Restricted

After the euphoria over the upsurge in policy-provoked bank lending waned, China’s regulators became concerned that not all the loans are serving the purpose they were intended for, namely stimulus. Worried that borrowers are taking cheap cash and plowing it back into speculation in asset markets or interest-bearing deposits, the China Banking Regulatory Commission is now mulling how to tighten the rules a bit to restrict credit access to those who are inclined to spend the money, not hoard it. The International Energy Agency has its own restrictions to suggest, namely on coal emissions. China, says the agency, must curb coal emissions by enforcing existing laws and cap overall carbon emissions. At present China has no emissions caps but profits from selling carbon credits to polluters in Europe and Japan. Suffice it to say, Beijing prefers this “win-win” situation to levelling the polluting field. Finally, Jackie Chan is also a fan of restrictions – on freedom! “I don’t know whether it is better to have freedom or to have no freedom,” Chan told attendees at the Boao Forum in Asia. “With too much freedom … it can get very chaotic, could end up like in Taiwan.”  This attitude is very much in line with Chan’s on-screen persona, which combines patronizing moral lectures with acrobatic beatings using potted plants, step-ladders and shopping carts. Chan said his remarks, made in response to questions about Beijing’s control of the movie industry, were taken out of context. His preferred context was, presumably, an empty room where nobody could hear him comparing Taiwan to a cinematographic Haiti.