My post last week about that food quality Op/Ed written by a U.S. tort lawyer sparked some interest with several folks, including quite a lengthy response (to the original article) on China Law Blog, where we get to experience a rare thing – a pissed off Dan Harris.

The strong feelings are not surprising. Look, all of us practitioners over here usually just shrug it off when a foreigner makes pronouncements about the Chinese legal system without getting their #@% together and their facts in order. We are bombarded with foreign visitors with preconceived notions ("I didn't know China had a patent law), foreign dignitaries who have been inadequately briefed ("I'm meeting with Bo Xilai tomorrow and plan to ask him to stop Internet censorship"), and foreign journalists with short attention spans ("Quick, take a pic of that fake Rolex – the article will write itself"). {sigh}

Ignorance is one thing, and that Op/Ed certainly included misinformed comments aplenty. Me, I'm forgiving of ignorance most of the time. However, when someone who obviously doesn't know something puts himself forward as some sort of expert – that's pretty damn annoying. Throw in a few statements that have racist overtones and, well, you can see where even the most mild-mannered folks out there will snap.

I don't expect some tort lawyer in Seattle to be an expert on Chinese law. However, would it hurt him to talk to at least one expert before spouting off on unfamiliar topics? I already have high blood pressure, I don't need this aggravation.

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