Danwei Picks is a daily digest of the “From the Web” links found on the Danwei homepage. A feed for the links as they are posted throughout the day is available at Feedsky (in China) or Feedburner (outside China).
Lotte to expand chocolate sales in China: Lotte, the South Korean confectioner, will expand chocolate sales southward from its current markets in Shanghai, Beijing, and Tianjin, in response to consumer demand, Reuters reports:
"Chocolate consumption has been growing rapidly in China in recent years," Lee said. "China’s chocolate market may exceed its candy market in size in the next three to four years."
China’s 6.46 billion yuan (922 million) chocolate market is growing more than 10 percent each year, fuelled by rising wealth and increasing Western influence on consumer tastes, according to market intelligence company Euromonitor International.
Related: The Beijinger teaches you what to do at a chocolate tasting and gives names of Beijing vendors of gourmet chocolates.
Liaoning law will require children to visit their parents: Have you spoken to your parents recently? If you live in Liaoning Province, you’d better get in the habit of calling them and visiting them once in a while, or could be facing stiff punishment. Xinhua reports:
The province’s standing committee of the people’s congress recently released the draft – Regulation on Protection of Rights and Interests of the Aged – to seek public opinion. It is expected to become law by the end of the year.
An article says if children do not live with their parents, they should "often send greetings or go home to visit them." Government employees, who fail to do so, will face sanctions by their respective agencies.
For reference: Liaoning’s Draft Regulations on Protecting the Rights and Interests of the Elderly and the existing Law of the People’s Republic of China on Protection of the Rights and Interests of the Elderly
Quake lake still a threat: From Xinhua:
The possibility of flooding from the Tangjiashan ‘quake lake,’ caused by China’s May 12 earthquake, increased Thursday even as water levels rose steadily to the point where engineers believe they may be able to open a drainage sluice.
Profiting from patriotism: A Modern Lei Feng comments on Kappa’s Love China t-shirts.