Chris Devonshire-Ellis does it 'his way'.

Apparently taking his cue from Ol' Blues Eyes himself, Chris Devonshire-Ellis just doesn't seem able to stay retired. Here's the latest from an email that was leaked to me:

I will continue to commute between Mumbai and Beijing with at least one week a month spent in China. In terms of China Government relations, these are in fact fine. I had dinner with the Vice Minister of Commerce just last week.

I advice this personally so as not to get the China blogs tongues wagging over their annoying tendency to comment and pass judgements based on limited actual knowledge, and so you are aware of what in fact is the situation as regards my position in China and with the firm. My colleagues Alberto Vettoretti and Sabrina Zhang remain, as they have since 2007, the Managing Partners for our China practice.

I would ask this is not posted on any blogs or twittered. I share this information with you as a matter of personal courtesy and for the sake of clarity as concerns recent misleading and inaccurate China media attention. I would appreciate your cooperation.

Why then, am I posting this when it is clearly against his wishes? Well, put simply, the guy already said that he had resigned following the brief monetary turmoil sparked by his farcical faked interview with the head of the CBRC. This is now shown to have been a total lie. Just to remind ourselves of what he actually said in his letter of resignation:

Feb. 23 - Chris Devonshire-Ellis, the senior partner of Dezan Shira & Associates and publisher of China Briefing, has resigned from his positions today. He effectively leaves the business he founded 17 years ago in South China and the publishing company that is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.

“Due to the serious error of judgment I made publishing details of off-the-record meetings with Chinese ministers, I have decided to step down from these roles,” Devonshire-Ellis said. “My responsibilities will be divided up amongst existing partners and our senior personnel. I have enjoyed working with our staff and clients in helping them prosper and succeed in China and I want to thank all those who have helped me over the past 17 years.”

Managing Partner Alberto Vettoretti is now the senior figure for the firm in China, while Sabrina Zhang remains the national tax partner. Andy Scott, managing editor for China Briefing, will be responsible for editorial control.

Devonshire-Ellis leaves Dezan Shira & Associates with nine China offices, 150 personnel, and an international client base. China Briefing continues to publish a monthly magazine in five languages and a popular series of business investment guides to China.

So the guy who resigned just over a month ago never really left. By his own admission his position is unchanged from 2007. He is also claiming that his relations with the Chinese government are 'fine' after they found out that he was publishing faked interviews with high-level officials. My mole also tells me that CDE's little intimate soirée with the vice-minister was in fact a corporate event which hundreds of people were at as part of an organisation which CDE pays $1000 USD per year to stay part of. It now turns out that, rather than accept the blame for his deception, he was just trying to fob people off. It's time that this charade was brought to an end.