Intercultural Communication and Translation News

Chinese business experts are reporting that it seems that Chinese shoppers who choose to spend their money on luxury brands should be able to receive a reduction in tax should they choose to spend their money on luxury brands that are sold within China.
According to recent reports many Chinese people are going abroad each year to vote with their feet and take their business to foreign countries such as France in order to buy luxury bands. Chinese business experts have made it quite clear that the Chinese government needs to encourage the purchase of luxury brands within China as it is harming the Chinese economy, as the Chinese feel that they need to go abroad in order to source their designer brands. Some reports show that Chinese shoppers have been found buying up to 20 bags in a Louis Vuitton store in France in one single purchase.
This is clearly a ludicrous situation for the Chinese economy and it seems that a lack of choice and high taxes on designer brands are causing the Chinese population to prefer to shop abroad. Experts say that in order to encourage more onshore purchasing then taxes need to be lowered and a greater choice of luxury items and brands should be on sale within China.
It seems that there are a variety of reasons why the Chinese are not spending their money in China but the main causes appear to be a lack of fake goods, a strong Yuan and very little choice when it comes to higher value goods such as bags and shoes. Many Chinese tourists visit France for the sole purpose of stocking up on designer goods and it seems that many Chinese travel agents are well aware of the average Chinese tourist’s spending patterns.

In areas such as London where there is large culturally diversity, it seems that hospitals are running up larger than average bills because they are having to employ interpreters so that patients who do not speak the language can understand the medical staff who are treating them.
Recent numbers indicate that around seven hospital trusts in London have run up large bills employing interpreters trying to tackle language barriers. It has sparked fresh outcry across London and the rest of the UK that people who come to England to live need to be able to speak the language.
The London NHS Trust said that its biggest bill was for £2.2million pounds to make sure that patients who did not speak the language had access to interpreters. The figures highlight the problem of immigration and language barriers. Nick de Bois the MP who published the findings said that it was a clear example of the cost to the country that people who do not speak the language can bring.
The survey was based on information from The University College London Hospital Trust which spent £1.6million, Guy’s Hospital and St Thomas’ Hospital paid £1.3million and Great Ormond Street Hospital and Homerton University Hospital  had to pay approximately £1.2million each.
At a time when the country is cutting back on spending it seems an unnecessary expense for London hospitals to be spending their budget on interpreters. However it is also true that hospitals still need to provide proper patient care and when patients are unable to speak the language it seems that the hospitals have no choice but to employ interpreters.
Communication is important when it comes to good hospital care but this is not always easy or cheap as these London hospitals have proved by having to hire interpreters.

A Lady from Australia (Kristen Perry) has been ordered to remove her car license plate by the local authorities as it has an alternative translation into a rude word in the Filipino language. Her license plate reads “Kiki” which is her nickname that links in with her Greek heritage but the Filipino translation is something a lot more embarrassing and potentially offensive as the translation refers to a private area of the female body.
Authorities in New South Wales have received complaints about the Filipino translation of her license plate. Filipino residents were offended by the translation of Perry’s personal license plate that was given to her as a gift by her husband five years ago.
Perry said that she was not aware of the Filipino translation of her name and that she is highly embarrassed that people have been calling her that all her life. She was asked to provide proof that she had a just reason for her license plate to contain the word “Kiki” or else the authorities would have permanently confiscated the license. However the public local to New South Wales have rallied round to support around her and as a result have lobbied the authorities to accept that she was unaware of the Filipino translation of her private license plate. In response to the large public demand the local authorities have agreed to take a common sense approach and not confiscate her license as a result of the rude translation.
It does bring up the serious issue though that personal license plate owners should take care to ensure that their license plates do not carry potentially offensive word or expletives that could offend. This case from Australia makes it look like these guidelines have the potential to be carried over into foreign translations of private license plates as well.

One of the biggest headaches that surround businesses these days is making sure that they comply with local and global manufacturing regulatory laws of trade. Many businesses see regulatory compliance as a big hurdle that hampers their expansion but we have to appreciate that regulatory compliance in business is keeping both the businesses and the consumers protected when it comes to manufacturing, export and global trade.
Problems with global regulatory compliance arise when manufacturing companies export goods and expand their business into new global territories. By doing this they can be unaware of local manufacturing and regulatory systems and this can have a direct impact on their profit. It is therefore of paramount importance that companies who export to the global market make it their priority to investigate global regulatory compliance laws so that they do not become unstuck when they export goods.
A lot of money can be lost my making simple compliance mistakes and this can lead to product recalls and ultimately a loss of profit for manufacturing companies.
However, despite the crucial part that regulatory compliance plays in a manufacturing and an export company’s global success it seems that it is not given the attention it deserves when key strategic decisions are made. On top of this a lack of local regulatory compliance knowledge and a failure to see or predict future global compliance law changes means that many manufacturing and export companies are falling behind and failing to maximise their profits when it comes to the global export market.
More attention needs to be paid to regulatory compliance and as such manufacturing and export companies need to invest time and money making sure that they are well up on the local systems before they plan on expanding their businesses into new global territories. Doing so will be really worth their while!

There is no doubt about the huge current business potential in China and up until recently Ebay have had to concede to the fact that they were just not getting their fair market share of the business that was out there is China.
Ebay have a bad history with business in China as back in 2003 Ebay made a successful bid for EachNet which at the time was the biggest e-commerce website in China. Ebay paid over $150 million for the site but failed to fully capitalise on its potential eventually losing out to local rival Taobao. Ebay then went on to fold EachNet as a direct result of it not having enough success with business in the China market. Taoboa continued to go from strength to strength as one of its major features was that it does not charge selling commissions.
However it seems now that Ebay may be betting back into China again. China is traditionally nervous about foreign influences on its internet and has recently banned Twitter and YouTube. But Ebay has found a way in by linking Chinese sellers with foreign buyers in the West and elsewhere in the world. It has now provided a way for buyers from the UK, the US and other countries to track items that they have purchased from China. By giving small individual exporters in China the chance to reach global consumers it has opened a new market that it had yet to tap into.  Sales over Ebay from China to other countries have surged and the government in China are unlikely to put up any obstacles in the way of Ebay as this fits in with their export goals.
Ebay is bulking up its business in China and with over 457 million people on line in China it looks like a great opportunity.