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China Tightens Control on Christies Relics

Entry/Exit

In response to Christies auction of a rabbit head and a mouse head looted from Yuanmingyuan (Old Summer Palace), the State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) imposed limits on what the auction house can take in or out of China. In the notice SACH demanded all heritage items that Christies and its agents or employees seek to import or export should provide certificates of legal ownership, including detailed information about owners, processes and certificates of every deal, certificates of exportation, certificates of ownership issued by the authority of the owner state and notary organizations. Items with incomplete or missing documentation will not be allowed to enter or exit the country.

Birds Nest Carnival Opens

The end of March saw the opening of the Birds Nest Carnival that had been postponed many times. Located in the northeast of the main stadium of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the carnival, covering an area of 40,000 sq m, can accommodate 8,000 to 10,000 visitors. It includes 37 entertainment instruments. The first session will last till the end of October. The admission fee is RMB 50 and every visitor gets 10 game coins free of charge. The security check is very strict, due to its special location, and is the same as baggage checks at airports. However matches, lighters and liquid are acceptable. For safety, some facilities like the big windmill were required to move to more stable ground.

Delegating the Power

of Examination and

Approval of Foreign Investment to Lower Levels

Chinas Ministry of Commerce issued a circular in March to further expand the administrative authority for examination and approval of foreign investment of local commercial authorities and national economic and technological development zones. To establish a branch in China (except for those specified as necessory for the examination and approval procedure) a foreign-invested enterprise needs only to file with the commercial authority where the enterprise is registered. Provincial commercial authorities are also in charge of the examination and approval of those seeking to register, or changes in foreign-invested investment companies with a registered capital lower than US $100 million, except for increases of capital above US $100 million.

China (Ningxia)

International Fair for

Investment and Trade Will Open in August

The China International Fair for Investment and Trade will take place from August 18 to 23 in Yinchuan, capital of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. Ningxia is the only provincial level Hui autonomous region in the country, with 36 percent of its 6.18 million inhabitants being Hui Muslims. Ningxia produces high-quality halal food and Muslim commodities, and has prosperous trade with Arabic countries. The fair will involve a Halal Food and Muslim Commodities Festival, the Ningxia-Arabic Countries Cooperation and Development Symposium, the Ningxia-France Wine Industry Cooperation and Development Forum, and the International Exhibition of Selected Cashmere Products. The region expects to attract investment in energy, chemicals, and distinctive agriculture.

Flying Tigers Park in

Operation

The U.S. Flying Tigers Relics Park has opened in Lingui County of Guilin City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. It is located on the former site of Yangtang Airport, the only extant command post of the Tigers in China. “Flying Tigers” was the popular name of the First American Volunteer Group of the Chinese Air Force. Founded in 1942 by Claire Lee Chennault, it was disbanded in 1946. The Flying Tigers contributed a lot to protecting south China and attacking Japanese transport ships during WWII. The park required a total investment of RMB 160 million, of which US $400,000 was donated by relatives of former tigers. Since 2004, the veteran pilots and their friends and relatives have visited the site every year.