Fake news notwithstanding, it's a moral victory for you in the ongoing tug of war of pet peeves between cohabitants.

Was it you JanJal (or tigertiger, i can't recall) that said the wife always complained about your constant sorting of trash for recycling?

Well, now you can tell her, "I told you so!"

Civility may be defined by laws.

A few days ago Shanghai's new mandate of waste sorting, or separated recycling, was enforced. Actual fines were given out to restaurants and individuals for failing to separate their trash.

Makes you wonder when our trash will be monitored as well.

Across the strait in Taipei, Taiwan Province. Earlier this Monday, plastic straw ban went into effect. Warnings were given out to vendors at food courts. This is the first stage of prohibiting single-use plastic straws at schools, establishments in public sectors, department stores, and restaurants.

Just in...

"BEIJING (Reuters) - Walmart (WMT.N) plans to invest 8 billion yuan ($1.2 billion) in China over the next 10 years to upgrade logistics, the U.S. retail giant said on its social media account Monday.

The company also said in the statement it would set up or renovate more than 10 logistics centers in the country."

Walmart is learning to evolve with the "smart retail" movement. Traditional retail just ain't cutting it.

Glad you picked it up dolphin!

Ahhhh, the sweet mangosteens at Big C Supercenters! Asanee, do you know the reasons why Carrefour left the Thai market?

Corruption in Thailand is among the worst in the world. Reforms are nowhere near China's nationwide saohei campaign. And yet, the exodus of Carrefour.

But give credit to Thailand's strict punishment of counterfeit medicinal products. Resulting in less knockoffs in their pharmaceutical market in comparison.

On Jan's other point....

In developing townships of China, local governments and developers seek to attract the likes of Carrefour and Walmart with ultra low rent incentives. That's where they thrived in comparative advantage. Nothing illegal nor corrupt about that.

Carrefour/Walmart's megastore presence bring customer traffic, creating a foundational epicenter to lure commercial, business, and residential investments. I'd argue in low tier zones of development, they build potential "premium" sought after locations, not the other way around.

This has been the case historically, and even now in spite of corruption crackdowns.....

returning to Zhejiang, between Hangzhou and Shanghai is a city called Jiaxing. Wanda Group won the procurement bid in Jiaxing to erect a landmark shopping plaza to plant the seeds of growth for Jiaxing. Like many of Wanda's infrastructural projects of growing once underdeveloped towns, Walmart would tag along as Wanda's main, leading selling points. Real estate in the area subsequently surged.

Perhaps over-development along with "dafang" real estate clampdowns of late have put a break on this longstanding trend. Low rent carrots for Carrefour/Walmart are no longer as financially feasible. Possible indirect factors contributing to stores' higher capital costs and tighter profitability.