On falling property prices in China and mob mentality...

Reading reports about how the investors/homeowners in China who bought in at the height of the property boom, only to see falling prices now, can get scary. It's not so much about the fact that prices can go up, thus surely it can come down too; but of how the public perceive property investments as fail-safe, and would demand their money back when the market "casino" turns against them.

This is not quite comparable to the impending bonds enquiry in Hong Kong due to the collapse of Lehman Brothers when banks had been selling the bonds as fail-safe. Property investments and speculation in Hong Kong had gone through the same phase as China (and other parts of the world) during the financial crisis in 1997 when property prices in Hong Kong went south, which had never happened before. Back then, no one in Hong Kong would imagine asking for their money back. Afterall, people in Hong Kong are much more used to the idea of investments and the capitalist system.

It goes to show how behind China and its systems (not only legal system in handling complaints, but also the government and private sectors in addressing concerns outside of contractual obligations) are woefully inadequate. While China's huge currency reserve is going to give it muscle to buffer financial and economic hiccups, it'll take much longer for its systems to come up to speed.

Along the same token (that investors/speculators in China property market should be reimbursed of any loss they suffer), neither should those in United States should be refunded. But that's exactly what the Democrat's Congress is pushing for, which is wrong-headed. If America is such a great experiment of capitalism, it should not set a wrong example for the world (and China) to see.