and events have reportedly expressed interest in American classics such as Broadway musicals and monster trucking.
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