Happy New Year !

Think about the good & bad things of 2011 & lets hope 2012 will be more good things than bad ones. Cheers. No more posting for the rest of 2011 !
A classic here - Dinner for one - original version:

Foshan again !

This story just coming up - even if already some weeks old. It really seems Foshan is quite a special place full of aggression. Please read here:
quote
Sex-in-car driver arrested for murdering spotters

By Pan Zheng | 2011-12-22 | ONLINE EDITION

The driver who killed one worker and injured three others after they saw him having sex in the car has been officially arrested for murder though he said he felt the victims were robbers, the Guangzhou Daily reported today.

The man surnamed Jiang, 32, admitted that he was having sex with two prostitutes in his car parked on a road in Foshan City, Guangdong Province on the night of November 23.

Prosecutors said their affair was spotted by six young men who just finished their work in a nearby factory. They saw the trio in the car, looked at them for a while, and knocked at the car door out of curiosity.

Jiang was furious and got out of the car to argue with them. Their quarrel was stopped by one of the workers.

As the group walked away, Jiang went back to his car and charged at them in revenge. One worker surnamed He was crushed to death on the spot and three others were slightly injured.

A security camera recorded the whole scene. The video footage showed a white car speeding toward the four workers without braking and vanished immediately.

Jiang surrendered to the police on December 3 and argued that he thought the victims were robbers and tried to flee in haste.

But one prostitute surnamed Mao told the police that Jiang smiled after hitting them. His defense was not accepted by the prosecutors.

unquote

Absurd that just today I have received a GROUPON offer for a 1 night stay in a Foshan hotel.....

please click here !

Until now nobody signed on that offer - but this offer only need 2 people to sign on.

Not so sure if this is the perfect travel location.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OF YOU !

Just have a moment of peace & silence - enjoy that music & thank you very much for reading my blog.

It is Christmas now - and here is a story about some good-hearted chinese people !

Sometimes maybe you, my readers, think that I am so negative about China & the chinese People.
This is not the case. The case is that I am against all kind of unjustice, if this is in China or anywhere else in this world. As I am living (almost - as I am living in Hong Kong) in China since more than 13 years (including 5 years in Shanghai) I have learned a lot about people, traditions etc.
In my opinion the speed of China's economic development is much too fast for most of the people.
Out of this some very strange, irritating & wrong (bad) behavior has been developed by a lot of people:
Greed !  Wrong Ambitions ! Envy !
As Christmas is around the corner please see this video / story about a helping crowd in Wenzhou, most probably saving the life of a little child.
This is from here (including photos & video) click here: chinasmack

Crowd works together to lift car to save child

December 9th morning 7:25am, at the corner of Lane 40 Hangbiao Road in the city of Wenzhou, a child was run over and trapped under a car. With the SUV caught in the dilemma of not being able to go forward or back, someone shouted “lift the car!” Immediately over 10 people who had gathered around “one, two, three” used their collective strength [and lifted up the car]. The frightened child was carried out and unhurt. These people who helped did not know each other but their action both moved and warmed those at the scene and this city. Wenzhou people used action to once again demonstrate the “place of warmth” is a title fully deserved.

Christian Bale - Not welcome in China anymore !

Please read here from THE STANDARD. Actor Christian Bale has embarrassed the Government - in clear words he will never ever get any visa anymore. Besides this be aware that there seems to be a certain kind of new visa policies in general. Making it more hard to get F visa (business visa) to force business people to apply for Z visa (work visa).
But wait - you are HK permanent resident, foreign passport holder, running a company in Hong Kong & need to go several times a month to China to meet your suppliers:
Why shall you apply for a Z visa ? I have reports from people now they suddenly only get L visa (tourist visa) for 2 entries - but they are not tourists - isn't that odd ?
Another question related to that is:
How is the Hong Kong SAR Government supporting this sort of business people ?
Is there any chance that there will be some help from the Hong Kong Government ?
Do they know about this practise at all ?
IMPORTANT: When you apply China Visa through your travel agency, make sure that you need a F visa either 6 month or 1 year with multiple entry. It seems some travel agencies cannot guarantee this, others can.
quote
Oscar-winner faces visa ban

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Beijing has pulled the red carpet from under the feet of Christian Bale, the Oscar-winning actor who stars in China's latest box- office hit, after he tried to visit a detained dissident.
The foreign ministry yesterday accused Bale of "fabricating news" after the Hollywood actor made international headlines last week when he tried to visit a blind lawyer-dissident being held under house arrest.

The British actor, who was in China to promote his Nanjing Massacre film The Flowers of War, was stopped last Thursday on the outskirts of the village in eastern China where the activist Chen Guangcheng is being detained.

Asked by reporters if China was embarrassed by Bale's actions, foreign ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said: "I think it is the relevant actor who should feel embarrassed instead of the Chinese side.

"The Chinese side will not welcome him to make news in China," Liu added, suggesting that Bale would not be allowed back into the country.

Bale, describing Chen as a personal "inspiration," invited a CNN crew to accompany him on an eight-hour drive from Beijing to the village in Linyi district, where he was stopped by guards.

Chen, who exposed abuses in the "one-child" population control policy, has been under house arrest since September 2010.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
unquote

At least you can see how advanced China Intelligence is: Bale took an eight hour drive from Beijing to a village & they were waiting for him already !

From the Neighbours: Kim Jong II is dead

Please see the footage from North Korean TV - announcement of the death of Kim Jong Il. Is this all PROPAGANDA - who knows ?


And here some street scenes after the announcement:


I am a little bit puzzled, as per my information this Mr Kim was a brutal dictator - and they are weeping for him like that ? Maybe they are afraid of what comes after him.
Some info here about the people's life:
Read here: north-korea-hunger-crisis
And here some special info:

The next school bus tragedy

Before reading the story supplied by REUTERS let me allow some comments.
The problem with increasing traffic in China is overwhelming & the main problem is the drivers themselves:
Ruthless driving attitude of many drivers:
No sense of defensive driving. No idea about danger. Not keeping safety distances to the drivers before them. Crazy lane changing & speeding. No use of safety belts. Using the mobile during driving. Eating during
driving. The Government should urgently think about a way to get this problems under control as fast as possible: Strict penalties (financial - up to revoking driving license + jail terms) must be set- up for whatever kind of possible breach of traffic laws. There are too many accidents & crashes - most happen because of "human error". Please read the news from REUTERS here:

quote
Another school bus crash sparks fury in China

BEIJING

Tue Dec 13, 2011 8:58am EST
(Reuters) - Fifteen children were killed when a school bus crashed in China's eastern province of Jiangsu, state media said on Tuesday, the latest in a string of accidents fanning public fury across the country.

The bus rolled into a ditch as it veered off the road to avoid a pedicab, the Xinhua news agency said. At least eight children were injured in the accident, which happened after school on Monday.

"Students became trapped at the bottom of the overturned bus and drowned as water gushed into the wreck," Xinhua reported, citing Zhang Bin, a deputy head of the Fengxian county, where the accident happened.

The driver, he said, had been detained.

Xinhua gave conflicting accounts on the number of children on board the bus, but all the reports suggested it was not overloaded. Xinhua last reported that 29 were on board.

An outcry erupted across China in early November after 18 nursery school children were killed when a coal truck slammed into their overcrowded school van in northwestern China.


Two other accidents involving students were reported.
A bus crash in Zhumadian city in central Henan province killed two students on Tuesday and injured 20 people, seven seriously, Xinhua reported.
The bus had been rented by a middle school and was carrying 50 students and teachers when it rammed into a truck.

On Monday, a school bus carrying 59 children collided with a truck in Guangdong Province, in China's far south, injuring 37, media reported.

The deaths and injuries are sure to amplify calls for more spending on education and children's safety. In 1993, the Chinese government vowed to dedicate 4 percent of GDP to education.

"Close to 20 years have passed, and this has still not been achieved," said an editorial in the China Information News on Tuesday. "For some local governments, the proportion of GDP spent on education has actually fallen."

Chinese microbloggers were quick to express their anger about the Jiangsu crash.


"Another school bus accident kills 15 children. It's just a number in the eyes of Chinese officials. The only thing they care about is whether it impacts their future career," wrote Huiji Flying on the Twitter-like Sina Weibo microblog.

"Nothing is safe in China apart from leaders' cars, houses, money and concubines," added Yiran Anki.

The November tragedy prompted Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to promise more government funds to provide improved school bus services.

Rural areas are notorious for unsafe transport. Children face risky rides in ageing, badly maintained vans and trucks.

The school bus crashes also reflect the growing trend in rural China for schools to be concentrated in larger towns, abandoning villages where the population has been shrinking. Children then have to travel long distances to school or board away from their families.
(Reporting by Koh Gui Qing, Sabrina Mao, Chris Buckley, Ben Blanchard and Michael Martina; Editing by Ken Wills, John Newland and Ron Popeski)
unquote

Another weekend "delight"- New way of Chinese robbery ! Very brutal.

The above video has been viewed over 1.1 million times and has over 3,000 comments since it was uploaded yesterday. Summary translation of the Chinese in the video:
The first victim, Yongkang resident Miss Hu was robbed of 3000 RMB cash she had placed on the ATM, 900 RMB cash in her purse, and even her platinum ring on her finger.
Two days later, the second victim Mr. Tong was robbed at 11pm at night as he was on the phone and preparing to deposit money at the ATM. He was knocked unconscious and robbed of the 47,000 RMB cash he was going to deposit and his black Apple iPhone.
This one from chinaSMACK - just click for more !

Some hardcore sound for your weekend !

Enjoy a great Iggy Pop ! The mood of this week. Give them all HARDCORE - they deserve it. If you want to know more contact me !

And then here - I know I had it here before - but it is worth to put it up again: somewhat 30 years earlier - but the same Iggy - just as good as always:


Now enjoy your weekend & all my best greetings to all chinese people who are honest & goodhearted & not greedy as hell !

Chinese business attitude - No moral No ethics - Just Rude & Greedy !

Labelled with "China Dirt" as it is clear that in general chinese business attitude is simply DIRT.
Now almost 15 years here & I cannot see any change into something positive with most of our suppliers & I have this confirmed by many colleagues:
Shortsighted Greed - this is the final solution.
Business manner ? Ethics ? Moral ? Behavior !
These words are not existing in Chinese Language !
Short story here:
One of our main suppliers since 5 years - we always paid him upfront (as he always complaining need money).
Suddenly we find a lot of other goods (not from us) in his factory.
90% of his capacity was used by us. All material supplied by us.
So today he is telling us a big bull shit of  his losses blah blah blah ....................
And he does not want to continue with us (actually the last 5 years we made him survive & build up his facilities). Do not await any words of thank !
His new customer a local internet seller on Tabao or whatever kind of internet service is placing so
big orders to him. As he is saying full of PRIDE !
We have borrowed him money all the time ...............
He is holding a lot of stock fabrics of us !
I have already told him today:
Once the door is shut - you never ever ask me again to give you some orders !
That made him rather nervous !

Clue: All the books want to tell you the truth of China Business Etiquette - all rubbish - just scratching the surface !
Once you have to deal with the real Chinese - then you will find out better !
Be careful !
By the way - do not forget this:
Most of the achievements made in China business over the last 2 or 3 decades - ALL WAS COMING INITIALLY FROM THE OUTSIDE by placing it to them.
Conclusion: The big bucks they are making is also coming from the outside.
Innovation from China - barely non - existent.
The only point is COPIES.

Beijing Fog ?

Yes they call it fog what is there since a few days clouding over Beijing !
2 photos here - it doesn't look very healthy. More on the click below from chinaSMACK.

Click here to see more !

In Hong Kong Hippocratic Oath is existing

................otherwise 100's of pregnant mainland woman abusing the Accident & Emergency department of Hong Kong Public Hospitals could be send away easily. So this is the newest trend to just sit pregnant in some shabby Hostel or boarding house and then call the emergency as "suddenly the baby wants to come". Just in relation to the last post - here in Hong Kong Public Hospitals nobody will dare to simply send them away or let them wait too long.
I just wish some of the guys mistreating my old friend in the Shenzhen hospital (post below) would have his pregnant wife begging to get admission in a HK Public Hospital & then let her wait 12 hours !
Please read here from THE STANDARD:
quote
A&E births double for mainlanders
Mary Ann Benitez Wednesday, December 07, 2011

The number of pregnant mainlanders rushing to Accident and Emergency Departments of public hospitals this year has doubled as compared to 2010, the Hospital Authority revealed.
"The approaching peak season for deliveries along with the suspension of this year's obstetric bookings service for non-local mothers in public hospitals has aggravated the situation in recent months," a spokesman said.
Last month, there was a total of 205 such cases, representing a 99 percent increase over the 103 in November last year.
The trend spiked significantly from May when monthly deliveries through A&E exceeded 100, from an average of 70-80.
In the first 11 months of this year, there were 1,453 such deliveries, up sharply from 708 in the same period last year.
Thirty percent of the 1,453 deliveries were by mainlanders who made prior bookings in public hospitals but were unable to go there in time, the authority said.
In contrast, mainlanders delivered 8,672 babies through appointments at public hospitals up to November 30, as compared to 9,899 for the whole of 2010.
The number of children born to Hong Kong residents has remained stable, at between 30,000 and 32,000 a year, from 2008 until November this year.
Secretary for Food and Health York Chow Yat-ngok said the problem will persist as increasing fees and charges for mainlanders have not had a deterrent effect.
Mainlanders have to pay maternity packages of HK$39,000 on booked deliveries and HK$48,000 for non- booked deliveries at public hospitals.
The authority reminded expectant mainlanders that rushing to A&E at the last minute to deliver posed risks for both them and babies.
unquote

The Hippocratic Oath is not existing in China !

Be careful if you are long-term in China, better make sure you have correct medical insurance which will help you to save your life, in case you have any kind of serious accident, emergency etc.

Short story about a very good friend:
Since 18 years in HK & China. Permanent HK resident, 50 years old.
2.5 years ago lost his job & a lot of money with some of his "good friends chinese business partners".
Close to be broke.
Married with a Chinese.
Stayed in Hangzhou & Hong Kong.
Before Christmas 2009 suddenly got a big headache burning like fire.
Got heavy black spots under the eyes. Jumped in a plane from Hangzhou to Shenzhen to his wife home.
Broke down the next day:
Rupture of a brain aneurysm.
His wife brought him to the emergency unit of a Shenzhen hospital.
No insurance coverage.
To make the surgery they demanded to put RMB 120,000.00 on the table.
This took the wife some time to arrange.
Her husband was left alone in the hospital floor with a surely still heavily rupture of the aneurysm.
It took somewhat more than 12 hours before they started to conduct the surgery (only after receiving the cash).
Surely this was much too late.
After surgery he was in coma.
After one week we arranged his transfer to Hong Kong, where he was several weeks still in coma & then being transferred to an elderly home.
Now being supported by Hong Kong welfare.
CT scans of his brain are not very positive.
He cannot talk.
We do not know if he recognizes anybody.
He is in a state "trapped in his own body".
Totally depending on nursery.
Here is a link of what the HIPPOCRATIC OATH means:
From Wikipedia click here.
This is the China version excerpt.
And here another story where doctors & nurses did not follow the Hippocratic oath

So in China you need to pay first before they are willing to save your life, as long as you not having a super insurance or are some relative or "princeling" of some heavy-weight officials or other "important person". 
This is totally against the HIPPOCRATIC OATH !
I was long thinking if I should put the photo of my friend here on that blog - maybe some people might consider it "not right" or "unethical" or some kind of problem of breaking some law - I dont care right now about this concerns.
Because it makes me angry to know that if they would have started much earlier with the surgery this man could be much better today !
12 hours with a rupture in a lousy cold Shenzhen hospital floor & the doctors waiting for the cash come down on the table ?
What would this man be maybe much better today if they would have started the surgery immediately after he was admitted by his wife into the emergency unit ?
UPDATE: PHOTO DELETED TODAY
Reminder: Make sure you have a good & solid medical insurance valid also for the MAINLAND CHINA if you are often travelling in China. Carry the card with your insurance number + other details always with you.

Shanghai Proposition

Simply disgusting - please watch - this is the MODERN CHINA:

Uploaded by sav0320 on Mar 13, 2010
Walking on the streets of Shanghai, I met a new friend. Sorry, I did not accept the offer.
** Note ** Some language might be offensive. The whole situation might be offensive!
This video was posted two years ago and removed shortly after.



Please see also this one from CNN - better be careful if you are "messing around" in China:


And then found this one:
China's Sexual Revolution Part 1 + 2 (CBC Documentary)

Fa Yuen street fire this week killing 9 people

Terrible this week in Mong Kok Fa Yuen Street a fire at night killing 9 people. The police says it is suspicious - most probably arson. It seems that some of the stalls had been put on fire and because of the very small distance from the stalls to the houses (more than 50 years old) the fire quickly spread into some houses.
Here a short clip, but in Cantonese. And further below a video about this Fa Yuen Street.





Fa Yuen Street (traditional Chinese: 花園街) is a street between Boundary Street and Dundas Street in Mong Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong. With over fifty stores selling sport shoes, the street is famous for selling sport gears and is known as Sport Shoes Street or Sneaker Street (波鞋街). Merlion Tales explores Fa Yuen Street hoping for bargain buys and great food! Read more at http://www.merliontales.com

[Hong Kong Bus Ride] 九巴 GK9636 @ 66 往 大興 [全程行車影片]

Found this on on You Tube - quite nice views out from that bus - it is a long clip more than 45 minutes & mainly driving through the New Territories. You can find many more Hong Kong bus rides on that You Tube user channel.
Uploaded by mm2teaching on Sep 13, 2011


KMB Route 66 Entire journey video (Towards Tai Hing)

Volvo Olympian
S3V22 - GK9636 (05/1995 - )
Engine: Cummins L10-B252
Gearbox: ZF 4HP500
Body: Alexander Type R
Date: AUG 2011
Copyright: Justin1082

途經車站 Stops observed:
00:12 深水埗欽州街 Sham Shui Po (Yen Chow Street)
01:25 怡閣苑 Yee Kok Court
02:14 長沙灣遊樂場 Cheung Sha Wan Playground
03:34 興華街 Hing Wah Street
04:50 荔枝角鐵路站 Lai Chi Kok Railway Station
06:16 美孚鐵路站 Mei Foo Railway Station
08:28 葵涌交匯處 Kwai Chung Interchange
09:57 荔景邨 Lai King Estate
11:31 葵芳邨 Kwai Fong Estate
13:07 光輝圍 Kwong Fai Circuit
14:17 健全街 Kin Chuen Street
15:03 大窩口鐵路站 Tai Wo Hau Railway Station
16:46 眾安街 Chung On Street
18:05 福來邨永樂樓 Wing Lok House, Fuk Loi Estate
19:44 荃景圍天橋 Tsuen King Circuit Flyover
37:38 豐景園 Goodview Garden
38:03 翠寧花園 Tsui Ning Garden
39:15 友愛邨 Yau Oi Estate
40:25 屯門公園 Tuen Mun Park
42:02 屯門鐵路站 Tuen Mun Railway Station
43:11 屯門消防局 Tuen Mun Fire Station
44:25 鳴琴鐵路站 Ming Kum Railway Station
45:31 中電 China Light Building
46:06 台山小學 Toi Shan Primary School
47:06 大興 Tai Hing

APEC CARD RE-MAKE

Please be reminded following:
If you are APEC card holder please re-apply at least 3 months before your card expiry date. Better 4 months earlier.

It takes really long time - and last country to clear you, will be in most cases CHINA.
Besides that 3 countries you will never get cleared: USA, CANADA + RUSSIA.

6000+ Chinese Shoe Factory Workers Strike in Guangdong Province

Here some manufacturing news. Some disputes in a big Guangdong Shoe factory - no further comment from my side - besides this one: Main problem can be "corrupt & bad management". Please see this video:

Man refusing to move away his car on Nathan Road

This one comes from THE STANDARD - please see the related video below:
quote
Tale of police uncle in road row hits net

Samson Lee
Thursday, November 24, 2011

In a case reminiscent of that infamous Chinese hit-and-run incident in which the suspect was caught on video saying "Go ahead, sue me if you dare, my dad is Li Gang," a new video has surfaced on YouTube in which a man is shown arguing with police, saying his uncle is a Yau Ma Tei police station sergeant.

The five-minute clip of the incident was uploaded on Monday. According to the uploader, supermandrum, it was shot at about 5.45pm in Tsim Sha Tsui.
In the clip, a man who sports sunglasses and is smoking, has parked his car near a bus stop. He is told to move the car, as it may affect traffic.
Instead, the man becomes angry and, flashing two business cards, tells police officers they are not qualified to challenge him. He is also heard telling them about his uncle's position.
 
More policemen then arrive at the scene, as pedestrians gather around to witness the show, with some openly calling for the man's arrest. Angered by the negative response, the man makes rude gestures toward the pedestrians.

But the video ends as police are milling around and taking down details of the car.

A police spokesman said they received a report at 6pm on Monday that a car was parked outside 165-181 Nathan Road and blocking traffic. He said no one was arrested, but the driver was issued a Fixed Penalty Notice.
Netizens are obviously not pleased and some said they are disgusted with the man's behavior. Others suggest he is either mentally ill or on drugs.
One netizen said: "Even if the sergeant is your uncle, you need to abide by the law."
 
Some said it is similar to the incident in Baoding, Hebei province, on October 16, 2010, when a 22-year-old drunk driver fled the scene after running over a roller- skater, who died later in hospital.
When arrested, he was convinced his father Li Gang's position as deputy director of the local public security bureau would give him impunity.
unquote

Hu & Obama kissing

Please see that photo (shopped) image of Hu & Obama kissing each other. This is part of the Benetton UNHATE campaign.
Please click here & read more about that !
Here is the photo Hu kissing Obama or vice versa .........

And this one seems to steer up a lot of trouble from our main shepard THE POPE ...........

Congratulations: Bona Mugabe now finished University........

here in Hong Kong and has now received a degree in accounting. Her daddy came here for the celebrations & maybe instructing her already to do some "useful" accounting on the millions (billions ?) he has embezzled from his hunger stricken country in Africa. Asia cities is Mr Mugabe's main destination as all other places in Europe, USA etc he is not welcomed / allowed anymore. Now he
is in Hong Kong & then willl meet some China officials (all same of his kind) to have some talks - believe it or not: This is all money talks ! Besides this it seems the local media like APPLE DAILY is calling this girl Bona being an "african princess" as far as I understood what my wife told me & all the
students did not know that they are studying beside a "princess". Cheers Bona - you lovely princess & accountant>
Here is some press links about that graduation story & the daddy's visit:.
Click here - Mr Mugabe thanks HK for protecting his daughter !

And here another one:
Proud Daddy - please click here !

New China Visa application format here !

Please be noted the China Visa Application is now a total of six pages - please see here:
Please click here & download the new form !

This is from the China's Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong website. This website is badly maintained - for example they still have the announcement dated 13.04.2008 in there. And you can find it under:
quote
Address/Office hours/Enquiry service


NOTICE
(2008/04/13)
Visa applicants are increasing in a large number and need longer waiting
time in the visa office recently. If you don't reside or work in Hong Kong
permanently, you are required to apply Chinese visafrom the Embassy
or Consulate-General of Peoples' Republic of China in yourresident
country. You are welcome to China for tourism, business and visit .
unquote

The public holiday calendar is still showing the year 2010 - to be seen at the same page:
Please click here !

QUESTION OF THE WEEK !

This one found in a reader's comment on chinaSMACK regarding that post:
jilin-railway-bridge-project cheating

In a certain place: Conscience has no value, law has no dignity, morality has no bottom line, the people have no rights, husbands and wives have no fidelity, love is not pure, LD [the leaders, rulers] don’t speak the truth, food is not safe, the environment has no tomorrow, property rights have no guarantees, culture has no outlet, innovation has no market, greed has no limits, ideas have no belief/conviction… Question: Where is this?

WE ARE THE ROBOTS !

Your weekend clip here - WIR SIND DIE ROBOTER (We are the robots) Kraftwerk live at Munich on October 12th 2001 - sound is only so - so but please enjoy & see you next week.
Are they friends of SIRI ?

Greed knows no races !

How nuts / greedy the people are with the iPhone 4S - click here !

A lot of re-sellers have hired guys from Pakistan, India whatever South-East asian decent to line up at the Apple store to grab a maximum of 5 pieces of iPhone 4S. I guess I need to develop another label for posts like this - I will call it HK Greed.
Enjoy that from You Tube:


And here you can see / hear how SIRI works / works not - I have tried it already with some guy in the office who bought a grey market one - if you have an accent SIRI will have difficulties to understand you. But in below video some of the replies from SIRI are really amazing.

Not all the glitter is gold.........

The "famous" Jianlibao drink manufacturer has another "small problem" now. Cans provided to Barcelona Olympic games participants / winners in "pure gold" have been proved to be totally fake.
This one from EASTDAY:
quote
Champions' gold awards 'a fake'
SEVERAL Chinese Olympic champions have agreed to submit gold cans awarded by Guangdong-based soft drinks producer Jianlibao for verification after a judo gold medalist allegedly found her award was a fake.

The champions are seeking compensation from the beverage maker if the gold cans prove to be counterfeit.

Jianlibao awarded every champion with a so-called pure-gold can, weighing 200 grams, after these national heroes returned to China, Chinese Business Morning View reported yesterday.

A gold shop in Shenyang, northeast Liaoning Province, however, said the cans were made from cheap materials and were worth just 50 yuan (US$7.88), after Zhuang Xiaoyan, the gold medalist in the 72kg class judo competition had her can checked.

Zhuang kept her gold can as one of her most treasured things for 19 years before being told her prize was "fake gold," according to Xinhua.

"I had always thought the gold can was the best proof for my professional career. It gave me a lot of confidence in my life during the past 19 years," she told Xinhua.

She said she stored the "gold can" in a bank for three years, costing her over 1,000 yuan a year. When suspicions were raised, she had the can tested, only to be told it was worth less than 100 yuan.

Zhuang contacted Jianlibao but was told she should pursue the problem through "legal procedures."

A source from the Legal Affairs Management of Jianlibao Group told Xinhua that Jianlibao had informed local police, adding that they will look into the "fake gold can" issue.

"We take this case seriously," said Jianlibao assistant manager Chen Weijian.

Jianlibao, whose energy drink was one of the best sellers in China in the 1990s, plunged into crisis in 2005, when poor management and stiff competition from international rivals like Coca-Cola and Pepsi led to a total debt of more than 1 billion yuan (US$157 million).

Li Jingwei, the former group chairman, received a 15-year imprisonment last Wednesday for siphoning 60 million yuan from the company's account. Before that, former Jianlibao president and CEO Zhang Hai was also sentenced 15 years jail time for embezzling public funds in February 2007.

Source:Shanghai Daily

unquote

Here is there Website - just click !

Very lousy & cheap presentation on that website.

 

Here some info about this company - and YES they are from FOSHAN - this seems to turn out a really OUTSTANDING place in China - unfortunately in the negative sense !

 

Jianlibao Group is a soft drink producer based in Foshan, Guangdong, China which was established in 1984. In 1990s, The Jianlibao drink was one of the best sellers in China, on a par with Coca-Cola and Pepsi[1]. However, poor management and stiff competition let to a total debt of more than 1 billion Renminbi yuan (US$121 million) in 2005.
In February 2007, Zhang Hai, former Jianlibao president and CEO, was sentenced 15 years jail time for embezzling public funds after nearly two years of detaining[2].

Something more nice......MUSIC

here is a full Fleetwood Mac docu from the BBC - it is great - just enjoy & have a nice weekend !
Once the part 1 is over you will easily find part 2 etc.

Another story from Foshan !

This Foshan seems to be really a wonderful place with a lot of people there "having a real heart" - please read the below and you can find a related video on chinasmack here.
This one is from THE TELEGRAPH:
quote
China hospital disposes of live baby

A hospital in south China has suspended four medical workers for mistakenly diagnosing a stillbirth and disposing of a baby By Our Foreign Staff

9:04AM GMT 04 Nov 2011

Health authorities in Guangdong province have launched an investigation into the incident on October 26 at the Nanhai Red Cross Hospital in Foshan city, the Beijing News reported.

Liu Dongmei - eight months pregnant - had been rushed to the hospital with internal bleeding and stomach cramps. She later had an emergency birth, but the baby was neither breathing nor crying when it came out and its skin had turned purple, the report said.

Believing it was dead, the medical team disposed of the child but did not follow proper hospital procedures, it added.

When Liu's sister-in-law asked to see the body around 30 minutes after birth, she was handed a yellow plastic bag containing the infant and found it was still alive, said the Foshan News, a local website.

“I opened the plastic bag and saw the baby's hands and feet moving, the stomach was going up and down and air bubbles were coming out of his mouth," the paper quoted her as saying. She was further shocked when she saw the baby was a boy - not a girl as the family had been told, it said.

According to the Foshan News, nurses had told the family the child was a girl in an effort to blunt the blow of its death. In China, baby boys are often viewed as more precious than girls, as many families can have only one child as part of the nation's population policy and desire a male heir.
Following the discovery, the newborn was rushed to intensive care where he remains in stable condition.

Officials at the hospital and Foshan's Nanhai health bureau refused to comment on the incident when contacted by the AFP news agency.
China's healthcare system - once widely praised for improving the health of millions - is now panned as costly, underfunded and providing shoddy treatment, especially in poorer regions.
Liu and her husband are seeking to sue the hospital for 300,000 yuan (£30,000), the Beijing News said.
The head of the maternity ward, a doctor and two nurses have been suspended pending the results of the investigation, it added.
unquote
There are rumours now that this was an organized attempt in baby - selling, just telling the parents the newborn is dead - disposing it somewhere and later let it dissappear - means sell it to somebody !

Not enough yet about disgusting things ?

Here you go ! Just a few weeks ago this has happened in Shanghai - you read below later. Just coming back from a meeting with a good friend (almost 20 years in China now) - we both have agreed on following: The overall attitude of people in the bigger (1st, 2nd & even 3rd tier chinese cities) cities is getting more crazy, disrespectful + simply horrible. And still the "china drunkeness" of foreign "investors", foreign employees etc. seems never to end.
Do you all really know the truth with whom you are dealing with ? Do you ever question about the "business structures"you have to obey to ? Are you sure that this is all safe & "good & honest" business ?
Anyhow here now "enjoy" that nice story about an AUDI driver killing a parking maid in Shanghai rich district Xuhui (this is from here)
quote
 Crazy Audi driver in Xuhui refuses to pay parking fee, kills meter maid.
A 40-year-old man has been apprehended by police after crushing a meter maid to death with his car over a disputed parking fee. The scene unfolded this morning at 10:30am in Xuhui District on Dong'An Road near XieTu Road.
Witnesses (Chinese link) described seeing the man and the meter maid arguing by the side of the road. The man was parked in a fee zone and was attempting to drive away without paying when the meter maid stepped in front of the car in an attempt to force him to stop. The man continued forward regardless, knocking the attendant over and dragging her under the wheels of the car.
Passersby quickly moved to rescue the meter maid by lifting the vehicle off of her, whereupon she was rushed to the hospital, but she died shortly after.
After the incident, the Audi driver got out of the car looking extremely scared, took out his cellphone and walked to the street corner where he was eventually apprehended by police.
In that area of Shanghai, the cost of parking is a paltry 15RMB per hour.

With the recent Li Shuangjiang incident, and the infamous "My Dad is Li Gang" debacle, not to mention scores of other cases, we have to ask: should luxury sedan owners in China be required to undergo regular psychiatric evaluations?
unquote

Huaxi Skyscraper - this is 100% nuts !

Please read this - I do not think that this will be that successful - or am I totally wrong ? And see the video afterwards. This "thing"was opened in early October 2011 - I will follow up on the status of success.
This is from "The Guardian":
quote
Huaxi: the village that towers above China

Until recently, Huaxi was a poor farming community, typical of eastern China. Now, thanks to the ambition of one man, it is a powerhouse symbol of the country's economic expansion, embodied by a giant 328m-tall tower.

An incongruous new sight has risen up in the countryside of eastern China: a skyscraper taller than any building in London or Tokyo, topped by what looks very much like a giant, golden disco ball. The 328-metre supertower, which juts out of the Jiangsu plains like a trophy on an empty shelf, will be opened on Saturday by the village of Huaxi, a communist model community with a registered population of just 2,000 "farmers".
Having been built up to the heavens during a period of global economic collapse, the megatower will be heralded as the latest symbol of China's extraordinary economic expansion. But this bizarre new addition to the landscape also speaks volumes about the land pressures, environmental stress, inequality and rash investment that threaten the country's long-term growth.
The skyscraper will primarily be used as a gourmet dining hall and luxury hotel. Though many of those who live in its shadow earn less than £10 a day, there is no attempt to hide the wealth gap. From a gold leaf-covered reception to a 60th floor inlaid with genuine flakes of gold, the building exudes wealth and excess. Its proudest feature is a one-tonne, solid gold statue of an ox, said to be worth 300m yuan (£31m).
The mega-statistics do not stop there. With 826 bedrooms and dining facilities for 5,000 guests – including southern China's biggest banquet hall – there is almost enough space to accommodate and feed all of the original village residents at a single sitting.
It is the brainchild of Wu Renbao, the driving force behind Huaxi's 40-year transition from a small village to a multibillion-dollar conglomerate with interests in steel, shipping, tobacco and textiles. By turns a communist dictator, capitalist entrepreneur and self-help guru, the 84-year-old is among China's most colourful characters. He is praised for turning Huaxi into one of the richest villages in China and enriching the original residents with annual shares, dividends and free overseas trips. He is also criticised for turning the community into a family fiefdom, in which workers get no holidays and his relatives get the best posts.
He has created a hierarchy largely determined by closeness to the Wu clan. Those from the original 2,000 Huaxi families are at the top of the pyramid. Next come the 35,000 residents from neighbouring villages that have been swallowed up by Huaxi's expansion. At the bottom are 20,000 newly arrived migrants, who provide labour for the factories on 12-hour shifts without weekend breaks. The monthly salaries of 3,000 yuan (£310) are better than average for low-skilled labour in China, but it is hardly a worker's paradise.
Wu is undoubtedly Huaxi's greatest draw. Coachloads of visitors – mostly cadres and retirees – turn up to listen to the 10.30am lecture he delivers every day in a village auditorium that has been decked out to resemble the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. His close connections to the central government ensure supportive policies – for example, planning permission to build a 72-storey skyscraper in an area where the next-biggest building in less than 20 floors tall. Wu says he looked to the mega-cities of the Middle East for inspiration. "This tower is my idea," the patriarch says in such a thick local accent that the interpreter needs an interpreter. "We learned from Dubai, but taking into account our domestic situation, we decided the height should be 328m. Why 328m? Because that is as tall as the highest building in Beijing." Chinese culture loads numbers with significance: 32 is associated with business and eight represents prosperity.
As village officials also proudly note in the invitation to the opening ceremony: "There are 209 countries that lack such a tall building." That includes the UK. Even the Shard London Bridge – which will be the tallest building in the EU when it is completed next year – is 18m shorter than Huaxi's new village centre.
Even for those used to the speed and scale of change in China, this is astonishing. The last time I visited Huaxi in 2005, it was building a cluster of giant pagodas, which then appeared outlandishly large compared to everything else in the village. Today, those same pagodas barely register in comparison to the supertower beside them, which pulsates in all the colours of the rainbow when night falls.
It is a tacky but impressive reminder of how far the village has come since the Mao era. That message is reinforced at the village museum, where old propaganda footage shows farmers breaking rocks, labouring in the fields and living in small, unfurnished homes. It is also evident in the small park, which preserves Wu's first factory, a whitewashed, single-storey building.
"We used to have a very difficult life. We lived in a thatched shed, ate bran and had nothing in our pockets," recalls Wu, whose message can be distilled to a drive for GDP growth. "I think it will never be wrong to expand the economy and make ordinary people rich. In our opinion, that is the priority."
This approach has worked for decades and never more so than during the past seven years, when Huaxi's sales have increased fivefold. But the skyscraper is a towering indicator that business as usual is no longer working. The 3.5bn yuan (£360m) investment is designed to attract tourists and new business to Huaxi as it attempts the leap from dirty industrial centre to an ecologically friendly service sector economy.
In making the transition from third-world village to first-world skyscraper, Huaxi is in many ways a microcosm of China. But the next step will be harder as it tries to cope with the declining competitiveness of its core industry, the inflated cost of land and worries about the environment. In this case, an even wider comparison can be drawn: like the global economy, Huaxi may be bumping up against limits to growth.
Until recently, the village earned half of its income from the iron and steel industry. But today, this has fallen to less than a third. This collapse is due to rising material costs, the expansion of rival firms and falling demand both overseas and in China. "This is the worst situation I have experienced," says Yang Yongchang, who has been general manager of the Jiangyin Huaxi Iron and Steel Company for eight years. "It will get worse in the future. People in this industry are panicking." He says Huaxi is planning to move the factory so it can reinvent itself as a tourist resort and commodities-trading hub. "We're trying to build an ecological village that looks like a forest garden," he says.
The costs of fast, dirty, old-style economic growth can no longer be ignored. Wu Yunfang, the head of environmental affairs in the local communist party, says the village has recently shut down five chemical and textile factories that once used to discharge pollutants into the local Changjiagang river. She estimates the value of the lost production at 150m yuan (£15m), which adds up to a significant environment bill along with the 350m yuan (£36m) spent on emissions scrubbing and wastewater treatment.
Territorial expansion is also becoming more expensive. In the past two decades, Huaxi swallowed 12 neighbouring villages as its industry and influence sprawled outwards. It is not officially a merger. The official terminology is that the villages are "united under Huaxi", but the reality is far more like a corporate takeover. Huaxi paid an annual fee to the surrounding villages and in return it gained control of economic management, land use decisions, labour issues and political appointments.
The loss of independence is worthwhile, according to Zhang Zhongxian, the former head of Xixiang village, who is now working for Huaxi's labour federation. Since his community was subsumed by Huaxi in 2002, Zhang estimates that average annual incomes have more than tripled, welfare for the elderly and disabled has improved and homes and roads have been upgraded. "In five to 10 years, we will be where Huaxi is now," Zhang says. "Many other villagers want to join. Even some from other provinces."
But land costs have risen dramatically. Huaxi's village chief, Wu Xie'en – the son of Wu Renbao – said this was a major factor in the decision to build the tower, which has been dubbed "a village in the air". "With the completion of this building, we can save a vast expanse of land. In China, the trend now is to build tall because the more the economy develops, the more space is needed. Where is the space for China in the future? We must look to the sky." The party secretary says he wants to turn the "city village" of Huaxi into a Shangri-la. "My father made people rich. Now I want to make them healthy and happy," he says.
The tower seems an odd way to do this. But the Wus argue that they have succeeded over the years by anticipating changes in the economic wind and gambling big on the outcome. They are trying again this time. Just in case, the outside world fails to notice, Huaxi has invited the international media to the village's 50th anniversary celebration on Saturday, when its skyscraper will be officially unveiled. To give visitors a better view, villagers have started a helicopter business – a first step in a planned expansion into commercial aviation and high-end tourism.
If anywhere in China can find new areas of economic expansion it is Huaxi. But even with the political connections and business nous, it is hard to imagine that the village will reinvent itself as a tourist centre – particularly given the advanced age of the retired party secretary who is its main attraction.
But Huaxi has proved its doubters wrong in the past. Ahead of the opening of their new skyscraper, the mood on the streets was optimistic. In the evening, locals, neighbours and migrants gather to dance on the village square, a huge expanse of concrete between 15-storey pagodas that pulsate pink, blue, green and yellow. One migrant labourer from the steel factory, who declined to give his name, said the tower would help the economy and create new opportunities. "Nobody would invest so much money in something that wasn't sure to be a success, right?"
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Chinese Men...............

seems to be a very special species: Especially if they are so-called officials of whatever small county, village etc. They have power and they abuse it: Taking advantages (bribes) whenever possible, being corrupt in the real meaning of this word. Besides this surely heavy drinking, big mouth attitude, cheating on their wives & families, beating others - simply said: They are above any law (in their idea / mind-set). Mostly they get in trouble because of some whistleblowing of envy, greedy compagnions or of the CCTV footage (which is almost everywhere in China) catching them during "action".
This one is from March this year - quite brutal. The guy in the red jacket is the security staff at this hotel.
Please read and then see the video by the CCTV of that hotel.
Yibin County [Sichuan province] group of men beating women exposed by surveillance camera, perpetrator suspected of being deputy captain of the traffic police. (This is the guy in black with the bag at his shoulder).
Truly completely lawless, barbaric, outrageous!!! Quoted from a discussion forum: They were caught off guard and completely amazed, subconsciously protecting themselves: “Why are you touching me? We are good girls, not out to sell ourselves.” The other party arrogantly replied: “So what if I touched you?” … Ultimately, it escalated into this scene.




update on the below: The said guy with the bag on his shoulder, the so-called "deputy captain of the traffic police"- it seems he rather tried to ease the trouble - he did not beat anybody - at least not seen on this CCTV footage. But it seems he is hanging around with the wrong kind of people.

And here a few days ago:
Female cadre uses real name to report being raped by county Disabled Persons’ Federation Chairman while drunk
Summary: Recently, Sichuan Pengan County a female Safety Supervision Bureau cadre using her real name claimed online that around noon on October 19th, she and the local Administration of Work Safety Deputy Director Zhang Sen and Pengan County Disabled Persons’ Federation Chairman Liu Xiquan were drinking together and after she became drunk, the two men carried her into a hotel then Li Xiquan raped her. In response, officials have expressed that they will seriously investigate this matter and at present, the relevant individuals involved have already been suspended and are under investigation.

Unofficial Translation Of China's New Social Insurance Rules For Foreigners

Please read this - be aware that after reading you make yourself sure if you are employed as a so-called "expat"in China - you better discuss this with your boss asap. They will push this law through & will take good care that ALL IS PAID PROPERLY ! Just imagine you are 35 years old and on your assignment from your company (lets say US, Aussie, French or Italy) in your company China office.
Better discuss a new salary asap with your boss. And all that you PAY IN you will get out when ? Yes if you choose to retire in China 30 years later ? If you leave earlier ? Better consider this money is gone - once the money is in China Man pocket it is very difficult to get it out of China Man pocket. Believe it or not - oh yes the law says you can get out a "lump sum" - Good luck ! Simply this whole law is an attempt to force out foreign managers, staff, experts etc. Take it that way !
quote
The following is an unofficial translation of China’s new interim measures covering foreign participation in China’s social insurance system by Jun He Law Offices in Shanghai:
Interim Measures for the Participation inSocial Insurance by Foreigners Employed in China

Article 1

The present Measures are formulated in accordance with the SocialInsurance Law of the People’s Republic of China (hereinafter the “Social Insurance Law”) in order to protect the lawful rights and interests of foreigners employed in China to lawfully participate in social insurance and receive social insurance benefits, and to strengthen social insurance administration.

Article 2

Foreigners employed in China shall refer to people who are not of Chinese nationality but are lawfully employed in China, and have obtained foreign resident permits and employment authorization, including Work Permits for Foreigners, Foreign Expert Certificates, Certificates of Resident Foreign
Correspondent, or hold a Permanent Resident Certificate for Foreigners.

 Article 3

Foreigners who are legally employed by organizations, including enterprises, public institutions, social organizations, privately-owned non-enterprise entities, foundations, law firms, and accounting firms, that are legally registered in China (hereinafter “Employing Units”) shall according to law participate in basic pension insurance for employees, basic medical insurance for employees,
occupational injury insurance, unemployment insurance and maternity insurance.
Employing Units and the foreigners shall pay social insurance premiums in accordance with regulations.
Foreigners who enter into employment contracts with employers outside of China and are dispatched to work in branches or representative offices registered in China (hereinafter “Domestic Work Units”) shall participate in basic pension insurance for employees, basic medical insurance for employees, occupational injury insurance, unemployment insurance and maternity insurance in accordance with law. Domestic Work Units and the foreigners shall pay social insurance premiums in accordance
with regulations.

Article 4

Employing Units that employ foreigners shall make social insurance registrations for the foreigners within 30 days of the handling of their employment authorizations.
Domestic Work Units shall make social insurance registrations for foreigners who are dispatched by employers outside of China to work in such Domestic Work Units in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph.
Government agencies handling employment authorization for foreigners in accordance with law shall timely report to the local social insurance agencies of relevant information concerning employment of foreigners in China. Social insurance agencies shall make regular inquiries with relevant government agencies regarding the status of foreigners applying for employment authorization.

Article 5

Foreigners who participate in social insurance shall be entitled to social insurance benefits if they satisfy the prescribed conditions. Where a foreigner departs from China prior to reaching the age stipulated to draw a pension, his/her personal social insurance accounts will be retained, and his/her
social insurance contribution periods can be calculated cumulatively when he/she re-enters and is employed in China. If a foreigner applies in writing to terminate his/her social insurance relationship, the social insurance agencies may also pay the foreigner the amount deposited in his/her personal social insurance accounts in one lump sum.

Article 6

 In case of a foreigner’s death, the amount remained in his/her personal social insurance account can be legally inherited.

Article 7

Foreigners who receive monthly social insurance benefits outside of China shall provide at least annually a survival certificate, as issued by a Chinese embassy or consulate, or notarized by a competent entity and legalized by a Chinese embassy or consulate in their resident countries, to the social insurance agencies responsible for paying their social insurance benefits.
Where a foreigner lawfully enters China, he/she may prove his/her survival status personally before social insurance agencies, and thus no longer provide survival certificates as prescribed in the preceding paragraph.

Article 8

If any dispute arises between a foreigner legally participating in social insurance and his/her Employing Unit or Domestic Work Unit in respect of social insurance, the foreigner may apply for mediation, arbitration or file a lawsuit in accordance with law. If the Employing Unit or the Domestic Work Unit infringes upon his/her rights and interests in social insurance, the foreigner may also request the administrative department of social insurance or the agencies responsible for collecting social insurance premiums for handling in accordance with law.

Article 9

For foreigners employed in China who are nationals of countries that have entered into bilateral or multilateral treaties relating to social insurance with China, their participation in social insurance shall be handled in accordance with such treaties. {REMARK: This is only valid for the moment for South Korea & Germany}

Article 10

Social insurance agencies shall create social insurance numbers for foreigners and issue social insurance cards of the People’s Republic of China to foreigners in accordance with the Social Insurance Numbering Rules for Foreigners.

Article 11

Social insurance administrative departments shall supervise and inspect the status of foreigners’ participation in social insurance in accordance with the Social Insurance Law. Any Employing Unit or Domestic Work Unit failing to lawfully make social insurance registrations or pay social insurance premiums for foreigners that they employ shall be subject to the Social Insurance Law, Social Insurance Supervision Regulation and other laws, administrative regulations and relevant rules.
Employing Units who employ foreigners without obtaining employment authorization in accordance with law or not holding a Permanent Resident Certificate for Foreigners shall be subject to the Administrative Provisions on Employment of Foreigners in China.

Article 12

The present Measures shall become effective on October 15, 2011
unquote

I am sure that now you understand everything - isn't it ? Be aware heavy penalties will be imposed on those who do not obey the law !

This one via chinaSMACK regarding Yue Yue

even if there is the side-bar link I just copy this one here- also some interesting links inside - please read:

Yueyue: A Tragedy of 3 Seconds & Flawed Heroism

by Christine H. Tan on Sunday, October 30, 2011

Two weeks have passed since a little girl named Yueyue was struck by two vehicles and left to die in Foshan, Guangdong. We know the details: two drivers fled the scene, and numerous passersby ignored a child in pain. Kindness arrived too late in the form of a scrap peddler who pulled her up and went searching for help. Yueyue passed away from systemic organ failure eight days later.
As an outsider, it is far too easy to thumb our noses at this new example of a nasty, immoral Chinese society. The Yueyue tragedy has already encouraged many of my overseas Chinese friends to turn their backs on China. Many of us have a tenuous relationship with the part China plays in our Chineseness, and Yueyue’s case is ‘proof’ that this is an alien world. While proud to be ethnically Chinese, we wonder whether our values and traditions, inherited from forefathers who left China a century ago, have much to do with China’s society today. Friends have rolled their eyes at my decision to come to China to discover my roots; to them, those roots are planted in my great-grandparents’ home in southern Malaysia, not in a country that apparently ignores injured children. ”Come home,” someone told me. “We’re afraid you’re going to grow a cold heart the longer you stay there.”
I haven’t jumped onboard the “us Chinese versus them Chinese” train. Though I’ve had unsettling experiences in China, these haven’t been enough for me to condemn this whole nation to an evil, inhumane “them.” There is this thing in the air that feels like ‘cold apathy’ to an outsider, but to the local Chinese is just a sense of ‘can’t make it my business or else.’ I don’t think there’s anything cruel about it. Blame the Cultural Revolution. Blame a Nanjing judge and compensation laws. Blame hopelessness. Blame fear.
You may call me an apologist, though for what, I’m not quite sure. For not wanting to condemn all of China based on this incident? Not wanting to hate Chinese citizens for this culture of fear that I may never understand? Even good people can be wary of stepping in to stop another’s suffering. There’s so much fear here, fear that goes in many directions — don’t want to meddle, don’t want to get in trouble, don’t want to be blamed, don’t want to regret helping — but there’s no desire to be responsible for creating pain and suffering in the first place.
The horror of a three-second decision
As I watched the horrific video of Yueyue in Foshan, my strongest emotions weren’t directed at the many people who rushed past her. To me, those people weren’t evil. They were unkind and unwilling to put another before themselves, but not evil. They hadn’t caused her pain, and their only crime was complete submission to cowardice. Nor did I feel anger at the second van that ran her over. At the steady speed he was going, I assumed he didn’t realize that he’d run over a child.
Instead, the most damning and damaging moment that has stayed with me, the complete horror of it all, are the three seconds when the driver of the first van pauses with Yueyue between his front and rear wheels. He then proceeds to intentionally cause the toddler additional pain and suffering by stepping on the gas.
Those few seconds changed everything. They transformed him from a humane being into a murderous creature. They transformed Yueyue from an injured girl into a crushed mess after the whole weight of the van was slowly applied across her upper torso for the second time. It took three seconds for her to become a mangled body, the back tires of the van seeming to crunch her up and spit her out, leaving behind a devastating trail of blood so noticeable, so slick, even in the grainy CCTV footage. In those three seconds, the incident morphed from an honest mistake into cruel murder.
After watching that, I was too numb to feel anything much for those 18 passersby.
In the shit-storm following the video’s release, rage has been focused on those who did nothing. As stated in this Telegraph article, “It is not the accident itself, but what happens next – or rather does not happen – that has left millions of ordinary Chinese wondering where their country is heading.” But while we’re asking all those worthwhile questions about Good Samaritans, and in some quarters arguing over whether mainland Chinese and overseas Chinese are inherently different, perhaps we shouldn’t lose sight of something else – Yueyue may not have needed to be saved by those 18 passersby if the rear wheels of that first van had never touched her body, if the driver had paused…and kept pausing. Maybe we should be examining the accident itself — what it is that made one van driver cold enough, bold enough, and perhaps scared enough to make a decision that, in three seconds, changed the life of one little girl forever.
Chen Xianmei: A flawed hero
In a story this heartbreaking, we’ve needed a hero to cling to. Chen Xianmei, the scrap peddler who dragged Yueyue off the road, has become that celebrated savior, because she was the only passerby who tried to DO SOMETHING.
However, it feels like a taboo to suggest that she may have helped in the wrong way. Not many commenters have pointed out that she likely did not do Yueyue any good by initially moving her into an upright position.
“She can’t sit up on her own!” I wanted to cry as I watched the footage. The video clearly shows Yueyue’s torso flopping over and collapsing when Chen Xianmei pulls her up by the arms and lets go; it’s as if the little girl has been severed in half. Yueyue is then picked up and carried away by her frantic mother. These scenes made me wince. Elsewhere, in a different place and under different circumstances, our hero (and the child’s mother) might not be hailed for saving Yueyue, but rebuked for exacerbating already severe internal injuries.
What a sad situation. We had people unwilling to be Good Samaritans, and a Good Samaritan whose first move was probably not in the child’s best interest, through no fault of her own. Chen Xianmei was absolutely right to do something. But it was heartbreaking to see that the only person who would stop to help, was unable to judge that the child was much too bloodied and injured to be moved in that manner.
In early September, the Health Ministry issued a detailed manual on how to help the elderly if they fall. The document was widely ridiculed online, especially because it was issued at around the same time as another Good Samaritan failure. But one of its recommendations was not to move the injured, which is sound advice however dismissively one may view the manual and other guidelines like it.
There is so much discussion out there about morality. But let’s not only focus on whether to be a Good Samaritan; we have to know how to do so in a way that minimizes injury. A nation of Chinese citizens moving, rolling, and lifting internally bleeding victims can be just as disastrous as standing by and doing nothing. Let’s talk about that, instead of creating these archetypes of demons (the evil 18 Chinese bystanders) and angels (simple, kind-hearted scrap peddler), and nonsense accusing Chen Xianmei of seeking fame. The only criticism of her should be that this kind woman didn’t know a better way to help the little girl.
A different form of this article originally appeared on Shanghai Shiok!

Update: Primary One Admissions

First please see here a link here for your info:
Click here to see all existing DSS schools in Hong Kong (Primary & Secondary)

After attending another interview with my son on Saturday we heard from a mother of one of his classmates following statement:
"Oh he has already been admitted to 2 of the schools + one 2nd interview"
Second interview means that you are 80% in !
The mother then told us she surely registered already for both of the ones her boy has been admitted already. I almost wanted to beat her  - because:
1 kid here is blocking 2 seats (only releasing them in last minute next year) - because in the end he can only go to 1 SCHOOL (as much as my math is good). Under consideration that all the application this family has filed was a favourite place for her son - now you tell me why they are holding an extra of 2 places - for what ?
I am safe to say there are many families doing the same as described before:
Holding several admissions in their hands & not willing to give up some of them until last minute - even they pay several 100 HKD registration fee for each of the schools they have been admitted to.
How to call this ? Show off to friends, relatives & others: My kid is so good - getting 2 admissions already.
Please do not forget: Much more are failing the applications / interviews than being successful - that is why I personally find this kind of behaviour totally unacceptable.

No regulation on this kind of behaviour from Education Dept.
Besides this, the son of the above family is 8 months older than my son - means he is 8 months more mature, which makes a big difference in that age.
When my son will start P1 next year he will be 6 + 2 months - the other boy will be 6 + 9 months - I am very sure this guy is much smarter today in this so-called "interviews" than my son is.
So many things are "over-regulated"in Hong Kong: You can not sit here, you can not sit there, you cannot have a seat outside a restaurant (btw: what happened in Stanley - no more OUTDOORS seating ?) - but this P1 admission no regulation at all ?

Anything ever heard about this in a so-called POLICY ADDRESS - I cannot remember.
Have a nice week ahead !

Primary One Admissions in Hong Kong - Is my son stupid ?

I was thinking a long time about if I really should post this. But I am really up-set with the Hong Kong system how to get your kids into Primary 1.
My son is now 5 and a few months old - he needs a Primary 1 admission for the school year 2012/2013.
Since weeks we are doing applications for so-called DSS schools here in Hong Kong. My son is a mix - I am a "gweilo" - the mother is HK chinese - mother tongue cantonese & very good mandarin + very good english.
My sons first language is english, his mandarin is developing, his cantonese is "playground - level".
He can read english since more than 10 months - surely with some flaws when the words are too complicate or unknown to him. He recently was reading the content of a "Letter of Credit" to me when he was in our office for a visit.
So as all parents in Hong Kong need to suffer the same system I do not want to complain about the procedure - but I want to complain about the system in general for applying Primary 1 admission at so- called DSS schools.
Info here
These schools are in the middle between the real public schools + private (international) schools.
Means monthly fee can be between HKD 1,500 - 5,000 (approximately - do not challenge me on this).
So if you want your kid to get admitted into one of this DSS schools you normally need to do following:
1) Make an application with a lot of copies (HK Id, birth certificate, latest kindergarten reports, some even ask for proof of your address via CLP or Towngas bill) - surely plus application fee between HKD 20 - HKD 150 - non-refundable.
2) In average you can say maximum seats for Primary 1 is no more than 150 per DSS School. Some schools have more than 3,000 applications for this 150 seats.
3) Then your kid needs to go to have an interview in each of the schools you have applied for. Funnily in the peak time interviews in some of the schools are conducted on the same days. My boy had a record of 5 interviews in 3 days !
4) What they are doing in the interviews is completely not clear - what they are asking - and how they are choosing winners & loosers out of a few hundred or thousands is completely a BIG SECRET.
5) And then you have to wait for the result mainly getting admitted for a 2nd interview - if you get this you are already lucky.
6) In between you better file the application for the public - means government schools POA (Primary One Admission) - to at least have a "back-up" if your kid is not successful for the DSS schools you have applied for.
7) The whole process is going over months until you are clear if your kid made it into one of the DSS schools you have applied for or not.

Hong Kong parents can be very ambitious with their kids: In queuing up at one school to get into the interview hall some "drilled 5-year old in a suit with a bow was very noisily calling his Daddy on the mobile and really asked him: "What again was the name of the first astronaut" ?

Another point is following: With so many applications for each DSS school and so little seats for each of them, most have to "fail" - but others will suddenly hold a choice of 3 - 4 different schools to send their kid into. And they are holding back their decisions for a long time which school to choose - means they are blocking with one kid the place for 2 or 3 other kids which can move up on a so called waiting - list.

Why there is not a system synching the results from school to school & asking the parents to make their decisions within a certain (short) period after they were getting the green light from several schools.

In case my son will fail all 10 applications (4 he failed already) we need to wait until next year May to try some "begging" to some of the failed schools as then some seats are getting vacant because parents with multiply choice of schools have stepped out.

Why parents having their kids already in ESF schools (they start one year earlier) are still allowed to participate in "the race" ? I know several cases doing like this.

Also I feel there is still some racist elements in deciding for admissions. Why a school with a curriculum 100% in English needs to conduct interview with the kids also in Cantonese ?

Why some principal of some of this schools even has a more worse english intonation / expression as my son ? And he still get rejected !

The system is completely unbalanced and completely not fair.

Oh yes - please consider we are talking about children 5+ years old - need to go to interviews - like applying for position of CEO of a Fortune 500 company.
Sometimes they just want to play and have fun.
Our adult-driven success - money - hectic - stress-  life - competition - do they really need to adopt to this already that young ? My son has refused inside several interviews (as far as he could really tell us) - just saying "I don't know" - so what is the REAL CRITERIA to get selected for the school ?
They need to be able to read in 2 languages - count - do some maths - talk about science - about economics & the world politics - are we sure this is exactly what a 5 year old plus a few months is really deeply interested in ? I always thought learning reading / counting etc starts with school only ..... surely now in the KINDERGARTEN they can learn already some basics which is good.
But how perfect our kids here in Hong Kong must be to just manage to get a P1 seat ?

Being obedient already during the interview ?
Being a "drilled smart interview expert".
Having parents filling out several pages of questionnaire the school is asking for ? I have seen parents adding several pages to that paper (maybe they think the more they write the better the chances of their kid).

They are just innocent kids !
So how much pressure we need to give them to be successful ?
Do they really understand what is this all good for ? I have deep doubts.

And last not least:
Do they "google" the names of applicants parents esp. if one is a "gweilo" ? Then I have "bad cards" as my real name was released by AP (Associated Press) a few years ago - do they judge on this ?

If you need details about schools procedures please feel free to contact me.

Here we go again: Crazy driving killing again a kid in a very cruel way !

Who knows China & ever been travelling in cities by car or even better on highways or roads knows it:
Chinese driving skills / knowledge are below 0 for 90% of all the drivers. Crazy speeding, crazy lane changing, no distance keeping, aggressive driving in general: THE ROAD IS MINE - DO NOT GET INTO MY WAY !
Penalty system is weak - non - existing, traffic police can be easily bribed - result almost 80,000 dead only by traffic accidents each year - figures rising. So whenever you have to think about traveling in China - if you can take a train - better take a train - dont rely on the crazy drivers.
Here another sad story happened a few days ago -this one is from the shanghaiist
In wake of Yueyue's passing, another child-death tragedy strikes in Sichuan

Luzhou Evening News brings us a report from October 20 that in Luding County, Sichuan Province, Luzhou City, a truck knocked down a five-year-old child returning home from school, causing the child to die on the spot. Luzhou citizens have claimed the accident was actually cold-blooded murder.
The victim, five year old Xiong Maoke, was still in kindergarten. His mother recounted the horror of what happened, eyes red with tears. After school, 11 am, Xiong Maoke and several children left to go home whereupon they were involved in what appeared to be a simple accident.
Zhang Shifen witnessed the accident. "I saw the truck coming, the children were walking by the side of the road, not in the street." Zhang Shifen recalls the truck didn't hit Xiong Maoke directly, but rather cuffed his ear. "He fell, but after being knocked over, immediately stood up again and bent over to pick up his umbrella. "
The next scene left Zhang speechless, "I saw the truck move back a little and then move forward again, Xiong Maoke became wrapped up in the wheel, and then the truck continued forward another 10 meters." Zhang Shifen said she was standing behind the truck, and clearly saw a child under the wheels had been badly mutilated. She shouted at the driver, "What are you doing? Will you stop!" The driver stopped, got out, swore, and turned away.
He then asked, "How much should I pay?"
The driver, Ao Yong, 35, denies he stopped the truck the first time Xiong Maoke was hit. He refuses to talk about his behavior after the accident, but maintains, "I will compensate them (the family members) however much they want."
Police are investigating the incident and are working with the driver and villagers to ascertain what transpired and whether or not it was an accident or something more sinister.
For witnesses and friends of Xiong Maoke's family, this "accident" was a deliberate child murder as brutal and heartless as the death of Yueyue that gripped the nation and the world earlier this week.
In the Yueyue case, the driver who ran her over was infamously quoted as saying "If she is dead, I may pay only about 20,000 yuan ($3,125). But if she is injured, it may cost me hundreds of thousands yuan."

Some deeper thoughts........about MORAL !

this one comes from the ASIA TIMES ONLINE - please read carefully:
SUN WUKONG
Little Yueyue and China's moral road
By Wu Zhong, China Editor
HONG KONG - "What has happened to our morality?" "Where are our hearts of sympathy?" "How come we could ever become even more cruel and hard-hearted than cold-blooded animals?" These were questions being asked by outraged Chinese media and bloggers over a recent incident hit-and-run incident which saw bystanders indifferently walk past a toddler who was struck by a van, only for the child to be hit by a second vehicle.
The incident happened on October 13 in Foshan city in southern Guangdong, the richest province in China, and was captured by a surveillance camera. The footage was aired by the province's Southern Television Guangdong (TVS) and posted last Saturday on the Chinese video site Youku, drawing around 2 million views and thousands of comments on that site alone.

The footage shows a two-and-a-half-year-old girl hit and run over by a large white van while walking down a street in a market district of Foshan. About six minutes later, another passing van runs her over again. During the interval, at least 18 people walk by without helping her. Finally last an elderly trash collector comes to her aid, moving her to a side of the street and calling her mother.
According to Xinhua, doctors say the girl, Yueyue, from a rural migrant workers' family, is brain dead and surviving on life support in a deep coma. Police said the drivers of both vehicles have been arrested. [1]

"I was picking up trash in the hardware market when I saw a child lying in the road. I walked up in a hurry to the girl and heard her groan, " said trash collector Chen Xianmei. "I lifted her up and saw that one of her eyes was closed, that she had tears in her eyes, and she was bleeding from her mouth, nose and the back of her head.

"I wanted to carry her but she was soft and collapsed immediately. I was scared to try again and so I dragged her to the side of the road and shouted for help. But nobody showed up," Chen was quoted in Yangcheng Evening News as saying. Chen asked a few nearby shopkeepers who the girl was and only heard "I don't know" in reply. [2]
The apathy of the bystanders and people in the neighborhood has shocked the public, with media commentators and netizens seething over an incident that raises questions about the morality and conscience of today's China.
"[Ancient Chinese thinker] Mencius said, 'The heart of sympathy is essential to man.' What has made us so apathetic?... Lack of sympathy is a moral disaster facing us all … Let us all ask ourselves if we had passed by the scene, how many of us would have stopped to help the girl?" wrote a commentary on Chongqing Times.

It went on to blame the system for a lack of mechanisms that support good deeds. "Our current system is obviously in an embarrassing status: corruption continues to run wild and evil people enjoy privileges, scandals with charity organizations such as the Red Cross stop people from donating to help the needy. [3] All this certainly shakes up the beliefs of kind-hearted people."

Others have linked the absence of good Samaritans to a previous court ruling in Tianjin. There, a man who said he'd helped an elderly woman who had fell on the street was accused by the old lady and her family of knocking her down. The court ordered the man to pay a huge compensation and his appeal is now awaiting a higher court's ruling.
 
However, a commentary on Guangzhou-based Information Times says it is unfair to blame the law. "Everyone saw clearly that the girl was run over by vans. No passers-by could possibly be wronged by her parents. Despite the circumstances, still no one would even just make an emergency call. We believe all viewers of the footage have passed down their judgment on those passers-by."
"The trash-collecting lady has given us a most vivid lesson. How have our people have become so apathetic? It is evident that we must strengthen our morals."
A signed article in the China Youth Daily wrote that fears of liability are not an adequate excuse for not helping, and that this case exposes a decline of humanity in Chinese society.

The Foshan incident is by no means an isolated case of moral decline.

On September 2, an 88-year-old man collapsed in Hubei in central China, his face striking the pavement. No one came to his aid though he law on a crowded street for about 90 minutes, and he ended up choking to death on the blood from his nose. [4]
 
Several days ago at a high school in Changchun in northeast China, basketball-playing students began fight. One of them phoned his parents for help. Their parents, local rich business people, rushed to the scene with dozens of men armed with big knives. The mother shouted: "Let's hit them. Afterwards I'll pay for their medical treatment." One of the students was stabbed more than a dozen times and later died in hospital.
"What great hatred had the parents towards that student? Why did they want his death? What happened to the traditional Chinese virtue of 'extend my love of my children to others' children'?" said a commentary on Chongqing Times.

Netizens are now calling for a good Samaritan law that would protect people who intervene in such incidents from legal repercussions. But legislation may not be enough. For instance, it offers no solution cases such as Changchun stabbing.
For more meaningful results, society has to take a hard look at the spread of money worship in the past three decade. It is money that has eaten away at people's sympathy and caused moral decline in Chinese society.
Chongqing party chief Bo Xilai, now trying to restore Mao-style ideological education in his jurisdiction, earlier said, "Our younger generations seem to know only about making money. This will put our country in jeopardy."

But what can the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) do now Pandora's box has been opened? Whether the blood of little Yueyue is the last shed to awaken the conscience of Chinese society is a question to be answered by the CCP, its government and the whole of Chinese society.
Notes
1. Apathy toward injured child sparks public outcry in China, Xinhua, Oct 17, 2011. click here
2. Mother testifies to good character of rescuer, China Daily, Oct 18, 2011. click here
3. China's state-run NGOs in graft spotlight, Asia times Online, Aug 3, 2011.click here
4. Death in Hubei sparks debate on ethics, China Daily, September 5. click here