Guo Pei

China's Premier Fashion Design is Guo Pei. She is a Beijing based designer. Her 2009 Fall Collection was inspired by 16th and 17th century fashions. Blue and White porcelin were also big inspirations for her. She dresses a lot of Chinese celebrities as well as politician's wives. She has been designing for 13 years. Originally she didn't think that she was going to be successful because when she started out 13 years ago, everyone was wearing drab colors and materials due to excessive government controls. She started making clothes and asking for a percentage of whatever was sold. Once she got married to a Taiwanese textile company owner, she decided to pursue her dream of making custom made dresses.

The Controversy Surrounding Nobel Peace Prize Lu Xiaobo

China has angrily condemned the decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize to jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo. The government called Mr Liu a "criminal". While the Norwegian Nobel Committee has said Mr. Liu is the foremost symbol of the struggle for human rights in China.

                  Liu is a human rights activist who called for democratic reforms and the end of one-party communist rule by the Chinese government. He is currently a political prisoner in China. He is serving an eleven year sentence for “spreading a message to subvert the country and authority”. He is being awarded the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize for "his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China.  He is the first Chinese person to be awarded a Nobel Prize of any kind while residing in China.

Liu Xiaobo

                  This award has created a lot of controversy within the global community. China had called for a global boycott of Friday's event. A total of 18 countries have agreed not to come to the ceremony including Russia, Cuba, Iraq and Iran. This shows the economic muscle that China possess. Many of the countries who have declined to participate are closely tied politically to China. China warned that attending the ceremony would be seen as a sign of disrespect.

"We hope those countries that have received the invitation can tell right from wrong, uphold justice," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said.

Liu Xiaobo and his wife Liu Xia

                  On Friday when the event takes place, there will be one chair left empty on the stage for Liu Xiaobo. This award has prompted many global leaders including President Barack Obama to state that China needs to promote human rights.

Chinese Luxury Purchases boosting European Retail Sales

Chinese people love their luxury goods. They are the second largest market for luxury brands after Japan and are expected to overtake them in the next few years as the largest brand for luxury goods.

            The recession has really hit the luxury market hard. Last year sales declined 8% according to Bain & Co consulting firm. The Dow Jones Luxury Index, which measures the performance of companies world-wide has risen 34% in the last year. This recovery comes from tourists in Europe who are taking advantage of the low euro.

            Francisco Trapani, Chief Executive of Bulgari singled out Chinese shoppers as the major factor in increasing the Italian jewelers 11% rise in 3^rd quarter sales.  The Gucci group claims that the number of Chinese customers doubled to account for almost 22% sales in Europe. Burberry says Chinese tourists alone account for around 30% of total London sales. These Chinese customers are attracted to Europe by luxury goods that are either more expensive or aren’t available in China. 

 

            Consulting firm Tourism Economics estimates Chinese visits to Western Europe will rise to 2.4 million this year up from two million in 2009. Chinese tourists spent 99% more in the first ten months of this year than the year before. The average transaction this is year is $932 dollars.