Society

2021 has already proven to be a year of serious historical events, but that does not mean it lacks whimsy.  Here are three of the quirkiest stories from China to start this year.  The tale of a celebrity pig This swine has been through everything, surviving the odds to become a national icon and a sign of Chinese resilience after being buried alive for more than a month in the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Now, 12 years on, fans of ‘Zhu Jianqiang’ meaning ‘Strong Pig’ are cheering for the survival of the country’s favorite porker, at least until after the Chinese New Year celebrations in February are over. Entering old age, Zhu is struggling to pull her weight and stand without help, spending da

Uncle Roger, who rose to fame by roasting a BBC rice-making video, deleted a video about dumplings because it featured an outspoken critic of China’s government.  Now, social media users have lashed out at the internet celebrity, whose real name is Nigel Ng, saying he “sacrificed his morality” to cater to his Chinese fans. The video, called “Uncle Roger Reviews Ugliest Dumpling Ever,” was in collaboration with YouTuber Mike Chen, who often criticizes Chinese government policies.  The video criticizes a dumpling recipe and does not contain any political commentary.  Just 24 hours after posting it on Monday, Ng had removed the clip and posted an apology to Weibo – China’s Twitter – saying the

A Chinese company’s new video advertisement for women’s makeup remover wipes has been savagely panned by online critics, forcing the ad to be pulled and the company apologizing twice. Purcotton, owned by Winner Medical Co., released the video last week on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, showing a young girl scaring off a would-be attacker with her naked makeup-free face after using the cleansing wipes. The 26-second video ad was pulled after online users denounced it as “demonizing” female sexual assault victims. The offending ad showed a young woman walking down a street at night followed by a masked man. As the stalker gets closer, the woman pulls out a cleansing wipe to quickly re

Crazy Rich Asians was a global sensation for its fictional portrayal of Singapore's one-percenters.  Now, a new show on Netflix wants to follow real-life Crazy Rich Asians. Named Bling Empire, the reality show is set to premiere on the streaming service on January 15. The series shows the shenanigans of wealthy Asian-American and Asian frenemies living the high life in Los Angeles. Expect over-the-top parties, fabulous clothes, glamorous escapades and major drama. Here's a look at four key players in the show. Christine Chiu         View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by Christine Alexandra Chiu (@christine_chiu88) Chiu is a high fashion afici

A Chinese woman canceled her marriage and is getting divorced in a classic example of a storm in a D-cup. The woman in the southwestern Chinese province of Guizhou became enraged after her husband’s traditional wedding gift of lingerie was two sizes too small. The pair had been legally married but were holding a belated celebration for friends and family. They had been in a relationship for about three years.  The bride’s dumping of her husband for the unforgivable faux pas played out during a social media video of the wedding party host revealing details of the party’s cancellation and the family’s fury. The video has since gone viral with netizens showing overwhelming support for the brid

A Chinese employee has complained of feeling “naked at work” after discovering that bosses were collecting data from her posterior without her knowledge. The administration employee, Wang, who worked for Hangzhou-based, high-tech company, Hebo Technology in China’s eastern Zhejiang province, was shocked and upset to learn that the ‘smart cushion’ her bosses had given her and nine other employees, supposedly for their wellbeing, was instead being used to monitor their behavior at work. The cushion even alerted her bosses when they were away from their desks. Using social media to voice her outrage, Wang said at first she had welcomed the ‘smart cushion,’ believing it was given to monitor the

At a time when the Covid-19 pandemic has fuelled anti-Asian racism and violence around the world, a new exhibition in Vancouver aims to shine a light on the accomplishments – and hardships - of its Chinese-Canadian migrants. The new exhibition - “A Seat to the Table: Chinese Immigration and British Columbia” - in Vancouver’s historic Chinatown district celebrates the achievements, bravery and determination of thousands of Chinese immigrants who have been arriving in Vancouver for more than 170 years. Starting in the mid-1800s, villagers – generally from the southern provinces - traveled by ship across the Pacific looking for work building the Canadian Pacific Railway or trying their luck min

The Chinese operator of KFC and Pizza Hut wants to start using paper straws and biodegradable packaging to cut plastic usage by almost one third over the next five years. Yum China Holdings, one of China’s largest restaurant operators, intends to phase out non-degradable plastic bags and cutlery at all its KFC restaurants in mainland China by the end of 2025 and eliminate non-degradable bags from its Pizza Hut stores by the end of 2022. The overall aim is to achieve a 30% reduction in non-degradable plastic packaging by weight via a series of initiatives. “As a result of these initiatives, Yum China expects a reduction of approximately 8,000 tons in non-degradable plastics annually starting

A company in China has imposed a controversial rule by fining employees who take more than one bathroom break during their shift. The factory said it imposed the regulation to improve efficiency after discovering that some workers were spending time in the bathroom playing games on their phones or smoking cigarettes.  According to photos published online by disgruntled employees last week, the factory in the city of Dongguan, in the province of Guangzhou fined six workers US$3 for using the restroom twice during their eight-hour shift.  Another was fined for not registering her bathroom break on the company log. It’s not the first time that Chinese employers have been caught imposing strict

Four-month-old giant panda cub Xiao Qi Ji appears to be on the up and up – albeit slowly. The cub, whose Chinese name translates to “Little Miracle,” was captured on video determinedly trying to climb a small rock wall at Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington DC.  Watching on was his mother, Mei Xiang, who gave him an affectionate hug when he eventually conquers the task.          View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by Smithsonian's National Zoo (@smithsonianzoo) “He’s getting stronger, more coordinated and is still an adorable little nugget,” a zoo worker wrote on the Instagram post.   While the cub definitely won’t win any races to the to