Please read the translation of an online conversation between a seller and a buyer at Taobao.com. The buyer ordered a bottle of garlic spread from the seller.

Buyer: Hey, have you shipped what I bought at your taobao shop?
Seller: There is a flood hereby! Our office has been flooded! The express company is shutdown today too! My husband has been swept away. And I can not find him now!
Buyer: oh…
Seller: We get rainstorm for several days in Guangdong. It’s all messy in my shop today. Sorry for late! I am very sorry… My husband’s life is uncertain now. I will try to ship the item to you tomorrow, Okay?
Buyer: …fine, it’s fine.
Seller: I appreciate your kindness! Thank you! I do feel regret for late shipping!
Buyer: …
Seller: Many thanks! I am not sure how to make it… I am really scared…

As an observer of the Internet and society, frankly, I am a little bit exciting on the background of the story. Obviously, even in a flooding, the online business is still running. What a vivid economy!

As a Chinese guy, I am a little bit moved by the woman. Wish her and her husband, along with their business can survive the disaster out there.  The hope of the country comes actually from those kind hearts, along with the merits of free and fair trade. The law should improve and guarantee them.

On the current flood-stricken south China,  see:
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65P11X20100626

The screen capturing of the original conversation can be seen at my Chinese post at http://www.blawgdog.com/article/BLawg/1051.htm

DONG Hao, “Taxation Issues in the E-commerce”, in LI Zuming (ed.), E-commerce Law, Beijing: University of International Business and Economics Press (2009), 19,000 words;

Introduction:
The E-commerce should not escape itself from the taxation. However, the troditional tax law and taxation policies would not cope with the new challenges including the identification of the taxpayer, the jurisdiction issues, the “new” objects of taxation, etc. This chapter firstly analyzed the impacts of the online commerce to the traditional tax law. Then it introduced the achievements either in the academia or in the legislations in various countries. China’s relevant taxation policies and the future development are discussed in the third section of this chapter. To make this book more practical, although the structure of the chapter can be divided to the above three parts, the whole chapter always focuses on the possible dilemma as well as the solution in the context of Chinese taxation system.