“A spokesperson from Sen. Hillary Clinton’s campaign apologized to the Chinese-language media after journalists were denied access to a Feb. 23 luncheon with Sen. Clinton in San Francisco. Event staff told reporters that the briefing was not open to ‘foreign press,’ according to the Chinese-language World Journal and Sing Tao Daily.”

“ViDeOnline Communications Ltd., a digital media networking company, said Monday it closed a $12 million funding round. Redwood City-based ViDeOnline said the round was led by Intel Capital, the venture investment arm of Santa Clara-based Intel Corp. Over the past two years, ViDeOnline said it has been working with local authorities in China to address how international content, compliant with China’s regulations for censorship and media licenses, can be offered over an IP digital network. ViDeOnline said it will enter the China market with licensed, censor-approved content for delivery to consumers through carriers and local IPTV or digital TV and Internet service providers.”

“Advocates for intellectual property rights have identified 60 countries that are lagging in IP protection for creative works, including computer software. China and Russia lead the list. The Business Software Alliance, which includes many Silicon Valley companies, and the International Intellectual Property Alliance have filed their findings with U.S. officials to include in an annual report identifying countries that fail to provide effective IP protection. China and Russia were also listed in 2006 as the two countries that are of the greatest concern in copyright protection. Other countries on the priority watch list for 2007 are Argentina, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Egypt, India, Israel, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Turkey and Venezuela.”

“Dozens of artifacts (are on) on loan from the famed Shanghai Museum for a six-month exhibit at the Bowers Museum. The show will trace 5,000 years of Chinese history when it opens Feb. 18 and marks the first time in two decades that the prestigious Chinese museum has opened its collection for use by a U.S. institution. Seventy-seven objects guide visitors through the evolution of China’s history, from the simple pottery of the Neolithic cultures to the intricate miniature bamboo panoramas and colorful scrolls of the Qing Dynasty, which ended less than a century ago. ‘This is a very comprehensive exhibit from one of the most famous Chinese institutions in the world,’ said Peter C. Keller, president of the Bowers.

“Likening the case to a plot hatched from a Hollywood script, federal authorities are investigating how a well-preserved nest of fossilized dinosaur eggs ended up at a Los Angeles auction house. The nest, which included 22 unhatched eggs believed to be at least 65 million years old, were apparently smuggled out of China to be sold here, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said.”

“Bridge Pharmaceuticals, which does contract drug research in China for other companies, said Tuesday it raised $35 million in its second round of venture funding. A new investor, Granite Global Ventures, gave money in this round, as did investors from its previous round. Helen Wong of Granite Global took a seat on Bridge’s board as part of the deal. She works out of Granite Global’s office in Shanghai. Bridge will spend the money raised on its research operations in China.”

A San Francisco Chronicle editorial entitled, “The Chinese Garlic Wars” describes how the Chinese have come to dominate the U.S. garlic market in spite of a severe anti-dumping tariff of 376 percent. Many Chinese shippers are able to get around the tariff, they explained, by shipping their garlic through third countries such as Vietnam and Japan, then coming up with shipping papers that falsify the true country of origin. As a result, the California garlic market is shrinking. Through November of last year, Chinese garlic imports into the United States totaled 128 million pounds — up from 8 million in 2001, while California produced 88 million pounds in 2005 — down from 122 million pounds in 2001. “The importation of Chinese garlic has been so destructive that the number of garlic growers in California has dropped from 12 in 1999 to a mere four today” the Chronicle reported.

“Students at Fremont’s Irvington and Mission San Jose high schools seeking college credits have been studying hard in preparation for the spring Chinese Advanced Placement exam. Now, it turns out that about 150 students at the two schools may not be able to take it at all. The College Board, which administers the SAT and AP exams, has decided it will offer the Chinese and Japanese AP tests only online. To administer the test, a school must have computers equipped with sound cards and software to convert English letters into Chinese characters — and meet a slew of other requirements. Finding money to purchase the equipment itself would be a challenge. But more troublesome is that neither Irvington nor Mission San Jose has the Internet capabilities to permit all the students to take the test at once, administrators said.”

“Palo Alto school trustees rejected a pilot Mandarin immersion program that had been a 4-year effort by Grace Mah, the leader of Palo Alto for Chinese Education (PACE), reports the Chinese-language Sing Tao Daily…opponents of the immersion program said that the program is unfair because it offered language classes only to a few students. They also said that the proposal lacked long-term plans for the Mandarin immersion classes.”

“Easton Sports is transferring all 250 of its manufacturing jobs to China but will keep its headquarters in Van Nuys.
Easton has been located in the San Fernando Valley for more than 17 years and makes baseball bats, helmets for the National Football League, hockey products and bicycle helmets. ‘Over the years we have seen many of our longtime competitors move to Asia, and many other new competitors surface,’ said Ken Waltrip, the company’s vice president of manufacturing. ‘We are sad to see this day come, and would like to express deep gratitude to our many dedicated employees.’”

“Mayfield Fund said Friday it closed a $200 million fund dedicated to investing in China. Menlo Park-based Mayfield said the new fund, GSR Ventures II, was formed in partnership with GSR Ventures, a Menlo Park-based China focused fund. The dedicated fund follows a two year affiliation between Mayfield and GSR, during which the firms made 11 direct investments in China.”