IU hosts major conference on Chinese capitalism

The Kelley School of Business hosted the "Capitalism with Chinese Characteristics" conference Friday and Saturday to discuss how the economy and government of China coincide. \nLobbying and elite socialite influences are two examples of an array of topics the attending professors and business professionals from around the globe discussed.\n"It is difficult not to have strong opinions about China with its many contradictory forces," said Hu Shuli, editor of China's Caijing (Business Review).\nHu is said by many of China's security agencies to be the "most dangerous woman in China." This reputation has come at a high price -- controversial reporting.\n"If an issue is important, the government will not be able to conceal it," Hu said.\nCaijing, a publication read by the top business leaders in China, acts as a "watchdog" for the country's business market. \nIn August 2001 Hu helped release the "Yinguangxia Trap," an article that exposed $697 million of falsified reports made by the Yinguangxia Company. \nThen in March 2006 she helped to expose the Bank of China scandal. The bank had supposedly lost approximately $200 million RMB and tried to keep the loss concealed. After publication, the Bank did not publicly complain about the coverage, a sign of progress, Hu said. \nAs an unquestionable watchdog, Caijing grew to expand its coverage to a broader range of topics, and it was one of the first publications to report on the Bird Flu.\n"Journalists are realizing that investigatory journalism will succeed in many realms, including business," Hu said.\nHu has faced many problems while reporting these issues.\n"Journalists have been known to use a rough draft to extort money from a company who is soon to be exposed," Hu said.\nWith a restricted press license regime and weak legal protection for journalists, slander lawsuits and government-regulated removal of distasteful reporting is plentiful.\nTo avoid these problems, Hu ensured that at least five reporters are assigned to cover each possible story.\n"We love having so many mouths to feed with Chinese news," Hu said.\nCaijing has also begun an internship program to help students understand the standards of reporting in China. These standards, however, do not stop the magazine from reporting where most publications will not.\n"We never really think about what will be shot down or removed, we just release it," Hu said.\nHu added that in the future she hopes the paper continues to cover important economic issues facing the country. \n"China is a gold mine of stories, we just need the tools to tell these stories well and the appeal to recruit the people to do the job," she said.