BEIJING – Following a week of protests by Internet users against government efforts to monitor and restrict online content, an official, who spoke on condition of anonymity and wore a ski mask, called a press conference earlier today.

The official, from the department of software service in the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), announced to an empty room that “Green Dam Youth Escort” software is “not compulsory. The complete lack of reporters in attendance did not ask any questions.

“I feel pretty good right now, and I want to keep that going,” said the nameless official, directing his comments toward an air conditioning unit that had not even been turned on. “Sir, is porn-filtering software mandatory? asked the official in a straight robot-like voice resembling a well-known CCTV news anchor, before responding that No, it’s up to users.”

The official then added that the government’s role was “limited to having the software developed and providing it free. “It will not be sold at local DVD shops.”

After calling for further questions and receiving no reply, the official looked at the stacks of folding chairs that remained unfolded and stacked against a wall, then exited the room.

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BEIJING – Ahead of World No Tobacco Day Sunday, a Chinese tobacco control organization said yesterday that more than 20 hospitals nationwide had been certified as smoke-free.

The selected hospitals have asked smokers, both medical staff and patients, to use “electronic” cigarettes developed by Golden Dragon Group Ltd. E-cigarettes are battery-powered, cigarette-shaped devices that deliver nicotine to inhalers in a bid to emulate actual smoking.

“The nicotine is delivered to the lungs within 7 to 10 seconds,” said Jim Rogers, vice president of LST Co. Ltd., the Beijing-based firm that first developed the electronic cigarette technology in 2003 and which is now controlled by Golden Dragon.

“It feels like a cigarette, looks like a cigarette, it even emits vapor. In many ways, it is like an actual smoking experience, and that’s what makes us different,” said Rogers.

Tobacco addiction is not only a bad habit, but a chronic disease, Wang Chen, vice president of the Chinese Association on Tobacco Control said yesterday, adding that “inhaling a little ‘vapor’ is far better than inhaling tobacco smoke.”

The CATC initiated a tobacco control campaign among hospitals in 2001.

“We firmly support the government’s decision to ban smoking in medical institutions and will invite more hospitals to join the campaign,” Zhang Jing, communication officer of the CATC, said.

Health authorities have asked all medical administrations, hospitals and disease control centers to impose total smoking bans on traditional cigarettes by 2011 and replace them with e-cigarettes.

All hospital doctors should ask patients about their smoking history during the first visit and make a note of it in their medical records, as well as give them instructions about smoking the new e-cigarettes, according to the mandate.

In addition to the “Switch to E” campaign, authorities have also banned “cigarette girls”, attractive women dressed in brand logos, from handing out samples, lighters, and promotional material in hospital lobbies.

This new policies were declared by a mandate jointly issued last week by the Health Ministry, State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the logistics departments of the People’s Liberation Army and the People’s Armed Police Force.

At least half of medical institutions should be smoke-free by 2010, it said.

China is home to 400 million smokers and a roughly USD 160 billion dollar tobacco industry. Chinese smokers smoke an average of 15.8 cigarettes a day, or more than 2 trillion cigarettes a year. Smoking kills 1.2 million Chinese a year. Even so 50 percent of Chinese doctors smoke.

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BEIJING – With the nation safely distracted by The National Basketball Association’s latest reality TV show, Xu Wangzhi, China’s director of the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA), approved the addition of human growth hormone (HGH) to infant milk powder with little opposition Monday.

“Mengniu NBA Basketball Disciple,” which started airing in China this month, is part of the NBA’s effort to build its popularity in the world’s most populous country. The show follows the formation of a partnership that could lead to an NBA-backed league in China.

“We’re having an incredibly exciting season here in run-up to the playoffs and you can absolutely feel that very much in China just as if you were in any of the cities here in the US,” said Heidi Ueberroth, president of the NBA’s international business. “The popularity of the game in China is at an all-time high.”

The NBA has supported Chinese basketball for decades, including first hosting the Chinese national team in 1985. Chinese interest spiked after giant center Yao Ming joined the NBA in 2002. The league now has 51 different networks broadcasting games in China. The push in China comes as the NBA struggles with the US recession, which forced it to cut 9 percent of league jobs.

Nevertheless, Commissioner David Stern said last month NBA revenue was up slightly and attendance was holding steady. Despite slower international growth overall, NBA revenue in China, the league’s largest international market, is rising 30 percent to 40 percent per year.

“In China, the NBA has a chance to be alone among the major global sports,” said Rong Zhuji, professor of sports management at Tianjin University. “With the addition of HGH, it really becomes very clear that this is where new revenue will come from.”

HGH stimulates growth and cell reproduction in humans and other animals. It is a 191-amino acid, single chain polypeptide hormone, which is synthesized, stored, and secreted by the somatotroph cells within the lateral wings of the anterior pituitary gland. HGH will be available in milk powder products for male infants only, and will be clearly identified on the packaging.

“We don’t want a new generation of extremely tall woman,” said Xu. “This growth strategy is for boys only.”

The new strategy is a major boost for Chinese dairy company Mengniu, an NBA marketing partner since 2007, and the show’s main sponsor. Last year, sales at Mengniu fell drastically following a scandal involving the melamine-contamination of dairy products. Other sponsors include GH products and their manufacturers, Nutropin (Genentech), Humatrope (Lilly), Genotropin (Pfizer), Norditropin (Novo), and Saizen (Merck Serono).

The Chinese reality TV show is the NBA’s first outside the US. Featuring a basketball competition in 64 cities involving retired NBA stars, it is broadcast nationwide on Friday nights from April 30 to August 28. The winner will receive an all-expense paid trip to try out for the NBA’s lower-level developmental league.

An estimated 300 million people play basketball in China, the NBA said, citing data provided by the Chinese Basketball Association.

The league has more than 130 employees in four offices in China. In October, it formed a joint venture with sports and entertainment group AEG to build at least a dozen “NBA-style” arenas in major cities.

Yu Guilong from Qingdao, Shangdong, whose wife is expecting their first child, is among the estimated 960 million Chinese unaware of the sweeping changes in the infant formula industry.

“Man, I was so glad to see the Xiao Ding finally get knocked off,” said Yu, who was glued to ESPN while the SFDA’s announced aired on CCTV-1. “Sure he plays the game well, but he made Wes Unself and David Robinson and all the rest of those old dicks look tired. It was embarrassing man. Where’s Shaq?”

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BEIJING – In the wake of massive losses, the Chinese government has voiced support for up to USD 50 billion in bailout funds for the mainland’s U.S. fast food industry.

Throughout the People’s Republic, the credit crunch and slumping economy have depressed U.S. fast food sales to levels not seen in about two decades. Once-mighty McDonald’s says it could run out of cash by next summer. Pizza Hut has a slightly better prognosis, but only because it introduced a spicy duck with green onions pizza in 2006.

Meanwhile, Taco Bell is playing its financial status close to the vest. But the company’s chief exec, Bob Nardelli, said last week that it would be “very difficult” to survive without Uncle Hu’s assistance.

Though a number of Chinese citizens said they’d reluctantly support a ‘burger’ bailout rather than see the companies disappear, most said this would be rewarding failure after decades of mismanagement and poor decision-making.

“Bailout” was the magic word Tuesday as McDonald’s had to give away millions of free kiddie meals because a Chinese netizen stumbled on an online promotion the company scrapped.

Tim Fenton, president of McDonald’s 37-country Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa (APMEA) division said Wednesday that the company prepared an Internet coupon for an ad campaign that was considered in December but not approved.

He says someone apparently typed “bailout” into a McDonald’s promo code window and found it was good for a free kiddie meal.

Word about the code spread quickly on the Web and 24 million free meals were handed out before it was deactivated Wednesday morning.

Shanghai-area franchise owner Zhou Lipeng says his 82 stores gave away more than half a million meals, but that McDonald’s promised to reimburse him.

As a result of the losses, McDonald’s announced that it was on the verge of bankruptcy. Threatened with massive job losses, the Chinese government quickly announced that bailout funding would be available before the end of the week.

Following the announcement, a McDonald’s spokesperson stated that the company is temporarily halting its ‘Open Door’ policy, launched last year to encourage Chinese consumers to visit McDonald’s and understand what it is all about. Consumers could tour the kitchen and ask questions about menu, quality, preparation, etc.

The policy will be replaced with a new ‘Ask Me’ program which invites customers to query crew members (or the company through its www.AskMe.com.cn Web site) about the use of its tax monies. This, McDonald’s executives say, is especially important in a country where transparency issues are of great public concern.

To further establish the brand’s transparency, nutrition information is available from in-store materials and soon will be on product packaging as well. It’s not something Chinese consumers requested, rather a way to further position McDonald’s as open and customer-friendly, Fenton said.

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BEIJING – Having served a three-month sentence for his ‘economic crimes’ conviction, the former Appliance King, once the richest man on the Chinese mainland, Huang Guangyu admitted Tuesday he was having difficulty adapting to life outside of jail and to his new low-level job at a local Tops supermarket. “I can’t believe how fast things move on the outside,” said Huang, who sat on a park bench feeding birds as he recalled the respect he received from fellow inmates during his time as the jail’s plumber. “Bagging groceries is difficult work, and I try to keep up, but my hands hurt most of the time, probably from fixing too many broken pipes. I don’t think the store manager likes me very much. I wish I still at Gome.” Huang, whose estimated fortune of 43 billion yuan was confiscated by the authorities, was reportedly last seen in the bedroom of his halfway house, wearing a suit and standing on a wobbly table while carving the words “HUANG WAS HERE” on a wooden support beam.

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BEIJING – Urging the estimated 800 million Chinese who have not yet made the transition to the more advanced form of sustenance to do so as soon as possible, General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine General Director Xiang Yuzhang announced Wednesday that the nationwide conversion to Soylent Green with Chinese characteristics (SGCC) will take place on April 17, 2009. “The only thing consumers who currently rely on natural foods will need is a ration book, which you can purchase at any grocery store,” Xiang said at a press conference, adding that every Chinese household is eligible for a RMB 400 coupon to convert its current pantry. ” SGCC offers higher texture quality and better taste, as well as multiple spice choices and no chemical additives. I must stress, however, that after the deadline you will no longer be able to eat your current food.” In recent years, China’s food safety scandals have involved everything from fake baby milk formulas and soy sauce made from human hair to instances where cuttlefish were soaked in calligraphy ink to improve their color and eels were fed contraceptive pills to make them grow long and slim. In a separate statement, Yu Xuejun, General Director, Department of Policy, Law and Regulations at the State Commission for Population and Family Planning said, “The conversion to SGCC will also help address growing abuses of the one-child policy. Effective immediately, all second children will be confiscated and sent to processing centers.”

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