Which is fine, as long as companies don't run into trouble and investors don't expect Chinese courts to enforce proxy shareholder rights. So, right now, investors are spooked by the risk. But they also want exposure to China's dynamic online economy, which means holding V.I.E.-structured stocks like Baidu and Sina. Gillis says the S.E.C. has pushed for greater disclosure of these structures so that investors understand what they're buying. What used to be a brief passage in a prospectus now runs to five pages of legalese. Of course, this doesn't protect investors from cases of outright fraud like ChinaCast. Nor does it solve the puzzle of what to do with illiquid Chinese stocks that are now worth less than their IPO price. Some may get taken private. Or delisted, which is even more embarrassing.