NEWS & WEIBO COMMENTS

Xi Jinping Caricature Published by State-run Media

On February 19， a cartoon depiction of President Xi Jinping outfitted in a grey jacket and a pair of blue trousers triggered widespread discussion of new attitudes about publicizing China’s top leadership. The infographic， published by qianlong.com， a news portal administered by the publicity department of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China （CPC）， chronicled Xi’s major moves since he took office as general secretary of the CPC Central Committee in November 2012. Adored by many netizens， the cartoon made headlines on major websites and went viral on microblogs soon after it was released. “The infographic， which was published the day after Xinhua ran a lengthy article detailing Mr. Xi’s activities， appears to be part of a continuing effort by the government to present a lighter image of the Chinese leadership，” a New York Times blogger commented that day. Since taking office， President Xi has strived to stay in touch with the Chinese public.

Russian Spiderman in Shanghai

Recently， two Russian climbing enthusiasts， Vadim Makhorov and Vitaly Raskalov， claimed to have conquered the unfinished Shanghai Tower， providing both video and photo evidence online： a bird’s eye view of Shanghai from atop the 650-meter structure. The pair previously received major public attention upon successfully reaching the summit of the Pyramid of Khufu in Egypt last March. For their follow-up， the duo evaded guards and made their way to the top of China’s tallest building without safety gear and accomplished their ultimate mission – to peer down and take pictures from the acme. Commentators even started to wonder if the pair is going to commercialize their newly internationalized careers.

Quotes

“The tragedy of the Nov. 22 Qingdao oil blast should never happen again. No experience gained at the cost of life will be tolerated.”

— Huang Yi， spokesman for the State Administration of Work Safety （SAWS） addressing the 2014 work safety scope on February 18. The explosion ripped through residential and commercial roads in the Huangdao district of Qingdao， Shandong Province， on November 22， 2013， leaving 62 dead， 136 injured and direct economic losses of 750 million yuan （$122.7 million）.

Memorial Days

On February 25， after the deliberation by NPC Standing Committee， September 3 was designated Victory Day of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. The announcement was accompanied by another draft decision making December 13 a national memorial day to commemorate those killed by Japanese aggressors in the Nanjing Massacre in the 1930s. “Designating a Victory Day of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression is extremely necessary as the occasion is expected to serve as a reminder of misery the war caused for Chinese people and the world， and as an expression of the Chinese stance to combat aggression and safeguard human dignity and world peace，” remarked Li Shishi， director of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee.

Belgian Welcome

On February 23， Xinghui and Haohao， a pair of four-year-old giant pandas from Sichuan Province， arrived at Belgium’s Pairi Daiza Zoo in Brugelette， 60 kilometers from Brussels. The pair will spend the next 15 years in Belgium， where China’s giant pandas last visited in 1987. The 15-year stay is considered the longest ever since China began renting giant pandas to foreign countries for research purposes. A special welcome ceremony attended by Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo was held at the Brussels Airport. Due to a police escort， the arrival of Xinghui and Haohao was jokingly called a “chief’s official visit” by media outlets.

“First of all， I would like to express appreciation to President Xi Jinping. It was so impressive that he visited us in person before the opening ceremony. His encouragement meant a lot.”

— Chinese short track speed skater Zhou Yang， who successfully defended her 1，500-meter title at the Sochi Winter Olympic Games， in an interview on February 15. Four years ago， after winning China’s first Olympic gold in women’s 1，500 short track speed skating in Vancouver， Zhou was criticized by the General Administration of Sports because she thanked her parents first， which triggered public debate about who athletes should thank first in speeches.

Tourism Boom

It was reported that Hainan Province witnessed a tourism growth spurt during the recent Spring Festival Holiday （January 31 to February 6）. Due to its tropical climate， Hainan Island is China’s most popular winter destination. Welcoming over 2.6 million visitors， about 37 percent more than the previous year， the island raked in 7.57 billion yuan from tourist spending， 34 percent more than last year. Meanwhile， as local tourism administration departments have spent more efforts on supervision， fewer customer complaints were received during the nationwide seven-day-holiday， a result of the adoption of China’s new tourism law.

Be the First

On January 31， Guangxiao Temple in Guangzhou， southern China’s Guangdong Province， was packed with visitors and murky gray air. On the first day of the Lunar New Year， worshippers from near and far arrived at the temple and lit incense as early as possible， hopefully in front of others， to pray for good fortune and celebrate in the dense smoke.

@ BeautifulMissNana： To pray for the future and commemorate the past， we all woke up early so that we could get there and light incense before everyone else. The health and well-being of family is most important.

@ MrColinPengpeng： I don’t think the attitude of doing it in front of others is helpful in making one’s prayer sincerer than anyone else’s.

Hong Kong H7N9 Scare

On January 28， Hong Kong culled about 20，000 chickens after H7N9 bird flu was discovered in a batch of live chickens from Guangdong Province the previous day. The only wholesale poultry market in Hong Kong was forced to shut for 21 days for disinfection. The human-affecting strain of the bird flu virus was first discovered in Hong Kong in 1997， when the killing of 1.5 million local birds couldn’t prevent six human fatalities. In the wake of the tragedy， the government attempted to encourage the public to rethink the trading of live poultry. As of February 20， a total of 350 cases of H7N9 human infection have been diagnosed on the Chinese mainland since the first was reported in March 2013.

@ The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University： The H7N9 bird flu virus can only survive for less than two minutes at temperatures above 70 degrees Celsius. Therefore， as long as poultry is thoroughly cooked， there is no need to worry about the virus.

Buzzwords

月欠族Month-end Debtor >>>

This group of people consistently cannot make ends meet with their own monthly paychecks. After they exhaust their own bank accounts to tide them over until the next payday， they turn to their parents or spouses.

裸年No-perk Lunar New Year >>>

In response to the CPC Central Committee’s ongoing frugality campaign， many public institutions chose to shrink or cancel perks and bonuses for employees as the Year of the Horse approached. Without receiving any of the previously expected bonuses， a great number of civil servants had to budget their holiday spending according to their regular income.

Long Odds

On February 11， a group of dancers hoping to attend Shandong University of Arts in Jinan attempted expert-level moves to demonstrate their dancing skill. The entrance examination for art academies and university art majors， dubbed “yikao，” happens long before the written college entrance examination， or gaokao in Chinese. An applicant who passes the yikao with flying colors will be considered for acceptance even his or her gaokao score is weak. The yikao has become a second chance to be admitted to a university， attracting many students and parents to spend large sums of money and time to prepare. However， due to the increasing volume of yikao candidates in recent years， chances of passing have dropped as low as one in a hundred.

Warm or Chilly？

The city of Hangzhou， in eastern Zhejiang Province， welcomed its first snowfall of the winter on February 9， heralding the end of the warm Spring Festival holiday（January 31 to February 6）. In many southern cities in Hunan， Jiangxi and Guangxi， the daily highs reached 20 to 25 degrees Celsius during the previous week. Heavy rain and snow began dropping on the south along with freezing temperatures in Nanjing， Changsha and Shanghai. Despite the cold weather， discussion about the best places to endure winter remained a hot topic.

@ XinhuaMicrowave： The frequent switch of temperature is far beyond discomfort – it is torture. If you have friends in the South whom you haven’t heard from for a while， you’d better check if they’re still alive.

@ Wanruochongsheng： For winter， I definitely choose the North， where the heating system and layers of clothing can warm me up.