Results tagged “suicide”

China blocks 'Berlin Wall' Twitter page: organisers [AFP] China has blocked a website inviting users of microblogging site Twitter to comment on the fall of the Berlin Wall amid a deluge of protests at Beijing's Internet censorship, organisers said Thursday. The site was meant to be a place for people to share memories of the night the Berlin Wall was yanked down 20 years ago, but quickly morphed into a forum for protest against what users described as "The Great Firewall of China."

How New Buicks Took Shape in China [NYT] Sales of Buicks in China first outpaced sales in the United States in 2006, and the margin is considerable today. The design for the 2007 Riviera would be a modern-day version of the 1963 version, which was a trend-setting personal luxury coupe inspired by vintage Rolls-Royces. After the Shanghai debut, the 2007 Riviera concept was not forgotten; its design language, drawn from Buick history and Chinese culture, became the basis for future Buick concepts.

Number of A/H1N1 flu cases in Beijing soars over past week [Xinhua] Beijing has recorded nearly 60 percent more A/H1N1 flu cases over the past week, said the municipal health bureau Thursday. The bureau said the city has recorded 1,299 cases during the period, up 58.61 percent, and 6,196 such cases involving 3,727 men and 2,469 women so far. In Shanghai, the local government and health bureau said the number of A/H1N1 flu cases was increasing, but at a steady pace.

The Death of an Overseas Returnee [China Hush] Dr. Tu Xuxin, a man who had recently returned to China from overseas study to pursue a career as a university professor, committed suicide on September 17th. The information concerning this case, including Dr. Tu’s six-page suicide note, was released earlier today to the public. Investigators speculate as to what instigated his anxiety leading up to his suicide, as there were no obvious signs preceding his death.

China 11th National Games: Controversies, Scandals, Costs [ChinaSmack] The 11th National Games, held in Jinan, Shandong province, have been hit by scandals, such as pre-decided gold medals, doping, match-fixing, unfair officiating, and so on. The intention of the National Games is picking talented athletes for the Olympic Games, but the scale and cost of the National Games has grown significantly since the Games started 50 years ago. The National Games has become the “Authorities’ Pride Games” of the different provinces and sports associations, and also important to officials looking to not lose face for their respective areas

China’s growing addiction: online farming games [VentureBeat] A new agrarian revolution has occured in China, but only in the virtual worlds of social games. Social farm games now dominate all major Chinese social networking sites — RenRen (formerly Xiaonei), Kaixin001, 51.com, and QQ’s QZone. The May launch and 2H 2009 adoption of QQ Farm — a version of China’s already popular Happy Farm game built to run on Tencent’s estimated 228 million active-user QZone platform — may very well have transformed China into the leading country of online farmers.

Suicidal thoughts, already plaguing Shanghai college students and unemployed graduates, are also on the minds of almost one in four secondary school students as well. According to a survey released yesterday, thoughts of killing themselves had occured to around 24.39% of students, with 15.23% taking it into serious consideration. One psychologist had this theory about the high rates: "Most young students nowadays come from families with rather good economic condition and haven't met much difficulties... Thus they are weak inside when facing frustrations." You know, as opposed to, say, a different set of pressures born from being an only child in a system that determines your self worth based on test scores? Jeez, we hope Shan Huaihai never becomes our shrink. Source: Shanghai Daily

The 25-year-old Foxconn employee who killed himself after being interrogated about a missing iPhone prototype had demonstrated a pattern of suspiciously losing products, according to the New York Times. James Lee, GM of Foxconn's China operations, said that several times products had gone missing and then he got them back. Oh. Well then. We guess the solitary confinement and searching his home and alleged beating was justified. NOT. Dear Foxconn, if your employee is acting out of line, you give them a warning and then fire them. Nothing justifies acting like thugs towards them, and any attempts to sully his name after the fact stinks as much as the $44,000 and Apple laptop you paid to his family in blood money. Source: Apple Insider

Apple has confirmed the unfortunate suicide of the 25-year-old Foxconn employee we reported on yesterday. Sun Dayong, the deceased, was suspected to have been subjected to "unbearable interrogation techniques" after an iPhone prototype under his care went missing. This is believed to have led him to commit suicide. Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet told CNET that Apple was "saddened by the tragic loss of this young employee and we are awaiting results of the investigations into his death... We require our suppliers to treat all workers with dignity and respect." Source: Gizmodo

A policewoman daringly rescued a would-be suicide case yesterday in a surprisingly well photographed incident in Changchun City, Jilin.

The man who burnt himself to death on the Bund yesterday has been identified. According to Xinhua his name was He Rulong, a retired factory worker. The article gives no direct reason for his action, but mentions the facts that He was divorced, an alcoholic and that he suffered from severe back pains. It also notices that He worked in Xinjiang during the 1960s.

From Xinhua News Agency:

"上海市警方确认，9月11日11时许，上海市外滩陈毅广场发生一起自焚事件，自焚者当场死亡。目前，死者身份及自焚原因正在查证之中。The Shanghai police has confirmed a self-immolation incident that happened at Chen Yi Plaza on the Bund at 11am on Sept 11. The self-immolator died on the spot. The identity of the deceased and the reason behind the action is being currently investigated."

UPDATE: Xinhua has issued a longer story here. Tim Johnson of China Rises observes:

...censors are blocking all comment on the motives of the man on every website. Was he an activist of the Falun Gong banned movement? Was he a Tibetan Buddhist? How about a disgruntled property rights activist? Whatever the cause, there is a story there, and the government may not want the motive to come out. But at least it’s a step in the right direction to allow Xinhua to report the news.

In a move to prevent suicide among the city's children more than 3.000 sixth grade pupils in 21 of Shanghai's middle schools will be asked to fill out questionnaires mapping their mental health, with the aim of finding out who might be considered potentially unstable. Those who are found to be at risk will receive psychological assistance from the East China Normal University's counseling center.

A senior official, Wu Jianping, from the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) threw himself off a building on the 2nd of August after being questioned on allegations of corruption.

Several photos have been circulating around on the Internet like wild fire over the last two days. They are supposedly of a couple who committed suicide together at the Grand Gateway (港汇广场) at Xujiahui on Wednesday, 7 May some time around 2.30 pm in the afternoon. The incident has set online forums abuzz (WARNING: THESE LINKS CONTAIN GRAPHIC IMAGES), but we haven't found any reports in the news yet (let us know if you find any).

We don't feel right doing many concert reviews, mainly because of our relationships with the bands, and the realization after years of live shows that the quality depends as much on the venue, backline, PA, sound guy, etc...as it does the band. Plus we don't like to judge people who are capable of doing things we can't (clarification: we don't like judging people we think are cool, we have no problem judging all you uncool...

On the left, you have an image submitted by the Yangzhou Evening News to the 17th Annual Chinese Journalism Awards, for which it won a Class I award in the Best News of Jiangsu province, as well as a Class III photojournalism award in the national round. Lots of inspiring pictures and smart captions that would befit any award-winning page (see details of pictures here on ESWN). Some smart chap then decided to do some sleuthing, and went to hunt for the physical printed copy of Page A5 of the October 16, 2006 issue of Yangzhou Evening News, and what he found was the page on the right. Yep, that's right, the page sent in by the editor had been FAKED. And while we're wondering what sort of rigorous checks the Chinese Journalism Awards has in place, the next one takes the cake!

This documentary programme entitled "The Secrets of the Direct Sales Industry Exposed" shown on CCTV12 recently did an exposé on the sad lives of three young women involved in direct sales, one of whom eventually committed suicide by jumping out of a speeding train to avoid going home with her parents. Typical sad, sob story you find on CCTV. The programme showed the above three photographs of the poor girl, her image blurred to protect her identity [h/t ESWN]. Well, one viewer found the pictures looking very familiar and also went on to do some sleuthing...

These were the pictures that he found, and they are the pictures of model and celebrity Yang Bingyang (杨冰阳), better known as Ayawawa. Obviously, Yang is not amused, but in her latest blog entry has said that she has no intention whatsoever of taking legal action against CCTV. At the end of the day though, the number of journalists in China who think they can get away with plagiarism and fake news in this day and age is simply astounding!

People who have made the news this week

The Youtube video shown here produced by Chinese Malaysian student Wee Meng Chee, 24, triggered torrents of invective from Malays, and support from some Chinese in Malaysia.

This Youku video shows some women offering old men massage hanky-panky, all out in the open in an unnamed city, for as low as RMB5! The world's oldest profession is alive and well in China, and it is everywhere.

Shanghaiist is starting to pay attention to Shandong Province's Qilu Television for the quirky things we find there. The station that brought us the story of the glass-eating wonder 24 year old Wang Chengke (王成科) recently had a talkshow which had a huge debate on whether girls should go for plastic surgery. The talkshow pitted 28 year old Beijing native Hao Lulu (郝璐璐) against Qiu Lili (邱丽莉) of the Shandong Economic Management Institute. Hao has gone through a dozen cosmetic surgeries from head to toe (watch her amazing transformation here) and has been dubbed the "man-made beauty" (人造美女) eversince.

Chinese cash helps former Portuguese colony overtake US city's gaming revenues.

Just in from a submission to Youku: Two days ago, a pre-op transsexual went on a one-(wo)man demonstration on the streets of Shenzhen, holding a placard that says, "I want a sex change, even if it means death!" (我要变性！死了都要变!) She attracted a huge crowd around her before she was eventually led away by someone from the public security bureau it seems.

See anything newsworthy? Leave us a tip on the Shanghaiist Contribute Page!

Housing evictions and tenants' rights have become hot button issues in Chinese society today, a flash point in the conflict between ordinary citizens, land developers, and the government. The most famous case of this, at least in recent memory, was the Chongqing nailhouse, which became an internet-fueled media phenomenon. And now, a similar situation has appeared in the Fengtai district of Beijing. A group of residents who did not agree to conditions offered them by land developers for compensation and resettlement are making a last stand in their homes. As you can see from these pictures (the report is in Chinese), deep 'trenches', in some places three meters deep, have been dug around the homes, making it nearly impossible for a person to enter or leave without a ladder or professional pole-vaulting skills. The electricity and water have also been cut off.

You might have recently have heard of Yu Dan (于丹), a professor at Beijing Normal University (北师大), who has recently become the it girl when it comes to popularizing ancient Chinese philosophers. Her books on Confucius' Analects and more recently, the Zhuangzi, offer a breezy exposition and bite-sized nuggets of ancient wisdom for China's spiritually beleaguered moderns and have catapulted Yu Dan into a writer-intellectual cum best-selling cultural critic category unto herself.

This Shanghainese native, unlike many other Chinese, actually prefers not to use many of the cartoon icons when chatting with others via MSN Messenger. The use of cartoon icons could be considered an internet phenomenon younger generations of Chinese. At first it started with Yoyo&Cici Monkeys (悠嘻猴), a launch by Chinajoy at the beginning of 2006 driven by commercial purposes. Later in 2006, the cartoon Onion replaced the Yoyo&Cici Monkeys to be the most popular internet icon. Ironically, the creator of Onion forbade others to use the character for commercial use. Now these bunnies known as Tuzki (pictured) among Chinese netizens have captured my heart.

A CCTV.com 'report' entitled "Uniqueness of 10 hot female stars in China" was recently brought to our attention. It had us laughing out loud (but it also might help explain why China has a soaring suicide rate among females). Below, you will find the entire text of the in-depth story. For the accompanying photos, you can click on the link above.

One of the nice features on Google Calendar is the ability to add the lunar calendar on top of the western one, which helped us verify that today, Thursday, is indeed the third day of the third month of the lunar calendar.

Shanghai Daily had the following headline that caught our eye: "Suicide's wife ordered to compensate landlord." What sort of damage could an event as emotionally traumatic as a suicide cause that would justify any sort of compensation to a third party? Turns out, the kind of damage that most elite in Shanghai fear the most: property devaluation.

Goodbye Nail House

"So, the Nail House in Chongqing is gone. The owners finally reached a satisfactory agreement with the developer, news reports said, achieving their their aim of getting a commercial property instead of cash compensation." Let's hope this is the last we hear of it.

Linfen, China: The world's most polluted city: And audio essay

We were there in 2004. Read our report: "Haoyi Village: ‘There were more blue skies 10 years ago’." Not much has changed.

YouTube - 全球最髒城市 中國臨汾上榜 (2007-01-18)

Chinese news broadcast about Linfen, China.

Ancient human skeleton found in China questions 'out-of-Africa' theory

"Based on this finding, the researchers say it is hard to believe the accepted theory of an eastward spread of modern humans from Africa."

China denies tainted pet food exports

"But China's state media reports that China's quarantine body says their production process makes it impossible for their products to contain any poisoned chemicals."

Climate change may kill 132 million in Asia

"Grain harvests in the Asian region will drop by as much as 30%, leading to skyrocketing food prices and the starvation of 132 million people in Asia in the 2050s ..."

Eating fish becomes more dangerous as the climate changes

"Scientists say the risks are getting worse, because of damage that pollution and global warming are inflicting on the coral reefs where many fish species feed."

Fake Melrose pizza?

"I noticed that the number on the pizza box was indeed different from the one on the flyer that I received. Yes, they not only copied the flyer, but even the box including the real phone number!"

City puts brakes on renaming Metro stations

"Shanghai will not be renaming any more Metro stations after the recent switching of three station names cost more than 1 million yuan (US$125,000) and raised the ire of many passengers, a city official said yesterday."

Divorce in the air after wife's April Fool 'hanging'

"A husband has requested a divorce from his wife because he couldn't stand her "surprises" any longer -- especially after she tried to trick him with a fake suicide on April 1."

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Photo by meckleychina found via the Shanghaiist Contribute page.

MONDAY

Shanghai-made Ferris wheel applies for Guinness World Records

"It is 25 meters taller than the London Eye, currently the tallest observation wheel in the world, and only cost one-eighth the price to build." Probably very safe.

Six feared dead as Beijing subway tunnel collapses

"A contractor had tried to conceal the collapse from authorities by sealing off the site and confiscating the workers' cell phones, it said, citing rescuers."

Chinese director receives official approval for movie on Nanjing Massacre

"The film, to be titled 'Nanjing! Nanjing!', has been approved by the State Administration of Radio Film and Television, and filming is expected to start in April and be completed by the end of the year."

Lau's crazy fan refuses to take father's ashes home

"Yang Lijuan, a crazy fan of Hong Kong star Andy Lau, left Hong Kong yesterday with broken dreams, a destroyed family and no plans to take her father's ashes home."

Dad's suicide follows daughter visit with idol

"A father whose daughter has been obsessed with a Hong Kong pop star for 13 years committed suicide in Hong Kong one day after he and his wife escorted his 28-year-old daughter to meet her idol."

Shanghai's Tombstone Raider Uncovers Forgotten Jewish History

"In sidewalks, ditches and piles of rubble, Bar-Gal, a 41- year-old Israeli photojournalist, searches for slabs with a sign -- a Hebrew character, a Torah shape, a Star of David -- that identifies the long-lost headstones of Shanghai's once-thriving Jewish community."

Bayi win China basketball championship

"Former NBA centre Wang Zhizhi led the Bayi Rockets to the 2007 China Basketball Championships Wednesday, dethroning three-time defending champs Guangdong Tigers 88-83."

: Shanghai in the Movies

"The filming of the movie was extraordinary, extremely beautiful and capturing a number of Shanghai's distinctive elements very well, without a glance at Shanghai's tourist skylines."

Yahoo to offer e-mail storage without end

"Two countries - China and Japan - are excluded. 'We will continue working with these markets on their storage plans, Kremer said in a statement." But can't anyone in China just use a .com account?

Anhui boy dies of bird flu mysteriously

"An initial investigation showed that the victim didn't have any contact with infected or dead poultry. A local veterinarian center also didn't find any animals infected with the bird flu."

Beijing warned against sending cell-phone porn

"Beijingers who send pornographic text messages or pictures on their cell phones may face fines up to 3,000 yuan (US$385) and two weeks in administrative detention, the local public security department has warned."

Pudong forest park opens to public

"Tourists can walk along a two-kilometer shoreline in the park, which is at the confluence of the Huangpu River and the Yangtze River. The park also has three piers."

Man's finger fractured by Metro train door

"I was pushed to the front of the crowd, and the train was pulling into the station just centimeters away from my body," Gu recalled. "But nobody would move out of the way and no one was there to keep the anxious crowd in order."

Another way to beat The GFW - tunnel out with your own secure proxy server

"However if you're like me and want to save a few RMB and already host your own web-site on a Unix-based server you may want to set-up your own secure proxy server through the use of SSH tunnelling. Sounds difficult? Well, it isn't. "

I love chinglish.

“Nuclear Area - Wonderful space for individuals”. Picture taken near the Yangchang road in Shanghai, China.

Tennis-Shanghai to get Masters Series tournament in 2009

"Shanghai hosted the season-ending Masters Cup in 2002, 2005 and 2006, but this will be the first time a top tier Masters Series event has been staged in Asia."

Pirated Windows Vista Identified In Shanghai

"Shanghai Yangpu Department of Industry and Commerce has identified a batch of pirated Windows Vista software worth about RMB2 million and they have transferred two suspects to the local police." Wow. What a surprise.

Hohn Daly confirms Shanghai appearance

"John Daly confirmed Tuesday that a recent injury would not prevent him from appearing at the BMW Asian Open next month at Tomson Pudong." Their headline typo, not ours.

MG = Modern Gentleman

"Oh dear. How mighty brands can fall! Nanjing Auto, the new owners of MG, the classic British marque, have re-branded it as “Modern Gentleman” (however, it still apparently carries the British flag, so not all is lost)."

Buddha Machine: spiritual, generative transistor radio

"The Buddha Machine from Chinese manufacturer FM3 looks like a cheap transistor radio. Turn the single dial, and it starts making crazy-ass, generative ambient music."

Chinese MMO offers accounts to banned players who donate blood

"The makers of China's popular MMO Cabal told banned players that they could get back into the game if they donated blood."

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Photo by Swiss James found via the Shanghaiist Contribute page.

Officer dismissed for blogging

"In China, there’s more precedent for blogging getting people in trouble with the police than there is for blogging in itself getting one getting fired. So what happens to cops who blog?"

China bans firm from selling land on the moon

"The company, Lunar Embassy to China, had sold a total of 49 acres (20 hectares) to 34 customers before authorities acted, Xinhua news agency said."

Chinese Auditors Uncover 'Massive' Misuse of Social Security Funds

"A Chinese government audit has found that local officials have misused $4 billion in social security funds that are meant to provide a safety net for China's growing population of retirees."

Finless porpoise could go the same way as the Baiji

"They used to inhabit in large numbers the main trunk of the Yangtze River, but with the expansion of human economic activity and large-scale sand dredging, they have been squeezed into Poyang Lake and Dongting Lake, where they are only just surviving."

Suicide at Zhongshan Park?

"We were stuck on the train for about five minutes as only about half of the cars were in the station, and I could see people on the platform outside taking pictures of something in the front of the train, but when I asked an attendant what had happened he said “nothing” (没什么事)."

Jellyfish supply secured

"Fish lovers in the city could find it much easier, and perhaps cheaper, to raise jellyfish at home this year thanks to the work of a postgraduate student at Shanghai Fisheries University."

Hookers held in robbery

"When Cheng's boyfriend found out about the deal, he asked if Jiang looked wealthy. When the women said yes, the boyfriend, Fang Xiao, allegedly said earning money from prostitution was too slow so he wanted to rob the man, prosecutors said."

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Photo by monkeyking found via the Shanghaiist Contribute page.

The best overall movie goes to Farewell My Concubine (霸王别姬), which, in the voting that started from Feb. 9, accumulated 75% of the vote, with the runner-up being Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (卧虎藏龙) at 7%. The films are mostly from the 1980s and 1990s, with heavy doses of Ang Lee and Zhang Yimou.