As politicians, EU citizens and international media are feverishly discussing the post-Brexit turmoil, many Chinese netizens see the Brexit referendum as a “divorce drama” rather than a critical political decision-making process: will Mrs. Britain and Mr. EU ever get back together?

Brexit is not just making headlines in Europe. The topic is also trending on Chinese (social) media. On Sina Weibo, the topic #Brexit Referendum (#英国脱欧公投) has attracted 980 million readers since Sunday.

The question how Brexit might affect China has been discussed by different official Chinese media such as Global Times, that suggests that Britain leaving the EU might indirectly affect China’s export. Britain is China’s second largest trade partner in EU.

As the “leave” vote also affects the overall financial market, it could also cause instability and a possible setback to the internationalization of Chinese currency, according to Global Times.

China Daily reported that especially Chinese companies with a significant presence in Britain and the EU will be impacted by UK’s decision to leave the European Union, as they might encounter legal issues and problems over taxation or employee mobility.

“Although deep down B. still had faith in their marriage, she could not make this decision by herself.”

But for most Chinese netizens, Brexit is not so much a political decision-making process but rather a “divorce drama” – with Britain’s EU leave actually being compared to a married couple in a relationship crisis. Many netizens wonder whether their crisis is severe enough for an actual divorce.

A popular illustrated article by Phoenix News best represents the so-called “divorce drama between Britain and the EU”:

“A long time ago, Little B. [Britain] was very powerful, with villa’s on every island and fields on half the globe..At the same time, on the continent of Europe, some people had been fighting for hundreds of years. Until one day, after the war, they finally stopped and made a baby named E. [EU, previously ‘European Community’]..It did not take long for E. to grow up and notice his pretty neighbor B. Although E. seemed small and harmless, Little B. feared that he might grow big pretty soon and would then cross the English Channel to bully her.”

But E. did not grow up to be a spoiled brat – and he actually gathered quite some money. Although E. was not very handsome, he was a capable young man. Little B. had some bad luck; all her fields over the world turned independent, after which she had less to eat. In a moment of desperation, B. thought E. was not so bad after all – and she was hungry – so she decided to marry him. But married life was quite tragic for the couple. Because E. was a real male chauvinist, and meddled in all kinds of big and small issues, which made B. very uncomfortable.”

The story continues:

“E. really wanted some kids with B., but she firmly refused as she was afraid it would turn her into a faded old woman.(..) Although B. and E. always had some small frictions during their marriage, Mr. E. always thought B. was very pretty, and her family was rich, so he treated her like a princess. Although B. was not really satisfied with the marriage, she had no intentions to actually divorce…until E. brought home some poor neighbors recently…”

“B. was outraged, and all the anger of the previous years came out, as she said E. would never listen to her – she wanted a divorce. Despite all the havoc, E. still really liked B. and would do everything to make her stay. Although deep down B. also still had faith in their marriage, she could not make this decision by herself. So she decided to consult her family” – and we all know how that story ended.

Caption: E. (man): “It is all my fault!” B. (woman): “I drink milk tea, you eat sausage, how come I marry you!!?”

“The drama is coming to an end; go wash up and sleep.”

The story of “B. and E.” continues on Chinese social media, where some netizens believe that Britain threatening to leave the EU is just a symptom of the UK needing some extra TLC: “Britain wants out of EU? It’s just like a wife demanding a divorce. It is merely a matter of a romantic night and giving her an extra handbag. It just takes some persuasion and it will pass”, one netizen says.

Although there are now more voices rising saying that Brexit might not actually happen, some netizens still see reasons to worry: “It is so awkward for EU now – Brexit is like a couple that wants a divorce. Even if the marriage remains, life will remain to be difficult in the future.”

Whether they are positive, negative, or indifferent about the Brexit turmoil, the majority of Chinese netizens see the referendum as a “relationship drama” which will probably end with Britain remaining in the EU. “Britain will not leave”, many netizens remark matter-of-factly: “The drama is coming to an end; go wash up and sleep”, writes another netizen.

“It will be Scotland all over again.”

One of the reasons why many netizens are convinced Brexit will not end up in an actual break-up is because it reminds them of another “divorce drama” in 2014: the Scottish independence referendum.

Back in 2014, the Scotland referendum also attracted much attention on Chinese social media, with the topic #Scotland referendum (#苏格兰公投) being viewed over 11 million times at the time. The referendum was framed in a similar “divorce” narrative, with many netizens referring to the referendum as Scotland proposing to end of its 300-hundred-year marriage with England.

“It will be Scotland all over again”, says one netizen: “Create a scenes, make some headlines, and then get some extra rights”.

Many netizens created their own “dramas” around this referendum. One netizen even wrote a romance story featuring Arthur, a young man who was losing his charm, anxious about whether others would stay with him.

“Dear Little B, if you ever want to get back to me, I will always be here for you!”

Many netizens also get poetic about the Brexit crisis: “Dear Little B, if you ever want to get back to me, I will always be here for you!”, one netizen writes, posting the following video [turn on subtitles]:

“I just broke up with my girlfriend,” one netizen comments: “and then came Brexit. This video perfectly represents our epic love story.”

The original poster is not too positive about this love story’s outcome: “The UK will say: ‘I’d rather cry in my Rolls-Royce, then laugh on the back of your bike!”

“B. and E. have really split up,” one netizen writes: “And matchmaker Cameron has left the stage.”

Scotland leaving Britain or Britain leaving the EU might be far-away political events for many Chinese, but recent social media reactions show that netizens form their own understandings of the tumultuous events. Although the actual story might go beyond a simple marriage crisis, many Chinese netizens are eager to see if the B. and E. will finally get to live happily ever after.

– By Diandian Guo and Manya Koetse
Follow @WhatsOnWeibo

©2016 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

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Chinese internet regulators have fined and shut down several major news site webpages this week for producing ‘original news reporting’. Chinese state-run Global Times newspaper’s columnist Shan Renping responds to the recent developments in the sphere of China’s online news reporting and its censorship.

China’s State Internet Information Office (北京市网信办) has halted the activities of several pages of China’s online news sites for violating national guidelines on spreading online information. The portals were allegedly ‘too independent’ in their reporting. News of the recent censorship came out on July 25 on Chinese official news sites such as People’s Daily.

One of the sites that was closed this week is Sina’s News Geek (极客新闻). But sites run by other Chinese media giants such as Sohu, iFeng, and Netease also went offline this week, along with their social media accounts.

“Commercial websites have no other option but to face existing rules on news reporting in China – for their own good and that of the country.”

Shan Renping (单仁平), widely regarded to be the pseudonym of Global Times’ editor-in-chief Hu Xijin, dedicated a special column to the issue in Global Times of July 26. Global Times is a state-run Chinese news outlet under the auspices of the People’s Daily.

In his latest editorial, Shan argues that commercial websites have no other option but to face existing rules on news reporting in China – for their own good and that of the country.

“Stopping websites from violating existing guidelines is a sensitive issue”, Shan writes, “as many of these platforms have become used to breaking through the managing stipulations. [Because] in society, there are many people who see this as an expression of ‘freedom of press’.”

Shan explains this existing ‘freedom of press’ as follows: “In the case of China, websites are first developed; the managing regulations catch up with them later.” This means that there can be a time that these websites operate in all freedom before they are stopped due their violation of existing laws.

In the current situation, Shan says, the guidelines have since long been determined in the ‘Supervisory Stipulations for Internet News Services’ (互联网新闻信息服务管理规定). Yet some websites were in clear violation of the 16th article in it.

The 16th article states that websites set up by “non-News Work Units” are not permitted to do their own reporting. Instead, they are required to follow the news stories that are published by media outlets that are part of China’s official media system (HRW 2006, 19).

“Profit-driven websites often lack the “ideological complexity” that is needed in today’s China.”

Shan says that the rise of commercial news sites has drastically changed China’s media environment – bringing much more vigor, but also much more problems. Commercial news outlets often have many financial and technical resources to become leaders within their field, but are less pressured to bear responsibility for the news they bring.

For most of China’s traditional media outlets, social responsibility is a main priority, Shan writes, but this makes it hard for them to compete with the new commercial websites and their “sensational headlines”.

Shan argues that Beijing’s guidelines on Internet News should be upheld and monitored – they have been compiled for good reasons by people experienced in the development of China’s internet. Moreover, Shan writes, profit-driven websites often lack the “ideological complexity” that is needed in today’s China.

He continues: “The news business has a strong political character and a major responsibility. Its organization and development has its own rules and logic under China’s political system. Any explorations of its reform should be in sync with the reforms of the nation at large.”

“Just as the world has thousands kinds of butterflies, it also has different societies where freedom of press has different functions and meanings.”

“When it comes to the supervision of news, the West has provided us with a ready-made concept: freedom of press. [But] it must be noted that China’s development is systematically different from the West. It is very difficult to take out a specific concept by itself and maintain its value and balance across different systems. Just as the world has thousands kinds of butterflies, it also has different societies where freedom of press has different functions and meanings.”

Shan encourages those sites that have been shut down to look at the bright side: “This might also be a new opportunity. Reform always comes with some sort of force. The question is how to use this ‘force’ to your advantage and join it.”

“Can there be no existence of alternate voices?”

One commenter who calls himself a ‘Friend of Global Times’ fully agrees with columnist Shan Renping: “Although they are commercial websites, they are still Chinese websites and shouldn’t become a platform for anti-Chinese trends. If there are not properly supervised, the consequences might be very grave.”

Although on Sina Weibo, many netizens are seemingly not too interested in the topic, many also see the recent developments as a good thing as they are tired of “a messy internet”, with too much web pages with “advertisements for games or shopping, and vulgar porn ads”, and “rumor-starting”.

But not all netizens think alike. “What does this all solve?” one commenter wonders: “Does it just mean to go with the Party, listen to the Party, and that there can be no existence of alternate voices?”

All in all, a seeming majority of Chinese netizens seem to understand China’s recent media clampdown: “Right now there are some independent media that are followed by many people, and they’re not after the truth but after eye-catchers. But they still lead public opinion – which is just not good.”

– By Manya Koetse
Follow @WhatsOnWeibo

References
* Human Rights Watch. 2006. “”Race to the Bottom”: Corporate Complicity in Chinese Internet Censorship.” Volume 18 (Aug).
* Shan Renping. 2016. “商业网站或应面对新闻监管顺势而为 [commercial websites should face regulations and treat them as an opportunity]” Global Times, July 26 http://opinion.huanqiu.com/shanrenping/2016-07/9225316.html [26.07.16].

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A Canadian CBC Olympic commentator has angered netizens with the comments he made after the performance of a 14-year-old Chinese national athlete when he thought his microphone was turned off.

“That little 14-year-old from China dropped the ball, baby,” a Canadian CBC commentator said after the performance of a Chinese female swimming athlete at the Rio Olympics on August 10. He then says: “Too excited, went out like stink, and died like a pig. Thanks for that.”

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) is the national television broadcaster and also Canada’s official broadcaster for the Olympic Games.

The comments, that were allegedly made by commentator Byron MacDonald, were soon picked up by Chinese netizens. They expressed their anger on social media, both through Weibo and through Twitter.

Various Chinese media also shared a video of the comments on Weibo and translated them into Chinese.

Many netizens were angered by the comments, and did not accept the apologies that were made by CBC through its official Olympics Twitter account.

A message by Sina News about the incident was shared nearly 6000 times on Sina Weibo within 8 hours after it was posted. The topic became top trending as it was mentioned and commented on all over Weibo under the hashtag “Canadian Presenter Insults Chinese Athlete” (#加主播侮辱中国运动员#)

Some netizens called the comments a sign of “white man’s supremacy”, while others called on China’s government to do something: “I think the Chinese government should come out and say something, Chinese athletes are not being treated fairly at the Olympics and we should not be bullied like this!”

The 14-year-old Olympic is swimming athlete Ai Yanhan (艾衍含), who participated in the women’s 200m freestyle.

Many netizens seem to be not just angered over the fact the CBC commentator insulted an athlete, but especially over the fact that she is only 14 years old. There are no general age limits set for participating the Olympics.

-By Manya Koetse
Follow @WhatsOnWeibo

©2016 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

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China’s National Tourist Bureau recently issued new public travel regulations that restrict or blacklist Chinese tourists from traveling if they behave ‘uncivilized’. At present, these 20 Chinese tourists are already blacklisted.

China’s National Tourist Office (国家旅游局) has recently issued its new travel regulations (旅行社条例) that state that when Chinese tourists behave ‘uncivilized’ whilst traveling, they will be restricted or banned from future travels.

The topic “20 tourists enter the blacklist” (#20名游客入黑名单#) became trending on Sina Weibo on August 20.

A popular Weibo blog by state broadcaster CCTV answered the questions many netizens wanted to know: who are these 20 blacklisted travelers, and what did they do?

What did those 20 blacklisted travelers do?

CCTV did not only provide details over the incidents that triggered these travelers’ blacklisting, they also provided their full names and cities of residence.

50% of all cases on the blacklist related to arguments over seating arrangements. 60% of banned passengers were blacklisted due to their behavior on an airplane or at the airport. Out of all the cases, 40% took place while traveling within mainland China. Out of the travelers, 9 are female and 11 are male. These are the 20 cases:

Number 1 & 2: Two Chinese passengers lashed out at the crew of an Air Asia flight en route from Bangkok to Nanjing in a dispute over their seating in late 2014. The angry passengers caused so much havoc on board, even scalding the stewardess with hot noodles, that the plane had to return to Bangkok to kick the passengers off the aircraft.

The two passengers on the blacklist are a man from Jiangsu province named Mr. W. and a woman from Anhui named Mrs. Z.

Number 3: Beijing resident Z. (male) tried to open an emergency door on an airplane awaiting takeoff to Beijing at Yunnan’s Kunming airport in 2015. This was not the only case; there have been multiple cases of Chinese tourists opening up airplane emergency exits over the past few years.

Number 4: Mr. L. from Shaanxi will no longer be able to travel after he climbed the statue of a Red Army soldier at Shaanxi province memorial park to take a picture in April 2015. The photograph later went viral on Chinse social media.

Number 5 & 6: Two Chinese women will no longer be able to travel after causing so much chaos on an airplane from Dalian to Shenzhen, that the plane from Shenzhen Airlines had to make an emergency landing. The women allegedly were unsatisfied about their seating.

Number 7: A young man from Sichuan decided to climb one of the main statues at the Qinghai scenic park to take a picture. He later uploaded the picture to social media, which, according to CCTV, “brought about a nasty influence on society”.

Number 8, 9, 10, 11: Three women and one man from Sichuan and Chongqing are put on China’s traveling blacklist when refusing to board their plane and singing the national anthem at Bangkok airport, after their flight had a 10-hour-delay due to bad weather conditions. Together with other Chinese tourists, the four created major uproar at the airport.

Number 12: One male traveler from Hunan joining a day tour to Qingcheng Mountain was so upset that he had to pay a children’s ticket for his child that was over 1.2 meters tall, that he got angry with local staff and injured a tour guide.

Number 13: Mr. R. from Shanghai is on the blacklist after getting into an argument with a convenience store employee in Sapporo, Japan. When he opened up a package of food in the store before paying, local staff informed him and his wife that it was not allowed to eat within the store. Mr. Rong allegedly attacked the man, who then suffered injuries in his face.

Number 14, 15, 16: Two women and a man from Sichuan were banned from traveling after being thrown off an airplane in Cambodia for creating havoc over their seating.

Number 17: Mr. Y. from Hubei insulted and abused the tour guide of a travel tour going to Taiwan when he was unsatisfied with the dinner seating arrangements.

Number 18: A Yunnan male traveler participated in a Taiwan travel group when he illegally took a total of 0.5 kilo living coral and violated local environmental laws in Taiwan’s Taidong County.

Number 19 & 20: A man and woman from Heilongjiang threatened to kill their tour guide during an argument over their bus seating arrangements in the city of Sanya in China’s Hainan province. The incident was captured on video and went viral on Chinese social media.

The blacklisted travelers will not be able to travel for a minimum period of three years, during which multiple organizations and institutions, such as customs, inspection & quarantine, and border control offices will be informed about their actions. These institutions will then be able to prevent these individuals from going abroad, boarding an airplane, or joining a tour group. Other places, such as national scenic parks, will also have the right to refuse these individuals entrance to their premises.

Many Weibo netizens applaud the blacklist, and think that it should be changed to a permanent travel ban for people showing extreme behavior while traveling. “We should’ve implemented this rule much earlier,” one netizen says: “These people really are an embarrassment.”

– By Manya Koetse
Follow @WhatsOnWeibo

©2016 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

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France’s ‘burkini’ bans recently sparked outrage on Twitter, where many netizens called them “racist” and “oppressive”. On Chinese social media, however, many netizens seem to support the French ban on Islamic swimwear, while other Weibo users just don’t understand what all the “fuss” is about.

On Weibo, various Chinese media recently reported about mayors in different French cities banning the ‘burkini’, a type of Islamic swimwear for women. The news of the ban, and photographs of police allegedly asking a woman to remove her conservative beachwear, were shared amongst Chinese netizens and attracted many comments.

On Twitter, the ban has led to a stream of angry reactions, with many calling it “oppressive”, “racist” and “absurd”, while defending wearing the right to wear a burkini as “the right to cover up”.

The French burkini bans are based on ideas that the body wear item is “not just a casual choice”, but “part of an attempt by political Islamism to win recruits and test the resilience of the French republic” (Economist 2016). The bans come after a series of deadly terrorist attacks over the past 1,5 years.

Religious neutrality is a value that has been strongly upheld in France, where the government adheres to a strict form of secularism known as laïcité – designed to keep religion out of public life (Economist 2014). Since 2004, wearing conspicuous religious symbols in public schools became illegal. According to Brookings, that law was widely condemned in the United States, where high schools allow students to wear head scarfs, Jewish caps, large Christian crosses, or other conspicuous religious signs.

But French supporters argued that in the existing social, political and cultural context of France, they could not tolerate these religious symbols. In 2010, wearing a full face veil was also prohibited by law.

“Don’t you get it? This is all for the safety of the country.”

On August 24, Chinese news site The Observer (观察者网) posted on Weibo: “Where are the human rights? French police force women to take off her muslim swimwear. Recently, at a beach in the French city of Nice, French police requested a woman to take off her muslim swimwear, which triggered much controversy. At the time, the woman was wearing a so-called ‘burkini’ (布基尼) while sunbathing. Four tall men went to her while holding their police stick and pepper-spray.”

The post, just one out of many micro-blogs posted on this topic on Sina Weibo, attracted near 6000 comments. The most popular comment (i.e. receiving the most ‘likes’ from other netizens) said: “The rule of France banning clear religious symbols in public does not just apply to muslims. This rule is the same for all religions.”¹

A burkini sold on a swimwear website.

The number two most popular comment read: “Don’t blame the police for this! France is afraid to get bombed! They are afraid of people hiding bombs in their clothing in crowded places.”²

“Don’t you get it? This is all for the safety of the country,” the following commenter wrote.³

“Freedom is not unlimited, freedom is relative, freedom is limited – without limits, there is no freedom.”

Many Chinese netizens see the burkini ban as a direct consequence of the strings of islamist terrorist attack occurring in France over the past 18 months. “This is how it should be, China is the same, there can be no exemptions,”⁴ one netizen says.

In China, a ban on wearing burqa’s, or ‘face masking veils’ (蒙面罩袍), was legally approved in January of 2015. The prohibition on burqa’s applies specifically to Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang, home to the majority of China’s muslims.

A year earlier, Chinese authorities also implemented several measures in Xinjiang to keep religious expressions to a minimum after a string of attacks allegedly committed by Chinese muslim extremists. The measures, amongst others, did not allow fasting for Ramadan, no niqabs, hijabs or large beards in buses.

Underneath a Weibo post on the burkini ban by China’s Lifeweek (@三联生活周刊), the number one popular comment says: “To all the people here saying that what you wear is a personal freedom: it was also enforced that women could no longer have bound feet [in China], with the police parading the foot binding cloths out in the streets. Some women felt so humiliated that they committed suicide. Do you also feel that their right needed to be defended? (..) Freedom is not unlimited, freedom is relative, freedom is limited – without limits, there is no freedom.”⁵

” What is all the fuss about?”

But not all netizens agree with these views. One micro-blogger, who goes by the name of ‘Demons and Monsters‘, said: “Although I am opposed to the burqa, I am also against the enforcement of wearing less clothing. What if you caught a cold? You are an endangerment to others if you fully cover yourself in a public place, but it is your freedom not to expose too much.”

“What about the West and its human rights? Its freedom of religion?” another Weibo user remarks.⁶

Noteworthy about the burkini ban issue on Weibo, is that although (state) media seem to denounce it in their reporting (“Where are the human rights?”), the majority of netizens seem to support it. When Chinese news site Jiemian posted the news on Weibo saying: “A setback for freedom? Three cities in France prohibit muslim swimsuits”, it got the response from netizens: “A setback? This is progression!”⁷, and others saying: “People keep mentioning human rights, and freedom. Take a look at Europe’s terrorist attacks – what does it [still] mean?”⁸

“When you come to a place, you follow their guidelines and customs. This is normal. It is also a way of showing respect to the local [culture]. What is all the fuss about? Should muslims be an exception to the rule?”, one 45-year-old Weibo user from Shandong writes.

“I thought we were talking about facekini’s here.”

Another person compares the burkini to the Japanese kimono: “I think a lot of people here do not understand the feeling of French people. For example, what if you would walk down the street and see that in China people are wearing kimono’s? When in Rome, do as the Romans do, or just go back to your own country. Don’t use religion as an excuse.”⁹

Although the majority of the netizen’s reactions on Weibo are different than those on Twitter, a recurring issue on both social media networks is the focus on ‘freedom’, with some Chinese netizens emphasizing the fact that what you wear is your own freedom. But the most-liked comments on Weibo are those stressing that freedom is relative: “Many people say that a woman can wear what she likes, that it’s her freedom. But did you ever think about whether these women have the freedom not to wear it? They clearly don’t.”¹⁰

There are also those who confuse the ‘burkini’ (布基尼) with China’s ‘facekini‘ (脸基尼) (“I thought we were talking about facekini’s for a moment!“), although for now, it is highly likely that neither are welcome on the beaches of Nice.

China’s infamous ‘facekini’

– By Manya Koetse
Follow @WhatsOnWeibo

¹ “但其实法国禁止民众在公共场合显露出明显的宗教标志的规定，不只是针对穆斯林。 这个法规对各大宗教是平等的，比如在公共场所佩戴十字架，佩戴佛珠，严格的说，都是不符合法规的。”
² “别喷警察了！法国是被炸怕了 就怕人群密集的地方 衣服里那么厚有藏炸弹”
³ “那是为了国家安全，你懂个屁[doge]”
⁴“必须这样，中国的也一样，不能搞特殊化”
⁵ “评论里谈到穿什么是个人自由，当年女性不能再裹脚也是强制性的，警察们挑着裹脚布招摇过市，无数女性感觉被羞辱自杀，你是否认为她们的自由也应该被捍卫？就是现在很多女性也自愿回家自愿生多胎自愿流产自愿被打死，她们的自由呢？自由不是无限的，自由是相对的，自由是受限的，没有限制就没有自由。”
⁶ 西方的人权呢？宗教自由呢？
⁷“这是倒退？这是进步！”
⁸“还有人提人权，自由。不看看欧洲被恐袭搞成什么了么？”
⁹ “我看很多人不了解法国人是怎样一种感受，打个比方，就跟你走在街上看到中国有人穿和服的时候[微笑]所谓入乡要随俗，不然真的请回自己国家。别拿宗教当借口这里不适合这样的宗教，你为何还来呢?”
¹⁰“很多人都说那些女性喜欢穿什么就穿什么，是她们的自由。但是洗地的那些人有没有想过，她们有不穿这个的自由吗，很明显没有”

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China’s media watchdog (广电总局) recently announced it will guard against the hyping of private scandals of the rich and famous. The notice comes after a month full of divorce drama involving celebrity couple Wang Baoqiang and Ma Rong.

China’s State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT) recently issued an announcement directed at society and entertainment news programs that it will now strictly guard against hyping private affairs and family conflicts of (internet) celebrities and the rich & famous.

According to the media watchdog, celeb scandal news has a negative influence on the public morale.

The notice comes after a month where the nasty divorce of Chinese celebrity couple Wang Baoqiang and Ma Rong was the focus of a huge Weibo controversy. The scandal became public when Chinese actor Wang Baoqiang posted a message on his social media account saying he was divorcing his wife for having an affair with his manager.

Ma then struck back saying she would sue her (ex) husband for defamation of character. The posts attracted millions of comments, and Ma soon became the “most-hated person” on China’s internet, with many Chinese news outlets closely following the story and reporting on it.

On Weibo, news of the SAPPRFT announcement soon attracted many comments, with the majority of netizens criticizing the new guideline and wondering how it will be implemented.

“How can celebrities not be hyped?!” some Weibo users ask.

“I would like to know how the SAPPRFT is going to guard against this,” some netizens wrote.

Many Chinese netizens vent their annoyance, saying: “So they want to control everything?” Others said: “Can’t they be in charge of food safety instead?”

For now, the Wang vs Ma marriage crisis is still making headlines on Chinese entertainment news.

“It is useless to limit [this news] for the sake of people’s level of intelligence or aesthetics – it all depends on education,” one popular comment says.

Despite the criticism, there are also netizens who seemingly look forward to celeb-scandal-free news: “This is a good one!”, one Weibo user says, adding: “Let’s see how this will work out.”

– By Manya Koetse
Follow @WhatsOnWeibo

©2016 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

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A video that shows a man snatching away a boy from the back of a bike is circulating on Chinese social media. [Viewer discretion advised].

On August 27, one Weibo netizen posted footage that shows a boy sitting on the back of a bike, when he is suddenly snatched away by a man. The accompanying text only said “how brutal!”, without any further explanation on the video’s context.

The footage has now been reported as being real by Hunan Economic TV (据湖南经视电视) and Shanghai Daily, although further details about the incident have not been given out yet.

Footage Captures How Child Is Snatched Away… by whatsonweibo

The footage shows a woman is riding her bike with two children on it, one in front and one in the back, when a man runs towards her and takes the boy on the back away. The mother halts the bike and grabs her other child before she chases the man, but he has already left.

Although many netizens comment that the man is probably a child trafficker, there are also those who have remarked it might be the child’s own father. Hunan Economic TV has not reported further details about the case, but did identify the man as being a “stranger” to the child. This story was also reiterated and broadcasted by Beijing Time (北京时间).

Child abduction is a serious problem in China, where around 70,000 children are kidnapped and sold on the black market every year. Some provinces, such as Fujian, are more seriously affected than others.

According to other sources, there are about 200,000 lost children in China every year of which only 0.1% are found by their parents.

It is not the first time footage like this has made its rounds on Chinese video platforms. The video below shows other instances in which people were caught on camera attempting to take a child away.

Attempted Kidnapping – Chinese Children Taken… by whatsonweibo

“Child trafficking needs to be punished more severely!”, many Weibo netizens say.

According to China’s criminal laws, the punishment for child abduction is a prison sentence from 5-10 years, together with financial compensation. In severe cases, sentences can be over 10 years, or even lead to the death penalty; a principal offender of a 2015 child trafficking case in Yunnan was sentenced to death.

Anhui TV also reported on the case of the boy on the bike. Like the other Chinese (state) media reporting this story, they did not report details on where or when this incident occurred. They did, however, emphasize that it “dangerous” for parents to take their child on the back of their bikes, not only for any risk of child abduction but also because children might fall off their bike, as Anhui TV says.

– By Manya Koetse
Follow @WhatsOnWeibo

©2016 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

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Only 40% of China’s post-90s graduates stay in their job for longer than 2 years, a new study says. Many young Chinese are not afraid to quit their jobs, with some media even reporting cases of twenty-somethings resigning because “the weather is too cold”. China’s post-90s generation is a job-hopping one, that chooses personal freedom over financial security. Is it true they quit their job over every little thing?

My 24-year-old Chinese friend Nana has just started her third job within a period of three years. She worked at a Beijing office, but soon got bored and then resigned.

Nana was very excited about becoming a henna tattoo artist in the capital’s lively Sanlitun area last year. But the henna tattoo business turned out to be too slow. She now works as a kindergarten teacher. Recently, she told me that she might quit soon: “It’s not really what I want in life.”

“8% of post-1990ers have four or more different jobs within a time frame of 3 years.”

Nana is not the only post-90s urban Chinese who often changes jobs. According to a recent study by the Mycos research institute (麦可思数据有限公司), the post-1990ers who graduated in 2011 on average have two different employers within a period of three years. The study also says that within three years, 8% has four or more different jobs. Only 38% worked for the same company within a 3-year-period.

The ‘Post-90s generation’ or the ‘Jiǔ líng hòu‘ (九零後, ’90-after’) is a generation in China, especially in urban areas, born between 1990-2000, although the Post-95s generation is generally also viewed as a specific generation with its own distinct characteristics.

The post-90s generation is often considered to be self-focused. They are generally viewed as bad team players who are much less concerned about hierarchical relations at the workplace than China’s older generations are.

They are also generally considered a confident generation that demands more from a job than just the right salary. They want a job to be interesting, offering room for personal development, and provide them with a suitable working environment.

A Chinese cartoon with post-70s generation (left) saying: “I work overtime.” The post-80s generation says: “I don’t work overtime!”. The post-90s generation (right) says: “I don’t work at all!”

As with all generational cohorts, the post-90s truly are a product of their time. They were the first generation born in a post-Mao (1976) and post-Tiananmen-protest (1989) era, and belong to the one-child-policy (1978) generation. They did not suffer from great hardships in the way their parents and grandparents did, and often grew up with much material wealth in a rapidly developing China.

“Quitting my job because the winter is too cold.”

Throughout the years, post-90s workers consistently attract the attention of Chinese media, often for writing unconventional resignation letters. Last year, one recently graduated male real estate agent reportedly quit his job because there were “too many women in the workplace”, which “negatively influenced” his personality.

Another resignation that went viral in late 2015 was that of a Hunan female office worker who wrote her employer that she was quitting her job because “winter is too cold”, making it “difficult to get out of bed in the morning”.

“For the working post-90s generation, personal fulfillment goes above anything else.”

Sina News published an article about the Mycos report, that is titled “Representations of Post-90s Generation in the Workplace” (“90后职场肖像”), on September 13.

In the article, Sina reiterates the study’s findings that for the working post-90s generation, personal fulfillment goes above anything else.

Sina News interviewed several urban post-90ers who recently quit their job.

MA graduate Zhang Yang had a good job at a state enterprise. Although his company paid him very well and often allowed him to travel abroad, he quit anyway. Why? Because the work was “too monotonous”. “If I would’ve continued doing this job,” Zhang said: “every day of the rest of my life would be the same until my retirement. That would be awful.”

Female law graduate Chen Tingting resigned from her job as a secretary in an office because she “could not get along” with her direct superior. The 24-year-old Zhang Bin had three different employers within one year. Not one time did he resign for salary-related reasons, he told Sina – all of them had to do with a “bad atmosphere” at the office, or not being on good terms with his colleagues.

“Why is the “post-90s” label used again?”

News of the post-90s workplace survey made its rounds on Sina Weibo today. The topic “The Post-90s Generation Quits Their Job for Every Little Thing” (#90后一言不合就辞职#) attracted many comments.

Not all netizens agree that job-hopping has to do with being part of the post-1990s generation per se, and that it is untrue this cohort quits their job “for every little problem”. The post-90s generation often is viewed as being selfish, rude, or only following their own dreams – and many post-90ers do not agree with this view.

“Why is the “post-90s” label used again?”, a 22-year-old netizen named @Lakin says: “Why don’t you write that companies nowadays squeeze out recent graduates? Why don’t you talk about the fact that there’s more and more superficial multi-level marketing trash companies? Why don’t you investigate how the flows of people are now so big that there’s even fraudulent companies? It’s because of those sh*theads that this topic even came about. I’ve already switched jobs 4 times!”

Another Weibo user agrees with @Lakin that it is more a problem of present-day companies than the post-90s attitude that there are so many people job-hopping: “There’s a reason for everything. Who likes to look for a job and go to interviews every day? If the company would be good, nobody would want to quit! You’re making the post-90s look bad.”

There are also many post-90s generation netizens who recognize themselves in the survey, and understand why many of their generation choose different jobs. “This is my second job, and every day I dread going to work. I feel like a robot, I feel numb,” one post-90s commenter says.

Another popular comment of a post-90s netizen says: “All in all, life is short. Relatively speaking, isn’t it important to be happy? We all have different situations, different living environments and mentalities. It is not worth the trouble to worry about how others see you. We have to be ourselves and do our own things. We can do our duties while enjoying our rights.”

“Who cares about the post-90s generation anyway?” one netizen wonders: “We are the post-00s generation, we are the future!”

– By Manya Koetse
Follow @WhatsOnWeibo

Related Vocabulary

跳槽 (Tiàocáo)- job-hopping
九零後 (Jiǔ líng hòu) – Post-90s generation

Featured image: News2500sz,
Kaixian TV.

©2016 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

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After first reports of a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 battery exploding in China, Samsung stated that its investigation found no battery problem in the People’s Republic. South Korean media now report that the explosions were purposely caused for compensation. Is deliberately blowing up your smartphone a new kind of ‘pengci’?

Pengci (碰瓷) is a widespread fraud in China that involves deliberately crashing cars and then wanting compensation. Something similarly seems to be happening with the incidents of exploding Samsung Galaxy Note 7 batteries in China.

A day after Chinese media reported about exploding Samsung Galaxy Note 7 (三星盖乐世Note7) batteries in China, the official Samsung China released a statement through its Weibo account that for at least one of these cases, the fire was caused by heating outside of the phone.

The statement comes after two Chinese Samsung Note 7 users reported their phones exploded over the weekend. The report of these cases in China indicated another setback for Samsung, that was already struggling to restore consumer trust after dozens of reports in other countries of overheating or exploding batteries.

One case that was widely reported by Chinese media on September 18 was brought to light by a 23-year-old netizen who posted pictures of his coral blue note 7 after it allegedly exploded.

The topic “Samsung Note 7 Battery Explosions” (#三星Note7电池爆炸#) became trending on Weibo. By September 19, it had received over 2.1 million views.

“Cooking the Samsung for 2-3 Minutes”

Many netizens are unsure what Samsung actually meant with its statement that the fire was caused by “external” components: “Is Samsung saying that Chinese Samsung users are cooking their phones until they explode?” one netizen wondered.

Another person also commented: “Do you think Chinese people even put their phones in the oven?”

On September 20, South Korean media reported that the Chinese users were indeed deliberately setting off their phones to demand compensation. The incidents occurred after Samsung globally recalled its Galaxy Note 7 over battery fears in early September. After the premium smartphone had been on sale for only two weeks, already 35 faulty phone batteries were reported. The explosions were found to be caused by a battery cell issue.

Samsung assured Chinese customers that they did not need to worry about the global recall since Samsung China uses batteries from a different supplier – which is why the Galaxy Note 7 recall would not affect customers in the People’s Republic (PRC).

After testing the Chinese phones that allegedly exploded, Samsung found they were intentionally heated. According to media reports, similar effects to what is shown on the pictures of the Chinese netizens can be reached after putting the Samsung on an electric cooking plate for 2-3 minutes at 200 degrees. Similar effects can occur when putting the Samsung in the oven or microwave.

A New Kind of Pengci?

The intentional cooking of Samsung smartphones is similar to the phenomenon of ‘pengci’. Pengci (碰瓷，literally: knocking over porcelain) is a type of widespread fraud in China where people deliberately crash against cars and then demand compensation, as can also be seen in the gif below.

Pengci is very common in the PRC, with some extreme cases making headlines occasionally. Earlier this year, Shanghaiist reported an incident where an elderly woman was ‘hit’ by a toy Mercedes car after which she asked for medical help and allegedly wanted to be compensated.

Some people are willing to put themselves at serious risk in hopes of getting compensation. Cooking one’s smartphone belongs in the same category as it can cause an explosion that could potentially danger people around it.

Although the battery explosions in China are found to be intentionally caused, Samsung is already suffering from the widespread fear for phone combustion. Some netizens posted pictures showing specific warning signs at the airport that the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 could not be used on board of the airplane.

The topic also triggered many jokes on Chinese social media. One Weibo user posted this picture of a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphone advertisement right next to a fire extinguisher.

– By Manya Koetse
Follow @WhatsOnWeibo

©2016 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

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A young couple from Dalian recently made headlines in China by posting kinky pictures of their BDSM lifestyle on Weibo. According to experts quoted by Chinese media, their “sexual abuse addiction” can – and should be – cured.

A man who calls himself a “master” (主人) and a woman who calls herself his “slave” (奴隶) recently caught the attention of Chinese media after they repeatedly put kinky pictures on Weibo. The pictures, that feature the girl kneeling on the ground in various places, some with red skin from being slapped, were soon deleted after they made the news and local police intervened.

The only two pictures made available by Chinese media.

Journalists came across the pictures when a concerned netizen tipped them about the unconventional couple.

“The couple suffers from a disease called ‘sexual abuse addiction’. ”

Chinese state media outlet Global Times, often called the Party mouthpiece, dedicated an article to the couple on September 27. According to the article, the two have been posting their self-taken pictures since this summer.

Some photos depicted ropes and cuffs, with the woman’s bruises clearly visible. According to Global Times, many Weibo netizens were “disgusted” with the “vulgar” pictures.

An expert interviewed by Global Times says that the couple suffers from a disease called ‘sexual abuse addiction’ (性虐待成瘾).

“’Sexual abuse addiction’ conflicts with China’s social norms.”

Global Times writes that “sexual abuse addiction” conflicts with China’s social norms. According to China’s leading psychologist Zhao Xiaoming (赵小明), the causes of this ‘disease’ are complex and can be traced back to childhood abuse or sexual violence, leading people to search for “abnormal stimulation” as an adult.

The public display of ‘sexual abuse addiction’ negatively affects individuals and society at large, the article argues, but can be completely cured. The Weibo couple should, therefore, “seek professional medical attention” in order for them to be able to “lead a happy life”.

“Clearly, this is just art, but you say it is vulgar.”

On Weibo, the accounts of the man and woman mentioned have been emptied of any pictures from before September 26. The woman, nicknamed Nuo Xiaozhao (@诺小昭), commented: “I didn’t expect this. But my conscience is clear.”

The man (@黑黑老大爷主人) only posted: “Our pictures have nothing to do with you. Right, my little slave Nuo Xiaozhao?”

He also posted a picture, writing: “Clearly, this is just art, but you say it is “vulgar”. This storm will blow over and we will continue.”

One female netizen wrote to the woman: “I respect every kind of lifestyle, people are entitled to do their own private things. I understand you, and everything will be ok. I’ll support you!”

Other netizens also offer their support, saying: “Believe in yourself!”

Some pictures previously posted by the couple also leaked online through various Chinese blogs:

One Weibo user comments: “Actually I think different people will have different views on this. Some will think you have no sense of shame. That’s because in China we’ve always been conservative. The people who applaud you also don’t necessarily approve of you – they just want to see your pictures and fantasize about them.”

“If they like it, what does it matter?” another netizen writes: “What does the police have to do with it?!”

“A crusade against vulgar, immoral and unhealthy content.”

BDSM is a variety of roleplaying involving bondage, discipline, dominance and submission, that gained much attention after the popular Fifty Shades of Grey book series and movie.

Its popularity is evident on China’s e-commerce giant Taobao, where dozens of sellers offer accessories related to BDSM.

Taobao: shopping heaven for Chinese BDSM fans?

Although Fifty Shades of Grey was banned from cinemas in mainland China, the film found its way to Chinese streaming sites and DVD stores. Since it was heavily censored with all sex scenes cut out, the Chinese version was much shorter than the American one.

China censors have been on a crusade against “vulgar, immoral and unhealthy content”. Regulations implemented earlier this year ban any content that “exaggerates the dark side of society”. Homosexuality, extramarital affairs, one night stands, underage relationships are all illegal on screen.

“Most Chinese even have no basic knowledge about sex, let alone alternative sexual practices like BDSM.”

The recent article in Global Times is especially noteworthy because the newspaper published an article with an entirely different tone in 2015.

The article, simply titled “BDSM in China“, refuted that BDSM was a form of sexual perversion or abuse.

Peng Xiaohui, a Chinese sexologist, stated in the article that BDSM comes with mutual, informed consent, where the level of stimulation is discussed and agreed upon in advance. According to the sexologist, it is therefore much different from sexual abuse, which is “arbitrary and reckless, intended to hurt the victim, and constitutes a criminal offence.”

Global Times further quotes Peng by writing that BDSM has a bad name in China due to ignorance and prudishness when it came to sex. “There’s a huge gap in attitudes toward BDSM in China and other countries,” Peng said: “Most Chinese even have no basic knowledge about sex, much less about alternative sexual practices [like BDSM].”

– By Manya Koetse
Follow @WhatsOnWeibo

©2016 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

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The suspension of the Dutch ambassador to China over an alleged love affair with a local employee made headlines earlier this week. Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf has now revealed more details on the affair. On Weibo, Chinese netizens wonder what the fuss is about.

The suspension of the Dutch ambassador to China made headlines in the Netherlands on October 17. The 58-year old diplomat Ron Keller was reportedly suspended from his post after reports of a secret relationship between him and a local employee.

The affair became international news when the BBC also reported Keller’s suspension, followed by various Chinese media outlets such as Sina and Tencent, which all published that that Keller – who is unmarried – was under investigation for having an affair with a Chinese woman.

“Less experienced officials were warned by UK government security experts to avoid the lure of “Chinese spies offering sex”.”

The Dutch government warns diplomats not to start romantic relationships with locals due to the dangers of the so-called ‘honeytrap’ – the risk of local agents working as spies. This kind of love affairs makes diplomats more vulnerable to blackmail, with the risk of leaking sensitive information.

In the article “From China with Love“, Irish Times reporter Peter Cluskey writes that the threat of a honeytrap is nothing new and that foreign diplomats arriving in China are routinely advised against relationships with local staff due to the risk of being “compromised” by agents of the Chinese government.

He also reports that during the G20 summit in Hangzhou, less experienced officials were warned by UK government security experts to avoid the lure of “Chinese spies offering sex.”

Although Keller must have been aware of the risk, it did not stop him from starting an intimate relationship with a female member of the local staff, who allegedly visited Keller at his private Beijing residence on numerous occasions.

Today, Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf comes with new details on the Keller affair.

“Sources call Keller a ‘true womanizer’, who was also known to be flirtatious with women during his former work as ambassador.”

According to De Telegraaf journalist Marcel Vink, the Chinese woman on Keller’s staff involved in the scandal is Mandy Xia, a woman from Fuzhou who has been working in the Dutch embassy in Beijing since 7 years.

Xia studied at Beijing’s Dance Academy, and with her expertise in the field of art, dance, music and theater, she became the Cultural Affairs Officer at the Dutch embassy in December 2009.

Ambassador Keller was and Xia worked closely together at times, such as during their visit to Chinese multinational Wanda Productions.

The Telegraaf writes that according to its sources, ambassador Keller and Ms. Xia were not just involved in a romantic relationship but also exchanged compromising photographs.

Sources interviewed by the Dutch newspaper calls Keller a “true womanizer” who was also known to be flirtatious with women during his former work as an ambassador in Ukraine, Russia, and Turkey. He was appointed as the Dutch ambassador to China nine months ago, and his affair with Xia allegedly started not long after his first period in Beijing.

“It is a basic human right for this unmarried man to have a relationship with a Chinese woman.”

While the Keller affair became big news in the Netherlands and beyond, many Chinese social media users do not see what the fuss is about. “This is a single guy, so what!?”, was one of the most recurring comments on Weibo and other Chinese social media sites where the Keller case was discussed by many.

Some netizens think it is ironic that while foreign diplomats in China stress the importance of human rights, they do not have the right to choose their own girlfriends: “It is a basic human right for this unmarried man to have a relationship with a Chinese woman. Why are you talking about human rights to us?”, one netizen comments.

Although many netizens think the woman just was attracted to Keller because of his position (“She wants to be the wife of an ambassador,”) there are also those who are sure that the affair is a honeytrap (měirénjì 美人计), saying: “This woman clearly is a special agent (特工)!”

One article on WeChat compares Keller to the ambassador of Spain, Manuel Maria Valencia Alonso, who also caused controversy in 2015 for his affair with Chinese writer Zhu Zhiping. The woman exposed their affair, that began in 2013 – when the ambassador was married -, by writing a book titled Mr. Ambassador.

Zhu Zhiping alleged that the ambassador abruptly cut off their relationship in 2015, after which she spotted him with another woman. When she confronted him, he slapped her in the face, she said. She later protested at the Spanish Embassy, saying it was a place for the ambassador “to play around with Chinese females.”

But in the case of Keller, many people keep stressing the fact that he is an unmarried man, and that his relationship to Xia is therefore not an illicit love affair: “This is just two people who love each other, what’s the big deal?”, one person comments.

Although there are no indications that the relationship between Xia and Keller involved any kind of ‘honeytrap’, the ambassador has now been suspended and is currently back in the Netherlands.

– By Manya Koetse
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Featured image: Keller, the Dutch embassy (Weibo), Mandy Xia (iFeng News, 2011).

©2016 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

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Shortly after a large-scale fake sanitary pad scandal has been exposed in China, state-run newspaper People’s Daily teaches women how to correctly use menstrual pads and how to differentiate real from fake ones. Many netizens do not appreciate the ‘non-counterfeit sanitary towel’ crash course.

A few days after a ‘fake sanitary pad’ scandal sparked health concerns in China, People’s Daily – the most influential state-run newspaper in China – explains to women on Weibo how to correctly use sanitary pads, and how to tell if they are real or fake.

“Girls, are you really using sanitary pads correctly?”

“Girls, after all these years, are you really using sanitary pads correctly?”, the People’s Daily posted on Sina Weibo on October 29, as spotted by What’s on Weibo.

Nanchang police recently discovered counterfeit sanitary pads that were sold under Chinese well-known brand names such as ‘ABC’ or ‘Sophie (苏菲). The fake sanitary pads were produced in a factory without the proper sterilization, which could potentially cause health problems for women using them.

“How can you tell if a sanitary pad is counterfeit?”, People’s Daily posted: “And what are the common misconceptions about the use of sanitary pads? How can women choose the right type of sanitary towel?”

People’s Daily posted several infographics explaining how to differentiate a fake pad from a real one, and how to properly use sanitary pads.

“How to differentiate real from fake menstrual pads?”

Under the header of “how to differentiate real from fake menstrual pads?” (“如何鉴别真假卫生巾”), the Chinese newspaper warns women to pay attention to the look, smell, shape, and quality of sanitary pads.

Non-counterfeit sanitary towels are properly packed and have no visible damages. There should be no chemical smell to the pads, and their thickness should be even. They should also be able to quickly absorb 10mm or more of water – which is a quick test to see if a sanitary pad is real, according to the Weibo post.

Besides offering a crash course in differentiating fake from real menstrual pads, People’s Daily advises women to change their sanitary pads every 2-3 hours – no matter whether their menstruation is heavy or light – to avoid reproduction of bacteria.

The infographic also warns women not to use old sanitary towels, even if they have never been opened, because keeping them for too long after the production date might allegedly affect its quality and hygienic standard.

The state media outlet advises women to frequently change sanitary napkins that have high absorption capacity and not to use sanitary pads if it is not necessary to do so.

Lastly, People’s Daily says that women should be cautious about buying menstrual pads that are sold at a discount price and to buy reputable brands instead of new or unknown ones.

“It should not be up to women to distinguish real sanitary pads from counterfeit ones.”

The People’s Daily Weibo post soon triggered thousands of reactions from netizens. Many are angry that the newspaper advises women on how to look out for fake menstrual pads.

“I feel that it should not be up to women to distinguish real sanitary pads from counterfeit ones; it is up to the concerning departments to control and supervise [the sale of menstrual pads],” one netizen comments: “The people involved in illegal sales should be heavily punished!”

“This is too funny!”, another Weibo user says: “Now all women have to master how to differentiate between fake and real sanitary napkins.”

“We are already in pain, and now we also have to think about if what we buy is real or not,” another female netizen complains.

“You don’t realize how poor many people are, and how expensive menstrual pads are. And now they can not only be fake, but you also tell us to change them every 2-3 hours, well that’s at least 7 pads a day (..) – the costs are just too high.”

“When you live in China, you have to able to tell if meat is fake, if alcohol is fake, if hotpot ingredients are fake, if gasoline is fake (..), and now even women ‘whose aunt is visiting’ are encountering fake products!”

“Now my menstruation just scares me even more.”

By now, the People’s Daily post has been shared thousands of times on Chinese social media, with the hashtag “Are you really using sanitary towels correctly? (#你真的用对卫生巾了吗#) being one of the top trending topics on Weibo’s ‘hot search’ list.

The issue has also been covered by other media outlets, from newspapers to (local) TV channels. Although People’s Daily is serious in its intention to teach women how to correctly use non-counterfeit menstrual pads, most netizens are either angered or humored by this ‘crash course.’

“As women, we already have to endure so much and now this too,” one person writes.

For other Weibo users, all this talk about ‘that time of the month’ just is another reason to dread it. “Now my menstruation just scares me even more,” one netizen writes.

– By Manya Koetse
Follow on Twitter or Like on Facebook

©2016 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

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In the morning of November 9 (Beijing time), the whole world received the news of Donald Trump winning the American presidential election. What’s on Weibo offers an insight into Chinese responses to the election of American’s unconventional new president. From Chinese (official) media to Weibo’s netizens, the reactions to Trump’s triumph are favorable, critical, humorous, but most of all: mixed.

Chinese media have been closely following and reporting the American presidential election through social media over the past two days.

Although most media reports appear to be factual, they are not completely unbiased; their construction and tone reveal their attitude toward the newly-elected President Trump.

While most official Chinese state media reports put America’s new “unconventional” president in a subtle favorable light, economic newspaper The Observer responded with a critical view, while Sina Weibo netizens mostly responded with banter, with many of them expressing a favorable view of Trump presidency.

OFFICIAL STATE MEDIA

“What Chinese Americans Say About Trump’s Victory: ‘Now I can finally safely go to the toilet'”

State broadcaster CCTV News (@央视新闻) and People’s Daily (@人民日报, official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party) released the news of Trump’s victory as a factual newsflash, writing that Republican candidate Donald Trump has defeated Democrat candidate Hilary Clinton, and has become the 45th President of the United States of America.

Both news outlets used a relatively neutral image of Trump, who appears to be speaking in front of a red background.

Some Chinese media also compare the somewhat unexpected outcome of America’s elections to that of the Brexit referendum, after which voters later expressed regret over the outcome (the ‘Brexit regret‘).

Global Times (@环球时报, China’s state ‘tabloid’) is more explicit in its attitude towards Trump. Shortly after the election results were out, Global Times released an article titled “What Chinese Americans Say About Trump’s Victory: ‘Now I can finally safely go to the toilet’” (“特朗普赢了，美国华人怎么说？——终于可以安全上厕所了”).

The overall tone of the article shows a favorable view of Trump, as it features a female interviewee who expresses her joy that Trump will allegedly abandon Obama’s liberal policy for the LGBT [Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender] community, so that she “does not need to go to the same toilet as a man (..) who believes he is a woman.”

The article also features another interviewee who believes Trump will bring more equality in society due to his crusade against political correctness.

Two other Global Times articles argue that the victory of Trump, as a businessman who knows what pragmatism is, will not radically change the future of Sino-American relations. They also state that present-day China is steady and flexible enough to not to be affected by this presidential change (see: Refuse to Talk about South China See- what is Trump’s Attitude; Wholesale victory of Trump- a hard lash on traditional American politics).

Global Times uses a “strong” image of Trump for their news posts- one of them shows Trump holding his fist in a gesture of resolution and victory, with American flags on the background.

THE OBSERVER

“American ordinary people are simple and closed-minded; they are not interested in international affairs and have very little knowledge about it.”

The Observer (观察 – influential Chinese economics newspaper backed by Shanghai think-tank) features a lengthy column about Trump, titled “Eight Reasons Why Trump Has the Last Laugh” (八大因素令特朗普笑到最后), written by commentator Song Luzheng (宋鲁郑). Different from the majority of reports from Chinese official media, the column suggests a general disapproval of Trump’s victory.

In the column, Song argues that Trump’s unexpected victory can be explained in various ways. He starts off by pointing out that as unlikely as Trump’s victory may be, considering his background and media portrayal, it statistically is unsurprising for the mere fact that it is very rare for American parties to win a presidential election after they have been the ruling party for the previous 8 years.

Song also speaks from his own personal experiences in the USA, saying that Trump’s triumph can be explained through the growing rich-poor divide that, for the first time in history, has made the American middle class a minority. This has led to huge changes in public opinion, Song argues. With people being dissatisfied with America’s current economic system, and the rise of terrorism and influx of illegal immigrants, it is mainly white people who support Trump, Song says: “I personally went to the American election (..) and those who publicly oppose Trump are black people and Muslims, while there are very few white people opposing him.”

The author goes on to say that America’s ‘one-person-one-vote’ democratic system cannot avoid the emergence of populist political figures, and he implicitly compares the current situation to that of Hitler being elected in the 1930s. He points out the dangers of democracy, stating: “To drive, you must have a driver’s license and understand the traffic laws. But the democratic system gives each person the power [to vote], but does not require the responsibility that comes with it.”

He further emphasizes this point by writing: “The last time I went to the United States I found the ordinary people to be very simple and closed-minded; they are not interested in international affairs and have very little knowledge about it. This creates the conditions for the rise of such characters as Trump.”

Song makes some clear points about Trump’s election in The Observer, but a poll underneath the article shows that the majority of readers do not agree with his stance, calling it “absurd.”

SOCIAL MEDIA REACTIONS

“Congratulations, it’s a boy!”

The American elections became the number one trending topic (#美国大选#) on Sina Weibo on November 9.

Many netizens understand Trump’s triumph, saying they support him: “This shows that the [rural] country overlays the cities, they’ve finally won national victory the revolutionary way,” one happy netizen responds.

“I speak for the entire Weibo population,” one netizen writes: “and I would like to express sincere congratulations, and would like to welcome you to Chinese social media.”

For a majority of Weibo users, the election outcome is a source of banter. Some commenters said: “Congratulations! It’s a boy!” Another netizen said: “Hi, I am Hillary, and now that I’ve lost I have no money to go home. Could someone wire me 2000 dollars?”

Xinhua (@新华网), the official media outlet of the People’s Republic of China, joined in the banter by publishing a humorous post on Weibo that asked whether American people would change their mind and be willing to exchange Trump for the three baby pandas that are leaving the USA for China.

“The American people would probably want to [trade in Trump], but we’d refuse,” one netizen responds. Another person commented: “If Trump would stay in the zoo, I’d be willing to!”

The humorous social media reactions in China about the Trump triumph are similar to those after Brexit, when netizens also used humour and entertainment to discuss the situation. We can expect more Trump memes and jokes to come up on Chinese social media in the coming few weeks.

– By Manya Koetse and Diandian Guo
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©2016 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

The post “Congratulations, It’s a Boy!” – China’s (Mixed) Reactions to President Trump’s Election Victory appeared first on What's on Weibo.

Female traffic police Chen Zixuan from Jiangsu has become an internet celebrity since local government posted her picture on Weibo. The traffic police woman is praised as a model worker, but most netizens just like her for her looks.

A traffic police woman from Jiangsu has become an internet hit after her picture was posted on Weibo by the local government account of Lianyungang city (@连云港发布) in Jiangsu, China.

The woman is popular among some netizens for doing her job in the freezing cold, but she is mainly a hit because of her looks and close resemblance to Michelle Chen, a popular actress and singer from Taiwan.

The female traffic police went trending on Sina Weibo under the hashtag ‘Traffic police woman is the look-alike of Michelle Chen’ (#女交警撞脸陈妍希#).

The original post by the Lianyungang city government of November 22 says: “Thumbs up for this beautiful traffic police woman in the snow. In the traffic peak this afternoon, the snow was heavy, but Chen Zixuan of the Haizhou area Lianyungang traffic police brigade has been sticking to her post. Let’s praise her!”

The Lianyungang official public security account added: “Their cheeks have become red from the blazing wind, but they always stand firm in the middle of the road; their hands are ice-cold from the cold snow, but their posture is still strong. Through wind and snow, they fulfill their duty, so that we can safely go home on this snowy evening.”

The praise of ordinary people doing their work is a recurring theme in official Chinese government announcements. In July 2016, China’s Communist Party produced a public service TV ad that also featured ordinary, hard-working people as model workers.

The 1-minute video showed a traffic police man in the rain and a street cleaner starting work early in the morning. The Party video conveyed the message that party members are “always part of the people, closely connected to the people, and devoted to serve the people.”

Especially female workers play an important role in the propagation of the hard-working citizen who is serving the people. The most famous examples are female locomotive driver Sun Guilan and Liang Jun, the woman to be a tractor driver in China. The latter was even depicted on Chinese banknotes in 1962.

Perhaps unfortunately for the local government, the propagated ‘serve the people’ message on the Jiangsu police woman did not inspire Weibo’s netizens as much as her beauty. “She looks just like Michelle Chen. With a bit more make-up, she’s even prettier than her,” some netizens commented.

Another Weibo user wonders about something else: “Don’t we have traffic lights nowadays? Don’t we have surveillance cameras? And automated traffic signs?”

“This is her job,” another netizen comments: “And she receives steady wages, it’s not a low-paying job. What is your goal of propagating this on Weibo? What about ordinary people like sanitation workers who struggle and suffer? Don’t propagate this woman!”

– By Manya Koetse
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©2016 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

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Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro has died at the age of 90. On Chinese social media, netizens light virtual candles to commemorate Castro, whom many refer to as an old friend and comrade of the Chinese people.

“For China, Fidel Castro has a special position in many peoples’ hearts,” Chinese state media wrote on November 26, the day that the news about the passing of the Cuban revolutionary leader became trending on social media all across the world.

The generally positive Chinese public view on Castro was apparent on social media on November 26, as many netizens lit digital candles and shared pictures of Castro.

On China’s Sina Weibo, Fidel Castro (Fēidé’ěr Kǎsītèluō 菲德尔.卡斯特罗 in Chinese) became the top trending topic of the day under the hashtag “Castro passes away” (#卡斯特罗去世#). The topic that was soon viewed 60 million times.

“Old friend of the people of China, rest in peace,” one commenter said.

“Castro is immortal for resisting American hegemony,” another Weibo user commented.

One netizen (@斗歌先生见您笑, 1986) wrote: “I once said about the great Kim Jong Il: when I was in kindergarten, he was chairman; throughout primary school, he was chairman; when I went to high school, he was chairman; during my college years, he was chairman; when I got my first job, he was chairman; I got married, he was chairman; when my son was born, he was still the chairman; when my son went to school, he was chairman … I finally understand that for communist leaders the ‘the struggle for communism’ really lasts a lifetime.”

Under the leadership of Castro, Cuba became the first country in Latin American to establish diplomatic relations with China. China’s former president Hu Jintao described China-Cuba relations as those between “good comrades, good friends, and brothers” (Creutzfeldt 2016)

“I do not know much about the life of Castro,” one Weibo user wrote: “But I do know he believed in communism and supported it, and that he was a great communist. He stayed true to his ideals, and perhaps we lack that kind of perseverance. Rest in peace, Castro! You may have left this world, but you are already immortal.”

One other person commented: “It seems that China’s old friends are slowly all disappearing (..). I now feel the pain of the fox that’s grieving over the dead rabbit [Chinese saying 兔死狐悲 Tùsǐ húbēi: to have sympathy with a like-minded person in distress].”

Although the majority of netizens show strong favoritism of Castro, there are also those who are more critical. One micro-blogger described Castro as “evil” and a “failed leader” for causing suffering in Cuba and prosecuting many people to death. At the time of writing, the post was not censored.

Most Chinese netizens will not remember Castro as an “evil” leader, but as an old friend of China who stayed true to his communist ideals.

“Great communist soldier, our comrade Castro will never be forgotten!”, one netizen writes.

– By Manya Koetse
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Sources/References
Creutzfeldt, Benjamin. 2016. “One Actor, Many Agents: China’s Latin America Policy in Theory and Practice.” In Margaret Myers and Carol Wise (ed), The Political Economy of China-Latin America Relations in the New Millennium. London & New York: Routledge.

©2016 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

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A direct phone call between Trump and Taipei became a much discussed topic on Chinese social media on Saturday, where the majority of netizens see the phone call as a foolish move that demonstrates that President-elect Trump has “zero knowledge of foreign diplomacy.”

Reports over a direct phone call between US president-elect Donald Trump and Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen on Friday became all the talk on Chinese social media on Saturday.

Taipei Times reported about the telephone conversation between President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Donald Trump on Friday as the first time a Taiwanese president has spoken with a US president-elect since official diplomatic ties between the two nations were severed in 1979.

Donald Trump later tweeted that it was the Taiwanese president who had called him to congratulate him on winning the elections.

The President of Taiwan CALLED ME today to wish me congratulations on winning the Presidency. Thank you!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 3, 2016

On Weibo, one post about Trump’s Taiwan phone call was shared over 48600 times within half a day. Many Chinese social media users called Trump “stupid” and “foolish” for speaking directly to the Taiwan President.

“I think this might be serious – this hasn’t happened since 1979.”

Shortly after Trump won the elections, Chinese netizens initially responded with humor and praise. Many Chinese netizens supported Trump, not only because they seemed to like his pragmatic business background, but also because his opponent Hillary Clinton is often portrayed as an anti-China politician.

But after news of the phone call between Trump and Taipei came out, many netizens responded with confusion and worry to his Taiwan approach: “I think this might be serious – this hasn’t happened since 1979,” one Beijing netizen named @ProjectManagement said.

“Doesn’t he understand foreign diplomacy at all?” Weibo user Brother Five, a USA-based Chinese scholar, wondered: “What kind of signal is he trying to send?”

“Trump has zero knowledge on what foreign diplomacy is.”

On his Weibo account, Brother Five further wrote that he does not understand how Trump could directly call President Tsai Ing-wen, who is officially seen as a ‘province governor’ (省长) according to the PRC’s One-China policy, in which the island is part of PRC territory under its constitution as the ‘Taiwan Province.’

“Trump has zero knowledge on what foreign diplomacy is,” another person also said.

Other netizens were also confused about Trump’s latest move as they felt it does not benefit any party involved: “This will actually be more of a hindrance than a help to Taiwan,” some remarked.

“Many Americans won’t think this is a big deal, but this influences how we as mainland Chinese think of them,” author Zhang Xinxin commented.

“It is not mainland China that should be worried – it is the White House.”

Sina Military News reported that according to China’s foreign minister Wang Yi, the phone call was just a “petty movement” by Taiwan that would not change the long-standing US policy towards China.

One group of netizens also agreed with this view: “I’d say it doesn’t really matter – it is not mainland China that should be worried, it is the White House that should be most worried,” one netizen commented.

In the end, the general reactions Chinese netizens have on Trump’s Taipei call are mainly (1) confusion, (2) anxiousness and (3) indifference. The alleged indifference stems from the idea that closer relations between Washington and Taipei would eventually only hurt the USA and Taiwan, and would not affect China. “China will come out as the winner,” many people said.

The majority of netizens seem to agree that the phone call is nothing but bad news. Although it might not necessarily do much harm, it will also not do any good for mainland China, nor for Taiwan, and certainly not for Trump and the future of Sino-US relations.

– By Manya Koetse
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©2016 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

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What were the most discussed topics on Weibo of 2016? What’s on Weibo gives an overview of top stories on Chinese social media from A to Z: a look back at Weibo’s biggest trends of 2016.

As we are getting ready for a new year, What’s on Weibo reflects on the most popular trending stories on Chinese social media in 2016. It was a year where many things happened, from political controversies to online scandals and social hypes.

Sometimes the most trivial things got big, while the biggest things remained trivial. Time to list the China trending stories and digital trends of 2016 from A to Z.

———

#A is for Alipay,..the app for raunchy transactions

The A is for Alipay in this alphabet of 2016; not just because this Chinese ‘equivalent to Paypal’ is still the world’s leading third party payment platform, but also because the app made headlines in November when it launched a new group chat feature that soon turned into a ‘soft porn’ place.

The new social feature ‘Circles’ (生活圈) made it possible for users of a certain sex (female) to post, while only allowing other (male) users above a certain credit score to comment/interact. It triggered hundreds of women to post sexy pictures to tempt men or other users with a high credit score to spend some of their digital money. The groups were soon closed and Alipay CEO Peng Lei apologized, calling the incident “the most difficult” period of her Alipay career.

#B is for Baidu,..promoting false medical information

Another 2016 online scandal was exposed in May when the death of a 21-year-old cancer patient triggered heated discussions about Baidu’s paid search results. Through an online search on China’s biggest search engine Baidu, a young man named Wei Zexi found a promising treatment for with he spent 200,000 RMB (31,000US$). It later turned out to be a highly contested one, and the man soon died. Thousands of netizens criticized Baidu for offering a platform to shady health care providers.

The death of Wei Zexi did not only expose the spread of false medical information by Baidu, it also revealed a huge profit-driven healthcare market, in which Baidu and the fraudulent Putian Medical Group were running the show. Although the uproar led to a temporary shutdown of these ads, the same advertisements reappeared on the search engine in November.

#C is for Castro,..the “old friend of China”

Shortly after news of his death came out, Cuban leader Fidel Castro became the number one trending topic on Weibo in November. Many Weibo users called Castro an “old friend of China”, expressing their condolences through thousands of digital candles. Under the leadership of Castro, China-Cuba relations became like those between “good comrades, good friends, and brothers”, as former president Hu Jintao described them. The Weibo topic on #卡斯特罗去世# was viewed over 99 million times.

#D is for Disneyland,..the grand opening in Shanghai

It was the most anticipated opening of the year. Disneyland Shanghai opened its doors on June 6 of 2016 to let the masses of people in who had been able to get their hands on the most wanted tickets of the year. Although Chinese netizens had been raving about the opening of the ‘happiest place on earth’ for months, the enthusiasm soon made place for complaints after the opening.

Many said the Disney trains in Shanghai were ugly and not nearly as beautiful as those in Hong Kong, the prices of snacks and drinks were deemed way too high, and many were troubled by the uncivilized behaviour of some visitors to the park.

#E is for Eleme,..China’s successful home-delivery app

The E in this alphabet perhaps not just stands for Eleme (饿了么) but the overall success of E-commerce in China in 2016. Home-grown delivery apps like Eleme, Baidu Takeout and Meituan were ubiquitous all over the first-tier cities of China this year. Delivery apps Eleme and Meituan became the focus of scrutiny when Chinese media revealed they were involved in illegal business by selling food from unlicensed restaurants.

With a heightened crackdown on street food, many unlicensed vendors chose to sell their food door-to-door via apps like Eleme, making them relatively ‘invisible’ to authorities. It has led to authorities keeping a closer eye on these delivery platforms.

#F is for Forbes Billionaires List,..China’s billionaires

The release of the Forbes Billionaires List got Weibo talking about money and the world’s youngest billionaires this year. Although the very youngest multi-millionaire is not Chinese – but a 19-year-old Norwegian – the Forbes list revealed that China also has its fair share of young billionaires, with entrepreneur Wang Han becoming one of the world’s youngest billionaires at the age of 28. Check out our list on China’s youngest billionaires.

#G is for Gaga,..for meeting with the Dalai Lama

In the summer of 2016, Lady Gaga lost a lot of her Chinese fans after she met up with the Dalai Lama during a US conference in Indiana. After learning of Gaga’s support for the Dalai Lama, many netizens said that “Lady Gaga has officially left the Chinese market.”

Honourable mention: The #G for Gobi, the desert dog. The stray dog captured everyone’s heart after joining runner Dion Leonard on a 155-mile marathon across China. Netizens all rooted for Gobi after the dog got lost while in quarantine before joining Leonard to his home in Scotland, but after an amazing nine-day search, the little dog was found in Urumqi, and she is now on her way for a new life with her self-chosen owner Leonard in Scotland.

#H is for Hangzhou,..the heart of the G20

The whole world was looking at Hangzhou in September of this year as world leaders convened in the ancient Chinese city for the annual G20 summit. It marked China’s first time as host of the international forum – an important moment for China to once again emphasize its important role in the international community today.

But the G20 was also an opportunity for the city of Hangzhou to promote itself as a tourist destination. These efforts paid off so well that in the days following the G20 summit, the city was so packed that people could barely move. It also led to trash being left behind all over the city by visitors, with street cleaners removing as much as 14 tons of garbage within one day.

#I is for iPhone6 Legs,..another skinny trend

This was the year of different challenges taking over social media. There was the One Finger Selfie, the A4 waist challenge, and the much-discussed iPhone6 challenge.

Thousands of female netizens posted pictures on social media showing off how their smartphones could cover their skinny legs. Although many people later ridiculed the trend, there were also worries that these kinds of hypes promote unhealthy beauty standards. The majority of Weibo users, however, seemed to accept that an iPhone could never cover both their legs. Perhaps an iPad could.

#J is for Johan Cruyff,..the Dutch soccer hero

As What’s on Weibo is a blog that is both run from Amsterdam and Beijing, this topic especially touched our hearts this year. Dutch soccer hero Johan Cruyff passed away at the young age of 68 due to cancer, and became Weibo’s number one trending topic.

Within hours after news of the soccer legend’s death came out, thousands of Weibo users responded by posting candles and crying emoticons for what some called the “emperor of soccer” and “the world’s most legendary number 14.” Cruyff’s Chinese fans expressed their grief and their respect for his career: “The soccer world has lost its godfather, but your philosophy remains. Don’t forget to wear your soccer shoes in heaven. I salute you,” one fan said.

#K is for Kang Kang,..the missing CCTV mascotte

For the Year of the Monkey, CCTV launched its new official mascot of the Spring Festival Gala: Kang Kang the monkey. But when controversy arose over web users deeming the mascotte ‘ugly’ and ‘stupid’, Kang Kang suddenly was nowhere to be seen anymore.

It led to the burning question on Weibo: whatever happened Kang Kang the Monkey? Weibo netizens discussed the various reasons why Kang Kang did not come on the show, with some wondering if he left when he saw the show’s rehearsal and others suggesting they should file a missing’s person report. There were multiple netizens who thought Kang Kang might have carried ‘dangerous goods’ and did not pass the CCTV’s strict security checks. Kang Kang, unfortunately, was not be seen again.

#L is for Lei Yang,..who died due to police brutality

The death of Beijing resident Lei Yang (雷洋) was already called one of the biggest controversies of the year in May of 2016. When the 29-year-old environmentalist Lei Yang died shortly after his arrest at an alleged brothel, his story sparked national outrage over police brutality. “We could all be the next Lei Yang” was one of the phrases that soon made its rounds on Chinese social media. When Lei’s wife stepped forward demanding answers from Beijing authorities on the circumstances surrounding her husband’s death, she received massive support from China’s Weibo users.

According to further investigation by the Beijing prosecutor’s office, Lei Yang was found to have died due to choking. VOA recently reported that five officers involved in the case are expected to be charged with dereliction of duty in this case.

#M is for My Little Princess,..the hit TV drama

My Little Princess, a Chinese TV drama revolving around the trials and tribulations of Chinese rich kids attending college, is just one of the many Chinese TV dramas that became big trending topics on Weibo this year.

Other hit dramas were shows like The Interpreters, The Imperial Doctress, and countless others. The sucess of telenovelas like My Little Princess shows that Chinese audiencies just cannot get enough of TV drama – enjoying them together with a far broader audience outside of the People’s Republic.

#N is for the Noodle Gang,..Shanghai’s noodle maffia

A Shanghainese ‘Noodle War’ attracted the attention of Chinese netizens this year, as one noodle restaurant named Alilan openly shared its battle with a local Chinese Hui muslim community, that alleged the owner violated their code that there should be no other beef noodles restaurant within 400 meters of a Hui muslim restaurant.

As the ‘noodle community’ attempted to boycott the restaurant by standing in front of Alilan and blocking visitors from entering, Weibo netizens stepped up and showed their support by coming to dine at Alilan and resisting the boycott in great numbers. Weibo saved the restaurant, which is still running a successful business today. They thanked their fans for their help on their Weibo page earlier this month.

#O is for the Olympics,..that made Fu Yuanhui famous

The topics related to the Olympics might just have been the biggest topics of the year on Chinese social media. Whether it was about the helmets designed for the cycling team, the insulting comments about Chinese athletes made by a Canadian TV commentator, or the success of made-in-China products in Rio, the Olympics were the trending topic of the summer of 2016.

But only one Chinese athlete was the absolute winner of all Olympic-related topics. Swimmer Fu Yuanhui stole everyone’s hearts with her down-to-earth attitude and almost childlike facial expressions and talks about how she won at the Olympics with her ‘mystical powers.’ She also broke a sporting taboo by openly speaking about her period. With now over 8 million followers on her account, Fu Yuanhui has become a popular Weibo celebrity.

#P is for Papi Jiang,..the online celebrity of 2016

Papi Jiang rose to fame in 2016 and went from a lonely vlogger to one of China’s most beloved online celebrities – seemingly overnight. The Weibo superstar was the ‘new kid on the block’ in March of 2016 with her witty online videos in which she commented on anything from family interactions to dating etiquette.

In April 2016, the power of Weibo’s celebrity economy became clear when an ad auction showed that companies were willing to pay up to 22 million RMB (3,4 million US$) to get Papi Jiang connected to their brand. It showed that 2016 was THE year of Weibo’s celebrity economy. Papi now has over 20 million followers on her Weibo account, and still frequently posts funny videos.

#Q is for Qiaobi,..the ‘most racist’ commercial of the year

A Chinese washing powder commercial went viral outside of China this year for being “jaw-droppingly racist.” The commercial shows how a black man is turned down by a Chinese woman, who puts him in a washing machine – after which he comes out as a Chinese man.

Within China, the ad initially stirred no controversy – it seemed that no one had even heard about the ad – until international media controversy also blew over to Weibo. Different websites soon exposed that the Chinese commercial was copied from a 2006 Italian ad where a white man turns into a black man after being ‘washed’. On May 30, Chinese media reported that Qiaobi had taken the commercial down and had apologized in response to the outrage it caused.

#R is for Red Alert,..the smog ‘airpocalypse’

Since Beijing’s first red alert for smog was issued in December of 2015, the ‘smog alert’ has become a recurring topic on Chinese social media. The red alert for smog of December 2016 especially triggered many comments on Weibo this year when 400 students in Henan, Anyang, had to take their exams outdoors in heavy smog while their school was officially closed due to the smog. The principal has since been suspended.

#S is for SK-II,..the brand that opened up the ‘Leftover Women’ discussion

A short film about China’s leftover women by skincare brand SK-II became a hot topic on Chinese & international social media in April of 2016. Many netizens were touched by the video’s message about choosing personal happiness over society’s expectations.

Although the ‘Change Destiny’ ad campaign also received some criticism, most people seemed to agree that the video send out the right message: that women, despite the pressure to get married, should pluck up the courage to speak out and get their voices heard.

#T is for Trump..from hero to zero on Weibo

Trump undeniably is the biggest name of 2016. On Chinese social media, many people initially showed their support for Trump for his humor, pragmatism, war against political correctness, but also because many thought he was a better option than Hillary Clinton.

But soon after Trump was elected, the enthusiasm subdued when the newly elected US president spoke with Taipei president Tsai Ing-wen and suggested in a Fox News that he could drop the “One China” policy. Trump’s recent moves have caused confusion on Chinese social media, although there are also Chinese netizens who say that China will win, no matter what Trump’s future plans may be.

#U is for Uber,..merging with Didi Chuxing

American ride-hailing app Uber had a bumpy ride in China, where was losing over $1 billion a year since it started its PRC adventure in 2013. Uber China was facing the fierce competition from homegrown Uber-equivalent Didi Kuaidi (later: ‘Didi Chuxing’) which was doing a staggering 10 million rides a day in China while Uber was doing only 2 million rides a day worldwide.

In August 2016, Uber China finally gave up its Chinese e-hailing war with Didi, and merged with its rival. It led to many complains on Weibo, with higher prices and bothered passengers. The original Uber app has closed down and was replaced by an app specially made for the Chinese market.

#V is for the Big V-s,..making Weibo big

Although China’s biggest social media platform Sina Weibo was previously practically pronounced dead by international media, this year was the year of Weibo’s revival.

One of the main reasons for Weibo’s success is the popularity of so-called ‘Big V’s’ – popular microbloggers who have a ‘v’ behind their name as their accounts have been verified by Weibo. These social media celebrities vary from comedians to fashion bloggers or make-up stylists who offer great marketing potential for brands because they have a huge following, much influence, and often the right target audiences. While Weibo helps online celebrities grow big, these online celebrities also helped Weibo revive by boosting the number of active monthly users who come to see what their idols are up to.

#W is for Wang Baoqiang,..the divorce of the year

The probable winner in this list of Weibo’s trending topics of 2016 is the divorce of Wang Baoqiang. The popular migrant worker-turned-actor publicly announced on Weibo that he was divorcing his wife Ma Rong for cheating on him with his manager. It led to an unprecedented stream of comments, with the majority of Weibo netizens supporting Wang and hating on Ma Rong.

While an audience of millions seeing the love drama unfold, Ma Rong took revenge by blaming her estranged husband for abandoning his friends and family, and sueing him for defamation of character.

#X is for Xiaomi,..China’s winning smarthpone

After Single’s Day, China’s biggest online shopping festival of the year, it became clear that ‘made-in-China’ smartphones and tablets were the big winners this year.

Although iPhone7 still made considerable sales, made-in-China smartphones were the undeniable winner of the Single’s Day smartphone sales. Overall, netizens bought more Chinese smartphone brands than international ones. According to the sales numbers of JD.com, no less than 8 of the top 10 best-selling smartphones were domestically produced mobile phones. China’s Xiaomi brand did especially well. With the Mi 6 coming out in 2017, the brand can expect to gain more Xiaomi lovers in the coming year.

#Y is for Yulin,..China’s most controversial local festival

Year on year, the annual Yulin dog meat festival has been receiving more attention internationally, with more celebrities and politicians condemning the event. The tradition has previously mainly sparked outrage outside of China, but is also getting more criticism within the PRC; 62% Chinese surveyees now think the dog meat festival harms China’s international reputation. This year, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying clarified that the Yulin government has never supported or organized the festival, and that it is a local initiative – a controversial one.

#Z is for Zhang Guoli,..who was quoted before he spoke

An awkward moment on Chinese state media got people talking during the Plenary Sessions in March when CCTV reported that actor and director Zhang Guoli advocated for stronger monitoring of web dramas at China’s plenary sessions, and when the actor posted on Weibo that he had not spoken at all yet.

Although Zhang Guoli’s comment was soon deleted or removed by Weibo’s censors, it had already caught the widespread attention of Weibo’s netizens. “The media is always like this,” one netizen responds: “they report about a speech before someone has actually spoken!”

———

What’s on Weibo wants to thank you for following us over the past year, in which we have grown into much cited and much visited independent news blog on China. Please keep connected in the year to come for all of China’s social trends.

New year’s greetings from What’s on Weibo’s 2016 writer’s team.

– By Manya Koetse
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©2016 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

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The relationship between Dutch soccer club ADO Den Haag and its Chinese owner Mr. Hui Wang has been a rocky one since the beginning. What once seemed to be the start of a successful takeover of the struggling Dutch club, has now finally reached an all-time low after the Dutch court ordered Wang to pay approximately 2.6$ million on Thursday. What went wrong in this Sino-Dutch ‘soccer war’?

The past few years have not been easy for Dutch soccer club ADO. The struggling club, that is over 110 years old, announced a takeover by Chinese company United Vansen (合力万盛), owned by Hui Wang (王辉), in the summer of 2014. Although the club was initially hopeful about United Vansen’s promised investments in the club, it soon turned out that payments failed to appear.

At the start of 2015, the club finally did receive money from United Vansen – but the affair had received a lot of media attention and relations between ADO and the Chinese owner were already going sour, especially when payments were again delayed later in 2015.

Although Wang allegedly said the delayed payments were caused by “cultural misunderstandings”, the problems were still not solved in 2016. The Dutch court has now ruled on January 5th that Hui Wang has to pay ADO nearly 2.5 million euros ($2.6 million) as part of his 2015 takeover.

Wang was not present in court on Thursday, nor did he or his lawyers attend the hearing that took place a week earlier.

Although the ‘Sino-Dutch soccer war’ is making headlines in Dutch media and international newspapers, it is receiving little media attention in China. In the Netherlands, many people are puzzled about Wang’s moves and his motivations: what went wrong?

THE CHINESE SOCCER DREAM

“Of course we are borrowing the chicken for its eggs.”

China has great ambitions when it comes to soccer. The Chinese soccer dream is such a priority that the National Development and Reform Commission, Chinese Football Association, and the Sports Bureau and Ministry of Education have set out a visionary plan to produce one of the world’s strongest soccer teams by 2050.

China has the soccer ambition, the soccer fans, and the money – but still lags behind when it comes to successful clubs and players. To become a bigger player in the world of football, Chinese president Xi Jinping made soccer a national priority in 2015; not coincidentally the same year that Hui Wang officially took over ADO Den Haag.

In a 2016 interview with Chinese newspaper Da Gongbao, Hui Wang was clear that his priorities were on the development of Chinese soccer, and not necessarily on saving Dutch ADO: “Of course we are borrowing the chicken for its eggs,” he said: “We are borrowing the European soccer environment to cultivate some cream of the crop players.”

Learning from international clubs and players is seen as an important way for China to become a more relevant football nation. On social media platform Sina Weibo, Chinese sports journalist Shi Qingsheng posted a picture of Hui Wang (l) in Holland, stating: “By Hui Wang going to The Hague (..) we can better serve Chinese football and Chinese soccer fans. We all know that China’s soccer is still in the lower levels.”

On Weibo, some netizens are clear about the fact that Wang’s plans to take over ADO had to do with his ambitions to bring Chinese players to Europe. When that did not happen, the investments stayed away.

AIRING DIRTY LAUNDRY

“In the Dutch media, this ‘China nightmare’ was blamed on Wang.”

Dutch club ADO had different dreams for the club’s future than Wang had. According to Voetbal International, one of Wang’s dreams was to bring a Chinese player to ADO and have him featured in a real-life soap on his Dutch soccer adventure.

But ADO was not willing to take the player in, since his level was far beneath that of the general soccer players at the club. It made Wang suffer a loss of face – he had to cancel all plans for the upcoming Chinese TV program.

One of Wang’s alleged bigger plans was to turn ADO into a breeding ground for Chinese players, after which they could be sold with profits. But these dreams were also thwarted by the Dutch council of ADO, that did not want to turn ADO into a Chinese “trading house.”

Another issue that caused friction was the quality of Dutch trainers sent to China. One of the many ways in which Wang hoped to use ADO for the advancement of China’s soccer dream was that ADO trainers would travel to China to train young Chinese players. But according to experts in 2015, the trainers that were sent there were practically ‘unemployed’ and relatively unknown – not what United Vansen had hoped for.

One of the ADO trainers who did travel to China, the 28-year-old Feenstra, said he “went through hell” there as he turned out to be on the wrong visa and was taken into custody. In the Dutch media, this “China nightmare” was blamed on Wang. Two other ADO trainers returned to the Netherlands within three weeks after their arrival because they found the working conditions in China too straining.

All of these reports on late payments and “China nightmares” made headlines in the Dutch media. United Vansen shared its unhappiness about the status quo on its official Weibo page in late 2015, when they released an offical statement refuting any “fake news” about Hui Wang’s delayed payments to Dutch soccer club ADO.

TWO CHICKENS, NO EGGS

“Why do they turn me into their opponent after I have invested my money into them?”

ADO’s critical approach towards Wang, the fact that they shared their dirty laundry with the Dutch press, and their unwillingness to adhere to their owner’s wishes, eventually hurt their relations beyond repair.

“Why do they turn me into their opponent after I have invested my money into them?”, Wang told RTL News in 2016.

All in all, it seems like the roots of this Sino-Dutch ‘soccer war’ can be found in the fact that the two parties, both on the Dutch and the Chinese side, were more concerned about their own goals than about those of the other.

The Dutch ADO, for 98% owned by a Chinese party, was not willing to let Chinese influences into their club – in that way ADO was also “using the chicken for its eggs.” Wang was working on his Chinese soccer dream, and not on ADO’s future.

In the end nor ADO nor Wang found the golden eggs they were hoping for. United Vansen can still appeal the Dutch court’s verdict in the days to come. It is not yet clear if they will do so.

On Weibo, the few Chinese netizens who talk about the soccer conflict seem divided. Some scold ADO for their actions, while others blame Wang for “ruining” the Dutch club.

The Chinese newspaper who covered the issue only did so briefly. As big as the ADO-Wang affair might have become in the Netherlands, for many Chinese, it is simply nothing more than a business deal gone wrong.

– By Manya Koetse
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©2016 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

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Thought you visited the Terracotta Army, one of the great wonders of the world? You might have been tricked into a cheap replica of the famous tourist site. The complaints of people visiting Xi’an who are tricked by “tour guides” are growing louder.

Recently, one Chinese travel review attracted many readers on Douban, a Chinese social media network. In the blog, titled “Xi’an is a fun city: both its tourist sites and its scammers,” the writer tells how he went through a challenging game of outwitting cunning “tour guides” during his travels in Xi’an.

The netizen shared how he painstakingly defeated all the ‘bosses’ and finally managed to see the REAL Terracotta Army instead of its poor replica.

The ‘game’ began once the blogger had stepped out of the train at Xi’an station, where a fake policeman lured him to the wrong bus. A man in black then tried to convince him that the Terracotta Army pits were so far that he had to take another bus, and a free shuttle bus offered to take him to the real pit.

If it is your first time in Xi’an, and you haven’t done much preparation before the trip, you might fall into the trap and be guided to the “famous sites”: a Terracotta Army pit, an “Eight Wonders of the World” museum, and some other sites where famous historical events supposedly took place.

Here is what you will be seeing when you go to the “famous sites”:

• Shiny terracotta warriors with pouty red lips. Their color, despite what archaeologists say about the paint fading in open air, is vividly preserved. Sometimes they even have a modern-looking girl in their company. [Site: Underground Place of Qin, 秦陵地宫]

• The “Eight Wonders of the World,” where you will see things such as the tomb of Tutankhamen, Egyptian pyramids, or the three goddesses of ancient Greece. [Site: Eight Wonders of the World Museum, 世界八大奇迹馆]

• Or paintings and wax figures depicting people’s lives in the past. [Site: Eight Wonders of the World Museum; Relics of Feast at Hong Gate, 鸿门宴遗址]

Although visitors might feel confused and disappointed after such a trip, they often do not not dwell on it for too long; after all, the above three places are officially recognized tourist sites by the Shaanxi Tourism Administration (陕西旅游政务), and have existed for decades.

But since last year, tourists’ complaints have grown louder, especially after the October Golden Week holiday when millions of people came to Xi’an to see the historical wonders of the city. Many were angered that they got to see cheap replicas instead.

The problem is that replica attractions used to be officially recognized tourist spots in the same way as real historical sites were. According to Mr. Zhang, an insider interviewed by Pear Video, the tourist sites with poorly replicated relics were constructed in the 1980s, when tourist resources were still scarce.

The ‘fake’ sites were used to satisfy the curiosity of visitors, so that they could see ‘historical relics’ they would otherwise never have a chance to see.

Although these replicas might have been of acceptable quality 30 years ago, they now seem crude, cheap, and very much outdated.

But more importantly, many historical sites have now become much more accessible to visitors than they were in the 1980s. On one single day in October 2016 alone, the Emperor Qinshihuang’s Mausoleum had 120,000 visitors. Now that the ‘real’ sites are open for visitors, tourists no longer want to see replicas.

Nevertheless, tourists are still lured to go to these replica sites, only later finding out that they are at the wrong place. According to Mr. Zhang, the operators of these ‘fake’ sites spare no means to cooperate with illegal travel agencies to bring more visitors to their premises.

As a result of the rising complaints, the Xi’an Tourism Board has disqualified the above-mentioned three sites as of September 2016.

Yet according to Chinese netizens and daily newspaper Dushi Kuaibao (@都市快报), the scamming “travel guides” are still ubiquitous in Xi’an, tricking ignorant visitors every day.

Despite all the controversies, Xi’an is still worth a visit. Take this kind advice of a Xi’an netizen who warns travelers not to waste money on cheap scams:

“We always welcome guests to Xi’an. If your budget is low, prepare your trip in advance. If your budget is high, stay at a 5-star hotel and rent a car. As long as you do not travel on the cheap, you won’t be cheated. The point of traveling is spending money for enjoyment. If you spend your money at the right place, you will get the most out of it.”

-By Diandian Guo
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Pear Video (梨视频) is the new kid on the block in the pool of China’s many digital news platforms. Its rise is noteworthy as it comes at a time when authorities are strengthening regulations on the media sharing ‘non-official’ news videos. Does Pear Video show the way China’s new media is going?

Over the past few months, the promotion and popularity of Chinese video news platform Pear Video (梨视频) has been exponentially growing on China’s various social media platforms. Its rise is noteworthy, especially after Chinese authorities announced new regulations concerning the sharing of ‘unofficial’ online news videos in December of 2016.

According to The Guardian, the new regulations block public (media) accounts on platforms such as WeChat and Weibo from (re)posting “user-generated audio or video” (Haas 2016).

Chinese media sources (e.g. Sina News) reported that these regulations are specifically about user-generated news that focuses on current politics “and such.”

Short videos have become an increasingly popular tool in the world of Chinese media, with short news video platforms like Kanka News (@看看新闻) having thousands of followers on Chinese social media.

WHAT IS PEAR VIDEO?

“China’s leading short news video platform.”

Pear Video calls itself “China’s leading short news video platform” (梨视频是中国领先的资讯短视频平台). With an app and ultra-short informative news clips, it is a digital video platform that is specifically aimed at mobile users.

The company was established in September 2016. It was founded by Qiu Bing, former CEO of Chinese media outlet The Paper. In its official description on its website and Facebook, it states that it has received an investment of over one hundred million RMB (±14.4M$) by China Media Capital, and that its team consists of over 200 members, allegedly producing 200 news videos every day.

The company also states that its team members come from media companies such as, among others, The Paper (澎湃) and the Shanghai Media Group.

Pear Video’s clips often, even daily, make it to the top trending lists of Sina Weibo, recent examples being the video about a pet dog killed by a local guard, a clip on pole-dancing girls at a Taiwanese official funeral, or the report about a man injured during the anti-Japanese protests of 2012.

Pear Video mainly focuses on society, entertainment, and tech news. Besides the more local news, Pear Video also reports on international news, such as developments regarding Trump and Jack Ma, or more marginal news that has become trending in Europe or America.

Pear Video currently has a fanbase of 340.000 on its official Weibo account, but since they are also active on WeChat, their own app, Facebook, YouTube, and other social media platforms, the company currently has a reach of millions – and is growing explosively.

The formula is clean and simple: Pear Video brings news in short edited clips, usually less than a minute, showing news footage and audio with bold captions that explain the background and news value often accompanied by music. The news is easy to digest, very contemporary, and with its trendy design is especially appealing to China’s younger generations.

On Sina Weibo, Pear Video broadcasts its videos through short-video app Miaopai, that partnered up with Weibo in 2013 for easy audiovisual content sharing on the Sina platform.

BEHIND PEAR VIDEO

“The face of commercial media and the heart of Party media.”

In many ways, the launch of Pear Video is similar to the 2014 launch of The Paper, a newspaper directed at China’s younger generations. In 2015, Tabitha Speelman wrote about this new Chinese web-based media outlet in Foreign Policy, calling it a “smarter, sexier” form of state media that adhered to government calls for more “proactive” and “effective” ways of bringing news in a changing media environment.

David Bandurski, editor of the China Media Project, wrote an insightful piece about The Paper in 2016, in which he quoted former Southern Weekly journalist Fang Kecheng in saying that The Paper “has the face of commercial media, and the heart of Party media.”

Bandurski linked the launch of The Paper to China’s new “internet management path” that became apparent at the Wuzhen Summit. Unsurprisingly, its initial funding of 100 million RMB (±14M$) came from the Shanghai United Media Group (SUMG): a state-owned media group. “Propaganda 2.0”, is how the Economist called it.

Seeing the launch of The Paper in the same light as Pear Video – a fresh, new, cross-media 21st-century news platform  – it seems that the two media platforms are walking a similar path in making China’s ‘official’ news more appealing to younger audiences.

But there is one slight difference. Although Pear Video’s team also comes from The Paper and from the state-run Shanghai United Media Group, its funding comes from China Media Capital (CMC), a private equity and venture capital firm headed by Li Ruigang. Although not state-owned, it is nevertheless a company that is also backed by the state.

In July of 2016, China’s media regulators called for a development of more powerful media organizations to make more of an impact, not just within but also outside of China, to compete with foreign ones. According to Patrick Frater (Variety 2016), the need for more influential media meant a growing government support for private-sector companies, like China Media Capital.

The establishment and rising popularity of Pear Video coincides with both the official call for more media giants – CMC financed Pear Video within months after this call – and the announcement of new media regulations on the sharing of ‘non-official’ news, after which the big state media outlets like People’s Daily (nearly 50 million followers on Weibo) also started sharing Pear News video on its official account on a daily basis.

Popular news accounts like Sina Video (@新浪视频) also shares their videos, and other short video news accounts such as Weila Video (@微辣Video) or Yishou Video (@一手视频) now seem to have merged with Pear Video and only post Pear Video content on their accounts, making their audience grow even bigger.

With so many official media sharing Pear Video content, and their videos making it to the Sina Weibo top trending lists on a daily basis, it is apparent that the Pear Video cross-media platform has the full support of China’s cyberspace authorities.

THE FUTURE OF CHINESE NEWS MEDIA

“This is the mobile social media generation that rather watches the news than read it – making short videos all the more influential.”

“Short news videos may be a new weapon in the spread of new media,” People’s Daily wrote in September of 2016, the month of Pear Video’s launch. The article notes that in the era of “mobile government”, the public has increasingly higher demands when it comes to taking in information.

“Simple information release no longer meets the needs of users”, the article says, advocating that media should adapt to a new audience that is mobile and wants to take in information through short, insightful videos.

Tsinghua University’s media specialists also stress the importance of short mobile videos for the future of media in China, as becomes apparent in a lecture that was also posted on the Chinese government website.

China’s younger generations are the mobile generation, the ‘bowed head clan‘ (smartphone addicts), who consume the news through their smartphone and are less inclined to watch television news.

They are also used to staying the same app to do multiple things; apps such as WeChat and Weibo are not just where they talk with friends, but also where they play games and watch the news – preferably served to them in short ‘bites.’

Furthermore, the lecture states, it is the mobile social media generation that rather watches the news than read it – making short videos all the more influential.

It is this audience that is the present-day and future media consumer of China. The widespread support for short video platforms like Pear Video and their explosive popularity shows that China’s future official media is mobile, short, and audiovisual. It has a fresh look and a clean layout – it is propagated news in your hands, just a click away. The rise of Pear Video just shows how juicy new Chinese media can be.

– By Manya Koetse
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Many thanks to those providing input on this article.
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References / Further Reading:

Bandurski, David. 2016. “Reading THE PAPER.” Medium / China Media Project (July 7) https://medium.com/china-media-project/reading-the-paper-d15ec241652f#.bu6wblsui [6.1.16].

Frater, Patrick. 2016. “China Wants More Media Giants.” Variety (July 18) http://variety.com/2016/biz/asia/china-wants-more-media-giants-1201816245/ [13.1.16].

Haas, Benjamin. 2016. “China restricts sharing of ‘unofficial’ videos on Social Media.” The Guardian (Dec 20) https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/21/china-restricts-sharing-of-unofficial-videos-on-social-media [5.1.16].

Speelman, Tabitha. 2015. “Story image for looking for sexier state media? There’s an app for that.” Foreign Policy (Dec 15) http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/12/15/smarter-sexier-chinese-state-media-pengpai-paper/ [6.1.16].

©2016 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

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