What annoys me the most here are the "laowai" who think they are above the law, just because they are "laowai". I know the case of a loawai who recently his legal case against a property developer. So, he sued the judge, saying she was corrupted. He doesn't want to admit that he lost on legal ground. It is a developing story, I bet you will hear about it in the coming months. I bet that at the end, his working visa will not be renewed.

1: From what my boss told me, there is a strong connection between the Olympics and Beijing's visa crackdown. The government knows too well the Olympics are a big attraction for foreign troublemakers, and wants to minimise the risk of disruption. A visa crackdown is one way to go about that. Of course, there are other reasons, and quite frankly, it's long since time foreigners stopped getting such an easy ride here.

2: One thing I've found disturbing about Chinese English-language news reports on many new laws recently is the apparent emphasis on cracking down on foreign companies and illegal behaviour by foreigners. Are foreigners being specifically targeted while Chinese continue on their merry law-breaking way? Or are these laws being applied equally across the board?

I agree with you on what is happening. We are seeing two things happening very quickly with our clients. Those who have been operating illegally but are thriving are coming to us to make everything legal. Others are telling us that if they were to go legit they would go into the red. They are making the choice to keep going, knowing they may be literally shut down soon or forced to shut down once caught.

I bet you are right on all counts. We have clients who get furuious when China actually tries to enforce its laws.

That is a good question, to which I do not know the answer because I do not have much of a read at all regarding enforcement against Chinese companies. We represent foreign companes doing China business; we do not represent Chinese companies doing China business. So we are pretty much in the dark on that. My sense though is that enforcement of laws is increasing in China as a whole, but, increasing much faster when it comes to foreign companies. I see this as similar to hotel and rental car taxes in the United States. Every city loves these taxes because they tax outsiders so they almost never anger the applicable electorate. Same in China. It is just so much easier to crack down on foreigners.

Those are the questions to ask and I TRY to answer them in my response to nh above.

The Economist did a special on Financial Centers last week. Shanghai is certainly one of them, but they commented that the regulation and greater certainty of outcome in legal disputes in Chicago, London and New York, are what really set those three financial centers apart from the rest of the world. Though Friedrich Hayek would contend that there can be no Rule of Law under socialism, the enforcement of the laws on the books must contribute to greater legal certainty in China. But if there is no attempt to apply these laws evenhandedly, then the potential level of foreign investment is bound to suffer.

Or, Olympics.