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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Disney's foray into China has been anything but magical. Its Hong Kong theme park, opened in 2005, has had a bumpy ride due to early missteps and competition - in its first year, attendance fell 400,000 short of an initial 5.6 million target. The following year, the number of visitors dropped to 4 million. To add insult to injury, the company in 2007 discovered an amusement park near Beijing that was filled with knockoff Disney characters...
...dozen hours of programming a week on local stations, five Disney-branded English-language schools in Shanghai and sales of Disney merchandise. In the past two years, Disney has produced two children's films for the mainland, The Magic Gourd and Trail of the Panda. China limits the number of foreign films that are allowed to screen in theaters to 20 a year...
...Further expansion in Asia may be a good bet. Last year, roughly a quarter of Disney's revenue came from overseas operations. Asia contributed just 5%, but leisure-industry experts are bullish about the region's potential. Last year, eight of the world's top 20 amusement parks (by number of visitors) were in Asia, according to a report by Themed Entertainment Association, based in Burbank, Calif. The buzz in Shanghai is already tangible. "Chinese consumers have a lot of love for Disney," says Rein. "They're more excited about Disneyland than the Expo...
...character trait developed instantly at the altar—once the ring is on the finger. But those of us addicted to endorphins, prone to procrastination, or disposed to overspending recognize that traits cannot apparate; they must be habituated. By trial and error, society found that cohabitation and increased number of sexual partners lead to higher divorce rates...
...India, might pose a similar threat. And if those conditions do not exist, Iran, as well, is no threat. It is not enough that religion plays a major role in the national character. There needs to be a breakdown of central authority. When the center weakens and a number of smaller religious groups look to establish a new order of things, then you have the greatest threat. Pakistan is the most likely candidate for this sort of dynamic. Neither Iran nor Israel are remotely on the verge of losing centralized authority as is Pakistan...