For much of the past two decades, the obstacles facing foreign entrepreneurs have been structural: bureaucratic delays, restrictions on moving foreign currency, and so on. But in my conversations with foreign business people these days, the current malaise centers on a less concrete--and, thus, fixable--sense of obstruction. The concern these days is not about the vagaries of what was once called the Iron Rooster, but about the reality of a canny, powerful, well-equipped, urbane counterpart in the global economy, which is beginning to express its own beliefs about fair trade and free flow of information. That, I'm afraid, is a far more difficult gap to bridge.

And the Time piece that is improperly linked to from Evan's blog post is this one (also worth reading):

In my more than two decades in China, I have seldom seen the foreign business community more angry and disillusioned than it is today. Such sentiment goes beyond the Internet censorship and cyberspying that led to Google's Jan. 12 threat to bail out of China, or the clash of values (freedom vs. control) implied by the Google case. It is about the perception that antiforeign attitudes and policies in China have been growing and hardening since the global economic crisis pushed the U.S. and Europe into a tailspin and launched China to its very uncomfortable stardom on the world stage.

The China Fix - TIME "The China Fix"

Japan Is Best Investment Idea for 2010, Wien Says

Japanese stocks may be the best bet among the world's biggest markets in 2010 as the economy improves, according to Blackstone Group LP's Byron Wien.

The Topix Index, which posted the lowest return among benchmark guagues in the 20 largest stock markets in 2009, has risen the most this year, gaining 4.1 percent. Companies are projected to turn profitable in 2010 after producing a combined loss of 40 yen per share in the past 12 months, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

"I would definitely start buying now," Wien, 76, vice chairman of Blackstone Advisory Services and the former chief market strategist for hedge fund Pequot Capital Management Inc., told Bloomberg Radio. "Everybody who could sell Japan has sold Japan. Everybody is on one side of the boat. My view is that we have a pretty good chance of having this one be the best of the major industrialized markets. It's not a boom, but things are getting better."

Traders are opening funds after the industry posted its best returns in a decade last year, gaining 20 percent, according to Hedge Fund Research Inc. Assets may rise to $1.75 trillion by the end of 2010, according to Morgan Stanley estimates.
...
Aristarc will invest in stocks using a market-neutral strategy that bets on, and against, companies in the same industry. Feldschuh's strategy at FrontPoint returned 14 percent in 2008 and 19 percent in 2007, according to the marketing materials.

Let's hope the Nikkei turns around this year. NO DOUBLE DIP!

Authority, Meet Technology: Will China's Great Firewall Hold?

For those who prefer the audio, you can download the MP3 Recording of This Event.

Fascinating.

Now Is Not the Time to Fret About Tokyo's Debts

指定された暗証番号をお忘れの場合は、列車終着駅でお荷物の引渡しとなります。

When the set combination is forgotten, it becomes a delivery of the spare prick in the train terminal station.

The Mysterious Case of the Spare Prick

"Just-ignore-what-the-essay-says-it-is-only-meant-for-domestic-consumption-and-contains-a-lot-of-code-phrases-that can only be understood-in-the-context-of-Japanese-election-propaganda-and-in-Japan-nobody-believes-anything-printed-especially-when-the-author's-stringing-together-of-platitudinous-utterances-makes-him-sound-like-he-is-stoned"

Instead, read Tobias Harris' piece in Foreign Policy: Japan's New Shadow Shogun. Silly title, but I'm sure Tobias didn't write that.

Now, Yukio Hatoyama is the DPJ's leader and the presumptive prime minister. But [Ichiro] Ozawa remains kingmaker: the DPJ's chief election strategist with the fealty of a band of party members in the Diet who could ultimately number up to 100. Thus, he and his supporters will be critical to the success or failure of a DPJ government, especially leading up to Japan's upper house elections next summer.

I look forward to seeing the results of this election next week.

the Diogenes Club: 'Do You Know How To Feel It?'

Following a string of wonderfully idiosyncratic and freshly skewed instrumental EPs and remixes, the Diogenes Club have now been bolstered by the addition of song-writing vocalist Paul Giles. The combination of the Clubs quirky take on 80s funk and synth-laden melodies and Pauls sweetly melancholic vocals make a resounding match. The startling effect has not gone unnoticed; and Pete Tong has already made "Do You Know How To Feel It?" one of his Calm before the storm tracks on his Radio 1 show. This EP pioneers the way ahead for the reinvigorated Diogenes Club, trailblazing along a path of emotionally-charged melody-driven electronic song.

the Diogenes Club are Matt (or Dob) and Paul Giles. Matt writes song-based electronic melodies and Paul sings and writes lyrics. Before the two met, Matt produced a number of EPs and remixes as the Diogenes Club for Urban Torque. "Do You Know How To Feel It?" is the first release to feature Paul's contributions.