The iShares Hong Kong ETF (EWH) fell to new 52-week lows Friday and volume in the options market rose to five times the usual. 25,000 EWH puts and 375 calls have traded. Most of the volume is due to a block of 24,000 of the March 15 puts that traded on the offer, or for $1.45 a contract, on the AMEX at 11:42. Within minutes, a block of 1.2 million EWH shares also traded for $14.80. Several blocks totaling 625,000 shares traded earlier in the session. Taken together, the action looks to be protective put positions and therefore not necessarily bearish or a bet against EWH.