News » Society » Cross-dressing weiniang a hit at ChinaJoy
News » Society » Cross-dressing weiniang a hit at ChinaJoy |
- Cross-dressing weiniang a hit at ChinaJoy
- 5 dead, 32 injured in coal mine blast
- China's Wu and He win 3m synchro
- Guo retains 10m air pistol title
- Ann Romney’s dressage jockey say dressage is affordable on a ‘normal budget’
- University sacks prof who was 3 times a fake
- Miners' 95-hour ordeal
- Gome accused of price fraud
- Cross-dressing weiniang a hit at ChinaJoy
- Agricultural authorities have culled about 95,000 chickens following an outbreak of the H5N1 bird flu virus in northwest China.
- 12,000 rail passengers stranded by floods
- Car maintenance becomes big business in China
- Chinese firms make inroads in Brazil
- China Eases Investment Rules
- Bo wife murder charge vexes skeptical Chinese
- Empty seats row hits Games, China in gold start
| Cross-dressing weiniang a hit at ChinaJoy Posted: 29 Jul 2012 09:00 AM PDT A CROSS-DRESSER playing role of Xiao Long Nu (Dragon Lady) in the game Legend of the Condor Heroes attracted lots of attention during the country's biggest game fair, ChinaJoy, which closed in Shanghai yesterday. The 20-year-old Haoge, who only identifies himself with this one nickname, is a weiniang, a "fake lady" or cross-dresser, who often adopts the dress or manner or role of the opposite sex. "It's my way to show the love for the characters," said Haoge, who came from Wuhan of Hubei Province to attend the China Digital Entertainment Expo and Conference, or ChinaJoy, held in the Pudong New Area. "Most of them are female characters," he added. Haoge now is the director of Alice Weiniang Group, which consists of 12 weiniangs or male cross-dressers in Wuhan. It's the most famous weiniang group on China's mainland. While many in society still regard weiniang as a perversion, they have slowly gained popularity on China's mainland among people who have an open attitude and aesthetic concept, according to the fair visitors and sociologists. During the game fair, Haoge played the role of Tifa, a popular female character in the console game Final Fantasy, on Friday. During the weekend, he played the role of Xiao Long Nu, also a major female character of the popular kung fu novel the Legend of the Condor Heroes, invited by the game firm Perfect World. Better than real girls Haoge, surrounded by fans and photographed by dozens of visitors, was even more popular than the bikini-clad showgirls surrounding in the Perfect World booth. The Alice group has many online fans, including about 4,000 fans in its own online community on Baidu. Haoge himself has almost 14,000 followers on Sina Weibo. Sara, one of the fans, came from Jiangsu Province to attend ChinaJoy and see Haoge face-to-face. "He is beautiful during role playing, even more beautiful than real girls," Sara said. Some companies and televisions have invited them to attend programs and shows. Each of them can get from 500 yuan (US$78) to 1,500 yuan every day on average during a commercial performance, Haoge told Shanghai Daily in an exclusive interview. China is still conservative toward cross-dressing and often links it to LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) issues. Haoge is straight but there are gays in the Alice group. "Even if they are gays, so what, in this society?" he said. Haoge admitted that he had faced pressure from parents, friends and schools since he started cross-dressing three years ago. After some "tough" conversations, he said he was better understood by his parents, most friends and his girlfriend, though she is "not willing to join me during performances." Self-expression Gu Xiaoming, a sociologist and Fudan University professor, said, "It's natural for everyone to want to play a character of the opposite gender in the sub-conscious." Cross-dressing is more of a form of self-expression, rather than an indicator of sexual orientation or gender identification, such as in Peking Opera, Gu said. Wang Peiyu of the Tianjin Peking Opera company, a female performer of male opera roles, once said, "I never really thought about my gender when I was performing." Haoge said he spent about an hour preparing clothes and make-up for cross-dressing in nearby hotels, before going to ChinaJoy. He said a professional weiniang should be thin, with long legs, relatively white skin, able to afford the clothes and good at cosmetics. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| 5 dead, 32 injured in coal mine blast Posted: 29 Jul 2012 06:42 PM PDT RELEVANT people who involved in concealing a coal mine explosion which left five dead and 32 others injured last Thursday in Yangquan City in north China's Shanxi province will be punished, local government announced yesterday. |
| China's Wu and He win 3m synchro Posted: 29 Jul 2012 09:10 AM PDT China's world champions Wu Minxia and He Zi win the women's synchronised 3m springboard gold at the Aquatics Centre. |
| Guo retains 10m air pistol title Posted: 29 Jul 2012 05:21 AM PDT China's Guo Wenjun retains her women's 10m air pistol title in a dramatic final at the Royal Artillery Barracks. |
| Ann Romney’s dressage jockey say dressage is affordable on a ‘normal budget’ Posted: 29 Jul 2012 10:12 AM PDT
Ebeling wants to assure us that dressage is not as expensive as you might suppose. If you budget right, you might have some cash left over for a holiday home in Sardinia. So. Can dressage be a go-to sport for inner city schools? Says Ebeling:
Adding:
True enough. But, then, it wants feeding. And then there are the ribbons. After years of training and mucking out you then get to ride your mirror-buffed horse around what appears to be a ornamental garden centre, with pot plants and hanging baskets. The horse expresses itself by stamping its feet and moving about daintily, as is navigating the fine china in a fancy shop. If dressage is to go 'street', one imagines the music will need to be updated from the usual fare of what sounds like Austrian national anthems B-sides to something by One Direction or Jay-Z.
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| University sacks prof who was 3 times a fake Posted: 29 Jul 2012 09:46 AM PDT A PROFESSOR has been fired by his university and disqualified from China's Recruitment Program of Global Experts for copying his resume and academic articles from three other academics with the same name. Lu Jun, 39, who was a professor with Beijing University of Chemical Technology, has admitted falsifying his educational background, work experience and published articles by copying the details from overseas professors, the Beijing Times reported. Lu had been teaching at the university since last November. Previously, he claimed to have been working in the United States. In April, Lu was admitted to the "1,000 Young Experts" program as part of the nation's global experts program, which was launched in 2008 to attract overseas talent to help boost the country's scientific and technical innovation. According to the university's website, Lu was "the first professor at the school to receive such an honor." As a member of the program, Lu would receive a 500,000 yuan (about US$78,125) subsidy from the central government and also yearly research grants. Last Friday, China's Overseas Senior Experts Recruitment Office announced that it had disqualified Lu as a member of the program. The next day, the university said Lu had been fired. The newspaper said Lu had been exposed by Fang Zhouzi, a fighter against pseudoscience and academic fraud, when Lu published his resume and seven academic articles in an online ad to hire assistants. Fang said the seven articles listed were all the work of a professor at Yale University who was also named Lu Jun. Lu's educational background and experience was also found to be a copy of other academics called Lu Jun, a common Chinese name. "Apparently Lu had copied working experiences and academic articles from three Dr Lu Juns to form his own. That's very creative," Fang said. "I called the office of the expert program and the officials said they were totally shocked. They acted very fast as they published the announcement (to disqualify Lu) in the evening," Fang told the newspaper. Fang said that the judges of the program may not have been thorough enough when checking applications. So far, the university and program officials haven't commented further. |
| Posted: 29 Jul 2012 09:42 AM PDT Rescuers carry a miner from a pit in Pu'an County, Guizhou Province in southwest China. Five miners were pulled to safety last night, 95 hours after they became trapped when a tunnel at the Anlilai colliery caved in last Wednesday. The other 53 miners were rescued the next day. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| Posted: 29 Jul 2012 09:00 AM PDT DOMESTIC electronic appliance retailer Gome is under investigation for price fraud after a branch company of Gome in eastern Zhejiang Province allegedly indicated false discounts during big sales. Price authorities in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang Province, said yesterday that it found the Fuyang branch of Zhejiang Gome Electronic Appliance Co was involved in price deception during an inspection starting on July 16. Authorities told Xinhua news agency that Gome indicated false discounts by labeling three home appliance products at prices that were the same as normal. The products included electric fans and refrigerators of brands like Haier, Electrolux and Rongsheng. Gome was among the three companies whose price offenses were deemed to be very serious by the Hangzhou price bureau and are now under investigation for alleged illegal pricing. Hangzhou Hengji Optical Co was said to have faked original prices during a sales promotion of sunglasses and Hangzhou Guanyang priced the tickets for a swimming pool without authorization from the government. The three companies will face fines if found guilty, price authorities said. The price check targets seasonal goods such as air conditioners, summer sleeping mats, electric fans, sunglasses, sunscreen, mosquito-repelling products and beverages. The inspection will last until August 20. Last year, Carrefour SA and Wal-Mart Stores Inc paid a combined fine of 9.5 million yuan (US$1.49 million) across China after being found guilty of cheating consumers. |
| Cross-dressing weiniang a hit at ChinaJoy Posted: 29 Jul 2012 09:00 AM PDT A CROSS-DRESSER playing role of Xiao Long Nu (Dragon Lady) in the game Legend of the Condor Heroes attracted lots of attention during the country's biggest game fair, ChinaJoy, which closed in Shanghai yesterday. The 20-year-old Haoge, who only identifies himself with this one nickname, is a weiniang, a "fake lady" or cross-dresser, who often adopts the dress or manner or role of the opposite sex. "It's my way to show the love for the characters," said Haoge, who came from Wuhan of Hubei Province to attend the China Digital Entertainment Expo and Conference, or ChinaJoy, held in the Pudong New Area. "Most of them are female characters," he added. Haoge now is the director of Alice Weiniang Group, which consists of 12 weiniangs or male cross-dressers in Wuhan. It's the most famous weiniang group on China's mainland. While many in society still regard weiniang as a perversion, they have slowly gained popularity on China's mainland among people who have an open attitude and aesthetic concept, according to the fair visitors and sociologists. During the game fair, Haoge played the role of Tifa, a popular female character in the console game Final Fantasy, on Friday. During the weekend, he played the role of Xiao Long Nu, also a major female character of the popular kung fu novel the Legend of the Condor Heroes, invited by the game firm Perfect World. Better than real girls Haoge, surrounded by fans and photographed by dozens of visitors, was even more popular than the bikini-clad showgirls surrounding in the Perfect World booth. The Alice group has many online fans, including about 4,000 fans in its own online community on Baidu. Haoge himself has almost 14,000 followers on Sina Weibo. Sara, one of the fans, came from Jiangsu Province to attend ChinaJoy and see Haoge face-to-face. "He is beautiful during role playing, even more beautiful than real girls," Sara said. Some companies and televisions have invited them to attend programs and shows. Each of them can get from 500 yuan (US$78) to 1,500 yuan every day on average during a commercial performance, Haoge told Shanghai Daily in an exclusive interview. China is still conservative toward cross-dressing and often links it to LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) issues. Haoge is straight but there are gays in the Alice group. "Even if they are gays, so what, in this society?" he said. Haoge admitted that he had faced pressure from parents, friends and schools since he started cross-dressing three years ago. After some "tough" conversations, he said he was better understood by his parents, most friends and his girlfriend, though she is "not willing to join me during performances." Self-expression Gu Xiaoming, a sociologist and Fudan University professor, said, "It's natural for everyone to want to play a character of the opposite gender in the sub-conscious." Cross-dressing is more of a form of self-expression, rather than an indicator of sexual orientation or gender identification, such as in Peking Opera, Gu said. Wang Peiyu of the Tianjin Peking Opera company, a female performer of male opera roles, once said, "I never really thought about my gender when I was performing." Haoge said he spent about an hour preparing clothes and make-up for cross-dressing in nearby hotels, before going to ChinaJoy. He said a professional weiniang should be thin, with long legs, relatively white skin, able to afford the clothes and good at cosmetics. |
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| Car maintenance becomes big business in China Posted: 29 Jul 2012 08:24 AM PDT  Source: By Cai Xiao in Shanghai (China Daily) Global auto-maintenance and parts companies are firing on all cylinders as they seek to tap the potential of China's after-sales services market. Meanwhile, revenue in the Chinese automotive after-sales services market, which includes car maintenance, repairs, parts, modification and renting, is expected to be more than 400 billion yuan ($62.6 billion) by the end of 2012, according to a report on People.com. One company that entered the burgeoning market early was Germany-based Wuerth Group, a top supplier of automotive maintenance supplies and a presence in China since 1994. "Our automotive business grew well in the first half of this year, a rise of nearly 10 percent year-on-year, and this is quite a good development even as car sales are dropping," Christoph Ladurner, Wuerth China CEO, told China Daily. Wuerth is aiming at annual sales of 2 billion yuan in the automotive sector, he said. Wuerth's global sales reached 9.7 billion euros ($11.74 billion) in 2011, of which 500 million yuan ($78.28 million) came from the China market with a growth of 29.22 percent. Wuerth's automotive division accounted for about 30 percent of its total sales. Ladurner said that while Europe and the United States are struggling with their respective economic woes, China's economy and purchasing power are strong.  "The after-sales service market is looking for solutions, not just products," Ladurner said. "The market means security for drivers and car owners, so it is important for us to give know-how to customers." He said that as "4S stores" – so named because of their sales, spare parts, service and customer-satisfaction surveys – have become useful to car owners, Wuerth has played a bigger role in how they are run. In 1994, Wuerth opened its first Chinese company in Tianjin. The network now includes more than 100 cities in China. "Now we are playing in almost every region of China, which is our strength. We hire local people to serve local 4S stores," he said. And because Wuerth is a family enterprise, creating a family atmosphere for its workers is important, and Chinese culture is appreciated. Ladurner said that Wuerth's brand is its biggest value, and informing customers of its premium quality is a priority. To that end, Wuerth has sponsored China's men's national basketball team and the China Touring Car Championship. Also taking advantage of China's growth in auto care is Tyreplus, an automotive maintenance workshop chain set up by global tire manufacturer Michelin. Tyreplus has more than 730 workshops in China, and its five-year target is to double that. "Although the growth of China's economy may slow this year, the after-sales service market keeps increasing," said Liao Chuhang, a director at Tyreplus and a distribution development manager at Michelin China. Liao said more car owners understand that not all their cars' problems are serious enough to require a trip to a 4S store. More car owners are choosing other auto-maintenance options when their vehicle warranties expire, he said. Liao said Michelin entered China early in 1988 when it set up its first office in Hong Kong, and drove into the mainland market in 2003. Liao said Tyreplus' 14 main services, including washing, tire replacement and oil changes, offer customers convenience. "Apart from 4S stores, the network Tyreplus developed has been the largest in China among car-maintenance workshops, and the market is still fragmented," Liao added. Meanwhile, the market for automobile service continues to expand. About 20,000 4S stores were in China in April, and that number will grow to about 30,000 by the end of 2015, according to the State Administration for Industry and Commerce as quoted by the Beijing Morning Post. |
| Chinese firms make inroads in Brazil Posted: 29 Jul 2012 08:28 AM PDT  Source: By Tuo Yannan in Sao Paulo, Brazil (China Daily) Eric Zhang, the previous general manager in Brazil of China's largest air conditioner maker Zhuhai Gree Electric Appliances Inc, never worried about customer figures. Rather he was worried about whether his factory would be able to cope with the flood of orders. Gree was among the first set of Chinese companies to enter the country in 1998. It decided to make the move because the two countries are in different hemispheres and sales of air conditioners are seasonal. The company is now ranked second in Brazil. It sold 500,000 air conditioners there worth $200 million in 2011. Gree's fast growth is an indication of how Chinese companies have made considerable inroads in Brazil and the overall growth in bilateral trade. In recent years, more and more Chinese manufacturing companies have set up offices in Brazil. A big part of them are technology companies. Chinese high-tech companies – such as telecom equipment makers ZTE Corp and Huawei Technologies Co – have invested heavily in the country in recent years. Huawei has more than 4,000 employees in Brazil, and more than 90 percent are local hires. In the first half of 2011, the company's sales revenue there reached more than $1 billion. ZTE set up an industrial park in Hortolandia, near Sao Paulo. Products from the industrial park will be shipped to other Latin American countries. "The Brazilian market accounts for about 9 percent of ZTE's overseas revenue. The country is crucial for our company's development in Latin America," said Yuan Lei, president of ZTE South America Region. Brazil accounts for more than 40 percent of the Latin American economy, with a market size as big as the United States. Alessandro Teixeira, Brazil's deputy minister of development, industry and foreign trade, said that he predicts that the percentage will increase to 50 percent in the next 10 years, and Brazil's economic role in Latin America will be even more significant. Economic partners Brazil, the most distant country from China among the BRICS – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, has emerged as the closest partner to China economically. China has been Brazil's largest trade partner since 2009, a position previously held by the US, as a result of massive exports in the energy and agricultural goods sectors. China's investment in Brazil was less than $300 million in 2009, but increased to $17 billion in 2010, making it the largest foreign investor in Brazil. And because the two economies are complementary, bilateral trade continues to see double-digit growth, said Clodoaldo Hugueney, Brazil's ambassador to China. During Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff's visit to China last year, she said that Brazil is seeking to diversify trade and investment ties beyond raw materials to include more value-added goods. Marcos Almeida, a partner at Ernst & Young Terco, said that foreign direct investment in energy and mining will continue to rise because the Brazilian government is increasingly sensitive to the purchase of agricultural land by foreign investors in general, not only Chinese. According to data from Brazil's Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade, 44 percent of Brazil's exports in 2010 were raw materials including iron ore, coffee beans and soybeans. The deal between China Petrochemical Corporation, known as Sinopec Group, and oil company Repsol SA was the biggest FDI deal in Brazil in 2010. The Chinese company bought 40 percent of the Spanish oil giant Repsol's Brazilian business for $7.1 billion. Sinopec has also been undertaking a natural gas project named Gasene in Brazil since 2004. Iron ore is another big investment target for Chinese companies. Vale SA, the Rio de Janeiro-based miner, is the world's biggest producer of iron ore and one of Brazil's largest companies. In 2011, Brazil's iron ore represented about 20.8 percent of China's total imported iron ore, dropping about 4 percentage points from 24.84 percent in 2007. The surge in raw material prices also led to the diversification of bilateral trade. In 2011, when China spent $25.7 billion on 143 million tons of iron ore, the price per ton was about 1.8 times more than 2007. In the first quarter of 2011, China accounted for about 29.7 percent of Vale's revenues – more than half of the company's revenues in Asia. In 2004, Vale signed a contract with China's Sinosteel Corp to supply 600,000 tons of iron ore pellets every year from 2005 to 2011 at a price of $32.76 per ton. Diversification Meanwhile, Brazil is seeking to diversify the categories of imports and investment in the Latin American nation to bring more win-win benefits, said Hugueney. The ambassador said that China should "diversify its imports" from Brazil, by buying more high-tech goods, such as airplanes, automotive and mechanical equipment, high-end manufacturing goods, such as luxury shoes, and agricultural goods, such as beef and pork, rather than merely soybeans, iron ore and oil that traditionally have been the major Chinese imports from Brazil. The ambassador's remarks echoed the words of Minister of Commerce Chen Deming during a visit to Brazil in May 2011. "China is willing to promote the diversification of Brazilian exports to China and to add more value to Brazilian exports," he said. An estimated 84 percent of China's imports from Brazil are raw materials and agricultural goods, including iron ore and soybeans. The huge Chinese demand for the commodities led to an 18-fold increase in Brazil's exports to China between 2000 and 2009. H Stern, the biggest gem company in Brazil, is getting attention from an increasing number of Chinese customers and is seeking the opportunity to open stores in China, said Ronaldo Stern, vice-president of H Stern, in an interview with China Daily. Stern said that in recent years, his store has more and more Chinese customers, and he has started to hire people who understand Chinese culture to work with him. "To find a good location and local partners is not easy in China," he said. The company has been researching the Chinese market for more than five years, but hasn't made a decision yet. H Stern is already present in more than 30 countries, including the US and Japan. Trade barriers Sao Paulo, the biggest city in Brazil, represents more than 25 percent of the taxes of the country. The city, which has a population of 19 million, ranked No 7 of the top 10 biggest cities in 2010. The economic center of the country is also the place where most of the Chinese companies are setting up their headquarters. However, its interstate tax rate of up to 18 percent increases the cost of business for many Chinese companies. And red tape also causes problems for companies, from hiring employees to transferring cargo across different Brazilian states. "The tax system here is very complicated," said Jack Lu, Brazilian market chief representative of the Chinese automaker Chery. "We spent about three years researching and learning about the market before we entered it in 2009." Trade investigations are emerging as another headache for Chinese companies in the country. There has been an increase in the number of trade complaints filed by Brazil against China. More than 100 anti-dumping investigations were launched by Brazil in 2010 – nearly 50 were against China. According to Hugueney, the Brazilian ambassador, increased investment in local production is the key to improving trade relations. "Brazil is seeking more Chinese investment in the manufacturing sector to avoid trade conflicts between the two nations," he said. |
| Posted: 29 Jul 2012 08:32 AM PDT  Source: Wall Street Journal | Photo: Bloomberg SHANGHAI—China enacted new rules for foreign investors Friday, in a much-anticipated move to ease restrictions and grant them broader market access. Under the new rules, which came into effect Friday, the China Securities Regulatory Commission said it had lowered minimum qualification requirement and simplified the approval process for applicants under the Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors program, the primary program for foreign investors to enter China's capital markets. The new rules, which are similar to the draft rules issued last month, said China has expanded the investment scope of QFIIs and allowed QFIIs to hold more shares in domestically listed companies. In a separate statement about the new rules, the CSRC said it has allowed QFIIs to invest in the country's vast and fast-expanding interbank bond market and newly built high-yield bond market. Foreign private-equity investment entities are allowed to apply for QFII license under the category of asset-management institutions, it added in the statement. Beijing has launched a broad range of market-oriented changes in its financial sector over the past few months, amid hopes of sparking its slowing economy and to redirect it toward a consumption-driven growth model. The move is also an effort to boost confidence among investors in a sagging stock market ahead of a leadership transition in the country. Just a day before the release of the new rules, the Shanghai Composite Index hit its lowest level in more than three years. On Friday, the index edged up 0.1% to 2128.77. Based on the new rules, China has lowered the bar for all five categories of QFII applicants. For foreign asset-management institutions, insurers and other institutional investors such as pension funds and government-backed investment companies applying for QFII licenses, the minimum requirement for their assets under management will be lowered to $500 million from $5 billion, the CSRC said. For securities companies and commercial banks, the relevant requirement will be lowered to $5 billion from $10 billion, it added. It also has raised the ceiling on combined stakeholding by all QFIIs in any listed company in China's domestic yuan-denominated A-share market to 30% from the current 20%. The CSRC said in the statement that it will continue to speed up its approval for QFIIs and will look at ways to relax foreign-exchange restrictions on QFIIs further with relevant authorities. It will also clarify tax issues about QFIIs as soon as possible, it said, without offering more details on what issues. The CSRC has sped up approvals of new QFII applications this year. The commission granted 37 new QFII licenses over the first six months of this year, compared with a total of 29 for all of last year. In April, the government increased the investment quota for the QFII program to $80 billion from $30 billion previously. |
| Bo wife murder charge vexes skeptical Chinese Posted: 29 Jul 2012 08:35 AM PDT  Source: Reuters By Ben Blanchard (Reuters) – China's ruling Communist Party might insist that the murder charge against Gu Kailai, the wife of ousted Politburo member Bo Xilai, is a simple case of all being equal before the law, but winning over the jury of public opinion is proving tough. In its first official statement on Gu's case since April, state news agency Xinhua ran a brief report last week saying China will try Gu on charges of murdering a British businessman. The news spread rapidly on Weibo. While state media generally stuck to reprinting that story, the influential tabloid the Global Times on Friday wrote an editorial warning nobody was above the law. But that is a line the party is going to have a hard time convincing people is true, as suspicion swirls that populist politician Bo and his wife Gu are victims of a power struggle — and no more corrupt than other Chinese leaders. People already have little faith in government statements despite repeated pledges to be transparent, after the SARS cover-up in 2003, among others, and refusal to discuss events such as the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators in Beijing. "Who on earth could believe this?" wrote one microblogger, of the Global Times editorial. "Bo has just lost his personal battle; this case has never had anything to do with the rule of law." Others thought Xinhua's wording that "the crimes are clear, and the evidence is irrefutable and substantial" ruled out any pretence at Gu getting a fair trial. "It looks like the court is just going to be reading out the Xinhua piece … What a shameless society without governance. I hope it collapses." Bo, 62, was widely seen as pushing for a spot in China's new leadership until he was felled by the scandal brought to light by his former police chief, Wang Lijun. Bo has not been named as a suspect in the murder case, but he has separately been accused of violating party discipline, sometimes code for corruption and abuses of power, and he could face trial at a later time. NOT A SIMPLE CASE Gu has been in police custody for months on suspicion of involvement in Heywood's murder, though few details of the motive or the crime itself have been publicly released. State media said previously that he was killed after a financial dispute. Xinhua said that the economic dispute between Gu and Heywood involved her son, Bo Guagua, who graduated from Harvard University this year and is still believed to be in the United States. It reported Gu believed Heywood was threatening her son. Waiting for a meeting in a glass office tower in Shanghai's financial district, Lu Zida, a telecommunications specialist in his 30s, said that as a parent he could relate to Gu's maternal urge to protect her child. He was, however, under no illusions that the case was as simple or straightforward as it appeared in state media reports. "This is certainly not a simple criminal case. It's very complex — money, power and politics," Lu said. "A mother must protect her children. If I was in her position I would do the same if someone was threatening my child. There's no reason not to." In the steamy southwestern metropolis of Chongqing, once Bo and Gu's stomping ground, a group of five 20-something rural migrant workers said Bo was well-liked for improving the city and cracking down on organized crime. "He was a political star," said one of the young men, who said he and his friends came from Fengdu, a rural part of Chongqing. "He's done for now, but the ordinary people still have fond memories of him," said the young man, who declined to give his name. "His wife was the one who caused him this trouble." Yu Kun, a Chongqing billboard advertising salesman, said he felt for Bo. "We all love Bo Xilai. We feel that it's about a political struggle," Yu said. He pointed to the unfinished, ultra-modern opera house and science museum jutting out on the other side of the river as evidence of Bo's ability and large ambition. "Of course, there's corruption," Yu said, when pressed over the allegations against Gu. "In China, everything, everyone has to be corrupt. It's all about the hidden rules. They were no different, but they didn't stand out from the rest either."   |
| Empty seats row hits Games, China in gold start Posted: 29 Jul 2012 08:36 AM PDT  Source: Reuters By Karolos Grohmann and Mike Collett-White (Reuters) – Organizers sought to quell growing public frustration on Sunday over empty seats across venues at the London Olympics, where China laid down an early marker with a world record win in the pool and a commanding early lead in the medals table. More empty seats were reported on Sunday including at the equestrian dressage at Greenwich Park, despite the draw of Queen Elizabeth's granddaughter Zara Phillips making an Olympic debut. Heavy rain after a hot, dry spell also put a dampener on outdoor events on the second day of full sporting contest, as did the announcement that Uzbek gymnast Luiza Galiulina was provisionally banned from the Games for a positive drugs test. Olympic organizers launched an urgent inquiry into the seating fiasco to nail down precisely who had not taken up their places and why. "It's infuriating to see so many empty seats on TV. Surely it can't be beyond the organizers to allow real sports fans to fill them up on a first-come first-served basis?" said Ed Shorthose, a London-based father of two who had been trying for months to get tickets to see the Games. London organizing committee chairman Sebastian Coe told reporters he thought the problem would resolve itself over time. "I don't think this is going to be an issue, certainly it's not going to be an issue right through the Games," he said. The embarrassment took some of the shine off the Games, where sport has begun in earnest after an exuberant opening ceremony on Friday night which thrilled Britain but also baffled much of the world because of its arty eccentricity. China jumped to the head of the rankings with five gold medals overall, four of them on Saturday, the first full day of competitive sport at the July 27-August 12 tournament. CHINESE DOMINATION China made it five on Sunday when Guo Wenjun produced a near-perfect last shot to retain her Olympic title in the women's 10 meter air pistol shooting in a topsy-turvy final of nerve-jangling action. She beat out France's Celine Goberville, and still to come is the women's synchronized three-meter springboard diving final in which few would bet against victory for He Zi and Wu Minxia. China's Yi Siling was the first gold medalist of the Games in the 10-metre air rifle and compatriot Wang Mingjuan extended a 10-year unbeaten international record to win the women's 48-kg weightlifting crown. Chinese swimmers Sun Yang and Ye Shiwen also took gold on Saturday, with 16-year-old Ye wiping more than a second off the world record in the women's 400 meter individual medley final. Sun, who became the first Chinese man to win an Olympic swimming title when he took gold in the men's 400 freestyle, is overwhelming favorite to win the 1500 and is also targeting the 200, where he will square off against American Ryan Lochte. Lochte grabbed the headlines on Saturday by eclipsing compatriot Michael Phelps in the 400 individual medley final and replacing him as the world's best all-round swimmer. Lochte already has three gold medals from his two previous Olympics but is primed for a bigger haul this time with three more individual events and at least one relay still to come. "I'm ready to rock this Olympics," the 27-year-old declared. For Phelps, things can only get better after the man who swept eight golds at Beijing four years ago was forced into fourth position and missed out on a medal for the first time at the Games since he was a 15-year-old in Sydney in 2000. The United States face a tough task in the 4×100 meters freestyle relay against an Australian team boasting the fastest two men in the world. But there should be a medal of some color for Phelps, who is bidding to add three to his tally to overtake Soviet gymnast Larisa Latynina's record haul of 18. BRITAIN MEDAL-LESS Like Phelps, host nation Britain is still seeking its first medal after world champion Mark Cavendish was outmaneuvered and upstaged in the cycling road race by Kazakhstan's Alexandre Vinokourov. Britain's best hope is in the pool where Rebecca Adlington defends her 400 freestyle title, yet she only scraped into the final as slowest qualifier. She is up against Italian Federica Pellegrini and world number one Camille Muffat of France. Britain also has a chance in the women's cycling road race where holder Nicole Cooke faces Italian world champion Giorgia Bronzini and Dutchwoman Marianne Vos, who is hoping finally to land gold after five consecutive world championship silvers. By mid-afternoon on Sunday, the United States were second in the medals table after Kimberly Rhode took the women's skeet shooting gold. The Italians were in third place after the men's archery team beat the top-ranked United States by a single point on the last arrow of the final and the fencers swept all three medals in the women's individual foil. Day Two also sees the latest incarnation of the U.S. basketball "Dream Team", this time featuring LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant, beginning their title defense against France. Tennis world number two Novak Djokovic of Serbia begins his quest for singles gold against Italy's Fabio Fognini. Britain's Andy Murray returns to the court where he lost the Wimbledon final to Roger Federer this month for a first-round match against Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka. Federer survived a scare in his opening Olympic singles match against Colombia's Alejandro Falla on Saturday before prevailing 6-3 5-7 6-3. Serena Williams also breezed past Serbia's Jelena Jankovic in straight sets, with U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama cheering her on.   |
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