[jaaron]

Excellent points, I'm glad someone helped add some facts.

I moved my startup from the US to Hong Kong in 2007. I've spent the last three years there and in Southern China doing business. At the moment, I've moved back to the US (to LA) for a new venture, though I still have things running in Hong Kong (I'll be back next month).

For anyone interested in running a startup in Southern China, I'd be happy to answer questions. Getting things going in China is not easy. It's much easier to bootstrap in Hong Kong or Singapore while you get your bearings and then moving into mainland China later. And this comes from someone fluent in Mandarin Chinese.

If you are interested in doing things in that area, I recommend getting in touch with the Hong Kong Startup Association and introducing yourself there. The community is small and very supportive. Also the Hong Kong BarCamp is coming up soon, make sure to attend that if you can.