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Beijing Professor Fired for Sexual Relations with Foreign Student

Posted: 11/22/2014 4:42 pm

beijing university assistant professor exchange student pregnant scandalWhen foreign exchange students come to China they’re looking to get academic accreditation, and maybe a souvenir of their time in the country. For one such student, she got more than she ever planned on.

Beijing University has confirmed that assistant professor Yu Wanli of its Department of International Relations has had “improper relations” with a graduate student. As a result, Yu has been expelled from the Communist Party of China and is undergoing academic punishment.

The announcement was made after a graduate student revealed to the Beijing Youth Report that she is pregnant with Yu’s child after having been in a long-term sexual relationship with him that all started when Yu “enticed” her.

Wang Jing, a pseudonym, was attending Beijing University and studying for her PhD in 2013 when she took the optional course “US Diplomacy research” that was taught by Yu, who himself was already married with a child.

Wang says her relationship with Yu was strictly platonic, even though the professor initiated contact by inviting her to dinners and other engagements. That changed when Wang was invited to a conference by Yu at the end of July. Before the conference began, Yu went to Wang’s hotel room and forced himself upon her, despite Wang’s attempts to stop him.

Wang describes Yu as having changed immediately after that incident. Yu revealed that he loved her, and wanted to take care of her. Shortly afterwards, the two began a long-term sexual relationship up until the beginning of November when Wang became pregnant.

Throughout their relationship, Yu took photos of himself and Wang and referred to her as his “wife” in text messages.

No word on Wang’s whereabouts.

beijing university assistant professor exchange student pregnant scandal

Photos: Sohu News

Haohao

When the Environment Won’t Cooperate, Just Fake It Instead

Posted: 11/21/2014 11:15 am

Everyone knows that plants bloom in spring and hibernate in winter. China’s northern city of Changchun, in Jilin Province, however, is working around nature’s schedule by manually covering up withered plants with images of artificial green ones drawn on a long cloth, reported Net Ease.

From a distance, and with a little squinting, the artificial plants look like the real deal; but, if you only look behind the green mirage, you’ll see the withered, brown plants.

The report did not specify how big the project is, how many areas are going to be covered, or how much it would cost. Judging by the look of it, there will be a lot of cloth rolling out in Changchun.

More images of the artificial shrubbery seen flourishing in the city:

Photos: Net Ease

Haohao

Beijing to Source Fresh Water from the Yangtze River

Posted: 11/21/2014 10:45 am

beijing tap waterBeijing might occupy an excellent defensive position against invading armies, but it’s nearly impossible for the city to source fresh water.

An already overcrowded population coupled with its ambition to become a mega-city means Beijing’s need for fresh water continues to grow. In an effort to solve the growing shortfall, the Beijing Municipal Water Department announced its plan to replace the 6,900 wells currently in use for water piped in from the Yangtze River starting next year. There is no indication what the Department’s long-term plan is to source fresh water beyond 2020.

The move away from wells began in 2009, when Beijing’s 60-70 meter-deep wells began to run dry. Additionally, the well’s water quality began to deteriorate.

Presently, the 6,900 wells provide a quarter of all water supplied to the city, and serve 2.84 million Beijing residents.

While the Yangtze River has no shortage of water, it remains a fair distance away at 1,200 kilometres.

Photo: Beijing Youth Report

Haohao

RMB 100 Million In Counterfeit Goods Seized in Tianjin

Posted: 11/21/2014 10:30 am

fake luxury handbags tianjin police bustTianjin police have busted a counterfeiting ring specializing in fake luxury handbags. The suspected dealers were arrested, and approximately 7,000 handbags were seized in the raid. The bags included popular couture brands such as Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Burberry and Gucci. The entire stock had an estimated value of RMB 100 million.

The counterfeit luxury goods are manufactured by organizations that are protected by local officials. In these workshops, craftsmanship and skills are passed on to new workers through an apprentice program. Thirty workers in a small workshop are able to produce enough bags to generate millions of yuan in annual revenue.

fake luxury handbags tianjin police bustfake luxury handbags tianjin police bustfake luxury handbags tianjin police bust:

Photos: Southern Daily Report

Haohao

11 Schoolchildren in Overcrowded Van Killed in Shandong Traffic Accident

Posted: 11/21/2014 9:45 am

penglai crushed van schoolchildren

A van carrying too many schoolchildren was involved in a traffic accident in Shandong Province that left 11 children and the van’s driver dead.

At 7:31am on Wednesday in Penglai, a tractor trailer carrying a full load of sand overturned onto the van, covering more than two-thirds of the vehicle. The roof of the van collapsed from the weight and shattered its windows. Three people in the van were lucky to suffer from only slight injuries. Xinhua reports the kids were on their way to kindergarten when the accident happened.

Police say the maximum occupancy of the van is eight people, but it had 15 people on board when the accident happened. The driver of the tractor trailer has been detained by police.

Public interest in instituting certified school buses peaked in 2011 after a traffic accident involving an unlicensed school vehicle caused the deaths of 18 schoolchildren. The vehicle was transporting a total 64 preschoolers, and was only equipped with nine seats.

This past July, 11 passengers that included schoolchildren were killed when a van drove into a reservoir in Southern China. Earlier in April, eight schoolchildren died in a bus crash in Hainan Province.

However, public interest in using these new school buses have since waned. As previously reported, a Zhejiang lot is currenty filled with 52 unused new school buses because no one is willing to pay for them.

penglai crushed van schoolchildrenpenglai crushed van schoolchildrenpenglai crushed van schoolchildren

Related:

Photos: People’s Daily Online

Haohao

Ignore the Smog Beijingers, City Says “APEC Blue” Could Become The Norm

Posted: 11/20/2014 3:21 pm

apec blue pollution air smogThis year’s APEC summit saw host city Beijing boasting beautiful blue skies that were a change from the smog that usually hounds the nation’s capital. And despite the extreme measures required to reach this goal, it appears “APEC blue” is something that Beijing officials want to institute as a long-term policy while the city is currently under yet another smog attack.

This mechanism will remain in place over a long time after the conference is over,” Zhang Dawei, a director with the Beijing Environmental Monitoring Center, said.

Among the temporary measures used to improve Beijing’s air quality during the APEC conference was reducing carbon emissions by limiting vehicle traffic. This is now being considered as a permanent remedy to the city’s notoriously polluted skies. Local officials are even considering charging drivers a “congestion tax”.

Beijing’s plan is to continue to introduce policies aimed at reducing the local PM 2.5 level to 60 by 2017. That is ambitious, as another report suggests Beijing’s air quality will only begin to improve in 30 years.

The Beijing Environmental Statistics Bureau reports PM 2.5 levels during the 11 days of the APEC dropped 30 percent, and were the lowest such levels recorded this year.

Currently, Beijing has an AQI level of 348, and is under a yellow warning alert.

apec blue pollution air smogRelated:

Photo: People’s Daily

Haohao

Watch: Bench-Clearing Brawl Between China, Japan Ice Hockey Teams

Posted: 11/20/2014 3:13 pm

china japan ice hockey brawlBeijing has a decent shot at hosting the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, and the country is looking to improve its chances at the games’ premier sport, ice hockey. But even though China’s team ranks 38th in the world, there is one part of the game they already seem to be good at: fighting, especially when it’s an old fashioned bench-clearing brawl.

This happened at the Asian Ice Hockey Championships between the Chinese team in white and the Japanese team in red.

READ: Is China Ready for the Toronto Maple Leafs? 

Bardown, a column on Canada’s TSN website, is thrilled about the development:

There are so many great things to mention about this brawl from the incredible amount of jumping in these fights — seriously why is there so much jumping? — to how incredibly long this fight goes before gloves are actually dropped. Lots of gloved punches in this by the way.

Not many details have been associated with this video, which published on Liveleak on October 25, other than there are a whole lot of white jerseys on the ice, and that is Bananarama’s Venus playing in the background all throughout.

Bench-clearing brawls are not new to Chinese sports. A wild melee involving several players broke out during a basketball game between a visiting Georgetown University team from the US and the Bayi Rockets in 2011.

In 2010, the Chinese Basketball Association issued an apology after tensions during an exhibition game with a visiting team from Brazil escalated into a bench clearing brawl. During the incident, Chinese players continued to attack Brazilian players as they walked away to the locker room even after both teams were separated. As a result, several fines and suspensions were handed out.

Here’s the video [NSFW due to language]:

Photo: The Hockey News

Haohao

New Subway Line Connecting Beijing Railway Stations to Open Next Month

Posted: 11/20/2014 10:00 am

beijing metroBeijing will be adding more subway lines by the end of this year to make it even easier to get around the city.

The new express line will connect Beijing Railway Station to Beijing West Railway Station, connecting the two main stations in only 10 minutes. This new line is scheduled to open on December 26.

Metro Line 7 also aims to alleviate pressure on the transportation infrastructure in the southern part of the city, particularly on Line 1 and the Batong Line. Line 7 will interconnect with Lines 4 and 5, although its major interchange will be with Line 10 at Shuangjing Station.

Below are maps detailing the new developments. First, the express line between the two train stations, and then the new Beijing Metro Line 7:

beijing train station expressbeijing new line 7 extensionPhotos: scxxb, Caijing, Beijing News

Haohao

Watch and Learn, Putin: President Xi Shows Right Way to Charm a First Lady

Posted: 11/19/2014 4:28 pm

xi jinping peng liyuan ship doorAll eyes in China are upon the nation’s leaders for guidance and inspiration, and so when Chinese President Xi Jinping helps a lady through a door, people pay attention—especially when that lady is his wife.

While accompanying Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott aboard the South Pole exploratory ship “Snow Dragon”, President Xi was photographed turning back and extending a hand to help First Lady Peng Liyuan through a door. In order to perform the gesture, Xi even interrupted another man that was talking to him at the time.

Chinese netizens are abuzz at the sparks of romance demonstrated by the couple, and have nothing but praise for the “First Gentleman”:

ECHO-李大璐:
Uncle Xi is the ideal model (husband) who loves his wife. [thumbsup.emoji]

相约阳春:
I am truly envious.

Tiffanyzyh:
[thumbsup.emoji] Uncle Xi~ (He) is so considerate and nice towards his wife [heart.emoji] (It is so emotionally) moving~

@HXY-韓傻子:
I need to learn from Uncle Xi

喵瑩紙_三世雪:
Having gained such a husband, what more can a wife ask for?

At last week’s APEC summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin was seen on television draping a coat over First Lady Peng during an outdoor event, an incident that was later censored from Chinese media in part because of its romantic overtones.

It appears First Lady Peng needs only one man to be her white knight—the president of her country.

Photo: Sina News

Haohao

People Who Send Spam Messages to Mobile Phones to Be Fined RMB 30k

Posted: 11/19/2014 3:33 pm

junk text messagesWe’ve all received them: spam text messages trying to sell apartments, satellite services, or even trips abroad. They seem to come with increasing frequency, especially if you recently looked for a place to rent. But hopefully these annoying messages will become much less frequent after new rules take effect that drastically raises fines for sending spam messages.

A spokesperson for the telecommunication administration of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced that draft rules raising the punishment for mobile spam to RMB 30,000 could become law by the end of December.

It is estimated each Chinese cell phone user receives 12 junk text messages a week. This past August, a Tencent phone management body reported a total of 53.73 million junk text messages were sent.

Photo: 17daiban

Haohao
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