Ghost-Human Love

Another Cool Link

2009-08-17T12:23:00.000-07:00

Is Ultraman Chinese? by Danwei.org

2009-08-17T11:43:00.000-07:00

This is ridiculous.

Strange Taiwanese bug described by Thai

2009-08-17T11:37:00.001-07:00

OMG! I love Thai people speaking Chinese!!!

Man who shares suspect's name held, again

2009-08-17T11:21:00.000-07:00

I think this is perhaps one of the strongest arguments against the use of torture in China- China has so many people that if you happen to be tortured in China you can just make up a name, location and occupation of co-conspirators and that person will probably exists. For anyone interested in this phenomena check out Philip A. Kunh's book Soulstealers: The Chinese Socery Scare of 1768 (my review here).

Police have wrongly arrested a businessman from Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, twice because he shares the name of a wanted suspect.

Liu Zhongqiang, 25, was picked up for the second time in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, last week.

He was held in custody for 22 hours until police from his hometown arrived in Guangzhou and confirmed their colleagues had made the same mistake they did five years ago.

In 2004, Liu was detained for a month. Once cops realized their blunder, they gave Liu 3,000 yuan as compensation.

The man police are looking for goes by the name of Xie Zhongqiang, wanted for causing intentional injury.

Liu said Zhongqiang was a common name and there were five of them in his high school class.

(Nanfang Daily)

Speaking of lists and mistaken identity- Indian superstar Shahrukh Khan stopped for questioning at Newark International Airport.

Also, check out this Paul Merton videos in China:

Waitress swallows cockroach to prove a point

2009-08-17T11:17:00.000-07:00

Now that is maintaining some 面子

A waitress at a restaurant in Ningbo, Zhejiang province, swallowed a cockroach crawling in one of the guests' bowl of noodles.
Zhang Xue, in her 20s, only wanted to prove that the insect was harmless after the guests created a ruckus.

(Modern Jinbao, reported in the China Daily)

Brother-in-law kills man over creepy SMS to wife

2009-08-17T11:06:00.000-07:00

Does anyone know who translates these articles for the China Daily? I've heard rumors they are western interns at the China Daily- anyone know if this is true? Most of the articles are pretty formal, but then something like this comes up: "After his arrest, the man said he only wanted to warn his brother-in-law against acting fresh with his wife and never thought he would end up killing him."

A man who sent a sexual SMS to his wife's married sister was killed by her husband in Jilin, Jilin province, last week.

When the husband saw the SMS on his wife's cell phone, he asked his brother-in-law to meet him on a street in the city last Tuesday, and stabbed him to death.

After his arrest, the man said he only wanted to warn his brother-in-law against acting fresh with his wife and never thought he would end up killing him.

(New Culture View, reported in the China Daily)

2009-08-17T11:02:00.000-07:00

There are people I've met on the train in China that I have definitely thought about stabbing. I am glad I finnally got a MP3 player.

CHENGDU: A man stabbed two people to death and injured another on a train on Saturday after a quarrel over "loud humming," said a railway official in southwest China's Sichuan Province Sunday.

The suspect, whose surname was given as Yan, quarreled with three other passengers who said his humming along to his CD player was "too loud and disruptive," on the train from the southwestern Kunming City to Chengdu, Sichuan's capital, said an unnamed official at Chengdu Railway Station.

He said the three, surnamed Luo, Ren and Wu, wrestled Yan to the floor and hit him before the man took out his jackknife and stabbed them.
Yan was held by the train police on the train. Luo died aboard the train and Ren died later in hospital. Wu was hospitalized and was out of danger.
From the China Daily

2009-08-17T10:59:00.000-07:00

Spider-man! Spider-man!Does whatever a spider can!...Friendly neighborhood spider-man!

The fact that a rockery blocks their shortcut home in the Chenjiaping area of Chongqing doesn't bother the Shiyang community one bit.

For the past two years, they've used ropes to climb the rock every day.

Even the children and the aged in the residential community choose to climb the rock instead of taking a 10-minute walk around the rockery.

According to a 50-year-old female resident, she can climb over the rock "in two minutes flat".

Netizens have labeled the residents "the spider-man community".

(Chongqing Commercial Daily)

2009-08-17T10:58:00.000-07:00

Something tells me the husband probably doesn't have a problem with this.

An old couple living in the Tanxia township of Dongguan, Guangdong province, can't open their windows because of their next door neighbor who never shuts hers.

The couple complained the neighbor, a young woman, was always roaming naked in her house. The couple even requested the woman to either wear some clothes or draw her curtains, which she ignored.

They then consulted a lawyer who said the woman was not violating any laws by roaming naked in her own house.

(Guangzhou Daily, reported in the China Daily)

Working mother leaves boy tied to tree every day

2009-08-17T10:52:00.001-07:00

When I have more time I am going to have to look for the pictures of this.

Pedestrians in Quanzhou, Fujian province, were shocked to come across a 5-year-old boy tied to a tree last week.

On enquiring, they found out that the boy's mother, who was sweeping the streets nearby, tied her son to the tree so that he doesn't get lost.

Chen, a migrant worker from Hubei province, said she had no one else to take care of the boy during his summer vacations while she was at work.

"So I have to bring him with me to work, and tie him to a tree so that he doesn't walk away somewhere," she said.

(www.fjsen.com)

Woman, 80, can't stand hubby's 'go Dutch' policy

2009-08-17T10:49:00.000-07:00

Man, Chinese people really hate the old AA制

An 80-year-old woman in Fujian province, has filed for divorce, saying she cannot tolerate her husband's "go Dutch" policy any longer.

Li Yimu, 80, a widow, met Jiang Yibo, a widower of the same age, six years ago and got married.

"Jiang is wealthy but he's a miser," Li said. "Every time we buy anything, he'd expect me to pay half the bill."

But the final straw, Li said, came when Jiang offered to pay only 500 yuan ($73) for her paralyzed son-in-law's treatment.

(Southeast Express，reported in the China Daily)

2009-08-17T10:45:00.000-07:00

Never try to cheat public transportation.

A man who refused to pay one yuan extra for his bus ride will now have to cough up 36,000 yuan ($5,270) extra.

A court in Gongyi, Henan province, asked the man to pay a mini-bus driver whom he beat up after the latter asked him for an extra yuan on his fare in May.

The driver, whose right ear was seriously damaged as a result of the beating, dragged the man to court, demanding compensation.

The Gongyi intermediate people's court also sentenced the man to a year in jail, but with a two-year reprieve.

(Dahe News, reported in the China Daily)

Strange China Links August 17th, 2009

2009-08-17T10:02:00.000-07:00

This week's news is like something out of Blade Runner. 机器人 and scales.

Chinese Farmer Grows Robots from pandapassport (video)

Similar story from the BBC plus video: Farmer Brances into Robotics

Both videos are worth watching as they show a progression in Mr. Wu's robotics work.

The Peking Order on laser etchings on Chinese characters on parrot fish.

In other news, North Korea Economy Watch has an interesting summary on the impact of North Korean nuclear tests and missile launches on Chinese tourism in North Korea. Don't miss the China Daily article DPRK waitress in China shares a day of her life and another article on smuggling and trade, Bridge over troubled water, on the China-North Korean border.

Also, from Brian in Jeollanam-do Zhang Ziyi throwing the first pitch in the LG vs. Lotte baseball game in Korea.

And my favorite scene from Blade Runner...

Man, 67, duped by 'cops' after hooker visit

2009-07-27T09:37:00.000-07:00

There are a number of important lessons here:

Two men claiming to be cops duped a 67-year-old man as soon as he stepped out of a massage center, where he was visiting a prostitute, in Haikou, capital of Hainan province, last Wednesday.

The man was forced to get inside a van in the city's Fuchen road in the dead of the night and pay a "fine and AIDS examination fee" - 4,300 yuan - in exchange for his freedom.
When it struck he might have been conned, the old man went to the police station, where officers confirmed his fear.

(Hainan Special Zone Daily)

270,000 American frogs at farm die from noise shock

2009-07-27T09:35:00.000-07:00

Some 270,000 American frogs kept at a farm in Lidu township of Chongqing municipality died recently, possibly due to the noise generated at a nearby construction site.

Fu Yishun, 73, a farmer, invested more than 300,000 yuan ($43,934) on the frogs, which died one after the other over the past one month.

Fu realized every time a major noise erupted from a construction site near his farm his frogs would bounce in shock.

Fu has dragged the builders to court demanding compensation of 2.59 million yuan.

(Chongqing Commercial Daily)

Bees mistake man's bicycle for a hive

2009-07-27T09:34:00.000-07:00

The word for apiculturist in Chinese is 养蜂者

More than 10,000 bees made their hive on a man's bicycle in downtown Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, last Wednesday.

The owner of the bicycle had to call a beekeeper, who used a honeycomb to first attract the queen bee before clearing the hive.

(Yanzhao Evening News)

Man, 60, fights 17-kg fish for 2 hours

2009-07-27T09:32:00.000-07:00

Ah the Leviathan

A 60-year-old man fought to catch a 1.17-m long fish for two hours until it finally gave up on Wednesday.

The man was fishing in a river in Changchun, Jilin province, when he caught a big one, which wouldn't give up without a good long fight.

It took him two hours and a lot of help from other fishermen to haul the 17 kg fish ashore.

The man sold the fish for 500 yuan ($73).

(New Culture View, reported in the China Daily)

Traffic cops shocked as woman driver strips naked

2009-07-27T09:31:00.000-07:00

Traffic police in Haikou, capital of Hainan province, were in for a shock of their lives when a woman driver they stopped for violating rules stripped naked on the road on Wednesday.

A woman officer had to be called on the scene to detain the 40-something woman, who was booked for public obscenity.

She was detained for 20 days and fined 1,500 yuan.

(www.hainews.cn, reported in the China Daily)

Wearing a T-shirt? Beware of the black birds

2009-07-27T09:30:00.001-07:00

Two black birds in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province, have attacked more than 50 men sporting T-shirts on the city's Funiu Road in the past 20 days.

Three of the victims have even bled as a result of the pecking.

Seemingly, the two birds never attack women, children and senior citizens, and incidentally, all their victims are young men walking around in T-shirts.

Zoologists believe the two birds are avenging their baby's death 20 days ago.

The baby bird was killed after it fell to the ground from their nest. A man, wearing a T-shirt, picked up the dead bird and chucked it into a roadside dustbin.

(Zhengzhou Evening News, reported in the China Daily)

Man runs for help naked after hooker steals clothes

2009-07-27T09:26:00.000-07:00

A man vowed never to visit a prostitute after he was robbed by one and had to run naked for 2 km looking for help in Foshan, Guangdong province, on Wednesday.

A street hooker led Huan to a dingy house in Shunde district's Lunjiao township, and while he was in the bath, the prostitute ran off with his money and clothes.

Huan, wearing nothing, had to run 2 km to the closest store to call police.

(Guangzhou Daily)

Man lives in cave for two years to build road

2009-07-27T09:25:00.000-07:00

Lei Feng like devotion.

A village head in Zhen'an county, Shaanxi province, has been staying in a cave for two years trying to build a road linking the village to the outside world.

Yang Baolin, 49, deputy director of villagers' committee of Shuping village, surrounded by 20 hills, decided to build a 15-km road connecting the village with the main highway.

In 2007, Yang moved into a cave near the under-construction road so that he wouldn't have to travel a long distance to get to work everyday.

Yang and his team of villagers are still toiling hard to build the road, which they say has hit a roadblock due to shortage of funds.

(Huashang Daily)

Woman, 90, walks three days to meet grandson

2009-07-27T09:23:00.000-07:00

More long distance walking in China:

A 90-year-old woman who walked three days to congratulate her grandson for getting admission in a university lost her way in Daye, Hubei province, only to find help from the police.

The woman lives alone some 70 km from her grandson's accommodation.

A pedestrian sought police help after she found the woman sitting beside the road crying endlessly. The woman told police she had lost her way and was thirsty.

The cops gave her water and drove her to her grandson's place.

(Chutian Metropolis Daily)

Uyghur, Tibetan and Taiwanese 'Splitists'

2009-07-26T18:45:00.000-07:00

China likes to throw around the word 'splitists' (分裂者） to describe independence movements in Xinjiang, Tibet and Taiwan. For instance take this quote from the Global Times:

“China should be concerned about three powers: the East Turkistan Terrorists, the splitists in Tibet and people with extreme social dissatisfaction,” he said, without elaborating.

Or from the People's Daily:

To deal a counter-blow to a series of words and deeds said and done recently by the Taiwan Authority experts and scholars in Beijing on "Taiwan Issues" pointed out that the various ways and activities against the trends staged by the Taiwan Authority and splitists in Taiwan for "Taiwan Independence" have once again brought to daylight their sinister features in sticking stubbornly to the disruptive way of "inching towards Taiwan independence".

Try as I might I don't seem to be able to find the word 'splitist' in any English dictionary nor does my spell check recognize the word. I did, however, find a very similar entry on urbandictionary.com: Splitits

'Splitits' is defined as:

The natural and quite pleasant accentuation that occurs when a long strap or belt is is placed between a woman's breasts, like when they carry a shoulder bag with the strap positioned on the shoulder on the opposite side of their body.

Henry's got excited when he noticed his date's splitits after she fastened her seat belt.

Now really is there anything wrong with that?

Contestant #4: Possible Uyghur 'Splitits'?

True Xinjiang

2009-07-26T18:32:00.000-07:00

Well were getting close...

Beauty contest shakes off shadow of riot in Urumqi

The contestants take to the stage at the preliminary contest for the 2009 Miss Tourism International in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region July 19, 2009. (Xinhua photo)

Two weeks after the deadly riot in Xinjiang's capital Urumqi, residents in the far western region seem to have shaken off the shadow of the incident as a beauty contest kicked off on Sunday.

With heart-throbbing music, 45 models from different ethnic groups such as Han, Uygur, Kazak and Hui, presented their beauty and energy on the red carpet-covered platform.

"We miss the people dead (in the riot), but we also should cast off the shadow as early as possible," said Zhang Tiantian, hostess of the preliminary contest for the 2009 Miss Tourism International in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

"We should make our lives more beautiful with a more positive attitude, and this is the special significance of today's contest, " she said.

The 45 beauties come from different places in Xinjiang, winners will attend the final for the Xinjiang region to be held in Hami at the end of the month.

Alna, No. 20 contestant, has just graduated from Xinjiang University with a major in English.

"Xinjiang is a good place to live. Here there are 47 ethnic groups and you can see the energy of diversified cultures," the Kazak girl introduced Xinjiang in English during her performance.

"The nightmarish scene that happened not long ago will not tarnish the beautiful image of Xinjiang and truehearted friendship of all ethnic groups," she said.

Six Uygur models participated in the competition. Merhaba, No. 8 contestant, said she was waiting for the university admission advice note.

She said the contest helped her kill time before the arrival of the advice note.

Merhaba's clothes designer, Ma Lei, a Han, also came to cheer for her.

"After the July 5 incident, we all stayed at home and we are bored," Ma said.

"Whatever happens, our friendship will never be hurt," Merbaba said. She and Ma Lei became friends ten years ago.

The July 5 incident brought panic and anxiety to residents in Urumqi, said Hou Zhirong, teacher of Alna. "Many stayed home for seven to eight days. I myself also suspended model training work."

Hou said she felt quite glad for Alna's participation in the event. "This small venue is full of
Full of what?
KFC store reopens in Urumqi after July 5 riot

Staff members of a KFC store in the international bazar wait for customers in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 23, 2009. The KFC store in the international bazar, which was closed after the July 5 riot, was reopened on Thursday. (Xinhua/Sadat)

Hoping to turn a machine boy, 14, drinks petrol

2009-07-25T19:36:00.000-07:00

Transformers in Chinese is 变形金刚

This week Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen has beat Titanic as China's highest grossing film ever with 400 million yuan in its first four weeks in the cinemas.

A 14-year-old boy in Xingwen county, Sichuan province, has been drinking petrol for five years, thinking he'll turn into a powerful gladiator, like the ones in the super-hit movie Transformers.

He started drinking gasoline after he first saw the film in 2004.

Chen Dahai, the boy's father, who runs a small store in the county, said the boy started with drinking the fuel in cigarette lighters and then moved on to consuming jars of gasoline.

The father took the boy to see a doctor, who diagnosed him with "some mental disorder".

(West China Metropolis Daily)

I always get a kick out of this video

Japanese boss accuses woman of stealing his pants

2009-07-25T19:34:00.000-07:00

Whatever happened to the man's pants?

A Japanese businessman was ordered to apologize publicly and pay "spiritual damages" to the tune of 1,000 yuan ($146) to a woman he wrongly accused of stealing his trousers in Wuhan, Hubei province.

The woman, an employee of the Japanese businessman, dragged her boss to court last December after he publicly announced she had stolen his trousers and fined her 50 yuan, which were cut from her wages.

The Donghu Development Zone People's Court ruled in favor of the plaintiff, saying the defendant had hurt her feelings after he perfunctorily circulated the notice of criticism.

(Wuhan Evening News)

Man robs wushu champ's wife, doesn't get far

2009-07-25T19:31:00.000-07:00

This is like the convenience store I was in the other day that had eight state patrol officers in it. Sucka.

A 50-year-old former wushu champ chased and caught a motorcycle-borne thief who snatched his wife's gold necklace in Dongan county, Hunan province, on Monday.

Yi Yuankun kicked off his leather shoes and ran barefoot to catch the thief.

Yi, a wushu champion in his county in 1984 and 1986, handed over the thief, wanted for many years, to the police.

(www.hunanonline.com, reported in the China Daily)

Chinese thief encounters language barrier, busted

2009-07-25T19:29:00.000-07:00

I'll have to remember this one.

A woman in Chaoyang district, Beijing, used her English language ability to her advantage and got a Chinese robber arrested earlier this week.

The woman was showing the man around the house, which she wanted to rent out, when he suddenly asked her to hand over all the money she had.

Just then the woman got a phone call. She told the thief that it was an important business call from a foreign client and had to take it. The thief agreed.

The woman told her friend on the phone in English to call the police. The thief had no idea what she just said. Within minutes police had surrounded the house and arrested the intruder.

(Beijing Times)

Riot in Urumqi

2009-07-25T19:22:00.000-07:00

Was it really necessary for the China Daily to add in blood stains to this banner? I mean come on!

The Force Is Not With Him: Anakin Skywalker 10 Years Later

2009-07-25T10:11:00.000-07:00

Nothing to do with China, but kinda sad. Stupid George Lucas.

Oh wait, for those of you living in China! The new Star Wars movies aren't too bad if you buy the pirated DVDs (~$3.5) then fast-forward through all little kid scenes, love scenes, chase scenes or anything with Jar-Jar Binks.If you do this the three movies combined are only about an hour long, but pretty entertaining.

The plucky kid with the pod racer from "Star Wars: Episode I" is not a kid anymore. And Jake Lloyd wants you to know that having a major role in a George Lucas film really put a damper on things when he was growing up.

OK, fine: The guy doesn't really deserve our pity, but think of it from his point of view. Ten years old, getting blamed for ruining the Star Wars series. (Well, that was mainly the fault of George Lucas, but the kid was there, wasn't he?) And people just won't let it go. The Sci-Fi Australia blog caught up with the glum "Star Wars" alum Down Under, who sounds more Eeyore than "Episode One."
While every word drips with sarcasm (he is 20, after all) the Anakin actor also can still speak geek. On college: "You'll never find more intelligent, charming people than the drunk students of the college world." 'Nuff said.
Hey, Jake, don't worry: We know how you feel. Jar Jar Binks pretty much ruined the whole Star Wars thing for us, too.
Here's the video of the interview.

From Yahoo.com

Soulstealers: The Chinese Sorcery Scare of 1768 by Philip A. Kunh (book review)

2009-07-13T18:24:00.000-07:00

Although about a rather obscure topic (the 1768 queue cutting scare), this book gives a good depiction of Chinese society during the height of the Qing Dynasty. It also, surprisingly, has a lot of relevance in today's world, especially for anyone interested in effectiveness of torture in exposing conspiracy (that may or may not exist), the effects of mass hysteria on society, and how people view and often persecute the 'outsider'.

Well-written. Reads like a crime novel, with lots of historical background.

Things I learned from this book:

Torture leads to false confessions

China has so many people that if you happen to be tortured in China you can just make up a name, location and occupation of co-conspirators and that person will probably exists.

The Emperor can write all sorts of wacky stuff in response to the letters you send him.

叫魂 means to steal a persons soul

Who should read this book?

Dick Cheney, aspiring necromancers, hair cutters

Humor with Chinese Characteristics?

2009-07-13T14:09:00.000-07:00

Chinese-North Korean border at Tumen, Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture.
The sign in Korean says "Bathroom. 50 meters" and looks as if it points across the river to North Korea.

China ponders Neverland replica

2009-07-13T13:54:00.000-07:00

OMG! I am so going to this if they really make it. I also love how it will be made "with Chinese characteristics". Does that mean Bubbles will be a panda? Socialism with Chinese characteristics, Neverland with Chinese characteristics, what will they come up with next? I am just waiting for R. Kelly with Chinese characteristics.

Check out Chinasmack for pictures and videos from the July 12th Michael Jackson Memorial Event in Shanghai's Peoples Square.

Neverland ranch has become a magnet for grieving Jackson fans

Chinese fans of Michael Jackson need never say goodbye - according to the Chinese state media.
A group of ten investors has a $14.6m (£9m) plan to build a replica of the Neverland ranch in Shanghai.
Mr Jackson's former home and playground, now a magnet for distressed fans and the media, will be recreated on a smaller scale, China Daily said.
It will copy Neverland's design, but with "Chinese characteristics", a spokeswoman for the investors said.
Just one-seventeenth the size of the 2,800-acre property in southern California's Santa Barbara County, the development is set to offer "an alternative pilgrimage spot" for the pop king's fans, China Daily said.
"Michael's contribution to the pop music world is unparalleled. By building a Neverland here in China, we want to pay tribute to him and at the same time offer the Chinese people an outlet for expressing their love toward him," said one of the investors, businessman Qiu Xuefan, director of the Wenzhou Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai.
Jackson legacy
The idea is to build the Chinese version of Neverland on Chongming Island, off the coast of Shanghai.
Wu Pei, spokeswoman for the project, said it would be very much like the original one, with some of the possessions of the superstar on display.

Bubbles the chimpanzee was one of Jackson's more famous playmates

But designers would also add Chinese characteristics to have it blend in with the local environment, she said.
Thousands of Chinese fans have wept and mourned their idol, emotions not often seen in public, the newspaper noted.
Wei Wei, deputy director of Michael Jackson's Chinese Fan Club, said that while he embraced the idea of a pilgrimage site for the pop star, entrance to a Chinese Neverland should be free to all.
Mr Qiu reportedly denied wanting to make money from the plan, saying he only wanted to help keep alive the pop icon's memory.
"I grew up listening to Michael's music, which is so fantastic," he said.
"His music is a legacy to the world, which should not be forgotten. We also would like to set up a fund, with profits being used to help encourage children with musical talent," he added.
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8143765.stm)

RIP MJ

Pig's deadly kick sends worker into boiling pot

2009-07-08T22:33:00.000-07:00

A slaughterhouse agreed on Monday to give 300,000 yuan ($43,895) to a worker's family after a pig kicked him into a pool of boiling water in Shaoguan, Guangdong province.

The slaughterhouse was sued after the man was seriously scalded.

After more than 20 mediation sessions with judges, the two parties reached an agreement.

(www.chinanews.com.cn)

Husband and wife share exact name, date of birth

2009-07-08T22:31:00.001-07:00

A husband and wife are getting some attention in Danjiangkou, Hubei province, due to their names.

Both are named Wang Yang, the same two Chinese characters, and both were born on April 29, 1982.

The couple began to date in 2007 when they worked together at the same company.

The affectionate pair said they never quarrel because both feel they would curse themselves if they fought and called out each other's name.

(Chutian Metropolis Daily)

Boy, 9, can recite 100 Wuhan bus routes

2009-07-08T22:29:00.000-07:00

Another great mind wasted.

A 9-year-old boy can recite more than 100 bus routes in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province.

Zhan Xingrui is something of a celebrity among his family members, classmates, neighbors and friends.

The primary school student is a walking bus information desk. He started reciting the city's bus routes two years ago.

Zhan's father, a security guard, and his mother, a supermarket saleswoman, allowed their son to recite the bus routes after they saw that his special interest didn't hurt his study.

(Wuhan Morning Post, reported in the China Daily)

Neighbors unite to save kittens from tunnel

2009-07-08T22:25:00.000-07:00

고양이를 부탁해.

Residents in one housing area got together to rescue some stray cats from a sewer in Changchun, Jilin province.
After the adult cat was seen crying near a wall for days, a resident showed up and saw several kittens were trapped in the sewer's tunnel.

Her husband and other residents cut a gap and removed them from the sewer.

The residents cheered as the kittens gathered around their mother. They planned to care for the cats.

(New Culture View, reported in the China Daily)

College girls share room with feathered friends

2009-07-08T22:22:00.002-07:00

一点也不卫生

Four female college students are sharing their dorm room with some tenants that come through the window every day.

The four girls in Changchun, Jilin province, saw some swallows trying to build a nest around a fluorescent bulb but the materials kept falling off.

The girls decided to help the birds by putting some glue on the bulb and the birds liked it. They agreed not to turn on the lights, and they leave the windows open for the birds.

"We love the birds so much that we hoped they stay with us in their new home in our room," one said.

(New Culture View， reported in the China Daily)

Long python eats 42 chickens before capture

2009-07-08T22:22:00.001-07:00

Snakes running havoc in China again.

A farmer and her friends managed to stop a python but only after the snake swallowed 42 of her chickens at a farm in Menghai county, Yunnan province.

Yu Ladan went to feed her chickens on Monday morning when she realized the long snake was feeding on her livestock.

Yu called her husband who came with five villagers and they spent 30 minutes trying to capture the python. They turned it over to the wild animal protection center since it's a protected animal.

(www.petsshow.net)

Couple filing for divorce get new marriage papers

2009-07-08T22:18:00.000-07:00

A couple who visited the government office to file for divorce complained to the media after they realized they left with a new marriage certificate in Haikou, capital of Hainan province, on Thursday.

The couple arrived in the city's Longhua District Marriage Registration Office and completed all the procedures for divorce in the morning.

But they found they were each given a new marriage certificate when they got home.

The man said he had a quarrel with his new girlfriend because the woman thought the man tried to trick her.

The marriage registration office later admitted it made a mistake and apologized.

(Hainan Special Zone Daily)

Chinese man to Obama: Use my flycatcher

2009-07-08T22:13:00.000-07:00

I love it.

HANGZHOU: A Chinese inventor of ultrasonic flycatchers said here Tuesday that he has mailed his patent invention to an international organization, which he hopes will pass it on to US President Barack Obama.

"It is not hygienic for President Obama to swat a fly with his hand. The machine can catch the insect alive automatically," said Hu Xilin, a famed private businessman, who is known as "Lord of the Flycatchers" in China.

The man, in his 50s, said the People for the Ethnic Treatment of Animals (Peta) has shown an interest in accepting his fly catching devices and sending the machine to the US President.

The organization said on its blog that "it had sent the president a "handy-dandy" bug catcher so future intruders can be captured and released outside," after Obama killed a fly with his hand during a TV interview with the Canadian National Broadcasting Corporation.

Hu's invention, which was patented by the China State Intellectual Property Office in 2007, is motor driven, and can trap flies with organic bait and an ultraviolet lamp. It is the same size as a desktop printer.

The businessman in Yuyao City, in east China's Zhejiang Province, has accumulated 10 million dried fly specimens, trapped by the machine.

He has sent hundreds of the machines for free to help catch flies in disease-plagued regions in Japan, Congo and Vietnam.

Father kills son to stop fight over remote control

2009-07-08T22:12:00.000-07:00

A father who tried to stop his two sons from fighting over the TV remote accidentally killed one of them with a broomstick.

He was sentenced to four years in prison for killing his 12-year-old son.

One of his sons was given permission to watch his favorite TV program at home since he got good grades at school. His younger brother didn't agree and wanted to watch a cartoon, so they fought with towels.

Their father, Gu Xunhai, became angry and hit the eldest son on the head with the broomstick and injured him. Later that night, the boy died on his way to a hospital in Daxing, Beijing.

(Beijing Times)

Man pulled out from latrine after three hours

2009-07-08T22:09:00.000-07:00

This is just about the worse thing ever.

A man somehow fell into a latrine and was stranded in it for three hours until someone heard him.

A woman spotted the man inside the belly of the toilet on Wednesday afternoon and became scared. She called police and firefighters who broke down the squatting toilet and pulled him out.

After he was out, he said that he was drinking earlier and did not know how he fell inside.

He was taken to a hospital in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province.

(Hebei Youth News, reported in the China Daily)

Loving cat and dog now raising litter of puppies

2009-07-08T22:05:00.000-07:00

Awwww.

A dog and cat that share the same house are not treating each other with disdain as most other dogs and cats normally do. And they're drawing some attention for their model behavior.
A man surnamed He brought the two animals together under his roof in Jincheng, Shanxi province, years ago.

The cat recently gave birth to kittens and the dog also produced some puppies. He gave away the kittens to make things easier at home.

To his surprise, the cat adopted the puppies as her own and even breastfeeds the puppies.

(Shanxi TV station, reported in the China Daily)

Man takes woman to a movie with happy ending

2009-07-08T22:04:00.000-07:00

I need to find out who writes the titles of these China Daily articles... definitely some innuendo here.

A man in Chongqing municipality took his girlfriend to the movies and made her his wife.
After he purchased every ticket for the screening, he proposed to her in a video that he played on the screen, and she said yes.

He gave the tickets to all his relatives.

(Chongqing Commercial Daily)

Ventriloquist can imitate 50 different bird sounds

2009-07-08T22:02:00.000-07:00

I once met a beat-boxing cab driver in Yanji who also could make pretty realistic bird calls.

Xu Mingfu, 53, likes to imitate birds and he's trying to eat like one too.
Xu first learned ventriloquism five years ago in Beijing. Ever since, he's been spending three hours each day to practice the chirping sounds of various birds.

Now, he is able to tweet like 50 different birds. He stopped eating meat in order to keep his voice pure, he said.

He said he likes to amuse people.

(Beijing Times, reported in the China Daily)

Dad tries to steal female corpse for dead son

2009-07-08T22:00:00.000-07:00

This is truly a strange story. Anyone know anything about the custom of offering marriage to a dead adult man during burial? or what that might be called in Chinese? From the China Daily:

A man who tried to steal a female corpse to tie the knot with his dead son was arrested in Jingyang county, Shaanxi province.

Lu Yangzeng, a farmer in Hengshan county, paid a man to find the corpse after his 19-year-old son was killed in a traffic accident in 2008. In following a custom to offer marriage to a dead adult man during burial, Lu asked his friends to help him to get a female corpse for his dead son.

Then Lu got information about the corpse that went for the price of 38,000 yuan ($5,564). He said an 18-year-old girl died and they visited the girl's tomb to steal the corpse when police arrested them.

It's not customary to steal a corpse.

(Huashang Daily)

Myna bird sings and recites poems in public

2009-07-08T21:58:00.000-07:00

Only in China would someone teach their bird ancient poems.

A hill myna bird has become a feathered star at a housing estate in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, as it can sing.

The bird has been bringing laughter to spectators whenever its owner takes it outdoors for fresh air.

The owner said he has taught the myna to sing the song for the last six months. To teach the bird to sing and speak, the 73-year-old man used a recorder to teach it.

In addition to singing the song, the hill myna can recite ancient poems.

(Wuhan Evening News)

Expert lock picker builds theft-proof lock in prison

2009-07-08T21:56:00.000-07:00

牢固企业

A hardened thief got his sentence reduced after he built a new theft-proof lock in a prison in Hubei province.

Wu Mingrong used to be known for picking locks with a toothpick and used his skills to build a new anti-theft device during his 20-year sentence in Qianjiang prison.

He invented a lock that he himself couldn't break. He got a patent.

(Chutian Jinbao New)

Jobless man steals for free prison lunch

2009-07-08T21:54:00.001-07:00

TAIPEI - A jobless Taiwan man released from prison stole a box of cotton swabs just to get arrested again because he "could not forget the police department boxed lunches," officers and local media said on Tuesday.

"If someone's not doing well and comes in around meal time, we'll definitely prepare food," said an officer, surnamed Wang, at the Hsinyi District police station, which handled the case but again released the suspect, Tsou Hao-lan.

In another sign of the times on the recession-hit island, a man who had been without a job for four months stole a motor scooter and drove it to a Taipei-area police station, the paper said.

Aug 8, 2008 vows end before Olympics closing ceremony

2009-07-08T21:53:00.000-07:00

Some back reporting by the China Daily:

A couple that got married on Aug 8, 2008, quickly realized that their marriage was destined to be a 100 m dash rather than a marathon.

The date of the Beijing Olympic Games was popular for weddings. But the woman from Heyuan, Guangdong province, concluded a week later they were not a right fit.

They met and began to date on May 18, 2008, and decided to tie the knot on the opening day of the Summer Games.

The wife applied for divorce a week after she realized she married the wrong man.

After more than 10 months of mediation, judges and people from the neighborhood committee failed to save the marriage.

(Guangzhou Daily)

Bank customer steals cell phone and forgets his cash

2009-06-15T20:40:00.000-07:00

One down, millions more to reprimand. From the China Daily:

A bank customer grabbed someone's cell phone that was resting on the counter and left his 10,000 yuan ($1,462) behind on Tuesday.

The cell phone owner called police who identified the thief as a man surnamed Liu the bank's surveillance video.

After Liu returned to the bank in Tianjin municipality to find his money, police were waiting for him.

He was reprimanded and let go.

Check out Anti-theft devices for cell phones from Shenzhen Anbao Security Technology Co., Ltd. (for stores). Wouldn't mind having one of these for when I sit down at the wangba.

Man, 67, uses cart to take mother, 99, on city tours

2009-06-15T20:31:00.000-07:00

Now this is some filial piety. From the China Daily:

A 99-year-old woman in Kuitun, the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, enjoys being pushed around by her partially disabled son throughout the city.

Li Erxiang's 67-year-old son, Duan Tiechui, made the cart and takes his mother everywhere.

"Although my hand and leg were disabled, I want to give happiness to my mother and I like to carry her in the cart to see the streetscape," Duan said.

Duan's left hand and leg were injured during an accident when he was just 30 and his wife died in 1980.

Farmer helps lost black bear cub find its way

2009-06-15T20:18:00.000-07:00

Movie: Big Brother 2

From the China Daily

A black bear cub that apparently lost its way decided to follow a farmer to his home in Baoshan county, Yunnan province.
The farmer was heading home after he grazed his cattle on a mountain near his village on Thursday. As he walked home, he noticed a small animal was behind him.

The farmer took the bear back home and fed it. He reported the case to forestry police who handed it over to the local park for safe-keeping.

The bear is only three months old and was still being breastfed.

(Chuncheng Evening News)
From 'How Dangerous are Black Bears?'
"The worst area, British Columbia, has roughly five times as many serious attacks and fatalities from black bears as from grizzlies. There is typically one fatality and half a dozen attacks each year, the majority of them from black bears. These bears are the most dangerous in North America (even compared to polar bears) and compare to the ferocious Asiatic Black Bear."

Burglar's razor teeth are his weapons of choice

2009-06-15T20:13:00.000-07:00

I'm pretty sure one could find a better way to rob people. From the China Daily

A successful burglar in Chongqing municipality has been entering homes with barbed wires because he can cut them with his teeth.

Police found Xiong, 23, a farmer from Leibo county, Sichuan province, and arrested him for his role in several cases.

Police found that Xiong used nothing to break the anti-theft wire meshes but his teeth and stole from homes going back to 2007.

(Chongqing Evening News)

Zoo lion breaks free, recaptured

2009-06-13T00:57:00.000-07:00

I once watched in horror as a man put his hand in a hippo's mouth to feed it crackers at the Chengdu Zoo. Hippos are one of the most dangerous animals in the world .

However, that probably was not as scary as this...

Tiny-tots reciting nursery rhymes at a primary school situated a stone's throw from a local zoo in Rudong county, Jiangsu province, had no idea what was coming for them on Wednesday morning.

It was a lion.

(full article)

Bag owner ungrateful to honest worker

2009-06-13T00:54:00.000-07:00

Oh now this is a 贱民...what a little bitch

A cleaning lady found 30,000 yuan ($4,389) in a KTV room and handed it over to her boss. But the owner was too annoyed to say thanks.

The owner left the room in Nanjing, Jiangsu province last week when Li Yuemei, 50, saw the bag and returned it to the front desk.

As the bag did not contain any ID, the front desk called police. When police found the owner, the man tried to send someone else to pick it up. He was asked to show up in person.

He did not want to meet Li to say any word of thanks and seemed annoyed.

(Yangtze Evening News)

Man attempts blackmail to pay for sex habit

2009-06-13T00:51:00.000-07:00

贱民...not that its my place to judge or anything.

A man was arrested after he tried to blackmail his father's good friend in Nanjing, Jiangsu province.

Gao, a 33-year-old Taiwanese who works in his father's Nanjing company, earns just 2,000 yuan ($294) a month ever since he lost a lot of money in his own company.

To get money to pay for a prostitute, he sent SMS to his father's friend surnamed Liu and threatened to kidnap his newborn granddaughter and expose the fact that he has a mistress.

Liu called police, who located Gao using the banking card number he provided to Liu. He was arrested for extortion.

(Yangtze Evening News)

Mahjong fan in coma after playing 32 hours straight

2009-06-13T00:48:00.000-07:00

Again sounds like some of my relatives. Its fun, but not that fun.

A man in Guiyang, capital of Guizhou province, fell into a coma on Sunday and doctors said it's because he played mahjong non-stop for 32 hours.

The man, surnamed Zhang, 30, began playing on Friday night and fell off his mahjong chair on Sunday morning. His partners went home and were replaced by new partners on Saturday afternoon.

(Guizhou Metropolis Daily)

More on snakes (and reptiles)...

2009-06-13T00:26:00.000-07:00

Snakes of all kids are the topic of the week in China. See: Couple finds 2-m-long snake in their bed & Green Snake (青蛇)

Here are some other recent 'snake' related stories from the China Daily.

Snake bits man after soaking 2 months in a bottle

Eatery offers chicken bitten by poisonous snakes

Follow up: Snake-bitten cock-in-a-pot stopped (honestly, who writes these titles?!)

Related: Man sick after sucking out snake venom from wife

Man lives with snakes, spiders and lizards

Snake in paddy field good for food chain

Man says never again to snaky blind date

And just for fun. Other reptiles too!

Crocodile flees restaurant for artificial lake

Residents unite to wipe out fish-eating turtles

And if Chinese snacks weren't weird enough already...care for some delicious sea snake???

yum!
Photo by Suyoung in Shenzhen

Separated at birth?

2009-06-11T12:50:00.000-07:00

Recently Gong Mi, a Cecilia Cheung look-alike, has appeared on "Happy Girls", China's version of American Idol, sparking debate over plastic surgery and when Edison Chen might make his next move. See: Plastic Surgery Gate: "Little Cecilia Cheung" Gong Mi from China Smack and an article in Chinese.

A comparison of Gong Mi (at left) and Cecilia Cheung

I am starting to believe there is something more to the the old saying goes "If you're one in a million, there are 1,300 people just like you in China."

Has anyone else ever noticed that same little Hui boy works at just about every 兰州拉面 joint in all of China? I've at at these places all over China and swear the same kid unkempt little kid with attitude takes my order each time.

Lanzhou noodles

The archetype Noodle Kid

Then there is the case of one photographer Michael Martina (check out his website), whose work has taken him back in time to the Cultural Revolution.

Michael (second from right) during the Cultural Revolution (not photoshopped)

Michael (at right) at the Terracotta Warriors in Xi'an. Notice similar hats in both pictures.

And lastly to my own doppelgänger Thai actor Stefan Sunti Weeraboonchai.

Thai heart-throb Stefan

The author in younger days

Duckling follows girls who aren't ugly ducklings

2009-06-11T12:27:00.000-07:00

This makes quite a lot of sense seeing as yazi （鸭子）, or duck，is slang for gigolo in Chinese.

A duckling owned by a 74-year-old woman is popular among her neighbors for its unique habit of liking pretty girls.

"The duck seems to understand human nature. It follows me wherever I go and show intimacies with me by pecking at my shoes or trouser legs of the pretty girls we meet," Guo Shuxin, the keeper, said.

It's so fond of well-dressed girls that it often follows them to their homes and refuses to walk home by itself, her neighbors in Dalian, Liaoning province, said.

"The girls have to escort such a lechery pet duck home because they know its keeper well and like the pet so much," she said.

(Peninsula Morning Post, reported in the China Daily)

No money for mahjong, man burns house

2009-06-11T12:19:00.000-07:00

Sounds like some of my relatives.

After his wife refused to give him money to play mahjong, a man tried to burn down their house, and was arrested.

His wife was returning to the home in Meihekou, Jilin province, on Sunday when she noticed the fire and called authorities.

Her husband confessed he set the fire in a rage.

"I asked my wife to give me money to play mahjong with friends that day but she refused," he said.

(New Culture View, reported in the China Daily)

Man wants to turn 'girlfriend' into real girl

2009-06-11T12:08:00.000-07:00

Sex change news seems to be all the rage lately in China. See: Young lovers plan to change sex and marry and Two Ladyboys in Southern China Seek Sex Change. I think the man's reaction was very admirable, but just goes to show you never can tell.

A young migrant worker was shocked but remained open minded to the fact that his girlfriend of four years is actually a man.

His girlfriend surnamed Xia informed him when they met recently in Changchun, Jilin province.

Before he told him the truth, "she" bought many sleeping pills to commit suicide out of fear that he would not accept her as a man.

To "her" surprise, Long even agreed to give him money for a sex change operation and marry her.

(East Asia Economy and Trade News)

Comments:

	charlie 2009-06-05 09:10
	this story needs a picture !
	Tom 2009-06-05 08:17
	I think as long as it is true love . it is ok ,
	Erol 2009-06-05 06:08
	How on earth did he not realize that she was not a girl? He must be very stupid indeed.
	jen 2009-06-04 23:53
	everyone has right to love and be loved. although the poor man has been deceived for four years,his"girlfriend"'s love shuld be considered. if they really love eac other,nothing can prevent they finall union!
	Jacqui 2009-06-04 16:13
	That poor guy has been deceived by his "girlfriend" for 4 years. That should tell you something about the character of the girlfriend.
	Canndy 2009-06-04 13:43
	the guy's grilfriend just insist on his mind,we should not against him.
	NO NAME 2009-06-04 12:19
	THE GUY IS THE MOST STUPID GUY THAT I EVER HEARD BEFORE

Couple finds 2-m-long snake in their bed & Green Snake (青蛇）

2009-06-11T11:41:00.000-07:00

Green Snake

Stories of snakes often appear in Chinese folk tales, including the Legend of White Snake, as well as a number of stories in Pu Songling's Strange Tales. Also see: Tsui Hark's movie Green Snake (青蛇). I'm sure the man would have preferred Maggie Cheung or Joey Wang in bed over a real snake though.

A couple in Xiangfan, Hubei province, didn't know what to do when they woke up and found a two-meter long snake with them in bed. So they called police on Wednesday.

The couple surnamed Zhang discovered the snake under their quilt at about 1 am.

Police captured the non-venomous snake but they couldn't explain how it got into the bed.

(Chutian Metropolis Daily, reported in the China Daily)

Comments:

pandaguofw 2009-06-08 11:18
That doesn't show anything, no ghost, no luck. Maybe the snake just misses her parents!

mary 2009-06-06 21:06
In my hometown,that phenomena shows the ghost of a departed relative has come back.

A trailer for the 1993 movie Green Snake

Best scene from Green Snake from 3:30. Especially the part from 4:17 to 4:30, not too sure what is going on there but the fiery whip is awesome.

Interesting Links

2009-06-11T10:56:00.000-07:00

Brian in Jeollanam-do on Korean summer fashion. Would you like a can of robots?

The New York Times with a reported interview with Kim Jong-Il's oldest son who has been passed over in the North Korean line of succession.

Shanghai Eye on CCP corporate identity book (1971): " Here are a few pages from another rare book- essentially an instruction booklet for painters and sign makers on how to create acceptable slogan posters, etc, for party use."

China Strange Maps: Cannibals, Frenchmen & Mu: An aggregation of China-related maps by Mutant Palm from the Strange Maps Blog.

A 'literal map of China' from Dragon Hunting

US States As Countries of Equal Population from the Strange Maps Blog

Fruity Oaty Bars!

2009-06-03T09:44:00.000-07:00

Male teachers dance in skirts to amuse students

2009-05-31T20:18:00.000-07:00

Cross dressing is an ancient Chinese tradition. Also see: Beijing Opera. Really makes me wonder why Chinese people are always asking me about 'ladyboys' whenever I say I've been to Thailand.

To help lighten the mood and make students forget about upcoming exams, many male teachers at a school in Chongqing municipality wore long skirts and danced.

Students at the middle and high schools will soon sit for final exams and are under heavy pressure, many said.

(Chongqing Times, reported in the China Daily)

Dog walks 50 km to visit kind veterinarian

2009-05-31T20:15:00.000-07:00

I like this story because my sister is named Hua Hua, and she also likes to pretend to be a dog. Walking incredibly long distances also seems to be in vogue in China these days.

A smart dog named Huahua can't seem to forget a doctor that took good care of it.

The dog walked 50 k over 15 days to return to the veterinarian after it was taken away.

The one-year-old dog stayed in a residential community in Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, and was sent to a local pet hospital to be sterilized by a resident surnamed Han.

During the five days in the hospital, the dog got on very well with Wang Feng, the doctor. After it was returned, the dog walked back to Wang the next day.

About three weeks later, the doctor and Han decided to give Huahua to a pet lover who lived 50 km away. To Wang's surprise, he found the dog standing at the gate of his hospital 15 days later.

(Chengdu Evening News, reported in the China Daily)

Book thief says he loves to read and not a criminal

2009-05-28T02:52:00.000-07:00

As someone who buys books at a rate much faster than I can read them, I sympathize with this man.

A man who was arrested for trying to steal books in Chongqing municipality confessed on Monday that he stole 1,565 books in the last three years.

Surnamed Liu, he said he felt his crime was just a bad habit but the hobby costs several bookstores 37,000 yuan ($5,417) in losses.

After guards stopped him on Monday, he told police he wanted to read them, not to sell them.

"I have no money but like reading very much, so I stole the books," Liu said.

(Chongqing Commercial Daily, reported in the China Daily )

Man spends two months walking wrong way home

2009-05-28T02:23:00.001-07:00

I wonder at any given moment how many people in China are walking some incredibly huge distance to get home. See Man walks 34 days home after money stolen and Jobless man walks 250 km to see the sea and Man, 60, walks seven days to visit son in prison. For an awesome blog about walking across China, check out The Longest Way.

A man who tried to walk from Zhejiang province to his hometown in Guizhou, realized after two months that he was going the wrong way.

Wang Zhaoqing, 28, of Guiyang, Guizhou province went to Jinhua, Zhejiang province, for a job but soon got fired.

He had no money for a train ticket so he walked home and begged for food. Last Thursday, police in Huzhou found him sleeping on the side of the road and gave him a ticket.

(www.chinanews.com, reported by the China Daily)

Young lovers plan to change sex and marry

2009-05-28T02:04:00.000-07:00

According to Timothy Brook's The Confusions of Pleasure: Commerce and Culture in Ming China, cross-dressing was popular among Ming Dynasty urban elites, as depicted in the following anecdote.

In his memoir of the Lantern Festival, Zhang retells a story he heard about a "vagabond" who took over an empty building on the east side of the City God Temple and installed boys he had bought in a "screened alley"-a male brothel. Male prostitution did a good business for the vagabond and his brothel prospered. On the night of a Lantern Festival when the world was too busy to notice, a young man showed up at the entrance to the screened alley and put down money for the services of one of the boys. As soon as the client was ushered with the boy into a room, he snuffed out the candle, drank some wine, and tore the boy's clothes off. But when he undressed himself, he turned out to be not a he at all, but a cross-dressed woman. Here was the true inversion of the sexual order, with the woman putting herself in the position of the buyer of commercial sex. Yet here also was its restoration as she conferred on the boy the power of genital sex that the commercial exploitation of his physical beauty had denied him. She made loved to him until just before down, then slipped away undetected (237).

I've heard a similar story in which the prostitute was in fact a man disguised as a woman whose services were purchased by a woman dressed as a man. Ming Dynasty readers would find the following story out of Yichang on May 21st strangely familiar.

A pair of young lovers in Yichang, Hubei province, plan to get several operations to change their gender and then marry each other.

The woman wants to become a man while the man wants to become a woman. The two, both 23, fell in love a year ago.

The woman said she looked like a boy when she was a kid while the man said his character is calm like a woman.

The hospital said surgeries for the pair to change genders would be completed in two years.

(Chutian Metropolis Daily, reported in the China Daily)

For another story about sex change in China see Two Ladyboys in Southern China Publicly Seek Sex Change from Chinasmack.com

Girl unimpressed with man's river theatrics

2009-05-28T01:22:00.000-07:00

This is by far one of the best stories I've ever seen. I'll have to look for pictures later.

A young man tried to impress his girlfriend by swimming to the middle of a river using one hand while holding a bunch of red roses with the other.

Yang, 27, of Zhejiang province, was hoping to keep the girl after they've been together for four months.

On Tuesday morning, he swam 40 m and then climbed up a contrete island in the middle of the river posing as The Thinker, a famous work by French sculptor Auguste Rodin, for at least 30 minutes. He asked police to bring his girlfriend to see him otherwise he wouldn't leave.

The girl, Wang, 23, of Jilin province, showed up but wasn't flattered with Yang's scheme.

(Modern Jinbao, reported in the China Daily)

The Thinker by Rodin

Village told to change name or it won't exist

2009-05-28T01:05:00.000-07:00

Wow, this sucks.

A village had to change its name, or character, because the name includes two rarely used Chinese characters that can't be found in a new police computer system.

The characters for "Tang" and "Lu" have been used for decades but Tanglu residents who tried to get a marriage certificate had trouble since the computers didn't recognize their hometown marked on their ID cards.

The system also became a problem for those seeking employment, travelers and those doing real estate transactions.

Some villagers and experts said changing the village's name is damaging to their culture and customs but police said it would be too expensive to change the computer programs.

(Yangcheng Evening News, reported in the China Daily)

Passer-by pushes suicide jumper in south China

2009-05-27T21:27:00.000-07:00

From the Seattle Times. See also Muddy river forces woman to rethink suicide

Chen Fuchao, a man heavily in debt, had been contemplating suicide on a bridge in southern China for hours when a passer-by came up, shook his hand - and pushed him off the ledge.

BEIJING —
Chen Fuchao, a man heavily in debt, had been contemplating suicide on a bridge in southern China for hours when a passer-by came up, shook his hand - and pushed him off the ledge.

Chen fell 26 feet (8 meters) onto a partially inflated emergency air cushion laid out by authorities and survived, suffering spine and elbow injuries, the official Xinhua News Agency said Saturday.

The passer-by, 66-year-old Lai Jiansheng, had been fed up with what he called Chen's "selfish activity," Xinhua said. Traffic around the Haizhu bridge in the city of Guangzhou had been backed up for five hours and police had cordoned off the area.

"I pushed him off because jumpers like Chen are very selfish. Their action violates a lot of public interest," Lai was quoted as saying by Xinhua. "They do not really dare to kill themselves. Instead, they just want to raise the relevant government authorities' attention to their appeals."

Xinhua said Lai was "taken away by police" but did not elaborate.

A police officer who answered the telephone Saturday at a station close to the bridge confirmed the incident and said it was under investigation. He refused to give any other details and hung up.

According to Xinhua, Chen wanted to kill himself because he had accrued 2 million yuan ($290,000) in debt from a failed construction project.

On Thursday, he made his way to the Haizhu bridge, where 11 other people have tried to take their lives since April.

Lai volunteered to talk Chen down but was turned away by police, Xinhua said. Lai then broke through the cordon, climbed to where Chen sat, greeted him with a handshake, then pushed.

Photos in the Beijing Morning Post showed Lai, shoeless and in a T-shirt, saluting after Chen fell.

The paper said Lai was released on bail Friday but did not give any details. It said he had been on medication for "a mental illness" for decades and had been on his way to a hospital for his pills.

Chen was recovering in the hospital, Xinhua said.

The Manchukuo Temporary Government (满洲国临时政府）

2009-05-17T13:57:00.000-07:00

As if Beijing didn't already have enough to worry about with the Dalai Lama Clique raising hell in Tibet and Uyghur "splitists"* operating in Xinjiang, the northeast, commonly known as dongbei, has again fallen under the insidious gaze of one of China's old enemies, the puppet state of Manchukuo.

Established in September 1932 with the former Emperor of China, Puyi, as head of state, Manchukuo was pitched to the world as the ethnic homeland for the Manchus, founders of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912). In reality Manchukuo was as a puppet state under the protection of Imperial Japan and only a handful of nations ever diplomatically recognized the new state. Manchukuo's attempt to gain entry into the League of Nations in 1933 resulted Japan's withdrawal from the organization in protest. Through the 1930's and early 40's, Manchukuo served as Japan's wild west, a major destination for Japanese settlers and a playground for Japanese administers and intellectuals in creating a vision of modern agriculture, industrial and city planning for Japan's post-war Empire, the Greater East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere, that never was to be. For this reason, Manchukuo still holds a place in the psyche of many Japanese whose families worked or settled there. Manchukuo was also the site of many of the worst atrocities committed by the Japanese military, including the infamous Unit 731, and so serves as a symbol of Japanese imperialism and aggression to many Chinese. Soviet Forces brought an end to Manchukuo in 1945.

The Red Army: Fashionably late?

The Soviets apparently didn't do a thorough enough job though, and Manchukuo, known today as the Manchukuo Temporary Government (满洲国临时政府- www.manchukuo.org), is back in business and up to its old tricks, literally.

Is this a joke???

As a proud member of the International Monarchist Society (not the International Puppet Society, which is in no doubt a more worthwhile and noble investment of energy, time and money) Manchukuo is seeking entry into the United Nations...

Please support the entry of Manchukuo into the United Nations

and was also selling "Loyalty Bonds" with annual interst of 10% that can be redeemed "after the government recover the territories" (taking notes Dalai Lama?) to raise money for entry (not successful) into the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO).

I wonder how many of these the PRC's got in its coffers?

So what are the goals of this so-called government in exile and what can we expect if they are one day sucessful? Here is a list of their goals:

The Manchukuo Temporary Government

To fight for the independence, we established the Manchukuo Temporary Government in 2004.Manchukuo's National Believe is to build a race harmony state, our slogan is "Ohtohrakuto Gozokugyouwa". Manchukuo will be a migration based state, just like USA, Canada and Australia. There will be no more race struggle and historical arguments. Our government's targets includes:
1. Rebuild the Manchukuo, well prepare for the independence movement.

2. Consolidate all Manchurians to fight for the independence.

3. Cooperate with international organizations and foreign government to get their support of Manchuria Independence.

4. Prepare to set up the military power to overthrown the Chinese colonial governance in Manchuria.

5. Promote Manchukuo to participate in international organizations and United Nations.

6. Promote Manchuria culture

And also a link to their constitution. Here is the National Flag (see below) in which, "The five colors mean harmony between different races: Yellow:Manchus, Red:Japanese, Blue: Han Chinese, White:Mongols and Black:Koreans." And also the National Anthem

You can even apply for citizenship here and you will get a National Identity Card for an additional $3.

Manchukuo National Identity Card ($3)

It isn't clear whether in applying you renounce any previous citizenship, but any questions can be directed to immigration@manchukuo.org.

I'm considering applying for one just to get the card, but I am a little scared of a defunct fascist puppet government in exile having access to my credit card.

Also, I am a little reluctant about the prospects of having this guy as one of the cabinet members representing my Emperor

愛新覺羅何辰　Aisin-Gioro Jason-Adam Tonis
出生日期：1989年3月14日

出生地點: 紐約

性別：男

個人簡介（由候選人提供）：I am a descendant of the Chien Lung Emperor, but am of mixed Manchu, Russian and other European ancestry & I was born in New York, USA. My grandparents came to the USA from Peking. I am currently a university student majoring in Japanese. 　
Although I am a person who is of mostly European ancestry, with only a small amount of Manchu Aisin-Gioro blood, I identitfy myself as Manchurian. Manchukuo is my homeland, my beloved country. If the glorius people of Manchukuo choose me to be their Emperor, I vow to you that I will not give up this struggle until all the Manchurian territories are recovered, and the Communist government of China is forever demolished ! As a cabinet member of the Manchukuo Temporary Government, I have done all I can to assist the Prime Minister liberate Manchukuo; such as leading the campaign for Manchukuo to enter the UNPO, being one of the founders of the Loyalty Bond programme, as well as ceasingly attempting to gain foreign support for Manchukuo's cause. I believe that I am the best choice to lead the Manchukuo Temporary Government because, as I am fluent in several languages and can communicate well with foreign governments, I will be able to gain international recognision and support f! or the liberation of Manchukuo

The Manchkuo Temporary Government is also allied with the Imperial Qing Restoration Organization led by his royal majesty Lee Chee Chuan now in exile in Malaysia.

Not to rain on anybodies' parade or anything, but isn't this alliance just asking for trouble after the PRC is dealt with?

Somebody please tell me this is all an elaborate joke. My otherwise dormant inner Chinese nationalist is already in a rage.

* I am pretty sure "splitist" is not a real word.

interesting stuff

2009-05-14T22:53:00.000-07:00

Some interesting stuff I've come across this week...

Awesome picture of Wen Jia Bao at China Military Blog

The Egg Song (in English and Korean) at iloveegg.com

Erotic comic thriller, feathering Lu Xun from Danwei.org

The World of William Shatner: Oriental Sex (Playboy) from The Studio of Exhausted Diligence

Sex theme park prepares to open

2009-05-14T22:14:00.000-07:00

From the China Daily by Tan Yingzi. I have a little bit of beef about Chinese people (or any other people) saying that sex is a taboo subject. Anyone else ever taken a look at The Golden Lotus (金瓶梅 Jīn Píng Méi）or Pu Songling's Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio (聊斋志异 Liáozhāi zhìyì)? How about Mao Zedong's 'hero mothers' (英雄妈妈 yingxiong mama)...how else do you think there got to be so many Chinese people? How do we get people in general?

Naked human sculptures, giant replica genitals, a photo exhibition about sex history and sex technique workshops.

China's first sex-themed park has not even opened yet, but the controversial project has already got some people hot under the collar.

People pass the gate of the sex-themed park in Chongqing. [China Daily]

Love Land will open in October in the entertainment zone near the Yangtze River in Chongqing.

Lu Xiaoqing, park manager, said Love Land would be useful for sex education and help adults "enjoy a harmonious sex life".

It will contain an exhibition about sex, including its history and practice in other countries, anti-AIDS measures and the proper use of condoms.

"We are building the park for the good of the public," Lu said.

"Sex is a taboo subject in China but people really need to have more access to information about it."

However, some people have criticized Love Land as vulgar and said that Chinese people were not ready to accept open discussions on sex.

"These things are too exposed" Liu Daiwei, a policewoman in Chongqing, said. "I will feel uncomfortable to look at them when other people are around."

Yu said the idea of building Love Land came up to him during a visit to South Korea's sex park in Jeju, a popular destination on the island.

"We hope our Love Land can also become a landmark in Chongqing when it finishes," he said.

A netizen from Shandong on popular news portal sina.com.cn wrote that Chinese people do not treat sex as boldly as foreigners.

"These vulgar sex installments will only make people sick," the person wrote.

However, others described the project as creative and brave and said there should be more discussion about sex in China.

"Chinese people are in need of sex education," a netizen in Henan wrote. "I will visit the park when I go to Chongqing. It is important to learn more about sex and improve our quality of life."

Lu said that he was prepared for Love Land to generate controversy.

"It is quite normal to see so much discussion about it," he said.

"I have found that the majority of people support my idea but I have to pay attention and not make the park look vulgar and nasty."

Boy frantic after call from dead man's phone

2009-05-14T22:11:00.000-07:00

Man, this story is great.

A 14-year-old boy was so frightened to get a call from a number that belonged to a deceased neighbor that he began sharpening his martial arts moves at home to protect himself.

Alone at home last Wednesday night in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, the boy saw the caller ID on his parent's phone and went berserk. The neighbor died two weeks earlier.

He turned up the television volume as loud as it could go, switched on all the lights and called his parents using another phone.

After his parents rushed back home, they saw him doing kungfu. He learned that the dead man gave the phone to his housemaid who was calling to say goodbye before she returned to her hometown.

(Modern Express, reported in the China Daily)

	mikayla 2009-05-14 19:40
	this is hillarious but also cool that he nows kung fu
	Peterl 2009-05-14 15:39
	what a funny story, and the lovely boy. but if he knows more about ghosts, he will know his martial arts are useless, because ghosts are not afraid of it.

Wolfhound is foster mother to orphan goat

2009-05-14T22:07:00.000-07:00

And the goat went on to found a city that would one day rule a vast empire that spanned three continents. -Livy, The Early History of Rome

A wolfhound has adopted a young goat after its mother died in Tongzi county, Guizhou province.

The goat, which was raised in a nursing home, died a few days after it gave birth three months ago.

The elderly residents introduced it to a wolfhound that was nursing its own puppies. The wolfhound accepted the goat and breastfeeds it everyday.

The baby goat weighed 1 kg at birth and has since grown to 3 kg. The residents sometimes offer it milk powder and cereals.

(Guizhou Metropolis Daily, reported in the China Daily)

Slaughterhouse cow escapes and goes wild

2009-05-14T22:00:00.000-07:00

The Chinese word for "to gore" is 顶 ding 3 as in 这牛时常顶人 "This bull often gores people". I learned that a few years back in Chinese class and thought I would never have to use it. Then the way to Jiuzhaigou I overheard a conversation where a man selling yak rides asked some girls why they didn't want to ride the yak. Their response was, "We're scared of being gored."

A cow escaped from a slaughterhouse and butted three people including a child.

The cow ran down a bicyclist carrying his daughter, and hit an elderly man twice on Sunday morning in Changchun, Jilin province.

Eventually, butchers from the slaughterhouse used iron sticks to stop it from injuring others.

(New Culture View, reported in the China Daily)

Mixed Race Role Models

2009-05-14T20:00:00.000-07:00

A while back I came across an article in the New York Times called Who Are We? New Dialogue on Mixed Race by Mireya Navarro and it got me thinking about my experience growing up mixed.

In my own personal experience I've never had any major issues about being mixed and for the most part I feel it has been to my advantage in some ways. I'm half-Chinese and half-European (German, Swedish, English) and I feel it has given me the opportunity to relate to both Chinese and European (to use a simple term) culture, history, society, etc. I think this very much reflects the time, place and community in which I grew up and grateful for that, as I know people who would not share my opinion. Some people I know feel the opposite, that is, they feel they never fit into either group.

At the same time, being mixed, and so often seemingly of ambiguous race, I've gained some insight into the lives of others; how they are treated or perceived in society. Most people, including most Thai people, think I am Thai. Native Americans have asked me "What tribe are you from?" and a British tourist once asked me "Are you a real Indian?". I've been mistaken as Korean and Japanese (depending who I am sitting next to on the plane) as well as French, Inuit, Italian, Russian, Tibetan and Uyghur (the inhabitants of China's Xinjiang Province-I have to say it is probably not a fun experience to grow up Uyghur in China.). I guess it is a little sad to say that I have been treated quite differently depending on what people have thought me to be.

Anyways, growing up I never really had any role models (or at least didn't realize it) like myself. I used to imagine a place in Central Asia, the geographical center between Shanghai, Cornwall, Hamburg and Stockholm, where everyone would look like me. But since that place doesn't exist...well maybe in Kazakhstan...I've just had to settle for a list of general mixed race role models. Here is my personal top ten list:

10. Johnny Damon, baseball player
9. Stefan Sunti Weeraboonchai, my Thai doppelgänger
8. Yu Kashii, actress in Japan
7. The Rock
6. Anthony Wong, Hong Kong actor
5. Bird Thongchai McIntyre, Thai singer
4. Jimi Hendrix (he also went to my high school)
3. Spock
2. Barack Obama
1. Bruce Lee (he also went to my university)

And getting more specific...my top five Chinese/European mixed race people, not nessecarily role models but they're the best I've got.

5. Edison Chen/ 陳冠希 (7/8 Chinese, 1/8 Portugese), oh Edison... you sly dog.
4. Cecilia Chung/張柏芝 (3/4 Chinese, 1/4 English), Hong Kong actress
3. Han Suyin/ 韩素音/周光湖 (1/2 Chinese, 1/2 Belgian), famous author and also our great-uncle's family friend
2. Anthony Wong/ 黄秋生 (1/2 Chinese, 1/2 English), Hong Kong actor
1. Bruce Lee/李小龍 (3/4 Chinese, 1/4 German)

China vs. Star Trek

2009-05-14T13:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday it was reported by Rick at inventorspot.com (also written about here at CNET) that the Chinese National Space Administration (English) has copied two Star Trek symbols in making its emblem.

United Federation of Planets + Starfleet= Chinese National Space Agency
Source: Jacob1207

I posted a link to the story on my blog and got this interesting response in defense of the Chinese National Space Administration (CNSA).

Anonymous said...

CNSA's logo is not a rip-off. Here's an description of a similar logo (in Chinese)

The arrow in middle has similar shape as the Chinese character 人 which means 'human' or 'people' (which is the center of all space explorations). The three concentric circles (actually ellipses in CNSA's logo) stand for three Escape Velocities (minimum speed needed to move around earth, to escape earth system and to escape the solar system, which are three milestones for human's space exploration). The 'human surrounded by three circles' logo may exist in 1950s when the administration was founded, way before Star Trek was filmed in 60s. They changed the logo later by :

1. making the 人 stand above the three rings to emphasize on human's capability to 'escape' and explore

2. drawing the second ring with a bold line, to state that China has passed the first stage (earth system) and undergoing second stage exploration (withing the solar system).

3. adding olive branches to state that China's space exploration is peaceful.

CNSA's logo is original with strong symbolism. It's just a coincidence that it looks similar to Star Trek's. Or maybe Vulcans know Chinese so they understand the 人 character?

Ohhh the plot thickens. I like this description of the symbol (in Chinese) from the Chinese Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC-中国航天科技集团公司), the main contractor for the Chinese Space Program...it is very...well... Vulcan.

Their symbol it seems has been incorperated into the China National Space Administration's emblem.

Seeing as Commander Spock tell us (well, Captain Kirk) that "Insufficient facts always invite danger" and Comrade Deng Xiaoping tells us to seek "Truth from facts" (实事求是), I think this question deserves a little more Starfleet style investigation.

So the question remains, is this a coincidence? Plagiarism?A case of Concord/Concordski-Space Shuttle/Buran multiregional evolution? Vulcan time travel? Or is it part of a Romulan plot, a ploy to start a war?

The origins of China's space program do date back before 1966. The CNSA, founded in 1993, and the CASC, organized in 1999, both trace their origins to the 1950's via various precursor agencies, namely the Defence Ministry's Fifth Research Academy (国防部第五研究院), the later 第七机械工业部 in 1965 and the Chinese Aerospace Industry Section (航天工业部) in 1982/3. (Histories in Chinese- here and here and here). However, I haven't yet found any hard evidence that the symbol is that old.

The similarities in the 人 and the Starfleet insignia could be a coincidence, but the addition of the olive branchs just asks for scrutiny. It's really not that big of a deal since, as Ryan points out on his CNET blog, the United Federation of Planets in Star Trek is merely a rip-off of the United Nations symbol, but if this is an attempt to cover it up, it really is quite silly.

My suspicion is that this is a case of fan non-canon fiction, or historical revisionism, depending on who you hang with, Trekkies or party cadres. I'd like to believe the Chinese Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation's explanation, however, it is unusually thorough which is often a hallmark of having something to hide or covering one's tracks, especially the part that says the emblem is protected by law.

I also have doubts that the 人 character predates the 1966 since the precursor agencies were initially more concerned with guided missile development, rather than space exploration (especially human space exploration) unless it just stands for a good ol' 人民 as in People's Republic of China, but then again the meaning of 人民 over time has been flexible as well (not gonna go there).

It also might just be a rip-off of the Russian Federal Space Agency's emblem.

So anyways, the the verdict is still out to whether or not this is an amazing coincidence or proof of Trekkies among China's scientific elite (or Politburo?) until we can find pre-Star Trek: The Original Series evidence of its usage.

The answer probably lies in one of these many websites or some decade old book on a shelf at a university or second hand bookstore in China. Let me know if anyone finds anything. I'd like to get to the bottom of this one.

Personally, I don't think there is anything wrong if the symbol is a rip-off of Star Trek. Star Trek embodies a noble dream for humanity's future in space, very fitting as an emblem for the space program that represents one in every six people in the world.

And let's not forget, the name of NASA's experimental space shuttle was Enterprise.

China's National Space Program Copies Star Trek Logo

2009-05-13T17:08:00.000-07:00

From Inventorspot.com by Rick Martin. This is great.

To give them full credit, I shouldn't say that China's National Space Administration ripped off a Star Trek logo. They actually ripped off two Star Trek logos.
The first logo being the somewhat more obscure United Federation of Planets crest, with the olive branches coming around both sides. The second one of course is that doohickey communicator thingy that goes on your chest.
Like seriously, the CNSA should be thankful that graphic design is not an essential part of space travel. If it was, you'd be in some serious space-trouble!

Logo Design is just THAT easy!

Rare surprise found under parked car

2009-05-13T16:25:00.000-07:00

Just look at those eyes

I found out today that the loris is in fact a real animal and not a Dr. Seuss creation.

A RARE monkey-like slender loris has been found under a parked car near the South-north Elevated Road in Zhabei District.

A restaurant owner surnamed Zhu found the animal under a car in front of his restaurant in the early hours of yesterday morning, according to the Shanghai Morning Post.

The loris, a first-class protected animal, looks like a small monkey but has grey skin and a pair of distinctive panda-like eyes. The animal comes from southwest China and Sri Lanka and is near extinction, according to Pei Enle, an expert from city's wild animal protection office.

The loris might have been kept as a pet and run away home, Pei said. Last week the office found two lorises on a long-haul bus on the Shanghai-Hangzhou Expressway and sent them to the Shanghai Zoo after nobody claimed them.

The loris, or sloth monkey, only ate a small piece of carrot yesterday.

The Shanghai Zoo said it would contact Zhu as soon as possible and collect the animal.
Chinese story link
From the Shanghai Daily

Dashan For Canada

2009-05-13T16:20:00.000-07:00

Not sure what this means, but I don't like it.

CANADA has appointed Mark Rowswell, popularly known as Dashan in China, as its commissioner general for Expo 2010.

Rowswell has a unique bond with his fans across China, Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Canadian Foreign Affairs, said yesterday.

Rowswell, a performer and TV host, said his first job would be to increase media coverage of the Canada Pavilion.

Reported in the Shanghai Daily

Wife hires masked men to ransack hubby's sex shop

2009-05-13T16:14:00.000-07:00

The hard life of a "becoming people using things" store owner

A woman who was angry that her husband opened an adult sex shop hired three masked men to ransack and damage the business in Changsha, capital of Hunan province, on Thursday.

The owner, Tian Shixing, had to get medical attention after the men smashed his store and injured him in the process.

He tried to call police but stopped after his wife called and told him she was responsible for the incident.

(Sanxiang Metropolis Daily, reported in the China Daily)

Toilet snake attack: urban legend comes true?

2009-05-13T16:06:00.000-07:00

Good god.

TAIPEI -- A man in became a sitting target for a snake, which bit his penis as sat on the toilet at his rural home in Taiwan, local media reported on Monday.

"As soon as he sat down, he suddenly felt a knife-like pain and reacted instinctively by standing up," the China Times said. "When he looked down, he saw the big snake."

The 51-year-old man, from Nantou County, was under medical care with minor injuries, a director at Puli Christian Hospital said.

"As soon as he has passed the risk of infection, he can go," the director, who declined to be named, said. "A snake's mouth isn't always clean."

Local television images showed the black and yellow reptile, reportedly a species of rat snake, being uncoiled and plucked slowly from the toilet bowl.
From the China Daily
At least it wasn't a cobra.

Park workers suspect bird is seeking revenge

2009-05-13T16:00:00.000-07:00

Angry birds can be quite scary.

A bird in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province, is apparently taking revenge against people who it suspected tried to attack it.

According workers at the park, the bird came to a wooded section of the park six months ago and ever since there's been bird droppings everywhere.

One day, a cleaning worker tried to hit the bird with a stone and the bird remembered. Ever since, the bird has been releasing his droppings on everyone who wears yellow uniforms.

"We are not attacked if we take off our orange color vests because the bird recognizes us by the color," said Liu Aiping, one of the cleaning workers.

(Huashang Daily, reported in the China Daily)

Wen Jiabao and Aquagirl

2009-05-13T15:31:00.000-07:00

I found these pictures at my new most favorite blog, China Military Report. I think Aquaman might have a new replacement for Aquagirl or for his harem of mermaids. That is, if he can just fight off Wen Jiabao first. Oh, the people you get to meet as Premier of China.

Beijing Zhongnanhai,the female diver bodyguard tries on newest specially the battledress which designs for the feminine agent

Caricature of a mayor promoting tourism

2009-05-11T14:43:00.000-07:00

I love how Chinese people love John Denver. In the China Daily by Tan Yingzi and Feng Zhiwei.

His caricature sings, plays the guitar and dances to the tune of Take me home, country roads in the company of some foreign friends.

This is Zhangjiajie Mayor Zhao Xiaoming's way of promoting the city's International Country Music Festival. Says Zhao in the one-minute animation: "It is a good time to recall John Denver's music with guitar and drum, it is a dialogue between Nashville and (Zhangjiajie) the world natural heritage site enjoy the peaceful spring at Zhangjiajie International Country Music Festival."

The video clip ends with the character saying in English: "Friends from all over the world, welcome to Zhangjiajie."

If you think there's nothing odd about all these, think again because this is the first time a leader's caricature has been used to promote an event in the country.

Since last month, the clip for the May 14-18 music festival in Hunan province has been played on all flights taking off from the provincial capital of Changsha to the amusement of passengers.

"It was my idea to use the caricature of the mayor in the commercial," Ye Wenzhi, chief organizer of the event, said yesterday.

Zhangjiajie is a city with stunning natural beauty, which prompted the UNESCO to declare its Wulingyuan Scenic Area a World Heritage Site in 1992.

"Zhangjiajie is an open city, so I though its mayor should be an open figure too," he said. "Zhao agreed to my idea without hesitation." True to the spirit, the mayor said he did not mind being caricatured as long as it helped promote the event.

The 54-year-old mayor assumed office at the end of 2007. Since then he has been trying his best to promote the local tourism industry and turn the city into a world famous travel destination.
But the blizzards and sleet early last year and the reduction in May Day holidays from seven to three days caused a big drop in the number of visitors to the city.
Zhao realized the need for better promotion, and hosted a group of 130 tourists from Hong Kong during Spring Festival this year.

The country music festival is another of his attempts to help the tourism industry. The festival will see 24 bands from 18 countries join eight ethnic minority troupes from China to perform against the backdrop of the breathtakingly beautiful Wulingyuan mountains.

But not surprisingly the animation has sparked a heated debate among Chinese netizens, with most of them giving Zhao the thumbs up for his creativity. Some of them have even called him "the most handsome mayor in China". Others say the video clip has taken the mayor closer to the common people.

"Many Chinese officials look serious and maintain a distance from the common people," Liu Guifang, a retired official in Chongqing, said. That's why "I like his cartoon figure other officials should learn from him".

Chinese article and video here

Woman Delivers ‘Stone Baby’ After 60 Year Pregnancy

2009-05-11T14:14:00.000-07:00

From Weird News Asia (pictures at link). Really interesting, but also kinda creepy. The Monkey King was born from a stone egg.

n a bizarre turn of events straight out of Mr. Ripley’s personal files, comes this true story of a 92-year-old woman who delivered a child (albeit not a live baby) she had been carrying for over half a century! (Long pregnancies are one thing, but THAT is ridiculous!)
Huang Yijun, aged 92, is from southern China and she recently made news after delivering a baby known as a lithopedion, aka ‘Stone Baby’.

Huang Yijun told the press she didn’t have the money to have her fetus removed after doctors told her it had died inside her in 1948.

So she simply did nothing at all about it.

Lithopedion is a very rare medical phenomenon, which occurs when a pregnancy fails and the fetus actually calcifies while still in the mother’s body.

Medically speaking, what often happens is the implanted fetus gets to an advanced stage before it dies. Too large to be absorbed by the body, the remains of the child or its surrounding amniotic sac slowly calcify, turning to stone as a way to protect the woman’s body from infection from the decomposing tissue.

If no complications occur, believe it or not, the mother can basically just go on with her life.

According to the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, only 290 cases of lithopedions have ever been documented by medical literature.

My Name is Yu Ming (Movie)

2009-05-11T14:06:00.000-07:00

Check out this nice short film 'My Name is Yu Ming'. Here is the synopsis:

A bored Chinese shopkeep learns Gaelic and moves to Dublin only to find the locals no longer speak their mother tongue. Follow Yu Ming as he pursues his dream of life in the Celtic world.

2009-05-10T23:12:00.000-07:00

There are no gods in the heavens

There are no ghosts underground

Just in case you were wondering. And if the Chinese Communist Party circa 1966 isn't convincing enough for you... this word might come in handy

傩鬼（儺鬼）nuo 2 gui 3: Ritual to exorcise ghosts that bring diseases

the 傩神 is the god that drives away pestilence

2009-05-10T22:57:00.000-07:00

"Even this kind of large stone was pulled down."
From The East is Red (东方红), 1966

Man keeps dog's body for 2 years for lawsuit

2009-05-10T22:51:00.000-07:00

Ah the old get your dog hit by a car and sue the man for $1000 scheme...never fails

A man in Zhushan county, Hubei province, kept his dog's body in a freezer for two years so he could win a lawsuit against a driver.

The owner surnamed Chen placed the dog in the freezer on July 5, 2007, after it was struck and killed by the driver surnamed Li.

He had requested 10,000 yuan ($1,464) in a lawsuit but the court asked Li to pay 12,120 yuan in compensation to Chen.

(Wuhan Evening News, reported in the China Daily)

Driver and tied up boy attract police attention

2009-05-10T22:48:00.000-07:00

This reminds me of a conversation my then six year old sister had with my brother in Shanghai.

Sister: Hey there's a black man in that car.
Brother: Those are two white teenagers.

A driver was suspected of kidnapping after his son was seen tied up inside their car in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, last Tuesday.

Many residents dialed the police hotline after they saw the car traveling on the Beijing-Zhuhai expressway.

After police stopped the car, they realized the child was with his father.

The driver surnamed Luo said he tied up his 4-year-old to prevent him from distracting him while he's driving.

(www.chinanews.com.cn)

Two women living in tree house for a month

2009-05-10T22:45:00.001-07:00

Hello? This is already old hat. There is already a woman living in a tree already in Guandong.

Two women are living in a small tree house in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province, for a month.

The house sits on top of eight tree trunks, 8.8 meters above the ground in the Zhengzhou ecological garden.

The women, an office worker and a university student, plan to live in the 15 sq m "bird nest" for a month. The house has a washroom and a bedroom.
A local Internet company is behind the stunt and they hope to raise awareness about ecology and promote their Internet sites.

(Zhengzhou Evening News, reported in the China Daily)

Man spends two days guarding faulty ATM

2009-05-10T22:41:00.000-07:00

As someone who has lost a card to the ATM in China, I sympathize with this man.

A man spent two days camped out in front of an ATM after his cash failed to come out of a tampered machine.

The man surnamed Zhang saw that his receipt showed the money was deducted from his account but he didn't get cash from the ATM located in the Shenzhen special economic zone, Guangdong province.

Other people near him told him that they had a similar problem and then he called the bank's hotline and police for help.

Police told him some crooks had damaged the machine and provided a false number to call. Callers were told to transfer their money to a new account, which the crooks controlled.

(www.sznews.com)

Stink with online shop takes nasty turn

2009-05-10T22:37:00.000-07:00

No wonder Chinese post office ladies are so mean.

A dispute between a shopper and an online salesman took a nasty turn - literally - when the business owner mailed a container of excrement to the customer.

The customer, a woman surnamed Wang who lives in Lishui, Zhejiang province, ordered two feet massagers.

She called and complained after she only received one tub. She wrote an online criticism of the shop after the second item took 10 days to arrive.

The seller called the woman 40 times in one day to harass her and then mailed her a parcel. Inside was an instant noodle bowl filled with excrement.

Wang plans to sue the man.

(Information Times, reported in the China Daily)

	pandaguofw 2009-06-08 11:18
	That doesn't show anything, no ghost, no luck. Maybe the snake just misses her parents!
	mary 2009-06-06 21:06
	In my hometown,that phenomena shows the ghost of a departed relative has come back.