中国Power !!!

[flickr]

China considers regulating smartphone apps: report

PUBLISHED : Monday, 27 October, 2014, 4:33pm
UPDATED : Monday, 27 October, 2014, 6:44pm

Patrick Boehler [email protected]

Men browse their tablet computers and smartphone at the Beijing Capital Airport in Beijing. Photo: AP

Chinese internet watchdogs are looking into ways to regulate the country’s booming market in smartphone applications in an effort to rein in privacy leaks and malware, according to a report in the Beijing News on Monday.

Senior officials from the State Internet Information Office, an agency under the State Council charged with regulating the internet, met with local regulators in Beijing over the weekend to discuss further rules for mobile apps, Chinese media reported.

The meeting also touched upon ways in which app users could seek redress if they had been targeted by malware or if private information had been siphoned off their phones by applications, according to Zhu Wei, an associate law professor at the China University of Political Science and Law.

Zhu said it was time for legal reforms as the nation’s laws lagged behind technology. “There has been a deluge of applications. Many illegal stores have their apps,” he said. “These often violate consumers’ private information and the legal rights and interests of minors. There should be a legislative effort to regulate” smartphone applications, he said.

The online application market has become a “free-for-all”, said Benjamin Cavender, a Shanghai-based analyst with China Market Research Group.

“Applications would access somebody’s contacts without asking for permission or try to record passwords or use that information to steal money from bank accounts,” he said. There is a concern that without regulation you’ll see more of this.”

Chinese consumers spent about one in 10 yuan online, according to data by the consultancy firm iResearch. Online shopping reached 628.8 billion yuan (HK$795 billion) in the second quarter of 2014, up 47.1 per cent from the same period a year earlier.

Most of this figure is still spent on desktop or laptop computers, but the mobile market is growing fast. Revenue on mobile devices grew 104.1 per cent to 44.5 billion yuan in the second quarter, according to iResearch.

Zhu said the focus of new regulation would be threefold: clarifying regulatory responsibilities among government departments; helping consumers find legal remedies against malware; and increasing barriers to entry for developers to spread their apps online.

Charlie Dai, a Beijing-based analyst at market research firm Forrester, said finalising the review of China’s personal information protection law was “a top priority”. The bill, still a draft, has been years in the making and is yet to become law.

Last year, the National People’s Congress amended the Consumer Protection Law in a first major revision since 1993 to account for Chinese consumers increasingly buying online. In March this year, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce released guidelines to regulate online shopping.

Regulating online apps will be “awfully difficult,” Cavender said. Regulators could set up a “clearing house” that checks applications before they are made available for download or they could work with carriers, jointly monitoring applications, but there are many ways to circumvent regulation, he said.

“There is no real simple solution, but having some kind of process could help,” he said.

 

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Chinese campus brothel that gave students discount for sex ‘run by university president’

PUBLISHED : Monday, 27 October, 2014, 4:18pm
UPDATED : Monday, 27 October, 2014, 7:13pm

James Griffiths and Chen Yifei

Picture taken during a raid by police on a brothel as part of a wider crackdown on prostitution in Dongguan, Guangdong province. Photo: Reuters

A university campus hotel that operates a barely disguised brothel and offers discounts to students for sexual services is allegedly owned by the head of the institution, according to a Chinese newspaper report.

The Beijing Times reports that the “Guangxin International Hotel” has been operating on the campus of the Wuchang University of Technology in Wuhan, a medium-sized school of around 13,000 students, for a number of years.

According to a student who tipped off the paper, the “hotel” – situated atop one of the university’s canteen buildings – is in fact a brothel. The student, surnamed Chen, told reporters that when he went to the hotel to check out its foot massage service that were being advertised, he was offered “special services.”

A reporter for the Times who confirmed Chen’s story spoke to several hotel employees who said they provided sexual services on the side, but emphasised that this was managed directly within the hotel.

An employee the newspaper spoke to said that some of their customers were students, who could receive a discount if they showed a university ID, or someone referred by a student (which is how the reporter got access). She said that although they posted a phone number outside the building, if they received a call from an “unfamiliar person, we would not arrange [an appointment].”

Zhao Zuobin, president of the university, heads the Guangxin Science and Education Group, which owns both the hotel and the university. According to documents filed with Wuhan’s commerce bureau, Zhao was previously the legal representative of the hotel, but in early 2013, the hotel was transferred to another company registered at the same address, of which Zhao’s brother-in-law is the legal representative.

In a statement published on its official Weibo account, the university denied that Zhao or any staff were involved in the running of the hotel or alleged prostitution, adding that the matter had been referred to police for investigation.

The hotel said it only offered massage services to customers and the alleged prostitution may have been arranged personally by its staff.

The police said it had suspended the hotel’s massage business for investigation.

The university vowed to cooperate with police and publish their findings.

The Wuchang University of Technology wouldn’t be the first university to have a brothel operating on campus. In August, two men were jailed for running a prostitution ring out of student halls at the University of Sussex on England's south coast.

The gang trafficked women from Hungary to work in the brothel, which was based in a two-bedroom student flat they had broken into while its occupants were away during the Easter holidays.

 

[flickr]

China considers abolishing death penalty for nine crimes

PUBLISHED : Monday, 27 October, 2014, 11:38am
UPDATED : Monday, 27 October, 2014, 3:39pm

Reuters in Beijing

The death penalty applies to 55 offences, including fraud and illegal money-lending. Photo: AFP

China is considering trimming nine crimes from the list of offences punishable by death, state media said on Monday, as the ruling Communist Party considers broader reforms to the country’s legal system.

Rights groups say China uses capital punishment more than any other country, raising public concern of irreversible miscarriages of justice.

A draft amendment to China’s criminal law, which includes the use of the death penalty, was submitted for initial review to National People’s Congress, Xinhua said.

Crimes that would be exempt from capital punishment under the amendment include “smuggling weapons, ammunition, nuclear materials or counterfeit currencies; counterfeiting currencies; raising funds by means of fraud; and arranging for or forcing another person to engage in prostitution”, Xinhua said.

The crimes of “obstructing a commander or a person on duty from performing his duties” and “fabricating rumours to mislead others during wartime”, are also under review, the news agency said.

Officials had previously said that China would review the application of the death penalty, which applies to 55 offences, including fraud and illegal money-lending.

China guards the number of people executed every year as state secrets.

The San Francisco-based Dui Hua Foundation, which seeks the release of political prisoners in China, estimated that 2,400 people were executed last year. By comparison, 39 people were executed last year in the United States, according to the Death Penalty Information Centre.

The reduction in death penalty crimes, however, is not expected to greatly reduce the number of executions per year, scholars have said.

The Communist Party, worried about rising social unrest and anger over land grabs, corruption and pollution unveiled legal reforms aimed at improving judicial independence at a key meeting last week.

The Party has stressed that it will remain in overall control of the judiciary, and despite the move to implement legal reforms, few analysts expect significant political change any time soon.

 

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More than 2,000 Chinese pharmacy students caught cheating in licensing exam: state media

PUBLISHED : Monday, 27 October, 2014, 3:02pm
UPDATED : Monday, 27 October, 2014, 8:47pm

Andrea Chen [email protected]

Almost one in 10 trainee pharmacists in Shaanxi cheated in their exams. Photo: Edward Wong

More than 2,000 pharmacists from Xi’an cheated in the national licensing test, state television reported on Sunday night.

The candidates wore earpieces through which answers to the test questions were transmitted via radio.

The scam earlier this month was uncovered when invigilators detected abnormal radio signals from an illegal frequency.

“It is the worst scandal over the past few years,” Du Fangshuai, the chief of Shaanxi testing authority, told state media. “We’ve caught 2,440 candidates in total at seven test centres. At one centre there were 700 candidates cheating at the test.”

The total number caught cheating accounted for almost one in 10 of the 25,000 candidates who sat the test in the province.

One of the pharmacists caught cheating told state media half of test takers at one exam centre were wearing the same earpiece. “I don’t know why but some were not caught,” he was quoted as saying.

Local police have arrested several people allegedly behind the scam and are continuing to investigate.

The scammers sent fake candidates to the test, who quickly left after finding out the questions. The organisers of the fraud then prepared the correct answers and transmitted them to the candidates, who had paid for the service.

They then transmitted correct answers back to the candidates who had paid for the service.

Candidates found cheating would be banned from taking any national licensing test for two years, Du told state media.

Pharmacists are in great demand in Shaanxi amid a shortage of qualified staff.

According to national regulations, pharmacies and medicine wholesale firms must hire at least one licensed pharmacist. Shaanxi has just 4,000 licensed pharmacists – not enough to staff 8,500 pharmacies and medicine wholesale firms across the province.

But the licensing test, consisting of seven separate two-and-a-half hour exams, remains highly competitive. Candidates are required to pass all seven subject tests within two years, or their grades will expire.

 

[flickr]

New propaganda campaign presents Xi as 'tired but happy' hard-working leader

PUBLISHED : Monday, 27 October, 2014, 2:39pm
UPDATED : Monday, 27 October, 2014, 7:35pm

Keira Lu Huang [email protected]

The story followed Xi on the frist day following the end of the fourth plenum last week. Photo: Xinhua

Beijing has rolled out another propaganda campaign to boost President Xi Jinping’s image, portraying him as a hard-working and efficient leader.

An article about how Xi spent last Friday was placed top of major news websites and their mobile apps on Monday.

The story was first published on online news website the Shanghai Observer, owned by the Shanghai United Media Group, and has since been widely reprinted elsewhere.

A reporter bylined Guan Jingtai documented what Xi did on Friday, the first day after the Communist Party’s fourth plenum.

The report featured details of Xi’s agenda and the reporter’s own observations and comments. It took a close look at the president’s apparent daily life, which is rarely touched upon by the party’s propaganda machine.

An earlier move by Xinhua to publish details and photos of Xi’s daily routine when he took office surprised many. It was widely seen by analysts as a strategy to introduce Xi to the people and try and gain him mass support.

This time, the article presented Xi as a man with a daunting workload but who still managed to find time for flashes of humour.

According to the report, Xi started the day by reading news stories over breakfast at dawn. He then headed to the Great Hall of the People to attend a ceremony to launch the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

Xi’s diplomatic agenda that day included calling Indonesia’s new president, Joko Widodo, and meeting the president of Tanzania.

The reporter described Xi’s workrate as “fast”.

“As soon as the Tanzanian delegation sat down, Xi said immediately, ‘We have a lot to talk about today, in order to save time, let’s use simultaneous interpretation’,” the report stated.

Guan said that despite his busy schedule, Xi “was tired but happy”.

The story was the lead item on major news websites going into Monday morning. A former editor of a prominent mainland news website said it had become a convention that any story about Xi was placed above everything else.

“It has been a standard move to always place stories on Xi top,” said the editor who spoke on condition of anonymity.

He added there was never a convention among mainland editors to automatically place stories about Hu Jintao top of the agenda.

 

[Rossi]

Wuhan college hosts brothel on campus

(CRI) Updated: 2014-10-28 10:04

A university in central China's Wuhan city has come under fire after media reports suggest that the school has been operating a brothel on campus.

Students from Wuchang Polytechnic School have reported to local police that a hotel next to their domitory was offering paid sex to students.

The students alleged that the hotel, run as school property, operates a foot bath club and was blatantly promoting their "special services" saying discount would be offered if students can show their student ID cards.

Investigative reporters from the Beijing Times confirmed that the hotel did host prostitutes.

It was later found out that the hotel was owned by the brother-in-law of the college's principal.

Police have closed down the foot bath club inside the hotel and its management has been taken away for further investigation.

 

[Rossi]

Sexologist punished for swindling research funds

China Daily, October 29, 2014

China's leading expert on sexology has received an administrative penalty for swindling State scientific research funds.

He has been demoted and will have to retire earlier, news website The Paper reported on Monday.

His failure to provide invoices of payments to sex workers during interviews was one of the reasons for the penalty to Pan Suiming, former director of the Institute of Sexuality and Gender at Renmin University.

Pan is well-known for the research he carried out on China's 23 red-light districts from 1998 to 2010 when he interviewed more than 1,000 sex workers as well as hundreds of pimps in recent years.

Pan is among seven professors at five universities who have swindled more than 25 million yuan ($4 million) of State scientific research funds, China's anti-corruption watchdog revealed on Oct 10.

Four professors have been arrested for swindling State scientific research funds with false subjects, according to a release from the Communist Party of China Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

The four include Li Ning of the Chinese University of Agriculture and Chen Yingxu, a water environment professor in Zhejiang University.

The Ministry of Science and Technology, which manages the funds, later organized an internal inspection and punished eight people involved in the cases, including the four arrested.

The Chinese government spent 1 trillion yuan on research and development in 2012 under its scientific innovation drive. However, much of the money has been misused, according to the ministry.

"Although the State Council has general rules on the credibility of fund applicants, it has no specific law on State scientific funds in China," said Meng Bing, a lawyer from King and Capital Lawyer Agency in Beijing.

Meng said the corruption in scientific research is partly due to a lack of supervision and sanctions. He said the science, finance and auditing authorities should cooperate to have better supervision of science funds.

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection launched a new section on its website in October exposing cases of misconduct discovered during its first round of inspection from March to May this year.

A total of 10 teams carried out regular inspections in Beijing, Tianjin and eight other provinces. They also conducted special inspections in the Ministry of Science and Technology, State-owned China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corporation and Fudan University during the same period.

 

[AnotherOneBitestheDust]

Woman seeks men to pick up tab for her China travel

Staff Reporter
2014-10-24

An online post by a woman seeking "temporary boyfriends" during her trip around China has triggered heated public discussion, reports Guangzhou's xkb.com.cn.

The traveler, who uses the internet handle "pretty girl born after 1995," posted online that she planned to "travel around China for free," and would be looking for "temporary boyfriends" at each one of her destinations in order to make that possible. The "boyfriend" would pay for everything during the trip and in return, she would spend the night with him.

In defense of herself, the woman said she "has no income" and "did not want to have a rough time traveling," which was followed by her basic criteria for "temporary boyfriend applicants": taller than 1.75m, under 30, affluent, and generous.

This traveling temporary girlfriend has already completed her trips in Suzhou and Nanjing in Jiangsu province, and Wushi in Hunan province, via the help of her male patrons living in these cities.

The post drew tens of thousands of comments from internet users within a short time. Most condemned the woman as immoral and wanting to get something for nothing. Others, however, thought it was her personal choice and not something for others to comment on.

A portion of the users expressed concerns over the girl's safety, with some declaring her "mentally challenged" and saying that she put herself in great danger. One netizen said the girl had totally ruined the essence of "budget travel" with her vanity.

The media contacted her travel mate in Suzhou, named Shao Shao, who refused to comment and told the media and netizens not to make a big deal about her plans.

The post has obtained millions of hits as of press time.

 

[ChinaSux]

Man accused of fraud with fake suicide attempts

China Daily, October 30, 2014

A former air-conditioning installation worker who swindled people by pretending he was going to jump from buildings has been charged with causing a disturbance, the Jiangxi provincial Shangrao city people's government said on Tuesday.

The 47-year-old suspect, surnamed Li, from Yancheng, Jiangsu province, pretended he was about to jump off buildings 25 times in seven provinces since 2011, according to the Hengfeng county people's prosecuting department in Shangrao, Jiangxi province.

In the process he was able to cheat people out of 12,000 yuan ($1,964) by telling sob stories.

"It is regarded as the first national case for us to charge someone under the guise of jumping off a building," the Hengfeng county people's prosecuting department said in a statement.

"In order to arouse other's attention, Li always chose construction buildings in the citys' busy sections to conduct his crimes and targeted the rescue personnel," said Zeng Zhijiang, a police officer from the Shangrao public security department.

Before being detained by police on Aug 23, Li succeeded in defrauding 1,600 yuan in two fake attempts to jump off buildings in Shangrao between April and August, according to the city government.

One case occurred in April, when Li stood on a bamboo scaffold and threatened to jump off a four-story construction building near Yu-shan county railway station. He was holding a blade in his hand and seemed excited, according to the Shangrao public security department.

After receiving a report from the public, police officers and firefighters immediately rushed to the scene and persuaded Li to come down. He said he had come to Yu-shan to search for his missing wife, but had failed. He had spent all his money and had no interest in life, and wanted to die, the department said.

During a 30-minute negotiation with police, Li asked for 600 yuan, then agreed not to jump from the building.

In August, Shangrao police received another report in which a man claimed he had been swindled of 5,000 yuan by a woman in Guangfeng county, Shangrao, and had no money to return home. He threatened to jump off a construction building in a busy local street, the city's public security department said.

Police immediately went to the site and after negotiations, the owner of the construction building agreed to give the man 1,000 yuan and persuaded him to come down off the building.

A police officer named Zeng noticed the two incidents were very alike and the supposed jumper gave similar stories, such as seeking his wife or spending all his money, to gain sympathy, the department said.

Zeng reported his suspicions to the Shangrao public security department, which listed the suspect in a warning information system and issued a warning to the public to prevent them from being swindled by a similar ploy.

Only four days after issuing the information, on Aug 23, Li pretended he was going to jump from a six-story construction building in Hengfeng county. He was detained by local police on the site, according to the city government.

Li Fang, a lawyer from the All China Lawyers Association, said that if the suspect is convicted of causing a disturbance, he could serve a jail term of up to five years, plus fines.

"If the circumstances are serious, such as gathering others together to cause trouble repeatedly in public places or seriously damaging social order, suspects will serve sentences between five and 10 years," she said.

 

[ChinaSux]

Man kills 4, injures 20 after losing money at cards

CRI, October 30, 2014

Four people were killed and more than 20 others were injured when a man "went crazy" and either stabbed them or ran them over this morning in Hubei Province.

Four people were killed and more than 20 others were injured when a man "went crazy" and either stabbed them or ran them over this morning in Hubei Province. [Photo: t.qq.com]

Police said a car plowed into a crowd on Shennong Road around 7am. Two were killed and seven others were sent to People's Hospital's brain surgery department.

A witness reportedly told the media the driver was not drunk and that he was intentionally running over pedestrians.

A source close to the local government reportedly told the newspaper that the man, identified by police as Deng Zhongkun, killed his friend's wife and child at home this morning after losing money in card games and then called the police.

He "went crazy" while waiting for police and rushed to the street with a knife to stab pedestrians, the source said. The man then forced a sedan driver to stop, hijacked the car and began the road rampage, according to the report.

The report didn't specify how many people were stabbed or how many were run over.

Police have arrested the man and have him in custody as they continue investigating the case.

 

[ChinaSux]

Food shortage? Eat bugs!

China Daily, October 30, 2014

Fried locusts, ant soup and other dishes made from insects could be the answer to the current global food crisis.

Fried spiders at a Taiwan food festival in Zhejiang Province, Oct 18, 2014.

The scarcity of food and resources is an inevitable threat to human development that can be solved through eating bugs, Paul Vantomme, senior forestry officer of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, told China Daily on Tuesday.

Vantomme is visiting Huazhong Agricultural University in Wuhan from Tuesday to Friday.

"Edible insects have many advantages in that they grow quickly, emit less pollution and are high in nutrients," he said, adding that many insects worldwide contain high quality protein, vitamins and amino acids required by humans, and can be used as animal feed or human food to alleviate the world's food crises.

Vantomme said insects can be grown on organic waste, thus also reducing air and water pollution.

According to a report released by the FAO last year, crickets need six times less feed than cattle, four times less than sheep and half as much as pigs and chickens to produce the same amount of protein.

Yu Ziniu, a microbiology professor at Huazhong Agricultural University, agreed that most insects could become a main component of the human diet.

The FAO foresees that by 2030 more than 9 billion people will need to be fed globally, along with billions of animals raised annually for food and recreational purposes and as pets, putting great pressure on shrinking land and water resources.

The report said eating bugs may be one of many ways to address food and feed security.

It said insects supplement the diets of approximately 2 billion people and have always been a part of human diets, with more than 1,900 edible insect species consumed around the world.

The most commonly consumed insects are beetles, caterpillars, bees, wasps, ants, grasshoppers, locusts and crickets, according to the report.

Although it has been promoted by the UN and is also a traditional cuisine in some parts of China, such as Yunnan and Guangdong, mass consumption of insects still has a long way to go, Gao Xiwu, an entomologist at the Chinese Agricultural University, told China Daily in a previous interview.

"A clear and comprehensive food safety standard is needed to pave the way for promoting insects as food," he said, adding that some insects are toxic with pesticide residue and bacteria, which might not be eradicated through cooking.

In contrast, Guo Huanchao, a manager at the Yunteng restaurant in Beijing, where bug cuisine is served, showed no concern about risks, saying that as long as the insects or worms are properly heated, either by boiling or frying, the dishes are hygienic.

The FAO report said there are no known cases of the transmission of diseases or parasites to humans from the consumption of insects when properly handled, but that the topic requires further research.

 

[ChinaSux]

Thieves steal corpse for posthumous marriage

By Zhang Rui
China.org October 30, 2014

A thrilling case has revealed a group of thieves stealing a dead woman's body for posthumous marriage in Shandong, iQilu.com reported.

Rural superstitions in some parts of China believe that a lone tomb in family tombs will cast a bad influence on the next generations. If one dies without a surviving spouse, then the family should find one for him/her.

Police from Juye County, Heze City, Shandong Province cracked down on an electric bicycle stealing case in June, but the confession from the suspect, surnamed Wang, led to another even more thrilling case that he and fellow thieves stole a dead body.

Zhang Linhai, a local police officer, said police got reports from sources that a villager hid many bicycles at home. They arrested the man but after questioning him, the man said he dug a tomb and stole a woman's dead body in March at Tianqiao Town.

The police soon formed a special squad to investigate further. The man said that eight thieves, dug out a relatively fresh dead body of a person who died three months ago, and sold it for 18,000 yuan. According to him, this kind of body would sell between 16,000 and 20,000 yuan for posthumous marriage, but if it turned already a skeleton then it would be worth nothing.

Policemen then detained other suspects and found the buyer, surnamed Liu, who first stored the dead body in a hospital mortuary and then sold it to a dead man's family in Hebei Province for 38,000 yuan.

The case is still under investigation and 11 suspects have been detained.

This is not the only case for corpse business this year. In June, a villager from Shizai Village in Guangxi's Beiliu City reported to the local police department that his grandfather's dead body had been stolen. The police solved the case by detaining three suspects from Guangdong who later confessed they stole bodies to "complete a local government monthly cremation assignment."

China's criminal law states that those who are caught stealing and insulting corpses can be given a prison or detention sentence of up to three years.

 

[RoguePilot]

Villagers drink manure-soaked water to cure cancer

CRI, October 30, 2014

About 20 households in Jinshicun village, Hunan province, drink manure-soaked water as they believe this kind of water can cure cancer.

Villagers collect the goat and cattle manure, air it out, then stir-fry and grind it. They brew one spoon of the manure grinds in a cup of water and drink twice a day.

The remedy became popular in the village as a grandma who was diagnosed with the terminal stage of lung cancer recovered after drinking manure-soaked water for eight months.

 

[Pfizer]

Love on the line

By Huang Lanlan Source: Global Times Published: 2014-10-29 18:13:01

Virtual girlfriends are on sale and waiting for you now

A screenshot of a Taobao shop promoting friends for sale

A young Shanghai man surnamed Li used to laugh at phubbers (cell phone addicts who snub people around them by constantly checking their phones for messages and calls). But he has recently become a phubber himself after falling in love with his girlfriend.

"She's really nice and sweet," Li said. "She gives me a wake-up call every morning, and says goodnight to me at night. When I get sad or angry, she listens to my complaints and moans and comforts me with her gentle words."

Li is very happy with his girlfriend even though the girlfriend is one he bought, one of a new breed of online commodity that is now selling like hot cakes. You can buy girlfriends or boyfriends who will text you or chat to you on WeChat or QQ.

The sales pitch suggests these "virtual" boyfriends and girlfriends are as good as real lovers and are loyal and faithful and thousands of single young people, especially single young men, have bought themselves lovers.

Though Li can never meet the girlfriend he paid for, he said he feels she is his lover and he enjoys talking to her every day. "Dating a girl in the real world would cost a lot of money, but my girlfriend costs me only 20 yuan ($3.26) a day."

The Baby Deer shop

At present there are at least 4,400 virtual girlfriend or boyfriend deals available on taobao.com, China's largest e-commerce website. One of the most popular virtual girlfriend/boyfriend shops, a shop named "The Baby Deer That Touches Your Heart," opened on Taobao in August and has more than 18,000 customers to date.

Like other girlfriend/boyfriend shops, the Baby Deer shop offers a range of girlfriends and boyfriends to meet different demands. Among the girlfriends a customer can buy are gentle and caring girls, sweet and beautiful girls, graceful girls, charming girls, wise and efficient girls.

The Global Times discovered in this shop that the girlfriend/boyfriend packages cost either 20 or 45 yuan a day. A 20-yuan product, the "ordinary deal," promises a one-day service where a young man or woman with an attractive voice will talk to the customer with texts and voice chats. The 45-yuan deal, the "supreme package" promises more, with the girlfriend pledging true love to the customer - if he wants this. She can also sing for him or send birthday messages or reminders to his parents, just as a real girlfriend might.

The friends can come in foreign languages as well. The website says: "If you want to experience exotic tastes, we've prepared girlfriends and boyfriends who speak French, English, Japanese, Korean, German and Spanish for you!" These exotic foreign languages speakers charge 45 yuan for a one-hour chat.

Every day at this store about 40 clients buy a friend, said the store owner, a 21-year-old nicknamed Lulu. She has about 40 men and 40 women aged between 17 and 26 working for her as the friends. It's a job that seems to be proving popular. Lulu said she has more than 100 people a day applying to work for her.

"In reality it's not easy to be a good 'virtual friend,'" she said. All of her employees have had to pass a series of tests before getting to work. "I talk to them online for hours to see whether they have gentle and attractive voices, whether they can converse well, whether they are friendly and patient and whether they can sing well - these are the qualities we are looking for."

Gentle and caring

One of Lulu's more experienced employees is a 21-year-old girl who goes online by the name Xiaohongmao (Little Red Cap). On the website Xiaohongmao is listed as a "gentle and caring girl." Once a customer buys a girlfriend like Xiaohongmao, he can start chatting to her on his mobile phone immediately.

In real life Xiaohongmao is a college student studying in neighboring Zhejiang Province and she said she does this work part time not for money but for fun. "It's interesting to talk to people from different places and to learn about them," she said. Among her clients there have been designers, architects and university students.

Earlier this month, a Youth Daily reporter bought a "virtual girlfriend" online and wrote about his experiences. Before he paid for the girl on Taobao the shop owner asked him what sort of girl he preferred and then recommended he buy a young woman called Niannian. He handed over 20 yuan and Niannian quickly added him to her WeChat account.

"Hello, darling, here I am," Niannian introduced herself. "What should I call you?"

The reporter described his virtual girlfriend as being "polite and considerate" with a "very sweet and tender voice." In the afternoon, Niannian called to remind him to eat some snacks and drink water, which she said would be good for him.

When the reporter tried to become more personally involved with Niannian and asked her to send him some more revealing photos, she sidetracked him and began talking about other things. When he asked for a video call with her she turned him down, saying that a video call would cost him 300 yuan an hour.

Unwelcome advances

One virtual boyfriend/girlfriend shop owner said more than 70 percent of his customers had made unwelcome advances on his staff. One man had asked that his "girlfriend" send him a picture of her kneeling and another had asked for the girl to "talk dirty."

To protect her employees, Lulu's shop website notes clearly that discussing or asking for anything sexual or pornographic was prohibited. "I will report anyone who does this to the police," she states.

However the Southeast Morning Post, a Fujian-based newspaper, reported on Tuesday that some girlfriend/boyfriend shops had been closed by Taobao because they were suspected of offering sexual services to their customers including nude chats. Police said that anyone providing services like this could be charged with the crime of disseminating pornography.

And when the Global Times tried searching for the key words "virtual girlfriend or boyfriend" on Taobao, there were no results shown. Early this week, a staffer at Taobao confirmed that the website had blocked these key words. "But we only shut down the shops that were reported by clients," he told media without giving any further details.

The Youth Daily reporter analyzed the comments of some of the virtual girlfriend customers on Taobao and noted that the virtual friends were especially popular with young men who were antisocial - the sort that went home after work and stayed there, rarely venturing outside.

One of these shy types, Xiaoxiaoqu, describes himself as a "senior indoorsman" and said there was a very popular Japanese comic book called Virtual Girlfriend. Like him, many of these shy retiring types are attracted to the beautiful but unrealistic female characters portrayed in comic books or online games.

Perhaps this is why almost all the virtual girlfriend shops feature pictures of beautiful anime girls with big eyes and cute faces rather than photos of the actual employees. Shops selling virtual boyfriends often have pictures of famous male pop stars or movie stars.

No one will know

The customers, no matter how ardent or passionate they might become, will never get to meet the real girlfriend or boyfriend. In his chats with Niannian the reporter learned only that she was a 21-year-old designer. Another girlfriend he bought later claimed she was really a college student in northeast Heilongjiang Province. But no one will ever know.

Though some shops have been shut down, selling virtual girlfriends online doesn't break the law, said city lawyer Fang Zhengyu. "But talking to strangers online as if they were boyfriends or girlfriends is somewhat risky, as people could easily reveal personal information during a conversation."

Apart from concerns about privacy, Fang said it was important that anyone who bought these services should be always aware that they were just "virtual lovers."

"Falling in love with a stranger online sounds romantic, but it would be dangerous to trust someone you really don't know," he added.

Compiled by Huang Lanlan (based on stories in the Youth Daily and Time Weekly)

 

[Pfizer]

Liaoning student's love sparks a brush fire

Staff Reporter
2014-10-27

The fire at Liaoning Advertising Vocational College on the evening of Oct. 23. (Internet photo)

A Chinese university freshman ignited a brush fire while trying to declare his love for a female student by setting off fireworks, reports NetEase's news.163.com.

The fire broke out near the stadium of the Liaoning Advertising Vocational College in northeastern China on the evening of Oct. 23. The freshman's "goddess," a junior, was not even present at the scene when some weeds caught fire from the fireworks and the hot air caused the flames to spread rapidly.

Students watched as firemen took about an hour to extinguish the blaze, which reportedly grew into a wall as high as three or four meters. Though the fire did not cause any deaths or injuries, the flames wiped out about 300-400 square meters of grass and trees. The nearby cornfields were reportedly undamaged.

A source allegedly with knowledge of the situation told reporters that the lovestruck student was studying sales and marketing and panicked when he found out that the girl of his dreams was leaving the university in about a month. Judging from the amount of fireworks set off it would appear that the freshman spent a fair amount of money too, the source added.

A police investigation into the incident is ongoing.

 

[BalanceOfPower]

More than 100 corruption suspects seized abroad in China's 'Fox Hunt' campaign

The number of suspects held – 104 – already exceeds the total for last year

PUBLISHED : Thursday, 30 October, 2014, 2:55pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 30 October, 2014, 11:22pm

Keira Lu Huang [email protected]

Gangsters arrested on economic crimes are paraded by Chinese police. Photo: AFP

More than 100 fugitives suspected of corruption who had fled overseas have now been caught, China announced on Wednesday – exactly 100 days since the launch of the crackdown dubbed “Fox Hunt 2014”.

The number of suspects held – 104 – already exceeds the total for last year.

The Ministry of Public Security also said on its website that an additional 76 suspects have agreed to return to the mainland voluntarily.

Out of the total number of 180 suspects, 44 are allegedly involved in cases of corruption or fraud worth tens of millions of yuan.

The high profile operation was launched on July 22. It is the latest stage in China’s anti-graft campaign and often involves tracking down corrupt officials.

Police have drawn up a list of all suspects still at large and officers are liaising with relevant countries and regions, according to the Ministry of Public Security. There are customised plans to track down each individual suspect.

More than 75 of the suspects seized so far were caught in Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Cambodia, and other countries in Southeast Asia. The ministry claimed the operation has received support from relevant domestic departments and foreign law enforcement agencies.

The Ministry of Public Security report said speed was a top priority.

“After receiving a ‘fox hunt’ task, [we] immediately set out a plan … quickly deal with customs and book round-trip tickets,” it stated.

When the “hunters” land, they make operational decisions while colleagues in Beijing are responsible for providing intelligence to help track down suspects, according to the ministry.

The report also highlighted that many female police officers participate in operations. It claimed they can make “subtle observations and psychological judgments unique to women to resolve unexpected cases” and can “handle the atmosphere”.

Specific plans are also made for working in different countries. In countries which are popular destinations for suspects, the ministry often plans “group arrests”. Special teams have been assigned to work with local police to find information on suspects using “all kinds of methods”, the report stated.

On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters that international cooperation on the anti-corruption campaign would be an important topic at the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

“We hope the international community will cooperate and support us, especially with chasing suspects and illicit money,” said Wang. “Don’t turn your country a secret haven for criminals.”

Wang Fan, vice-president of the China Foreign Affairs University told the Beijing Youth Daily that Apec members such as Australia, Canada, and the US are popular destinations for corrupt officials. But he said he was confident that using Apec to help track them down will be effective.

The Ministry of Public Security added it has had successful operations in Africa, South America, the South Pacific and western Europe.

 

[Midway]

Beijing eases state-owned monopoly on credit cards

Rules covering credit cards to change to allow foreign companies the right to set-up clearing operations in the mainland in move seen as market liberalisation

PUBLISHED : Thursday, 30 October, 2014, 1:33pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 30 October, 2014, 1:33pm

Associated Press in Beijing

A change in the rules governing credit card use in China may offer opportunities to Visa and Mastercard. Photo: Reuters

China says it will ease restrictions on credit cards in a move that might give Visa, Mastercard and other foreign competitors greater access to its market.

Foreign companies will be allowed for the first time to apply to establish credit card clearing operations in China, said a Cabinet announcement late on Wednesday. It gave no details of what qualifications would be required for a foreign competitor to be approved or when licenses might be issued.

Beijing’s restrictions have given a monopoly on credit card processing to a state-owned entity, UnionPay. All banks are required to participate in UnionPay and all transactions must be processed through it.

The World Trade Organisation, ruling on a complaint by the United States, said two years ago the restrictions violated China’s free-trade commitments by treating foreign credit card processors unequally. The government said it would review the decision but did little to increase market access.

Wednesday’s statement said the move was aimed at opening up China’s financial industries.

Beijing had previously given a monopoly on credit card processing to state-owned financial entity UnionPay. Photo: Reuters

The ruling Communist Party has promised ambitious market-opening measures in an effort to make the slowing, state-dominated economy more efficient and productive.

Foreign credit cards issued abroad are accepted by some hotels and other businesses in China but foreign companies are barred from issuing cards in the country’s growing consumer market.

Credit card transactions in China rose 30.9 per cent last year over 2012 to 13.1 trillion yuan (HK$16.6 trillion), according to an industry group, the China Banking Association. It said 61 million new cards were issued in 2013.

At the same time, internet companies such as Alibaba and Tencent are launching mobile payment services that might compete with credit cards.

Despite their lack of market access, foreign credit card companies are promoting themselves to Chinese consumers who can use the cards abroad.

Visa was a sponsor of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and Mastercard paid to have a former Olympic sports facility renamed the Mastercard Centre.

 

[Pfizer]

App developer punished for sexy stories

By Zhu Shenshen | October 29, 2014, Wednesday

A SHANGHAI-based company that fabricated salacious news stories in a bid to promote its smartphone app has been ordered to shut down.

The State Internet Information Office issued the ruling against the makers of the Youjia app — which claims to make it easier for young people to meet — and banned its sale nationwide.

One of the news stories, titled “Body for Traveling,” told of a young woman who financed a tour of the country by swapping sexual favors with “temporary boyfriends” she met through Youjia in return for food and accommodation.

A second, “Sex in an Excavator,” told how a 21-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman — who also met through the app — decided to have sex while waiting to be rescued from an earthmover in Shanghai’s Putuo District.

Both stories spread extensively over the Internet and were carried by newspapers across China.

“The company crossed the line for promotion,” the information office said in a statement.

“(The stories) contained fake and unethical content,” it said.

The firm admitted to failings in the management of its marketing and promotion activities, and promised to resolve the matter with the regulators.

The Youjia app has 30 million users, most of them aged 15 to 25. Its website offers tips on sex and relationships, including a guide for men on how to seduce young women “in three steps.”

 

[Rossi]

Coal official hides 200 mln yuan cash at home

Xinhua, October 31, 2014

Prosecuting authorities seized more than 200 million yuan (32 million U.S. dollars) in cash from the house of an energy official, a procurator revealed Friday at a press conference.

The money, the largest amount seized from an individual official since the founding of new China in 1949, was found at the home of Wei Pengyuan, vice director of the National Energy Administration's coal department, according to Xu Jinhui, anti-bribery head of the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

Wei was put under investigation in May for allegedly accepting bribes.

The administration was under the management of the graft-tainted National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China's top economic planning body, which has seen 11 officials punished in the first nine months of this year, according to Xu.

Former deputy chief of the NDRC, Liu Tienan, was expelled from the Communist Party of China and questioned over alleged graft practices in August last year. This was followed by the fall of a number of high-ranking corrupt officials in the country sweeping anti-graft campaign.

 

[DefJam]

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