Current Events

[Randy W]

in the NY Times - also other sites, if you're out of free articles. When consumers start shunning a meat, then what's left unsold becomes fairly dicey, so even if you're not worried about how the disease affects consumption, you need to be concerned about the quality of what's on the shelves.

 

 

A Vicious, Untreatable Killer Leaves China Guessing

African swine fever, which harms pigs but not humans, has swept across the country, the world’s largest pork producer. And the government knows about only some of the cases.

 

 

In the current crisis, the distrust is being felt not just by farmers and industry specialists, but by consumers as well. Some Chinese shoppers, skeptical of assurances that the disease does not harm human health, are starting to shun pork.

African swine fever, for which no treatment or vaccine exists, has spread to every Chinese province and region, and has also jumped the border into Cambodia, Mongolia and Vietnam. Analysts at the Dutch bank Rabobank, which lends heavily to the global agriculture industry, have predicted that China will produce 150 million to 200 million fewer pigs this year because of deaths from infection or culling. That would be a hefty chunk of the 700 million pigs slaughtered in China in 2018.

The Chinese economy, already slowing, is starting to feel the effects. Higher pork prices helped push inflation to a five-month high in March. The nation’s stock of live pigs has fallen by a fifth from a year ago. The government, anticipating shortfalls, has bought frozen pork to build up its strategic reserve. Hog futures in the United States have rallied as traders bet that China will buy more American meat.

China has introduced new hygiene requirements, imposed quarantines and restricted the transporting of swine. But such measures will be of limited use if the authorities have an incomplete picture of the problem — or if they have more a complete picture that they do not make public.

 

[Randy W]

20mg/100ml is equivalent to .02 (g/ml) in the US

In China, the limit is 20mg/100ml. Drivers found with levels exceeding this are drink-driving and subject to a range of punishments. Those with blood alcohol levels between 20mg/100ml and 80mg/100ml face fines between 1000 and 2000 yuan (US$149 and US$298) and their licences are confiscated for six months, a Xinhua report said.

 

Chinese driver kicks up a stink after durian causes false positive alcohol breath test result

• Jiangsu motorist who challenged breathalyser is vindicated by blood test
• Nantong police video substantiates claim smelly fruit has unusual properties

Nantong police decided to test the hypothesis that eating durian would lead to a false positive blood alcohol reading on breathalysers when a driver had not taken alcohol.

 

In a video report by Pear Video, officer Yu Pengxiang ate a mouthful of durian. He was breath-tested immediately and the result showed a blood alcohol level of 36mg/100ml. However, the reading did not show any blood alcohol after another test three minutes later.

 

[amberjack1234]

After eating durian you should be isolated for at least 24 hours.

[Randy W]

 

A human interest story from China Daily

 

An interesting story about a very scholarly professional vagrant.

 

A waste-picker became famous overnight after people uploaded videos of him talking about literature and philosophy, but his life was soon disrupted by swarms of livestreamers.

Read more: http://ow.ly/OuMB50r7OIu

Identity of 'Shanghai vagrant' confirmed by employer

 

 

 

He said he was asked by his employer to stay home for mental illness and not go back to work until he recovered.

 

"Over the past 26 years, no one from the office has ever asked about me,"

 

The office said the vagrant called Shen Wei became one of its employees in 1986 but has been on sick leave since 1993, during which he has been paid with a basic salary.

 

 

 

An update from the Sixth Tone - on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/sixthtone/videos/280792929535918/

 

Read more -

 

The Invasion of the Livestreamers: How a Man Became a Meme

In their endless quest for clicks, Chinese livestreamers turned a waste-picker named Shen Wei into a fashionable prop — so what does that say about those of us who pressed play?

 

 

 

 

from the SCMP

Live-streaming makes a star of Confucius-quoting Shanghai tramp

• Shen Wei has been living in hotels and ‘having feasts every day’ since his commentaries on social media started going viral
• 52-year-old says he made more than US$7,000 in just two hours after his popularity soared

“In just one month, my audiences paid 200,000 to 300,000 yuan in rewards,” he was quoted as saying. “According to the platform’s rules, half of that will go into my pocket. At the first few streaming shows, I received 50,000 yuan in less than two hours, so now I am thinking of buying a house.”

. . .

One thing he has yet to get used to is sleeping in a bed.

“When I was a tramp, I slept on streets, on grassland, or under bridges. I fell asleep as soon as I laid down,” he said.

“But I can’t do that now. On soft beds, I turn my body around and around but just can’t fall asleep.”

Shen said he had been fond of reading since childhood but because his family was poor he had to collect trash and sell it to be able to buy books.

 

 

[Randy W]

the CPC wants credit - from the SCMP on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/scmp/posts/10157216063299820

 

South China Morning Post

2 hrs ·

Quote

A Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece says: "Local lawmakers in Taiwan, China" legalised gay marriage.
Taiwan's foreign ministry says: “WRONG!” (via Inkstone)

 

Edited January 13, 2021 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Randy W]

from the SCMP

 

Science

Chinese nature reserve releases world’s first image of an albino giant panda in the wild

• All-white beast spotted wandering through the Wolong National Nature Reserve in Sichuan province
• Bear is probably one or two years old and looks perfectly healthy, scientist says

 

 

 

It clearly shows the animal’s unique physical characteristics including its snowy white hair and claws, and red eyes.

“This is the first time a fully albino wild giant panda has been caught on camera, indicating there must be a gene mutation in the giant panda population,” Li Sheng, a researcher at Peking University’s School of Life Sciences, was quoted as saying.

 

 

[Randy W]

. . . and also frm the SCMP

 

Fox vs CGTN: Chinese and US TV hosts to go head to head on trade in prime time

• CGTN’s Liu Xin and Fox Business’s Trish Regan will debate in person after trading accusations
• Chinese social media users confident that Liu can get the upper hand

 

 

 

Regan challenged Liu to a debate after the Chinese host last week accused the American of being “emotional” in her assessment of the trade war and questioned one of the main figures Regan used to bolster her argument.

“She is so sure of US victimhood, so indignant, that her eyes practically spit fire,” Liu said. “Yet, in carefully analysing her words, it’s all emotion and accusation supported with little substance.”

Regan responded by saying that she had become the newest target in China’s information war against the US. “You picked the wrong fight here!” Regan said.

 

 

[amberjack1234]

I can't wait.

[Randy W]

from the SCMP - "Who in Beijing says, 'Wo ya'?"

 

China’s censorship of Xu Xiaodong for exposing fake martial arts masters is alarming

• Outspoken MMA fighter has to hide his face with clown make-up and use demeaning fake name for latest fight
• ‘Mad Dog’ is disappearing from Chinese search engine listings – and being forced to apologise on social media

 

 

If you are in China, you might not have even heard of the fight, because many Chinese search engines have stopped listing him – you have to subscribe to people on WeChat that talk about him if you want to get the latest.

Xu was not allowed to use his real name or even show his face for this event because authorities won’t let him promote himself. He was given a demeaning nickname – Winter Melon – poking fun at his size (he was 100lbs heavier than his scrawny opponent) and was wearing clown make-up, under threat that the event would not be livestreamed unless he agreed.

 

. . .

 

Xu also had to travel 36 hours on a slow train just to get to the fight – because he is banned from riding high-speed public transport as part of his new D-level social credit score.

That was handed to him by the Chinese courts as part of his punishment for insulting the tai chi “grandmaster” Chen Xiaowang – whom he must also apologise to on Chinese social media for seven consecutive days, and pay around 400,000 yuan in damages.

The punishment places other alarming restrictions on Xu, including on buying or renting property, and would also put education restrictions on his children if he had any.

And all of this simply because the all-powerful Chinese Wushu Association has taken umbrage at Xu’s actions and words.

Xu is no angel – he has good intentions, but deliberately provokes people to create a stir, and that is never going to fly in China, as unfair as that is.

The Chinese government have been actively censoring him since he first caused a stir when a video of him knocking out tai chi master Wei Lei in 10 seconds went viral in 2017.

 

[danb]

"Fox vs CGTN: Chinese and US TV hosts to go head to head on trade in prime time

• CGTN’s Liu Xin and Fox Business’s Trish Regan will debate in person after trading accusations"

 

Here is a link to the debate. There was some "cross talk" during the video. Especially at the beginning of the video. It sounded like Regan was talking over Liu. But I suspected it was technical satellite syncing issues.

 

https://video.foxbusiness.com/v/6042507238001/#sp=show-clips

 

I wonder how long this trade war will go on for.

[Randy W]

I can't wait.

 

 

I hope Larry wasn't disappointed.

[amberjack1234]

Actually, I was kinda disappointed. I expected it to be at least an hour long and in much more detailed. They kinda just danced around the real issues but some were meaningful. The issue of China stealing other countries intellectual and industrial secrets I think was addressed.

[Randy W]

I think Trish was thrown out of whack and off her script when Liu announced that she was NOT a CPC member. Overall, just a fairly congenial discussion.

 

 

Back to the trade war - This from the SCMP about the Chinese point of view

 

Trump’s biggest mistake in US-China trade war: not realising the Chinese will never genuflect again

• China’s collective memory of a century of humiliation by foreign powers, beginning with the First Opium War, has steeled its resolve
• American politicians just do not understand the power of national self-esteem that underpins China’s resilience, writes Leslie Fong

 

Its brazen attempt to dictate to the Chinese what they can or cannot do to catapult their country to the forefront of industrial and technological development has served only to rip open scars in the Chinese psyche that have barely healed. The Chinese people will be damned if they allow a replay of that traumatic period of their history when, among other indignities, their government had to yield the sovereign right to collect custom duty to foreigners.

 

China’s leaders know full well that the so-called trade war is not just about buying more soybeans or Boeing aircraft, or agreeing to a trading concession here and a compliance there. The US is demanding nothing less than having China submit to its will and give up its lead in certain cutting-edge technologies and industries. Beijing sees that as a bid to colonise China by another name and has called it out as such through its media.

 

. . .

 

Beijing will take the fight to the Americans, not just sit there and wait for their blows to land. But it will do so in a graduated fashion – targeting President Trump’s political base, including soybean farmers; American businesses that openly support him; US enterprises in China; exporters of rare earths, etcetera.

And … remember what happened to Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Huawei?

 

[Randy W]

from the Sixth Tone on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/sixthtone/photos/a.1604152706570250/2328219004163613/?type=3&permPage=1

Sixth Tone

Page Liked · 4 hrs · Edited ·

 

Quote

A photo of a notice at Sanya Phoenix International Airport warning passengers not to throw coins into plane engines went viral on Chinese social media over the weekend.

Superstitious people, including nervous first-time travelers,
occasionally make headlines for throwing coins into engines in the hope that doing so might bring good luck.

 

 

 

 

Chinese airport warns passengers throwing coins at planes ‘will harm prayers for safe trip’

• Notice goes up at airport in Sanya, Hainan saying the ritual is illegal after spate of safety incidents across the country
• Employee says they have not seen any ‘lucky coin toss’ cases but have staff keeping watch when flights are boarding

Quote

“The warning has been taken down while it is amended, and the English translation might be scrapped. It will go up again once it has been adjusted,” an airport employee who was not identified was quoted as saying.

Edited January 13, 2021 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Allon]

 

I can't wait.

 

 

I hope Larry wasn't disappointed.

 

 

 

Fox News certainly wasn't disappointed. Their ratings probably went up considerably, in prime time no less.