The Nanfang / Blog

15 Dead in Latest Storms to Batter Guangdong, Five Killed in Guangzhou

Posted: 05/26/2014 8:24 am

flooding guangzhou rain disasterThe latest in a series of rainstorms to batter Guangdong this May has killed fifteen people and caused the disappearance of five, reports the Global Times.

A total of 800,000 people throughout Guangdong have been affected by the rain, with a total accumulated precipitation in the City of Shanwei recorded at 628mm.

Sixteen major roadways have been closed due to the rain throughout the province.

In Guangzhou alone, four people have died and one is missing from the flooding on May 23, reports Guangzhou Daily Report. Districts particularly affected by the storm include Zengcheng, Conghua, Baiyun, and Huadu. The estimated loss to the local economy is RMB 700 million; 6,810 houses have collapsed and 206,000 mu of croplands have been destroyed. 220,500 Guangzhou residents have been adversely affected by the storm with some 42,500 people evacuated.

A 21 year-old student of the Nanfang College at Sun Yat-sen University named Pan Jinxiang is one of the reported fatalities. Pan fell into one of the many sinkholes and drowned after the flooding receded. All students were reportedly evacuated on Friday. Classmates say Pan may have drowned near construction performed by a real estate developer.

Other Guangdong urban centers hit by the storm include Zhaoqing and Qingyuan. Storm-ravaged rural areas include some 30 townships. Disaster relief and anti-flooding measures have been initiated by the three levels of local government.

guangzhou rain flooding landslides zengcheng conghuaIn Zengcheng, the 80 year-old Zeng River Bridge (also known as the East Gate Bridge) was destroyed by rising flood waters on May 23 at 7:40pm. Built in 1932, the Zeng River Bridge had been destroyed twice before, and rebuilt three times since. A driver named Zheng Guoqing blocked access to the bridge and tried to warn other people from crossing when he felt it buckling underneath his feet. Minutes later, the center of the bridge collapsed.

The forecast for Guangzhou on Monday is clear skies and warm temperatures with some areas experiencing scattered showers.

The threat of flooding on Monday is focused in northern Guangdong as well as Jiangxi and Hunan Provinces. However, Guangzhou will again be targeted by the storms on Tuesday and Wednesday, mostly in the afternoon, reports Accuweather. Due to the ground already saturated with rainwater, more flash flooding is expected to return.

flooding guangzhou rain disasterflooding guangzhou rain disasterflooding guangzhou rain disasterflooding guangzhou rain disasterflooding guangzhou rain disasterguangzhou rain flooding landslides zengcheng conghuaflooding guangzhou rain disasterflooding guangzhou rain disasterflooding guangzhou rain disasterPhotos: Southern Metropolis Report via Weibo, Guangzhou Daily Report via WeiboGuangzhou Daily via Weibo, Yangcheng Evening Report (via Weibo), Guangzhou PSB via Weibo, Shenzhen Traffic Police via Weibo

Haohao

Mistress publishes nude photos of allegedly corrupt Guangdong official

Posted: 01/30/2014 7:00 am

One of the photos, courtesy of Nandu Daily

An investigation is being launched in Zhaoqing’s Duanzhou district after a woman claiming to be an official’s mistress published nude photos of him online and alleged he embezzled public funds and is involved in gambling, China Daily reported yesterday.

The paper has more:

The findings about Du Weijun, director of the Duanzhou district bureau of culture, will be made public, the authorities said.

The nude photos have been forwarded to the Guangdong provincial department of public security for further identification, according to the report.

The woman who published the photos said Du promised he would dump his wife to marry her, gave her more than 20,000 yuan ($3,252) a month as an allowance and used money he embezzled to operate a company. Du left her for another woman thus she wanted revenge so reported him, she said.

This is the latest of many nude photo scandals that have involved government officials in China. Earlier this month, the vice president of a Chinese school training Communist Party officials was suspended for his involvement in a sex scandal after nude photos of him appeared online.

There but for the grace of God go many others. Broadly speaking, the five ways of dealing with a nude photo scandal are to deny it, ignore it, embrace it, apologise for it, and leverage it. E online has the full guide.

Haohao

PRD’s “Self-dressed women” close to dying out

Posted: 01/13/2014 7:49 pm

Self-dressed women in the 1950s, image courtesy of the Women Culture Museum website.

The “self-dressed woman,” literally self-combed woman, is a phenomenon that emerged in the Pearl River Delta during the late Qing Dynasty. The women are characterised by wearing their hair in a bun, never marrying, being self-sufficient and having little material wealth. Last week, China News reported on what it calls the last three surviving self-dressed women in Zhaoqing, which has long had the highest number of the women.

According to Liang Guiming who works in the civil affairs bureau of Duanzhou District, one of them is on a pension and two are on government assistance.The women receive free physical examinations and often get visits from armed police, a group that they have a historical affinity with. The concept of being a self-dressed woman has its roots in resistance to feudalism and misogyny. Armed police have always been among the few groups of men they have good relations with.

Hou Ailing, the dean of Chengzhong community accompanied a Chinanews reporter to visit two of the women. Sun Ying, 88, told the reporter she is a native of Huanggang Shatou Village. Her father died when she was young and at the age of 18, she followed in the footsteps of her older sisters to become a “self-dressed woman”. After that, she lived as a self-dressed woman with her six sisters, all of whom were of a similar age.

Ouyang Huanyan in 2011 at age 94, courtesy of Google Images

Another, Liang Yueming, 81, is unusual among self-dressed women in that she is from a wealthy background. When she was born, a fortune teller told Liang’s family that she would bring them bad luck. She was subsequently sent off and raised to be a self-dressed woman from the age of just 1. Now, Liang lives with her adoptive daughter and son-in-law. Her granddaughter is a white collar worker in Guangzhou.

Self-dressed women have traditionally gathered at the nunnery Jun’an Bing Yu Tang, the most famous nunnery in Shunde. It became the Women Culture Museum in December 2012. Shunde has its own strong tradition of self-dressed women. One such woman is Ouyang Huanyan, whose extraordinary life was the subject of this 2011 feature in China Daily. Ouyang spent more than 40 years as a domestic helper to Singapore’s most prominent family – the Lee family – which has produced two of the country’s prime ministers.

Nowadays, although there is considerable stigma attached to being a single woman, there are fewer obstacles to a woman becoming self-sufficient, even if China is still some way away from becoming a society free of misogyny.

Haohao

Huizhou most beautiful city in Mainland China, other PRD cities close behind

Posted: 08/22/2013 11:00 am

Huizhou is the most beautiful city in mainland China and three other Pearl River Delta cities are in the top 20, according to the list of China’s most beautiful cities of 2013 which was compiled by Hong Kong-based non-governmental organization The China City Competitiveness Council, QQ News reports.

Huizhou was second overall in Greater China behind Hong Kong, Zhuhai was fourth, Zhaoqing was ninth and Shenzhen was eleventh.

The standards by which the “beauty” of a city was measured included the quality of urban planning, infrastructure, architecture, and of course the natural environment.

The top 20 is listed as follows:

1. Hong Kong
2. Huizhou
3. Qingdao, Shandong Province
4. Zhuhai
5. Xinyang, Henan Province
6. Mudanjiang, Heilongjiang Province
7. Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province
8. Liaocheng, Shandong Province
9. Zhaoqing
10. Qinzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region
11. Shenzhen
12. Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province
13. Dalian, Liaoning Province
14. Harbin, Heilongjiang Province
15. Taichung, Taiwan
16. Kunming, Yunnan Province
17. Yantai, Shandong Province
18. Lhasa, Tibet
19. Guiyang, Guizhou Province
20. Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region

Huizhou also came a very respectable third in the list of China’s happiest cities published last month.

Shenzhen was the highest placed first tier city on the list, which is consolation for being named among the 20 least friendly cities in the world recently.

Haohao

Zhaoqing couple faces heavy fine after trying to sidestep family planning laws

Posted: 12/17/2012 7:00 am

A couple in Zhaoqing in Guangdong may have to pay more than 10 million yuan in social fostering fees after having eight babies in October 2010, according to Jiangxi Satellite Television.

After trying unsuccessfully to have babies for years, the unnamed couple tried IV treatment. Eight embryos were placed in the uterus of the wife and two surrogate mothers.

The woman herself had triplets in Hong Kong and the other two women had five between them, giving the couple four boys and four girls. China’s one child policy does not apply to twins or triplets, but having the five children by the surrogate mothers is considered a breach of China’s family planning laws, according to Guangdong Planning Commission.

China has banned surrogacy since 2003. As well as conducting a lengthy investigation into the couple’s activities, authorities have also been investigating agencies that offer surrogacy services.

The couple is said to have earning power of over 1 million yuan a year and spent around 1 million yuan on the test tube procedure. It already costs the couple around 100,000 yuan a month to raise the kids.

The size of the fine is calculated according to how much a family earns. Being high earners, this couple could face a 5-10 million yuan fine.

Haohao
AROUND THE WEB
Keep in Touch

What's happening this week in Shenzhen, Dongguan and Guangzhou? Sign up to be notified when we launch the This Week @ Nanfang newsletter.

sign up for our newsletter

Nanfang TV