New law no great help to e-commerce

There have been enough examples of government agencies spoiling a flourishing market by trying to make it develop "in a healthier way". One common sign of such a folly is that no public hearings are held, especially serious ones, before the new regulations are enacted.

As a result, as often is the case, the implementation of those regulations tends to be awkward, sometimes giving rise to more problems than public benefits.

Right now, judging from some of the opinions from the hundreds and thousands of individuals running their online retail business, the newly introduced "regulations toward promotion of informationization" by the municipal authorities of Beijing may be such a nuisance.