中国Power !!!

[Vermin]

It has gone viral

Man jailed in fight over widow's wealth

China Daily, September 19, 2014

A Chinese man suspected of trying to cheat a dementia-stricken Singaporean widow of her Sg$40 million ($32 million) fortune has been arrested, police said on Wednesday.

Former tour guide Yang Yin "has been arrested for suspected criminal breach of trust following police reports lodged against him", the Singapore Police Force said in a statement.

"He is currently assisting in police investigations," the statement added.

Yang, 40, is facing allegations that he manipulated Chung Khin Chin, 87, a retired physiotherapist suffering from dementia, to give him control over her fortune, according to the local media.

The allegations have sparked outrage in the city-state, where anti-immigrant sentiment is simmering due to the presence of a high number of foreigners.

The Straits Times has reported that a niece of Chung's asked the High Court to strip Yang of his power of attorney for the widow.

Yang was a tour guide when he first met Chung in China in 2008 and later developed a relationship with the woman, who eventually allowed him to live in her Singaporean home. Yang's wife and two young children also moved in last year.

Local websites have been swamped with attacks against Chinese nationals in reaction to the media reports.

Chung's assets include a sprawling suburban bungalow worth an estimated Sg$30 million, a rare pro- perty on the island-state where most people live in high-rise apartment blocks.

Chung's niece, Hedy Mok, 60, had asked the High Court to freeze all of the elderly woman's assets amid proceedings to revoke Yang's power of attorney, which he obtained in 2012.

Mok said Yang got Chung to send money to his bank account in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on numerous occasions, with amounts ranging from Sg$4,000 to Sg$40,000, the Straits Times said.

Following media reports of the allegations, Singapore's Immigration and Checkpoints Authority said it had launched an investigation into Yang's status as a permanent resident in the city-state.

The Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry denied claims that Yang is a director in the organization, and has lodged a police report on the matter.

The Straits Times said it had obtained a business card of Yang listing him as a director in the chamber.

In his own affidavit, Yang denied manipulating the widow, saying she called him grandson and asked him to live with her and take care of her finances, the newspaper said.

He countered that the widow's relatives did not visit her regularly and that his family filled the void.

"This is what my family and I have brought to Madam Chung - a family that she never had," the newspaper quoted Yang as saying in his court filing.

 

[flickr]

Most govt websites unsafe: report

By Agatha Yuen Source: Global Times Published: 2014-9-19 0:58:01

More than half of the government websites have been deemed unsafe due to a lack of proper safeguards, according to a recent report published by the National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center.

The center last year surveyed 2,714 government websites, finding security vulnerabilities at 1,367 of them, or 50.4 percent. Over 21,200 security loopholes were discovered.

The report also said that some government websites lack even basic protections like firewalls or anti-virus software, leaving their page contents at high risk of alterations.

These security loopholes can facilitate the spread of Trojan horses and viruses to users who visit these pages, opening the door to spam e-mails and leaks of users' private information.

Qin An, head of the China Institute for Innovation and Development Strategy, said that he is not surprised by the statistics, since the Internet security industry in China is still less developed than in other countries such as the United States.

"The government should invest more in the cyber security industry. By doing so, more Internet security companies could be established and more Internet specialists could be trained to develop our cyber security techniques," he said.

Tang Lan, deputy head at the China Institute for Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times that there are two main reasons why hackers attack a government website. "First, some hackers spread malicious message on government websites because they want to destroy the image of the government body. Second, some would sell Internet users' private information to other cyber criminals for money after hacking into government websites," said Tang.

Tang explained that information such as citizens' identity numbers, phone numbers and addresses can be sold for a high price because cyber criminals can use them to register for a fake credit card or perpetrate other similar forms of fraud.

Tang also said some government organs lack common Internet security sense, which makes their websites easy targets for hackers.

"Some government bodies only focus on providing public services after creating their websites but lack a sophisticated in-house information technology department to keep an eye on Internet security," she said.

"Hacking techniques are evolving rapidly, the government therefore needs to have some specialists to target these problems and work out solutions," she added.

"People should avoid downloading any unknown applications to their smart phones. When accessing government websites, remember to check the Internet address carefully. Internet users should also update their anti-virus software regularly," Tang advised.

A government website in Anhui Province had gambling advertisements implanted on its main page last year. In the same year, a local government website in Liaoning Province was forced to shut down because it was automatically redirected to a pornographic site.

 

[Flake]

Chinese police seize illegal Louis Vuitton fakes 'worth 1 billion yuan'

Crime ring in Guangzhou sold to overseas customers and high-end mainland malls

PUBLISHED : Friday, 19 September, 2014, 2:14pm
UPDATED : Friday, 19 September, 2014, 2:19pm

Alice Yan [email protected]

A woman shops in a Louis Vuitton store in downtown Shanghai. Photo: Reuters

Guangzhou police have cracked a crime network that made and sold counterfeit Louis Vuitton products, confiscating a haul of knock-offs potentially worth 1 billion yuan (HK$1.26 billion).

The goods, which were made in a way that only specialists could tell they were fakes, were sold in high-end mainland shopping malls and sold abroad via a website, China Business News reports. If sold at prices like the originals, the cache is worth much money.

The case is the latest in a string of luxury goods copyright infringements over the past few years in a country – the world’s second-larges economy – where some consumers are increasingly developing a taste for the finer things.

In June, police in Guangzhou arrested 14 suspects and the ring’s six underground workshops were shut down. More than 11,000 bags and suitcases carrying the “LV” logo were seized at their factories and storage houses, along with 494 rolls of semi-manufactured LV-branded leather products that had a street value of 1 billion yuan.

Police also found 27 leather-producing machines and 30 million pieces of LV logos.

The suspects were found to have launched a website by imitating French fashion house Louis Vuitton’s website and used it to target overseas consumers.

According to local police, factories making counterfeit luxury leather goods are common in Guangzhou’s Baiyun and Huadu districts as well as in Dongguan. They were made delicately and came along with anti-fake certificates and an invoice to deceive clients. Only experts can point out they were fakes.

A man who was once involved in the bootleg luxury bag business told the newspaper that his products looked genuine because he is a VIP customer of those luxury brands and can buy the new-arrival goods at first time. Then he deconstructed the bags and outsourced the production to leather factories. His products were much cheaper than the genuine goods.

The China Luxury Market Report by the Shanghai-based Fortune Character Institute showed that Chinese consumers last year bought luxury items overseas at a combined value of US$74 billion, higher than their consumption abroad in the same category in 2011, or US$50 billion.

The report said many people who are keen on luxury products but cannot afford it will tend to buy high-quality copies along with originals.

Last month a counterfeit luxury watches syndicate was busted in the Luohu district of Shenzhen, with 2,600 items seized that could be sold at 5 million yuan at the prices of genuine ones. Police found they provided a complete set of fake packs, certificate and invoice, the Shenzhen Special Zone News reports.

In another case Beijing police arrested a man and his mother in September of last year for selling on the website fake bags that copied several big brands. They earned 200,000 yuan from their operation over two years, xinhuanet.com reports.

 

[Pfizer]

Fake Chinese monks caught in Taiwan

Chang Chi-chun and Staff Reporter
2013-05-13

Police in Taipei escort the three suspects. (China Times file photo)

Police in Taipei have arrested three Chinese nationals for impersonating monks and tricking people into giving them money, reports our Chinese-language sister paper China Times.

The three suspects are reported to have entered Taiwan in April under the guise of receiving cosmetic surgery, but on their arrival they were greeted by an unknown accomplice who took them to the Neihu Technology Park, where they then set up their operation asking for donations.

The gang of three was led by Lu Xinlong, 65, with his disciples a 58 year-old man named Lu Mingshan and 54 year-old female, Li Zhengmei. The three suspects, who shaved their heads and wore robes to scam unsuspecting passersby of their money, previously took the scam across China, before they were finally caught in Taiwan, the police said.

It is believed that the scammers used the money on alcohol, food, expensive bags and watches, and other valuable goods to sell once back in China. Taipei police had been monitoring the three suspects closely since they entered Taiwan, and caught Lu Xinlong at the end of April. The two other suspects were caught the following day at an airport, attempting to flee.

The three admitted to exchanging over NT$250,000 (US$8,400) of the money into renminbi, the local police said, adding that they believe the three suspects are part of a much larger crime ring.

 

[Pfizer]

Guangzhou police reveal bust of 'billion-yuan' counterfeit bag ring

Police shut down network making top-quality knock-offs of luxury products

PUBLISHED : Friday, 19 September, 2014, 2:14pm
UPDATED : Saturday, 20 September, 2014, 3:59am

Alice Yan [email protected]

Some counterfeit bags are so well made that only specialists can spot them as fakes. Photo: KY Cheng

Guangzhou police busted a crime network that made and sold top-tier counterfeit Louis Vuitton products, seizing a haul with a potential street value of about 1 billion yuan (HK$1.26 billion).

The fake bags were of such high quality that only a trained eye could detect them as counterfeits, China Business News reported yesterday.

The items were sold in high-end mainland shopping malls and overseas via a website, and came with counterfeit certificates of authenticity and invoices to deceive clients.

Police in Guangzhou said they busted the counterfeit ring in June, arresting 14 suspects and shutting down six underground workshops operated by the group.

The report did not explain the delay in announcing the raid and the seizures.

Officers confiscated more than 11,000 bags and suitcases with the "LV" logo, along with a quantity of unfinished LV-branded leather products that could be worth 1 billion yuan if sold in a finished state as genuine items.

Police also found 27 machines and 30 million LV logos. The suspects even launched a replica Louis Vuitton website and used it to target overseas consumers. According to police, factories making counterfeit luxury leather goods are common in Guangzhou's Baiyun and Huadu districts as well as in nearby Dongguan .

One former manufacturer of bootleg luxury bags told the newspaper that he had been a VIP customer of the luxury brands whose products he imitated and so could be among the first to buy the goods when they arrived in store. He would buy real bags, then pull them apart and enlist leather factories to reproduce them before assembling the fakes at a much lower cost than the genuine article.

According to the "China Luxury Market Report" by the Shanghai-based Fortune Character Institute, mainland consumers bought US$74 billion of luxury products overseas last year, well above the US$50 billion they spent in 2011.

The report said many people who were keen on luxury products but could not afford them would buy high-quality copies.

Last month, a counterfeit luxury watches syndicate was busted in Luohu district, Shenzhen, with 2,600 items that could fetch an estimated 5 million yuan if sold at the same price as the genuine items. Police said the watches came with a complete set of fake packs, certificates and invoices, the S henzhen Special Zone News reported.

In another case, Beijing police arrested a man and his mother in September last year for selling fake bags online, earning 200,000 yuan from their operation over two years, xinhuanet.com reported.

 

[ChinaSucks]

Suspected food poisoning sickens 320 in E. China

Source: Xinhua | September 18, 2014, Thursday | Online Edition

Suspected food and water poisoning has hospitalized 320 people, most of whom are children, in east China's Jiangxi Province, local authorities said Thursday.

The patients, aged from 3 to 18 years old, have suffered from diarrhea, nausea, stomach pains and fever since Sunday in Lianhua County, according to the county health bureau.

As of Thursday morning, 21 are still hospitalized. Initial investigations suggest they contracted a bacterial infection from food or water poisoning, according to the bureau.

All affected people are in stable condition, according to the bureau.

The cause is under investigation.

 

[AfterTheWar]

Chinese student attempts to 'rent' his girlfriend to pay for an iPhone 6

PUBLISHED : Thursday, 18 September, 2014, 1:09pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 18 September, 2014, 2:45pm

James Griffiths [email protected]

A Songjiang University student advertises his girlfriend for 'hire' in order to afford an iPhone 6. Photo: Weibo

A Chinese student is offering to share his girlfriend in exchange for cash in an attempt to raise enough money to buy Apple’s new iPhone 6.

Standing near campus at Shanghai’s Songjiang University bearing a placard reading “Girlfriend Sharing”, the unidentified man laid out some rules for prospective “customers”. The deal included “but is not limited to” eating together, studying together, playing games, or going on dates. However, the placard said there was to be no “funny business”.

The man was happy to show potential customers photos of his girlfriend and detail her measurements. Photo: Weibo

Prices range from 10 yuan per hour to a 500 yuan per month bulk price.

According to posters on social media, where the photos were first shared, the man was happy to share details of his girlfriend’s vital statistics and send photos of her to interested parties. He added that his girlfriend was a willing participant in the scheme.

A Songjiang University student advertises his girlfriend for 'hire' in order to afford an iPhone 6. Photo: Weibo

This is not the first time a Chinese consumer has gone to desperate measures to buy the latest Apple device. In 2012, a Hunan teenager sold a kidney and used the funds to buy an iPhone and an iPad. Five men were later arrested in connection with the case.

In October, prosecutors in Shanghai charged a couple with human trafficking after they sold their baby online and used part of the proceeds to buy a new iPhone.

Chinese consumers were left disappointed this month by Apple’s apparent snub of China for the launch of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, which went on sale in Hong Kong on Saturday.

The delay may have cost Chinese carriers hundreds of millions of yuan in wasted advertising, with the main telecoms carriers all having prepared major campaigns on the assumption that the iPhone 6 would be released in China at the same time as other countries.

Scammers took advantage of the delay to tout a non-existent “special Macau edition” of the device on Chinese online marketplaces.

“We can’t buy the iPhone 6 on the mainland now … but I can buy one from this shop, and it’s pink! I just hope it’s not fake,” one potential customer wrote online.

the silly things people do over phones...

 

[CaptainNeeda]

the silly things people do over phones...

damn pathetic

 

[Flake]

Shocking animal abuse: car drags bleeding dog behind it

<iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Y8GW8kHoKqY?rel=0" allowfullscreen="" height="315" width="560" frameborder="0"></iframe>

Published on Sep 22, 2014

Recently, terrifying footage is spreading on China’s microblog. Shot on a street in Shantou, a city in S. China’s Guangdong Province, records a car hauling a live dog by a line at full speed along the highway. After being uploaded to

internet, the video immediately triggered a huge and angry response over the driver's brutal behavior. Some netizens have even searched for the driver’s information.

 

[Flake]

Rude Chinese passengers: allow kid to urinate in public and slap subway staffer for intervening

<iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ufY4Q2AShtk?rel=0" allowfullscreen="" height="315" width="560" frameborder="0"></iframe>

Published on Sep 22, 2014

Several Chinese passengers at a subway station was caught on camera, allowing their child to urinate in public and assaulting a station staff who corrected their behavior.

A man with two other female companies were at Wuxi subway station in China’s Jiangsu province where they allow their baby to urinate on the platform instead of taking him to the bathroom. Two subway personnel tried to talk them out of him, but was physically assaulted in return.

The subway staff was shoved and pulled several times by the man before one the women with the baby turned around to slap her in the face. The employee, on the other hand, remained restrained throughout the entire assault.

 

[DSGunner]

Chinese restaurant owner laced noodles with poppy to get customers addicted

Unwitting diner also detained after testing positive on drug test

PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 23 September, 2014, 3:09pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 23 September, 2014, 4:57pm

Wu Nan [email protected]

A Chinese man eats noodles at a restaurant in Beijing. Photo: AP

A noodle shop owner was detained after he was discovered to have been adding parts of a poppy plant – from which opium is made – to food so that customers would keep coming back.

The noodle shop’s owner was held for questioning and confessed that he purchased 2kg of poppy shells (the bud of the plant in which poppy seeds are found) for 600 yuan (HK$756) in August.

He secretly added it to the food to lure in more customers.

The owner was detained for 10 days. Poppy shells used to be an ingredient in a popular hot pot sauce until the product was banned, according to previous reports.

The restaurant's activities came to light after one customer, Liu Juyou, 26, tested positive during a routine urine test under an anti-drink-driving programme, the Xian Evening News reported on Tuesday.

He said he never touched illegal substances, so was shocked by the test result.

Liu was detained for 15 days from September 3, unable to convince police that the drug, he suspected, might have come from the food from a noodle shop he frequented.

Liu asked his family to help him test the theory, eating noodles at the restaurant and going home to take urine tests. When the relatives also tested positive for drugs, they alerted the police, who launched an investigation.

An anti-narcotics police agent said that chemicals from poppy, even poppy seeds, could build up in the body – enough to get a positive for opiates on a drug test.

Poppy plant seeds are safe for human consumption, and widely used in Western cuisine, but consumed in large amounts, a person can test positive for drug use. Photo: Reuters

If the food is ingested over a long period of time, it would have an addictive effect, he said.

However, despite finding the restaurant culpable, Liu’s appeal against his detention was dismissed by police, who said their priority was to detect drugs and punish drug users.

The mainland’s anti-drug law bans opium, heroin, morphine, marijuana and any other anaesthetic and psychotropic drugs which can be addictive.

Chinese police have sought to step up efforts against illegal drugs. Over the past six months, they have arrested more than a dozen celebrities on drug-related charges, including famous mainland screenwriter Ning Caishen and director Zhang Yuan.

In other high-profile busts, police also detained Hong Kong actors Roy Cheung and Jaycee Chan, the son of kung fu icon Jackie Chan, along with Taiwanese actor Kai Chen-tung Ko.

 

[Vermin]

A pub singer in Changsha, Hunan Province, who sexually abused six men to death in 2009, was recently executed on the charge of intentional homicide by a local court.

Can't be as the forum gay retard is still selling his backside here while he pimps his mum and sis at the sex forum.

 

[Lotto]

Dengue epidemic rises rapidly in Guangdong

Number of cases in Guangzhou upby a quarter in three days, including two rare deaths, due to continued wet weather and human factors

PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 23 September, 2014, 10:12pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 24 September, 2014, 4:34am

Mimi Lau in Guangzhou [email protected]

Nearly 5,200, or 85 per cent, of Guangdong's dengue fever cases this year have been recorded in the capital, Guangzhou. Photo: SCMP Pictures

A deadly outbreak of dengue fever in Guangdong has spiked alarmingly in the last week, with 1,200 cases alone reported in Guangzhou between Saturday and Monday.

In all, the province has reported 6,089 cases this year - or 10 times more than same time last year.

The provincial capital is the hardest-hit area, with 5,190 cases, or 85 per cent of the total, and two deaths as of Monday, according to the Guangdong Provincial Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.

Yang Zhicong , deputy chief of the CDC's Guangzhou arm, said the authorities attributed the sudden spike in dengue to imported cases and persistent rainfall in the region.

He also said the refusal of many members of the public and even government bodies to cooperate contributed to the high number. This included Guangzhou Zoo, which refused to let Yang's office monitor mosquitoes inside its premises, according to local media reports.

Yang said the authorities had established 177 monitoring stations for mosquitoes from the Aedes genus known to spread the dengue virus.

The two dengue deaths, both elderly patients, were the first reported in the city for many years, said Yin Zhibiao , head of Guangzhou's Eighth People's Hospital, an infectious disease facility that has admitted 199 patients with dengue fever, 15 of whom were "severely ill".

The China News Service quoted Yin as saying the two deceased patients had high blood pressure and diabetes.

Nearby Foshan had recorded 622 cases, while Zhongshan and Jiangmen were listed as high-risk areas.

In the past few days, the Guangdong authorities have issued mobile phone alerts urging residents to seek medical treatment early to lower the risk of complications or death.

It also called for greater efforts to limit mosquitoes, especially cleaning up pooled water in which the insects breed.

Mosquitoes spread a range of parasitic, viral and bacterial diseases dangerous to human health. Dengue is linked to urbanisation but has a relatively low mortality rate.

Symptoms include fever, headache, muscle and joint pain and skin rashes. A very small number of cases lead to life-threatening dengue haemorrhagic fever.

In Hong Kong, the Centre for Health Protection said that as of Monday, the city had confirmed 66 dengue fever cases this year, all of which were imported, mostly from Indonesia and Thailand. One case was imported from the mainland.

A centre spokesman said dengue fever was endemic to parts of Southeast Asia and warned travellers to be on the alert.

Additional reporting by Zhuang Pinghui and Ernest Kao

 

[Pfizer]

Virtual girlfriend service a new hit online

Chinadaily September 23, 2014

At online shopping platform taobao.com, a virtual girlfriend service has been rolled out in many stores and well-received among love-seekers, xkb.com.cn reported on Tuesday.

Virtual girlfriend service a new hit online.[File photo]

Online stores offer whatever type of "girlfriend" men can dream of. The virtual girlfriends build a "relationship" with their customers and provide comfort to their lonely hearts by chatting on instant messaging tool WeChat. The service which costs 20 yuan ($3.26) a day has drawn many clients with one of the service providers receiving 50 orders one day.

 

[Pfizer]

Students detained for arms smuggling

Chinadaily September 23, 2014

Five college students have been detained for smuggling weapons in Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong province, chinanews.com reported on Tuesday.

The five students purchased 41 air pistols and more than 3,000 bullets in Hong Kong and brought the arms to Shenzhen after a trafficker surnamed Zhang promised them lucrative pay.

The weapons were then sold to online buyers.

The students can make 550 yuan to 1,200 yuan ($90-195) for smuggling a gun, said the prosecutor.

 

[Pfizer]

Money laundering suspects nabbed in Macao

China Daily, September 24, 2014

A man and a woman were arrested on Tuesday in Macao for suspected money laundering, local media reported.

The woman, 39, is reportedly from East China's Jiangsu province and holds a work permit. The man, 33, is also from Jiangsu province and unemployed. The suspects were reported to police when they were witnessed withdrawing large sums of money form ATMs at a bank.

Macao police later found the pair with 110 debit cards issued by mainland banks and HK $463,500 ($59,793) in cash.

Video footage also showed the two, both surnamed Wu, withdrawing money at the same location on Sept 14. The suspects admitted withdrawing HK $400,000 at that time but said they lost all the money gambling.

Police officials said an investigation is still underway.

 

[Pfizer]

Police nab man suspected of poisoning boy

Chinadaily September 23, 2014

Police in Kunming, Southwest China's Yunnan province have arrested a male suspect allegedly involved in injecting mercury into a five-year-old boy, The Beijing News reported on Tuesday.

A screenshot from Beijing Television. [Photo/Official Weibo of People's Daily]

Police haven't revealed details of the case as it involves a minor.

The boy identified by the alias Qi Qi developed ulceration of the skin and a high fever in January. Checks in February at First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University showed the mercury concentration in his blood was 200 times the normal standard, and the concentration in his urine was 10,000 times higher than the standard.

He received treatment in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province, then tried Guangzhou and Shenzhen hospitals in South China's Guangdong province, and then The 307 Hospital of Chinese People's Liberation Army in Beijing, for better treatment. He was discharged from the Beijing hospital in May with what doctors said was an irretrievable one percent of mercury left in his body.

A poisons doctor at The 307 Hospital of Chinese People's Liberation Army said such a large amount of mercury must have been injected into the boy's body.

The boy attended a Kunming primary school as a first grader this summer, and is now in good health. The hospital will continue monitoring the mercury residue's effect on his health.

 

[Pfizer]

Rapist cabby sentenced to 3 years' jail

Shanghai Daily, September 23, 2014

The driver of an unlicensed taxi was sentenced to three years in prison for raping a drunken female passenger in May, the Jinshan District People's Court said yesterday.

After picking up the woman and seeing she was drunk, the cabby drove her to a remote area and raped her on the backseat of his taxi, the court heard.

The victim said she was aware of being abused but was too drunk to defend herself.

The driver raped the woman twice then stayed with her in the cab until she awoke the next morning, prosecutors said.

Realizing she was still in a dangerous situation, the woman pretended nothing had happened, and instead asked the driver to take her home.

Once there, she reported the incident to police.

 

[Pfizer]

China consumer, jobs confidence plunge

Outlook for jobs at lowest level in more than five years as households start to lose faith in government's ability to arrest slide in economy

PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 24 September, 2014, 10:20am
UPDATED : Thursday, 25 September, 2014, 6:41am

Victoria Ruan in Beijing [email protected]

Consumers are nervous about the economy. Photo: Reuters

Consumer confidence on the mainland is at its lowest in nearly three years, according to a nationwide survey, with the outlook for jobs at its worst since February 2009, when millions of factory workers had lost their jobs as the global financial crisis brought world trade to a standstill.

The second successive monthly fall in the Westpac-MNI China Consumer Sentiment Index showed households are getting less confident in the government's ability to arrest a slide in the economy

The index has now fallen by 7 per cent since January, with consumers growing increasingly concerned about the state of household finances, a statement accompanying the publication of the index said.

The quarterly reading of sentiment is at its lowest level since the fourth quarter of 2011 and highlights the struggle ahead for Beijing to transform its economic model from export-driven investment to domestic consumption.

The faltering jobs outlook - the survey's employment indicator sank for a fourth straight month - is likely to be of particular concern to the government, as Beijing considers a stable jobs market its top economic policy goal.

Goldman Sachs echoed consumers' concerns as it slashed its forecast for China's growth for 2015-2017. The US investment bank predicts gross domestic product growth will slow to 7.1 per cent next year, down from the previous forecast of 7.6 per cent.

"We see further moderation in growth to 6.7 per cent by 2017, roughly tracking potential growth lower," Goldman Sachs said.

The subdued sentiment "raises questions about whether the authorities' efforts to support the economy since the spring will be sufficient to keep growth in line with the 7.5 per cent target this year", said Philip Uglow, chief economist of MNI Indicators.

The International Monetary Fund was more upbeat, with Changyong Rhee, director of the IMF's Asia and Pacific department, saying growth in China next year would likely be "well above" 7 per cent. The IMF has a 7.4 per cent growth forecast for China in 2014, just shy of the government's target of 7.5 per cent.

The gloomy view of consumers on jobs chimed with that of manufacturers. The HSBC flash purchasing managers index on China's manufacturing, released on Tuesday, showed the employment sub-index had slid to its lowest level since March 2009.

The PMI overall, however, came in slightly above analysts' expectations, indicating that factories were running at a somewhat faster pace in September than in August.

Mainland stock markets rose to their highest levels in seven weeks yesterday, rebounding from a near three-week low on Monday ahead of Tuesday's release of the flash PMI readings.

 

[Pfizer]

'Dirty' women strip off on subway train

Shanghai Daily, September 26, 2014

Police are investigating an incident on a crowded Metro train in which two young women were filmed removing their clothes in what might have been a promotional stunt.

'Dirty' women strip off on subway train.

A video of the public striptease appeared online yesterday.

While some passengers in the film seem to object to the women disrobing on the line 2 train, others take the opportunity to make home movies with their cellphones.

Later in the undated film, a man boards the train and approaches the pair, who by this time are down to their underwear. He bundles up their discarded clothes, makes one of the women write something in his notebook and gets back off. The women — who appear to be in their 20s — then put on new clothes taken from a bag and exit the train at the next stop.

One Internet user claimed that the stunt was part of a promotion for a laundry detergent and involved a total of 20 young women. In the film, the man who approaches the women is dressed in a uniform carrying the name of a detergent.

Police said that regardless of whether the stunt was contrived for promotional purposes, the people involved disrupted the public order and could face criminal charges.