A Stitch in Haste

How exactly is it a "free market" when the government can ban it?

French tour operators fear a "catastrophic" plunge in business after an order was apparently given to Chinese travel agents to stop selling trips to the country.

"The advice to discourage Chinese tourists from visiting France hasn't been officially confirmed, but it is being applied now by the travel agencies," said Pierre Shi, director of the China Travel Service agency.

Let's be clear: China's communist thugs don't give "advice" — they give orders.

Since the only way to enjoy China's (mostly fake) "prosperity" is by being a loyal member of the political elite, who doubts that any such Chinese elite who can afford to go to France in the first place will surely kowtow to "advice" from the jackboots not to go? Those who feast at the "market communism" buffet can also famine by it.

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Meanwhile:

China will name and shame companies which promise donations for earthquake relief efforts but then fail to live up to their pledges, a government official said on Friday.
...
"The Ministry of Civil Affairs came out with clear rules on April 28 concerning companies which offer aid and then delay paying up," deputy head of the ministry's disaster relief office, Pang Chenmin, told a news conference.

"The aid ought to be given to the recipient as promised and in a timely manner. If it needs to be delayed for a day or two, they can coordinate with the relevant department," he added.

"But if it is not given, the recipient has the right to go after payment, and inform the public in an appropriate way," Pang said, without elaborating.

It's one thing to criminalize outright fraud in charitable solicitation. But is hardly a legitimate function of government -- democratic, authoritarian or otherwise -- to demonize donor entities that, for whatever reason, may have to delay or cancel pledges of assistance. What, one wonders, will be the chilling effect of such a enemy-concocting policy?