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News on Chinese Society

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Galloping sales

Xinjiang horse race gets the livestreaming treatment
May 29, 2020 (WiC 497)

In 1975 the Hong Kong Jockey Club was appointed by the government as operator of the then British colony’s first lottery. Winning the ‘6 out of 14’ lottery game (by picking the right numbers in the right order) brought a windfall that was ...

A new ambassador arrives

Victoria’s Secret in unlikely choice for its newest China brand endorser
May 1, 2020 (WiC 493)

With China now on a path to recovery from the coronavirus outbreak, consumer brands want to get back to business as usual. A sprinkling of celebrity star power might help, which is why several new brand ambassadors have been introduced by firms ...

Vanke very much

Wang Shi announces major donation to infectious disease research centre
Apr 17, 2020 (WiC 491)

“Twenty-two years ago, I made a decision. That decision has technically taken me off Rich Lists of all sorts. Yet it has also given me peace of mind,” Wang Shi, founder of Vanke, China’s second largest property developer by sales, wrote in ...

State Council set to approve ban on dog meat as food
Apr 17, 2020 (WiC 491)

In the wake of the coronavirus crisis, the Chinese government finally seems set to ban the sale and consumption of canine meat. The news came on April 8 when the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs issued a list of 31 types of poultry ...

Crisis management

New TV drama on office life is criticised as unrealistic
Mar 20, 2020 (WiC 487)

Traditionally, television drama has been a format-driven business, which explains the enduring appeal of all those series themed around crime, hospitals and law firms. TV producers in China have had some success betting on niche areas too. For ...

Unwelcome comments

Netizens see red at China green card rules
Mar 13, 2020 (WiC 486)

Should the Ministry of Justice have sensed that proposals last month to change the residency rules for foreign nationals would stir up such a furore? Probably not, in WiC’s view. For a start, it’s an unlikely time for foreign nationals to ...

Sun King no more?

Swimmer gets eight-year ban
Mar 5, 2020 (WiC 485)

“You’re a loser. I’m a winner,” scoffed China’s greatest ever swimmer – Sun Yang – to a rival last summer when he’d refused to stand next to him on the medal podium at the world championships in South Korea (see WiC462). But ...

Olivia’s Cambridge Diary

Chinese alumna speak out
Mar 5, 2020 (WiC 485)

The linguistic structure of Chinese Mandarin isn’t exactly favourable for female empowerment. The radical (a component that makes up a character) for a ‘woman’ is a picture of a woman sitting down — nǚ 女. Linguists have ...

Olivia’s Cambridge Diary

Remembering Joseph Needham
Feb 21, 2020 (WiC 483)

It might seem a cliché to include a diary entry on Joseph Needham in my series on China and Cambridge University. But given how much Needham did to address misconceptions about China in the West, the timing feels strangely appropriate. In some ...

Private photo shoot rouses anger about Palace privileges
Jan 31, 2020 (WiC 481)

Before having tea with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during a state visit in 2017, Donald Trump explored the Forbidden City on foot. The last foreign dignitary allowed to tour the former imperial residence in a vehicle was Indian Prime Minister ...

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