Chop..chop..chop...

Remember when you watch the old Chinese kungfu film and you can see that the king always carry a seal to legalize all important papers. In China they carry this tradition until today. All important papers in China have to have a stamp on top of it and the stamps has actually more legal binding than a normal signature.

Each company normally has 4 different kinds of stamps (called as “Chop” in China) and each chop has different purposes and hierarchy;

•Company chop: The Company chop is often in round in shape with the registered name of a company engraved on the bottom of the seal. Each company must have only one Company chop and the engraved seal must be approved by the Public Security Bureau (PSB). Once the company is successfully registered with the Administration of Industry and Commerce (AIC), a qualified chop-maker (approved by the PSB) must be engaged to produce the Company Chop.

The Company Chop is the most important and powerful chop held by corporation. It provides legal execution for all documents and is at least required when any important documents are signed, issued or to be changed. For example, any changes to corporate documents, opening of a bank account, issuing a certificate for an employee, or altering the name or business scope of the company all require the Company Chop to be legally binding.

•Financial chop: Financial chop is predominately used for issuing a check and processing transactions with a bank.

•Human Resource chop: The Human Resources chop is used where the company signs a labour contract with any of its staff. Many government bodies also require this chop to be stamped on official company documents such as employment proof letters for employee registration purposes.

•Contract chop Contract chop is only used for the purpose of stamping contracts, particularly for trading contracts.

Moreover, there is also specific regulation about who keeps the chop and how to execute a chop. If you really want to know, you can read it here.

As my general manager and his deputy are both in Germany for two weeks, I was informed that I am actually the third in line to inherit the company chop during their absence. And I have to keep them in a locked drawer that nobody but me can have access to it.

Well, I guess this is the time to re-do my work contract and chop them, huh?

Chop..chop..chop..