Blogs » Society » Taobao Guide: How To Look Badass

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• Taobao Guide: How To Look Badass
• Bookstore Buy: Shaun Rein’s "The End of Cheap China"
• The Grandma's: Tasteless Large-scale Chinese Dining
• Chinese language crisis for Australian businesses
• ‘Gangnam Style, Dissected: The Subversive Message Within South Korea’s Music Video Sensation’: The Atlantic
• This Woman Is The Luckiest And Worst Driver Alive
• Meet: Zhang Rui, China's mega art collector
• Sex in China: Q&A with author Richard Burger
• Pencil This In: Aug 27-30
• In Which We Revisit Possibly The Most Shocking And Abominable Fight Between Seven-Year-Olds Ever
• Photo of the Day
• The Situation Is Excellent: The Week That Was At Beijing Cream
• Video: Sexy “road killer” shrugs it off when her car tipped over
• Netizens speculate Liu Xiang fakes fall at Olympics
• Dispute over the Senkaku Island with Japan
• Toddler’s Head Nearly Flattened By Car After She Falls Out Of Scooter
• No One Copies Quite Like The Chinese (Featuring: Corcs, King Burger, Anmani, And Nire)
• Man pricked by HIV-infected needle in taxi, dumped by girlfriend for that
• At Least 36 Dead In Fiery Highway Collision In Shaanxi

Taobao Guide: How To Look Badass Posted: 26 Aug 2012 08:00 PM PDT Date: Aug 24th 2012 7:40p.m. Contributed by: mengsta

Bookstore Buy: Shaun Rein’s "The End of Cheap China" Posted: 26 Aug 2012 07:15 PM PDT Date: Aug 26th 2012 3:17p.m. Contributed by: leemack We review Shaun Rein's new book The End of Cheap China.

The Grandma's: Tasteless Large-scale Chinese Dining Posted: 26 Aug 2012 06:20 PM PDT Date: Aug 26th 2012 2:59p.m. Contributed by: electronicdrew The Grandma's restaurants review in shanghai.

Chinese language crisis for Australian businesses Posted: 26 Aug 2012 06:30 PM PDT Analysts say many Australian businesses are facing a looming crisis because there aren't enough workers who speak Mandarin. [ABC News] [ more › ]

‘Gangnam Style, Dissected: The Subversive Message Within South Korea’s Music Video Sensation’: The Atlantic Posted: 26 Aug 2012 05:02 PM PDT A few days ago, I posted about the greatest music video every made, "Gangnam Style': PSY–Not Hot In China. Huh?' (By the way, when I wrote about this on Thursday August 23, the video has more than 50,000,000 views on YouTube; three days later, it has nearly 63,000,000 views.) (Check here for the best English subtitles courtesy of U.S.-based Korean blogger Jea Kim, as mentioned in The Atlantic article, below, who uses stills so you're not distracted by the hard-not-to-watch action.) I lived in Seoul for several years many years ago and logged my hours in Gangnam. And, as I mentioned in the earlier post, I am married to a Korean woman. But, I can't say that I understand much about Korea. I don't speak the language, haven't immersed myself in the history, and don't follow local events closely. So, when I, as a clueless foreigner, first watched 'Gangnam Style,' I just enjoyed the ride and the scenery. Then, my wife, Sojeong, upon seeing how much I liked the video, launched into a lengthy explanation of its social commentary. Interesting, even fascinating, to understand what the video is about, especially from a former Gangnam girl. But, the next time I watched the video nothing changed for me. Great song. Great video. Social critique? I'll think about sometime after it's over. Maybe. Now, for those readers who not as shallow as I am and who don't have a Korean friend or significant other to explain the subtext, The Atlantic presents, 'Gangnam Style, Dissected: The Subversive Message Within South Korea's Music Video Sensation,' subtitled, 'Beneath the catchy dance beat and hilarious scenes of Seoul's poshest neighborhood, there might be a subtle message about wealth, class, and value in South Korean society.' The Atlantic is not the only major outlet to discuss this. 'Gangnam Style' is the first K-Pop song/video to fully cross-over to the U.S. market. Not surprisingly, U.S music blogs and websites have commented a lot; more surprising is the great attention it has gotten in the mainstream American media (except notably the lamestream New York Times). Among this body of commentary, The Atlantic article does the best job. Korean K-Pop fans are shocked if not downright horrified that its greatest ambassador so far is PSY, because, as the article notes: Park Jaesang is an unlikely poster boy for South Korea's youth-obsessed, highly lucrative, and famously vacuous pop music. Park, who performs as Psy (short for psycho), is a relatively ancient 34, has been busted for marijuana and for avoiding the country's mandatory military service, and is not particularly good-looking. His first album got him fined for "inappropriate content" and the second was banned. He's mainstream in the way that South Korea's monolithically corporate media demands of its stars, who typically appear regularly on TV variety and even game shows, but as a harlequin, a performer known for his parodies, outrageous costumes, and jokey concerts. Still, there's a long history of fools and court jesters as society's most cutting social critics, and he might be one of them. Even if I hadn't seen the video, I'd like PSY based on this description alone. And, as for Gangnam: Gangnam, [Adrian] Hong said, is a symbol of that aspect of South Korean culture. The neighborhood is the home of some of South Korea's biggest brands, as well as $84 billion of its wealth, as of 2010. That's seven percent of the entire country's GDP in an area of just 15 square miles. A place of the most conspicuous consumption, you might call it the embodiment of South Korea's one percent. "The neighborhood in Gangnam is not just a nice town or nice neighborhood. The kids that he's talking about are not Silicon Valley self-made millionaires. They're overwhelmingly trust-fund babies and princelings," he explained. I won't go into the more subtle barbs hidden in 'Gangnam Style,' but here are the key points: Psy hits all the symbols of Gangnam opulence, but each turns out to be something much more modest, as if suggesting that Gangnam-style wealth is not as fabulous as it might seem. We think he's at a beach in the opening shot, but it turns out to be a sandy playground. He visits a sauna not with big-shot businessmen but with mobsters, Kim points out, and dances not in a nightclub but on a bus of middle-aged tourists. He meets his love interest in the subway. Kim thinks that Psy's strut though a parking garage, two models at his side as trash and snow fly at them, is meant as a nod to the common rap-video trope of the star walking down a red carpet covered in confetti. "I think he's pointing out the ridiculousness of the materialism," [Adrian] Hong said. And, what does PSY himself think: Of course, it's just a music video, and a silly one at that. Does it really have to be about anything more complicated? "If I hadn't seen that behind-the-scenes, I would have said he's just poking fun at himself," Hong said of the official making-of video, which is embedded at right. It's mostly of Park or Psy having fun on set, but at one point he pauses in filming. "Human society is so hollow, and even while filming I felt pathetic. Each frame by frame was hollow," he sighs, apparently deadly serious. It's a jarring moment to see the musician drop his clownish demeanor and reveal the darker feelings behind this lighthearted-seeming song. Although, Hong noted, "hollow" doesn't capture it: "It's a word that's a mixture or shallow or hollow or vain," he explained. [emphasis mine] All too deep for me. But, then, Let's Dance is my favorite David Bowie album, especially 'China Girl' (another great video). And, that's this post's connection to China:

This Woman Is The Luckiest And Worst Driver Alive Posted: 26 Aug 2012 05:00 PM PDT By Alicia In the early hours yesterday in Nanjing, a fashionable sexy lady by the name of Ms. Xu, shown in the video wearing only black booty shorts, a tiny black top, and what must be five-inch-heels, was seen crawling out of the window of her car after she hit a railing and her vehicle flipped on its side. Xu says she was trying to avoid a taxi that was merging into her lane when she swerved. The accident is still being investigated, but police are already considering the length of her heels as a cause. For most people, an accident like this, which I think we can accurately label "livelihood-threatening," probably doesn't happen very often. For Xu, however — as she continues to explain with a smile and smirk — "I've flipped a car four times and never sustained any injuries." Xu learned to drive while studying in the US, and has been driving for three to four years. With a valid license! In the US she's flipped twice, once caused by her falling asleep at the wheel, the other time while speeding. In China she's flipped one other time, also while speeding. In addition, she has been in three other road accidents. At least she passed the breathalyzer yesterday. And no, we're not going to make a joke about Asian female drivers. This woman is in a class of her own. Youku video for those in China after the jump.

Meet: Zhang Rui, China's mega art collector Posted: 26 Aug 2012 04:00 PM PDT Beijing-based businessman Zhang Rui owns a collection of some eight-hundred pieces of contemporary art works, and so far he has not sold a single item despite the economic downturn. [AFP] [ more › ]

Sex in China: Q&A with author Richard Burger Posted: 26 Aug 2012 03:41 PM PDT Richard Burger is the blogger behind Peking Duck, a record of his thoughts on China since 2003, when her first wrote about being in Beijing during SARS. Burger is also the author of Behind the Red Door: Sex in China, published by Earshaw Books this week. He answered questions from Danwei by email about his new book. Why did you write this book and how did you research it? About ten months ago I was approached by Earnshaw Books, which was looking for a writer to put together a book on sex in China that would be accessible to mainstream audiences. Most books on the topic tend to be academic in nature. The point of this book was to pull together the existing conversations about sex in China, synthesize them with fresh research and updated data and produce a cohesive narrative that was engaging and informative. The publisher gave me a large amount of research,including a series of interviews conducted with pimps and prostitutes, sex shop owners, sex therapists, karaoke club owners and "sex detectives" hired by suspicious spouses. These put a human face on the story of sex in contemporary China and also provide some of the book's most poignant material. Aside from these interviews I did a large amount of research myself — my work area at home is still stacked with copies of books on the subject, research papers, doctoral theses and newspaper articles. In addition, I conducted several of my own interviews, speaking with Chinese people via Skype, email and the old-fashioned telephone. Ethnographer Tricia Wang, for example, specializes in the field of Chinese migrant workers and their adoption of technology. She gave me a wonderful interview via Skype. How much detail do you go into about contemporary Chinese people's sex lives? I think the book goes into considerable detail, though there's always more that can be added. The chapter on dating, for example, offers a detailed look at the courtship process, pre-marital sex, the demands of many Chinese men that their wives be virgins, etc. A lengthy section on Muzimei and the Internet explores the shift in the consciousness of many Chinese women as they increasingly see sex as a means of pleasure and gratification, not just for procreation. The book also goes into great detail on the lives of prostitutes in China today, as well as the lives of gay men and lesbians. What's the main difference between sex in China and sex in the USA? Despite the increase in premarital sex — sexologist Li Yinhe says about 60 percent of urban Chinese people today engage in it — a lot of the old taboos and beliefs about sex remain in place. Chinese men for the most part are unwilling to approach a woman who makes more money or has a higher education than he does. Many still want their wives to be virgins, despite the fact that so many are having premarital sex. Tens of thousands of Chinese women every year go so far as to have surgery to restore their hymens or buy artificial hymens that seep artificial blood. The gap is closing in the major cities, which are becoming ever more Westernized, but even there Chinese traditional values rub up against new attitudes fostered by China's sexual revolution. Serial dating is still frowned up (though that's changing, too), parents are included in the decision to marry, and public displays of affection are far less common outside of the big cities than they are everywhere in the West. Sex education is also drastically different; in China it barely exists at all and focuses on biology with little to no discussion on the social aspects of sex or sexual morality. Prostitution is a vast industry in China. Despite its ubiquity, it's a business that somehow remains in the shadows. How do you tackle this subject in the book? The chapter on the sex trade is one of the longest and most detailed in the book. First it looks at China's long history of prostitution, from ancient times to the Mao era. It looks at how different dynasties handled sex for sale. During the Tang Dynasty, for example, prostitutes were so tolerated, they were registered with the state so taxes could be collected. Under the Manchu dynasty prostitution was outlawed but it thrived anyway. Only under Mao was prostitution eradicated, or at least made invisible. For me, the most moving part of the book is an interview with an actual middle-aged prostitute in Shanghai who tells why she was forced to enter the sex trade and her evolution from giving hand jobs in movie theaters to a street walker to a call girl. She talks about what her life was like and how she was forced to sleep with corrupt police, her struggle to feed and educate her children, etc. I also spend several pages describing China's tiered system of prostitution. There are different opinions on exactly how many tiers there are because there is overlap. I focus on seven tiers, as broken down by the Shanghai police in the 1990s. These tiers start with the ernai (二奶), or second wife, up at the top — she is for all intents and purposes a concubine employed by one "customer," almost always a wealthy businessman or official, who pays her rent and gives her a salary. Strictly speaking, an ernai is not quite a prostitute since she don't sell her body to multiple customers. At the very bottom are the xiagongpeng, literally "down by the shack." These are the lowest-end prostitutes who sell their wares to migrant workers at their work shacks. They receive a pitiably low payment and often will work for food. I detail the other five tiers in-between, such as dance hall girls, street walkers and massage parlor workers. What was the pre-modern Chinese attitude to homosexuality? If people are going to be startled by anything in the book I think it might be the section on homosexuality in imperial China. For centuries it was widely practiced, mainly by the literati and ruling classes, though there is plenty of evidence of same-sex love between ordinary Chinese, even in the countryside. As long as these men married and had children, it was acceptable for them to carry on affairs with men outside the home. Many emperors kept male lovers along with their harems of concubines. Han Dynasty scribes actually catalogued the emperors' male lovers. Homosexuality was not an identity, it was something men simply did for entertainment, and often to display their class privilege. They were not "gay" — they were married men who carried on with men for amusement and pleasure. With the advent of the Beijing opera and the inflow of "song boys" who performed them, male same sex love soared in the late 19th century as many middle and upper-class men sought the company of these effeminate young boys, who always played the passive role and often dressed in female clothing. This didn't come to an end completely until the early twentieth century. When did homsexuality become a crime of hooliganism? When was this changed? How has life changed for gays and lesbians in China over the last two decades? Early in Mao's rule homosexuality was labeled both a psychological disorder and an act of hooliganism. Most gays at the time had no idea there were millions like them, and believed something was wrong with them. Men could only meet other men in parks and public toilets, where they risked arrest. Punishments varied in different parts of China. Some men were charged a fine, others put in jail, and often they were ostracized in their danwei, where they lived the rest of their lives in stigmatization. It was only in 1997 that homosexuality was decriminalized and four years later it was removed from the official list of mental illnesses. Gay bars opened in the early 1990s and gays in urban areas became part of a community. The days of parks and toilets as the only option was over. Nevertheless, gays still succumb to the pressure to marry — more than 80 percent do so — and are forced to live a life of secrecy. This is tragic both for them and for their spouse, whose needs cannot be fulfilled. What effect have sex blogger Muzi Mei and prominent sexologist Li Yinhe had on Chinese attitudes to sex and the public discussion of them? Muzimei was a seminal force (so to speak) in China's sexual revolution. She brought the topic of sex for the sake of sex into the public discourse and created a debate over the morality of having multiple sex partners. She became a role model to perhaps millions of women and made the topic of sex far less taboo. She also generated a lot of animosity and condemnation in the media. She helped tear down old barriers, and there has been no going back. It's hard to measure Li Yinhe's influence. Most of what she advocated never came to fruition. But among the well educated she certainly expanded the dialogue about sex and often shocked the public with her bold recommendations, such as the decriminalization of prostitution, making it legal for gays to marry, freedom to engage in any kind of sex, including orgies, without fear of punishment, etc. Any examination of sex in China is inevitably loaded with references to Li. I cite her twenty times in my book. Links and sources Amazon: Behind the Red Door: Sex in China Richard Burger's blog: Peking Duck Tricia Wang: Mapping the city, first stop: sex workers Danwei: A brief history of Chinese porn, People's Pornography – An interview with Katrien Jacobs Li Yinhe – Group sex and the Cultural Revolution, a translation, Chinese sociologist Lі Уіnhe on rural problems, Muzi Mei resurfaces, Doggy style in Guangzhou

Pencil This In: Aug 27-30 Posted: 26 Aug 2012 01:26 PM PDT Men in tight nylon suits, eco arts, free martinis and wads of smoke on screen: All the things you'd want to do this Monday through Thursday. On the schedule this week: Unique arts on display, freebies for ladies, big summer blockbusters and selected pieces from SubCinema. Read on for all the details, or check out our calendar for more! [ more › ]

In Which We Revisit Possibly The Most Shocking And Abominable Fight Between Seven-Year-Olds Ever Posted: 26 Aug 2012 01:00 PM PDT The video you've come to see appears after the jump, and it's brutal enough as a main event that I feel like it needs an undercard. So, the above. Hair-grabbing should be banned to avoid boring impasses. What the heck, eighth-graders? It's like you're not even trying. You're certainly not trying like these kids. Holy shit, they're trying too hard (watch with sound on low or off, as the human psyche, I think, can only tolerate a boy's wailing for only so long, not to mention a piece of shit adult's behavior): That's a video from a year ago depicting a seven-year-old brother and sister going at it. A few of the things the man behind the camera shouts: "Don't dig, kick!" "Kick! Punch!" "Hit him back!" (When the boy is on the ground wailing.) "Hit him now!" (Still wailing.) "Hit him!" "Fight! FIGHT!" (Still wailing.) "Get up! Hit your sister." "Get up, get up, get up." "Both injured eh? When Dad was young he fought like this." Laughs. "It's no problem. Hit him." "If it's bleeding it's bleeding, no problem." Yeah, it's unbelievable. Grown-ups who encourage young kids to fight while filming it should have their adult status revoked. Another example here (YouTube / Youku). 8th-graders (appeared on Youku two days ago):

Photo of the Day Posted: 26 Aug 2012 11:30 AM PDT Want to see your picture here? Share your photos with us on Flickr and Instagram using the tag #shanghaiist! [ more › ]

The Situation Is Excellent: The Week That Was At Beijing Cream Posted: 26 Aug 2012 08:59 AM PDT August 20 – August 26 What a week: a cow beauty pageant, a state-sponsored list of China's happiest cities (Lhasa was No. 1), and a public sculpture of pigs having sex. You read that right: it was our most-read post of the week, linked by Boing Boing and Dave Barry. If you haven't yet, check out the follow-ups: a video from the scene, and the revelation that the sculpture was modeled off a statuette of pigs having sex. A drunk, speeding 19-year-old killed a construction worker, then made out with his girlfriend afterwards… who then really did something unbelievable. A boy publicly proposed to his girlfriend in Xidan on Chinese Valentine's Day eve, and his efforts were rewarded with kicks to the side. In Beijing, a man was accidentally jabbed with a syringe hidden in a taxi; for some reason, the syringe was filled with a fluid that contained the HIV virus. The story that might have beaten all these, however, may have been the one about a woman who was wrestled off the ledge of a rooftop, only to then admit to throwing her four-year-old nephew off that ledge earlier that day. There were several notable protests this week. People absolutely lost their collective minds over Diaoyu Islands, leading to bikini-clad protesters to urge "civilized patriotism." Meanwhile in Beijing, one environmentalist decided: who needs a bikini? She went topless to protest ginseng extraction. Oh yeah, Gu Kailai was given a suspended death sentence. Even though everyone expected it, someone really ought to protest the fact that she may serve as few as 15 years for murdering a British businessman. We leaked a questionnaire aimed at overseas foreigners for the upcoming National Congress of the CPC. A Chinese news show used Frogger and Mario to discourage jaywalking. We found a section on People's Daily's website called "Eyes on DPRK," featuring "A tour of DPRK's beauties," and this homemade Lamborghini is China's "most awesome sports car ever." A highway collapse in Harbin killed three people, and a bus collided with a tanker carrying methanol in Shaanxi, resulting in at least 36 dead. Kobe Bryant and LeBron James were both in China this week, and Beijing's Residence A gave one hell of a musical performance last Saturday. Comment of the week: Why, yes, there IS a statue of consensually happy pigs porking in Zhengzhou. bit.ly/TW0uTH sf @kemc — Ray Kwong (@raykwong) August 23, 2012

Video: Sexy “road killer” shrugs it off when her car tipped over Posted: 25 Aug 2012 06:22 PM PDT At 1:30 a.m. August 25 in Nanjing, a scantily-dressed girl, riding in high heelings, climbed out of her Buick car that tipped over at a road side unharmed, and laughed at the accident before the camera, "this was the forth time in two years." The girl, 17 years old, surnamed Xu, said that she sped up and wanted to overtake a taxi in front of her, but suddenly the taxi jumped the lane and cut in hers. In order to avoid the taxi, she then had her car bumped into the road's isolation strip and turned on a side. Xu added, she learned her driving skills when studying in the US and has three to four years of driving experience. She had been involved in four overturn accidents in two years but sustained no injuries. "Two accidents happened in the US. One was because I was at speeds above 260 km per hour, and the other one was because I slept over while driving," the sexy girl told the journalist without showing any guilt. And in China, in addition to this current accident, she ever overturned too when over-speeding at 240 kpm. Xu was not found with drunk driving through blood test. But traffic cops caught that she was driving without a Chinese driver license, but a US driver license which is invalid in China. Xu was now transferred to the local traffic police station for investigation. Soon after the mater was made publicly online, it aroused huge outrage. Some netizens targeted the young girl in revealing outfit saying that she attempted to gain publicity with the stunt, and some others criticized her for being irresponsible to other people's lives and called her a "road killer."

Netizens speculate Liu Xiang fakes fall at Olympics Posted: 25 Aug 2012 01:22 AM PDT Jacky Huang | August 25th, 2012 "It's the truth: this is the cruelty of sports. Liu Xiang is like a warrior. He jumped, knowing not going to make it to the end." When Chinese famous 110-meter hurdle athlete Liu Xiang fell on the first hurdle at the London Olympics, the CCTV commentator, Yang Jian was not surprised to make the above report, acting like he already knew this is meant to happen. Yesterday a meeting was held in CCTV, confirming that they've already knew Liu's severe injury before the game. Yang Jian even made four commentary plans. He commentated the game with tears was accused of faking and performing by netizens. Some media even used the title – Liu Xiang knows, CCTV knows, Leaders know, only audiences were waiting to see miracles – as their front page report. People point out that Liu Xiang was faking the fall because he kissed the wrong hurdle of his athletic track afterwards and he was shown being instructed by leaders before going to the track by a foreign cable network. Another firm evidence is that Yan Jian didn't show any expectations in broadcasting: "We cannot expect Liu to be as perfect as he was before, but we hope he'll do the best he can." When Liu fell on the first hurdle, Yang quickly changed his tone and continued with a sad voice: "29 years old athlete, it's time for him to take a rest. This is the worst result that I can imagine today. An athlete without fine legs is like a soldier without a gun." When asked about his tears, Yang said He didn't know where the tears came from. He even didn't remember what he said during that time, because the tears just went out naturally and that is the real feeling that he got. The perfect reporting easily let people think this is not an accident. They said Liu Xiang fooled the world again after 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. But an insider said Liu was not sure he can do it or not before the game. About two months ago, Liu got 12'87" in a game and was in a very good condition. And after that, Liu got the instructions from "above" to win the gold medal in London Olympics. They gave Liu heavier load of exercises that his leg could not take, which eventually made his injury worse. This may be the real reason for him to quit the Olympics. The chief of China state sports administration said earlier yesterday that China's sports management system is suitable to China's current condition. Source: Tianya | Tencent | Sina | Zaobao

Dispute over the Senkaku Island with Japan Posted: 24 Aug 2012 12:42 AM PDT Jacky Huang | August 23rd, 2012 The Global Times, one of the top Chinese party newspapers issued an editorial yesterday saying China is prepared for military attack because the dispute over the Senkaku Island with Japan has become an irreconcilable conflict. This incident started about a week ago when 14 Chinese people landed on the island and were all arrested and detained by Japan's Self Defense Forces. Under the pressure of millions of angry people, Chinese government expressed strong opposition to Japan. The 14 people were released afterwards. But the on Aug 18, about 150 Japanese right-wing activists went to the island for worship without permission and ten of them landed. This incident then escalated when the US joined the military dill with Japan. According to People' Daily, the no.1 Chinese party newspaper, the drill is a bad strategy. It means to irritate China but also shows lack of confidence. The newspaper also said directly that the US and Japan underestimated the firm will of China to Maintenance the territorial sovereignty. These years, along with the rise of its economy, the political weakness is still a problem in China, which can easily be used by countries like Japan. This time China wants to be strong in this dispute because the signal is going to spread to South China Sea where dispute over several island is still going on with Vietnam and the Philippines. And Chinese government is concerning more of the voice in the country than abroad. The editorial said that it is impossible for Chinese government to control the situation anymore. Otherwise it will cause a devastating loss to government's prestige and the unity in the country, although agreeing to the public and preparing military attack may have some risks. Chinese people demand that government should go to the areas – 12 sea miles around Senkaku island and should have the ability to arrest Japanese activists who wish to land on the island. However, on the Japanese side, The National Police Agency of Japan announced they will sue any Chinese who wishes to land on the island again. But according to Global Times, the threat cannot hold them back because some activists in China are preparing to do it again. The threat indicated a new escalation on this issue. Morimoto, The head of National Police Agency of Japan said Japan's Self Defense Forces will not allow foreign ships to come close for even one million meter. They will reinforce the combat ability along the south coast especially some islands. But the editorial said at last that although there's a big tension between these two countries, this conflict will stop in a degree as long as two parties have no intensions to go to war. Source: Ifeng news | Zaobao News 1, 2, 3 | New York times

Toddler’s Head Nearly Flattened By Car After She Falls Out Of Scooter Posted: 26 Aug 2012 02:36 AM PDT A woman nearly lost her child in Jinhua, Zhejiang province recently when she recklessly drove her scooter carrying two young children between two cars at a stoplight. As she braked, the scooter lurched and a child fell out, and at the same time the car next to them pulled forward as the light had turned green. The young child's head bumped against the back wheel of the car. The above video gives you a frightening idea of how close the child came to getting her head run over. We're told the woman broke two rules: motorcycles aren't supposed to carry minors under 12 years, and driving between cars in adjacent lanes is illegal. The newscaster in the video rubs it in at the end: "Because of her own mistake, the child nearly lost her life. The careless mother needs to seriously self-reflect." Ku6 video for those in China after the jump. (H/T Alicia)

No One Copies Quite Like The Chinese (Featuring: Corcs, King Burger, Anmani, And Nire) Posted: 26 Aug 2012 01:00 AM PDT A couple of days ago, we linked to a Buzzfeed collection of funny pictures of brand-name knock-offs and noted that a lot of the images came from China. Well, yesterday the website China Whisper decided, Why not devote an entire post to Chinese brand-name knock-offs? Some of the more notable images appear after the jump, but head over to China Whisper if you want the full collection of 20.

Man pricked by HIV-infected needle in taxi, dumped by girlfriend for that Posted: 25 Aug 2012 11:21 PM PDT From Beijing News A man in Beijing got his knee pricked by the needle of an HIV-infected syringe on the evening of August 21 when he was on a taxi cab. Even though the preliminary test showed he has not been infected, he was still uneasy and anxiously waiting for. His girlfriend, on hearing the news, broke up with him in fear. The news has obviously sent shock waves of alarm across the city. For years, unsubstantiated rumors have been circulating in the country that vindictive HIV/AIDS patients are wandering on the street and stabbing random pedestrians with needles containing their blood, but no specific victim has been confirmed and identified by a reliable news outlet. That is, until now. Many netizens have voiced concern about contracting HIV in public spaces. The wound from the needle prick on Xu Tian's right knee. The syringe, uncapped, was left in the magazine rack strapped onto the back of the front passenger seat of the cab. Xu Tian (pseudonym), 37, felt the pain on his right knee being pressed against the seat back when the cab swerved around a street's corner. He immediately asked the cab driver to pull over. He found the needle of a syringe sticking out of the magazine and pointing to him. There was even some yellowish sticking fluid remaining inside the syringe. He took the syringe to three hospitals to have its content tested, but was told by all of them that they couldn't do it. He even contacted the local police to file a report for his case, hoping to get help from the forensics with testing of the needle, but the police said it was an accidental injury and hence did not qualify for a forensic testing service. Finally, at Chaoyang District's Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, he was told by stern-looking experts that there are HIV antibodies in the fluid. Xu Tian recalled that he "flumped down into a chair" on hearing the news. He was redirected to Ditan Hospital for a blood test on the afternoon of August 22, which showed a negative result. "The doctor also prescribed some medication that cost 2,500 yuan (US$395). Both drugs are HIV blockers," Xu said. A doctor said that to absolutely rule out possibility of infection, Xu will have to come back for three more tests in the next three months. But he also assured Mr. Xu and people panicked by the likelihood of being pricked by an HIV needle that transmission in this manner is very unlikely, given that the virus can barely survive outside the human body or in dry environments. Xu is not consoled, "I am not scared of dying, but I am scared of dying in such a stupid way." Xu said that the side effects after taking HIV-blocking medications are quite obvious. He feels nauseated and puked, "Like I got drunk," and the fact that he has to deal with it for three months is really not comforting. What dejects him more is that his girlfriend, with whom he had been in a relationship for three months, broke up with him on learning about it. "I am already 37. I was going to take her home to meet my parents during the Chinese New Year and then marry her." Mr. Gong, the cab driver, said he did not know where the syringe came from. He took on the night shift at 6 p.m. that day. Before Mr. Xu got in, he only had three female passengers who sat in the back of the cab. "I didn't see any of them putting things inside (the magazine rack)." Beijing police have stepped in and launched investigation into the matter to determine if the syringe was intentionally left behind by a person with ulterior motive. Selected comments from Sina Weibo 顺顺的筷乐生活：Be careful in public spaces. 艾灸疗法100问：So, better not touch or move anything in public spaces! 奇毛玲两可葩：It's so horrible~~I don't even dare to take a taxi from now on~~ What if I get AIDS from that? Hathaway—：A hatred for the society… It's scary. 一阵微风816：Isn't that horrendous? The cab drivers shouldn't only solicit business. They should be mindful of sanitation inside the cab. The relevant department should start a big overall check on cab sanitation! To offer protection necessitated by the building of an international metropolis! kfcktsc：How come Beijing has become like this?… Beijing wasn't like this before. Khuntoria-蘑菇肉肉：Damn. No more taxi rides~~~ Why I feel that dangerous elements are lurking everywhere?

At Least 36 Dead In Fiery Highway Collision In Shaanxi Posted: 25 Aug 2012 11:25 PM PDT Image via Xinhua If we've said it once, we shouldn't need to again: don't tailgate road tankers carrying highly combustible elements. Between 2 and 3 am earlier today in Yan'an, Shaanxi province, all but three people aboard a 39-seat double-decker coach bus perished when the bus collided with the back of a tanker carrying methanol. At least 36 people are confirmed dead, though as Global Times rather morbidly notes, only "twenty-eight bodies have been found from the debris." The bus was headed toward Xi'an. Only two months ago, there was another oil tanker explosion as the result of a road accident, in Guangzhou, killing 20. "Last year more than 62,000 people died in traffic accidents, state media said, citing police figures," according to AFP. "Vehicles carrying explosive materials — which must first get permission from the police before travelling on the roads in China — are involved in many accidents." More pictures after the jump via Xinhua, plus an animation from a news report of the collision.

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