China Fines Three Securities Firms

Regulation is a joke. All manner of corruption, rule bending and law breaking are fine as long as the music keeps playing. If I was in China and skirting the law, I would get legal very fast, or get out of the country. I hear there have been a lot of outflows lately...

Xinhua: Securities firms fined for profiteering amid stock market chaos

An investigation found that Shanghai-based Mecrt Corporation, Hangzhou-based Hundsun Technologies Inc. and Hithink Flush Information Network Co., Ltd. developed an operating system that allowed securities investors to trade without opening accounts via real-name registration, violating the Securities Act, said the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

With economists believing activity like this exacerbated the market rout, the regulator decided to confiscate the companies' illegal earnings and impose additional penalties.

A total of 132.85 million yuan (20.88 million U.S. dollars) will be confiscated from Hundsun and it will be fined a further 398.56 million yuan. The regulator also issued a formal warning to company chairman Liu Shufeng and General Manager Guan Xiaolan and fined each of them 300,000 yuan.

Caixin: Amnesty as a Stepping Stone to Rule of Law

A recent amnesty declaration affecting convicted criminals deemed no threat to society was a poignant reminder of China's tradition of prudent punishment, support for human rights and progress toward of rule of law.

...The latest amnesty order targets convicts who fought in the country's wars of the 1930s and '40s, namely the resistance against Japanese aggression and the civil war. It also covers veterans from other wars who helped "protect the nation's sovereignty, security and territorial integrity" since the founding of the republic.

Also slated for pardoning are convicts over age 75 who are disabled or unable to care for themselves. Prisoners who were less than 18 years old when they committed a crime, were sentenced to less than three years in prison or have less than a year left on a sentence term may also be pardoned. By showing leniency toward these convicts, the program reflects the country's traditional care for the elderly and young people.

It's been estimated that several thousand convicts could qualify for the amnesty, which makes the program politically significant against the backdrop of the national commemoration of the war's end.

A good way to stem outflows would be an amnesty for illegal fundraising, shadow bankers, and other gray market activities that have sprung up around a poorly constructed financial system. Adopt a common law approach to finance and legalize traditional Chinese methods of fundraising.