Not quite Kelo, but still…
The southwestern Chinese city of Kunming is forcing developers to change the names of properties deemed too foreign-sounding, saying they debase traditional culture, officials said Tuesday.At least nine developments in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province, have changed their names since officials began implementing new guidelines last month.
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“It’s not proper to name those communities with so many weird foreign titles,” said an official with the Kunming Urban Planning Bureau, who, like many Chinese bureaucrats, would only be identified by his surname, Xiao.
I think these Communists should take a Great Leap Forward off the nearest available cliff.
There are no free markets without property rights, and (one would think) property rights ought to include the right to name your property pretty much whatever you see fit.
Those who think China is “making progress” are delusional.
7 responses so far ↓
Link Andrew Cory // Sep 13, 2005 at 4:31 pm
Meh. There are much worse things the Chinese government could be doing. In fact, this isn’t nearly as bad as when certain American homeowners associations tell you what color to paint your house…
Link KipEsquire // Sep 13, 2005 at 4:33 pm
American homeowner associations are voluntary.
I doubt any zoning board in the U.S. would dare tell a Chinese restaurant that its name was "too foreign."
Link Andrew Cory // Sep 13, 2005 at 5:25 pm
I can't imagine a homeowners association telling someone their name was "too foreign" either, but that's because the English language takes one look at a foreign word, decides if it's useful and accepts it on that basis…
Homeowners associations are not entirely voluntary; don’t I have to join in order to live somewhere? I don’t know about you, but the color of my house is much more personal and important than the name of my business…
Link Downtown Lad // Sep 13, 2005 at 5:40 pm
How is this different than Quebec language laws? The same goes for France.
If you want proof of China progress, just check out this picture of Shanghai:
http://www.numoonus.com/BizTravel/Shanghai/Skyline.jpg
China is the most capitalistic country I have yet been to.
Link KipEsquire // Sep 13, 2005 at 5:50 pm
"China is the most capitalistic country I have yet been to."
How does the saying go? "Great economy, if you can get it."
It's a mighty bizarre form of "capitalism" where the political elites get to be the capitalists and the other 99.99% of the population gets to be peasants, or dead.
Link Chukuang // Sep 13, 2005 at 10:36 pm
I lived in China for 2 years in the early 90's (and Taiwan more recently) and trust me, the progress since then has been huge, to say nothing of the progress since the 70's. They have a very very long way to go, but there's no denying that they come far in every type of freedom imaginable. I can't imagine that for many people in the PRC these days freedom to name one's business is high on their lists of priorities. Yes, this is a stupid policy but to say that people who think China is making progress are "delusional" is to display almost total ignorance of the development of the country's economy and society over the last 30 years.
And 99.9% of the country is peasants? Either you have a very odd definition of peasants you're just completely wrong. Been to Beijing, Shanghai, etc. lately? That's a lot more than .01% of the population keeping those thousands of Starbucks going.
Link Downtown Lad // Sep 13, 2005 at 10:51 pm
Yup. I think Kip is in need of a trip to China.
Rather than blasting it, I bet he'll want to move there.
There is no more dynamic place in the world right now than in China.