By RFH
Sad tidings this week, via Chris “Devonshire” Devonshire-Ellis, or CDE as many know him. The erstwhile “Baron of Coigach” is leaving China, according to a post on his blog, China Briefing, but remains in touch with the title he inherited, somewhat expensively, in April 2011.
As his online CV explains, Chris was one of the first white male businessmen to arrive in China and figure out how things actually worked.
A millionaire entrepreneur with offices around the world… Not having Chinese language skills, yet possessing some business experience proved for me a better platform for trying to understand China.
Frustration only followed later. As CDE explains, his frustration with pollution, the Dalai Lama, Mongolian sovereignty and an “evil… [that] has spread across China like the Biblical Plagues” eventually toppled over and enough was enough: “China is a young man’s game. At 52, I feel I don’t really want to have to put up with the daily hassles…” – many paragraphs later, CDE adduces – “…the reason I am leaving China is simply that I have outgrown it, and so has my business.”
In between these remarks, there is a proud picture of the Baron stroking his chin in Elton John’s bathroom:
Chris launched his career in the typical way, first establishing a company, “Dezan Shira” (the name is a homophone of his own), then being that guy who spams you in person
Basically he seemed like a nice guy but felt like he just talked a little too much about himself in the same way that anyone that’s been in China a long time does, quite a cordial guy who did his best to make you feel like he “knew” you already. For example, I specifically remember him using my name a lot and looking me straight in the eyes.
That’s from Eric, an American in Beijing working in trade who has had the pleasure of meeting the Baron. Another longtime expat and China watcher, who admittedly has not met Devonshire, had this to say:
My impression, perhaps unkind, is that he is a bullshit artist (but not artiste) of a type rarely found anymore: a nobody who managed to concoct a faux-aristocratic new self in a boomtown city. The hyphenated name, the purchased baronetcy, the constant mention of his clubs, the photos of himself wearing ascots — ASCOTS — would get you a polite rejection letter if you had them as part of a novel, along with a note from the editor saying that it might be better to have the protagonist be a believable human being.
For all their ups and downs, few foreigners in China outside of the media class attract much comment. There are a few Hessler haters, a couple of Backhouse backers, one or two Edgar Snow enthusiasts. But by 2008, the baron had somehow joined these controversial ranks:
Chris Devonshire Ellis is not registered as a legal professional anywhere, has not completed any formal schooling in law, or accountancy or tax… he has no professional qualifications of any kind.
That passage is from a decisive 2008 takedown of the man on lawyer Gilman Grundy’s blog Fear of a Red China, in a 80-strong commented article that effectively decimated the Baron’s claims of China expertise. To summarize:
1. His education at Strathclyde University in Scotland and the University of London, institutions separated by hundreds of miles but courses at both he claims to have jointly attended, before being prevented from completing either by an unspecified family tragedy
2. The worldwide “Devonshire” office empire were simply a collection of post-office drops and inboxes;
3. Chris first suggested his Mumbai offices and staff were damaged during the 2008 terrorist attack, then removed the article from China Briefing (the business in India consisted of a Regus Virtual Office space, miles from any bombings);
4. He used aliases to post admiring comments on his business site. Not a big deal, though there are already four effusive comments to his farewell post on China Briefing: one from a “Digby Ross,” another by “Cedric Woollet,” and an as-yet-unwritten tribute by Sir Peregrine Yaffle
5. Finally, Grundy questioned a company press release which declared the Baron to be “stepp[ing] down from his position as managing partner of the China Practice in 2007” and taking over “the firm’s India practice, based in our offices in Mumbai.”
The oddity was that Chris had, supposedly, already resigned from the company, due a massive fuck-up, or a “serious error of judgment I made publishing details of off-the-record meetings with Chinese ministers.” As per a statement released on China Briefing (since removed), “[Chris] effectively leaves the business he founded 17 years ago in South China and the publishing company that is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.” In other words, Chris was gone.
How, then, could the Baron be switching jobs within a company he’d already been forced to leave, under some considerable embarrassment, then resurfacing as its regional manager of a virtual office in India he’d lied about being attacked by terrorists?
Deep breath, folks. The original resignation announcement is part of China Briefing‘s junkyard of broken links. But the managerial magic act of “retroactive de-resignation,” according to the industry, commerce and law blog Gong Shang Fa, pulled back the curtain: “that [‘Devonshire’] is the only thing animating his company, as in no partners with any capability. Otherwise, they would have forced him to really remove himself in an attempt to protect their own interests.”
With his latest promise to exit China, the Baron joins, or leaves (we can but guess), a long list of foreign consultants with a “business” presence in China. The ability of these types to insert and insinuate themselves into business deals is part and parcel of the developed world’s maturity (or decline) from being manufacturing powers to ones that provide and export “services” “marketing” and “consultancy” – products as deep and elastic as they sound. And how you sound is important. In developed, stagnant societies like the UK, the most well-off and important classes are often self-effacing and modest, tactics that have no recognition among the nouveau rich of China, for example, where displays of wealth are practically the only way to assess power. The traditions and aristocracy of England have deep appeal for a country that has ravaged its own ruling classes while revering antiquity. And it was only in 2004 that Scotland abolished its own aged feudal system, and incorporeal miniature titles like “Baron of Coigach” became officially available for buy or sale.
Snapping up the title of baron was a smart move for a sharp-eyed player moving to China. Defending it, bullshitting, setting up a string of self-linking family websites like devonshireellis.com, were not. Most businessmen, perhaps aware of how their true credentials might wilt under strong scrutiny from their savvier compatriots, operate deep under the radar. Chris has done the opposite, occasioning some frequent and bruising contact with the real world. Whether he leaves China or not, whether his bloodline stretches back to 790 and the isles of Shetland, whether Chris is a relative of Beatrix Potter, HG Wells and Rudyard Kipling (as another of his websites claims), whether this or that, Chris seems to be a narcissist perpetually embarrassed by his reflection.
When he’s not “stalking” his antagonists, bullying critics and threatening others into deleting their blogs, CDE is alive and schmoozing, supposedly a multimillionaire, reliable sources such as barongofcolgaich.com reporting an enjoyment of “winter homes in Sri Lanka and Malta… summer homes in Mongolia and St. Petersburg, and regular visits back to Coigach.” The founder, former managing partner and engine of the Dezan Shira blog declares he now has to “replace myself.” Perhaps his most lasting epitaph is that he doesn’t.
*This article has been amended and edited since publication, following a series of emails, comments, slurs and online campaigns by some unidentified parties. We have changed our comments policy, deleted a number of libelous remarks and published a follow-up article addressing the trolling that this article attracted. Chris continues to publish on his own website and the Dezan Shira blog
Following the unseemly demise of his partner Neil Heywood, Chris Devonshire Ellis has decide to expand his profitable, pretentious posturing outside of China. He will be missed by many impressionable newbies. And a brighter note, Jonathan Kos-Read has agreed to fill the role of Chief Executive Blowhard.
I give it less than a week before Chris Devonshire Ellis and his team of lawyers at the global offices of Dezan Shira & Associates persuade Beijing Cream to take down this post under threat of guanxi’d court summons. Anyone care to wager?
What’s up with all the hatred that comes from China
Expats?
You motherfuckers eat your own. But what a gaggle of
Losers you are.
Quoting Gil, I can’t write a chorent sentence, Grundy?
He’s an insult to mediocre expats everywhere.
You guys need a life
Haters gonna hate.
Au contraire, Chris, I can write at least one coherent sentence. Observe:
“Despite claiming to have a wide range of academic and professional qualifications, Chris Devonshire-Ellis does not even appear to have even completed his A-levels”
See what I did there? Now don’t you feel silly?
The chatter among China watchers is that C-Dev is behind the newly-infamous “Sino Circle Jerk” comments on Pando Daily’s Bill Bishop tribute:
http://pandodaily.com/2012/08/03/bill-bishop-the-invisible-china-hand/#lf_comment=33551627
Understandable seeing as how their tweets alone hold more weight than anything China Briefing has ever published.
i wouldn’t put it past “C-Dev”; he never got along with Goldkorn’s clique, and lately their firms seem to have stolen his firm’s thunder, which may be one of the reasons why he is packing up.
You see this one?
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/08/13/unlivable_cities
@KK, or should we say Isaac Stone Fish: what does this have to do with Chris Devonshire Ellis? Nice way to promote your own article, mate.
just more blog spam from Isaac Stone Fish and Foreign Policy magazine. they do this all over the internet. if they are so desperate for readers, they should hire a publicist – i hear Dezan Shira & Associates can help with that
Dear oh dear, like “I feel the lurve, man.” All I can say is don’t believe everything you read on blogs. (China Briefing is a Publishing company before you try that one on). We’ve never actually personally met guys, so really you have no first hand experience of what I’m like at all. I don’t believe you’ve had any business dealings with me either, although you appear to read rather a lot of my online material. But that’s Ok, I have a sense of humor. As for “Sino Circle Jerk” – come on – what websites of that ilk have I ever been known to be involved with? And I have no beef with Jeremy Goldkorn either. As for “Digby Ross” and “Cedric Woolley” that commented here – those are real people who actually I know and who orginally commented on my “Why I’m Leaving China” article. I suspect you’ve used their own names to further your own article about the same subject, you naughty boys. Anyway, too the point – I found this article hilarious. And thanks for being soooo concerned about my Barony. Who the fuck really cares, although it seems you do. So thanks for that, and enjoy the rest of YOUR time in China guys. Best wishes to you, because I had a blast in China, and that’s really part of the point of being here. Adios ! Chris
“As for “Digby Ross” and “Cedric Woolley” that commented here – those are real people who actually I know and who orginally commented on my “Why I’m Leaving China” article.”
Real people can’t be as shallow as you. It isn’t possible.
@Chris:
But Chris you forgot to mention how you initially told your buddies here that you had inherited the barony from a relative. Given your oft-alluded to links to British aristocracy, eh?
We have met face to face and I can state you that are a bullying cowardly nasty piece of work who is more than happy to mispresent, utilize half-truths, and create fictitious situations if only to exact revenge to a damaged ego after someone has only stated the truth – that you are a charlatan and a fraud.
Thanks for the memories – please don’t come back, you will not be missed.
“And thanks for being soooo concerned about my Barony. Who the fuck really cares, although it seems you do.”
Oh the irony…
Baroness is more like it ya fruitloop.
I don’t get it…since when was it a crime to be a pretentious China-chancer with a bad rep and two last names?
You referring to the author of this post…?
We used to have a game of guess how many pictures of Chris DE you could find in an issue of China Briefing. The record was 14 photos and bear in mind it was an 8 page spreadsheet. Talk about self promotion. What a clown.
Deutschenshire is gone. Thank f*cking god. What a tard.
“Douchenshire” damn you auto-correct!
He seem like a harmless idiot who lies about having a law degree and being a baron, but he has mistreated so many people in China that we are all glad he is leaving and we think that he had to leave because of that.
And do not believe everything you read on the internet either.
As expected, the baronyofcoigach.com website is run by no other than CDE himself: http://www.whois.com/whois/baronyofcoigach.com
Why all the gloom & doom? We know Devonshit will return. Didn’t he run away with his tail between his legs like the chickenshit that he is when he thought he was going to get busted for his fraudulent claims to having interviewed the Chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission?
Well you have your fun guys. The thing is, whenever you write crap like this, you’re so OTT that people do check out the links, see what I’m really about and end up reading China Briefing etc. We retain about 80% of new readers as subscribers once they see what the actual deal, instead of your crap really is. As they say, all publicity is good publicity, and I’m either an utter psycho (your views) or someone quite useful and interesting (other peoples views). So you count as part of my free marketing. Congratulations and thanks for that – I owe you in fact. Keep up the excellent work! After all, it’s hard to argue with being in China for over 20 years. Merci beaucoup my strange and hateful friends! And thanks for all the bile!!!
The old ‘I’m not wound up and in fact thanks for the publicity’ rant.
The lady doth protest too much, methinks.
“We retain about 80% of new readers as subscribers once they see what the actual deal” 80% of no one is till no one. If you do get any repeat views, I am sure it is by people who enjoy a good laugh.
Judging by all the bullshit comments and links to him and unverified, false name shite it seems that you care about Chris Devonshire-Ellis very, very much you losers. What is it? Petty jealousy? China expatriate life must be really tedious for you if you see fit to attack the successful here. Your blog is a disgrace and a hive of pure hatred. Chris is well-known and well regarded what is wrong with you people? Retards.
Just for the record, the previous post in this exchange (and I suspect many previous postings on China-related forums) was not the work of the real Digby Ross. Someone started using my name around 2006-07 to post material during a period when I was taking action against a former employer for unpaid income. That former employer was a Dezan-Shira competitor, and the postings were apparently aimed at creating misinformation and confusion regarding my former employer and the case itself. I’m happy to say that the case against my employer was eventually settled amicably, however my name has been used ever since to create mischief in connection with derogatory postings about my former employer, about Dezan-Shira, and about Chris Devonshire-Ellis. For the record, I have met Chris and members of his team on various occasions and, at least on the surface, they all present as quite normal people running a quite normal business. However beyond these occasional and superficial interactions I have no further insight, nor do I have the need or motivation to delve into the personal or business affairs of someone with whom I have only passing contact. I believe Chris will be in Hong Kong next week and I’ve invited him to meet up, and it will be I believe only the second or third time we have ever met in person. Should anyone wish to clarify whether I am responsible for any past or future postings regarding my former employer, regarding Dezan-Shira, and regarding Chris Devonshire-Ellis, you are welcome to email me at digbywross@gmail.com, or via my account at http://hk.linkedin.com/in/digbyross, and I will do my best to separate fact from fantasy.
The person using your name during that period was no other than our Bullshit Baron Chris Devonshire-Ellis. He knows and other people know.
After reading the article and all the comments I merely offer the words of the bard:
“All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts,”
China is without a doubt a grand stage — may we all play our parts well.
Frankly the most sensible thing written on this page.
Quite so, Digby, quite so. Now do kindly refrain from signing your friend the spiv, what’s his name – Devonshire-Ellis – into the club anymore. Chap can’t get a moment’s respite to watch the cricket
Beijing Cream now busted as telling lies, using false names, using real peoples names as having made comments when they didn’t…you’re a bunch of shysters trying to gain some attention of the back of a prominent expats back. Chris produced great material in China – you assholes are just a bunch of whining, hating losers towards anyone who manages to do better than your miserable expat lives. You’re a bunch of nasty self serving expat hating wankers. It’s you who should fuck right off. Beijing Cream Douchebags.
Chris, that’s hardly the kind of language we expect from a cultured aristocrat such as yourself.
Parting words from Chris the last time we met face to face. (Not long after, though not on that occasion, that I had told him that he was a charlatan in passing himself of as a lawyer):
Chris: “You cunt. I’m gonna get you.”
Well, Chris, you tried. You threatened legal action. But of course did’t follow through. Like you did with all the other bloggers.
You wrote to all and sundry trying to get me fired.
It must have really galled you, what with all your so called super super connections to my superiors, that after they commented that I had stepped over a line, that they promoted me instead … meanwhile privately telling me that Thank God someone finally told you what a wanker you really are!
I suppose I should be grateful. At the very least you only tried to get me fired.
You didn’t afterall send anonymous messages to me like you did to those bloggers who dared to actually post the truth about your completely fictional professional background – ones that threatened them and their families. Now that was really sick and a fairly clear case of an narcissistic and vengeful ego.
You have no trust left in China, whether Beijing or Shanghai.
I am happy to learn you are going elsewhere. Sadly, I think too many Americans will buy into your Baron (don’t they just love titles?) Expert of All Things Asia Guff.
With the title, you tried to buy respectability.
Outed, you don’t have it here.
Not surprised you are going elsewhere to TELL people you ARE respectable … and while you might be able to con a few (after all you don’t need to pretend to be a lawyer anymore) the people that really matter will see through you in a heartbeat.
What a big meanie everyone is being to Mr. Devonshire-Ellis. Why, he has built a successful business by virtue of his keen interest in Mongolian whores at Maggies and drunken comments on shanghaiexpat.com!
Everywhere I go in China, people sing the praises of this kind, reasonable, moderate-drinking, modest, impressive individual that I know tangentially and who is not me. Indeed, I do believe we have crossed paths once or twice, at which times Mr. Devonshire-Ellis was certainly not shit-faced drunk nor rambling incoherently!
Stop it, you foul demons, have you no shame! Stop sending him more and more links and long-term clients!~
It’s seems he’s not all bad: http://www.china-briefing.com/news/2012/08/16/philanthropy-in-china-its-important-to-give-back.html
He’s either a total schizophrenic or you’re just taking some dreadfil nasty piss out of him.
You are linking to his own site as evidence of his kind heart? You know, that’s the site where he ‘stepped down’ two years ago to focus on his fabulous sailing lifestyle, and then the notice disappeared within a couple weeks.
I think you are right though, it must be one or the other. Guess which one?
I’m sure his endorsement of those charities, if in fact they are real, will shortly lead to their downfall.
I have been in china for many years
Chaps, I’m afraid this does not accord my good friend the full respect he deserves. The old boy is also a Commodore. I would be most pleased if you could remedy this omission in the next edition of your periodical. What ho!
What? An eagle taming, yacht sailing Baron Commodore millionaire member of exclusive clubs being poked fun at? Ohh-er BeijingCream better watch out he may set his dogs on you what? I bet you’re scared. The sooner these types of raffish upper class twits leave China and give it back to the proliteriat as was intended the better. And stop selling that opium to the natives you Cad!
All that is left now is for his good friend and fellow hater Shaun Rein to leave China too. Did you notice how they now gang up on people together.
Shaun Rein? That ignoramus?
It would make sense if they were friends. Not a whit of intelligence between them (well, CDE isn’t stupid, its the obsessive-compulsive / psychosis problem rather than native intelligence with him. Shaun, on the other hand, has the iq of a sedimentary rock).
Have to disagree here. Rein is definitely a smart guy, and has never, to my knowledge, claimed academic or professional qualifications that he doesn’t actually have. Yes, they do have a little Shaun n’ Chris show going on on some of the expat forums, but this is because people are as turned off by Rein’s calculated support for the Chinese authorities as they are by CDE’s continual re-sculpting of the past.
Meh. Have you read his stuff? Its economic word-salad. Keep in mind, all this stuff is self-published garbage.
Shaun Rein is like the Thomas Friedman of China hands. His premise and support look reasonable if you don’t examine them too closely, but if you do, you will find there is really nothing there.
Plus, he is an absolute in the tank commie-lover. And you know its just his own calculation that it is going to benefit him. His attack on CNN was just pitiful, his whole argument is that, by renting a car and hiring a translator, CNN went too far to ‘make the news’. So, if Christian Bale had simply hired them, everything would have been a-ok.
Let’s stipulate that he commonly does not provide any links in his articles. He pulls numbers out of thin air all the time and rarely provides any links at all.
Check out this link, its not his worst work but still represents a fair sample of his analytical skills. Notice especially his lack of even a fair attempt to explain how the Chinese inflation, which he calls systemic, would actually be passed on to the US.
Why China’s inflation is headed to the US (written in June of 2011, still waiting for that China inflation to land on US shores, Shaun):
http://seekingalpha.com/article/274738-america-can-t-escape-china-s-inflation
Doh double post! My bad!
My complaint about Rein is not based really on his political stuff, although that is apparently awful. All I know about him is what I read on Forbes and Seeking Alpha, and based on that, he is not a good economic writer by any stretch of the imagination. He is not logical, does not apply facts in a sensible way, and is not a well-organized writer.
Yeah, but he’s not writing things he genuinely believes, instead his just pushing his firm. So long as whatever he’s written does that he comes out ahead – he doesn’t want customers who are smart enough to work out, for example, that it is impossible to have 60% of a sample of 12 people give a particular answer to a survey.
But you are conceding my point. My assertion above is that he is not a particularly bright person, to put it mildly.
I did not assert he was a dishonest, lying, venial scumbag like CDE. He doesn’t have the capability for that and its pretty obvious in his writing.
I dunno. Despite all your attempts to slag him off, old CDE looks like a pretty cool sort of bloke to me. I bet he’s got loads of interesting stories. I’d go and have a beer or several with him for sure. Better than most of the dullard expats you find trawling the bars or online forums slagging off others or crying in their beers. CDE looks like he’s fun, man.
Hear! Hear! Loads of stories. Loads. Don’t get him started if you plan on catching even a moment of cricket. More stories than a toga party of greek tragedians could dream up. You couldn’t fit them all in a Maharaja’s palace. Old boy, I do hope you find a better class of audience in the lobby of the Algonquin!
In fact, if all 400 million Chinamen were to defecate at once, you would still have more stories than – er – so sorry chaps, but I seem to have lost my train of thought.
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova of Pussy Riot said today at their trial in Moscow: ” I have no private spite. But I have political spite”. This website and supporters has both. Your frigging Nazis that would gas jews. You are disgusting and so is your picking on people like this.
Pull yourself together man! These rapscallions are trouble enough without you emoting as if you were the baron’s lover. (That is one story I have not heard, but he is a young man and I’m told the times change. And do not worry about the Nazis, we gave them what for.) Fix yourself a G and T.
Thank you for helping me prove my law.
Chris never leaves folks. Read on his personal blog wonderful stories about he and his Mrs. going places. He suddenly has a daughter as well which obviously isn’t his but it makes the picture so nice and complete. The Baron with Baroness and daughter visiting wonderful places and educating the lower classes about class and style. Chrissie you remain the bullshit artist you have ever been. Keep living your double life. One day you will slit your wrists anyway. If you really go I bet the staff and partners at DZ must be drinking Champagne to celebrate for days to come. Out with the psycho and finally rest and peace.
And so my words become true. That didn’t take long.
Meh. Have you read his stuff? Its economic word-salad. Keep in mind, all this stuff is self-published garbage.
Shaun Rein is like the Thomas Friedman of China hands. His premise and support look reasonable if you don’t examine them too closely, but if you do, you will find there is really nothing there.
Plus, he is an absolute in the tank commie-lover. And you know its just his own calculation that it is going to benefit him. His attack on CNN was just pitiful, his whole argument is that, by renting a car and hiring a translator, CNN went too far to ‘make the news’. So, if Christian Bale had simply hired them, everything would have been a-ok.
Let’s stipulate that he commonly does not provide any links in his articles. He pulls numbers out of thin air all the time and rarely provides any links at all.
Check out this link, its not his worst work but still represents a fair sample of his skills in talking about economic forces. Notice especially his lack of even a real attempt to explain how the Chinese inflation, which he calls systemic, would actually be passed on to the US.
Why China’s inflation is headed to the US (written in June of 2011, still waiting for that China inflation to land on US shores, Shaun):
http://seekingalpha.com/article/274738-america-can-t-escape-china-s-inflation
So your attempts to badmouth CDE backfired once you were seen to fabricate evidence and falsify comments, and now you’re turning your attention to Shaun Rein, is that it? Anyone is game. You encouraged Chris to “slit his wrists”. The Nazis did the same. What’s frightening about you is you are all in China. People like Gilman Grundy and your ilk scare the shit out of me if you ever had any responsibility other than conjuring up online abuse. Its a small step from wanting someone to slitting their wrists (which is what you said) to wanting them in the gas chamber.
Quite right, old bean! The Nazis were always leaving uncomplimentary remarks on blogs — it was what made them so deuced hard to beat during the war.
WTF? What is this about and why is someone posting with my name?
It’s called sock-puppetry and is a favorite technique of the Baron’s. Luckily, detecting the old bounder is a simple matter of reading the posts, as he is really is rather crude in his technique.
Step 1: Using your real name, write some affable, breezy comments saying the facts are all tish and pish, but thanks for the LOLZ and you just made me an extra 5k a month in long-term clients!
Step 2: Return after a few hours’ stewing and write a couple of new comments. Typically, these involve a foul-mouthed, witless rant (involving copious use of the word ‘cunt’; it’s like the Vagina Monolgues with Chris) against whoever has wronged him, followed by something along the lines of “Chris has helped countless entrepreneurs in China/is widely admired by the silent majority/ is considered a living saint in some cultures”; sign off with another blast of “Cunts!”
Step 3: If necessary, a quick false-flag operation: a pile of pure, horrible invective against CDE designed to provoke sympathy and a sense of “this has gone too far, these guys are just bullies” narrative.
Step 4: Sign back in under your previous pseudonym and write “See? I told you so!” See “Aleks Rodin” who has clearly never heard of Godwin’s Law. Amongst other things, Chris is barely literate. His preferred reading matter is, in order a) his own work b) Self-help manuals c) celebrity autobiographies
If that all sounds pretty exhausting work, remember Chris doesn’t have a job now and this thread is probably taking up most of his spare time.
You forgot to add the necessary alcohol consumption into the mix. Once he goes on the next bender, that’s when things will get interesting.
They pop up from time to time and the first was Sir Edmund Backhouse 2nd Baronet cad, black sheep with a penchant for secrecy (rather than self-publicity).
Where would the blog world be without…
And CDE’s essential reading for his next gig. Nine Lives by that retro historian wanker William Dalrymple. Plus a fanfare by that pagan Stravinsky.
Seriously, all this and his just grist for his autobiography.
Flashman, Browning (Corris) anyone??
Both CDE and Rein are pathetic and the way they team up to try to snuff out anything that is said about them is pathetic too. They both are always talking about trolls and haters without any ability to self reflect and realize the problem is them and the shitty way they treat people. Most everyone I know here in Shanghai hates the both of them and we are happy CDE is leaving and we figure Rein will be next, unless his world’s greatest consulting company of just him, his wife, and a few college students starts bringing in money.
Rein is worst than Ellis because Rein does not have the excuse of being a fat pathetic old fuck who never even went to university. He had every privilege, went to Harvard, married for money and yet he still is stuck writing a piece of shit book to try to make a living. If neither of them had come here at the right time they would have been just ordinary dumb fucks back in Boston. They got lucky so let’s give them their due.
The overall tone of this entire web posting has been hugely mean-spirited. Bringing Chris’s wife and teenage daughter into it now crosses the boundary into making it somewhat sinister as well. I hope whoever is responsible for this realises that. Its totally out of order and the thing Beijing Cream should do is just dump this entire thread, it’s way beyond a joke. I find it appalling and those responsible should be ashamed of themselves.
How many of the Mongolian whores does the wife know about? 20? 50?
Oh wait…I get it now.
Besides, no one believes the teenage daughter exists. Chris, you are so very good at inventing things. What’s her name? I bet she will be posting here too soon, outraged at the attacks on her kind Pater.
May I refer to the fact that the my fellow Baron is the one writing a blog and putting his private life on display on his blog. If he wants to have a private life he should take his shit offline and go and live in a cave…or slit his wrists or live in the Amazon jungle.
@BeijingExpat: Agreed, and the content seems to have become dangerously intent towards the stalking of a teenage girl. Its way beyond amusing.
Bullshit! one mention of your invented family man persona is something different than stalking you dumb idiot. Chris you try everything from bullying to trying to get some sympathy, from trying to appeal to peoples morality or referring to the law. You brought this over you with your crusades against even the mildest forms of criticism, your paranoid attacks on what you consider “enemies” and your grandiose fantasies in which you rule the world or at least advise, on a daily basis, the politburo of the CPC. The one without a shred of morality is you. You are a sick man!
From the Barony of Coigach website:
“The current Barons Father, John Henry Devonshire-Ellis (1923-2001), served in World War Two in the Royal Navy prior to being demobbed and taking a position with the BBC, while his Grandfather, Samuel Henry Devonshire-Ellis (1890-1953), was a commander of the Royal Navy in World War One and was involved in the battle of Jutland. Some of the family graves may be visited at Bolton Abbey, home of the Duke & Duchess of Devonshire.”
I doubt if anyone else can write so many lies as out Bullshit Baron. His name isn’t even Devonshire so how that does work?
Everything about him is a lie. I just did a google search on the people he claims is his father and his grandfather and none show up except on Devonshit’s own websites. He is lying about being married and having a kid and he is lying about having a daughter and being a lawyer and his meetings with governmetn officials. I think that his company pushed him out because they knew his lying and the way nobody respects him was doing more harm for them than helping them. We should be moving on though as he is now gone adn so will not be fuckign with us in China any more and so now we need to figure out what to do with CDEs butt buddies who are still here and still making life basd for the rest of us. The drunk lying dumbshit is gone.
Gone? I seriously doubt that. Chrissie Boy is not gone. Our online troll will stay active from wherever he is on the planet and I am very sure he will keep entertaining the World with his rare insights, his crystal ball reading and utterly nonsensensical analysis of politics and economics. Actually I think he will be back in China soon as the US and India will have nothing to do with him. Even will his beloved Scotland turn out to be a place where he has any friends. None of his clan members will have anything to do with him. For that he would need a something he will never possess: Class.
So in summary, what you’re saying is Chris managed to builld a highly successful business in China employing hundreds of people and with (I think) 12 offices, but all the time it’s not really his real name, he had no formal education, and it’s all built on lies and deceit. And you know all about this but the Chinese Government and their officials keep allowing him to renew his business visa every year, and all his clients appear to keep doing business with him. Obviously after 20 years in China he’s completely stupid and achieved it his success purely by lies. Adds up. Makes sense. I’ll buy that theory.
Has he achieved success? I bet not.
You’ve used my name also without permission, the same as Digby Ross. I am now retired but was a long term client of Chris. This article is complete nonsense and uses fake names and assumed identities to libel him. I do not know what sick online game you are trying to play, presumably to discredit him. It’s a shoddy way to treat someone and using false IDs just demonstrates your lack of credibility and your cowardise. I am sure if you provided your real names youd be in deep trouble. And don’t use my name here again.
Cedric Woolley, ex General Manager, China, GET plc
Forget all this bullshit, anyone interested should go and see what the man originally said about his leaving here: http://www.china-briefing.com/news/2012/08/13/why-im-leaving-china.html
Incidentally Chris and his Family are long term and well liked and respected members of the Capital Club in Beijing and I see them there on a regular basis. All this other stuff is utter nastiness garbage provided by one or two idiots using fake IDs. Go figure.
I’ve dealt with him online. There’s nothing respectable about him.
There is indeed nothing respectable about Chris Devonshire-Ellis. A two-faced bully.
Ah Chris had to come up with all kind of invented friends supporting him. The “facts” presented are always the same. Been here a long time, renewing of visa or license, happy clients. Look at his ramblings and sad craving for recognition. DZ is successful DESPITE Chris and THANKS to Chris. He made a lot of good marketing moves and screwed up a lot of credibility as well by pretending to be a lawyer,accountant, the return of JC, the big think tank man, visionary, mergers and acquisitions banker, tax specialist . Bullying his way out of trouble, mostly unsuccessful, stalking people etc. The list is endless. I wish him well in the States, the land made for bullshit artists like him. I am sure everybody hopes our Baron can entertain loads of groupies on the land he does not own in Scotland and one day becomes the Prime Minister of a free Scotland. Chris I salute you! You are truly one of a kind. Thank God for that.
One things for sure, his firm is damn good, has a great reputation and he employs some very smart legal and tax people. I wonder why they would work for him then? That doesn’t add up does it.
Sure Chris. If you stay away they will even become much better.
If you want an expat cunt, it’s this guy, Ed Lehman. Check out the stuff particularly about Contempt of Court and posting hundreds of libelous articles against his own biz partner. Chris sued him also. This is nothing but Ed Lehmans revenge and a few dumb ass comments from people who don’t bow the real shit going down. Chris is cool, Ed Lehman is probably going to prison. See: http://www.china-briefing.com/news/2012/08/09/damages-of-us5-4-million-awarded-against-lehman-lee-xu.html
Then learn about what’s going on. You can google too and see the real detail behind this. Someone taking down folk in revenge before they themselves get buried.
Yes Edward Lehman is your twin brother. Equally mentally challenged. However the article is about you Chrissie boy and I think E. Lehman has probably other things on his mind than trying to “bring you down”. You are so much better at that all by yourself.
This article reads like nasty jealous shit written by people with no lives.
Got sent a Message to read this, did, and then linked to read The original article by Devonshire-Ellis. One is crap, the other well written. Read both and make up your minds about what is The real shit going down online. Some people are real saddos.
Read them both and can only conclude that CDE seems to be delusional. Read his blog and can only conclude that he is madly in love with himself. The critiques might be a bit over the top but then again…..he seems to deserve it. I am quite familiar with the business scene in Shanghai and Beijing and he has very, very few friends so all the writing of people that the man is highly respected is fake. He is not, people just laugh when you would mention his name.
Someone went to the trouble of sending unsolicited emails out all over Shanghai linking to this article and generally being nasty about me – so let me respond to some of the accusations here. First of all, let’s deal with the regulatory issue. My firm is fully licensed and regulated by the Chinese authorities, and I am responsible to them for the qualifications and finances we have and are entrusted with. The fact that they have seen fit to grant us annual renewals every year for 20 years, in addition to my fulfilling my duties with the position I hold is a regulatory matter between them and myself, not for bloggers who assume they ‘know’ everything. Following that, neither myself nor my firm have been sued, or in any way issued with any proceedings against us in China or elsewhere. There are no convictions, no unpaid debts, no legal problems whatsoever. I like to keep things straight and that’s how they have been under my care for two decades here.
In terms of my position, I was Managing Partner for China from 1992 until 2007, when I stepped down from that role to concentrate on the development of our India practice. My family however were still based in Beijing and I commuted a lot. The fact I returned to China does not indicate I did not relinquish my role, and neither was the decision to do so linked to any issues or problems with the Chinese Government. That is just conspiracy theories, the twisted use of circumstantial ‘evidence’ and nonsense. Following our India expansion, which is now successful and is growing, I set up our Singapore office last year. That’s also now settled and productive and I subsequently move onto the United States. It’s normal for a senior executive to have such roles, and to move on from time to time, especially in my position which is essentially emerging markets development. I retain full board membership, and in terms of that responsibility, am also beholden to our shareholders (and not bloggers) the former of which no doubt have been satisfied with the dividends they have been achieving over the past few years. If not, I would have been out a long time ago.
What is really being discussed here (if one can call it that) is a struggle for control of the English language China blogosphere and who retains influence in and over it. Certain people wish my own China Briefing and my own popular commentary to go away, most of them have piled in here with derogatory and nasty comments, including some regrettable sly pokes at my own family. I think this behavior is an indecent way to diminish competition.
Some of the people reading this may agree, in which case I have to conclude that the English language blogosphere in China has become a noxious mess. The individuals concerned here, not me, are responsible for that. My China Briefing site never ridicules individuals, or reaches the levels of online abuse you appear to have descended to, we stick to business, regulatory, legal, tax and China operational matters.
Some wish to settle scores with me perhaps, although I doubt any of you have ever conducted business with either myself or my firm. If you truly have, and have any gripes, there’s no need to use false names to post remarks, you can email me at chris@dezshira.com and we’ll get them sorted out. But I very much doubt that is the case. If so, the only justification to this nonsense is of petty jealousy, delight at abusing someone who has had some success in China, and a general nastiness. If that is the case, all I can say is that is not the way to succeed in China, and such attitudes will hasten failure in a career here. China is essentially a polite, restrained and well mannered society. That worked for me as a business environment, it may be prudent for some of you to consider that route.
Finally, on family and friends. Someone commented about looking for my Grandfather and Father online and being unable to find them. The implication made was, bizarrely, that they didn’t exist and I was somehow being deceitful.
Well, my Grandfather died in 1951 (I never met him) so he certainly doesn’t have a Facebook account. My own Father passed away 12 years ago, and ditto, although he was an enthusiiastic Radio Ham for many many years. The internet, for people like him, was for kids. My wife and child I have no desire to bring into this debate and I especially resent the fact they were mentioned, particuarly in the abusive context stated here. That’s both nasty and to some degree, potentially endangering their well being as well as being completely unnecessary.
As for friends, well I am fortunate enough to have a few, although I do not socialise at cheap bars quaffing beers in Sanlitun or Hengshan Lu to hang out with them as I suspect many people here may do. I usually either just go home, or hang out at Beijing’s Capital Club, although I have until now been a regular at Aria, in the China World Hotel. It’s hardly my fault if my detractors don’t have the same social life as I do. Which brings me to my final point – I suspect that many of you are younger than I – if so, good luck. But beating up on successful expats and getting into habits such as ridiculing other people will not get you very far. I feel sorry for those that do; I feel their lives must be rather frustrating and sad.
You’ve made me a Google Bomb as a Leaving Present, with everyone from Jeremy Goldkorn to Richard Burger and way beyond tweeting and linking to ensure this shoots right to the very top of the search engines. That’s really not very pleasant, nor do I feel it is justified. If you think it’s funny, then you must possess a rather warped sense of humanity towards others.
If I have truly upset anyone here, then I apologise, and you can email me to sort it out. But really, if you feel that I truly deserve to be treated by you as a fellow expat in such a manner then all I can say is that I’m happy to leave such a community behind. These are my final words on the subject, I have no doubt that some of you will pull them to bits, twist them and continue your tirade of abuse as before. I’m rather sad about that, but more as what that means as concerns your own China mentality than what is does for the health of mine.
Those of you that can – be cool.
Those of you that can’t – perhaps you’re in the wrong place.
That’s enough from me, and I shall not return to this domain again.
Yours;
Chris Devonshire-Ellis
I think reading all this stuff on this thread that your inability to admit your lies is what bothers people. If your grandfather was an important officer in a major naval battle one would not expect to find a Facebook account but would surf to the Royal Navy archives where a man called Devonshire-Ellis is unknown. Same for your dad.
I think the desperate attempts to pretend something you are not and the way you have looked down upon others during your years in China have caused a following of people to make it their mission to expose every one of your old and new lies. It must be absolutely exhausting pretending someone you are not year after year and desperately fighting off those taking time to expose your falsehoods.
That must hurt especially if you have a distorted view of reality as far as your accomplishments go and your knowledge of world affairs. This inability to admit to lies, absence of guilt and exaggerating of accomplishments does not coincide with a high EQ or healthy relationships.
A noticed for example that your proudly put on articles about Bo Xilai and how the two of you are supposed to be good pals and how quickly you had to backtrack those stories once it became clear that such invented brotherhood could be not just lethal for your business but maybe even for you yourself. It shows that you are basically a very naive person who often does not think before he acts. A person who can not maintain long-term friendships as it seems.
I sometimes read articles on China Briefing. The technical pieces on new rules and regulations are often, not always, well written but your Op-ed pieces are by and large the ramblings of someone with an overdose of self love and desperation to put up yet another advertorial. I truly wonder what kind of clients you would bring to the table and what you would do for them? Proofread their contracts? Discuss mergers and acquisitions? They must be mad in my opinion if they do so after reading some of your pieces. I can not believe any serious company would decide you would be the right man for such work and you have to be delusional if you personally offer your consultancy services.
Anyway all the best with your new venture in the US and maybe the years in China have taught you that if you leave your grandiose fantasies and paranoid schizophrenic tendencies behind, on the way out, you might even be liked by some of my fellow countrymen and make a few real friends.
A rather childish response. I also think the long story of Devonshire is a silly charade but the response above is way too rude.
Hi; I’m also now thinking this has gone too far. It started as fun with CDE but is getting nasty and I want no part of this anymore. I know a lot of the people involved online so I don’t use my real name as I don’t want to get spammed. I can say that there is defiantely a conspiracy to defame Chris Devonshire-Ellis. If he reads this, maybe he wants to know whose involved. These are the names.
Jeremy Goldkorn – Danwei
Doesn’t mention CDE on his blogs but re-tweets nasty articles and material like this one to all of Danwei followers. Never includes anything by Chris on his aggregator. I think he view China Briefing as competitor.
Dan Harris – China Law Blog
Is friends with JG and his site competes directly with CDE. Hates CDE and asks FOARP (Gilman Grundy) to post material on FOARP site that is anti-CDE. Also abuses Shaun Rein and titled a lot of CLB artciles “The End of Cheap China” at the same time Shauns book the same name came out. Hates anyone who is prominent in China law and business online that is more prominent than him. Has a massive ego and is nasty to people but is careful to do it indirectly.
Gilman Grundy – FOARP
Is Dans lacky and discusses with Dan about how to attack people on his FOARP website. Twists the truth about a lot of people. Failed in China and hates anyone with success there. SEO artciles especialy to make them appear high on Google rankings.
Ryan McLaughlin – Lost Laowai
Hates CDE because he once posted something defamatory and CDE’s lawyers made him take it down. Loves it when anything bad about CDE comes online and reposts and links. Does all on China Law Blogs SEO work and helps spread bad shit about CDE and good stuff about Dan Harris.
Enrico Valle
Used to be in Shanghai and hates CDE from ShanghaiExpat. He sent out the recent emails about this article using the old ShanghaiExpat user database he stole with him when he left China. Is a big hater and big user of fake names. I can see him a lot here.
Ed Lehman – Lehman Li & Xu and Lehman Brown
Hates CDE because CDE sued him for plagarism and won and featured the news in China Briefing. Lehman is now in big trouble with his ex partner Russell Brown about defamotory blogs and in the US has just been sued for 5.8million for operating a Ponzi scheme. He set up the Rondo Zeb site that disses CDE. Hates him.
Elliott Ng – Google
Head of Google in China, also invested in CN Reviews. That failed because they n’t able to generate as many readers or income as CDE’s China Briefing. Sends emails to other blogs asking them not to feature CDE and calls him a scumbag.
Richard Burger – Peking Duck
His site is a unmoderatered but he also encourages bad comemnts especially about CDE and Shaun Rein to his followers. He linked to this artciel on his blog
There are also other hangers on but these are the main ones who regualry tweet and post material or comments on each others sites to make CDE look bad and to help get articles like this one high up on search rankings when you search for CDE. They also do the same to Shaun Rein but not as much. This people all are freinds and work together to make a systematic Google Bomb and bad things appear on websites about people they don’t like or who compete with them, CDE is target number one which is why thsi happens. You can see it in all the negatuve tweeting from them and that they allow bad comemnts on their websites about these peiople. The above is the English language China blog mafia. I am now sick of it and their behaviors also. This si what is going on in the Chian blogs. Note the man who writes this artcile on Beijing Cream also has no name, just RFH. All is deliberate attemopt to say bad things about their competitors and it is definately organised.
Chris,
You made me laugh so hard with this one accusing all of the bloggers who actually have readers with ganging up on you because you are there competition. I just don’t see why they would do that when nobody reads your blog and I just think it it was competition that they all wanted to stop why they wouldn’t be attacking each other. I don’t even think most of these bloggers even know each other. You must have had too much to drink again but I hope you don’t drink more or the next time I fear you will throw thte pope adn the jews and the freemasons in. You have left China and if you were at all smart you would stop showing up on here and generating more SEO for it.My advice to you is to just let it go and move on with your life. You’ve lost and become a laughingstock and a punching bag and it’s time you just move on with your life so that stops. Don’t keep giving people more punches at you.
Hahahaha,
You are truly paranoid. Why would anyone give a rat’s ass about your Op-ed pieces if not for a hard laugh? Why do you go to Aria? Because in any other establishment people know who you are and will never take anything you say serious. Only by talking to temporary guests in the Aria you can make it look as if you are Mr. China and the all important and intelligent Baron of Bullshit. They might even try to use you for their bookkeeping. Good for your low self esteem huh? Still the same little smelly kid as on the football team.
There’s no conspiracy Mr.Psycho, just a lot of people who are tired of your BS stories, your paranoid stalking, your drunk alter ego’s on forums and your utter and complete lack of any credentials Mr. wannabee tax lawyer or mergers and acquisition banker. Add to that your outright threats to people and what is left is a silly drunk with no self esteem whatsoever just a bloated narcissistic ego.
Your comments keep this thread alive and thus it will go up in the ranking. Maybe you should hire a couple of lawyers to go after all the people you mentioned. However, first you need to undergo a couple of psychiatric evaluation sessions to make sure the court will actually take you serious. Considering your alter ego’s like Fidel and whatever other ones are still sitting on hard disks around the community I wish you good luck.
Go to the US of A and sell your BS there and stop whining here. You have received what you deserve and should be grateful nobody has sued you before for defamation as there are plenty of well documented examples to be found. You haven’t got a leg to stand on. Just go away you creep.
When Michael Connolly passed away Chris must have been very relieved thinking the rubbish he posted would go away. However there’s quite a few people who have received a copy of the archives from Mike. The Joys of Camel Porn, the naked dancing on the table to name just a few of a total of over 3500 postings. Chris nobody can take you serious.
Hmmm. The last three comments look like people ganging up on Chris to me. I think there’s something systematic in all this harrassment. It does seems prepared and coordinated. Of course it would be denied…It seems attacks on Shuan Rein too attract the same people online. It is an interesting list of China blog mafia.
I read Chris article, it was good. This article is by a troll using a fake name “RFH”, populated by people from the cyber world attacking a real person in the real world. You people here are evil and twisted and I just subscribed to China Briefing as a result. I prefer reality and real people.
I know more than half of the people CDE mentions in his paranoia list and I know about the other half and if they are after CDE (which I highly doubt), I have to believe it is because CDE is a lying bloated asshole drunk and not becuase they are jealous of him hanging out and getting drunk with toursists and doing his Duke of China routine.
Chris is a mentally disturbed paranoid drunk. Instead of our giving him a row, we should take pity on him and and congratulate him for having the good sense to quit the China business before it ate him alive any more than it already has.
On his personal website he says his Grandfather died in 1953. Then here he says he died in 1951. What a schmuck!!!
LIAR!!!!! Whatever he says he is incapable of maintaining the truth. He probably had no parents abandoned as a kid for being ugly or mentally defective, which seems to fit the pattern of his constantly lying behaviors.
“Richard Burger – Peking Duck
His site is a unmoderatered but he also encourages bad comemnts especially about CDE and Shaun Rein to his followers. He linked to this artciel on his blog”
Just for the record: I have never once posted anything on my blog about CDE. I once — once — wrote a comment and gave the link to this thread, but never said anything derogatory about CDE, just that his farewell letter “reads like an advertisement.” That’s all in ten years I ever wrote about the man.
Here is my sole interaction with him: He emailed me some months ago and asked me to delete some comments that offended him. I immediately deleted them and he responded with an email thanking me and saying he would like to get together the next time I was in town. Remember, Chris? Remember? Now I see he’s been bad-mouthing me here and on other forums. This is bizarre, ridiculous, and a testament to the man’s character. It comes as no surprise now that he would embrace Shaun Rein with open arms. They deserve one another.
Yes, but to his credit he has a nice Eagle.
Richard Burger is being disingenuous. He personally may not have written about CDE on Peking Duck, but he permitted many derogatory and quite possibly libelous comments about him from people such as FOARP et al. “Approval by Proxy” one might say.
Peking Duck is and remains a sewer of a China blog: unmoderated, noisy trash talk from the entire spectrum of China focused expat losers. Take a look: http://www.pekingduck.org – and while we’re on the subject – it is blocked within China for being offensive. Chris may have his faults, but he calls a spade a spade while others seek to twist matters, don’t they Richard? But then you’re part of the English Language China Blog Mafia so what you say is always correct and other people are always wrong. Especially as you now seek to become a prominent writer. Can’t have competition out there can we? You will, one day I suspect regret your Peking Duck blog history. It’s too low class and trash talking rubbish to provide you with any credibility other than a devoted army of moronic, potty mouthed morons who act upon your outrage at the drop of your hemline.
And just follow the Tweets: @ThePekingDuck, @Goldkorn, @Foarp; plus the others, all talking, all coordinated, all planned…
Yes nice Eagle. What species is that?
Shaun Reins book “The End Of Cheap China”:
http://www.amazon.com/The-End-Cheap-China-Economic/dp/111817206X
Dan Harris’s China Law Blog Articles When Shauns Book Came Out:
http://www.chinalawblog.com/2012/06/the-end-of-cheap-china-low-cost-eroding.html
http://www.chinalawblog.com/2012/03/the-end-of-cheap-china-what-does-it-mean-anyway.html
http://www.chinalawblog.com/2012/03/the_end_of_cheap_china_part_v_vietnam_burmamyanmar_and_the_next_big_thing-2.html
http://www.chinalawblog.com/2012/02/the_end_of_cheap_china_part_v_even_more_on_how_you_must_prepare_for_it.html
http://www.chinalawblog.com/2012/02/the_end_of_cheap_china_part_iv_more_on_how_you_must_prepare_for_it.html
http://www.chinalawblog.com/2012/01/the_end_of_cheap_china_part_iii_how_you_must_prepare_for_it.htmlhttp://www.chinalawblog.com/2012/02/the_end_of_cheap_china_part_iv_more_on_how_you_must_prepare_for_it.html
http://www.chinalawblog.com/2012/01/the_end_of_cheap_china_part_ii.html
http://www.chinalawblog.com/2012/01/the_end_of_cheap_china_with_a_giant_caveat.html
Nice. The English Language China Blog Mafia at home, at work, at play.
What does this have to do with anything? I also note that China Law Blog used the phrase many months before Mr. Rein’s book even came out, but of course it didn’t coin the phrase as it had been used for years before that. How though does China Law Blog using a particular phrase prove a mafia of bloggers out to take down dear Chrissie boy?
Yes, old bean, you’ve hit the nail on the head. Jeremy Goldkorn and I conspire on a daily basis to hurt CDE. Our conference calls are usually held at about 19:00 Beijing time, and we have what we call the Slander Checklist, agreeing on which blogs and forums to defame and embarrass CDE.
Again, I’ve never said a harsh word about CDE ever, and in my entire history of blogging I mentioned him in ONE comment and linked to this thread in ONE treat. But no matter, I’m a Nazi. Hilarious.
Chris is achieving here what he wants to achieve which is to try to change the topic from his lying to that of various disconnected bloggers out to get him for absolutely no reason at all. Everyone who knows China knows that these bloggers choose to ignore Chris so as not to be subject to his drunken tirades. Nobody has linked over to the articles slamming Chris because they don’t exist. Chris is the one who cannot stand competition and that is why he is making all of this up about the blogs slamming him.
Chris is a mental case. His responses prove him to be one. Aggressive, crying, talking about how prominent he is. How prominent are you if you have to support your own comments with other ones from your own hand? A narcissistic sick person. His long standing relationships with the rest of the expatriate community show how well liked he is. People are not jealous. They are happy to create a few miles distance between themselves and Baron Christopher Anthony Devonshire-Ellis or just plain Chris Ellis. Chris should not be taken serious at any time, not even in a rare moment of clarity.
@Richard: you don’t read your comments. Here you trash Shaun Rein, and then other people trash CDE: http://www.pekingduck.org/2011/12/anti-cnn-spokesman-shaun-rein/
Crash and burn Dude. There’s plenty of other examples on your website you have a search function on Peking Duck, remember?
Funny thing is I searched for you on CDE’s China Briefing as well. Nothing came up. Thevman speaks zilch about you. Maybe that pisses you off?
@Fidel: Sure, Dan Harris’s slew of “The End Of Cheap China” articles at the exact same time as the launch of his book of the exact same name was a complete coincidence.
@Reinsfeld
Just visited that Shaun Rein link on the Duck blog: not only does Richard Burger not mention CDE at all, but neither did any of the commenters (that I could see; it wasn’t a forensic examination). There was, however, lots of references to CGC (Chen Guangchen) and CNN (Cable Network News). I get it, three letters, one of them a ‘C’, confusing… but it does completely undermine your line of attack.
I take back what I said previously about how no bloggers are out to get dear old Chrissie-boy. I just did a Google search and in about ten minutes I found the following that does show a number of bloggers have it in for the poor sap. If you read them all, you will see why.
http://foarp.blogspot.com/2008/11/chris-devonshire-ellis-is-not-lawyer.html
http://foarp.blogspot.com/2011/03/my-stalker-chris-devonshire-ellis.html
http://www.gongshangfa.com/law/on-any-human-sanitation-day/
http://www.gongshangfa.com/uncategorized/chris-devonshire-ellis-fake-lawyer-fake-quitter-just-fake/
http://foarp.blogspot.com/2011/03/chris-devonshire-ellis-thug-and-liar.html
http://www.gongshangfa.com/uncategorized/chris-ellis-fake-lawyer-fake-interviewer/
http://www.baronyofcoigach.com
http://shanghaipit.com/showthread.php?t=1950&page=5
And interestingly they all deal with the deceit and lies from Baron Christopher Anthony Devonshire-Elis. You see what happens Chris? Every time you whine there will be a full mention of your royal name so you can cry later about the high Google rankings. Obviously there’s little you can do about it.
I am sure Chrissie is in one of his manic depressed periods now hitting the bottle and fantasizing about how he is going to line up everyone who found out he is a lying bag of shit and published it and then execute them. Or how he is an undercover Chinese public security agent picking up his “competitors” and torturing them until they confessed their crime of exposing CDE as a fraud.
Nobody can be a competitor of CDE. In order to be one you would need a lobotomy to start with, drink copious amounts of alcohol on a daily basis combined with a range of pills and then spend your entire days putting together conspiracy theories.
China Law Blog also appears not to have been above the fray as I just found this post it did on Chris Devonshire Ellis a couple years ago, but that is all it has ever said about him. http://www.chinalawblog.com/2009/02/breaking_news_did_pure_fabrica.html. Seems Chrissie boy has yet to recover from this one. Not really a surprise since CLB essentially commits a crystal clean vivisection of the poor bloke, using his own words to hang him by his own petard.
Neither Rein nor CDE engage in expat bashing on their websites. They are professionals, and highly respected and widely read and popular as a result. The difference between you and them is that you folk get a rise over posting shit about prominent online China expats like them because you get a cheap five minutes of fame and a higher level of readers when you do.
In short : you suck and live by the lowest common denominator.
And it’s not just the blogs. You should read your own tweets!!!!
You forget what you type in the name of taking the piss. It’s all on record. Dan Harris, FOARP, Goldkorn, Richard Burger, Gilman Grundy, you’re all in it attacking and writing nasty shit about other expats, right up to your eyeballs it’s just now you got outed as the real culprits.
Except Dan Harris famously shut down his twitter account about two years ago: http://www.chinalawblog.com/2011/03/why_i_found_twitter_to_be_china_irrelevant.html. So your accusing him of attacking and writing nasty shit about other expats cannot be true. I don’t follow any of the others on twitter but it would be good if you could back up those accusations with some facts as well.
Chris they write shit about you because you are a piece of shit. How difficult is that to understand? You must know what you have done. Shexpat site, your own chinaexpat site troubles, your attacks against Russell Brown, your bashing of what you consider competitors. Once yu bashed Dan out of the blue. Then there’s anonymous writing to clients of others, to regulators, intimidation. You are a sick drunk fuck who has either Alzheimer or just does not understand the meaning of “what goes around comes around”.
Stop whining, get your medication in order and fuck off with your conspiracy theories. Mental case! Now take a pill, hit the bottle and get lost.
I don’t have anything more to add to this thread but I think it important that I mention Chris Devonshire Ellis, Chris Devonshire-Ellis, CDE and Shaun Rein again just os the search engines will be sure to find htis article adn its comments so everyone can know who they are dealing with if they deal with them.
This is for the person who said that Shaun Rein doesn’t engage in attacks:http://www.pekingduck.org/2012/03/shaun-reins-revenge/.
It seems that Dan Harris is a nasty piece of work when he wants to be.
Tweet Alert FOARP: @ryanmclaughlin, @ThePekingDuck, @goldkorn
China Blog Mafia? Fuggedabouit!
That’s Gilman Grundy, Ryan McLaughlin (Lost Laowai), Richard Burger and Jeremy Goldkorn (Danwei) coordinating tweets denying the existence of a China Blog Mafia that likes to gang up and ridicule certain expats, yet at the same time proving their existence.
Wow Chris Devonshire-Ellis is now in super paranoid mode even checking tweets and trying to connect them. Like all other analysis from the hand of Baron Chris Devonshire-Ellis it seems he again fails to come up with something coherent. It seems Chris Devonshire-Ellis, our Baron of Coigach is now desperately trying to convince readers that he, the Saint and successful entrepreneur is being victimized for no particular reason. We wish Christopher Anthony-Ellis, Baron of Coigach good luck with this important work. I tried to wite Chris Devonshire-Ellis more often but it is hard to do so. In the end you start Hyphenventilating.
Bwa ha ha ha! Bwa ha ha ha!
Ha ha ha ha ha ha, bwa ha ha ha.
Now he is probably drunk
Tweet Monitor,
If true, publish the tweets so we can see them because I didn’t find them. That also does not explain the dozens of other bloggers who have called Chris Devonshire Ellis and Shaun Rein to task for their actions.
Chris Devonshire Ellis and Shaun Rein. Shaun Rein and Chris Devonshire Ellis. The End of Cheap China. Ben Cavender.
The true motives behind this now become clear. Links to “articles” written by you, distributed by you and contantly refered to by you. Trying to wreck reputations through Google searches. Funny isn’t it how a bunch of people hiding behind false names think they can affect others. Scary too. Your lack of transparency and cowardise is compelling viewing. I fear for the results of this behavior.
That sounds almost exactly like Chris’ strategy. Anonymous writing of nasty stuff about others. But anyway I also have to agree that Chris has been bullied enough. Everybody knows he is a wanker and unless there are people who have something of great interest they want to share I suggest to just leave him alone until he fucks up again and then stay on topic. His great website is already a boulevard of broken links to articles he had to delete. With a little patience there’s more to come and then from the US.
What nasty little people you are. I know Chris and you are a vindictive group set out to harass someone who performs a great service to the China expatriate community through his China Briefing site. You by contrast come across as despicable hate filled trolls. I’ve never come across anything so vile in my years of China. You should be ashamed of yourselves and I have no doubt someone will take action against this dreadful online nastiness.
Aye matey,
Some people seem to have a grudge on you. That’s terrible isn’t it? They should love you, worship you and promote your online information that serves the expat community so well. Dreadful nastiness indeed. Why on earth would these nasty worms do this to your highness? They must be a bunch of terrible losers. Low life scum, most likely a bunch of English teachers sipping cheap bottles of beer who are jealous of your achievements. That’s probably it. Just forget about them…they are not worth the fight. After all you are going to your big estate in Scotland soon for a well deserved retirement, fishing for salmon, sipping only the best Highland Malts, cracking another lobster and having the peasantry come over to kiss your ring and offer half their harvest to your highness. So why bother? Fuck ‘em in the ear. By the time they are old enough to stand on their own feet you have achieved nirvana by fighting every inch of the way. By the way…did you pick up that curly 18th century wig already? I am sure it looks lovely on you.
It says a lot that some of China’s best journalists are having quite a fun time with this article too: http://muckrack
.com/topic/Chris%20Devonshire%20Ellis.
Chris Devonshire Ellis was an ass to just about everyone in China and like everybody else I am glad to see him go. Is it too much to hope for Shaun Rein to leave too?
Well not always ok. Especially not if you send such a press release as can be found below to your Leading Edge Alliance proclaiming you were “assigned” a title and making up stories of the nobility of the family.
http://www.leadingedgealliance.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=dsp_news_article&publication_id=9610&lang=es
I know one thing for sure and that is that the old Scottish families will take a big dump on his head after reading this. What a bullshit baron. Christopher Anthony Devonshire-Ellis, China can do without you and so can Scotland.
The family graves can be visited ….. why would anyone want to visit these graves? Right because that’s the only way to come up with a sentence that includes the Duke of Devonshire. There’s no graves of people called Devonshire-Ellis because they were not called Devonshire-ellis. By the way: a commander of the navy at ….. 24 years old? Yeah right.
I have a question. Why are you posting all this material about him (a real person) under false names?
There are a few explanations:
1) So did and does Chris
2) Considering the amount of harassment he causes to people exposing his lies the easiest way without being troubled by a paranoid psycho
3) Because he simply deserves the shit storm.
4) Because a man who is so obsessed about himself should understand that it only stops after he checks in for therapy
Daily Telegraph: http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/technology/micwright/100007520/comments-are-the-radioactive-waste-of-the-web/
What’s so super about all of this crap is that probably 70-90% is coming from Chris himself. Yes, even the ones that trash him or provide links to all the webpages trashing him. And especially the ones that are bizarre or just strange.
Fidel was Chris on Shanghaiexpat and probably other sites as well. Fidel is likely Chris here too. Chris likes to attack himself and then be disgusted by those disgusting attacks. Tony Robinson suggests that ‘action’ may be taken, classic Chris style. Then he likes to chime in to posit that Chris is a right arsehole but still let’s get some perspective people.
What I want to see are some of the classic bar photos of Chris with his pants around his ankles or ‘dancing’ on the table. No, I am not kidding, I have seen some before but neglected to save them, for fear of contamination of my harddrive.
Send them to @beijingcream just now
Was Chris Devonshire Ellis the bloke who blogged about his sexual exploits and then was part of an internet lynch mob? There were rumours back in the day, but I never believed them.
Did you see where Shaun Rein (Chris Devonshire’s comrade) wrote for Bloomberg that Mark Kitto left China because he didn’t know what he was doing. Rein is such an arrogant ass. He and Chris Devonshire Ellis deserve each other and this is why they are both so hated. Nothing like kickng a man when he’s down.
Chris’s family. Father. John Henry Ellis Mother. Patrica (nee Oakes). There is the name Devonshire in the family but recently has only been used as a christan name by his sister. A member of the family is buried at Bolton Abbey but this is in the name of Homersham. Chris,s really name is Christopher Antony Bernard Ellis
Thanks for this info. Is Chris Devonshire-Ellis really a baron? Does he have a college degree?
What do you know about Shaun Rein? Is he for real or not?
Chris as far as i understand is a Baron, but NOT from the family. He purchased the title for 65k and is able to use it. No lands or anything where transfered to him when he brought the title. He is also NOT from scotland and is NOT scottish. Chris went to college not university. (may have brought the degree)
Does he have a law degree? Is he a real lawyer or does he just play one on the net?
No he does not have a law degree and has never studied law in the uk. However you can buy one from me!
If you would like to sue me now chris i’m up for it, looking forward to bring you into the open as reguarding the lies you have told over the years,and the present one now appearing as an opera singer! Dont make me laugh. it hurts to much.
Has Chris Devonshire Ellis left China yet? Where is he livnga and working now? I heard he was going to the US. Where in the US does anybody know? Is he still with Dezan Shira or did he leave them too?
Who gives a shit? The guys a loser. His company hates him his wife has left him and thanks to us here an expat has been outed for the lying sack of shit he is. HE IS FINISHED. It takes websites and skills like this to expose the white trash that permeates China so they can be eradicated. Devonshite isn’t coming back after this. Now we’re looking at other lying theiving cunts to go after. Watch this space. But he’s gone man. Kaput.
It is very sad. He built his life around his company and China and then he is kicked out of both. I think the bit about the United States is just his way of trying to save face. We can laugh at him but he is a person who has just lost everything adn I find that sad not funny.
His wife left him? Hahahahaahahahahahaha best news I’ve heard all week!!!
Hey Chrissy take a look at this: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2127258/Model-Claudia-Boerner-German-Come-Dine-With-Me-kills-internet-troll-abuse.html
There’s a BIG HINT there, loser.
Hahaahahaahahahahahahahaha!!!!
I’m sure Chris will be fine. Treating well known expats like him and Rein in order to boost your own ego, notoriety and web views is unbelievably selfish. And to do it while hiding behind fake names is cowardly. It’s disgraceful and I hope someone gets on your case and does to you what you so relish doing to others.
It appears hes thriving and making himself useful unlike you conniving bunch of evil, nasty bastards: http://www.china-briefing.com/news/2012/10/22/a-letter-to-china-from-america-part-iv.html
This is pure total abuse towards Chris. It’s despicable to have done this to any expatriate let alone him.
Wow, how many sock puppets can one man have?! There’s over a dozen just in this thread… crazy.
Blogs & Peadophiles: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2234615/MoS-reporter-secret-paedophile-pay-MI5-Not-really-ludicrous-claims-web-eloquent-argument-state-control-newspapers.html
Don’t you think that for the good of humanity you should close this thread?
You guys are such assholes. The usual China Law Blog anonymous catamites doing Dan Harris’s nasty online work dissing his competitors.
For those reading this let’s just suggest that the REAL story behind Chris Devonshire-Ellis – and just the last week in fact – can be found here: http://www.china-briefing.com/news/2012/11/14/dezan-shira-associates-celebrates-20-years-in-china-releases-commemorative-string-quartet.html
But of course success like that makes you all jealous vindictive fucks don’t it.
Let no-one be any illusions what all this is about – a concerted attack on a well known individual who has on the face of it, actually done nothing wrong, except develop a business over 20 years that remains the benchmark to reach. It’s no coincidence that this article has appeared and it is not what it appears to be.
1) Consider this, of the comments above, most are libelous, and concentrated from individuals well known in China for constantly attacking our CDE. These include FOARP, Gilman Grundy, Richard Burger (just above) Elliott Ng and others.
2) Consider this: this article is specfically SEO optimised to appear high on search rankings (as are FOARPs) and appear high in google searches for CDE’s name.
3) And finally, consider this: shortly after an article appeared online which linked me to CDE in a co-written piece, I received an email from anonymous@hoi-polloi.org
It read “I suggest you to do a full Google search of Chris Devonshire Ellis before you continue publicly linking yourself with him.”
Way to go guys. I’m not the only one either to have rceived such messages, my good friend Malcolm Riddell of the China Observer blog received one worded in similar from Elliott Ng, the CEO of Google China, who evidently forgot to mask his identity.
This entire article is based on defamation, lies, and the concerted attempts by a select few to make CDE appear bad. Too bad the corporate world doesn’t agree. As for the likes of Grundy, Burger, McLaughlin, Dan Harris and the rest of you, I rather suspect you’ve damaged yourself by being part of this trash in ways you don’t even realize. You are all persona non-grata in China’s corporate circles, and if anyone finds out who is really behind all this (Ed Lehman anyone?) then you’ll see self appointed “Generals” like Anthony Tao and the cowardly anonymous author of this very article, known only as “RFH” squealing like pigs when their luck and ability to disseminate this flith eventually runs out. Which I can assure you it most certainly will.
For fucks sake will someone leave this poor fucking guy alone for a minute? At least he’s trying to do something useful not like you repetitive nasty cretins going on and on about him everywhere. Talk about a big time online stitch up. Christ.
Well only if he STOPS telling lies.
He is only a Baron, by buying the title.
He is not scottish.
He has no lands in scotland.
He has no english law degree.
He never went to universtiy only college.
His full name Chris Antony Bernard Ellis is real.
So if the above are true,which they are, why would he want to lie about them ?
Well we all know the answer- To impress people.
Perhaps he is ashamed of himself and has to invent an alta-ego.
@Truth: But where does he tell lies? As far as I can see he’s British (note: that includes Scotland) is a Baron and his bio is on his company website which doesn’t state anything like that you say. All the evidence you have is you saying he tells lies, I can’t see anywhere that he did: http://www.dezshira.com/personnel/chris-devonshire-ellis.html
Also for the China interview you keep refering too- there’s two schools of thought on that. Or are you suggesting that the Chinese Government didn’t want to cover their mistake and didn’t themselves told a lie just because Chris actually reported what was really said and they realised that had been a big mistake? You think the Chinese Government don’t lie? And that Chris has an different story so you automatically believe the Chinese Government?
And none of this has anything with do with your sickening suggestions he has a stroke or commits suicide. There’s no benefit of the doubt from you, just mixed up facts and bullshit assumptions for the sake of it and harrassing this guy.Now THAT’s your truth, isn’t it. If it wasn’t – why do you always post under fake identities? Post who you REALLY are so Chris can sue you if he wants. But thats what you don’t want isn’t it? Fake coward trolls that’s what YOU are.
I see you’ve linked your own site and comemnts updates FOUR times to this harrassment. In one you refer to the harrassment of CDE as “fun”. Maybe the likes of anonymous “RFH”, “Beiwatch”, “Creme de la Creme” and “Anthony Tao, so-styled “General” should read Bel Mooney’s comments at the end of this article about the impact your trash has on innocent victims: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2245727/Mel-Greig-Tears-Australian-DJ-hoaxers-public-time-suicide-nurse-Kate-hospital.html
You people disgust most of us in China. This entire article and your constant harping about it is disgusting.
The anonymous asking the real to justify themselves. There is a lot wrong with this type of blogging and the apparent mass acceptance of it. It is wrong, and probably evil.