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World of Weibo

The stories taking China’s internet by storm

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What’s in a name?

Live-stream celebrity stirs debate on feminism
May 22, 2020 (WiC 496)

American singer Barry Manilow (born Barry Alan Pincus) took his mother’s maiden name when he was 13. Actress Whoopi Goldberg (born Caryn Elaine Johnson) chose her mother’s surname when she got her start in Hollywood. Of course, most people in ...

Kobe, in memoriam

Over a million Chinese netizens pay tribute to deceased NBA star
Jan 31, 2020 (WiC 481)

The impeachment proceedings against US President Donald Trump have struggled to hog the news headlines this week, as the international media focused more on Wuhan’s coronavirus outbreak. But news of the helicopter crash that killed Kobe ...

Arguing with his wife on the internet
Nov 1, 2019 (WiC 472)

Back in February, Li Guoqing, the co-founder of e-commerce firm Dangdang, announced that he had resigned from the company he started with his wife Peggy Yu back in 1999. He wrote that he had given up his stake in the platform once touted as ...

A little less Mac?

Chinese consumers complain about shrinking burgers
Jul 19, 2019 (WiC 460)

The Big Mac Index, compiled by The Economist since 1986, is used to measure purchasing power parity across the globe. The index is named after McDonald’s most popular burger, which is sold in more than 100 countries. But a basic assumption of ...

A bruised Apple?

Negative comments flood Apple's newly-opened weibo account
May 3, 2019 (WiC 450)

While most companies scramble to curate content to increase their social media presence, tech giant Apple has a very different strategy. It uses Facebook, but mainly to push ads during the holidays to promote new products. Even though it has 2.7 ...

China’s chequered flag

Athletes dropping national flag sparks outrage
Nov 23, 2018 (WiC 433)

Sport has often had a strong political undertone in China. The state trains the vast bulk of athletes in a system inspired by the Soviet Union. And when the state-sponsored stars win, their achievement is typically framed as a victory for the ...

Better than Boris?

Britain's new foreign secretary is dubbed the "Chinese son-in-law"
Jul 20, 2018 (WiC 418)

Boris Johnson, who resigned as British Foreign Secretary in protest at his government’s Brexit policy last week, was best known in China for his scruffy appearance. His newly-announced replacement Jeremy Hunt is getting a different billing: ...

Mind your language

China’s southerners cry foul on school textbook changes
Jul 6, 2018 (WiC 416)

The quest to unify China’s language began during the Qin Dynasty (221-206BC), when the emperor standardised its written characters. When the Chinese Communist Party came to power, it extended the ambition to the spoken language, promoting a ...

Prove that proverb!

Ivanka's tweet sparks search for original Chinese sayings
Jun 22, 2018 (WiC 414)

In a week headlined by President Trump’s historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, it was another Trump that “exhausted the brain cells of Chinese internet users” according to one Sina Weibo user. Hours before the American ...

Shoe fight in Paris

Balenciaga, Printemps deny being racist against Chinese
May 11, 2018 (WiC 408)

The elaborate, chunky Triple S sneaker is probably the most coveted item currently produced by French luxury house Balenciaga – so much so that it recently incited a brawl in Paris between Chinese shoppers and French Albanians. To the horror of ...

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